Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 870 Being Blocked on the Road
Beijing,

South Bank of Qing Lake,

The convoys of the three major academies in Jiangnan were pulled far apart in front and behind. The carriages moved slowly, and the people followed blindly, picking up copper coins behind them. There was also the constant noise of gongs and drums, and those who didn't know would think it was someone's wedding.

inside the car,

Everyone sat down as usual, except that Qin Keqing was dressed in men's clothing and sat next to Empress Jiang. The two of them were dressed the same, and it was no exaggeration to say that they were from aristocratic families.

Empress Jiang's face was full of smiles. She looked at the lovely girl in front of her. This was caring. No matter how she looked at it, she was more comfortable than the daughter-in-law of Rongguo Mansion. That feeling was definitely right.
"You, girl, haven't come to the palace for a while. What have you been busy with at home?"

"My lady, I'm not busy at all. When I have nothing to do, I read books and do needlework."

Qin Keqing sat there quietly, talking about how to kill time when she was bored. Actually, she didn't have much free time. She had to take care of the purchase account books of the mansion, the expenses of the various mansions, and the accounts reported by the Chamber of Commerce. So she didn't have much free time.
"You are still thinking about this. Reading is good for self-cultivation. As for needlework, I have also learned a lot in the palace. I want to show off robes to the three princes."

As if the queen had thought of something, she touched Qin Keqing's palm with her hand and said with a smile;

"You, too, are so tight on time,"

How could Qin Keqing not know these secret codes? After all, Mrs. Wang in the mansion had repeatedly reminded her of them. She blushed and nodded.
I don't know how long we walked, but when we came to a fork in the road, the carriage suddenly stopped. The sound of gongs and drums on the other side became louder. I don't know what happened.
Lifting the car curtain, Zhang Jinyu asked;

"Why has the carriage stopped?"

Liu Qianhu, the driver, spoke up;
"My Lord, the convoy in front has stopped. It seems that there is another convoy coming from the opposite direction. It seems to be coming from Qinglian Academy."

As Liu Chen pointed to the bend ahead, he saw several spacious carriages coming. They were obviously much more impressive. The chief disciple of Qinglian Academy, I remember it seemed to be the son of Gong family, but I couldn't remember who it was at the moment. They were blocking the road and were obviously looking for trouble.
So he sat back in the car and ordered;
"Don't worry about them. Let's go to Yanchun Tower to find a good place and order a song to listen to. Oh, by the way, Ningbian, send someone to Taoyuan to invite Li Ji and everyone else to come over. We must sing a song of Luanshanyin to compete with that Shuimoqiang."

"Yes. Lord Marquis."

Seeing that the traffic jam was not a big deal, the two of them responded and the carriage moved immediately, bypassing the convoy in front. However, when they got to the front, they didn't know whether it was because the carriage of Qinglian Academy was too wide or the other side did it on purpose, but the originally wide road was blocked by three carriages from the opposite side in the middle of the road, completely blocking it.

Impassable,

And there was a man standing on the leading carriage, shouting;
"This road is blocked. If you want to pass through here, you need to make a couplet. If you can make a couplet, you can pass. If you can't make a couplet, the three major academies in Jiangnan should go back to where they came from. Don't embarrass yourself here. From now on, the poetry gatherings in the capital will only be held by the three major academies, Qinglian, Yunshan, and Qiushui, competing among themselves."

After that, some people came out from behind the carriage and started to make a fuss.

"That's right. You've already started showing off before you even get to the capital. If you don't show them how powerful you are, you don't know how much you're capable of."

In the crowd, there was a scholar who looked like a student from an academy. He raised his head and sneered, and the others followed suit.

"Yes, I heard that the three heads of the academy called themselves the Three Great Talents of Jiangnan. I think whether the talents know it is another matter. Who can compare with them in terms of being in the limelight? Who doesn't know how to brag about talents? In this way, I am still the most outstanding person in the capital."

I don't know where the student from the academy came from, standing there and talking nonsense, and a group of people who looked like scholars behind him laughed along. It turned out that the three major academies in the capital, which had been silent all this time, had already ambushed in the downtown area.
Not to mention the common people in the capital who loved to watch the excitement, even the princes who were taking the imperial examinations in the capital who had heard the news were all here, looking inside. There happened to be a wine shop and a tea shop on two corners, so more and more people came.

The carriage was stuck there, and Zhang Jinyu burst out laughing inside the carriage.
"Since we can't get through, let's wait and see what couplets the so-called Jiangnan talent and the most talented man in the capital come up with."

Zhang Jinyu couldn't help but laugh, it felt like a joke, a poetry gathering, being blocked outside the door to write couplets, only people from the academy could come up with this, the Emperor Wu was interested.

"Okay, I, ahem, I also want to hear what couplets those guys can come up with, Qinglian Academy, Gong Huaiyu."

With just one sentence, he pointed out the prince of the Gong family.

outside the car,

The three people from Jiangnan Academy had already gotten off the carriage and crowded in the front. Hua Congyun, a disciple from Yiyong Academy, jumped on the carriage first, bowed and asked;
"May I ask who is blocking our way? We are participating in a poetry gathering today to compete in poetry. How can a mere couplet be accepted in a high-class venue? Are you from the three major academies in the capital afraid, so you use this as an excuse to deliberately embarrass us?"

"Yes, didn't they say that the poetry meeting was moved up? Why are they competing in couplets outside Yanchun Tower? Could they have set up an ambush in advance?"

In the crowd, someone was discussing this, not avoiding others. When the people around him heard this, they nodded in agreement. Many of them had spent a lot of money on an invitation. If the poetry reading could not be held, it would be a loss.

"Yes, poetry gatherings and couplets are two different things. Why are you starting to write couplets again? If you want to write couplets, go home and write them."

"That's right, I can't wait any longer,"

There was another round of commotion, which made Xia Handong from Qinglian Academy blush. He was speechless for a while and stood there with a red face. Seeing Zhang Jinyu shaking his head in the car, this kid is no good. He was retorted with just a few words. He is unworthy.

at this time,

In the carriage opposite, the Western Prince Gong Huaiyu smiled, looked at the Southern Prince Lang Lin beside him and asked;
"You really can't underestimate those people in Jiangnan. They are really good at talking."

"Yes, you are good at talking and you are also very good at persuading people. In that case, Junior Brother Wan, here is a 50,000 tael silver note. Take it and go out and place a bet with them. If you can match the numbers, you will get the 50,000 tael silver note. If you can't match the numbers, they will lose the 50,000 taels of silver."

Lang Lin smiled. Anything that could be solved with money was naturally a small matter. Gong Huaiyu's hands tightened. He glanced at Lang Lin and saw that he was really generous. The financial strength of the Southern Prince's Mansion could be seen. He squinted his eyes and took out 50,000 taels of silver notes and put them in Qin Yuxiao's hand.

"Since Brother Shi has taken action, how can I not follow suit? Junior Brother Zhao, you should not get involved in this matter."

Another person added, Zhao Xuelun, is the head of Yunshan Academy, born in a poor family, but quite talented. The two of them bowed at the same time.
"Yes, Your Majesty."

Wan Yuzhu took the banknote, lifted the carriage curtain and walked out.

Without further ado, he took the banknote in his hand and asked;
"Xia-san is right. We are here to participate in a poetry competition. In that case, let's change the bet. This is the bet from the two princes. One hundred thousand taels of silver notes are required to come up with a pair. If you can come up with a pair, the one hundred thousand taels of silver notes will belong to your three academies. If you can't come up with a pair, what will happen to you, Junior Brother?"

Seeing the change in the other party's behavior, Xia Handong did not dare to respond. This was a hundred thousand taels of silver. How could he, a child from a poor family, agree to it? His momentum dropped and he was no longer the same as before. The people around him, including the common people, were in an uproar.
Zhang Jinyu's eyes widened as well, he muttered to himself;
"As expected of a prince's son, he is very generous. What pair of coin can be worth 100,000 taels of silver? If it is true, it can be regarded as the best pair in Dawu. Tsk tsk,"

They made a clicking sound, and Dai Quan beside them was also quite troubled. If the princes were like them, the capital would be in chaos.

Emperor Wu's eyes sparkled and he asked with a smile;
"Lord Luo Yun, how do you think about the couplet?"

Zhang Jinyu was stunned when he heard this. He didn't know what a couplet was. He just had some memorized couplets in his memory. If there were too many, he would be helpless.

"My Lord, I am not very good at making couplets."

The euphemism made Empress Jiang glance over.
"Is there anything you, Luo Yunhou, can't do?"

"Well, that's not true, Madam. There are so many things in the world, how can we know them all? We can only listen, smell, and ask. If we are not proficient in this, I'm afraid that only Confucius, the sage, knows everything in the world."

Zhang Jinyu shook her head. It was not possible in the first place, and she was beside the emperor, so how could she dare to admit it?

"You kid, you're just doing these useless things. They say that poetry and couplets are from the same family. Let me tell you what couplets they came up with to make them so confident. Is that right?"

Emperor Wu lifted a corner of the carriage curtain and looked outside through the gap. More and more people gathered around. The secret guards of the Imperial City Bureau formed a circle around the carriage. In the front, the servants of the Qinglian Academy were still conspicuous, dressed in green, like green lotus.

At this moment,
In the blocked carriage, Zhuang Xiaoyi, the head of Yiyong Academy, smiled and took out 40,000 taels of silver notes from his pocket, "Brother Lan, Brother Xu, I will give you a sample first, 40,000 taels of silver notes,"

As he said this, he placed the banknote in the hands of Junior Brother Qin beside him.

Lan Xinwen, the head of Bailu Academy, and Xu Rentao, the head of Yuelin Academy, each gave a bitter smile and took out thirty thousand taels of silver notes from their pockets and put them into Junior Brother Qin's hands.
"Junior brother is still so competitive. Forget it, I will go crazy with you."

"Ahahaha, I'll follow you for my brother."

The three of them agreed.
Qin Yuxiao bowed and got out of the car, stood up, and raised the 100,000 taels of silver in his hand.

"Following the order of my senior brother, I have accepted the pair. It is also 100,000 taels of silver notes. However, I want to make it clear in advance that it is absolute. If it is absolute, you have to match it, otherwise it will be unfair."

Qin Yuxiao was more careful. If he was famous for his absoluteness, he would not be able to match it, and the other party would not be able to match it either. At least it would be a draw.

As soon as these words came out, Wan Yuzhu on the opposite side paused. What he said was indeed absolute. It seemed that the person on the opposite side was not easy to fool, so he nodded and agreed.
"Well, in that case, if neither of you can answer, then it's a tie. Get out of the way."

The conversation between the two obviously displeased the onlookers, and someone shouted;
"How can this be possible? We're wasting so much time watching you perform. What if we, the onlookers, find out something wrong? What will we say?"

"That's right, it's just a couplet. There are many students here. It can't be that only the students from the academy are scholars."

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"This brother is right. As the saying goes, there is no first in literature and no second in martial arts. He brags about himself and doesn't know what it means to be high up on earth. Maybe they discussed this together."

There are many people below who just want to watch the fun and don't mind the big deal. There are also many people who are sarcastic and mocking. There are also many children from poor families who are jealous of the children from wealthy families and will never miss a chance to step on them.

As a result, the people around were noisy.
Princess Yongcheng, who was hidden in the crowd, suddenly became interested. It was she who told the eldest princess that today's poetry meeting should be advanced, otherwise, there would be less time and many interesting things would be missed. Coincidentally, when the students of Yunshan and Qiushui Academy gathered together, she felt something was wrong, so she took people on a carriage and secretly followed behind. Sure enough, when they arrived at the corner of Yanchun Tower, they saw this scene.
I thought that it must be Gong Huaiyu and Lang Lin who set a trap for the two guys. It turned out to be true. These poor kids were really difficult to deal with.

"Your Highness, judging from the situation, I'm afraid both sides will be embarrassed."

Zou Xiao looked over quietly from the other side of the carriage curtain. Before the people in the carriage could say anything, they were suppressed by the chattering of the students around them. How could they continue to compete?

"Humph, they are just being clever, trying to gain some fame before the poetry meeting. When the stakes get high, they exchange it for some silver. But they don't know that the nobles have no shortage of silver, but those children from poor families do, so there are many people who are jealous."

Zhou Ying shook her head. They all said that the young masters of the Gong and Lang families were wise, but no matter how she looked at it, they seemed a little stupid. She shook her head and thought about today's poetry gathering. The presidents of the six major academies would serve as judges, and there would be a leader. Who would this leader be?
Or maybe it was some respected elder, someone from the Hanlin Academy or Wuying Palace. Unfortunately, there was no definite news. It seemed that my sister was too worried.

"Master, I am also a little curious. What kind of pair can make both parties take out 100,000 taels of silver notes as a bet? What are those pairs?"

Zou Xiao was a little curious. There were many people who were talented in reciting poems and composing couplets, but it seemed that there must be something different about this person that could make both sides treat him so cautiously.

"That's a lot, but I don't care about that. I don't know the specifics. Ordinary quatrains can still be solved by experts. Only those eternal absolutes cannot be answered by anyone."

Zhou Ying pursed her lips. If that was really the case, it would be interesting to watch. If a poor boy could answer an ordinary quatrain, both sides would lose face. But if they came up with an eternal quatrain and no one could answer it, it would be a clear setup. Not only would they be embarrassed, but the news would spread all over the capital in no time.

With some smiles.

Princess Yongcheng naturally looked at the people in front of her.

Hua Congyun, a disciple of Qinglian Academy, heard the people below shouting like this, sweat broke out on his forehead, and he lowered his head and asked His Majesty in the carriage;
"Sir, what do you say we should do?"

Although the voices outside were mixed, they were heard clearly. Gong Huaiyu frowned, he didn't expect that today he didn't take those children from poor families into consideration. There are definitely some people who can match up. If they want to use the Eternal Absolute, doesn't it mean that they are really seeking fame?
"Brother Lang, what should we do about this?"

Lang Lin shook his hand and smiled;
"I listened to Brother Shi, but I didn't expect so many people to make a fuss. Two hundred thousand taels of silver is a lot of money. I wanted to meet those people in Jiangnan and increase my fame. Now it seems that I have lost my face. If I lose the silver, it will be very uncomfortable."

Although it was a joke, it was a statement of attitude after all. Children from poor families should not be underestimated. Maybe there are some with outstanding literary talent. If they were to compete with them and they failed, not only would they be making wedding clothes for nothing, but what would they do with the money? Should they give it to him or not?
"Well, in that case,"

Gong Huaiyu made up his mind and said to the outside of the car;

"Hua Congyun, use the absolute from Qinglian Academy. Whoever can answer it will get all the bets. Ask the other party if he dares to do it?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

Seeing Gong Huaiyu take out the Eternal Absolute, Lang Lin smiled.
"Brother Shi is amazing. Once he makes a move, there will be a bet. Whoever wins will win. In this way, even if there are complaints, there will still be people who want the money. When they tie with those people in Jiangnan, they will gain fame and not lose money. It's really great."

Gong Huaiyu shook his head at Lang Lin's praise.
"In this matter, we are at a disadvantage."

"Uh."

outside the car,

Hua Congyun got the order from His Highness and instantly became clear-headed. He turned around and shouted,
"Everyone, quiet, quiet!"

Unexpectedly, this shout really worked. The people around who were discussing gradually quieted down. Seeing this, Hua Congyun was still a little nervous and shouted again;
"Everyone, today's couplets are set by Qinglian Academy. Whoever can answer them will get all the 100,000 taels of silver. If you can't answer them, you won't lose anything. Are you willing to answer them?"

At the end, he not only waved the banknotes in his hand majestically, but also deliberately shouted something to Xia Handong and the other person opposite him.

But inside the carriage,
Lan Xinwen and the others smiled.
"It seems that the two princes have prepared a quatrain. I thought they would really go all out, but now it seems that it is nothing more than that."

"Hey, Brother Lan, you can't say that. You've lost a lot of face. If the banknotes are gone, anyone would be angry."

Zhuang Xiaoyi shook his head. You can't say that.

"In that case, Han Dong, agree to them."

Only Xu Rentao, who was sitting in front of the curtain, answered quickly. Since he had a solution, he would play with them.
"Yes, son."

Xia Handong outside got the message and quickly replied;

"But, what's there to be afraid of? If someone answers it, don't be reluctant to spend the money then."

The irony also made everyone concentrate and hold their breath, guessing what couplets Qinglian Academy would come up with. Seeing everyone's eyes looking at Hua Congyun, Wan Yuzhu felt a little pressure and asked in a low voice;

"Brother Hua, which absolute should I use?"

"What else can we use? Let's use the one that even the headmaster couldn't figure out. Just listen to it."

Hua Congyun took a deep breath, bowed to the surroundings again and again,

"Everyone, listen carefully. The first line is about the zither, pipa and the eight kings wearing the same headgear! Whoever can come up with the second line will be rewarded with 100,000 taels of silver! No, it should be rewarded with 200,000 taels of silver!"

(End of this chapter)