My wife has a secret

Chapter 119 Absolute
According to the shop owner, this couplet originally came from the local double-eaved covered bridge, and the person who came up with the couplet imitated the famous "West Lake Flower God Temple Couplet" by using repetition of words.

What is even more amazing is that the first half of the couplet describes the relationship between the bridge and water, while the second half uses three drops of water as radicals, which not only reflects the four seasons of spring and autumn, but also expresses a bit of Zen.

When this couplet was uttered, all the talented scholars changed color and could no longer maintain their previous elegance.

If Butler Yao went home and thought hard about the first two questions, although he could not be as clever as Xu Qing, there was still a possibility that he could answer them correctly.

But this last question is too difficult, and the use of repeated reduplication is even more difficult, which makes people afraid.

"Master Xu, to be honest... you only need to answer one question correctly to enter the Nie Mansion. The last two questions from Yao were meant to make things difficult for you."

After Butler Yao said this, he felt that he had won unfairly and felt guilty, so he apologized in front of the crowd.

Although he was influenced by his momentary desire to win, he was the steward of the great scholar Mr. Nie. If he denied someone's talent just because he couldn't stand his style of doing things, it would show his pettiness and incompetence.

"Don't worry if you can't answer this question, you can walk into the Nie Mansion with peace of mind, because... this first couplet is an absolute left over from the previous dynasty. For so many years, no one has been able to come up with a second couplet with the same level and tone."

At the same time, Qin Shuying, who had previously helped Xu Qing, also lost her voice.

Knowing that this pair had no outside help, Xu Qing thought carefully for a moment and vaguely realized that this pair seemed to have appeared in his memory of his previous life.

But he is not a man with a photographic memory, so how can he recall some familiar fragments of memory?

Just when Xu Qing was stuck in a stalemate, an inexplicable yet familiar feeling came over him.

This dreamy and hazy feeling was the same as the one he had felt that night at Moon Watching Tower. He saw something vague and strange in a dream that was almost like an illusion.

Immediately afterwards, the amazing memory took control of Xu Qing's brain, and all the scenes he had seen in his previous life emerged in his mind one after another.

He didn't find anything relevant about the pair, but after a severe headache, the answer appeared in his mind.

"Year after year, morning after morning, evening after evening, gratitude after gratitude, and rest after rest."

When Xu Qing recited the second line under the gaze of everyone, the gate of Nie's mansion fell into a state of stillness.

Everyone held their breath and went over Xu Qing's couplet in their minds.

People who don't understand will check whether the radicals of the repeated words in the couplet are consistent. People who understand will appreciate the artistic conception of the couplet and carefully examine the aspects of prosody.

"Mr. Xu, you are a great talent."

Butler Yao, who had originally looked down on Xu Qing and was arrogant, was completely convinced the moment he saw Xu Qing come up with the second couplet.

Although his evaluation consisted of only two words, it also represented that Xu Qing had overturned his previous views.

In particular, Butler Yao, who was well versed in the origin of the first couplet, discovered that the second couplet was actually about water, and he also captured the Zen meaning hidden in the couplet exactly, which was simply not an ordinary person.

"Since you have this background, you should really sign up for the imperial examination and become famous throughout the world."

Although couplets are a folk art, it takes a lot of effort and thought to come up with a couplet with neat words and corresponding tones.

If a layman with a lower level of education, or a nerd with a slow mind, he would not be able to come up with a couplet of this level.

Therefore, Butler Yao believed that Xu Qing should have outstanding literary attainments.

"Not interested. Can the door be opened now?"

Xu Qing naturally knew what he was capable of. It was ok for him to take shortcuts based on his experience from his previous life, but if he were really asked to write national policies or Confucian classics, wouldn't his true colors be exposed?

What's more, it was a coincidence that we could make a pair today, and Qin Shuying's assistance was crucial.

"Of course, Yao is sincerely convinced. Please, Mr. Xu."

Butler Yao made way for him, and the servant inside the door heard his instructions, lifted the bolt, and opened the deep red lacquered door.

After Butler Yao led Xu Qing in, the servants came out one after another and stopped the crowd who wanted to peek in. After all, everyone was curious about what would happen in the Nie Mansion today, and whether the young master of the Xu family could take away the talented Lu.

"Let's go, let's go."

An elderly servant whose status was lower than that of Butler Yao came out to maintain order, but in fact, this was not the first time he had encountered such a scene.

In the past, when Master Nie met with other great scholars or well-known people, the door was always crowded with students who came to watch the fun.

Everyone is looking forward to Master Nie’s lectures, hoping that he can produce some classics.

After all, Mr. Nie's quotations are concise and rich in meaning, his language is simple and easy to understand, and are deeply loved by folk scholars.

The only difference from the past was that this time, not only students were crowding at the gate, but also countless citizens of the capital.

"Ahem... If you are still interested, why don't I send some servants from the mansion to find out what is going on inside?"

The old servant coughed lightly and adopted the method that the students and literati had used before to inquire about the news.

As soon as these words were spoken, they were immediately greeted with cheers from the crowd.

……

The backyard of the Nie Mansion.

Old Master Nie was playing chess with the young boy from the Nie family, and the battle was tense.

Nie Ziwen, who originally knew nothing about the game of chess, was able to hold on for a while even though Master Nie had given up five pieces.

However, Master Nie's superb chess skills and mature planning and layout still caused the fledgling Nie Ziwen to hit a wall, and the situation of the whole game was in jeopardy.

"You're not going to give up this time?"

Master Nie's kind face was filled with smiles. He looked at his grandson with a smile, pleased with the changes in him.

“Who wants to give up halfway?”

Nie Ziwen held the white piece in his hand and refuted with a red face: "Sister Lu said that the heaven moves vigorously, and the gentleman should constantly strive for self-improvement. If you want to be a true gentleman, you must behave like the heaven, work hard and never stop."

Recently, Xiao Ziwen, who has been deeply influenced by Sister Lu's teachings, repeated what he had heard to Master Nie.

His childish voice and innocent attitude were like a gentle breeze blowing through Master Nie's heart.

"Well, it seems that you have learned a lot from Wan He."

Hearing his grandfather's words, Nie Ziwen couldn't help but feel nervous, and his hand unconsciously moved to another place without thinking.

This low-level mistake made the situation on the field even worse. The white piece almost lost the lower right quarter of the territory, and the black piece cut off its way out here.

"What? Are you upset?"

How could Master Nie not see that his ignorant grandson had a crush on the extremely beautiful and talented Lu Wanhe?

I think this is probably why we can have such rapid changes.

"Just give up, kid."

As Nie Ziwen looked at the hopeless chess game, the fire in his eyes gradually died down and he lost his fighting spirit.

He begged his grandfather to play the game of chess with him, begging Sister Lu not to leave.

(End of this chapter)