"What should I do if I'm not allowed to ask my name? How do I know who Mr. Cao is?" Miss Fang Rui returned to her seat, feeling stuffy and not knowing what to do.
The sister next to me added: "He said that you don't need to report your name, but he didn't say that you must not report your name. He said his, you ask yours."
"That's nice to say. All the people present here are famous people in Suzhou, and I still want to be shameless. If you are thick-skinned, you can go and ask."
After saying this, all the four girls at the table stopped and became silent.
After the middle-aged man persuaded Fang Rui to leave, he walked up to the two of them, gestured with his hands, and led him to sit down at an empty table. He only glanced at Xia Shang one more time and asked doubtfully: "Is this
yes?"
"My guard." Chu Jian said.
A scholar with a bodyguard?
What a strange pairing?
Thinking about it, the man became curious about the identities of these two people.
This man did not announce his name, but when he first saw him, several men at the table next to him were already talking quietly.
This person's name is Zhao Quan, the scribe of the General History of the State, a bachelor who compiled the history of the Great China Dynasty, and a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy. Although it is a sinecure with no real power, this person is in contact with all important ministers and big shots in the imperial court. In the East
Among Mr. Yue's students, this person can be considered the most famous.
When they first met and sat down, he was a stranger in the eyes of everyone. Although he was very handsome, no one took the initiative to talk to him.
Now that noon is approaching, people are coming in one after another. There are about seven or eight young scholars, but a group of middle-aged businessmen have entered one after another.
But these businessmen could not sit in the middle of the field. Instead, they sat on a single stool across a stream and watched.
The father of the young lady from the Fang family was also among them. The girl waved to her father happily, but the other party called her to her side and questioned her.
Xia Shang couldn't help but feel a little unhappy after seeing this. He didn't regard himself as a scholar. He felt that just because of the word "Shang" in his name, he should belong to the merchant family. The merchants across the stream in the distance were all prominent figures in Suzhou.
However, in the garden party of Dongyue Mansion, there was only a single bench and the treatment of being inaccessible was really unfair. At the same time, it also made me laugh at the high self-esteem of these literati.
The sun is gloomy all day long in winter, and it is inevitably cold under the open air. The servants of Dongyue Mansion brought a brazier, and the middle-aged man named Zhao Quan said to everyone: "Everyone, please go ahead and eat your food. The master will come out from time to time."
After that, everyone ate the food on the table in front of them, but the place seemed deserted.
Then another person stood up, it was Shang Jie who came from Jiang Qian that year, and said to everyone: "Looking at it now, Mr. Dongyue may still have some time before he can be a gentleman. We all here are indispensable for being funny, so why not treat him as a gentleman?"
Pairs, just for your pleasure."
After the words were spoken, several people around him echoed: "Very good, very good."
Shang Jie smiled and said: "In that case, why don't we invite Mr. Jiang Gan, the most talented man in the south of the Yangtze River, to appear in the first couplet? What do you think?"
"Jiang Gan!"
"Jiang Gan, the most prodigy in the south of the Yangtze River, is actually at this garden party!"
The crowd suddenly started talking more. Who and how many people were attending today's garden party, apart from Mr. Dongyue, no one else knew. This Jiang Gan is indeed a famous figure in the south of the Yangtze River, and he is quite famous.
Moreover, this person is a proud person and has never taken outsiders seriously. He has never been seen participating in such a gathering. It is really a surprise that he can attend Mr. Dongyue's garden party today.
Seeing this, Shang Jie sat down and smiled and said to Master Jiang Qian: "Master Jiang, see how popular you are among the literati in Jiangnan? Don't refuse, just hurry up and give everyone a question."
Jiang Gan looked calm. When he stood up, regardless of the severe winter cold, he opened the folding fan and swung it gracefully. He followed the breeze and said: "Since everyone is in high spirits, I will write the first couplet - Smoke locks the pond willow."
Smoke lock pond willow?!
At first glance, this couplet seems to have a small number of words and a clear artistic conception. It does not seem to be difficult.
But when I thought about it again, there was no sound in the room.
Seeing the scene, after Jiang Qian sat down, Shang Jie repeatedly gave a thumbs up and praised: "Master Jiang, you are so tall! You are really tall!"
There was no words spoken, but a few snowflakes fell gently from the sky, as soft and light as silk, as cool as the clear spring of a mountain stream.
Chu Jian looked back at Xia Shang, who shook his head and motioned for her to take a look at the situation first.
But there was silence for about a quarter of an hour, and still no one answered.
Shang Jie laughed: "He is indeed the most talented person in the south of the Yangtze River. These five simple words have made all the talented people in the south of the Yangtze River speechless and admire him!"
Before Shang Jie finished speaking, a woman stood up and said, "I'll do it."
Then Fang Rui stood up and said loudly: "I am so worried about the clouds! What's the big deal? What's so great about this?"
Fang Rui was very proud, feeling that her pair was perfect and quite artistic.
But after he finished speaking, no one was seen applauding. Instead, some people were seen laughing, as if they were watching a joke.
At this time, Jiang Gan stood up again: "Girl, my pair is not that simple. 'Yansuo Pondliu' seems simple and ordinary, but the radicals of these five characters each contain 'fire, gold, water, earth and wood' among the five elements. .This couplet may seem simple, but the profound meaning in it requires the girl to think about it carefully.”
"Ah? There's this..." Fang Rui was surprised, but everyone around him laughed. Fang Rui blushed and sat down quickly.
Jiang Gan felt that he was very graceful and comforted him: "Girl, don't worry about it. I have understood this couplet for many years. So far, no one has corrected it. I wanted to take advantage of the gathering of talents from Jiangnan to find a person to solve the problem. At the moment, it seems that someone has overestimated everyone."
How arrogant are these words?
Especially the young masters present, all showed signs of indignation.
But the sentence "Smoke locks the willows in the pond" is really difficult, even if I am not angry, I can't do anything about it.
Even Zhao Quan on the side frowned.
Jiang Qian was very proud and waved his hand: "That's all, I'll skip this question and ask others to write a couplet."
"What are you proud of? If it were Mr. Cao Xueqin, he would definitely be able to match this couplet."
I don’t know who said it, but as soon as it came out, the whole audience went crazy.
Cao Xueqin!
Not only the girls, but also all the young people present, who doesn’t know his name?
Even Jiang Qian understood it, and showed disdain after hearing this: "Cao Xueqin? Could it be Cao Xueqin who wrote "Dream of Red Mansions"? He was just a figure who only dared to hide behind books. Everyone in the world said that Cao Xueqin, but who else People have seen Cao Xueqin. Cao Xueqin's ability is just fabricated by the ignorance of the world. If Cao Xueqin really existed, he might not have written "A Dream of Red Mansions". Even if he has some knowledge, it is just mediocre."
"You...how dare you slander Mr. Cao!"
With the sound of brushing, more than a dozen girls in the audience stood up one after another, clenching their fists as if they were going to hit someone. (To be continued)