Ye Jingtang followed the Queen Mother's team home and arrived at the Duke's Mansion in East Lake Bay. After stepping into the entrance hall, he realized that his mansion in the capital was indeed a bit simple.
The Duke's Mansion of the Qin family occupies a very large area, and there is a large lake next to it that can be used for boat cruises. The walls of the mansion are built on the hillside opposite the lake. The main entrance has three large doors, and there are three archways and two stone lions standing in front of the door.
, the distance from the horse stele to the gate is probably longer than the new house in Tianshuiqiao.
It was the first time for the Empress of the Wei Dynasty to come to Jiangzhou. After following the team to the Duke's Mansion, she and Ye Jingtang first went to the courtyard where the distinguished guests lived to put things away. Along the way, they walked beside Ye Jingtang and observed the charm of the water town.
architecture, says:
"This house is smaller than the prince's, but it is really beautiful. Do you want one?"
Ye Jingtang helped Yuhu and Miss Fan carry their belongings, shook his head and said:
"It's not troublesome to build a house. What's more expensive is the location. If I were to build such a large garden near the capital, I'd probably be scolded by the officials. Besides, there aren't many people at home. Just a new house costs a few dollars."
The maid sighed as she cleaned up the mess. It’s so big that cleaning it would be tiring to death..."
The Empress of Wei knew that Ye Jingtang didn't care about this, so she didn't say much and turned to look at Fan Qinghe behind her:
"Does the palace in Miss Fan's house have such grandeur?"
Fan Qinghe knew that the enchanting beauty walking in front was the empress of the Wei Dynasty, but he was still a little nervous in his heart, so he responded:
"Dongming Mountain is a remote place. No one can build this house. The place where I live is just a cottage. Well... it's not as big as this, but the scenery is much better. You can see the snow-capped mountains above and the grassland below. You can't see
Margin."
Yuhu thought for a while and felt that the scenery should be magnificent, so he continued:
“I’ll definitely go over and take a look when I have time.”
"?"
Fan Qinghe blinked his eyes, his eyes were a little complicated, and said secretly: The Empress of Wei ran to Dongming Mountain... Is she preparing to conquer it in person?
Ye Jingtang noticed that Miss Fan was hesitant to speak, so he turned around and interjected:
"I will definitely accompany you as a guest. The last time I went to the Xihai tribes, I just walked around Langxuan City and didn't even go inside. Speaking of which, I also really want to visit the ends of the earth where the Qinchi tribe is located.
, what on earth is this situation like?”
When Fan Qinghe saw Ye Jingtang's curiosity, she talked about the customs and customs of the Qianchi tribe. However, the Qianchi tribe was too remote and no one lived there anymore. She had never gone there, and she only heard about it from her parents.
While the three of them were chatting, they followed the maid in front and arrived at the house where the guest was staying.
Mrs. Zhao knew the identity of Ye Jingtang, so it was impossible to arrange a small room for him to live as a guard. She was led directly to an elegant courtyard near the lake, where there were four beautiful maids waiting for her orders.
Ye Jingtang put his things in the house and started to clean up and prepare to attend the dinner party at Huaiyan House by the lake.
Although it was inconvenient for the empress to visit her privately incognito, she certainly did not have the temperament to stay in the house honestly. The Night Terror Hall was afraid that she would sneak out to attend a cultural gathering alone and be made angry, so she dressed up as a maid and kept her mask covered.
She wore a veil, her hair was tied up like a married woman, and she also put on eye makeup to avoid being recognized during the dinner.
Fan Qinghe, on the other hand, was not interested in the banquets of princes and nobles. After putting on his normal clothes, he said:
"I'm not going to eat. I'm here to check if there are any problems. Newcomers must be careful."
Ye Jingtang knew that Fan Qinghe had gone to the banquet, and he was sitting with the female officer drinking silently. He didn't say anything at the moment. After cleaning up, he and Yu Hu went to the lake.
——
"Master Wang, I haven't looked much better in the past few days. Did you eat something heavenly and earthly at home?"
"The Duke of Qin really has a keen eye. My father-in-law gave me some Wushan old ginseng a few days ago. My wife made one and soaked it in wine. After drinking it, I was full of energy. Obviously I can't keep this good thing to myself. Today I made a special trip to bring two to Duke Qin.
Just come here..."
"Oh, you're welcome..."
…
The Huaiyan Tower was full of guests, and powerful officials from Jiangzhou came to visit from time to time, and the greetings were endless.
The Qin family is a family of generals. The yang is strong and the yin is weak. Qin Xiangru's generation has no sisters. It was not until the birth of the Queen Mother that a daughter was born in the family. You can imagine the love and affection of the uncles and even brothers in the family. This Huaiyan Tower was also the birthplace of the Queen Mother.
Although the building is not high, it is very spacious. The eight pillars inside support the dome. It will not be a problem to seat two to three hundred guests.
At this time, in the large hall, distinguished guests were sitting on the left and right, and a dancer was performing dance music in the middle. The Queen Mother, dressed in a phoenix robe, sat at the top and in the middle, with a graceful manner and a smile, receiving the literati and courtiers who came to salute.
Although I was very happy to go home, my mother, aunts and sisters-in-law were all sitting respectfully on the left and right. As a daughter, she was still a little embarrassed to sit in the main seat.
However, the empress dowager's status was too high. Even if a celebration was held in Yun'an, it was the empress who saluted her and let her parents take the lead at home, which seemed to be contempt of imperial power. For this reason, she could only sit and wait for the banquet to start.
Jiang'an Gong Qin Xiangru was a military commander. Because his daughter was in the hall, he did not put on any pretense and stood at the door in person, waiting for the guests to arrive with his son.
Those who came to see the Queen Mother were all celebrities and powerful people in Jiangzhou. They basically knew each other, and there was no tension. You could hear chatting and laughing everywhere.
Ye Jingtang was dressed in a black young master's robe. Under the leadership of Hong Yu, he and Yu Hu came to the outside of Huaiyan Tower. They originally wanted to enter in a low profile.
But Qin Xiangru obviously learned his identity from his wife. When he saw him, he smiled happily and came over stroking his beard:
"As the saying goes, beautiful birds grow in the mountains, but Qin didn't believe it at first..."
When Ye Jingtang saw his father-in-law preparing to salute, he couldn't bear it, so he quickly stepped forward and offered his hand:
"Young Master Qin, you don't have to be so polite. I am a member of the Black Government Office. I was only ordered to protect the safety of the Queen Mother during my trip. Duke Qin Guo just treats me as a bodyguard."
Although Qin Xiangru was also a duke, he was granted the title of Shangzhu Kingdom and had real military power in his hands. He was higher than Ye Jingtang in terms of seniority and status. Seeing that Ye Jingtang was so humble, he did not show any courtesy and became very easy-going.
He motioned to walk in together, holding his beard along the way and laughing:
"Historically, there were not many people who worshiped the duke at a young age, and there were even more people who became military commanders in the martial arts world. However, Ye Xiaoyou was the only one who could become a military commander under the age of twenty and be granted the title of Duke.
Although the old immortal of the city also granted the title of Duke Wu An, it was a false title after all, but Ye Xiaoyou is different..."
Ye Jingtang was a little embarrassed to be praised, so he just responded with a smile:
"Thanks to the Holy Emperor and the Queen Mother for their recognition and promotion, otherwise I, a martial artist, would never have reached my current position..."
The two chatted along the way and walked through the hall. The hundreds of distinguished guests sitting there were also not blind.
When they saw Qin Guogong standing at the door, they thought they were waiting for Wu Guogong to arrive. However, they found that they had specially waited for the black-robed young master to enter the door, and they knew that the black-robed young master had an extraordinary status.
The Duke of Qin is the real powerful Duke, and the prince has to give him face when he sees him. There are only a few people in the capital who can allow the Duke of Qin to go out to greet him. With such a young age, only the remaining princes of Liang Prince, and Gang Yifei are soaring.
The Duke of Wu'an.
The Crown Prince of Liang is so low-key that he would like to think of himself as nothing. He obviously won't run to the southeast, so there is no need to guess his identity.
After the famous Jiangzhou celebrities here guessed Ye Jingtang's identity, they wanted to get up and say hello, but when they saw that Ye Jingtang appeared in a low-key manner and had no intention of overshadowing the guest, they were a little hesitant.
When Ye Jingtang was greeted by the Duke of Qin, he knew that his identity had been revealed. He also bowed his hands to the officials and scholars who were looking over, and then sat down on the right side of the Duke of Qin. Next to him was Qin Xiangru's eldest son Qin Bochong, who was more than ten years older than the Queen Mother.
He is considered the heir to the throne and has the same status as Wang Chihu.
Qin Xiangru waited for Ye Jingtang to sit down before taking a seat behind the small case. He wanted to chat for a few words, but then turned his eyes to the veiled beauty sitting next to Ye Jingtang and asked:
"Who is this……"
Because it was a private banquet, and the person meeting was the Queen Mother, there were quite a few people who came with their wives, but Ye Jingtang was obviously not married. Qin Xiangru also felt that the height of this woman seemed a bit familiar, so he still became a little suspicious about it.
Ye Jingtang didn't dare to reveal Hu Niuniu's identity, so in order to cover it up, she said with a smile:
"The accompanying guards made Duke Qin laugh."
"Guard? Haha..."
As soon as Qin Xiangru heard this, he understood that it was the female guard who was responsible for cleaning the gun. After smiling meaningfully, he didn't look at it any more, and instead introduced the guests to the Night Jing Hall.
The Qin family was hosting a banquet, but only a few of them dared to show off and came late. Now the hall was almost full. The governors, magistrates and naval generals of Jiangzhou City were all there, and the others were the heads of large and small families.
Although the heads of the sitting family seem to be all Confucian scholars, their backgrounds are definitely not low. Half of them are old ministers who have retired from the court. Most of the remaining people have people in their families who are officials in the court, like sitting on the left hand side of the Night Terror Hall.
Chen Helan, who was sitting in the third seat, was the eldest brother of Chen Hezhi, the assistant minister.
As for the seats opposite Qin Guogong, there are still several empty seats. The only one in Jiangzhou who can sit there is Wu Guogong.
Without Duke Wu present, the banquet could not start. Seeing that it was getting dark, Qin Xiangru was a little annoyed and said in front of the audience:
"This Wu Song came here in a donkey cart..."
Not long after he finished speaking, footsteps were heard outside the gate of Huaiyan Tower.
The Night Terror Hall and the guests present turned around and saw a group of people walking outside the door.
The leader is an elder in his fifties. Not to mention his appearance, his beard is longer than that of the Duke of Qin, and his shape is also beautiful. He deserves the title of "The Beautiful Beard Duke". He is dressed in a brocade robe and has a posture like a tiger walking like a dragon. He looks like a tiger walking like a dragon.
Quite impressive.
There were several entourages behind him, including two young men, one of whom must be his nephew, holding Zhang Qin in his arms; the other was holding a literary fan and seemed to be a talented scholar.
When the guests saw Wu Guogong arriving, they all stood up to greet him:
"Duke Wu Guo is finally here..."
Qin Xiangru frowned, looked at Wu Guogong's beard, and raised his hand to touch his own, obviously sensing something was wrong.
Wu Guogong smiled brightly. After entering the door with his robe in hand, he first stroked his beard like an old actor on the stage before speaking:
"I have grown a good beard recently, and I took a long time to take care of it at home. I have made Duke Qin wait for a long time. I apologize..."
Beards are a symbol of masculinity. Even in the court, having a beautiful beard makes you look more majestic when wearing official robes. Therefore, men with beautiful beards attract much attention wherever they go.
Ye Jingtang saw Wu Guogong's smooth and beautiful beard, and his eyes showed a bit of surprise, feeling that he was extraordinary. Looking at Qin Guogong's beard, it was obviously shorter, and his aura was gone.
All the guests present knew that Wu Guogong was coming with bad intentions, but they did not expect to suppress Qin Guogong from this angle, and their eyes immediately became strange.
What Qin Xiangru was most proud of was his handsome beard. When he found out that his old rival had such a handsome beard, his eyes were naturally wrong. He dropped his hand touching his beard and said curiously:
"When we met during the Mid-Autumn Festival, I remembered that Duke Wu's beard was not that long. Did he just cut off the horse's tail and stick it to his mouth?"
When Wu Guogong saw Qin Xiangru's face, he was so proud that he could not help but hold his beard and tugged it to show that it was true:
"I can't help it, I'm so talented, I just didn't bother to keep it in the past."
"..."
Qin Xiangru felt that Wu Song was secretly asking for some unique remedy, but his beard did not have a parent, so he retorted:
"It seems that demolishing the pagoda did have some effect. Now it looks much more powerful than before."
"puff……"
The guests sitting here who knew the allusion of the 'queque pagoda' all smiled, but did not dare to laugh too loudly.
When Wu Guogong heard this, he became angry, but he didn't get angry at the moment. He came to the front first and bowed his hands:
"The humble minister Wu Song pays his respects to the Queen Mother."
"With no courtesy, Mr. Wu, please take a seat."
The Queen Mother knew that her father and Wu Guogong were always quarreling. When she was a child, she liked to lie down at the window and watch jokes. But as she grew up, she definitely favored her father. She just raised her hand to signal Wu Guogong to sit down.
Duke Wu and his two attendants sat down opposite Duke Qin. He glanced at the Night Terror Hall, but didn't pay much attention. He just looked at the guests and said with a smile:
"I heard that Duke Qin has recently become obsessed with elegant things and likes to play the piano. Wu has been searching hard for the past few months and got a good piano. I specially sent it to Duke Qin. I hope you won't dislike it."
Qin Xiangru and Wu Guogong were both generals who led troops. There must be no problem in arranging troops, but they really couldn't show their literary talent. You can know the depth of it just by looking at the Queen Mother.
However, there are many big names in the literary world in the southeast. As the leader of a wealthy family, Qin Xiangru would definitely make a joke if he didn't understand. For this reason, he has been learning piano, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
Seeing Wu Guogong say this, Qin Xiangru knew that he had no good intentions, but he still smiled and said:
"It's just for fun in your spare time, and you can't go to the elegant hall. Does Wu Guogong want to give Qin a piano and let Qin play a song in the hall?"
Wu Guogong was not stupid and would not give Qin Xiangru a chance to show off his skills in court. He slightly raised his hand and asked his son to put the piano on the small case and unwrapped the red cloth.
Ye Jingtang and Yu Hu both watched the two people's verbal exchanges with relish. At this time, they looked across the way with the guests, and saw that the person on the case was really Zhang Haoqin.
The seven-stringed guqin is shaped like a banana leaf, and the paint is quite beautiful. It looks dark green from a distance, but it has a dark red color, showing a transparent glass-like texture. Just looking at the workmanship, you can tell that it was expensive to make.
Although Yuhu's skills were average, he had quite a collection of famous pianos. Seeing this, he couldn't help but secretly nod his head, and it seemed that he already regarded this piano as his treasure.
As guests, they are all experts in chess, calligraphy and painting. After seeing this qin, they nodded slightly and kept admiring:
"The workmanship of this piano is truly exquisite..."
"Whose handiwork is this?"
"It should be the owner of Lin An Yuqinfang himself..."
…
Qin Xiangru's level of appreciation was not low. Seeing Wu Guogong really take out such a good piano, he couldn't help but be a little confused.
And Wu Guogong did not beat around the bush, he stood up and gestured to Qin on the table, and said with a smile:
"The appearance of the piano is like a banana leaf. At first glance, it is green, but at closer inspection, it is red.
"Indeed...ahem..."
"..."
As soon as the words came out, there was a commotion in the hall!
At first, Chen Helan and other literati wanted to compliment him, but they immediately realized it and their eyes became very weird. They had to hold in their breath to keep from losing their composure. Some of the people who couldn't hold it in had their drinks sprayed out of their noses.
come out.
Before the Empress of Wei could react, she approached Ye Jingtang slightly and asked with her eyes.
Ye Jingtang didn't react at first, but when he saw the strange behavior of the scholars present, he was startled after thinking about it for a moment, and whispered in his ear:
"Qin Xiangru calls me "Master". At first glance, he is a donkey, but at closer inspection, he is a pig."
?!
Oh my god...
The Empress of Wei's eyes widened a bit. Although she had long heard that Jiangzhou literati had vicious lips and teeth, this was the first time she had seen what ruthlessness meant.
Compared with this, Miss Hua is so elegant...
When Qin Xiangru heard his name, even if his literary talent was not high, he reacted very quickly, and his face turned green at that moment.
But this is how literati scold you. When people comment on Qin, they don’t mention you. They mention Qin by name. You can’t say that you are scolding yourself.
Furthermore, so what? Can we drive Wu Guogong out because of the homophonic problem?
Everyone is on an equal footing, and he is not the emperor...
In the Jiangzhou literary world, it is not shameful to be scolded by insinuations, but it is shameful to be unable to retaliate.
But Duke Wu came prepared, how could he repay this?
Qin Xiangru touched his beard and looked at his eldest son Qin Bochong who was sitting next to the Night Terror Hall.
Qin Bochong is the heir to the Qin family. Because I suffered the disadvantage of being uneducated, I was much harsher on him than on the Queen Mother, and he was considered both civil and military.
But Qin Bochong was born as a general after all, and it was impossible to delve into these things. His father suddenly felt frustrated. Although he was annoyed, he couldn't find a suitable topic to fight back in a short period of time.
Here, even if Duke Wu Guogong asked a question, the guests would not dare to speak rashly; as for being a good old man, there is no need to think about smoothing things over.
Duke Guo of Qin went to Duke Wu's house and said in court that the pagoda looked like a big sparrow. Duke Wu was so angry that he didn't go out for half a month. When he came back, he cursed them, which was a courtesy. They were quarreling, and Duke Wu was afraid that he would turn around and scold them.
Shower head.
There was silence in the hall for a moment.
When Duke Wu saw that Duke Qin's face turned green, he was filled with intoxication and continued:
"Why doesn't Duke Qin say anything? Does it mean he doesn't like this piano? Why don't Wu throw this non-zhu and non-green thing into the lake?"
Although the Queen Mother felt that Mr. Wu Guogong had two brushes, her own father was speechless after being rebuffed. She was still a little unhappy and moved her lips slightly, wanting to give him a lesson.
But she opened her mouth to scold Mr. Wu, and Mr. Wu apologized in person. She must have felt even more upset. After all, she had regained her place. Mr. Qin refused to retaliate, so he had to let his daughter stand up. Wu Guogong would be happy for at least a whole year when he returned.
The Queen Mother had no choice but to take a look at the Night Terror Hall to see if the omnipotent lobby could do anything.
Ye Jingtang was sitting upright, although he felt that it was not appropriate for him to intervene when the two princes were quarreling with each other.
But Qin Xiangru is still his father-in-law, so it is obviously inappropriate for him to sit back and watch being scolded.
Ye Jingtang saw the Queen Mother's eyes asking for help, and began to look around, thinking hard for a moment, and then turned sideways to his brother-in-law Qin Bochong and whispered a few words.
Qin Bochong was thinking about countermeasures in his mind when he heard a whisper in his ear. His eyes suddenly lit up. He first bowed to Ye Jingtang, then quickly stood up and trotted to Qin Guogong and whispered behind him.
Wu Guogong observed the actions of everyone in the hall, and his attention was mainly on Qin Bochong, the eldest son of Qin. Naturally, he saw Ye Jingtang's little movements, and he frowned and looked at them again.
When the guests present saw Uncle Qin rushing to help him, they naturally became enthusiastic and looked at Duke Qin to wait and see.
And the fact did not disappoint the guests present.
When the Duke of Qin heard his son's words, the frustration on his face immediately disappeared. He stood up and laughed three times:
"Hahaha~! How could Qin not like Duke Wu's generous gift? If he had known that Duke Wu was coming, Qin specially planted a welcoming pine on the mountain opposite the lake. Please take a look - the pine looks like lettuce, but it looks like nothing from a distance.
Belly, there is no knot at close range - do you think it is true or not?"
"Buzz..."
As soon as he finished speaking, exclamations suddenly sounded in the hall.
The appearance of the piano is like a banana leaf, which looks green at first glance and red at closer inspection.
The pine looks like a lettuce, with no belly when viewed from a distance and no knots when viewed up close.
It’s hard to say whether the straight pine tree on the mountain across the lake looks like a lettuce in its outline at night, but the straight trunk does have no belly or joints.
But the guests here are all educated people. How can we not hear the second line of the couplet, which says - Song looks like my grandson, but he has no sense of scale when viewed from a distance and lacks etiquette when viewed up close.
This pairing is simply ingenious, and I feel that the Taoism is a bit higher than Wu Guogong's first couplet.
Everyone's eyes were full of surprise and they all nodded in praise.
The Empress of Wei also showed a hint of amazement in her eyes. She turned to look at the handsome young man in black beside her and seemed to want to ask - did you really just think about it?
When Wu Song heard this response, he no longer had a hearty smile on his face, but he didn't have a bad face either. Instead, he put his hands behind his back and glanced at Ye Jingtang sitting next to him:
"There is an expert behind the Duke of Qin."
This time, Qin Xiangru started to wander, stroking his beard and jumping up and down in front of Wu Song, gesturing to Ye Jingtang who was seated:
"This young master is incredible. Although he is young, he is of the same generation as us, and in the entire Wei Dynasty, there are only a handful of people who can surpass him in martial arts. Tell me, Brother Wu, do you still dare to get angry?
"
When Wu Guogong heard this, he instantly understood the identity of the young man in black. The displeasure in his eyes dissipated a little, and turned into surprise. He cupped his hands and said:
"It turns out to be Duke Ye Guo of Ye Jingtang. I have admired him for a long time."
Ye Jingtang was just helping out, but when he saw Qin Xiangru tapping him directly, he felt a little ashamed, stood up and cupped his hands and said:
"I hope Duke Wu will not take the jokes at the banquet seriously."
Wu Guogong raised his hand slightly: "Of course you won't take the joke seriously, otherwise the last time we were at the house, Wu would have already broken the cup as a sign and held Brother Qin down to hit the board.
"However, when Duke Ye first arrived, he gave Brother Qin advice, which is a bit partial. Since Duke Ye is also good at this, Duke Ye will not mind if Wu finds another place, right?"
The guests sitting at the back saw that the black-robed young man was the famous King of Hell next to the empress, and their eyes were obviously a little surprised.
However, when discussing in the literary world, there is always a lot of scolding. Both parties are the princes of the country, so they are not afraid of getting into trouble with scolding. For this reason, some people started to take offense:
"Yes, both Wu Guogong and Qin Guogong are the pillars of the country. They guard the southeast for the Holy Lord. Ye Guogong came all the way and only gave Qin Guogong advice and did not let Wu Guogong talk back. I'm afraid it would be unfair..."
Even the Empress of Wei next to her was watching the excitement without taking it too seriously. She looked at her and quietly pulled up her skirt, which should have been saying - Come on! No matter you win or lose, I will show you something nice.
Ye Jingtang didn't care about fame and fortune, but in order to help his father-in-law, it was really not appropriate to hurt Wu Guogong, so he said:
"You are a martial artist in the night. I only know a little bit about poetry and songs. Duke Wu wants to teach me, a junior, a lesson. Naturally, I have to stand up straight and receive the punishment."
"Sigh, Duke Ye's words are harsh. How dare Wu dare to teach Duke Ye a lesson in court?"
Wu Guogong said this, but his actions were not polite at all. He turned back to his seat and sat down, raising his hand to signal to the scholar next to him:
"This is Wu's son-in-law Jiang Wenyuan. You may have heard his name before. I brought him out to see the world during this trip. Since Duke Ye is also good at poetry and poetry, and he is the same age as my son-in-law, why don't you guys come and compare notes?
?”
"Oh..."
The guests sitting here felt that this scholar looked familiar just now. When he heard the name of Wu Guogong, he remembered that he was a talented scholar who had just emerged in Lin Ancheng. He didn't dare to say anything about his writing skills, but he quarreled at the Wanghailou literary meeting and insisted on mentioning the four people in Jiangzhou.
Hou Yuelin, one of the great talents, was accused of being autistic and nicknamed "Zui Kui". Wu Guogong brought him here this time, obviously as a military adviser to deal with Qin Guogong.
Jiang Wenyuan, who was sitting next to him, saw his father-in-law come back from being scolded. He was already angry in his heart, so he stopped talking and stood up and gave a scholarly salute:
"Jiang Wenyuan, a young student, pays homage to Duke Ye."
Ye Jingtang thought he was going to fight Wu Song in a one-on-one fight, but now a substitute appeared, and the pressure immediately increased.
But hundreds of pairs of eyes looked at it, and Ye Jingtang couldn't back down, so he raised his hand and saluted:
"Nice to meet you."
Qin Xiangru had already sat down in his seat, and when he saw Wu Song actually dragging his son-in-law out to beat him, he was afraid that he would not be scolded by the night terror, so he was a little unhappy:
"The three gentlemen here are joking with each other. Don't you think it's rude to ask your son-in-law to come out and support you?"
Wu Song stroked his beard and said: "The literary world is not big or small, and talent and learning are high or low. Duke Ye's martial arts are world-class, and he does not have the advantage in the literary world. It is a good talk when it is spread, don't you think?"
The guests present heard that Ye Jingtang was famous for its erudition, and in order to watch the excitement without taking it too seriously, they also nodded and cheered:
"That's right. Those who serve as officials should be courteous and virtuous, and should not be ashamed to ask their subordinates. If the superiors can only communicate with their peers, what is the use of having hundreds of civil and military officials on pilgrimage?"
"Mr. Chen's words make sense..."
…
The Night Terror Hall had already come out, and he had no intention of going down. In order to avoid scaring the scholar opposite, he took off his saber and handed it to Yuhu. Wearing only a black young master's robe, he came to the center of the hall, raised his hand and said:
"At the banquet, regardless of official status, we just need to be equal to each other. Brother Jiang invites you first."
Jiang Wenyuan has his father-in-law as a backer, and he is not afraid of night terrors. In terms of literary talent, he is not afraid of a military leader. He first spread his literary fan, pretended to be polite, and looked at all the guests:
"The people sitting here are all elders from Jiangzhou, and they are all scribes. Jiang took the elders here as the theme and wrote a couplet - the elders hold the square scarf and spread the breeze."
As the words rang out, the eyes of the guests present showed boredom.
After all, this kind of pairing of flattering the dignitaries here is difficult for school children, and even the little maids outside listening can figure it out.
And Ye Jingtang did not go beyond what everyone expected, he said without thinking:
"The scholar untied his belt and sprinkled half a foot of turbid spring."
"hiss……"
The hall fell silent, and everyone took a deep breath.
The originally elegant and easy-going guests in the room obviously sat up a little straighter, their eyes were full of weirdness, and there were suppressed "chichi" sounds from behind.
Yuhu and the Empress Dowager obviously understood the meaning, their faces were a little red, and they looked at the calm and calm Ye Jingtang. They felt that their dignitaries were a bit too much, how could they harm other people's talented people like this...
Such an easy-to-understand pairing, not to mention Yuhu and the Queen Mother, even Qin Xiangru understood it, his eyes were filled with brilliance, he clapped his hands and exclaimed:
"Okay! Brilliant! But half a foot is still too exaggerated. I peed my shoes. Nephew Jiang Shi doesn't look bad. Qin thinks it's more appropriate to change it to half a foot..."
"Hahaha……"
The guests were not very funny at first, but when they saw Qin Guogong taking the lead, they naturally couldn't hold it in anymore, and the hall burst into laughter.
Jiang Wenyuan, who was originally elegant and elegant, suddenly turned green. He didn't expect that this powerful Duke of Ye would play couplets and be worse than those acid scholars.
When Wu Guogong saw that his son-in-law was embarrassed, he was so angry that he raised his hand and slapped the small case:
"Jiang Wenyuan, Duke Ye is so open-minded, why are you so reserved? Where did your ability to scold Hou Yuelin in Wanghai Tower go?"
Jiang Wen saw this and did not dare to make any further excuses. He paced back and forth in the hall while shaking his folding fan. After thinking about it for a long time, he proudly spoke:
"Your eyebrows are only an inch wide, but your piercing eyes are three-pointed with lust. If you don't have a bad reputation in the four directions and an official body in the five tripods, how can you be worthy of discussing the six arts with me?"
As the words came out, the hall suddenly became silent.
This thirty-five-character first couplet is obviously not from the same plane as the one just now.
The literati present knew that Jiang Wenyuan was serious about his actions, and their faces became solemn.
Let's not talk about the content of the first couplet. Just "from one to six" can make people die. Without some real talent and practical knowledge, it is not easy to memorize the first couplet, let alone the second couplet.
The Queen Mother was originally very excited, but now her eyes became nervous.
The empress of the Wei Dynasty also frowned, secretly thinking that something was wrong, and wanted to give Ye Jingtang a trick.
But Jiangzhou's literary circles are so domineering in their starting moves. My younger sister might be able to catch it, but she doesn't dare to put her head in. What kind of move can she make?
Qin Xiangru's smile froze slightly. He glanced at Jiang Wenyuan, who didn't know what the importance was, and then looked at his eldest son, obviously signaling that he should think of a way to help him to wake him up, so as not to embarrass Mr. Ye Guo on the spot.
But Qin Bochong didn't have much literary talent, so he couldn't deal with a literati like Jiang Wenyuan who relied on his words.
There was almost deathly silence in the Huaiyan Tower. Everyone was meditating hard while looking at Ye Jingtang who was standing in the hall and pacing.
Jiang Wenyuan was holding a fan in his hand. When he saw that Ye Jingtang was sweating on his forehead, and his eyes showed a certain amount of contempt, he didn't bother him.
Ye Jingtang looked stern and calm, but his forehead was indeed sweating. He put his right hand behind his back and rubbed it gently, pacing back and forth in the hall.
The Empress Dowager protected her lover after all. She was afraid that the night terror would be suppressed and she would lose face, so she wanted to open her mouth and let Jiang Wenyuan confront him, so she could interrupt him.
But before the Queen Mother opened her mouth, she found that Ye Jingtang had stopped, looked at the scholar opposite with a smile, and spoke clearly:
"Young Master is six feet tall, but his mediocre facial features hide all aspects of his sourness. He only has a 30% talent and a good tongue. Why do you want to compete with others?"
"Ouch!"
As soon as he said this, the whole hall was in an uproar!
Many literati and poets who were still frowning and thinking looked shocked when they heard this, and some even slapped their thighs. They really didn't expect that Duke Ye, as a military leader, could really think about it in just a few short trips back and forth.
Come up with words of response.
The first one can be said to be a little clever, but this one is the real skill.
The thirty-five-character long couplet is still from one to six. Without extraordinary ingenuity and quick wit, it is difficult to hold back the second couplet of six to one, let alone the sentence is smooth and consistent with the artistic conception, and the words are returned exactly as they are.
But after pacing back and forth a few times, you can face each other. Is this thinking about a thousand-mile horse? How fast is it turning?!
Qin Xiangru's eyes were full of surprise, and he stopped clapping his hands exaggeratedly. Instead, he touched his beard and nodded slightly, feeling that it was not unreasonable for Ye Jingtang to reach such a position at such a young age; even Wu Song looked surprised.
Needless to say, the Queen Mother was a little suspicious that the black-robed young man in the hall only wanted to touch her erotic guard all day long.
The Empress of Wei might have had a short circuit in her brain. She looked at the Night Terror Hall and frowned in deep thought, but she didn't react at all.
Ye Jingtang made himself dizzy thinking about it, raised his hand to wipe his forehead, took a literary fan from a scholar's table, spread it and shook it twice:
"What do you think, Brother Jiang?"
Jiang Wenyuan patted the folding fan in his hand, and his forehead was obviously sweating.
But with so much fame present, if he can't suppress him, he will have to become a stepping stone for the other party to become famous. Just lose to the four great talents, but if he loses to a martial artist, will he still have the dignity to hang out in Jiangzhou's literary world in the future?
But the opening move is a decisive word, and it is obviously not easy to hold back a more difficult one in a short period of time.
Jiang Wenyuan frowned and patted the folding fan in his palm for a long time. It was not until everyone frowned in anticipation that he spoke:
"Standing in front of the hall tonight, I should have shocked everyone with my words, but I never thought of widening the courtyard and narrow road to stop a rough man."
"Buzz..."
When the guests heard this, they all nodded secretly and whispered to each other.
The difficulty of this couplet is self-evident, as the name of Night Terror Hall is included in it; it also describes the psychological situation of encountering a rough man in a large hall when he was planning to become famous on the spot.
To make the confrontation neat and tidy, it must also fit the current situation and be no less tricky than the previous couplet.
Qin Xiangru, Mrs. Zhao and others were secretly sweating, but there was no lack of expectation in their eyes.
Even Duke Wu Guogong was stroking his beard, waiting for Ye Jingtang's response.
According to what everyone thought, even if Ye Jing Tang came out this time, he would probably have to frown and pace around for a long time.
But what everyone didn't expect was that they underestimated Ye Jingtang's meticulous thinking.
Ye Jingtang had seen Benben fight Hua Qingzhi before, and knew that it was difficult to add names to the couplet. After getting up, he spent his free time thinking about this.
The process is nothing more than taking apart the names of both parties word by word to see how to properly form the first couplet and how to neatly align the second couplet.
If Jiang Wenyuan wanted to use his name, he couldn't use the three words "Ye, Jing, Tang". This range is not very big at all and is equivalent to a guessing question.
Seeing the question, Jiang Wenyuan really hit the target. Ye Jingtang felt a bit like "I am a fucking genius" in his heart, and he responded directly after lifting his left hand:
"At this time, we are far away in Jiangdong, and the literature is bound to shock thousands of families. Who would have thought that the new building in the ancient courtyard would be tied with thin strips..."
The last word was "too much" and she didn't say it out loud. She just clicked it and signaled Jiang Wenyuan to continue.
"..."
As soon as everyone turned around, Ye Jingtang slapped the second line in the face, and many people didn't react at all.
Wu Guogong and Qin Xiangru were still analyzing the first couplet. When they heard Ye Jingtang speak directly, their brains were obviously short-circuited, their brows were furrowed and their eyes were blank.
The scholar and poet sitting here often engages in this kind of verbal sparring, and his reaction is much faster. He understands that the ending of Night Terror Hall is "Who would have expected that a thin dog would be tied up in the new building of the ancient courtyard."
A thin dog is facing off against a rough guy, but swearing at someone is too harsh, so I don't say anything until I point it out, just to prove that I can fight against them.
Seeing Ye Jingtang reciting the second line of the second line faster than anyone present, and matching the current situation, and scolding each other tit for tat, many celebrities were no longer surprised, but frightened.
Could this fucking thing be a human brain?
Jiang Wenyuan folded the fan and clapped his hands lightly, his face turned a bit pale, and he seemed to be frightened by Ye Jingtang's attitude of opening his mouth.
However, Ye Jingtang hid the last word because he meant no harm to the couple, and Jiang Wenyuan was not so angry that he vomited three liters of blood.
The other party was already merciful, and Jiang Wenyuan obviously had nothing to say. After all, Ye Jingtang was quicker to lower the line than he wanted to be, and it would be self-defeating.
After Jiang Wenyuan was silent for a moment, he raised his hand and made a scholarly salute:
"Ye Gong is both civil and military, Jiang is convinced."
Ye Jingtang's mind works really fast, and there is really no difficulty in the entertainment activity of dismantling and analyzing pairs word for word. If he writes poems and songs based on the topic, because the scope is too large, he will have to overload his brain.
Not arrogant, he returned the courtesy and said:
"It's just a small skill, not literary talent. Brother Jiang is not an ordinary person."
"Excellent."
Jiang Wenyuan seemed to be shocked. He silently returned to his seat and sat down without speaking.
The hall was quiet for a moment, everyone was obviously reminiscing about the verbal exchange just now.
Qin Xiangru was also stroking his beard and thinking about it. After being pushed by Mrs. Zhao on the shoulder, he realized that he was cold. He quickly sat up straight and clapped his hands:
Bang bang——
"Discussing in the literary world is an elegant act. Winning or losing does not harm the friendship. The Duke of Ye Kingdom is talented and thoughtful, and Jiang Xian's nephew also lives up to his reputation. After watching such a big show, how can we do it without wine? Come and serve wine. I wish you all a toast to the night.
A cup for the Duke..."
"Yeah yeah……"
"Duke Ye's talent is really scary. If he were to practice martial arts, he would be inferior to his talent. If he were from Jiangzhou, I'm afraid even the four great talents would have to go around..."
"Thank you all..."
…
Ye Jingtang picked up his wine glass and was polite to the dignitary who was toasting. Suddenly he noticed something was wrong next to him.
The Empress of Wei finally returned to normal, with an unexpected surprise in her eyes. If it weren't for the public, she would have held Ye Jingtang down again, put a knife on her neck, and asked why she deliberately hid her stupidity to tease her before!
Ye Jingtang might be afraid that Hu Niuniu would settle the score with him, so he took his time drinking and explained:
"Making a couplet is not about composing a poem, it's just a matter of correcting each word and having the right words to speak. I've been learning it for more than half a month, and it's not surprising at all that I can master it."
Would you call this a little better?
Just have a mouth?
The Empress of Wei's eyes widened slightly, she was obviously shocked, but she didn't say much at the moment. She just picked up the wine bottle and poured wine for Ye Jingtang. Her eyes were still filled with joy. It seemed that she felt that this trip to Jiangzhou was worthwhile...
…
——
It was a bit awkward to copy poems in class. The couplets were all my own ideas. I took two days off and spent the whole day thinking about them.
The effect of writing it is definitely not as amazing as directly using the poems of Li Bai and Su Shi. After all, Aguan only has this little ink. If he can write a masterpiece that will last forever, why should he write a web article?
Let's all just read it. For the sake of the large number of words, please give me a monthly ticket. I'm going to get a backdoor or2.