As the sun was setting, the entire capital was golden, and the streets were bustling with people, but no one paid attention to the beautiful scenery.
An exceptionally decorated and prosperous inn, at this time a silence, no one also paid attention to this beautiful scenery.
Inside the inn, a plainly dressed teenager, with an innocent face, looked towards the opposite side of the shocked mouth twitching, seven meat and eight veins of the shopkeeper, black eyes disc beads like a turn, hooking the corner of the lips to ask softly:
“What, is it not okay to say? Then how about this, the mountain springs on Jingquan Mountain are quiet, the sky is connected to the end of the water and the water is connected to the sky; or, the mountain springs on Jingquan Mountain are quiet, the fog locks up the mountain and the mountain locks up the fog.”
The seven-veined shop boy’s eyes reddened at these words, and he almost cried!
Do not bring such ah, others think hard for a long time and a half days can not think of a next couplet to come, think out of one on the half day of rejoicing, the whole room of people on this couplet only came up with three to come!
You’ve changed one word, two words, three words, two couplets, and now you’ve thrown out two more! In the blink of an eye you’ve come up with one, in the space of a glass of water, you’ve come up with seven couplets for just one couplet!
You can’t drink water that fast!
When the shopkeeper looked at the innocent Zhu Pingan, the shopkeeper felt that he had seen a monster!
After Zhu Pingan finished speaking, he placed his gaze on the shop chap once again with an innocent face and his mouth slightly open.
The people in the shop who were concentrating, meditating and puzzled, were all shocked and put their eyes on the simple countryside boy in front of them, as if they had seen a ghost.
The entire inn was silent.
However, a voice soon broke the silence of the room.
“That, two couplets and you’ll be free of food and lodging for a day, right?” After Zhu Pingan nodded his head at the shopkeeper, he paused before asking again.
The shopkeeper’s eyes were lifeless as he nodded numbly and mechanically.
And then. The shop fellow then shuddered again, his eyes widening as he looked at Zhu Pingan with a shocked expression.
You, what are you you doing?
That look. It was as if a little girl walking alone on a remote path was suddenly cornered by an unsuspecting strong man!
“Free food and lodging means, eat whatever you want, no money, right?”
The plainly dressed teenager on the opposite side of the room had a happy look on his face when he saw this. Those dark eyes instantly changed to be as clear as the summer sky, and with a fiery, honest and straightforward heat.
The shop boy nodded once more, his eyes shocked as he looked at Zhu Pingan, his hands trembling a little.
Then, the gazes of the entire crowd in the lobby were once again focused on Zhu Pingan.
After Zhu Pingan received an affirmative answer from the shop chap, he slightly tickled the corners of his lips and raised his head to look at the couplets hanging on the third floor railing, shifting from the first pair of couplets, to the second pair of couplets.
Then. The crowd was even more shocked, because in this inn when it came to the couplets, everyone picked the ones they felt were easier from these six couplets, they didn’t do it in order, the difficulty would be higher if they did it in order, and for themselves, maybe the later ones would be easier than the earlier ones. Now, seeing Zhu Pingan looking at the second pair of couplets in order, that’s why he was shocked.
This brat can’t be faking it.
Regardless of what the crowd thought, Zhu Pingan’s eyes had now landed on the second pair of couplets. This pair of couplets was much longer than the first. It was so much longer that the difficulty had also increased a lot. This pair of couplets had a total of 28 characters and the content was like this:
White Pagoda Street, Yellow Blacksmith. He builds red furnaces, burns black charcoal, produces blue smoke, flashes blue light, hardens purple iron, and sits north to south, striking things.
If you look at the content alone. This couplet should be a couplet that the proprietor of this inn didn’t know which corner of the blacksmith’s shop he copied in front of the people’s favourite couplet. There are seven colours in this couplet: white, yellow, red, black, green, blue and purple, the colours are embedded in nouns and verbs, and then the couplet is followed by the four directional words of east, west, south, and north, and the most crucial thing is that this couplet strings all these elements together, and there is the theme of a blacksmith hitting the iron in this way.
“This pair of couplets, has anyone else ever matched it?” After reading the couplets, Zhu Pingan pointed at the pair of couplets and asked the shopkeeper next to him.
“Yes there is a pair.” The shop chap’s voice was trembling a little.
“Oh, then read it out to save me from accidentally repeating it again. Don’t worry, I won’t change the words this time.” Zhu Pingan spoke with a slight hook of his lips.
“White Pagoda Street, Yellow Blacksmith, builds a red furnace, burns black charcoal, emits green smoke, flashes blue light, quenches purple iron, sits in the north and faces the south to beat things; former ancients, later generations, reads the left biography, learns the right army, pays homage to the superior minister, sits in the middle hall, makes subordinates, goes out to the generals and seals the kings and queens”
The shopkeeper opened the booklet with a trembling hand, turned to the second page, and read the couplet again. The voice no longer had the arrogance and contempt it had at the beginning, there was only shock and uneasiness.
“Strong ambition, good temperament.” Zhu Pingan sniffed, hooked his lips slightly and praised.
A certain teenager in the lobby who was dressed in an unassuming manner pushed the teenager called Wensheng beside him with his hand, and said with a smile, “That kid complimented you on your magnificent ambition and good temperament.”
The teenager next to him called Wensheng looked at Zhu Pingan and smiled unconcernedly, “I’m curious as to what kind of next couplet he can come up with.”
“Are you so sure that he can come up with the next couplet?” The teenager who was not badly dressed looked at his best friend, Wensheng, and asked.
“Don’t you believe it?” That teenager called Wen Sheng, turned to his best friend and asked in return.
“Heh heh, believe.” The teenager, who was not dressed badly, hooked his lips and smiled.
Just after the dialogue between these two teenagers had ended, Zhu Pingan in the arena had already begun to softly recite the couplets he had made:
“White Pagoda Street, Yellow Blacksmith, builds red furnaces, burns black charcoal, emits green smoke, flashes blue light, quenches purple iron, sits in the north and faces the south to beat things;
Zhoukoudian, Qin scholar, memorises Han Fu, recites Tang poetry, fills in Song lyrics, sings Yuan operas, observes Ming history, and watches spring and autumn through winter and summer.”
Yes!
Only when Zhu Pingan’s words landed did a chorus of hoots and hollers resound in the lobby, and then there were quite a few people who slapped their heads in a daze of realisation, regretting why they had not thought of it earlier.
This young man will be the crowd will we are all familiar with the Zhou, Qin, Han, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming seven dynasties name creatively combined with Han Fu, Tang poetry, Song lyrics, Yuan song, etc., spring, summer, autumn and winter is the name of the four seasons, to see the spring and autumn corresponds to hit something. The most crucial thing is, if the first line is to beat the iron, then this young man’s next line is to rise to the realm of “all things are inferior, only the book is high”, it is simply amazing.
This young man, really not simple.
Inside the hall, for the first time, the crowd focused on Zhu Pingan in the arena with a proper gaze.
