Although young master Zhao was clearly astounded by Xu Que’s performance, he didn’t reveal the slightest hint of it on his face. He stood at his original place, his expression was unmoving. He picked up a cup of tea and took a sip before placing it down on the table.
"Pa da!"
The base of the teacup on the table broke the silence within the hall.
Young master Zhao then spoke, "Ten poems in ten steps, that’s too ridiculous and incredulous. Something as absurd as that cannot be real. This person must’ve already composed these works earlier before he came. When the occasion arose, he then took out the pre-composed poems to recite! Or else, these poems weren’t written by him. He probably copied it from somewhere unbeknownst to me. Don’t be fooled by him!" As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was awakened from their delusions!
Mo Yun Shang who was feeling extremely down and dissatisfied, along with the other students who had been made a fool of by Xu Que finally reacted as soon as they heard this.
That’s right. Ten poems in ten steps, that’s way too absurd.
How was it ever possible that a person was able to compose ten poem and each one of them were extraordinary? That was impossible to achieve!
"Young master Zhao is right. As for that Li Bai, this humble subject finds it extremely hard to believe that he’s capable of writing something as exquisite!"
"Indeed, that’s the case. Also, if everyone was to think about it carefully, all the ten poems shared different sentiments. How was a person able to feel so much and gain so many insights in just ten steps?"
"This Li Bai is incorrigible and arrogant. This humble subject also refuses to believe that those were his own original words. It must be that he had obtained it from elsewhere and used it here today!"
"Outrageous! This man’s actions are too despicable!"
Many students stood out and lashed out in anger.
The group of students who had voiced their support for Xu Que earlier frowned and objected, "Everyone, such words of accusations shouldn’t ever be spoken. If these works were truly written by someone else, based on how extraordinary they are, why haven’t we heard about it before then?"
"That’s right. You know Li Bai as well, he has a strange temperament and personality. He could be honorable at one moment, and a rascal the next. Just based on the fact that he’s very talented, it wouldn’t be impossible that he has the ability to compose ten poems in ten steps. In fact, it would be rather normal for someone as exquisite as him!"
"We have no proof that he plagiarized from someone else. Hence it would be improper for us to assume that just based on subjective ideas and thus negate the effort and works of brother Li!"
"Eh, this humble subject agrees with you!"
With the varied discussions and opinions, the hall started becoming noisy once again.
Madam Ya sat by the corner and gradually regained her senses. When she came to, she saw an entire group of students quarreling, unable to get along with each other. She couldn’t help but frown as she interrupted them, "Everyone, there’s no need to quarrel further. This is just a simple banquet for all of us to become friends through poems. We don’t have to remain friends based on personalities or characters after!"
As soon as she had finished speaking, everyone paused in shock. Even Madam Ya’s expression looked rather displeased. At once, everyone shut their mouths and didn’t dare to speak further.
Afterall, it was known that scholars often disparaged each other. These students had witnessed Xu Que reciting ten poems in ten steps without the need for much preparation. In fact, every single poem which he had recited were of excellent qualities. This caused the rest of the students to feel jealous and envious of his achievements, and thus suggested that these poems weren’t written by Xu Que himself.
However, they had absol
utely no proof to substantiate their claims. All they could do was to be sour about it and vocalize their suspicions. This thus caused Madam Ya to tell them off in a rather fierce and displeased tones. The rest of the students scurried to retrieve their orderly expressions filled with regret and respect.
Madam Ya’s warmth only returned after she saw that the rest of the students had ceased bickering. With a grand gesture, she stood up and spoke, "Regardless of whether the poems were composed by young mister Li or not, there’s no need for us to probe further. After all, this meeting was supposed to be about artistic talents and poem recitals. We’re all here to enjoy the poems. What does everyone think about this?"
The students present all nodded their heads in agreement, "Madam Ya is right. We were being rude!"
"Since that’s the case, shall we proceed with the banquet? Is there anyone here with another poem to share with us?" Madam Ya asked.
Indeed, nobody present dared to open their mouths as they looked down.
There were several students who had prepared poems to recite and yet didn’t dare to recite any at this point.
In all honesty, this couldn’t be helped. After Xu Que had recited his ten poems, who would dare to recite anymore poems and make a fool out of themselves? If Xu Que hadn’t recited this brilliant poems, they could still read it out and might be viewed as passable. What about now?
If none of them would compete in poetry, their self esteem wouldn’t be harmed!
哪怕是号称诗王的莫云尚,这会也低下头,故作沉吟之色,没有回话!如若是平常与人发生了这样的冲突,他必然会奋起直追,绞尽脑汁和灵感去写出令对方折服的诗词来.
Even the Poem King, Mo Yun Shan looked down in embarrassment as well as he muttered under his breath but didn’t speak. If it had been a normal incident where a poem was needed to rival the previous poem, he would definitely have stood up and competed. He would’ve racked his brains for an inspiration to achieve victory over the previous poem.
可是现在,在徐缺那十首足以流传千古的诗词镇压之下,莫云尚第一次低下了他那桀骜的头颅,甚至连再作诗的勇气都没有了.
At this point however, under the crushing pressure of Xu Que’s amazing ten poems, Mo Yun Shan looked down without an answer for the first time ever. In fact, not only was a poetic reply lost on him, his courage was lost as well.
不过也幸亏徐缺吟诗之后就离开了,不然指不定在场这些嘲笑过徐缺的书生们,此刻会如何尴尬呢!
However, he was thankful that Xu Que had departed right after reciting his poems. If not, the students who had mocked Xu Que earlier would be subjected to repeated humiliation.
见众人都沉默,雅夫人眼里掠过一丝失望之色,往屋外看了一眼,心里有些低落了.
Seeing that everyone around was silent, Madam Ya’s eyes revealed an expression of disappointment. She looked outside the hall as her heart sank.
徐缺这一走,唯一感到遗憾的人,也只有雅夫人!
After Xu Que had left, the only person who felt upset and regretful was Madam Ya!
她淡淡叹了口气,美眸又投向了一直沉默不言的赵公子,嘴角才终于有了一丝笑意.
She sighed deeply as her beautiful eyes looked towards young mister Zhao, who was silent and unspeaking. At last, a hint of a smile revealed across her face.
走了一位李公子,好在还有一位四大才子之首在,或许又会有惊喜出现.
Even though young mister Li had left, she still had four of her great students, who might surprise her later on.
想到这,她开口道:"既然诸位不想再谈诗作,那么就对一下对子吧!集思广益,相互切磋并从中受益,才是我们聚会的目的!"
Thinking up to this point, she opened her mouth to speak, "Since everyone doesn’t wish to discuss poetry any longer, let’s proceed with antithetical couplets! The aim of this banquet is for everyone to share ideas and brainstorm together, so that we can all profit from this discussion!"
对对子?
Couplets?
众人一听,顿时眼前一亮,纷纷来了兴致!
When everyone heard this, their eyes lit up as they broke out in discussion once more.
诗词肯定是拿不出手了,但是对对子的话,或许还有一展身手的机会.
When it came to poetry, most of them knew that they didn’t stand a chance. However, when it came to couplets, the field was more even. There was even a chance that they might impress.
众人的目光皆下意识投向了四大才子之首的赵公子身上.
The eyes of everyone landed on the leader of the four great students, young master Zhao.
他们都知道,对对子是赵公子的强项,而且还有对王之王的美称,但赵公子这人脾性淡漠,向来不喜欢主动出对子,反是喜欢对掉别人的上联.
They all knew that couplets were young master Zhao’s strongest suit. He even had the title of Couplets King. However, the students all knew that young master Zhao had a mild and mellow temperament. He never liked to be the first person to kick start the discussion. Instead, he prefered to sit back and vocalize the second half of the couplet.
所以雅夫人一说对对子,大家都有些跃跃欲试.
Hence as soon as Madam Ya mentioned the word ‘couplet’, everyone started to get excited once more.
反正出完题,如果被赵公子对上了,那也没有什么好丢脸的,毕竟人家是对王之王,又是四大才子之首.
They knew that even if they were to be bested by young master Zhao, there was nothing to be embarrassed about. After all, this person was the Couplets King, and was also the leader of the four great students.
但若是能难住赵公子,那肯定是要名震皇城了,如此大好机会,怎能错过呢?
On the other hand, if they could somehow baffle young master ZHao, they would almost certainly gain a reputation for themselves. This was such a great opportunity, and nobody in their right frame of minds would miss it.
于是,众多书生纷纷活跃了起来,不论如何,对对子方面,多多少少都能露露脸,增长一下自己在京城书生圈子里的名气.
Hence the students around all started becoming lively once again. Regardless of the circumstances, everyone was willing to try a couple of phrases and show their faces in a bid to increase their own reputations.
可就在诸位书生摩拳擦掌,准备将自己早就想了几个月的一些绝对拿出来炫一下之时,徐缺的身影,却是不知道什么时候,又陡然出现在大厅门口,而且满脸贱贱的笑容.
As everyone was rubbing their palms in excitement, ready to voice out a clever phrase which they’ve been thinking about for several months, Xu Que’s shadow had appeared right at the entrance. Nobody had noticed this, but he stood there, his face was filled with a sly grin.
"咦?听说诸位要对对子?实不相瞒,在下最擅长的不是吟诗,而是作对呀!"
"Eh? Are you about to discuss couplets now? Truth be told, this humble subject’s forte isn’t in poems. It’s actually in couplets!"
众人扭头一看,差点晕了过去.
When the audience turned their heads to see who was speaking, they almost fainted.
我去,大哥,你不是已经走了吗?怎么又回来了啊!
Fuck, big brother, haven’t you already left? Why have you returned!
而且...作诗还不是你最擅长的?你丫最擅长的是作对?
And…. Poems aren’t your forte? Your damned forte is in couplets now?
你到底是来作对子还是来作对的?
Are you here to discuss couplets, or here to incite a riot?
Can you give us all a chance to perform and excel?