novelhk Chapter 86 We're not in a hurry
Chapter 86 We're not in a hurry
The entire room fell silent instantly; no one dared to offend the young page.
But Qin Xuan wouldn't tolerate him. He pushed through the crowd, stepped forward, and smiled:
"A needle is forged through countless trials, and it moves across the cloth with each twist and turn."
"Hey, this person's poem is quite good. Is he the pageboy he just offended?"
"This sounds like a compliment to the young pageboy; it seems he's afraid of offending anyone."
"It's a good poem, but unfortunately it's been used for flattery..."
"..."
The crowd buzzed with discussion, but the pageboy's expression softened; after all, the phrase "forged through countless trials" was quite appealing.
He couldn't help but glance at Qin Xuan a few more times, and said coldly, "If I hear you slandering me again, I'll tell my husband."
Qin Xuan smiled slightly, then recited the last two lines of the poem:
"They have eyes on their butts, they only recognize clothes, not people."
Upon hearing this, the audience fell silent for a second before erupting into deafening laughter.
"Brilliant! So this poem can also be used to insult someone, haha, that's brilliant!"
"These past few days, that young pageboy has always greeted those dressed in fine clothes with a smile, but when he sees ordinary people, he hurls insults at them. He really is just like that fine needle used for sewing clothes..."
"They only recognize clothes, not people. How interesting, what a vivid image..."
"..."
There were many scholars present, so they could naturally understand the meaning of the poem.
The young pageboy's face flushed red instantly, and he roared in fury, "Fine! You dare to insult me with a poem? You can forget about getting through this bamboo gate!"
"Since Mr. Bai has established the rules for couplets, what right do you, a mere pageboy, have to judge whether someone can enter the Bamboo Gate?"
Qin Xuan smiled and looked at the pageboy, pointing to the couplets on the left and right sides of the door frame:
"Did you see what's written above? Master Kong Ru wholeheartedly wanted to persuade people to read more, but how come in your hands you're turning people away?"
"People say that even a seventh-rank official has to stand before the prime minister's door, but you, little page, are probably even more powerful than that!"
"You...you must not slander my teacher and the Confucian sage."
The young pageboy immediately became anxious, his face flushed, and said, "Of the six arts of a gentleman, the first is propriety. Even if a person as impolite as you is talented, the Confucian sage would not see you."
"Oh? Where does this gift come from?"
Qin Xuan retorted in a deep voice: "Is fine silk and satin polite? Is coarse cloth and linen impolite? Is exceptional talent polite? Is mediocre writing impolite?"
"Is this how your teacher taught you?"
Hearing these words, the young page was so anxious that he was about to jump up and curse, but how could he possibly be a match for Qin Xuan in terms of eloquence?
In addition, since he was already in the wrong, he could only shamelessly argue, "I have never looked down on anyone as you say. Perhaps you feel inferior to others, which is why you are making trouble here."
"Then why did I just hear someone shamelessly say that I am not qualified to enter this bamboo house?"
Qin Xuan glanced coldly at the pageboy, which immediately made him feel flustered and dare not look Qin Xuan in the eye.
"I was referring to those who can't come up with couplets. If you insist on identifying with them, can you blame me?"
The young pageboy was sharp-tongued and refused to admit his mistake. He even made a subtle threat: "My master asked me to be in charge of assessing the quality of couplets. I am naturally qualified to judge who can enter and who cannot."
Qin Xuan suddenly realized why this little pageboy was so arrogant; he was taking things too seriously.
"Alright, then I'll give you a couplet, and you can decide whether I can get in."
Qin Xuan glanced at the couplet in front of the bamboo gate and said, "The first line reads: 'One must strive to reach the top of a hundred-foot pole and make further progress.' The second line reads: 'Even in the face of countless difficulties, one should not abandon one's studies.'"
"Great! Excellent couplet!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than someone shouted loudly.
"Though there are countless difficulties, one should not give up studying. This is truly inspiring. This scholar is highly talented!"
"No wonder he dares to speak so frankly; such talent is truly admirable!"
"..."
The scholars around couldn't help but admire, while the young page's face instantly darkened.
As Bai Mufeng's student, he naturally knew that the couplet was excellent, but he was unwilling to let Qin Xuan be proud, so he retorted: "Although it has a slightly inspiring meaning, the parallelism is not neat enough and it is not up to standard."
As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar all around.
"This little page is being a bit unreasonable!"
"Shh! Keep your voice down. This is clearly making things difficult for someone. Don't get yourself involved."
"The disciple of the Confucian sage is actually such a person, truly..."
There were many who opposed it, but no one dared to speak out.
Qin Xuan knew the young page would be in a difficult position, but he didn't mind: "Since this couplet is not up to standard, I'll just give you another one."
"He can even compose couplets? Is his mind really that quick?"
"I'm afraid this second couplet can only be done with a bit of effort. After all, composing couplets, like writing poetry, also requires inspiration."
"What a pity about this couplet, it's actually substandard, it's simply..."
"..."
Those around Qin Xuan couldn't help but worry for him, but Zhao Luoying looked at him with pride and admiration.
Our prince is the ancestor of couplets, how could a mere couplet encouraging learning possibly stump him?
"One's character should be as pure as white jade, and one's studies will surely lead to great heights."
Qin Xuan read out the second couplet directly, but still didn't rush to say anything more, waiting for the pageboy's evaluation.
But those around were truly astonished, because the second couplet was even more profound than the first, especially the second line, "Reading is more than just reaching the clouds," which encourages scholars that as long as they study diligently, their lives will soar to great heights.
Such couplets encouraging learning are quite shocking in today's society.
"Which academy does he belong to, a renowned scholar? Such talent is simply extraordinary!"
"I need to write down both of these couplets so I can hang them in my main hall later."
"Fantastic, absolutely fantastic..."
"..."
The young page panicked, staring blankly at Qin Xuan.
If it were just a couplet, he could shamelessly refute it, but this second one was so outstanding that even he couldn't bring himself to slander it.
But since things had come to this point, he couldn't lose face, so he gritted his teeth and said, "Couplets are about parallelism; they must match and complement each other. If they don't match, they are not up to standard."
"Isn't this going too far? This kind of couplet is not even acceptable?"
"This is really bullying, no, it's insulting..."
"How could Bai Mufeng have such a student? Isn't he afraid of losing face?"
Compared to the previous hushed discussions, the crowd was now quite agitated, and thus the sarcastic remarks were not restrained at all.
The young page immediately shouted, his voice sharp but his tone weak, "Quiet down! This is a bamboo hut, not a market. Be quiet."
"It's still not up to standard. It seems that I am indeed lacking in knowledge and skills."
Qin Xuan laughed, and the little pageboy felt he had won. Just as he was about to say something smug, he heard Qin Xuan say, "Fortunately, I still have a lot of couplets in my head. We're not in a hurry. I'll read them to you one by one, and you can judge them slowly."
Everyone was stunned. They were letting the young page assess it slowly? Were they planning to keep going until the very end?
However, these kinds of couplets encouraging students to study are not so easy to write because the theme is set in advance.
Everyone couldn't help but think that Qin Xuan had been so angry that he had lost his mind, which was why he had said such arrogant words.
The young page naturally thought so too, and couldn't help but feel smug, thinking that as long as Qin Xuan randomly came up with couplets, then the two couplets he had just forcibly criticized would be even more justified.
Little did he know that the next fifteen minutes would be the darkest moment of his life.