Chapter 54 (Seeking Collection and Recommendation)

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  Thank you for the reward from the three big shots 'yī bèi zi duó/dú jiàn lán/bā jiè pào cháng é'.

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  Thank you for everyone's support!

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  Listening to Zhou Shao Yang's murderous words, Wei Zuo's mouth corners slightly curled up.

  Zhou Shao Yang took one look at Wei Qiao's calm and collected expression, his eyebrows furrowed slightly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. What he hated the most was Wei Qiao's completely indifferent attitude towards him!

  Zhou Shaoyang's eyes turned cold, and he snorted inwardly. He took two steps forward, facing the crowd below the high platform, took a deep breath, and loudly declared with an arrogant expression: "I'll come up with a couplet, and whoever in Jinling can match it, I'll admit defeat and never set foot in Jinling again!"

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  As soon as Zhou Shao Yang's words fell, not only the people below but also those on stage were all filled with indignation. Such a provocative and arrogant challenge made Zhao Yuan Kui, who had already closed his eyes, unable to bear it and opened them again, casting a cold and severe glance at him.

  "Hum, does this barbarian from the five states even understand couplets?"

  "You uncouth people, how can you be compared with my glorious and prosperous Nanjing!"

  "Don't mention a single couplet, even a thousand or a hundred would be no match for us, the talented scholars of Jinling!"

  Facing Zhou Shaoyang's provocation, the people below suddenly boiled over, and they all shouted angrily with red faces and ears.

  Zhou Shaoyang had a faint smile at the corner of his mouth, and his eyes scanned the audience below with a hint of mockery before turning to Wei Zhao, whose eyes instantly flashed with cold light.

  Wei Zhuo gazed at him calmly, directly ignoring his hostility. As for his arrogance, he simply smiled calmly.

  For his behavior, Wei Zao gave a comment in her heart.

  Looking for death by going to the toilet with a lamp.

  Zhou Shaoyang saw Wei Zao remain unmoved, and his heart grew colder as he laughed inwardly. He glanced at Wu Fangyuan, who had already sat down, and intentionally said in a loud voice: "Listen carefully, my first line is: The oriole's cry echoes on the willow-lined shore, spring night moonlight shines bright."

  Zhou Shaoyang's voice was loud, and the crowd below immediately heard it. The crowd fell silent for a moment, then burst into laughter after some thought.

  "Haha, as expected, an uncivilized barbarian, and yet you call this an absolute match..."

  "Haha, this kind of pair, I can come up with a dozen or so just by opening my mouth, no need for anyone else..."

  "This week Shao Yang is indeed arrogant, daring to bring out this kind of move, hahaha..."

  "Haha, right, right, it's extreme, it's extreme..."

  Zhou Shaoyang listened to the discussion below, let out a cold hum, and looked at Wei Zhao with a cold smile on his face.

  Wei Zhao furrowed his brow slightly upon hearing Zhou Shao Yang's couplet, and then lowered his head to think carefully. He seemed to have seen this couplet when he was reading books, but it had been a long time and he couldn't quite recall it.

  Zhao Yuankui opened his eyes and looked at Zhou Shaoyang, his eyes slightly narrowed, his right hand unconsciously reaching for the smooth chin.

  Wu Fangyuan's face revealed a strange expression. At first glance, this couplet seemed simple and unremarkable, but since Zhou Shaoyang had issued the couplet, publicly and solemnly provoking all of Jinling's talented scholars, if it were truly that simple, then he must have been crazy to invite humiliation upon himself.

  The people below saw the ones on stage fall silent and couldn't help but quiet down, after a fit of fervor they too calmed down, starting to carefully ponder this pair.

  "The warbler's trill on the willow bank, a spring evening with a clear moon"

  Suddenly, several people on the stage let out a low cry, and whether it was Zhao Yuankui, Wu Fangyuan or Chu Han, they all looked at Zhou Shaoyang with strange eyes.

  Wei Zhao also raised his head in surprise, looking at Zhou Shao Yang with a somewhat unexpected expression. Zhou Shao Yang's couplet was actually a ten-character palindrome!

  "Warbler's cry on willow bank sports in spring clear night moon bright, bright moon night clear spring sports willow bank warbler's cry"

  What's even more rare is that both the words and context can be connected! Spring warmth, bright moonlight, clear wind on a moonlit night, gentle breeze by the willow bank, oriole singing amidst green willows.

  Looking at Zhou Shaoyang's cold and arrogant face, the ten-word palindrome couplet was indeed very difficult, but it wasn't absolutely impossible. There were still some possible matches that could be made with great effort. His heart stirred slightly, and he fell into deep thought once again.

  The people under the stage became even quieter at this time, and Zhou Shao-yang's couplet was indeed a strange pair. Maybe in three to five months someone would be able to come up with a match, but for now no one could think of a matching couplet on the spot.

  Zhao Yuankui's right hand suddenly stopped stroking his chin, his eyes widened as he stared at Zhou Shaoyang, a strange light flashing in his eyes!

  Wu Fangyuan was taken aback, looking at Zhao Yuankui in surprise, rarely seeing him so flustered, and couldn't help but follow his gaze to Zhou Shaoyang.

  Zhou Shaoyang caught sight of Zhao Yuankui's loss of composure, and the smile at the corner of his mouth grew thicker. He looked at Wei Zao with a complacent curl of his lip, quietly watching him without hurrying or asking questions, calm and composed.

  Wei Zhao ignored Zhou Shao Yang's veiled pressure, his eyes narrowed slightly, his head slightly raised, in a contemplative pose.

  "Do you think he can come out?" The hoarse voice of the old man in the golden yellow curtain slowly echoed.

  Qin Yun bowed his head slightly, hesitated for a moment, and said, "I don't know."

  The old man in Chinese clothes seemed unsurprised, flipped open "Taizu's Unofficial Biography", looked at those two magnificent poems, his eyes shining brightly, and narrowed his eyes saying: "He can!"

  Qin Yun's mouth twitched slightly, hesitated for a moment, but still didn't say it out loud.

  The old man in Chinese clothes seemed to have heard what Qin Yun wanted to ask, looked up at the high platform and said calmly, "Now someone needs to break their alliance."

  Qin Yun's heart surged with emotion, and he hastily ran to the front, knelt down on the ground, and exclaimed in a loud voice: "I am willing to go through boiling water and walk through fire, and I will not refuse even if I die a thousand times!" Since the old man in magnificent attire had spoken out the secret, it was his trust in him, taking him as his confidant.

  Yin Kong Master put down a chess piece and looked at Yiyun, who was clearly distracted, and smiled: "But are you worried about Wei Shi's master?"

  She seemed to have heard something beyond the words and her pretty face turned slightly red as she said in a low voice, "Master, do you think Wei Gongzi is worthy of me?"

  Master Yīn saw that he didn't hide or explain, and was straightforward, couldn't help but smile even more, raised his right hand with Buddhist beads, and said: "Didn't you see those two poems?"

  Her expression changed slightly as she looked at Master Yin Kong in surprise, her beautiful eyes blinking as she pursed her cherry lips and asked in a low voice, "Master, how did you know?"

  Yin Kong Master chuckled and looked at her with a seemingly profound gaze.

  Her slender body trembled with a sudden start, her face full of surprise. It took her a long time to gradually calm down the astonishment in her heart, and suddenly she remembered what she had said before, but it was what Fu Yang had said about that person.

  There is a kind of person who will inevitably soar to great heights even without wings.

  "Ah, this is a palindrome poem!" Suddenly, the originally quiet high platform, Chu Han suddenly had a look of surprise on his face and jumped up with a slap on the table.

  Wei Zhuo was taken aback, and in an instant, a flash of memory burst forth in his mind, illuminating the fleeting recollection that had been hidden in the depths of his brain.

  Zhou Shaoyang looked at Chu Han with a smug expression, then shifted his gaze to Wei Qiao, his smile filled with mockery, as if saying "You know, but what can you do about it?"

  "Palindrome Poetry"

  Several people on the stage were not ordinary people. As soon as Chu Han's voice fell, except for Zhao Yuankui, the others immediately fell silent and then looked at Zhou Shao Yang with a face full of surprise and eyes wide with astonishment.

  Palindromic poetry is not unheard of, but its structure is rigorous and its meaning is unified. Even a master poet with profound skills cannot produce one in just three to five days. Therefore, palindromic poetry is extremely rare in the Great Qi dynasty, and the most recent one has to be traced back to the previous dynasty!

  The people below immediately fell silent as well. For them, palindrome poetry was almost a forbidden land, and it would be impossible to create one in this lifetime unless by chance.

  At this time, almost everyone's eyes were cast on Wei Zhao, who was still lowering his head in contemplation.