Chapter Thirty-Five: Mischievous

  The little girl seemed to have been prepared early, squatting behind Wei Zuo, covering her mouth with her hand, and humming to hold back her laughter. Every time the young master said this sentence, someone would be unlucky.

  Fu Jiong saw the couplet earlier, and looking at Wei Zhao's extremely serious expression, he immediately retracted his smile, pretending to be calm, but his small face was flushed red.

  Yi Yun's mouth corners rose with a strange smile, and she quietly took a step back, completely exposing Wei Zhao. Lan'er's small eyes flashed with doubt, seeing Yi Yun's hint, and hurriedly also stepped back, revealing Fu Yang, Xiang Qian, and Wei Zhao extremely prominently.

  He wouldn't think that Wei Zhao would despise him, but rather that he was afraid of being exposed again in front of Jia Ren and losing face. With a cold smile, he took a step forward and said with great courtesy: "Haha, Brother Wei misunderstood, we're just playing games, it's all just for fun, no need to take it seriously."

  Wei Xiao seemed to have not heard, his eyes fixed intently on the carving, one knife and one chisel, extremely careful and slow, apparently already in the final stage.

  Feng Youli saw Wei Zuo and didn't respond, but instead coldly smiled even more, and said: "Actually, it's very simple for you, with Brother Wei's talent, just listen to it once and you can already see the door."

  He didn't wait for everyone to respond, and stood up, walked to Wei Zhao's side, and smiled as he said: "Couplets, also known as pillar couplets or paired verses, have four characteristics: First, the number of characters in the upper and lower lines is equal, and the structure is the same. The number of characters in the upper and lower lines must be the same. Second, the parts of speech at corresponding positions are the same, for example, high corresponds to low. Third, they must have a harmonious tone, with level and oblique tones combined. According to the rhyme scheme, the first line should end with an oblique tone, and the second line should end with a level tone, with an oblique start and a level finish. Fourth, the rhythm is consistent, that is, the pauses in the upper and lower lines must be consistent, so it will sound smooth."

  He finished speaking, smiled and looked at Wei Zuo with a proud face: "In my great Qi, three-year-old children can make poems, five-year-olds can make couplets, seven-year-olds can write rhapsodies. I think this couplet should not be difficult for Brother Wei?"

  With a courteous and humble tone, accompanied by gestures of guns and sticks, he spoke in a long and winding manner. Those who didn't know him would really think that he was so modest and polite, and had such a deep and friendly relationship with Wei Zhao.

  Wei Zhao looked at the carving and let out a long sigh, then raised his head to look at Feng Youli's knowing but unspoken expression, shook his head with a smile and said: "The difficult parts I understand some of, simple ones... really don't get it."

  Fu Jiong couldn't help but want to laugh despite learning from Wei Xiao's calmness. He could already imagine that when Feng Youli found out the truth about the three goose poems, wouldn't he also spit blood like Chen Zhuo?

  The little girl's small hand pinched on Wei Zhuo's shoulder, pursing her small mouth to pretend to be a lady, but in her careful thoughts, she was thinking, after Young Master's shocking move today, would he spank her butt?

  She had long understood that Feng Yu was a man of courtesy, and seeing him behave in such a way not only did not disappoint her, but instead made her excited and curious, with a faint blush on her face and a strange smile flashing in her beautiful eyes.

  Feng Youli's face turned ugly as he listened to Wei Xiao's words, feeling that they were all sarcastic remarks about himself. Simple things won't do, only the difficult ones are good?

  With a hint of embarrassment on his face, Wei Xiao turned to Wei Zhao again and continued with a forced smile: "Hehe, Brother Wei, it's actually quite simple. Couplets can be generally divided into: Spring couplets, Joyful couplets, Longevity couplets, Mourning couplets, Victory couplets, Aspirational couplets, Proverbial couplets, Humorous couplets, etc. Spring couplets are further divided into: General-purpose couplets, Occupational couplets, Zodiac couplets, etc. Humorous couplets are further divided into: Palindromic couplets, Place-name couplets, Character-analysis couplets, Repeated-character couplets, Overlapping-character couplets, Embedded-character couplets, Same-radical couplets, Double-meaning couplets, True-words couplets, Tongue-twister couplets, Hidden-character couplets, Riddle couplets, etc. Each type of couplet has its own characteristics. Generally, people who master one type can easily grasp the others. Brother Wei only needs to master one type, and the rest will not be difficult for him."

  Fu's pale face turned bright red, his whole body trembling, and his lower abdomen felt like it was going to cramp. This letter was polite, but how could he not understand why he had ended up opposing the teacher? He would find fault with the teacher for no reason at all, and put on a superior airs, looking down on him. If he knew that the teacher had never even considered him, not even as much as an ant on the ground, wouldn't he collapse and vomit blood to death?

  The little girl was hearing this for the first time, her big eyes shining brightly, her small face very serious as she memorized. She wanted to learn a bit more, couldn't lose face in front of Young Master.

  Wei Zhao wasn't hearing this for the first time, furrowed his brow slightly, looked at the already exposed facial features of the carving, raised his head to look at Feng Youli, and nodded with a smile in his eyes: "Hearing your words is better than reading ten years' worth of books." After finishing speaking, he continued to carve, his expression focused, his eyes burning brightly. A person's expression is the hardest to imitate; if you want to carve it lifelike, without ten years of skill, it can't be done.

  If someone else had said that, Feng Youli would have nodded and smiled in satisfaction, but for some reason, he felt that Wei Zhao's words didn't quite ring true. He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, so he just stiffened slightly and forced a smile, saying: "So, Brother Wei is joining us?"

  Wei Zhao was already in the zone, his right hand flying, wood shavings falling non-stop, his eyes fixed intently, his expression stern. Yet there wasn't a hint of sentiment or time to put on a polite show, nor was there any habitual flattery.

  But in Feng Youli's eyes, it was not the case. Wei Zhao completely ignored him, looked down on him, and despised him! He suppressed the anger in his heart, staring coldly at Wei Zhao with the corners of his eyes, his chest heaving up and down.

  Feng Youli's face turned cold for a moment, then he sneered and said, "I don't know if Brother Wei still remembers that poem of yours, 'White feathers floating on the green water, red palms stirring the clear waves.' This is a perfect couplet, and it's very well-crafted."

  The purpose of this sentence is very simple, to introduce Wei Zuo's goose.

  Fu Jiong's face turned upwards towards the sky, his complexion flushed red, and the corners of his mouth twitched. Suddenly, he felt that in this world, the happiest person is actually someone who doesn't believe anything and knows nothing - a fool.

  Xiangliang's small fist gently tapped on Weizao's shoulder, not daring to use any force. Her eyes were fixed tightly on the carving in Weizao's hand, her eyes shining brightly, her small face flushed red.

  "White hair floating on green water, red palm stirring clear waves" With a gentle and dreamy tone, I recall that "two three four five, six seven **", looking at Wei Zhao's focused profile, looking at the little maid who is intimate with him, smiling slightly in secret, thinking "this should also be a playful work with the little maid behind him?"

  Yi Yun smiled to herself, her expression suddenly changing. She secretly calculated the time and hastily apologized, saying: "Two young masters, please wait a moment, Yi Yun has something to attend to, I'll be right back."

  With a bow and a smile, he nodded, fully revealing the modest demeanor of a refined gentleman.

  Yi Yun nodded slightly in response to Wei Xiao's unheard words, beckoning Lan Er as he walked gently towards the inner room.

  Wei Zhao furrowed his brow, his eyes fixed intently as he carved the final strokes. Behind him, Fu Yang and Xiaoyu held their breath in rapt attention.

  PS: Collection growth is very slow, and recommendations are even slower. Little officials are thick-skinned, collecting and signing in.