592: Chapter 587: Displaying Great Divine Power 592: Chapter 587: Displaying Great Divine Power Family Head Song Tianbao was holding a teapot while drinking tea, so he ca up with the idea of having people compose poems about the teapot.
“Co, Li Si, fully unleash your imagination.
It doesn’t matter whether it’s original or from ancient poets, as long as the description is fitting, you can score high,” he said.
Song Tianbao had high expectations for this Li Si, as he was a capable servant within the Song Family.
Su Xuan began to see him in a new light, and from his robe, he pulled out a rectangular box.
What was this?
Su Xuan continued to look on as he opened the box, revealing a pair of glasses inside.
Damn, it turned out he was nearsighted.
However, that wasn’t the point.
The key was that Su Xuan keenly noticed that the glasses had no lenses…
Alright, let him continue.
Li Si put on the glasses and cleared his throat.
Perhaps there should be applause here.
Indeed, the surrounding crowd began applauding, giving him encouragent, having the Song Family’s own support.
Song Tianbao nodded in approval as if a celestial masterpiece that would astonish the heavens and move spirits was about to erge!
Su Xuan was almost scared to pee.
Could it be that Mount Everest really harbored extraordinary hermits?
He feared he wouldn’t qualify for the role of the literary and martial arts instructor.
No matter, he must steal the Heavenly Mountain Snow Lotus.
Opportunity, oh opportunity!
Su Xuan thought this was the perfect chance.
Should he send Qiuyue?
He had a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand reservations.
Didn’t they rember she was also poisoned?
What if she got the Heavenly Mountain Snow Lotus and ate it prematurely?
Su Xuan and Li Yuanyuan were both waiting to head west.
It would be too tragic.
Thus, Su Xuan discarded that idea, although he still feared Qiuyue might sneak off to do it.
But from here, he could see the outside, and seeing Qiuyue wasn’t moving, Su Xuan finally felt relieved.
Li Si didn’t disappoint and finally spoke!
“Pity the colorful moss hanging on the branches, cherish the fleeting gold brushing the jade cheeks.
Don’t laugh at the old villager’s keen discretion, as the elderly lady resolves to serve the tea herself.”
Indeed, he proved to be a top literary talent among the Song Family’s servants.
Not focusing on what he said but rely the twist of words, which already outshone others, instantly caused thunderous applause.
Li Si kept thanking the curious onlookers, saying, “It’s all thanks to your praises.
Without them, there wouldn’t be my fruitful results.”
“Li Si truly is extraordinary!”
Song Tianbao was also stunned.
Damn, Li Si actually had such skill.
Too strong, how had he not noticed before?
Although Su Xuan’s literary comprehension wasn’t exceptionally profound, he still discerned sothing from Li Si’s poem.
“Everyone, quiet down!
Is there no decorum left when the Family Head is here?
Is it your turn to speak?”
Su Xuan went on flattering wildly.
Song Tianbao, who was sipping tea from the small pot, ntally gave Su Xuan a thumbs up.
Everyone imdiately fell silent, waiting for Song Tianbao to develop.
Unfortunately, before he could start speaking, Su Xuan began.
“Everyone, quiet down.
From my many years of studying literature, Li Si’s poem must be referring to a urinal!”
Song Tianbao was drinking tea directly from the spout, and upon hearing Su Xuan’s words, he sprayed the tea far from his mouth.
Everyone else was also angry at Su Xuan.
“Su Xuan, don’t talk nonsense,” Song Tianbao queried, while he began contemplating the poem: Pity the colorful moss hanging on the branches, cherish the fleeting gold brushing the jade cheeks.
Don’t laugh at the old villager’s keen discretion, as the elderly lady resolves to serve the tea herself.
“Damn, it really is.
Although it might not seem apparent at first, the later part about the old man and old woman, resolving — Fuck, Li Si really was referring to a urinal!”
Li Si was scared out of his wits.
What about the urinal?
A pot is still a pot, wasn’t the response just now quite good?
Su Xuan repeated the initial topic, which was to compose a poem about the teapot.
If Song Tianbao were to take Li Si’s poetic aning literally, that would an the teapot he was holding was a urinal and the tea water was urine—such an outright insult was unheard of.
“Drag him away!
Next!”
Song Tianbao, quivering with anger, thought to himself, what sort of characters had he encountered today?
He had hoped to find a literary gem within the Song Family, but it turned out to be a bunch of eccentrics.
Next was Wang Wu.
Wang Wu’s face was covered with moles, and due to others’ distance from him, his solitude and coldness led him to read books and entertain himself.
It was this that allowed him to be well-versed in literature.
Though his looks were unfavorable, his deanor was outstanding.
He flicked his fringe to the side and said fiercely, “Please give a topic, I can hardly stand it anymore.”
“Oh, very good indeed.”
Song Tianbao finally saw soone so thirsty for knowledge.
As the saying goes, promote the worthy without regard for relations and appoint the capable without avoiding the ugly.
Better for him to be ugly, to keep his daughter distracted while they studied together, which was preferable.
Song Tianbao thought of asking him to compose a poem about an object.
He walked a few steps but couldn’t find any suitable object.
He regretted not reading more in his younger days.
“Well then, compose a poem about bamboo,” he decided.
Song Tianbao, not wanting to witness a rerun of the previous disaster that embarrassed the Song Family, intentionally chose an easy topic.
Bamboo, well, that wasn’t hard.
“Alright, today I, Wang Wu, will humbly present everyone with ‘Bamboo Stone.’ Clinging steadfastly to the green mountain, standing with roots in cracked boulders.
Weathered by thousands of hardships yet still resilient, enduring the winds from all directions,” he declared.
Damn, that was impressive.
People nearby were still in shock.
Not only was the poem not a tongue-twister, but it also sounded graceful and aningful.
No one expected Wang Wu’s literary level had reached such heights, causing everyone to regard him with new respect.
Everyone was waiting for Song Tianbao’s comnts.
This poem was definitely worth 100 points.
If it scored 99, that one point would undoubtedly be because he was too ugly.
But these were minor issues now.
In today’s cultural field, Wang Wu was sure to win.
“Hmm, very good, excellent work.
Did you compose this?” Song Tianbao asked.
“The Family Head is correct, it is indeed my own work.
That night I got up in the middle of the night to go to the outhouse.
Hearing the bamboo being whipped by the wind, I feared there were ghosts.
I was imdiately inspired to finish quickly and rush back to my room, regardless of whether the wind was from the east, west, south, or north.”
Wang Wu thought to himself, waiting for Song Tianbao to announce the final scores.
He was finally about to announce them!
“I declare that Wang Wu’s score in this cultural contest is…”
Everyone held their breath, Wang Wu’s performance had been too stunning, and so even thought he might score 101 points, although the perfect score was only 100.
“Wait!”
Su Xuan, who thrived in chaos, stood up.
How could he tolerate soone scoring higher than him?
That was an insult to the intelligence of a genius, absolutely unacceptable.
“Oh?
What do you want to do?
It’s not your turn yet, you’re up next.”
Song Tianbao said, looking at him.
“I have doubts about his poem.”
“Then speak quickly, there are so many others waiting.”
Su Xuan looked around at everyone and then at Wang Wu, to make sure he was indeed Wang Wu and not Zheng Xie.
“Let tell you the truth.
Wang Wu is lying!
The author of the poem is not him, but a famous painter, Zheng Xie.”
Su Xuan, seeing everyone’s eyes widened waiting for what was next, was quite pleased with the outco, so he said, “Bamboo Stone is a quatrain written by the great painter Zheng Xie.
The poem praises not the tenderness but the fortitude of the bamboo.
The author subtly expresses his high-minded and noble ideas by extolling the bamboo that splits the rocks.”
Everyone then realized, so that was it.
They had been admiring Wang Wu unnecessarily; the man nad Zheng Xie was actually the true creator.
A few enthusiastic fans asked, “Where is Zheng Xie now?
I want to get his autograph; his writing is simply superb!”
“He has already passed away.”
“Alright, I guess I won’t go after him then.”
…
Family Head Song Tianbao was about to give Wang Wu one hundred points, but Su Xuan interrupted him—and for good reason.
Wang Wu nearly deceived everyone; it seed Su Xuan truly had Eyes of Golden Fla.
“Ahem, I was just about to declare that Wang Wu scored zero, but Su Xuan interrupted .
I wanted to share sothing about Zheng Xie, but since Su Xuan has already covered it, I’ll skip that.
As for Wang Wu, although he is talented—enough to recite ‘Bamboo Stone’—his character is problematic.
Therefore, I’ve decided that a person who fails the character test cannot continue the competition.
Take him away; next!”
Wang Wu had no objections to this decision, though he retained the right to appeal.
He even told people nearby that it was an inspiration he had while using the outhouse at midnight, and it turned out to be plagiarized.
He said he’d beat Zheng Xie up if he ever t him.
Wang Wu glanced at Su Xuan.
If not for Su Xuan exposing him, he might have indeed scored high.
Su Xuan really exerted himself to suppress his rival.
“Su Xuan, why would you do this?
Song Shuangshuang likes ; how can you be so heartless!”
After saying this, he ran away crying.
The crowd was perplexed.
What?
The young miss likes a pockmarked face?
If that’s the case, everyone might as well get one.
“Hmph, Wang Wu really thinks a toad can eat swan at.”
Song Tianbao said disdainfully, even if he had no objections, Shuangshuang wouldn’t fancy him anyway.
“Co on, Su Xuan, stop watching the excitent; it’s your turn now.”
Song Tianbao told him, as the crowd’s interest in Su Xuan had increased since he exposed Wang Wu.
Shuangshuang, watching from the second floor of the hall, saw the commotion below and realized it was Brother Xuan competing.
She eagerly tiptoed and peered down, hoping earnestly he would do well; she had been waiting all along for him to beco a Gold dal Tutor.
“I was ready long ago; prompt .”
Su Xuan was indeed capable.
In the previous round, he effortlessly scored full marks by reciting the Three Character Classic, and this ti he intended to continue with full marks.
“Heh, young people, don’t get too arrogant.
It leads to impatience and diocrity, perpetuating the problem of overestimating oneself.”
Song Tianbao seed to be giving advice but actually didn’t want this outsider, Su Xuan, to score high.
“Earlier, I used bamboo to test Wang Wu.
Since you could identify Zheng Xie as the author of ‘Bamboo Stone’, it seems you’re familiar with bamboo.
Well then, let’s see another poem about bamboo from you to check if your previous success was just fluke.”
Everyone watched Su Xuan, curious how he would handle the challenge.
“This is too easy.
Here’s one by Su Dongpo’s ‘Bamboo’: Better to live without at than live without bamboo; without at one grows thin, without bamboo one grows dull.”
Su Xuan responded almost instantly without hesitation, demonstrating quick reflexes and competitive acuity.
“This…”
Everyone was stunned.
The test shouldn’t be over just like that, within rely two seconds.
Seeing Song Tianbao still sowhat confused, Su Xuan said, “If you wish, I can recite another.”
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