Chapter 154: Jiangnan Tour 8

Chapter 154: Jiangnan Tour 8

Zhou Huilin swallowed hard. He turned to look at the scholar behind him and tentatively said, "Only green lotus and red lotus, opening and closing freely."

Seeing that no one raised any objections, he let out a sigh of relief. "Brother, please proceed."

"Lightning flickers beyond the willows, boats navigate through the dense lotus leaves."

.....

When it was Xu Zeping's turn, he spoke calmly and nonchalantly, "In the three-hundred-mile Jing Lake, lotus leaves sprout from the lotus."

There were too many nervous scholars, so Xu Zeping's calm demeanor inevitably caught the attention of Master Liu. He casually said, "Qingran, do you think this young man is genuinely calm or just pretending?"

In the previous round, the scholars had recited too many poems. Not to mention the scholars themselves, even the two reviewers couldn't guarantee they had completely memorized everything. The reason He Zhu was deliberately making things difficult for them was to test their emotional management. If they could remain calm and get through it, it would be a testament to their ability!

After all, when entering the court as an official, one would face too many instances of deception. If they couldn't even handle such a small scene... it would indicate that their official careers still require much maturation.

Hearing Master Liu's slightly proud tone, He Zhu mercilessly burst his bubble, "If your voice remains steady, I'll believe he's faking it."

Master Liu gave He Zhu a sideways glance, "You rascal, are you making fun of me now?"

Xu Zeping's position was directly opposite Zhou Huilin. With Xu Zeping's recitation, the second round of the flying flower order officially began.

He looked at Zhou Huilin from afar, "Brother Zhou, please go ahead."

With that, Xu Zeping knelt down and sat back, while Zhou Huilin stood up.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Zhou Huilin tightened his fists to steady his voice, "Lightning flickers beyond the willows, rain patters on the pond, dripping and breaking the sound of the lotus."

Xu Zeping clearly remembered that Zhou Huilin had recited this poem during the first round when the scholar Lin, who had been eliminated, had done so, but seeing the two reviewers' indifferent expressions, he realized they had completely forgotten about it. He understood the situation.

Observing the nervous expressions and sweating brows of the other scholars, he became even more certain.

Since Lin Nanlou was targeting their Dongxiang scholars, Xu Zeping smirked, deciding not to hesitate in quietly eliminating the Huaisu scholars.

....

"When the lotus blooms, West Lake is beautiful, perfect for bringing wine. No need for flags..."

As soon as the slender scholar Pang finished reciting, thinking he had passed, Xu Zeping stood up and looked towards Lin Nanlou, "Mr. Lin, this scholar's poem was already recited by the scholar in the red robe with a round face during the first round, don't you think?"

The scholar Xu Zeping called out looked surprised. Had he recited it?

But seeing Master Liu's questioning gaze, he racked his brain and suddenly his eyes lit up, "Yes, yes, yes, I did recite it, in the third round of the first question."

Scholar Pang, who was not broad-minded, immediately harbored resentment towards Xu Zeping, Lin Nanlou, and the scholar in the red robe. Glaring angrily at the three, he stormed out.

With Scholar Pang's departure, the third question of the flying flower order began.

"For the third question, let's use plum blossoms as the theme," Instructor He casually drew a bamboo slip from the tube, "Ou Shan, you go first."

Just when they thought they had finally escaped the pit after the second question, Instructor He threw them back into the pit.

During the second question, Lin Nanlou thought Xu Zeping was just lucky to remember the line.

But when Xu Zeping eliminated three more people consecutively in the third, fourth, and fifth rounds, Lin Nanlou realized it wasn't just luck. Xu Zeping had truly memorized all the poems recited by everyone!

Seeing Xu Zeping's calm yet provocative expression, Lin Nanlou felt fear for the first time. This time, it seemed he had truly underestimated Xu Zeping.

These incidents proved that Xu Zeping was not a magnanimous person. On the contrary, he was somewhat petty-minded.

Lowering his eyes slightly, Lin Nanlou thought, 'Since he has entered Huazhou Academy, I can't blame him for being ruthless!'

"Fortunately, Instructor He's twisted sense of humor has come to an end. Instructor He drew a bamboo slip: 'Xu Zeping.'

Xu Zeping straightened his back and gave a slight bow. 'Instructor He.'

'For the sixth round, the theme is bamboo. The character bamboo will be the first character of each line, and you will take turns.'

Xu Zeping understood Instructor He's intention and looked towards Zhou Huilin from afar. 'A bamboo path leads to secluded places, where Zen rooms and flowers are abundant. Brother Zhou, your turn.'

'New bamboo is taller than old branches, all thanks to the old stems for support.'

'At the boat's tail, a bamboo forest hides the county market, while an old friend still stands alone on the sandbar.'

.....

Listening to the clear recitation of the scholars, Xu Zeping's heart was filled with mixed emotions. One should not be like a frog at the bottom of a well. If not for his extraordinary memory, able to memorize various poetry collections, he would have been reduced to dust by these talented individuals long ago.

Hearing the teacher's suggestion, he felt extremely fortunate.

Time passed quietly, and it was already the hour of Wei. The second round of the flying flower contest was barely over, leaving only twenty scholars on the stage.

Instructor He stepped down from his seat and, looking at the scholars with dry lips, respectfully cupped his hands. 'All of you here are the pillars of our Great Jing Dynasty. Apologies for keeping you from your meals due to the competition. Would you prefer to continue or take a break for a while to have some food?'

'Instructor He flatters us.'

The clear response from the stage carried no resentment. 'We wish to continue the competition!'

The two judges were also enduring the scorching sun and going hungry with them. Even Elder Liu, who is advanced in years, did not complain of hunger. How could they dare to complain of hardship?

Instructor He gestured for Lin Nanlou to serve tea to the scholars. After they drank some tea and took a short rest, Instructor He personally distributed scholar's paper to the twenty-five scholars. The clean paper contained three questions...

The vigorous calligraphy revealed the writer's personality.

First question: Given chickens, rabbits, and ducks in a pen, with 80 heads and 190 legs, and 30 ducks, how many chickens and rabbits are there in total?

.....

A variation of the chicken-and-rabbit problem, the second question involves addition and subtraction techniques, and the third is a classic problem involving two mice piercing a wall.

Looking at these questions, Xu Zeping rubbed his fingers together. The chicken-and-rabbit problem appeared extremely frequently in ancient exams. It seems every teacher favors this question.

Thinking of this, Xu Zeping couldn't help but look up to see Instructor He, only to find Instructor He staring right at him.

As their eyes met, Instructor He blinked and signaled, 'Keep going!'

The seventh chapter of the 'Nine Chapters on Mathematical Procedures' discussed this problem.

Third question: There is a wall eight feet thick. The white mouse bites through one foot of the wall on the first day, while the black mouse bites through half a foot. On the second day, the white mouse continues to bite through half a foot each day thereafter, while the black mouse's progress remains unchanged. On which day will the wall be completely pierced?"