The Prodigal Son

Qin Yu was completely unaware of what was happening in the imperial court.

After having breakfast, Qin Yu went to the College of Arts to check in.

However, he has already decided that he will only clock in, but will not actually go to work.

The main responsibilities of the Academy of Literature were to compile history and books, conduct imperial examinations, and draft various court documents. In addition, it was also responsible for recording important dialogues between the emperor and his ministers.

The Academy of Literature was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites, and its highest official was the Grand Secretary, who held the rank of third grade.

Su Yu, that old scholar, also held the position of Grand Secretary of the Academy, and his son Su He was the Chancellor of the Confucian Temple Academy.

As soon as Qin Yu entered the Academy of Arts, several angry gazes shot towards him.

Qin Yu was completely baffled.

At this time, all officials of the Academy of Literature of the fifth rank or above should be attending the court assembly.

The rest are mostly small karaomi.

He tried borrowing money everywhere, but he couldn't get any from these little karami!

I didn't eat their rice, so why are they staring at me like that?

Qin Yu glanced at everyone and asked casually, "Who's the boss here? Come out and speak!"

"I am Su Zhen, a fifth-rank scholar of the Academy of Literature!"

A middle-aged scholar slowly rose and sternly rebuked, "How dare you, Qin Yu! You see me, an official, and yet you don't even bow?"

"salute?"

Qin Yu smiled and immediately produced the imperial gold medal, asking, "Who should bow to whom?"

Upon seeing the gleaming gold medal, Su Zhen and everyone from the Academy of Literature had drastic changes in expression.

After hesitating for a moment, Su Zhen, with a face full of resentment, led everyone to kneel on the ground.

"Alright, no need for such a grand gift!"

Qin Yu stopped the crowd, "I'm just here to go through the motions. If we can all get along, everything is negotiable! Anyone who tries to act arrogantly in front of me, don't blame me for being impolite!"

They're just bullying their master!

The petty person has gained power!

Everyone cursed inwardly, yet they were forced to bow and pay their respects.

Qin Yu strode over to a nearby chair with an air of indifference and sat down, his gaze landing on Su Zhen. "Your name is Su Zhen. What's your relationship with that old man, Su Yu?"

Su Zhen replied, "Lord Su is my uncle."

Qin Yu suddenly realized, "No wonder I felt like you guys didn't like me!"

You're wrong!

Su Zhen shook his head, "Our dislike for you has nothing to do with Lord Su!"

"Oh?"

Qin Yu asked curiously, "What's the reason?"

Su Zhen stood tall, displaying an unyielding and indomitable spirit. "All those who enter the Academy of Arts are learned individuals! Now, an incompetent scoundrel has arrived, like urinating in wine or throwing excrement into food. He truly disgraces the name of the Academy!"

"Holy shit..."

Qin Yu's face twitched violently, and he looked at Su Zhen with obvious displeasure: "You call yourself a scholar? You keep talking about excrement and piss, aren't you ashamed!"

"I'm afraid if I put it too elegantly, you won't understand!"

Su Zhen chuckled softly, "For example, if I say 'leftovers,' 'tribute porridge,' or 'autumn diarrhea,' would you understand?"

Yoho!

Trying to show off your knowledge to me?

Is this a way of intimidating me?

"So you're showing off your knowledge, huh?"

Qin Yu raised an eyebrow at Su Zhen. "Here's what we'll do: I'll give you a simple couplet. If you can match it, I won't hold it against you. If you can't, don't blame me for being impolite!"

"good!"

Su Zhen agreed with an air of arrogance.

Qin Yu is nothing but a good-for-nothing who only knows how to eat, drink, gamble, and whore. What kind of couplets could he possibly come up with?

Qin Yu leaned back lazily in his chair. "The three lights: sun, moon, and stars! Right?"

"..."

Su Zhen's arrogance vanished instantly.

The Three Lights... Sun, Moon, and Stars?

How can he possibly respond to this?

Other officials in the Academy of Arts also began to discuss it.

"The number three corresponds to the sun, moon, and stars. If we use other numbers, it doesn't fit in the sequence!"

"Yeah, that just doesn't make sense!"

"I reckon the person who came up with this couplet is completely wrong."

"Of course..."

Soon, everyone reached a consensus.

This is absolute!

That's impossible!

Qin Yu saw this and chuckled inwardly.

This world has no elegance, no praise ...

Look at how you bastards treat people!

Su Zhen pondered for a long time without success, then looked up and said, "That's an absolute statement; there's no way to refute it!"

"Who said that?"

Qin Yu raised an eyebrow and smiled, "You call this absolute? Is this all the people in your Literature Department are capable of?"

Hearing Qin Yu's mockery, Su Zhen couldn't help but scoff: "If you're so capable, why don't you come up with the matching line yourself!"

"OK!"

Qin Yu pursed his lips. "What will you say if I come up with the answer?"

Without hesitation, Su Zhen replied, "Whatever you say!"

There's no way there could be a second line for this first line!

This kind of absolute answer is something that even Qin Yu's uncle, Su Yu, couldn't come up with, let alone Qin Yu.

He simply couldn't believe that Qin Yu could come up with such an absolute answer!

Qin Yu thought for a moment, then said with a grin, "If I can solve it correctly, you'll be in charge of all my chores at the Academy from now on! But I'll collect your salary for you!"

"good!"

Su Zhen readily agreed, "But if you can't come up with the answer, you'll have to be responsible for serving us tea and water in the Literature Department from now on!"

"OK!"

Qin Yu grinned.

Upon seeing Qin Yu agree, the students from the Literature Department immediately revealed expressions of schadenfreude.

Qin Yu is doomed to lose!

No one could possibly come up with such an absolute answer!

Qin Yu swept a smile over the crowd. "Gentlemen, anyone want to raise the stakes?"

Add more?

Upon hearing Qin Yu's words, everyone immediately perked up.

"I'll bet a hundred taels of silver!"

"I'll bet one hundred and fifty taels!"

"I'll bet eighty taels!"

"I'll bet two hundred taels..."

Without hesitation, everyone started placing bets.

They suddenly realized that Qin Yu wasn't so bad after all!

This guy is practically a money-giving boy!

"I……"

Qin Yu glanced at the crowd with disdain. "Who do you think you are? You wouldn't dare gamble with me unless you had at least ten thousand or eight thousand taels of silver. Do you think I'm such a petty person?"

This little bit of money isn't even enough to fill a tooth gap!

Hearing Qin Yu's words, everyone couldn't help but feel indignant.

You bastard borrowed over a million taels of silver, and now you're all high and mighty.

With just that meager salary, how much silver could we possibly earn?

"Fine! I'm too lazy to waste my breath on you bunch of poor bastards!"

Qin Yu waved his hand, "Alright, if you win, I'll give you silver! If you lose, each of you must compose a poem flattering me on the spot, and leave your inscription and seal!"

A poem that flatters him?

Everyone's face turned green.

For them to fawn over Qin Yu, that stinking piece of dog shit, wouldn't that be incredibly shameful?

"What, don't you all think this is absolute? You're afraid to take the gamble?"

Qin Yu provoked him.

"Gamble! What's there to be afraid of gambling on?"

"Yes, I don't believe you can come up with a matching couplet!"

"Exactly! Let's bet! Who's afraid of who!"

Sure enough, spurred on by Qin Yu, everyone agreed to gamble with him.

"Remember your words! Anyone who dares to renege, I'll squeeze the shit out of their head!"

Qin Yu gave them a warning look, then called out loudly, "The Four Sages: High in Martial Arts and Literature!"

As soon as Qin Yu finished speaking, everyone's expression changed abruptly.

The Four Emperors of Ningguo.

Emperor Gao, Emperor Xiaowu, Emperor Xiaowen, and the current Empress.

The Four Sages correspond to these four emperors.

However, the empress was still alive and well, so naturally she did not receive a posthumous title, which can be omitted.

Not only is the antithesis perfect, but it also flatters the Empress!

This places the Empress alongside the three wise rulers preceding Da Ning!

Moreover, these four wise rulers are associated with the sun, moon, and stars!

Wow, that's brilliant!

That's brilliant!

Is this how you flatter someone?

The younger generation is truly formidable!

The key point is that this also involves the Empress.

If they don't acknowledge these "Four Saints," and word gets out, they'll have to be careful that the Empress doesn't take notice of them!

They wouldn't dare to renege on their promise even if they wanted to!

Su Zhen's face twitched, and she lowered her head in shame. "I lost! I accept my defeat!"

"Not bad, at least he didn't cheat! He's a natural-born working-class talent."

Qin Yu gave him an approving look, then glanced at the others. "And you guys?"

Meeting Qin Yu's gaze, everyone immediately groaned in despair.

Su Zhen has already admitted it, so how can they deny it?

Finished!

This will ruin his lifelong reputation...