My family has been wielding knives for generations, but now it's my turn to wield a pen!

"Young Master Jiang, you..."

Fang Tong's anger deepened as he listened to Jiang Xiaobai's words.

Fang Tong opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't bother to say anything more. He turned around and walked into the pavilion.

Jiang Xiaobai originally thought that Fang Tong had run away because he was angry.

But looking in the direction Fang Tong had gone, they discovered a long table there.

The table was fully equipped with writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, clearly prepared in advance.

Fang Tong went to the table and immediately picked up a pen to write.

Whoosh!

The pen fell swiftly.

A moment later, Fang Tong put the pen aside, looked up at Jiang Xiaobai, and said, "Come, Young Master Jiang, please!"

"Oh?"

Jiang Xiaobai raised an eyebrow slightly and walked over out of curiosity.

Tang Ningshuang also followed beside her and glanced at the paper.

On the paper were four couplets.

Fang Tong stood to the side, watching with a smile, then tapped his folding fan lightly and said calmly, "Young Master Jiang, your first couplet is..."

"Three teachers from one village and two li, who are ignorant of the Four Books, Five Classics, and Six Principles, dare to teach seven, eight, or nine children—how audacious!"

At this point, Fang Tong's smile deepened: "And what I meant was..."

"Eight scholars from ten villages and nine towns, with a smattering of knowledge in classical Chinese poetry, the Six Books, and the Five Classics, are here to be ranked fourth, third, and second class—utterly absurd!!"

"Hmm, not bad!"

Jiang Xiaobai nodded gently.

Fang Tong's eyes lit up slightly when he saw Jiang Xiaobai's reaction, and he pointed to the second couplet.

"Your second painting is of orioles and swallows, green and red, everywhere in harmony."

"And what I say is, rain and wind, flowers and leaves, year after year, dawn and dusk!"

After saying that, Fang Tong looked at Jiang Xiaobai.

That expression clearly indicated that she was waiting for Jiang Xiaobai to speak.

Unfortunately, Jiang Xiaobai didn't say anything, he just kept watching.

Fang Tong could only clear his throat and point to the third picture.

"For the third couplet, Prince Jiang, your first line is: 'Those who speak, are spoken of; everyone is spoken of, so it's better to say nothing!'"

"And what I'm saying is, officials who govern are governed by officials, and officials who are governed by officials are governed by officials; if officials are governed, it's better if they don't govern at all!"

Upon hearing this, the woman beside him looked on with admiration.

The other man also nodded.

Although they had seen these couplets before, they were still full of praise when they saw them again this time.

Fang Tong looked noticeably more arrogant as he pointed to the fourth picture.

"For the fourth couplet, your first line is: The moon waxes and wanes, waxes and wanes, year after year, dusk after dusk, dawn after dawn, only at the end of the night can the sun be seen."

"What I say is, flowers bloom and fade, flowers bloom and fade, in the cold and desolate, in the midst of the hustle and bustle, spring is found in the depths of the mortal world."

After speaking, Fang Tong unfolded his folding fan, looked at Jiang Xiaobai with a smile, and said with arrogance in his eyes, "Young Master Jiang, what do you think?"

"Um……"

Jiang Xiaobai glanced at it and nodded slightly, saying, "It's actually quite good!"

As he spoke, Jiang Xiaobai's expression showed some admiration.

It seems that the disciples of Elder Shen in the Green Robe Society are quite skilled.

Surprisingly, it was actually solved, and it looked very neat.

In this respect, it is much better than ordinary student bookstores.

But as he finished praising Jiang Xiaobai, Fang Tong froze for a moment, then looked at him and asked, "Is it really okay?"

"what?"

Jiang Xiaobai was taken aback, then looked up at Fang Tong and said, "Yes, very good!"

"Is it just good?"

Fang Tong suddenly became somewhat impatient and said, "You...you don't have anything else to say?"

"What did you say?"

Jiang Xiaobai's doubts deepened, and he didn't quite understand Fang Tong's meaning.

"this……"

Fang Tong took a deep breath: "These four couplets took me a whole week to come up with!"

"So, you just want to say 'It's alright, it's very good'?"

"Oh, if that's what you're saying..."

Jiang Xiaobai suddenly remembered something and looked at Fang Tong with anticipation, saying, "I think I said that whoever can solve it will have another surprise!"

"Oh dear, I... I didn't mean that!"

Upon hearing this, Fang Tong's face turned bright red with anger: "I...I..."

"Young Master Jiang..."

Seeing Fang Tong's expression, the woman beside him couldn't help but laugh and ask, "What does Young Master Fang mean...?"

"Couldn't you have said a few more words of praise to him?"

As soon as the woman finished speaking, Fang Tong's face immediately turned somewhat awkward, but he opened his mouth without refuting her.

Yes, that's exactly what he meant.

Jiang Xiaobai's four-part series was like opening a door to a new world for him.

He was naturally very proud of himself for being able to answer the question correctly.

After Jiang Xiaobai finished reading it, all he said was, "It's alright, very good?"

How could he possibly bear this?!

Jiang Xiaobai gave Fang Tong a strange look, then, with a knowing expression, said earnestly, "Brother Fang, you're amazing!"

"I can't believe you actually solved it! I'm truly impressed!"

"..."

Fang Tong should have felt more relieved after hearing this.

But ironically, Jiang Xiaobai only said this after someone else reminded him.

That just doesn't feel quite right.

Even more painful than not praising at all!

Fang Tong glanced at Jiang Xiaobai with a bitter expression, took a deep breath, and decided to stop arguing and pick up his pen again.

Soon, he started writing on another piece of paper.

With a few swift strokes, the brush fell to the ground.

"Young Master Jiang!"

Fang Tong put down his pen, pointed to the paper, and said, "This is something I, the young master, wrote for you!"

"Come on, check it yourself!"

As he spoke, Fang Tong looked at Jiang Xiaobai, his expression regaining some of its arrogance.

This couplet was the result of his painstaking efforts.

Extremely difficult!

He believed that Jiang Xiaobai would also have a headache if he saw this.

Thinking of this, Fang Tong cleared his throat and said, "I spent a week writing your couplet!"

"But yours is a four-panel scroll, while mine... is only a single panel..."

"So, I'm giving you three days, Young Master Jiang. That should be enough for you, right?!"

"Oh?"

After hearing this, Jiang Xiaobai looked at the paper.

There was a line of text written on it.

"Eastern Venus, western Venus, southern Sagittarius, northern Dipper, and the constellations Orion and Scorpio all appear in the poem."

Jiang Xiaobai glanced at it, then looked up at Fang Tong: "That's it?"

"what?"

Fang Tong's expression froze for a moment, then he looked at Jiang Xiaobai and asked, "What do you mean by that, Young Master Jiang?"

"What I mean is, this couplet isn't difficult!"

Jiang Xiaobai spoke up.

"Ha ha!"

Upon hearing this, Fang Tong was once again amused and exasperated by Jiang Xiaobai: "Alright, now Young Master Jiang, let's see who's right!"

"Let's see what kind of response you can come up with!"

"Can!"

Jiang Xiaobai pondered for a moment, then said, "I agree, Spring Green Emperor, Autumn White Emperor, Summer Fire, Winter Water, Cold and Heat, Shade and Sunshine, all form a cycle!"

"If this isn't enough..."

Jiang Xiaobai paused for a moment before continuing, "I'll add another line: Spring thunder rumbles, autumn frost falls, summer rain falls, winter snow falls, wind and clouds, heat and cold, all combine to form a poem!"

"Oh, and also, morning dew, evening glow, wind, flowers, snow, and moon, joys and sorrows, all become poetry..."

"So, is it difficult?"