Poet Immortal, Poet Sage, Duke of the State!

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Today is the day for the literary examination between the Yan Kingdom and Da Ning.

As soon as it was light, the people of the capital got up early and gathered at the palace gate.

Outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Imperial Palace, sixteen golden-armored guards stood on both sides, holding long halberds, creating a solemn and tense atmosphere.

The hall was already properly arranged. In the center of the hall, there were two long tables, each with a writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone. A bronze incense burner, about half a person's height, stood in the center of the hall, with coiled incense already prepared inside.

Just after Chenshi (7-9 AM), personnel from both sides entered the hall one after another.

The Yan delegation was led by Murong Gu, and the four of them were all dressed in brocade robes and had arrogant expressions.

One of the men, who was about fifty years old, walked at the back. He had a thin face, but his eyes were sharp and discerning. After he sat down, he closed his eyes to rest, as if the noise around him had nothing to do with him.

On the Daning side, the six Hanlin Academy scholars, led by Grand Secretary Zhou, were all dressed in court attire and sat upright.

Behind the Grand Secretaries stood more than a dozen figures, talented scholars skilled in couplets, selected from hundreds of applicants in the capital over the past two days.

Chen Changxuan was among them. Before taking his seat, he glanced at Chen Wenyuan, who was in the line of ministers.

Chen Wenyuan nodded slightly in encouragement.

Two days ago, Chen Wenyuan personally went to see the Ministry of Rites official in charge of selecting talented men.

Since the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel spoke up, the other party naturally had to give him some face, so they added Chen Changxuan's name to the list.

At this moment, Chen Changxuan was sitting at the last seat, his palms already slightly sweaty.

He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

My father said that as long as we can show our faces today, we will have the opportunity to speak to His Majesty about exchanging marriages.

It's just a simple couplet; he's been studying diligently day and night for the past three days, and he's completely transformed.

All the civil and military officials were already in place. Not long after, a series of light footsteps sounded from behind the hall. Several eunuchs and palace maids filed in and pulled up a thin gauze curtain to the right of the dragon throne. Princess Zhaoyue slowly sat down behind the curtain.

Today she wore a moon-white palace dress, with only a plain silver phoenix hairpin in her hair. Her makeup was light and elegant, and her expression was calm, showing no emotion whatsoever.

Qing Shuang stood behind her, her hands clasped together, and said worriedly, "Princess, what should we do? We still haven't found that young master..."

Princess Zhaoyue did not speak, but unconsciously clenched the hem of her skirt.

In the past few days, Qing Shuang and her men have searched almost the entire area around Zui Xian Lou, but they haven't even found a trace of that person. Since their last parting, it's as if that person has vanished into thin air.

She let out a soft sigh and said in a low voice, "We can only take it one step at a time..."

"His Majesty has arrived!"

As the eunuch's shrill voice rang out, everyone in the hall stood up.

Emperor Da Ning, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, strode out from the side hall and sat down on the dragon throne.

His expression remained unchanged. His gaze swept over the faces of the Yan delegation, then glanced at the formation on the Da Ning side, and he nodded slightly: "Rise."

Murong Gu bowed to the Emperor of Da Ning first and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, the three-day agreement has expired. I wonder if your country is ready? If not, we can grant your country a few more days..."

The Emperor of Da Ning said calmly, "No need."

Murong Gu looked around, his gaze sweeping over the people of Da Ning. A slight smile appeared on his lips as he said, "We were worried that no one in Da Ning would dare to accept the challenge. But it seems we were overthinking it. Your country is full of talented people. I'm sure you will broaden my horizons today."

The faces of the several Grand Secretaries in the hall immediately darkened.

Grand Secretary Zhou snorted coldly, stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the time has come, we may begin."

The Emperor of Da Ning nodded and announced, "Let's begin."

A middle-aged official stepped forward, bowed to both sides, and announced in a loud voice: "I am Han Boyuan, an envoy from Northern Liang. Entrusted by His Majesty the Emperor of Ningguo and the delegation from Yanguo, I am honored to serve as a judge in today's couplet competition..."

Beiliang is a neighboring country of Daning and Yan. It was invited to serve as a judge in the competition between the two countries to ensure fairness.

Han Boyuan glanced at Murong Gu and the Emperor of Da Ning, and said, "Please have both countries present their credentials."

Murong Gu glanced to the side, and a deputy envoy took out a document from his sleeve and held it up with both hands.

That was a letter of state personally signed by the Emperor of Yan, and stamped with the imperial seal of Yan.

According to the bet, if the Yan Kingdom loses, it must cede Liangzhou City, one of the three cities outside Yanmen Pass in the north, to the Ning Kingdom.

This letter of credence had been prepared long before he set off on his mission.

Although the literary scene in Ningguo was in decline, the morale of the soldiers was high, and the Yan army suffered many losses at their hands.

This time, they want to make the most notorious prince of Yan marry the most favored princess of Ning, trample Ning's face underfoot, and crush Ning's morale in one fell swoop!

For this reason, the imperial court was willing to gamble with the loss of a border city.

In Da Ning, a eunuch also presented a document to Han Boyuan with both hands.

The document was stamped with the imperial seal of Ningguo, and it stated that if Ningguo lost the competition, Princess Zhaoyue would be married to the third prince of Yanguo.

Han Boyuan carefully examined the two letters of state, then looked up and solemnly said, "The letters of state are confirmed to be correct."

Then, he unfurled a scroll of yellow silk in his hand and read in a deep voice: "The competition consists of three rounds. The Yan Kingdom and the Ning Kingdom will each present three couplets, and the other side will provide the matching lines. Each couplet has a time limit of one incense stick. The one who fails to provide a matching line after the incense burns out will lose. After three couplets, the one who provides the most matching lines will win. If there is a tie, an additional couplet will be played to determine the winner, with a time limit of fifteen minutes, until a winner is determined..."

He paused, looked at both sides, and continued, "If Ning wins, then Yan will cede Liangzhou City, one of the three cities outside Yanmen Pass in the north, to Ning. If Yan wins, then Ning will marry Princess Zhaoyue, Xiao Muyue, to the third prince of Yan, Tuoba Kui, as his concubine... Do either side have any objections?"

Murong Gu shook his head: "No objection."

Grand Secretary Zhou glanced at the Emperor of Da Ning, then shook his head and said, "No objection."

"it is good."

Han Boyuan put away the yellow silk, took out a coiled incense stick from the table, and walked to the bronze incense burner in the center of the hall. "The first round of the literary examination between the two countries officially begins."

He lit the incense coil, and wisps of smoke rose into the air.

The main hall was completely silent.

Murong Gu turned to the Emperor of Da Ning, cupped his hands in greeting, and spoke in a humble tone with a faint smile on his lips: "Da Ning is the host, and Yan is the guest. In the first round, it is only right that the host sets the first challenge. I am willing to concede this first move to your esteemed country."

Emperor Da Ning glanced at Grand Secretary Zhou and nodded slightly.

Grand Secretary Zhou turned around, whispered a few words to the other Grand Secretaries, and then stepped forward: "In that case, I will offer the first couplet on behalf of Da Ning."

He walked to the long table, picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, wrote seven characters on the paper, and held it up with both hands.

Han Boyuan stepped forward, looked at the paper, and read aloud: "The first couplet of Da Ning: Mist locks the mountain peak, and the mountain locks the mist."

A murmur of discussion immediately arose in the hall.

This is a palindrome couplet; the first line can be read forwards and backwards without any discrepancy.

The entire couplet describes the scene of clouds and mist swirling in the mountains, with the beginning and end connected seamlessly into a unified whole.

Palindrome couplets are known for their trickiness among all variations of couplets. They require both the creation of a meaningful image and the ability to read smoothly backwards, making them extremely difficult to work with.

Da Ning had been humiliated by Yan State in a couplet contest a few days ago, so he took the initiative this time, immediately bringing out the absolute best of the Hanlin Academy, intending to seize the initiative.

Several scholars showed a hint of anticipation on their faces.

However, Murong Gu's expression did not change in the slightest.

"The Huiwen Association..." he said with a faint smile, "It does have some merit."

As soon as Murong Gu finished speaking, the fifty-year-old man behind him, who had been resting with his eyes closed, slowly opened them.

The old man stood up, walked into the hall, cupped his hands in greeting to the Emperor of Da Ning, nodded slightly to Grand Secretary Zhou, and then went to the long table, picked up his brush and began to write.

His movements were slow but decisive; he wrote the entire piece in one go, then put down the pen, turned around, and returned to his original position.

The whole process took no more than a dozen breaths.

Han Boyuan stepped forward, picked up the paper, and read aloud: "Mist locks the mountain top, mountain locks the mist, Yan Kingdom matches—the sky connects to the water's end, the water connects to the sky."

He took a deep breath, his eyes filled with amazement, and then announced loudly, "Absolutely! I hereby declare that the Yan Kingdom's response has been successful. Does anyone have any objections?"

A sudden, deathly silence fell over the hall.

Grand Secretary Zhou's face turned pale in an instant.

"Sky connects to water" matches "mist locks the mountain", "water tail" matches "mountain top", "water connects to sky" matches "mountain locks mist", each word is perfectly matched, and the tones are perfectly aligned.

The first line describes the mountain mist, and the second line describes the water and sky. The mountain and the water create a broad and beautiful scene that complements each other.

This is not only a passable second line, but it would be a masterpiece worthy of inclusion in any anthology of couplets.

The old man responded to the couplet in just a dozen breaths.

The Emperor of Da Ning tightened his grip on the armrest of the dragon throne, and the Grand Secretaries exchanged glances, sweat beading on their foreheads.

Murong Gu looked around, his gaze sweeping over the ruler and ministers of Da Ning, and said with a smile, "I forgot to introduce you all. This is Grand Scholar Chang from the Yan State Academy of Literature. Grand Scholar Chang has studied couplets for over forty years. He can recite the 30,000 classic couplets collected by the Yan State Academy of Literature by heart. Palindrome couplets are nothing but child's play for him..."