Chapter 44: Invitation

With the company of his classmate and friend, Wang Mingyuan, the auditing student at the Prefectural Academy, felt much less isolated.

Moreover, through daily discussions and mutual verification with Chen Si, his friend at the academy, Wang Mingyuan felt he had gained immensely, experiencing a sense of rapid progress.

Time flew by, and a month passed in the blink of an eye.

On the afternoon of this day, Instructor Liu did not lecture on the classics.

He paced back and forth in front of the classroom with his hands behind his back, his brow slightly furrowed:

"Staring at books all day is suffocating. Today, let's clear our minds and play a different game."

Wang Mingyuan felt his heart skip a beat.

A different game? Surely not writing poetry, right? Why are ancients so fond of this?

The contents accumulated in *Mingyuan's Anthology of Poetic Vocabulary* might suffice to muddle through, but standing out would be difficult, and surrounded by the elite of the prefecture, he feared he would make a fool of himself.

Chen Si, having grown closer to Wang Mingyuan, had also learned of his "weakness."

Seeing his expression, Chen Si chuckled softly, bumped him with his shoulder, and whispered:

"Don't worry, it's not composing poetry. Instructor Liu loves this—playing antithetical couplets!"

A gleam of anticipation flashed in Chen Si's eyes. "The old man plays whenever the mood strikes, and sometimes he drags us to newly opened teahouses and taverns, posing couplets on the spot to test people. It's lively."

Antithetical couplets? Wang Mingyuan's hanging heart instantly dropped back into place.

That he was not afraid of! In that *Mingyuan's Anthology of Poetic Vocabulary*, if there was anything in abundance, it was all sorts of clever phrases and symmetrical terms, categorized exhaustively and filling whole bookcases!

The corners of his mouth curved upward slightly.

Sure enough, Instructor Liu cleared his throat: "The usual rule, starting from Yuan Xianzheng. I will give the first line, you reply with the second line, and then pose a new first line to the next person.

Anyone who fails to reply, or whose line is too vulgar, will be penalized by copying *Enlightenment on Sound and Rhythm* once. Begin!"

He pondered briefly, then said: "Egrets stand amidst reed catkins as the autumn water shines."

This couplet described an autumn scene: egrets standing among clusters of reed catkins, the autumn water limpid and clear, evoking a serene and secluded mood. Furthermore, the sounds of "egret" and "reed" bore a phonetic parallel, showing considerable ingenuity.

The student who was called upon stood up, frowned in deep thought, and after a long while said: "Cicadas sing in tall trees as the setting sun slants."

He barely managed a matching line, though the artistic conception was slightly inferior. However, "cicadas" matched "egrets," "sing" matched "stand," "tall trees" matched "reed catkins," and "setting sun slants" matched "autumn water shines," making it reasonably well-balanced.

It was just that the phonetic parallel between "egret" and "reed" had not been matched.

"Acceptable," Instructor Liu nodded. "Pose your question."

The student breathed a sigh of relief, thought for a moment, and proposed: "The moon moves the shadows of bamboo to encroach upon the chessboard."

This couplet captured the shifting shadows of bamboo under the moonlight, seeming to intrude upon a game of chess, combining motion and stillness with a strong sense of imagery.

The next student pondered for a moment and replied:

"The wind wafts the fragrance of flowers into the wine vessel."

"Wind" matched "moon," "wafts" matched "moves," "fragrance of flowers" matched "shadows of bamboo," and "into the wine vessel" matched "to encroach upon the chessboard." It was neat, elegant, and harmonious in mood, earning a few murmurs of quiet praise.

The atmosphere gradually grew warmer.

One after another, some students matched cleverly, while others barely scraped through.

When it came to the student just before Wang Mingyuan, it was a slightly plump young man named Chen Shi.

He stood up, glanced sideways at Wang Mingyuan first, a malicious smile playing on his lips.

Throughout this past month, Wang Mingyuan had stolen all the spotlight, leaving this "senior student" feeling somewhat disgruntled.

Chen Si cleared his throat and purposely raised his volume: "My first line is—Lodging as a guest far from home, stubbornly guarding a cold window in lonely desolation!"

He glanced around triumphantly.

This line consisted of eleven characters, all of which shared the roof radical ("宀")! The difficulty was extremely high, and the mood was solitary and bleak, far beyond what an ordinary person could match.

The classroom instantly fell silent.

Even Instructor Liu raised an eyebrow and remained silent.

All gazes converged squarely on Wang Mingyuan.

Chen Si also broke out in a cold sweat for Wang Mingyuan; this fatty Chen was clearly making things deliberately difficult!

Wang Mingyuan stood up.

His face remained expressionless, but in his mind, he was rapidly flipping through *Mingyuan's Anthology of Poetic Vocabulary*.

The roof radical? Words entirely with the roof radical? And able to form a proper couplet? Ah... I have it!

He pondered briefly, his voice clear and steady:

"This student ventures a reply—Detouring far from a lost path, returning to the lotus path to reclaim freedom."

It was likewise eleven characters, all of which shared the walking radical ("辶")!

Not only were the radicals impeccably matched, but the artistic conception was also marvelous—knowing one's error on a lost path, retiring in seclusion along a lotus-fringed trail, free and unfettered!

The precision of the parallelism and the harmony of the mood could be called absolute perfection!

"Splendid!" After a brief silence, Chen Si was the first to cheer aloud.

"Marvelous!"

"The walking radical matched against the roof radical! Absolutely peerless!"

"Detouring far from a lost path matches lodging as a guest far from home... returning to the lotus path matches stubbornly guarding a cold window... to reclaim freedom matches in lonely desolation... truly... seamless!"

Exclamations and buzzing discussions erupted.

The triumph on the face of the student named Chen froze, his mouth agape, unable to utter a single word for a long time.

A brilliant flash of light crossed Instructor Liu's eyes. He gave Wang Mingyuan a deep look and slowly nodded:

"What a wonderful 'to reclaim freedom'! Every single word is a gem, the parallelism is sturdy and steady, and the artistic conception is rounded and complete. Wang Mingyuan, this couplet is exceptionally fine!"

A rare smile appeared on his face. "It seems today's copying punishment will not fall upon you after all. Sit down."

Wang Mingyuan cupped his hands and sat down. His palms were actually slick with sweat; he had indeed been somewhat nervous just a moment ago.

Chen Si excitedly gave him a thumbs-up, and the surrounding gazes directed at him completely transformed into admiration and respect.

Through this "match," Wang Mingyuan, the auditing student, had truly established his footing among these favored children of heaven at the Prefectural Academy.

The bell for the noon dismissal rang out.

Wang Mingyuan packed his things, just preparing to head out to the dining hall, when his arm was grabbed firmly by Chen Si.

"Brother Mingyuan! That couplet you matched was simply peerless!"

Chen Si still wore the excited expression from class.

"'Detouring far from a lost path, returning to the lotus path to reclaim freedom'!

You didn't see fatty Chen's expression. Usually so arrogant and domineering, today he looked like he had swallowed a live housefly! Hahaha! Exhilarating! Utterly exhilarating!"

Wang Mingyuan felt a bit dizzy from being shaken, and smiled helplessly: "Brother Chen flatters me. Pure luck, sheer luck."

"Luck my foot!"

Shedding his scholarly demeanor, Chen Si blurted out a crude phrase, which adequately demonstrated his excitement and his dislike for that "fatty Chen."

He waved a hand, his voice booming,

"That is genuine skill! Instructor Liu even praised every word of yours as a precious gem!

Let's go, let's go eat. We can chat while we eat, I must hear all about how you came up with that walking radical!"

The two walked side by side toward the dining hall, while Chen Si continued to passionately replay the brilliant moments of the class.

Listening to him, Wang Mingyuan felt much more relaxed inside.

The pressure at the Prefectural Academy over the past month had been considerable. To win Instructor Liu's public affirmation once again, and to suppress that fatty Chen who always looked at people sideways, truly provided a satisfying release at this moment.

Halfway there, Chen Si seemed to recall something suddenly and slapped his forehead:

"Ah, right! Brother Mingyuan, tomorrow is the rest day, what are your plans?"

"Rest day?"

Wang Mingyuan was momentarily stunned. Time had flown by so fast, and buried as he was in his books, he had completely forgotten about this.

He thought for a moment and answered honestly: "I'll stay home and review my books. The prefectural examination is close at hand, I dare not slack off."

"Review books? My good Brother Mingyuan!"

Chen Si cried out exaggeratedly, giving him a firm elbow nudge,

"If you string the bow too tightly, it will snap! Look at your face, it's paler than newly pasted window paper!

You need to clear your mind!

Besides, you've been in Chang'an City for a whole month now. Apart from the Prefectural Academy and that tiny courtyard no larger than the palm of a hand, where else have you been?

You probably haven't even figured out what Chang'an City looks like, right?"

Wang Mingyuan was stumped by his question.

Indeed, apart from the route he traveled back and forth to the academy every day, he knew almost nothing about this magnificent, colossal city.

Seeing his expression, Chen Si knew he had hit the mark, and immediately beamed with animation:

"It's settled then! Tomorrow I will take you on a proper tour of Chang'an City!

I'll let you witness the spectacle of 'the palace gates of the nine heavens open wide, while tributes from a myriad of nations bow before the crown'!

I guarantee it will be a hundred times livelier than Yongle Town or Xianning County!"