Chapter 15: Jade Flute Blows Through Dragon Cave Slumber (Part 2)

  Seeing the stunned expressions of everyone, Xiao Shouren felt a little embarrassed and for a moment was about to come up with another poem, but then thought better of it and decided not to overdo it.

  Poetry lies in its atmosphere and environment, if the atmosphere is not right, the momentum will be greatly weakened. The situation of "drawing a tiger but resembling a dog" can also occur frequently. With clasped hands, I say: "I humbly offer my inferior work, if there are any deficiencies, I hope that the many talented scholars will point them out and correct me."

  "Good, really good, truly good." The fake young master slapped the table with force, and the dishes on it also followed him in applause. "Drunk leaning on the high railing, looking out at the railing, the jade flute blows through the dragon's sleep. Just relying on the momentum of these two sentences, brother is absolutely not an ordinary person."

  The audience looked at each other in dismay, speechless and unapplauding, all of them feeling suffocated.

  Miscarriage and a group of pigs were originally prepared with a draft, what cloudy days, drizzling rain, swallows in the small building heard wandering; you ride a horse, I fart.

  But they only recited poetry and composed couplets for amusement. Nowadays, the four subjects of imperial examination are all about academic excellence, outstanding talent, robust strength, and surpassing others. The two subjects of Mingjing and Jinshi gave these literati a chance to show off. Jinshi emphasized poetry and rhapsody, while Mingjing emphasized memorizing classics. Although poetry and rhapsody still require some literary talent, Mingjing only requires rote memorization, so most literati just focused on one classic and went for it. Liu Can and Zhu Yiqun were two of them.

  Poetry is just a decoration for Liu Can and Zhu Yiqun, only to show off their uniqueness. I thought Xiao Shouren, this country bumpkin, would have some literary talent, maybe he'd recite something like "Old Horse Plows the Field". Year after year, they'd come up with new poems, and when they finally presented "The Wind and Rain on a Small Pavilion", they'd surely win thunderous applause. This fake young master, dressed as a man, although still a novice, looked delicate and charming, and would surely be envious of their literary talent, then get drunk on wine, and have a night of revelry.

  Everyone is having a great time, isn't it wonderful? But no one expected that Xiao Shouren would just take one glance, and they would know that their own poetry recital was only a joke, and they could only remain silent.

  "The city is as big as a fist, and the world's winds and clouds are all within it. Drunkenly leaning on the high railing, I gaze out at the jade flute blowing through the Dragon's Cave. The fake young master's eyes gleam with unusual colors, it seems that being struck by Xiao Shouren was not a light matter."

  She shook her head and said, "The first two sentences are nothing, but starting with a plain and simple tone, the latter part is steep and turning, it's not easy for someone without a broad mind and clever construction to come up with such poetry. At a glance, one can see that this poem is extraordinary. Wonderful! Wonderful! The two of you gentlemen, this brother has recited a poem, and now the jade is out. Just waiting for your bricks." She turned the phrase "throwing bricks to bring out jade" around, making Liu Cang and Zhu Yiqun wish they could find a crack in the ground to hide in.

  Yuan Huan thought to herself, I think it's quite ordinary, similar to what the oil seller and vegetable vendor do. What "heavenly winds and clouds" and "hidden dragon sleeping"? But fearing the fake young master would hit her, she could only pretend to be a foolish girl.

  Unexpectedly, the fake young master slapped him again, "What's wrong with you? Don't you think it's exciting?"

  "Excellent, high-quality work." The maid pretended to be a book boy and nodded repeatedly. "The meaning is fully expressed, the meaning is fully expressed! Does this young master have a great surname?" Her last sentence was asked on behalf of her mistress.

  "I was originally a commoner, and we all gathered like duckweed on the water, only to disperse in an instant. This name, it's better not to mention." Xiao Shouren didn't want to make things complicated, so he borrowed the fake young master's words from earlier to respond to the group of pigs. The fake young master didn't even ask a question before Xiao Shouren asked, "May I inquire as to your esteemed surname and great name?"

  The fake young master rolled his eyes and bowed, saying: "I am Chen Chuan. As the saying goes, 'coming but not going is impolite', Brother, you shouldn't be so stingy as to not even give your name, twisting and turning like a woman."

  Xiao Shouren really didn't expect this fake young master to be so humorous, clearly he's a yellow flower dandy now it's all turned upside down, if he hadn't spoken up about his name he would have become a girl, what kind of thing is this?

  Xiao Shouren sighed and shook his head, then reluctantly said: "My surname is Xiao, Xiao Shouren."

  "Xiao Shouren, Shouren, this name sounds quite good, there must be some deep meaning behind it?" Chen Chuan muttered to himself, thinking about Xiao Shouren's name for a moment before turning back with a smile and asking him.

  "Yeah, it's just something from when I was a kid. Never mind." Xiao Shouren thought of some things and shook his head, unwilling to say more.

  "Oh? But is this reason not enough to be told to outsiders? If the name 'Xiao Brothers' really has some unspoken secret, then we won't pursue it further." Chen Chuan said with a profound and mysterious nod.

  Xiao Shouren was indeed defeated by her. He originally wanted to know the origin of his name, but he deliberately made so many mysteries. Forget it, I'll just tell her, anyway, this isn't a very private matter.

  "Since you're so eager to know, I'll tell you then." Xiao Shouren smiled wryly at Chen Chuan.

  Looking at Chen Chuan, she was actually good, and unexpectedly sat down next to Xiao Shouren, propping her chin with both hands, looking like a curious baby, waiting for Xiao Shouren to tell a story. Xiao Shouren was really speechless, and he could even smell the fragrance of this fake young master's hair from his nose.

  "It was like this, when I was born, my grandfather had a dream about something, so after I was born, the name he gave me contained that thing. It's also strange to say, but when I was five years old, I still couldn't speak. One day, I was playing outside the door, and an old monk came over, stroking my head and saying what a lovely child I was, unfortunately, it was broken. This conversation happened to be heard by my grandfather, so he helped me change my name to Shouren. I suppose you are also from a scholarly family, Confucius said in the Analects of Weilinggong: 'If one's intelligence is good, but cannot be guarded with benevolence, even if one obtains it, one will inevitably lose it.' The meaning is very clear, saying that if a person's intelligence is very good, but cannot be well-guarded with benevolence, then even if one is currently very clever, one will definitely lose this gift. So my grandfather helped me change my name to Shouren." Xiao Shouren smiled and said slowly.

  Chen Chuan listened with rapt attention, and the little girl standing behind him was also lost in thought. It was clear that they were both entranced by Xiao Shouren's legendary story of changing his name.

  But Chen Chuan soon woke up and helped Xiao Shouren sieve a cup of wine, continuing to chat with him.

  "You just took the jade flute from that young man at Yuwen's house. Do you know him?" Chen Chuan asked with a smile, looking at Xiao Shouren.

  "Oh? So he's from the Yuwen family, huh? We don't know each other, but just now he smiled at me, so of course I accepted his friendly greeting. What's wrong?" Xiao Shouren asked curiously.

  "So you guys don't know each other, it turns out. Speaking of which, he actually has an older brother just like you, but his older brother wasn't as lucky as you were. You couldn't speak at the age of five and then met a magical monk and a good grandfather, but his older brother didn't have such good fortune." Chen Chuan said quietly, tapping on the table.

  "Huh? I don't know much about the affairs of these aristocratic families, please tell me more." Xiao Shouren really isn't ashamed to ask when he's hungry. If Confucius saw this gossipy Xiao Shouren now, who knows if he'd be thinking "rotten wood can't be carved" or "a child can be taught".