Chapter 64: Three Difficult Questions

  "Lu Xiangcai is not well-versed in his studies, and the praise from Miss Zhao just now was really overkill. When the time comes, he won't be able to answer, and it's likely that Miss Zhao will laugh at him. However, for the sake of the people of Jiangyou, please go ahead and ask your question, Miss Zhao." Lu Haoshan said with a forced smile.

  Damn it, so that unlucky guy is indeed a scholar, but I'm just a useless good-for-nothing who can't even recite the Thousand Character Classic. It's really embarrassing to be tested on my knowledge. I guess I'll have to let others laugh at me. But since Zhao Min has already said so, I couldn't back down. Let's see how things go first and then decide what to do next. When the boat reaches the bridgehead, it will naturally go straight; for now, I can only take things one step at a time.

  "Adults are really confident" Zhao Min smiled and said softly: "Being able to take the imperial examination, it's likely that adults can recite various poems and articles with ease, and write them in a beautiful way. Taking these exams again would be meaningless, this humble woman is not talented, so let's just take some unconventional subjects."

  Lu Haoshan smiled and said with a nonchalant expression, "As the host pleases, Miss Zhao can leave whenever she wants. If I'm lucky enough to answer correctly, how much more will you donate for the people of Jiangyou?"

  On the surface, it's a face of indifference, but in fact, I'm secretly shouting good luck. Honestly, what I fear most is taking exams on the Four Books and Five Classics. Taking these niche subjects is more to my liking, answering them correctly showcases my skills, and even if I don't answer correctly, I won't feel embarrassed, so why would I disagree?

  "As a busy official, I don't dare to delay your time, so let's just limit it to three questions. If you answer the first question correctly, our Zhao family will donate 300 taels of silver. If you pass the second question, we'll add another 800 taels, making it a total of 1,500 taels. And if you also answer the third question correctly, the amount donated earlier can be doubled to 3,000 taels. What do you think, sir?"

  "Alright, it's settled." The reward was already in sight, and even if he answered incorrectly, there would be no punishment, only benefits. Lu Haoshan naturally had no objections and hastily agreed, fearing that Zhao Min might change her mind.

  A county's tax revenue is twenty thousand taels, and three thousand taels are also a huge sum of money. The Zhao family is willing to pay out three thousand taels, which is already very good.

  Seeing Lu Haoshan agree so readily, Zhao Min was secretly delighted: she had agreed to donate 3,000 taels, but that was conditional; although 3,000 taels were a lot, the county magistrate would have to be capable of taking it away. Earlier, he had been so confident, and his learning probably wouldn't be low. That's good, let him have an easy time for now, and later on, bring up some tricky questions to make him retreat in disarray. This way, she could save face for him while not having to donate that much silver unnecessarily, and also shut the mouths of other wealthy families and scholars who might gossip about it. It was a three-in-one deal.

  "It's settled then." Zhao Min said crisply.

  "Miss Zhao, please come up with a question."

  Zhao Min didn't mince words, gesturing to Lu Haoshan to look out the window, pointing at a plum blossom outside and saying: "Sir, please take a look, this plum blossom was planted by me when I was five years old, who would have thought that in the blink of an eye it has grown so big."

  "This plum blossom branch is lush and leafy, it must have been carefully taken care of by Miss Zhao." Lu Haoshan didn't understand what she was getting at, but since he needed something from her now, he could only go along with her words.

  "The young lady's purpose in planting this plum blossom is actually very simple, it's just that she thinks the plum blossom is elegant and unconventional, fragrant but not vulgar, charming but not coquettish. Unfortunately, the plum blossom only blooms in winter, no matter how carefully it is taken care of, there will always be a day when the flowers fall and wither. Look, yesterday the whole tree was full of plum blossoms, now they have all fallen down, it's really heartbreaking. The young lady's first question is very simple, it's to write a poem using the flower as the theme."

  The first question is a gift, this was Lu Haoshan's first reaction.

  For bookworms, writing poetry is as simple as eating, the difference lies in whether it's well-written or not. As the ancient saying goes: "Familiarize yourself with 300 Tang poems and you'll be able to compose your own, even if you're tone deaf." Zhao Min only said write one poem, but didn't restrict whether it was good or bad. Obviously, this first question is a gift, looks like the county magistrate's title is not bad, at least worth 300 taels of silver, and he really knows how to treat people.

  "This topic is quite broad, I'll think about it for a moment... Ah, got it!" Lu Haoshan thought for a while and soon had an idea.

  "Oh, I'm all ears for your masterpiece, sir."

  "Mighty and desolate, the sorrowful day slants, chanting whip pointing east to the edge of the sky. Fallen red is not an inanimate object, transformed into spring mud to protect the flowers." Lu Haoshan wanted to recite his own work with a rising and falling tone.

  To be honest, the first question has a very broad scope, it's not difficult to do, but to make it outstanding is by no means an easy task. Because for thousands of years, poems with themes like "Wind, Flowers, Snow and Moon" have been written too many times, the more they are written, the better they are written, the less space is left for those who come later. This Zhao Min is quite clever, coming up with such a question, saying it's "giving points", but in fact, it's also a test, if you don't do well, she'll look down on you instead.

  It's really embarrassing to write poetry, and I'm sure the students in private schools are better than me. Lu Haoshan didn't plan to compose anything at first, but kept thinking about poems related to flowers, preparing to plagiarize other people's excellent works. What made Lu Haoshan headache was that this was already the late Ming dynasty, which means that even if he wrote well, it wouldn't be his own work. The best targets for plagiarism were the scholars and guests of the Qing dynasty. After much thought and searching, Lu Haoshan finally remembered a poem by Gong Zizhen in his language textbook, "Miscellaneous Poems of Ji Hai", and thus composed something quite decently.

  "The red fallen is not an inanimate object, transformed into spring mud to protect the flowers." Zhao Min couldn't help but recite these two sentences of extraordinary excellence, and after finishing, she looked deeply at Lu Haoshan, then clapped her hands and said: "Brilliant, truly too brilliant! You are indeed a scholar of great talent, your words flow like a river, and in just a moment's thought, you've created this masterpiece that shocks the world. Your talent is boundless, your literary skill overflows, and I, a humble woman, am truly enlightened."

  Others are writing about how beautiful and resplendent the flowers are, comparing them to beauties and describing them as the most wonderful things in the world. But I just lamented that the flowering season has passed and the flowers have withered. The county magistrate immediately came up with the excellent phrase "The fallen red is not an unfeeling thing, transformed into spring mud to protect the flowers". Is this flattering himself or consoling himself? Not to mention this thought, even the angle of entry is unique, writing from another angle and revealing another realm of the flower, making one's eyes light up.

  This talent is what makes even the proud Zhao Min look up to Lu Haishan.

  The poem was born from the heart, and it had to be said that after Lu Haoshan finished writing this poem, his image in Zhao Min's eyes suddenly became much more majestic, and his appearance also became more pleasing to the eye.

  "It's just a rough work done casually, with limited level, and it's already fortunate that it didn't become a joke." Lu Haoshan said humbly.

  Zhao Min shook her head and said: "If such a good poem is also called inferior work, then there are not many people in the world who dare to write poetry. Sir, you are being modest."

  "Then Miss Zhao, has Lu Xiang already figured out the first question?"

  "Of course it's worth it." Zhao Min said with a smile, "A mere 300 taels, to hear such a world-shocking masterpiece, it's worth it."

  Lu Haoshan secretly let out a sigh of relief, successfully completing the first question. At least he had saved face, and even if he couldn't answer the next ones, he wouldn't become a laughing stock. Moreover, being looked at differently by the beautiful girl was also a very pleasant thing. While thinking to himself that Gong Zizhen was in trouble, he smiled and said: "This is only the first question, there's still the second one, please continue with the questions, Miss Zhao."

  "Alright, then the young woman didn't stand on ceremony."

  Having saved face, it's time to give him some trouble and let him know that the Zhao family's silver isn't so easily taken, Zhao Min thought to herself.

  I'm finally back, six hours of driving, it took a whole thirteen hours to get home, I got home at 10 o'clock and immediately opened the computer to rush for an update, starting tomorrow will be updated normally, please support more, also ask book friends to vote for Sanjiang ticket, thank you.