Chapter 51: The Fight (Part 2)

  In a burst of admiration, the surrounding boats gradually dispersed. Hou Xiancheng went to arrange for wine and food, Lü County magistrate went down to change his clothes, and Yao Zhangzi finally saw the light of day again.

  Ten days later, Shen Mo and Shen Jing finally saw their eldest son. The two of them rushed over excitedly, one on each side holding his arm, and asked in unison: "Are you okay?"

  The eldest son, who was wearing tattered clothes, had already heard about how much effort they had put in to save him and couldn't help but turn red-eyed: "It's nothing..." He silently looked him up and down, seeing that he had lost a lot of weight, with some bruises on his face and body, but his spirit was still good, seemingly without any serious injuries.

  But to be on the safe side, he decided to take his eldest son to see a doctor immediately to check if there was any hidden danger. However, when he bid farewell, Magistrate Li said in a low voice: "Let Ma Tian Shi and your companion send him off, you stay with me."

  Shen Mo had no choice but to comply, instructing Shen Jing to be careful and send the eldest son back home as soon as possible if there was no problem. He also said to the eldest son: "This is not a place for conversation, I'll find you when we get back."

  "The eldest son smiled and said, 'Don't worry, I'm just hungry. Going back to eat something will be fine.' Then he followed Ma Dian Shi and Shen Jing away from the painted barge and boarded a fast boat."

  Dai Shenmo returned from the side of the boat, and Li Xianling was still standing on the deck. Hou Xiang then came out from inside to invite him to take a seat.

  Magistrate Li said, "Shen Mo, let's go in." Shen Mo followed quietly behind him and heard the magistrate say in a low voice, "Those who are good at martial arts can't come up with written evidence; this is their usual trick." Shen Mo nodded and then heard him continue, "These past few days I've been suffering from the arrogance of the Lu family. Help me put them down later!"

  Having said that, he stopped talking and went back into the cabin with silence.

  As soon as he entered, he saw a larger round table. Shen Mo took a closer look and found that it was the original sandalwood table with an added surface, covered with deep green velvet cloth.

  On the table were eight plates of meat and vegetable cold dishes, each seat had a portion of precious fruit and a portion of pastry snacks. As for cups, plates, utensils and so on, they were neatly arranged in their proper places.

  At this time, Lü County Magistrate, who had changed into a dark brown long shirt, also appeared at the table. After a round of hypocritical politeness between the two county magistrates, Li County Magistrate took the upper seat, while Lü County Magistrate took the main seat. Hou County Cheng sat in the most door-adjacent accompanying seat, and arranged Shen Mo in the guest seat opposite Li County Magistrate.

  Two hosts and two guests sit opposite each other, the superior facing the door, the inferior with their back to the door. This is not only convenient for entertaining guests but also strictly observes the distinction between superior and inferior, which is really... troublesome.

  Then the maid served dishes, with mountain delicacies and seafood, all kinds of meat and vegetarian dishes were available. It seemed that the order had been fulfilled, and the maid placed these colorful and fragrant dishes in front of Shen Mo, obviously wanting to see the ugly appearance of this poor boy drooling.

  But what disappointed the Magistrate of Lü was that Shen Mo remained dignified and composed, his eyes not straying, as if he were a born nobleman who had grown accustomed to seeing such things and didn't have any reaction at all.

  "It must be fake!" Lu County Magistrate thought to himself: "It's already past noon, I'm still starving, swallowing my saliva, as soon as we start eating, this kid will surely wolf down his food and reveal the truth." He smiled and said: "It's getting late, everyone is hungry, let's eat something first and then drink wine."

  The county magistrate nodded and smiled, while the other two did not have the right to express their opinions.

  Several people began to eat on their own, and Li County Magistrate was initially worried that Shen Mo would make a fool of himself. When he saw him slowly and elegantly washing his hands and holding his bowl, he realized that this demeanor could not be acquired overnight, and immediately felt at ease.

  Seeing Shen Mo was starving, but still eating so elegantly, Lü Zhixian couldn't help but feel extremely disappointed. He lowered his head and ate a few mouthfuls of food, secretly muttering to himself: "I'll teach you not to be able to eat!" Then, with a smiling face, he raised his wine cup to toast Li Xianjun, while Shen Mo and Hou Xiangcheng could only raise their cups in accompaniment.

  They had toasted three times and drunk three rounds, and it was time to put down their cups and eat. But the Magistrate of Lü County chuckled and said: "Everyone present is at least a Tongsheng..." The two magistrates were jinshi, Hou Xiancheng was a xiucai, only Shen Mo was just a small Tongsheng, wasn't this like calling a monk bald?

  Shen Mo was secretly angry, but his face didn't show it. He only heard the Lu County Magistrate continue to say: "We're all literati, why don't we make a wine rule? If you match, eat dishes; if not, penalize with wine. What do you gentlemen think?"

  "This method is very good." County Magistrate Li also chuckled and said, "Younger brother, don't hesitate to issue the order." This game was his favorite, and he wasn't worried about Shen Mo either. Relying on that young man's quick wit, he was absolutely a top-notch player.

  With a slight pause, the county magistrate of Lü smiled and said: "Let's take care of the little friends, we don't play too hard. Why not just say 'four words eight sentences'? One person comes up with a topic, starting from the older brother." The so-called four words eight sentences, as the name suggests, is to say four long and short sentences in a row, which must be rhymed and also meet the requirements of the person who set the topic.

  Magistrate Li praised it and, after a moment's thought, smiled as he stroked his beard: "My riddle is unclear and clear, easy and difficult." According to the rules, the one who posed the riddle had to answer it himself. Magistrate Li just laughed and said: "Snow in the sky is unclear; when it falls on the ground, it's clear; snow turning into water is easy; water turning into snow is difficult."

  Everyone shouted "good", and County Magistrate Li picked up a dish of vinegar fish with chopsticks and smiled, saying: "Next is Brother Lü Xian."

  Lü County Magistrate, being a scholar himself, wouldn't be stumped. He stroked his beard for a moment, then smiled and said: "Ink in the dark is unclear; when written into characters, it's clear; ink turning into characters is easy; characters turning back into ink is difficult." As he spoke, he also picked up a dish with his chopsticks and asked: "Which of you two will come?"

  Hou Xian rushed to say: "I'll do it!" He was afraid that the good phrases he thought of would be taken by Shen Mo, so he hastily said: "The urn is unclear in the kiln, take it out and make it clear. A large urn holds a small one easily, but a small urn holds a large one with difficulty."

  The county magistrate smiled for a moment, then turned his gaze to Shen Mo and said: "It's just you left."

  He silently pointed to the wine jug on the table, chuckled and said: "Wine is in the pot, unclear; poured into a cup, clear; I want to drink wine, easy; wine wants to drink me, difficult..."