After Zhu Ping'an finished writing the couplet, the entire inn fell silent.
The six couplets in the inn have been hung up for two days. Today is the third day. The best record before was only three couplets. It is precisely because of this that many literati and poets have come to try.
Everyone in the hall was concentrating on thinking hard, hoping to come up with third or fourth mate to stand out.
However, in the blink of an eye, the record has been broken, and it has almost reached the top: six couplets, all in one go, and the answers are fluent; in the first couplet, he said seven couplets in one breath... ...
However, no matter what, people could not connect that poor country boy with the person who created this record!
In everyone's mind, the person who created this record must be well-mannered and well-mannered. But the young man in front of them had dark skin, was not good-looking, was shabby in clothes, and was greedy for money. He ate just now as if he had not eaten for eight lifetimes. He was so useless.
The difference in painting style is too great.
For a moment, everyone found it hard to accept and were shocked.
Of course, there are exceptions. For example, there are two well-dressed teenagers who came to Zhu Ping'an's table. The one walking in front is the well-dressed teenager, and the one who is a little behind is the teenager named Wensheng. Both of them are in their early twenties, which means they have just graduated from college in our modern times. They look a little immature.
"I am Zhang Siwei from Puzhou, and this is Wang Shizhen from Suzhou. May I ask what your name is?"
The young man who spoke called himself Zhang Siwei. He was wearing an ink-colored satin robe with a silver hollow hibiscus flower border visible from the inside. His thick black hair was tied up with a warm jade hairpin. He was a handsome man with handsome features, and looked a little unruly, but the brilliance that inadvertently flashed in his eyes made people dare not underestimate him.
The young man beside him, named Wang Shizhen, was also handsome, wearing a white robe. He looked spotless, like a modest gentleman who had walked out of a scroll of poetry and calligraphy. He looked like a well-behaved and standard student.
When these two people came over, Zhu Pingan didn't feel anything. However, after hearing what Zhang Siwei said, Zhu Pingan was completely exhausted.
Zhang Siwei!
Wang Shizhen!
How could he not be surprised? Besides Zhao Wenhua, these were the second or third famous people in history that he had met. Moreover, these two people were no less outstanding than Zhao Wenhua.
Zhang Siwei was the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty. In history, he took over the throne after Zhang Juzheng died. Although he threw away all of Zhang Juzheng's policies as soon as he came to power, he was the Prime Minister after all. Zhu Ping'an once summarized Zhang Siwei as a fusion and upgraded version of Sima Yi and Gou Jian!
The person next to Zhang Siwei is called Wang Shizhen. Although he is not a high-ranking official, he is much more famous than Zhang Siwei. Do you know Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng? That is his pen name. However, Zhu Ping'an is looking at Wang Shizhen, who looks like a standard good student. He really can't connect this guy with Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng, who is the author of the world's "first strange book" "Jin Ping x". I really don't know what happened to make such a moralist write such a strange book.
Of course, in history, there is no clear evidence to prove that Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng is Wang Shizhen, and there is controversy. However, since I happened to be in the period when this strange book was born, I can help future generations to confirm it.
For a moment, countless thoughts came to Zhu Ping's mind.
"Ahem, little brother?" Wang Shizhen asked with a cough when he saw that Zhu Ping'an did not respond.
"Oh. I'm Zhu Ping'an from Xiahe. I've never seen two such impressive people before. I was a little dazed for a moment. Sorry for making fun of me."
Zhu Ping'an cupped his hands and explained calmly.
"Why should we be so pretentious? Brother Zhu just spoke eloquently and answered questions fluently. That is true prestige. I am not afraid of being laughed at by Brother Zhu. I only answered two questions." Zhang Siwei smiled and shook his head.
"I only wrote three couplets." Wang Shizhen also shook his head with a wry smile.
"I was just lucky." Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly, then extended his hand to invite Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen to sit down, and then poured two cups of tea and placed them in front of them.
"Brother Zhu, don't be too modest." Zhang Siwei sat down and picked up his teacup. "I'm lucky that I can't come up with six couplets."
"Especially the third couplet, 'Lonely and helpless in the cold classroom; far and near, free and unrestrained.' I pondered over this couplet for a long time, but only had the outline of it. Brother Zhu blurted out the second line, which is really embarrassing."
Wang Shizhen shook his head and smiled bitterly.
Wang Shizhen was not just good at literature. He was born into the Wang family of Taicang, which was famous for its clothes, poetry and books. The Wang family was the remnant of the Langya Wang family, which had been a family of nobles for generations during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the Wang family had settled in Tonglu, Zhejiang for a long time. In the Tang Dynasty, there was the governor Qu Feng, in the Five Dynasties there was Ya Tui Ren Hao, and in the Song Dynasty there was Si Jian Jin, and they were noble from generation to generation. Born in such an official family, Wang Shizhen received a good family education when he was young. His parents hired two teachers, Wang Cai and Luo Jujing, who were both Jinshi and knowledgeable, to teach him, which made him advanced in his studies and sharp in his thinking. Among his friends, he was the best in terms of literature and literary talent.
Despite his great literary talent, Wang Shizhen could only come up with three couplets. However, Zhu Pingan could come up with all six couplets right away.
Therefore, Wang Shizhen could only smile bitterly when he heard Zhu Ping'an say that he was lucky.
The three of them sat at the same table, drinking tea and chatting. Before they knew it, Zhu Pingan became familiar with the two, and then they exchanged courtesy names. Zhang Siwei, whose name was Zi Ziwei; Wang Shizhen, whose name was Zi Yuanmei, had a nickname called Wensheng, because when he was a child, he picked up a book and held it tightly, so his family gave him the nickname Wensheng. Of course, Zhu Pingan also told them his courtesy name "Zihou".
During the conversation, they learned that Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen were the same age, but Wang Shizhen was born a month earlier. The two had known each other for a long time. They both passed the imperial examination three years ago and this time they came to the capital together to take part in the special examination.
When the two learned that Zhu Ping'an was also here to take part in the special examination, their expressions were extremely interesting.
"Zihou, you are truly a young man to be feared."
They chatted and learned that Zhu Ping'an was only fourteen years old this year. He came to participate in the imperial examination at the age of fourteen. Although he was lucky enough to pass the imperial examination, it was rare for him to pass the provincial examination at this age. Even with their talents, they had to say that the young are formidable. (To be continued.)