Looking at Scholar Zheng's disdainful expression, Ye Yiming, filled with anger, said, "Fine! I'll let you set the topic now, Scholar Zheng!"

"Alright!" Scholar Zheng nodded, then took a step towards Ye Yiming and said, "Listen carefully, Young Marquis. My first topic's upper verse is, 'Wangjiang Tower, overlooking the river flow, from Wangjiang Tower, the river flows by, the tower stands for eternity, the river flows forever!'"

"Excellent!"

As soon as Scholar Zheng announced his upper verse, it immediately elicited applause from the audience.

Fortunately, this Juxian Hall was originally built by Lin Wanjun in the palace for literary and artistic pursuits, without strict regulations. Otherwise, without Old Master Ye present, Lin Wanjun would have been furious at the previous scene.

After all, Lin Wanjun was the ruler of a nation, and the dignity of a king was not something anyone could disregard! Old Master Ye was the only exception.

Listening to the audience's applause, Scholar Zheng looked at Ye Yiming with a calm face and said, "Young Marquis, I have given the upper verse. Now, please provide the matching lower verse. Of course, if you can't come up with it immediately, it's alright. I can wait."

Show off! Keep showing off!

Seeing Scholar Zheng's pretended generosity, Ye Yiming felt his anger rising. After calming himself, he put on an indifferent expression and began to speak.

"No need. Such a simple upper verse, I, Ye Yiming, can match it effortlessly. No need to make you wait."

Ye Yiming's words sparked anger among the audience.

Although Scholar Zheng had quickly come up with the upper verse, very few people in the audience could immediately create a matching lower verse. Yet, Ye Yiming's dismissive comment, "Such a simple upper verse, I, Ye Yiming, can match it effortlessly," infuriated everyone.

Even the ministers who had slightly changed their opinion of Ye Yiming after he matched Lin Wanjun's verse were now filled with anger again.

Hmph! A fop is always a fop, an arrogant person is not to be trusted!

The only one who still had some faith in Ye Yiming was Lin Wanjun, sitting in the hall.

Looking at Ye Yiming, Lin Wanjun thought to himself, "Ha, this kid is angry!"

Hearing Ye Yiming's words, Scholar Zheng laughed out of anger, "Well then, since that's the case, go ahead and give us your lower verse."

"Hmph, no need to rush me, I'll say it now." Ye Yiming snorted, glanced at Scholar Zheng, and then spoke.

"My lower verse is, 'Yinyue Well, reflecting the moon's shadow, from Yinyue Well, the moon's shadow is reflected, the well lasts forever, the shadow lasts forever!'"

What?

Unexpectedly, Ye Yiming, the foppish young master, had indeed come up with a matching lower verse.

The audience was astonished by Ye Yiming's response.

Ignoring the crowd's astonishment, Ye Yiming glanced around and then said to Scholar Zheng, "Alright, please set the next topic, Scholar Zheng."

It wasn't until Ye Yiming reminded him that Scholar Zheng, who had been shocked by Ye Yiming's matching lower verse, snapped out of it.

How could this be? Ye Yiming was just a fop. How could he come up with a matching verse so quickly?

Impossible, he must have seen a similar couplet before!

Yes, that must be it. Perhaps Ye Yiming had fortuitously encountered the works of a great literary master, or even a treasure left by a literary saint.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

With this thought, Scholar Zheng became more convinced of his speculation.

In that case, it doesn't count as Ye Yiming's talent! He's just a fraud!

Hmph, I'll see how much you remember, you foppish young master. I don't believe you can have matching lines for everything I come up with.

"Very well then, my second topic is, 'An inch of land forms a temple, beside the temple, there are words of poetry, the poem says: The bright moon sends the monk back to the ancient temple!' Young Marquis, provide the lower verse!"

As soon as Scholar Zheng gave the upper verse for his second topic, he stared intently at Ye Yiming.

Seeing this, Ye Yiming smiled to himself, then deliberately frowned, pretending to be deep in thought.

Ye Yiming's pretense made Scholar Zheng relax, thinking to himself, "Thankfully, this young master is still a fop and hasn't put much effort into memorizing anything."

But at that moment, seeing the corner of Ye Yiming's mouth lift slightly, Scholar Zheng suddenly felt uneasy.

Indeed, Scholar Zheng's intuition was correct because, after revealing this expression, Ye Yiming immediately spoke his matching lower verse.

"Listen well, Scholar Zheng, my lower verse is, 'Two trees form a forest, under the forest, there are prohibitions, the prohibition says: Axes and hatchets should be used seasonally!'"

After giving his lower verse, Ye Yiming glanced at Scholar Zheng and asked, "Scholar Zheng, is my lower verse acceptable?"

Acceptable? There's no question about it!

Hearing Ye Yiming's question, the ministers secretly criticized him for showing off while also being amazed by his talent.

Facing Ye Yiming's question, Scholar Zheng did not respond, as he was lost in thought.

Matched again? How does he remember so much? And just happen to have similar verses? Is Ye Yiming just lucky? Or am I unfortunate?

Stubborn as ever, Scholar Zheng still believed that Ye Yiming had acquired some great literary work or a treasure left by a literary saint.

If Ye Yiming knew Scholar Zheng's thoughts, he would probably laugh out loud.

After a while, Scholar Zheng finally spoke.

"The Qian trigram, the Kun trigram, eight trigrams multiply to sixty-four, each trigram has its established meaning!"

This time, Scholar Zheng didn't say much and directly gave his upper verse. Ye Yiming, without hesitation, quickly provided his matching lower verse.

"The Luan's nine cries, the Phoenix's nine cries, nine times nine is eighty-one, each cry harmonizes with the Luan and Phoenix!"

Seeing Ye Yiming match the verse without a moment's thought, the audience was amazed.

Sigh! Who would have thought that Ye Yiming, the foppish young master, not only excels in frivolity but also possesses extraordinary talent in scholarship!

In this light, perhaps Prime Minister Wu's declaration in the court, "I admit defeat," wasn't just nonsense said in anger but a sincere acknowledgment of Ye Yiming's talent?

It's not surprising that people had this misunderstanding, given that Prime Minister Wu had indeed spat blood and collapsed. Consequently, the literati in the capital believed that Ye Yiming, the leader of the Four Fops, had somehow enraged Prime Minister Wu to the point of fainting, leading to his unexpected declaration of defeat.

Moreover, after that day, Prime Minister Wu lay in bed for three days before recovering. Upon regaining consciousness, he left no message and wandered off, which further fueled the misunderstanding.

But the current situation clearly indicated that Prime Minister Wu's words came from the heart, and Ye Yiming genuinely possessed remarkable talent, not just a fop as people had thought.

While everyone was marveling at Ye Yiming's talent, Scholar Zheng suddenly shouted.

"A literary treasure! Ye Yiming, you possess a treasure left by a literary saint!"

Silence!

The audience, who had been discussing Ye Yiming's talent, fell completely silent upon hearing Scholar Zheng's exclamation.

A literary treasure? Did Scholar Zheng say Ye Yiming possesses a treasure left by a literary saint?

Could it be a misunderstanding? Judging by the surroundings, it doesn't seem so!

When everyone realized the implication, they were even more astonished, looking at Ye Yiming with fervent eyes.

Indeed! That must be it! As Scholar Zheng said, Ye Yiming must have acquired a treasure left by a literary saint! Otherwise, how could a foppish young master suddenly exhibit such remarkable talent?

Surely, Ye Yiming must have recently stumbled upon a treasure left by a literary saint, which explains his recent astounding transformation.

Hearing Scholar Zheng's words, not only the ministers but even Lin Wanjun, seated above, believed Scholar Zheng, thinking to himself.

Indeed! Only this explanation could account for the drastic change in this child, as if he had become a different person.

What's wrong with these people?

Seeing everyone staring at him like hungry wolves after Scholar Zheng's exclamation, Ye Yiming felt a chill and became even more confused.

A literary treasure?

What on earth is that???

The more Ye Yiming thought about it, the more confused he became, unable to understand the current situation.

Seeing Ye Yiming's bewildered expression, Scholar Zheng assumed he had guessed correctly and sneered, "Hmph, no wonder you could respond so fluently to my topics without any mistake. It turns out you possess a treasure left by a literary saint. That's why you, the leader of the Four Fops, have shown such astonishing talent."

As Scholar Zheng continued his disdainful speech, Ye Yiming grew increasingly angry, finally interrupting him with a loud shout.

"To hell with you!"

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