Top Scholar

Chapter 168 White Battle
"Then there's the addition and subtraction method, which is also a standard riddle. By adding or subtracting, the words in the answer cancel each other out, thus matching the riddle's surface meaning." Huang E pointed to the riddle that no one had yet solved and smiled:

"For example, the line 'Still shining on people today'... is a 'lucky moon'. Removing one horizontal stroke gives the ancient moon."

"I see." Su Lu nodded. Solving this riddle does require some skill. When you see the riddle, you should first think of Li Bai's "The people of today do not see the moon of ancient times, but the moon of today once shone on the people of ancient times." Therefore, the one that "still shines on the people of today" should be the ancient moon.

Huang E then explained several other riddle formats to Su Lu. She explained them clearly, and Su Lu understood them well, so she didn't need to explain them a second time.

What was supposed to take an entire evening to teach was finished in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea…

“Brother Hongzhi, a battle is still a battle, so don’t underestimate your enemy.” Huang E stretched out his slender fingers and waved them in front of Su Lu.

"Yes, I will remember your teachings." Su Lu cupped his hands and said, "How wonderful it is that you spoke so well, even a stubborn stone can be imbued with spirit."

"Hehe, you're just talking nonsense." Huang E smiled with narrowed eyes, then put on a stern face and said, "Then your teacher will test you."

"As a beginner, I'm just making a fool of myself," Su Lu said with a laugh.

“Look at that riddle, ‘A horse covered with a tiger’s skin, tied with a bell,’” Huang E said, pointing to a riddle. “Solve a four-character riddle in one line.”

"..." Su Lu then recalled that the "tying the bell" riddle was a variant of the "untying the bell" riddle, which required adding a different pronunciation or interpretation to the answer to match the riddle.

With the riddle's structure in mind, understanding the riddle becomes much simpler. The answer clearly lies in the horse and tiger skin. The horse can be interpreted as "traveling a thousand miles," and the tiger skin as "king," echoing the quote from Mencius:
"To see the king after traveling a thousand miles!"

“That’s right, you’re a quick learner!” Huang E smiled knowingly, then pointed to another riddle and said, “Guess this one: ‘When in doubt about internal affairs, ask Zhang Zhao.’ It’s a riddle that uses the ‘rolled-up curtain’ method to represent a line from four characters.”

She was a meticulous person. She heard that Su Lu had just started studying the Book of Rites with Mr. Gangshan, so she specifically chose riddles about the Four Books and didn't ask him to solve riddles about the Five Classics.

“The ‘rolled-up curtain’ riddle…” Su Lu recalled that this riddle meant “the beaded curtain rolled up backwards,” where the answer was read backwards to match the riddle’s surface meaning. A flash of inspiration struck him, and he understood immediately:

"Plan it out!"

Zhang Zhao, whose courtesy name was Zibu, was the one who devised the strategies, so "the strategies are in Bu" is read backwards as "the strategies are in Bu" in the Doctrine of the Mean!
Huang E then asked Su Lu several different riddles, and he answered them all correctly. Huang E was surprised and asked, "Brother Hongzhi, you've never solved a riddle before?"

“Yes.” Su Lu nodded. It was indeed his first time playing the lantern tiger game, but guessing riddles was not his first time... It was a little program he used to refresh his students in his previous life.

But there was no way to explain this to her, so I could only give credit to Huang E: "It was mainly because Miss Huang taught me the riddles, otherwise I would have been clueless."

That's true. If you can't understand the question's logic, even the best problem-solving skills are useless.

"Anyone can learn riddles, but if they can't solve them, they still can't." Huang E praised, "From Brother Hongzhi's lessons, I can see that you are quick-witted, but I didn't expect you to pick up riddles so quickly as well."

"You've taught her well, young lady," Su Lu said with a smile.

“Brother Hongzhi is learning even better.” Huang E said happily, “I never thought that teaching others would make me feel refreshed. I thought it would only make me feel depressed.”

"It's wonderful that you didn't upset the girl during the holiday." The two were chatting happily when suddenly someone spotted Huang E and exclaimed in surprise:
"Oh, Huang family's younger sister, you're here?"

"Miss Huang, we've been looking for you everywhere!" Seven or eight young men in fine clothes and adorned with jade pendants rushed over with delight and surrounded Huang E in a flash.

"It's like searching high and low without finding it."

Seeing that Huang E seemed to know them, the warriors did not stop them.

"So it's you brothers Li." Huang E gave a slight bow.

"Why are you hiding so far away, young lady? Today's riddle-solving and tiger-shooting game is the perfect opportunity for you to showcase your talents!"

"Yes, yes, there are several that we can't guess, and we need Miss Huang to help!" Several young masters from the Li family then asked Huang E to move the battlefield.

"Please don't hesitate to lend a helping hand; I will repay you handsomely!"

Huang E remained standing still and said calmly, "Excuse me, gentlemen, I'm talking to a friend right now."

"Who, him?" The young masters of the Li family then pretended to have just seen Su Lu and looked him up and down with ill intent, saying, "Excuse me, sir, we thought you were Miss Huang's attendant."

"It's alright, most people respect clothes before they respect people." This kind of routine commonly used by high school sports students naturally wouldn't cause Su Lu any ripples.

"How dare you speak like that?" The young masters of the Li family were not fools; they could naturally hear the sarcasm in his words.

Huang E frowned slightly, about to speak and stop them, but Zhu Zihe objected first, squeezing out from the crowd and glaring at the young masters of the Li family:

How dare you speak like that?!

He didn't try to solve riddles tonight, wanting to give his poor little brain a rest. So, the first thing he saw was the annoying Li brothers coming over.

Moreover, these nouveau riche actually came for his beloved godfather, and Zhu Zihe's temper flared up instantly.

Hearing Zhu Zihe's angry shout, the Zhu brothers also crowded over. Zhu Zigeng said to the leader, Young Master Li, "Li Zongbao, are you looking for trouble on this holiday?"

"No way." Li Zongbao, the eldest son of the Li family, didn't expect that his mockery of the poorly dressed boy would actually attract the young masters of the Zhu family. He laughed and said, "We just wanted to invite Miss Huang to solve a riddle together."

“That’s right,” his brothers chimed in. “You’ve been taking Miss Huang for so long, it’s time to give her to us.”

"Is Miss Huang something you can just give her away?" Miss Zhu snorted. "She can play with whomever she wants!"

"How do you know that Huang's sister doesn't want to play with us?" Li Zongbao's brother, Li Zongyou, also snorted, then smiled obsequiously at Huang E, saying, "Huang's sister, please give us some face."

"There's no need to go over and guess the riddles, I have one right here," Huang E said with a nonchalant smile. "Why don't you all try to guess it?" "Yes, yes, please tell us, sister." The Li brothers were overjoyed, while someone else gave the Zhu brothers a smug look, as if to say, "Let's see who has more face?"
"Listen carefully," Huang E said in a clear, melodious voice.
"Pointed head, slender body, white as silver"

It weighed out not even a fraction of a cent.

The eyes are located on the posterior cusp.
They only care about clothes, not people!

Every word these guys said infuriated Huang E, so she directly confronted them and unleashed her full power...

"Hahaha!" The Zhu brothers immediately slapped their thighs and stamped their feet, bursting into laughter. "Well said! Well said! Absolutely brilliant!"

The phrase "pointed head, slender body, white as silver" is a satirical description of the Li brothers, whose fine clothes and jade belts were as thin as hemp stalks.

The phrase "not even a fraction of what they are worth" is a sarcastic remark about their frivolity and incompetence.

As for the last two sentences, they were simply too vulgar. Especially the third one, "eyes on the buttocks," which is worse than just saying "buttocks," since that's usually called a pig's hindquarters...

"Young lady of the Huang family, you..." The young masters of the Li family were immediately embarrassed, their faces turning bright red. They hadn't expected Huang E to be so merciless in her retort. Wasn't this just making them look like clowns?

However, Huang E's father was the highest-ranking official in Luzhou and even in southern Sichuan, and the Li family's business still depended on Huang Bingxian's leniency. Naturally, they dared not show the slightest anger and had to force a smile and say, "You've misunderstood us, we didn't mean it that way."

"Brothers, you've misunderstood me, haven't you? I just asked you to solve a riddle." Huang E smiled nonchalantly, "Can't you even solve such a simple riddle?"

"Hehe, so it was just a riddle. We were overthinking it," the Li brothers forced a laugh.

"Oh, so it's a riddle? I thought it was a riddle." Zhu Zijing said sarcastically, "Did you figure it out?"

"I've figured it out..." Li Zongsheng gritted his teeth and said, "It's a needle!"

"Oh, it's a needle! That's great!" the Zhu brothers exclaimed in unison.

The Li brothers looked at each other. The younger ones wanted to back down, but the older ones, Zongbao and Zongyou, shook their heads. If they didn't get their revenge, they would become a laughing stock in Luzhou City.

But they couldn't retaliate against Huang E; they neither had the courage nor the strength.

The Zhu brothers are numerous and powerful, and the two families often run into each other, so it wouldn't be good if things got too tense.

Therefore, we should set our sights on Su Lu, who clearly has no background and is all alone.

“I just heard them talking. That kid is solving riddles for the first time today…” Li Zongsheng whispered to his brothers.

“Yes, that’s him. We must take him down.” Li Zongbao nodded, then put on a smile again, cupped his fists to Su Lu and said, “We apologize, brother. You are truly a man of great learning. We were being presumptuous just now.”

“Then we will ask you for your guidance, brother. Please do not hesitate to teach us,” Li Zongyou replied.

"Not interested," Su Lu shook his head.

“That’s not up to you, brother!” Li Zongsheng took off the jade pendant from his waist and handed it to Su Lu, saying in a deep voice, “I challenge you, brother!”

"Is this going to be a fight?" Su Tai handed some snacks to his page and stretched his shoulders.

“No, this is a literary battle.” Zhu Ziming quickly stopped him and said, “It’s the kind where you talk but don’t fight—the challenger has to offer a substantial prize, while the respondent doesn’t.”

"Is it possible to not fight back?" She Yunlu asked.

"No," Zhu Ziming shook his head and said, "How can a true man be afraid of battle?"

Sure enough, Su Lu took the jade pendant, which was as green as medicated oil, and said in a deep voice, "What are we comparing?"

"Shoot the Tiger King!" Li Zongsheng said, enunciating each word clearly, "If you can hit my Tiger King, you win!"

He paused, then looked coldly at Su Lu and said, "If you can't hit the target, then behave yourself and stop getting in the way!"

"What is your tiger king?" Su Lu asked directly.

"Follow me!" Li Zongsheng turned around and led the way, and the Li brothers also turned and left... Of course, it would be better if Su Lu didn't dare to follow.

As for that 'medicated oil', the Li family were major salt merchants...

"How come you fell for their provocation so easily?" The Zhu brothers looked at Su Lu with concern.

"You were all so angry just now, do you think I wasn't angry too?" Su Lu raised an eyebrow. "If I don't teach them a lesson, they'll think I'm just a lackey!"

"I'm sorry, Brother Hongzhi," Huang E said apologetically. She had only come to apologize to Su Lu today, but her apology had unexpectedly become more and more elaborate.

"Now it's my turn to teach them a lesson, it has nothing to do with Miss Huang!" At this moment, Su Lu revealed his sharp edge, no longer the gentle and low-key young man he had been before.

“But you’ve only just learned it…” Huang E said worriedly.

“If I know it, I know it.” Su Lu said with a carefree smile, “If there are any riddles I still don’t know, I’ll have to ask Miss Huang to teach me on the spot.”

P.S. These three chapters were really hard to write today; I didn't finish until 11:45... so I haven't checked the last two chapters yet.

(End of this chapter)