Top Scholar

Chapter 171 The boy at the bottom of the table will surely become a famous minister in the future.

After Su Lu finished drinking the cup, the young ladies couldn't wait to ask, "Young Master Su, you still haven't told us why."

"Yes, yes, people are so anxious."

"Tell me quickly..."

Hearing this, She Yunluo almost got goosebumps. She whispered to Huang E, "Who said you Han women were reserved? You dare to act coquettishly in front of your parents!"

“Of course one person wouldn’t dare, but the law doesn’t punish the masses,” Huang E laughed. “Besides, there’s the ancient story of Pan Lang throwing fruit and Wei Jie being killed by staring at him. Historically, people have been quite tolerant of this kind of collective flirting.”

"I don't understand what you Han people are thinking..." She Yunlu shook her head and said, "What's so good about a weakling pretty boy?"

"Who are you talking about?" Su Tai said, displeased. "My brother has worked in the fields since he was a child. He can walk the two hundred li of mountain road from Erlangtan to Luzhou in just two days!"

"I really didn't realize..." She Yunluo hadn't expected this guy to be such a protective brother, so she had no choice but to shut up.

At this moment, everyone saw Su Lu write the characters "sun" and "moon" on a piece of paper, then cover the bottom of the two characters with his index fingers, leaving only the top half exposed, like an eclipse of the sun and moon...

The remaining parts of both characters are exactly '冂'!
"I see!" The young ladies exclaimed in sudden understanding, bursting into cheers. "Young Master Su is amazing!"

"..." This made the young masters outside the door extremely envious, wishing they could take his place. Unfortunately, they could only dream about it; they didn't have the skills to handle such a delicate task!
As Huang E had predicted, the elders in the hall were quite tolerant of this collective folly, even reminiscing about their own glorious youth. Of course, any daughter who dared to go too far would inevitably be locked up in confinement upon returning home…

Once the girls had calmed down, Zhu Jie smiled at Su Lu and said, "Come on, this is the last one."

"Yes, sir," Su Lu replied respectfully.

The riddle from the Zhu family was: "If it weren't for Emperor Dezong's ignorance and incompetence, why would he have used it?" This was a riddle using the "unraveling the bell" method, requiring a four-line riddle.

This riddle comes from Su Xun's "On Distinguishing Traitors," and many scholars have been stumped by it because they have devoted their energy to studying the Four Books and Five Classics and a vast amount of reference books. It was only in recent years, with the rise of the antiquarian movement, that they were forced to read Qin and Han dynasty texts again.

Few people would delve into the writings of Song Dynasty Confucian scholars like Su Xun, who were neither a scholar nor a scholar. But Su Lu was different; those were the writings of his ancestor. His elder brother had already transcribed them all and instructed him to read and memorize them.

Therefore, Su Lu immediately recalled the original sentence in the text—"Lu Qi's treachery was certainly enough to ruin a country. However, he was also unlearned and illiterate, his appearance was not captivating, and his words were not dazzling. If it weren't for Emperor Dezong's ignorance and lack of understanding, how could he have been employed?"

Therefore, the answer must lie with Lu Qi. Su Lu quickly searched his memory and soon thought of the sentence in the Analects, Book 8, "Qi is not a valid example!"
This is Confucius's lament about the Qi state, a descendant of the Xia dynasty, where the surviving documents are insufficient to verify his discussion of Xia rituals.

Here, "徵" means proof. "徵" also means to requisition or conscript. With this extended meaning, the sentence becomes "Lu Qi is not worthy of being requisitioned," perfectly capturing the essence of the riddle.

Actually, the "解铃格" here is very misleading, making it easy for riddle solvers to think of it as a phonetic shift. However, it is actually a semantic shift... We have to thank Huang E for this, as the first riddle she gave Su Lu to solve used a semantic shift.

After Su Lu wrote down the answers, the servants put the seven answers and the riddles together for everyone to savor, reminiscing about Su Lu's feat of shooting down seven tiger kings in one night!
Seeing that there was no more excitement to watch, the young masters and nobles went downstairs to continue their merriment.

The young ladies wanted to stay and see 'Su Lang', but they were chased away by their families.

"That's enough, stop making a fool of yourself."

The young ladies then slunk away from the Grand View Terrace, but before leaving, they couldn't help but steal glances back at the young man in white, whispering and laughing amongst themselves.

"Haha, good, good, good! Hongzhi really did it!" Prefect Jia said happily, "I was worried for you."

It turns out Lu Zhaoye wasn't exaggerating; Su Lu really was a genuine child prodigy, not just a pretty face.

Sorry, it's mine!
"Yes, these tiger kings are too cunning. I racked my brains for a long time, but I couldn't hit a single one!" Old Master Li said with a wry smile, "I'm old and useless now. I can't compare to the young people."

"It's somewhat in line with my cousin's ideas," said Han En, the commander of Luzhou Garrison, with a smile.

"Is Commander Han's evaluation really that high?" the gentlemen couldn't help but laugh. "Is Luzhou about to have its own Yang Shen?"

"Hongzhi, Commander Han's beloved mother, is the aunt of the famous child prodigy Yang," Zhu Jie introduced with a smile. "His cousin is the number one child prodigy in the world."

"Hongzhi, strive to be second in the world!" said Deng Qing, the eldest son of the Deng family, with a smile. He was no ordinary person either; he was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the Jia Chen year of the Chenghua era and rose to the position of Assistant Surveillance Commissioner of Guangdong.

Unfortunately, during the twelfth year of the Hongzhi reign, he was placed under investigation outside the capital and dismissed from office for improper conduct. He lost his official position, but retained his status and rank. In such a situation, as long as one had connections in the court, a reinstatement would be easy. However, after several years of maneuvering without success, his prospects naturally declined, and now he couldn't even sit at the head table anymore.

Such a person is naturally exceptionally sensitive. Today, his family's riddles were somewhat flawed; others would have laughed it off, but he felt deeply embarrassed. Fortunately, Su Lu saved the day. Therefore, Deng Qing was extremely grateful to Su Lu, even going so far as to use the gimmick of "second best in the world"!

Being second best in the world is already the limit. If he claimed to be number one, people would assume he was referring to Su Lu... No one would believe Su Lu could rival Yang Shen. Yang Shen, the prodigy, completely crushes him in every way, from family background to talent...

"The second best in the world. Lao Tzu said, 'I have three treasures: compassion, frugality, and not daring to be the first in the world.'" Old Master Li laughed, "However, young friend Hongzhi, the imperial examination is not the same as shooting a tiger. You must also make progress in your writing."

"Don't worry, sir. If you can solve a riddle well, at least you can solve it well too," Master Bai said with a smile. "Indeed, you need quick wit and solid knowledge!" Huang Bingxian also stroked his beard and praised, "I have observed that this young man has always been calm and composed. He will surely achieve great things in the future."

He suddenly remembered something and asked Su Lu, "Don't you have a brother named Su Tai?"

“Replying to the military commander, it is indeed my elder brother,” Su Lu said respectfully.

"Excellent! These two brothers, one scholarly and one martial, are both outstanding!" Huang Bingxian then asked with a smile, "Has he arrived?"

"He's here." Su Lu quickly looked outside and saw his second brother still waiting for him at the door. "He's right at the door."

"Quickly, call him in." Huang Bingxian said, turning to Commander Han, "Marquis of Ten Thousand Households, let me introduce you to a brave warrior."

As he spoke, he recounted to Han En how Su Tai had captured Qi San and broken both of his arms.

Commander Han was indeed intrigued. He looked at Su Tai, who had just entered from outside, and his eyes lit up as he said, "He's a truly excellent prospect!"

"I have already recommended him to study martial arts in Luzhou. From now on, it will be up to Commander Han to cultivate him properly." Huang Ke then had Su Tai pay his respects to Han En. From then on, Su Tai would work under him. A local official is more powerful than a county magistrate, so paying a visit can't hurt.

Han En was very happy. In every such occasion, the excitement belonged to others, while he was the only one feeling lonely. He was already very grateful that Huang Bingxian had found a young man to let him participate.

He then ordered someone to pour a bowl of white wine and presented it to Su Tai, saying, "Come, brave warrior, drink it all!"

"Yes." Su Tai didn't hesitate, took the wine bowl with both hands, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Haha, good! That's what a real man drinks like this!" Commander Han patted Su Tai on the shoulder happily and said, "If anything happens, just come to the command headquarters to find me."

"Yes." Su Tai bowed and took his leave without blushing or panting.

Huang Bingxian stopped Su Lu, made him sit at the lower seat, and asked, "Su Tai said that you taught him the Four Books?"

“Yes,” Su Lu said, “this is also a learning method for students.”

"How did you manage to explain it so thoroughly? How could your brother, who hasn't had much formal education, understand the principles of the Four Books so well?" This was what Huang Ke really wanted to know. If Su Lu's method worked, he planned to promote it in all the garrisons in Luzhou, so that the soldiers could properly learn the sage's teachings.

"The students were just giving normal lectures; it's mainly because my brother is quick to learn," Su Lu said softly.

"I see..." Huang Bingxian was slightly disappointed, thinking that Su Lu had some special method. But thinking about it, there are no shortcuts to the writings of sages.
"If Your Excellency wants the soldiers to learn to read and understand principles, why not try using Su Lu's phonetic symbols?" Prefect Jia said with a smile.

"Okay, we can talk about it in detail later." Huang Bingxian nodded, but he didn't have much hope, since even the Prefect Jia hadn't promoted it in Luzhou.

"Then I'll take my leave now, so as not to disturb the enjoyment of my grandfather and all the esteemed gentlemen." Su Lu said, taking his leave.

"Before you leave, is there something you still need to do?" Magistrate Jia asked with a stern face.

"Please give me your instructions, Grandfather," Su Lu hurriedly said.

"You've shot down everyone's lantern tiger, shouldn't you shoot down one for this prefecture too?" Prefect Jia finally smiled. Everyone laughed along.

"Please, Grand Ancestor, give us the question!" Su Lu said respectfully.

Then Prefect Jia announced loudly, "Listen carefully—the riddle is 'The young man at the end of the seat will surely become a famous minister one day!' Answer: A line from the Book of Songs!"

"Excellent!" A cheer erupted from the hall. "Grandpa's riddle is truly apt and perfectly natural!"

"Hongzhi must strive to improve himself and live up to the expectations of our great-grandfather!" The gentlemen all praised him, saying, "If you become a famous minister one day, today's events will surely be a legendary tale!"

"But you should try to solve the riddle first; you absolutely must solve this lantern tiger!" the gentlemen said with a smile.

"Yes." Su Lu bowed and replied, then picked up his brush and wrote the four characters "green clothes and yellow skirts" on the paper!
"Excellent!" everyone in the hall exclaimed in unison. "This kid really can't be stumped!"

Actually, the prefect's riddle was a spontaneous expression of his feelings, so it wasn't particularly ingenious, but of course, it still deserves praise...

The riddle comes from Zhang Gu's "Youxian Guchui" (幽闲鼓吹) from the Tang Dynasty: It tells of how the mother of Vice Minister Pan observed his colleagues at a banquet, and afterwards said to him, "That pale-faced young man at the end of the table will surely become a famous minister one day!"

The man in the light green official robes was named Du Huangshang, who later indeed rose to the position of prime minister.

Therefore, the answer is the line "green clothes and yellow skirt" from the poem "Bei Feng" in the Book of Songs!
P.S. I haven't had time to check the last two chapters yet.

(End of this chapter)