Top Scholar

Chapter 57 Third in the Entire County
The extra homework assigned by Mr. Zhang was not a big burden for Su Lu, because he had already taken the initiative to increase the number of Cheng Wen texts he had to memorize each day from one to three the day before yesterday.

That's why people who are prone to stress often put the most pressure on themselves...

Of course, it's also because this stuff is super easy to memorize. Excellent eight-legged essays are easy to read aloud and have a rhythm, with clear reasoning, elegant and simple language, and a smooth and coherent flow, making them very friendly to memorization and far less difficult than "The Four Books with Commentary".

Moreover, due to the rules, each essay in the eight-legged essay format could not exceed seven hundred characters. For Su Lu now, memorizing three essays a day, in addition to his regular homework, was a bit strenuous, but he could still manage to complete it.

As for antithetical couplet training, it is actually the most enjoyable of all the lessons for scholars... If you don't believe me, just look at the legends of ancient talented scholars, aren't there the most stories about couplets?
Moreover, unlike the parallelism in the four-six style essay, the parallelism in the eight-legged essay is very flexible. It does not require elaborate language, allusions, or adherence to the four-six style. It is the freest form of parallelism and can be practiced anytime, anywhere, and at will.

So every day on their way to and from school, Su Lu and Su Dan had an extra task: practicing matching pairs.

This matter didn't even require Su Youcai's help, as Su Dan had already received complete training in lesson preparation at the clan school.

Since the start of the school year, Jiao Jing'er has received a lot of help from Su Lu, and now that he finally has the opportunity to help him, he is naturally very happy.

Su Dan told Su Lu that the method of practicing couplets is to start from simple to complex, from one-word couplets to two, three, four, five, and finally to complete sentence couplets, which must be rhyming.

“Let’s give it a try, then I’ll know. I’ll start with a word—” Su Dan said, looking around. It was already February, and wildflowers bloomed along the post road. He then smiled and said:
"flower."

“Willow.” Su Lu blurted out as he saw the tender willows sprouting new buds along the Chishui River.

"safflower."

"Green willows".

"Red flowers."

"Green willows line the banks."

“The Way gives birth to red flowers.”

"Green willows hang down on the bank."

"The Way gives birth to new red flowers."

"Tender green willows hang down on the bank." Su Lu's recitation of those antithetical couplets was not for nothing; he could recite simple antithetical couplets off the cuff.

"It's going to get more difficult," Su Dan reminded him, adding six characters: "The Dao gives birth to new blooming red flowers."

Su Lu immediately realized that the other party had indeed set a trap in the previous sentence. It's easy to say "new" versus "tender," but adding "bloom" to "new" turns it into a verb, and "tender" also needs to be changed accordingly.

It's still quite challenging for a novice like him.

The person who comes up with the matching couplet holds the initiative and can naturally find ways to make things difficult for the person who came up with it, especially since the person who came up with the couplet is a shrewd one...

Su Lu stared at the willow branches that had just sprouted by the roadside, pondered for a long time, and finally managed to say, "Tender green willows droop along the bank."

"Okay," Su Dan nodded reluctantly.

"Then may I ask you, my worthy brother, which one is better?" Su Lu sincerely asked for advice.

"Using the word 'dye' seems better," Su said with a faint smile. "What do you think, brother?"

“The tender green willows hanging down the bank…” Su Lu said with complete admiration, “Indeed, it is a hundred times better.”

"It's just something ordinary," Su Dan said with a modest smile, then asked, "Shall we continue?"

"Continue." Su Lu nodded. He was quite into this kind of word game, a typical case of someone who was bad at it but had a strong addiction.

"Okay." Su Dan then added seven words:
“A new red flower blooms in the Dao.”

"The tender green willows hang down along the bank."

“A new red flower blooms gently in the breeze.”

"The tender green willows droop along the bank." This time, Su Lu was prepared, and the trap failed.

“New blossoms emerge from the Dao, their delicate red petals swaying in the breeze.”

"The tender green willows hang low on the bank, gently swaying in the breeze." But it was indeed getting more and more difficult, and Su Lu thought for a long time before coming up with a reply.

Su Dan nodded approvingly, not expecting her brother to do so well on his first try...

Actually, he's finding it increasingly difficult to come up with pairs. Forcing them together isn't a problem, of course, like adding '驿' before '道' or '枝' after '花', but those pairs are too easy to come up with, so it's better not to come up with any.

But how could I let my first mistake be attributed to myself? Wouldn't that make my brother look down on me? So Su Dan forced out ten words:
“The Dao gives birth to new blossoms, their delicate petals swaying and scattered like red flowers.”

"The tender green willows droop along the bank, their leaves swaying gently in the breeze." Su Lu had already figured out the trick; he discovered that the more words there were, the more difficult it was to set questions.

On the contrary, for couplets, you can simply follow the steps, which reduces the difficulty.

Knowing Su Dan's personality, he took the initiative to stop, saying, "I'm sorry, let's stop here."

Su Dan was still young and couldn't see that Qiu Ge'er was saving his face. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Brother is amazing. He almost made me speechless the first time."

"Haha, it's just practice, don't be so competitive." Su Lu laughed, "Let's try again with different words!"

Through this exercise, he understood Mr. Zhang's good intentions. The parallelism training truly improved his ability to control language, and it seemed to have similarities with the approach to breaking down a problem; this was definitely a lesson he needed to learn.

~~
Under Mr. Zhang's meticulous guidance, Su Lu quickly adapted to the academy's pace, and he was able to keep up with the morning classics lessons. Mr. Zhang also soon finished teaching the *Great Learning* and began leading his students in studying the *Analects*... The afternoon essay-writing lessons were much more challenging, mainly because his classmates had already learned the eight-legged essay style, and the teacher couldn't wait for Su Lu alone. In just one month, he had covered the 'opening the topic,' 'accompanying the topic,' and 'beginning the lecture,' and had already begun formally teaching the eight-legged essay style...

Su Lu had no choice but to skim through the lessons in class and rely entirely on catching up during breaks and after school.

Although Mr. Zhang was anxious for him, he insisted that he take things one step at a time, making sure each step was solid. He didn't allow him to try to run before he could walk.

It wasn't until Su Lu passed the initial question that Mr. Zhang allowed him to try writing the follow-up question. By then, it was already mid-February, with only one month left until the first major exam.

Su Lu was overwhelmed with studies in February, but there was a lot of good news around her.

First, her godmother's sweet drink shop opened. Following Su Lu's instructions, she explained the development plan—in code terms—to Commander Ma. Old Ma didn't understand it at first, but he was deeply impressed…

People are always like this, they have great respect for the fields they don't understand. Ma Qianhu now firmly believes that his godmother's business is high-end and sophisticated, and only an expert like her can handle it.

So he not only firmly stopped his brother-in-law's attempt to get involved in Sweet Water Restaurant, but also used his best shop as an investment.

Su Lu glanced at the shop on his way home from school; it was located at a three-way intersection in the center of town. One road led to the Chishui Bridge, another to the River God Temple, and the third was the only way in and out of Taiping Town.

“This is a prime location.” Su Lu stood on the second floor of the shop, which was already under renovation, watching the pedestrians coming and going on the street.

"Yes." The proprietress had her head wrapped in a blue cloth, her clothes were dirty, and there was a speck of dust on her fair forehead. "Aside from the shop being a bit small, there's nothing wrong with it."

“Opening a restaurant is a bit small, but selling sweet drinks is just right.” Su Lu laughed, “Making the most of everything, our commander is a shrewd man.”

"That's right. He's easy to talk to now because he's convinced we can make money. If he's disappointed later, he'll probably change his attitude," the proprietress said soberly.

"Then why are you being so polite, godmother?" Su Lu said with a smile, "You should make the most of her."

"It's already in use." The proprietress chuckled and raised her small fist. "I've visited every restaurant, brothel, and gambling den in town during this time. Everyone knows that our business is owned by Commander Ma, so they've all given us face. We've collected ten taels in deposits alone."

"Really? When will the supply start?" Su Lu asked in surprise.

"It's already been supplied. There's also a small courtyard behind the shop, where I have the workers produce and bottle the products. It doesn't take a single day off," the proprietress said with a smile.

"Wow, a shop in the front and a factory in the back," Su Lu exclaimed, only then realizing that "godmother" meant an extremely capable mother.

With such a capable godmother around, he stopped asking questions and only inquired about the elder's life, asking, "Where does godmother live now?"

“I’ll live here,” the godmother said. “Once the renovations are finished here, Mom and Tiantian will come over, and the three of us will live on the second floor.”

She then earnestly invited Su Lu, saying, "Son, you don't need to travel so far back and forth anymore. Just stay at the inn after school, and you can give us women some courage at night."

Su Lu rubbed his nose. His godmother was too good at talking; he almost wanted to agree. But with his studies demanding, he couldn't leave his second brother even for a whole night. So he looked at Su Dan, who was waiting at the shop entrance, and said, "We made a promise to go to and from school together; we can't break our promise."

"My son is truly a man of his word," the landlady thought, assuming he was still embarrassed. She thought to herself, "Looks like I've been a bit too hasty."

But there's plenty of time; sooner or later, he'll treat me like his own mother...

The proprietress then showed a disappointed expression, making it seem as if she had done something very wrong.

Su Lu had no choice but to change his words, saying, "When the weather is bad, I come to cause trouble for my godmother."

"Sigh, alright then. Son, don't be so polite next time." The landlady sighed, took his hand, and said, "Remember, this is your home too. Come home and visit often, understand?"

"Yes, I understand." While touched, Su Lu became even more certain that the proprietress's motives were impure.

Could it be a strategy of besieging the stronghold and ambushing reinforcements?

~~
And there's even bigger good news...

On February 20th, Su Lu returned home from school and found the stilted house bustling with activity, with all eighteen households gathered together.

The last time it was this lively was for my uncle's wedding...

But this time everyone was beaming with joy. Even the old man, who always had a long face, was chatting and laughing.

The eldest aunt was even more carried away. Although she was almost forty, she was still dressed up in a flamboyant manner, carrying a teapot and walking back and forth in the crowd without pouring tea for them, just to hear them praise her.

"Oh dear, no, you can't let the young master's mother pour the water!"

"Sister-in-law is so lucky to have such a good son."

"Chun-ge'er has been smart since he was a child, but it's also because his younger siblings taught him well!"

"Oh, not at all! You're making me blush." ​​Auntie laughed heartily, saying "Don't praise me anymore," but her face clearly said, "Keep it up, don't stop!"

Su Lu knew what was going on at a glance. He also counted on his fingers every day. So he asked Su Youcai, who was boiling water in the courtyard, "Did my brother pass the county exam?"

"Yes." Su Youcai nodded and smiled, his joy tinged with a hint of bitterness. "Your uncle sent word that the results were released yesterday, and Chun-ge'er ranked third in the whole county!"

"Really? Big brother is that amazing?!" Su Lu was overjoyed upon hearing this and jumped three feet high.

P.S. This book has really taken a lot of effort to write. That's why I can't write it quickly. Please vote with your monthly tickets!

(End of this chapter)