The Great Song Dynasty's Soul-Forging in Progress

He gritted his teeth: "Fine! I agree! Tell me, what's the bet?"

Wang Zhonghua smiled slightly and pointed to a small boat on Xiange Lake: "Let's bet on that boat—whoever can get the boat back to shore from the center of the lake within half an hour."

Zhao Zongyuan was taken aback, then burst into laughter: "Wang Zhonghua, are you an idiot? That boat is in the middle of the lake, and it doesn't have any oars. How are you going to get back?"

Wang Zhonghua remained calm, his gaze sweeping across the sun on the horizon: "Your Highness, you may not know this, but there is a pot of 'Drunken Eight Immortals' on that boat. The sun is high in the sky right now, and as long as someone can activate the aroma of the wine, the boat will naturally return."

Zhao Zongyuan laughed even louder: "Absurd! Absurd! The aroma of wine can attract boats? What do you think your wine is? A divine brew?" The scholars behind him also burst into laughter.

Wang Zhonghua wasn't annoyed. He just watched them smile quietly, his right hand gently stroking the warm jade bottle in his sleeve—the stopper was sealed with wax, and he had already mentally calculated the force, angle, and speed to pull it out seven times.

After they had finished laughing, he slowly said, "Don't believe me? Let's try it."

Zhao Zongyuan snorted coldly: "Let's try it! I want to see just how good your wine is!" He led a group of scholars to the lakeside in a grand procession.

The small boat drifted quietly in the middle of the lake, and sure enough, there was a pot of wine on board, gleaming with an amber light in the sunlight. Wang Zhonghua had chosen an excellent time—the yang energy was at its peak before noon, and the temperature of the lake water was uniform, making it the perfect opportunity to "use temperature difference to change air pressure".

Zhao Zongyuan stood on the shore and shouted, "Wang Zhonghua, why hasn't your boat returned yet?" Wang Zhonghua didn't answer, but instead took out a jade bottle from his sleeve, pressed his thumb against the stopper, and with just the right amount of force, pulled it off at an angle—

A soft "pop" sound.

A rich aroma of wine immediately filled the air.

The aroma was rich yet not pungent, mellow yet not cloying, as if it had a life of its own, slowly flowing through the air. In reality, it was high-purity alcohol mixed with borneol, heavier than air, skimming the surface of the water like a snake spreading towards the center of the lake.

The people by the lake were instantly invigorated by the aroma.

"Wow, it smells so good!"

"Huh, what kind of wine is this? It smells so good!"

Just as everyone was marveling, the small boat in the middle of the lake suddenly trembled slightly—the alcohol vapor cooled as soon as it came into contact with water, forming a low-temperature zone under the boat. The wine in the bow was warm from the sun, but the stern suddenly cooled down, creating a temperature difference between the two!

The small boat slowly turned in a different direction, as if being pushed by an invisible hand, and drifted towards the shore!

Zhao Zongyuan's smile froze.

He stared wide-eyed at the ship as if he had seen a ghost.

"This...how is this possible?"

The scholars behind him were also dumbfounded; some even rubbed their eyes, thinking they were seeing things.

But the ship was indeed moving.

The closer it drifted, the more stable it became—Wang Zhonghua's calculations were precise. The boat was made of light wood with a flat bottom and a very shallow draft, making it most susceptible to surface tension. The amount of wine in the jade bottle was just enough to evaporate for a quarter of an hour. By the time the boat reached the shore, the wine would have dissipated completely, leaving no trace.

Finally, the boat gently docked at the shore, its bow facing the location where Wang Zhonghua was.

The room was completely silent.

Immediately, thunderous cheers erupted!

"Amazing! Absolutely amazing!"

"Young Master Wang, this wine is truly divine!"

"Your Highness, it seems you've lost!" Liu Xinyi said with an aloof and ethereal air, a hint of mockery playing at the corners of her lips.

Zhao Zongyuan's face turned ashen, and his lips trembled: "Young Master Wang, please tell me your conditions."

Wang Zhonghua stared at Zhao Zongyuan, making him uneasy. The air around them seemed to freeze, and no one knew what outrageous request Wang Zhonghua would make.

After a long pause, Wang Zhonghua laughed and said, "Haha, as I said before, I haven't thought of anything yet. I'll discuss it with the young prince when I do."

Zhao Zongyuan breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if he had been granted a pardon. Just as he was about to take his leave, another ignorant scholar scolded, "Your Highness is of noble birth; it would be best to have less contact with you in the future!"

Liu Xinyi suddenly stepped forward and said calmly, "You all consider yourselves refined and noble. Since you're discussing elegance, a country girl has a couplet. I wonder if you can respond to it?"

Liu Sanbian and his companions, confident in their unparalleled talent and fond of showing off in front of beautiful women, arrogantly replied, "I bet you can't come up with a good answer either, so bring it on!"

Liu Xinyi smiled gently, making all the budding plum blossoms around her pale in comparison. Without waiting for Zhao Zongyuan and the others to reply, she spoke:

"An old man with white hair, wielding a halberd, riding a seahorse, fought a hundred battles against the bandits and blighted people, and then returned to the court. He is truly a worthy general and elder statesman."

In this couplet, the names of Chinese medicinal herbs such as Pulsatilla chinensis, Euphorbia pekinensis, Hippocampus, Equisetum hyemale, Cassia fistula, Lilium brownii, Inula japonica, General, and Guo Lao are cleverly combined to form a picture of an old general fighting on the battlefield, while also subtly praising Wang Zhonghua. It is truly ingenious.

Zhao Zongyuan and the talented men around him looked at each other, scratching their heads, unable to come up with a solution.

Liu Sanbian, who disliked losing face in front of women, blushed furiously and suddenly pointed at Wang Zhonghua: "Hmph! Such an absolute couplet, I bet there's no matching second line!"

Wang Zhonghua smiled slightly and continued:

"The Red Maiden, adorned with gold hairpins and silver flowers, is five times more beautiful than peonies and peonies; the Cistanche deserticola, upon leaving her chamber, is like a celestial being made of mica."

The second line also uses the names of medicinal herbs such as Red Maiden, Golden Hairpin, Silver Flower, Peony, Peony, Five-fold Oil, Cistanche, Mica, and Celestial Immortal to depict the beauty of a woman waiting to be married and to imply an appreciation for the woman beside her. It can be described as a perfect match and a perfect couplet.

"Wonderful!" Thunderous cheers erupted from the crowd.

Zhao Zongyuan's face turned ashen. He glared at Wang Zhonghua and led his men away in a sorry state.

Once the group had gone far away, Qin Tiehua loosened his grip on the hilt of his sword and let out a cold snort:

"These bastards, what are they? They're obviously no good."

Liu Xinyi said softly, "This man has dark circles under his eyes and a yellowish tongue coating, which are signs of excessive indulgence in sex. His body is already weakened, yet he still tries to put on a charming act. How laughable."

Wang Zhonghua couldn't help but laugh: "Xinyi, your eyes are sharper than knives."

Liu Xinyi said calmly, "A doctor's diagnosis involves observation, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation; it's just a matter of habit."

Qin Tiehua leaned closer and asked curiously, "Sister Liu, what do you think of me? How am I feeling?"

Liu Xinyi glanced at her, a slight smile playing on her lips: "Sister Qin is in very good health. It's just that she has a bit too much liver fire and is easily angered."

Qin Tiehua was taken aback, then realized what she meant and blushed, saying, "I didn't!"

Wang Zhonghua laughed heartily.

Laughter echoed among the ancient cypress trees of Taihao Mausoleum, startling a few crows into flight.

The three continued their tour.

On the Xiange Terrace, Wang Zhonghua stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the vast expanse of Xiange Lake. A thin layer of ice covered the lake surface in winter, shimmering silver in the sunlight. Occasionally, water birds would take flight from the reeds in the distance, breaking the silence.

He recalled the events of the past few days—the bloody battle at Hulu Bay, Di Qing's assistance, Ouyang Xiu's expectations, and the seemingly refined but actually cunning Zhao Zongyuan from earlier.

The road ahead is long, and the battles are many.

But more and more people are around him.

"Brother Zhonghua," Qin Tiehua suddenly spoke up, "Won't that young prince cause trouble at the banquet?"

Wang Zhonghua nodded: "Yes. And it won't be small."

"So what do we do?"

Wang Zhonghua smiled and looked into the distance:

"We'll meet force with force, and water with earth. If he's eating well, we'll treat him as a guest; if he's trying to cause trouble..."

He paused, his gaze turning cold:

"Then let's show him what it means to be a 'country bumpkin'."

Qin Tiehua's eyes lit up, and he gripped the hilt of his knife tightly: "Good!"

Liu Xinyi stood to the side, watching Wang Zhonghua's back, a slight smile playing on her lips.

She suddenly felt that following this person would make her never bored.

In the distance, Zhao Zongyuan and his entourage walked out of the Taihao Mausoleum.

After taking a few steps, he suddenly lowered his voice and said to Liu Sanbian beside him, "Mr. Liu, you are a renowned scholar of our time. Don't you have anything to say about what happened today?"

Liu Sanbian paused slightly, glancing back at the three people in the distance. His gaze lingered on Liu Xinyi for a moment before settling on Wang Zhonghua, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes—the young man stood there, dressed in simple clothes, yet his bearing was in no way inferior to that of a king or nobleman. And the two women beside him, one with a commanding presence and the other with a cool and aloof air, were both extraordinary individuals.

"Young Prince," Liu Sanbian said softly, "this Wang Zhonghua seems to have some background."

"Background?" Zhao Zongyuan sneered. "What background could a country bumpkin selling soup have? He's just got a few stinking coins and knows a few poems to fool a few women."

A sinister thought secretly rose in Zhao Zongyuan's mind.