The middle-aged man on the boat did not show contempt because of Jiang Han's clothes, but instead invited him on the boat in surprise.
The second couplet that this young man casually recited was so neat that it could even be called "absolute"!
He must be a very talented person. If this person has a clean family background, he may really become the uncle of Ningguo Mansion.
As for poverty, Ning Guofu doesn't care about that.
With the status of Ning Guo Mansion in Yunmeng City, who can rival Ning Guo Gong's Mansion?
Jiang Han walked onto the boat excitedly. His eyes fell on the food on the deck, and his stomach growled unsatisfactorily.
But in the eyes of the young people on the shore, his excited expression turned into excitement because he could get on the boat and become the uncle of Ningguo Mansion.
"Who is this person? He actually wants to be the uncle of the Qin family? Doesn't he know how scary Miss Qin is?"
"I recognize him! Isn't he the Jiang Han from Master Zhen's school? This man is stupid and failed to pass the exam for several years! He is nicknamed Jiang Duzi."
"Oh! It turns out it's him! He couldn't even pass the Tongsheng examination, so no wonder he dared to go to Huafang. After all, if he could marry into Ningguo Mansion, he would have no worries for the rest of his life."
"Wait... isn't it said that he is stupid? How did he cope with this couplet?"
The scholars on the shore looked at each other in surprise.
When did this idiot Jiang show such respect to his partner?
Could it be a blind cat encountering a dead mouse?
Jiang Han turned a deaf ear to those people's words. He came to the middle-aged man and cupped his hands.
"What's your surname, this young master?" The middle-aged man looked at Jiang Han and said with a smile.
"Jiang Han." Jiang Han imitated the tone of the ancients.
The middle-aged man praised: "It turns out to be Young Master Jiang! I am Qin Fen, the steward of the Qin Mansion. Young Master Jiang is a wonderful couplet. You should be a guest of my Qin family! Come, Young Master, please come here."
After speaking, Butler Qin invited him to sit down at a table on the deck.
There are about a dozen large round tables placed on the deck. Half of the round tables are filled with pens, inks, paper and inkstones, and the other half are filled with various exquisite pastries and snacks.
Jiang Han sat down at the table and impatiently reached out to grab a piece of sweet-scented osmanthus cake and stuffed it into his mouth.
He was so hungry that his eyes turned green, and he felt that the pastries on the table were really the most delicious food in the world.
Butler Qin smiled and said: "Young Master Jiang looks like he is only eighteen or nineteen years old, but he is very majestic. He casually responded to this couplet written by my master. He must be talented and ambitious... But Qin is still I am confused, as the young master is so talented, why not take part in the imperial examination and seek an official position?"
In Dayu, a son-in-law had a lowly status and could not take part in the imperial examination.
Although becoming the son-in-law of Ningguo Mansion would not worry about food and clothing, it was naturally impossible for him to participate in the imperial examination.
Therefore, a truly talented and ambitious person would rather take part in the imperial examination to seek an official position than join the Ningguo Mansion and become the son-in-law of the Ningguo Mansion.
Steward Qin deliberately asked this question because he wanted to test his character.
Butler Qin looked at Jiang Han, wondering how he would answer.
Jiang Han finished eating the sweet-scented osmanthus cake and started eating the mung bean cake. As for what Butler Qin said, he went in with his right ear and out with the other, and didn't hear a word.
Butler Qin watched Jiang Han devouring his food, and the smile on his face froze slightly. He stretched out his hand and shook it in front of him: "Young Master Jiang, Young Master Jiang!"
Jiang Han finally came back to his senses, looked at Butler Qin and smiled awkwardly, and asked, "What did you just say?"
Qin Guanjia said: "I asked you, with your talent, why don't you take part in the imperial examination and seek an official position?"
Jiang Han's mouth twitched and he said to himself, "If I want to overthrow him, I have to do it!" Don’t these words poke holes in others’ hearts?
It’s not like my predecessor never took the science exam. The key is that he failed to pass the exam after several years!
Do you want me to say that I can't even pass the Tongsheng test? How embarrassing!
He thought for a while and smiled: "The flowers are not flowers, and the fog is not fog. It comes at midnight and leaves at dawn."
"It came like a spring dream in a short time, and left like a morning cloud without a trace."
"Life is like morning dew, but also like a spring dream."
"How can I be so cruel and humble to serve the powerful and make me unhappy?"
"Jiang doesn't even bother to be an official in the imperial examination!"
These words were naturally bragging words to cover up the fact that he could not pass the Tongsheng examination, but when heard by Butler Qin, his heart was shocked and his eyes lit up.
"Young Master is a great talent!"
Butler Qin bowed his hand to him, then left the deck and headed towards the second floor of the boat.
Seeing Butler Qin leaving, Jiang Han thought that he had finally left, so that he would not be bothered by the chatter here.
He stared at the food on the table again, stretched out his hands and ate haphazardly.
…
On the second floor of the boat, in a beautiful and spacious box, there were three or four old men wearing Confucian shirts sitting.
However, the judges invited by the Ningguo Mansion this time are all highly respected and talented people in Yunmeng City.
This son-in-law selection party held by the Ningguo Mansion for Miss Qin, regardless of their origins, is looking for talented and learned people, and the participants will be judged on their second couplets.
Ning Guogong Qin Zhong was sitting in front of the window of the boat, looking at the lively crowd on the shore, but his brows were furrowed.
He is worried about his daughter Qin Muqing's marriage.
Qin Muqing is already twenty this year, so he should have gotten married a long time ago. Unfortunately, because of his evil reputation, he once beat the young masters from aristocratic families who came to propose marriage so hard that they couldn't even get out of bed, so that now there is no one who even proposes marriage.
Although the son-in-law selection ceremony was held today, traveling from the east of the lake to the west of the lake, so far, there are not many people who can match the first couplet, and most of them are not satisfactory.
Although the four great talents from Yunmeng City also came ashore, those talents had either been beaten by Qin Muqing and were afraid of him like a tiger, or they had higher ambitions in their hearts and were unwilling to join the Qin Mansion as their son-in-law.
At this moment, Butler Qin excitedly opened the door and walked in, saying happily: "Master! Four gentlemen! Someone has matched that couplet!"
"Oh, who is it? What's wrong?" The four judges couldn't help but raise their heads curiously.
Qin Zhong also looked at Butler Qin.
Steward Qin said loudly: "It's a scholar named Jiang Han. He is better at iron than rust!"
The four judges looked at each other and their eyes lit up.
"Not bad, not bad! The second couplet is a perfect match!"
"Iron versus ice, just perfect! This is the best of so many second lines in the morning!"
"This couplet should be your first choice!"
Qin Zhong pondered for a while and then said: "This person can join my Qin family's boat painting! What is this person's age and appearance?"
Butler Qin said: "This boy is only seventeen or eighteen years old. He has a handsome appearance, but his body is quite thin and his clothes are a little shabby. He should be a student from a poor family."
Qin Zhong smiled and said: "It doesn't matter whether you are a poor student or not. As long as you are not old or ugly, and you are talented and passable, it will be fine!"
Steward Qin said: "Sir, when I asked him why he didn't take the imperial examination, do you know what this person's answer would be?"
"Oh, how did he answer?" Qin Zhong asked.
Butler Qin cleared his throat and said in a cautious tone: "He said that flowers are not flowers and mist is not mist. It comes in the middle of the night and goes at dawn. It comes like a spring dream in a short time, and goes like a morning cloud with nowhere to find it. Life is like morning dew, and so on. illusion."
"He also said that An Neng was able to bend his eyebrows and bend his waist to serve the powerful, making me unhappy?"
Qin Zhong's eyes brightened, and he stood up suddenly, tasting these lines of poetry in his mouth, and his heart was even more shocked.
He deliberately set this question to test the contestants' character.
But I didn't expect to hear this answer.
Everyone in the world strives for fame, but this young man abandoned it like a piece of shit.
After hearing this, the faces of the four judges changed drastically and their eyes lit up.
"This son's character has surpassed most of the Confucian scholars in Yunmeng City!"
"Life is like morning dew and like a spring dream... This boy has a deeper understanding of life than I do!"
"I'm afraid even the four great talents couldn't write this poem!"
Qin Zhong pondered for a moment and said: "Then I will ask him to compose a poem. If he can catch the eyes of the four judges, he will be my Qin Zhong's son-in-law!"
After saying that, Qin Zhong took a piece of rice paper, wrote down the title, and handed it to Butler Qin.
