Lu Li thanked him with a smile, and then headed towards Zhenhong Hall.
At this moment, among the thirty seats in front of the hall, there was only a middle-aged man in green clothes sitting alone. Lu Li took a quick look outside, then chose a seat where he was not in front of him, and waited quietly.
Soon, the team of more than 500 people in the west was screened. But what satisfied Qiao Feimu was that there were only twenty-eight people in total.
Moreover, only Lu Li and the middle-aged man in green shirt across from him were directly qualified for the finals. The other 26 people were still standing outside waiting.
As soon as the selection for the West District was completed, a guard quickly walked out of the hall with a scroll in hand, came to Qiao Feimu and said respectfully: "Mr. Qiao, this is the second question."
Qiao Feimu took the scroll, walked to the steps of the flower bed in the east area and stood there. Under the anxious eyes of everyone, he slowly turned the scroll down and unfolded it!
When everyone saw the title above, they were dumbfounded.
I saw it written clearly on it: Tune the piano to a new tune, tune to tune to tune to a wonderful tune!
"This is too difficult. I think I am well-informed, but I have never seen such a tricky first couplet. Hey! It seems that I really missed the chance to be the guest of honor this time." Someone shook his head and sighed.
"Yeah, this is not right. I think it's more like deliberately making things difficult for us!"
"That's right. Are you worried that I will steal his job, so you deliberately asked some questions that you have never heard before?"
"Hmph! It's okay not to participate in such a selection. We are all talented and learned people. We should have great ambitions and a heart that embraces all rivers. Why come here to scheming and scheming and ruining the reputation of a scholar!"
After hearing these words, many people instantly resonated with their expressions of indignation.
When the scene was noisy, some bold people even questioned Qiao Feimu:
"Dare I ask Mr. Qiao, what answer can you give to this couplet? If you can give it, we are willing to admit defeat. If even someone like Mr. Qiao can't give it, then this question is a little inappropriate, so why not change it to another one? One question?"
"Of course, if sir insists on doing this, we, the common people, can't do anything to him. However, everyone may not be convinced. If this matter is spread..."
Seeing someone speaking, the rest of the crowd also started making noises. It wasn't until the soldiers next to them drew their swords and shouted coldly that the scene finally became quieter, but most of them were angry and looked dissatisfied.
Seeing this, Qiao Feimu couldn't help but frown secretly, because this couplet was not written by him either, but by another official of the city lord's palace, Wang Hetai.
Moreover, he did not know before this that this question would be like this.
Now it seems that it was probably Wang Hetai who deliberately embarrassed himself.
However, in such a situation, he couldn't lose his momentum. He looked at it expressionlessly and shouted in a deep voice: "How unbecoming is it to make such a scene! Just because you are so ratty and have such eyes, He is also worthy of being called a scribe, and he is also worthy of being a guest of the court...!"
Qiao Feimu flew into a rage and made everyone's faces turn red. Some of the weak-minded people even felt their chests heaving with anger and almost vomiting blood.
Seeing this situation, Qiao Feimu stopped outputting.
However, scolding is fun, but the next problem comes. Because he couldn't come up with a suitable second line in a short time.
After pondering for a moment, Qiao Feimu finally came up with an idea. Didn't these people just think this question was too difficult? Didn't they deliberately make things difficult for themselves? If someone here could figure it out, wouldn't this problem be self-defeating?
Moreover, he can give these people a hard slap in the face to let himself breathe again.
So, after thinking for a short time, Qiao Feimu called a guard and gave instructions in a low voice.
At present, he can only place his hope on the twenty-eight people who have passed through the Western District just now. He hopes that those people will not let him down.
Otherwise, I'm afraid it would be really difficult to step down today.
Thinking of this, Qiao Feimu's face suddenly turned gloomy again. Wang Hetai actually changed the topic without authorization at this time. It was obvious that he was deliberately embarrassing himself and even wanted to ruin my reputation!
At the same time, inside Zhenhong Hall.
There was a middle-aged man in a python robe, sitting at the main seat and leisurely sipping tea. He suddenly heard the noise outside and couldn't help but frowned: "Why is it so noisy? Could it be that something happened?"
The old man in blue robe on the lower right smiled softly, put down his tea cup and said with a flattering smile: "My lord, there is no need to worry. As long as Mr. Qiao is here, nothing will happen."
But while speaking, this man couldn't help but have a sneer flash across his face.
This old man in blue robe is exactly the Wang Hetai that Qiao Feimu mentioned. The middle-aged man in python robes on the throne is the current lord of Andu City, Pang Zheng.
Wang Hetai and Qiao Feimu, who was outside, were both guests of the court. On the surface, they were friendly, but in fact, their relationship was not that good.
Because Wang Hetai was narrow-minded and could not see anyone taking more seriously than him, he would show off in front of the city lord Pang Zheng from time to time. However, Qiao Feimu was better than him in the arts and would be kind enough to correct him once he discovered any loopholes.
This made Wang Hetai feel very humiliated, and he always wanted to drive Qiao Feimu out of the city lord's mansion.
And today is an opportunity.
As long as this matter becomes a big deal and the world's literati will be disappointed in the city lord's palace, Qiao Feimu will definitely become infamous. At that time, Pang Zheng will be concerned about his reputation and will definitely draw a clear line with Qiao Feimu.
Moreover, in his opinion, with the difficulty of this question, it would be impossible for the outside contestants to pass it. By then, they would all be eliminated, Qiao Feimu would fall out of favor, and no one in the City Lord's Mansion would be able to compete with him anymore.
At the same time, in the square outside the temple.
Lu Li was attracted by the noisy scene in the distance, but couldn't see what was going on. When he was about to get up and take a closer look, two guards suddenly walked through the crowd and walked quickly towards him.
One of the guards walked straight towards the middle-aged man in green shirt opposite, while the other walked towards Lu Li.
When Lu Li saw this, he quickly stood up. The guard cupped his fists slightly at Lu Li and said:
"Sir, Mr. Qiao said that this round of Eastern District test questions are not simple, and they will also be your promotion questions. Whoever of you answers them first will pass directly and become the winner of this literary selection."
"Those who answer last or fail to answer will be eliminated directly..."
One question determines the outcome?
Lu Li was greatly surprised, wondering what kind of change had occurred that caused the rules to change. But that’s fine, it saves you the trouble of thinking so much.
He immediately asked: "What are the test questions?"
The guard said: "Tune the piano to a new tune, tune to tune to tune to a wonderful tune!"
After saying that, he stood next to Lu Li and said with a smile: "Sir, just think about it. I'll be waiting here. Just tell me when you think about it. I will help you convey it to Mr. Qiao, but it's best to do it quickly. If If someone else answers first..."
The guard had just seen Qiao Feimu praising Lu Li so much, and felt that if anyone here could really rescue Qiao Feimu, it would be this person, so he also respected Lu Li very much.
When Lu Li heard this, his mind immediately started racing.
The middle-aged man in green shirt opposite him, as well as the people outside the East District who had been promoted before, also got the questions one after another and fell into hard thinking.
They are not only afraid of being overtaken by others, but also afraid that they will be too reckless and give unsatisfactory answers and be eliminated.
It’s really tense and exciting!
