Chapter 329

Everyone stepped forward to greet, Long Tingzhen smiled, waved his hand, and said: 'This is not the imperial palace; you Sirs need not stand on ceremony.' Upon seeing Ji Feihua, he let out a surprised 'Huh' and said: 'Old Sir Ji, you've come too?'

Ji Feihua smiled and said, "This servant didn't know that Your Highness the Prince graced us with his presence; my failure to welcome you properly, I hope you will forgive."

Long Tingzhen said, "This prince can't control you!" That sentence made the scene fall silent instantly; everyone could hear the Third Prince's dissatisfaction with Ji Feihua.

Ji Feihua said, "Your Highness the Prince, you are mistaken; without His Majesty there would be no me today. This servant is loyal to His Majesty, to Your Highness the Prince, and to Dakang with all my heart; even if I had to sacrifice my life for Dakang, I would not hesitate in the slightest."

Long Tingzhen chuckled, hands behind his back, scanning the crowd, and said, "Everyone heard that, didn't they? Eunuch Ji truly is a loyal and virtuous servant of Dakang; you all should learn from him."

Seeing Ji Feihua's current situation, Hu Xiaotian even felt some sympathy for him; no matter how powerful a eunuch is, he's still just a eunuch—even if people show respect on the surface, deep down they look down on you; nobody treats this group as normal people. As a prince of a nation, how could Long Tingzhen look down on these slaves?

Ji Feihua showed no anger from start to finish, and under Wen Boyuan's greeting everyone took their seats.

Ji Feihua was seated at the same table as Long Tingzhen, not out of respect for him but to create a difficult situation for him—a eunuch and a prince sharing a table; let's see how he positions himself.

Hu Xiaotian originally wanted to stand; logically he shouldn't have a seat at such an occasion, but Ji Feihua softly said, "Xiaotian, just sit next to Zajia."

All eyes turned to Hu Xiaotian. For a moment he became the focus of everyone; actually most people present were somewhat puzzled: what ability does this kid have? He just entered the palace and already cozied up to Ji Feihua, and Ji Feihua is really arrogant—look, he's the Director of the Imperial Eunuch Bureau, which by rights shouldn't qualify him to sit on equal footing with the Third Prince, yet he not only sat down himself but also had his little follower sit down; this is utterly shameless and extremely arrogant.

Long Tingzhen gave Hu Xiaotian another look, finally recalling that Hu Xiaotian was the little eunuch he had met at the Red Mountain Horse Farm; he didn't speak, just glanced at Wu Jing Shan beside him, Wu Jing Shan immediately understood his meaning and laughed, "Eunuch Ji, I think this little eunuch sitting here is inappropriate."

Ji Feihua lifted the Chazan on the table, took a sip, and said nonchalantly, "What's improper about it?"

Wu Jing Shan originally wanted to say he was just a little eunuch, but saying that outright would offend Ji Feihua; if it weren't for the Third Prince's hint, he wouldn't have stood up to play this jerk. Wu Jing Shan's thoughts turned and he said, "Today at Smoky Water Pavilion we all drink and converse, engage in Wuweng nongmo—this is a refined pursuit; this little eunuch..." Wu Jing Shan originally wanted to say a few nasty things about Hu Xiaotian.

Ji Feihua interrupted him, saying, "Sir Wu, Zajia heard that before Xiaotian entered the palace, you two once exchanged couplets at Smoky Water Pavilion; although Zajia wasn't there in person, the story spread throughout the capital and caused a sensation."

Only now did Hu Xiaotian understand Ji Feihua's intention in bringing him here; Ji Feihua is the type who never acts without purpose, always thinks things through, and bringing him was likely to counter Wu Jing Shan and his ilk. However, he seemingly didn't anticipate that the Third Prince Long Tingzhen would appear; Long Yelin's ascension to the throne hasn't been long, yet within the court several factions have clearly emerged, openly and covertly struggling; the peaceful atmosphere of Dakang's capital is merely a facade—lift the surface and you find undercurrents surging.

Long Tingzhen laughed and said, "Please sit; Ji Feihua's people are not outsiders." With that remark the dispute was instantly eased.

Although Hu Xiaotian sat down, he was very perceptive, busily pouring wine for the few people present, which saved Ji Feihua much trouble. Wen Boyuan said, "I've heard that Smoky Water Pavilion is the regular gathering place for Kangdu's literati; Sir Wu is the leader of the Meishan school, so you must come here often."

Wu Jing Shan laughed, "Learning has no bounds; how could I deserve the title of leader? I haven't been here for half a year."

Long Tingzhen said, "I've heard that Sir Wu was sent as an envoy to Da Yong; the northern talents, scattered throughout the lands inside and outside the Great Wall—what have you seen and heard there?"

Wu Jing Shan laughed, "This trip to Da Yong truly proves the saying, hearing a hundred times is not as good as seeing once; those so-called northern talents are nothing special." As he spoke, his face showed an extremely arrogant expression; although Hu Xiaotian had only met him twice, he knew this man always had a high opinion of himself, and he held Wu Jing Shan in low regard.

Ji Feihua said, "Where should we begin with Sir Wu's words?"

Wu Jing Shan said, "When I traveled in Da Yong, I proposed a couplet; everyone shook their hands in disagreement—not even one couplet could be matched. How can those northern talents, scattered throughout the lands inside and outside the Great Wall, be spoken of? How could they compare to our splendid Dakang, where talent abounds?"

Long Tingzhen was half-believing, half-doubting, and asked, "Sir, your opening line is actually that difficult?"

Wu Jing Shan said, "That's exactly why I said it." After pondering, he then recited the upper line: "Double towers faintly visible, seven stories facing all directions."

Everyone fell silent, as if deep in thought.

A glance from Ji Feihua's corner of the eye flew toward Hu Xiaotian; Hu Xiaotian understood, Ji Feihua was prompting him to speak up—apparently Ji Feihua had already heard of Hu Xiaotian's couplet skills at Smoky Water Pavilion, and bringing him here today was indeed to use him against this old fellow Wu Jing Shan. So Hu Xiaotian laughed, "Sir Wu, how do you know they won't be able to?"

Wu Jing Shan gave him a cold look and said, "After hearing my upper line, they all waved their hands and refused to answer—doesn't that mean they can't?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed loudly, "With such a simple opening line, they aren't unable to answer; they simply disdain to respond, hence they waved their hands."

Wu Jing Shan seethed inside, "Is this little monkey born just to oppose me? He says whatever he dislikes." Meanwhile, the Censor-in-Chief Su Qingkun could no longer contain himself and snapped, "Arrogant, what does a little eunuch know?"

Ji Feihua's eyes flashed with a hint of cold light, and he said coldly, "Sir Su, don't you have the patience to let someone finish speaking?"

Su Qingkun felt a chill run through him at Ji Feihua's gaze; he dared not meet his eyes, lowered his gaze and whispered, "I just don't believe he can match it."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Why should I be the one to match it? Those northern talents whom Sir Wu disregarded have already come up with a response."

Wu Jing Shan also showed a puzzled look—how could he not know?

Hu Xiaotian extended his hand and shook it toward him, saying, "Is this how they waved their hands?"

Wu Jing Shan nodded.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Their lower line is: 'A lone palm shaking, five fingers—three long, two short.'" As soon as he spoke, the entire hall was astonished.

Wu Jing Shan's old face instantly turned crimson. Su Qingkun gasped, Wen Boyuan's eyes lit up as he began to reassess this little eunuch before him; Long Tingzhen secretly applauded, "Double towers faintly visible, seven stories facing all directions. A lone palm shaking, five fingers—three long, two short—wonderful! Truly wonderful to the utmost."

At this moment Ji Feihua's smile blossomed like a flower, his bright eyes sparkling. He glanced at Hu Xiaotian's face, full of appreciation and encouragement, then turned to Wu Jing Shan and said, "Sir Wu, your story is truly wonderful, hehe..."

Wu Jing Shan was so embarrassed he almost wanted to dive under the table; he blamed himself for having been too pleased with himself earlier, now feeling as if Hu Xiaotian had publicly slapped him.

Su Qingkun hurriedly came to Wu Jing Shan's rescue. He uttered his prepared upper line: "This little eunuch really has some talent; I also have a couplet."

Hu Xiaotian looked at Su Qingkun with contempt, "Damn, truly shameless—after being slapped last time you still haven't learned your lesson, and now you dare to show off in front of me?" He laughed, "Censor Su, please propose a topic."

"Four-sided lamp, single-layer paper, radiant and brilliant, shining across north and south!"

Hu Xiaotian replied without thinking: "One year of study, eight strings of cash. Hard work, enduring autumn and winter."

Everyone shouted approval, but Wen Boyuan said, "Good is good, but I think Sir Su's upper line would be better if it ended with 'shining across east, west, north, and south' instead."

Su Qingkun smiled narrowly, "General Wen is right, but couplets must match their counterpart; when paired with others you use east, west, north, south, but when paired with this little eunuch you can only use north and south."

Several people around asked at once, "Why no east and west?"

Su Qingkun shifted his gaze, looking at Hu Xiaotian with a mocking smile: "This question should be directed at Eunuch Hu." At once everyone understood; Su Qingkun was indeed clever, indirectly insulting Hu Xiaotian by implying he lacks east and west because he's a eunuch. Feeling relieved, Su Qingkun also secretly broke a sweat, realizing that his couplet actually offended Ji Feihua as well.

Ji Feihua didn't get angry; he smiled at Hu Xiaotian and said, "Xiaotian, everyone's asking you—why no east and west?"

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said, "Speaking of east and west, I suddenly recalled a story: when I was an official in Qingyun, I once encountered a prostitute who filed a complaint, accusing three patrons." Regardless of rank or status, everyone was interested in such a tale, especially when told by a eunuch, they all listened intently.

Hu Xiaotian said, "That prostitute accused the three patrons of lacking east and west, so I opened a hearing; it turned out the prostitute's surname was Su, she had borne a son but couldn't determine the father's identity, thus she sued all three, believing each of them suspect."

Hearing that the prostitute's surname was Su, Ji Feihua couldn't help but chuckle and said, "Go on."

Hu Xiaotian continued, "After the investigation, naturally I required each of the three suspect men to produce a sum of silver to share the responsibility of raising the child; but solving that problem brought another: the three had all paid silver, yet whose surname should the child bear? What should his name be? The three fell into argument again. So I devised a plan: let the child take his mother's surname, Su; as for his given name—these three men consist of two from the Tu tribe and one from the Heiyue tribe, each contributing a bit—gentlemen, guess what character I gave him?"

Everyone had guessed it, but no one dared to say it aloud; Ji Feihua said, "It should be the character 'qing', but without east and west?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "Director, your talent is high—this final character is related to east and west; without the three men's east and west, there would be no child, so I thought it over and combined the two characters vertically into one, giving him the character 'kun'; after I explained the reasoning, the three were all satisfied, thanked me profusely, and left contentedly."

Three More erupts, begging for monthly tickets—if today we can break two thousand monthly tickets, we'll release another chapter; we're only about ninety shy of two thousand, brothers and sisters, can you give Zhangyu a boost? Show the strength of Jiangshanzhong! (To be continued~^~)