Chapter 195: First Volume_Chapter 195: Deciding Victory and Defeat Through Literature

First Volume_Chapter 195: Deciding Victory and Defeat Through Literature

Lin Quqi was a renowned scholar of Jiangnan, so Lin Feimo could naturally recognize him at a glance.

As a proud man of letters from Jiangnan, Military Order with a wastrel like Qin Feng was simply a disgrace to the entire Scholar-Official Class of Jiangnan!

Facing Lin Feimo's mockery, Lin Quqi remained as humble as ever, cupped his hands in a salute, and said with calm composure: "Brother Qin has long possessed great talent. Lin took an instant liking to Brother Qin upon meeting him—what shame is there in that?"

Hearing this, Lin Feimo's gaze grew even more contemptuous: "Great talent? Heh! If Qin Feng truly had great talent, how could this little lantern riddle possibly stump him? Four Sides Mountain Stream Shrimp Play Water—what does it refer to? If Qin Feng can't answer it, there's no harm in you answering for him. I'm just afraid that birds of a feather flock together, and they're all nothing but fame-seeking frauds."

A flicker of discomfort crossed Lin Quqi's face.

This lantern riddle—he truly couldn't answer it on the spur of the moment, and couldn't help but look toward Qin Feng, who was bantering and joking with the three young ladies.

The gazes of everyone present naturally also focused on Qin Feng.

Qin Feng's poetic attainments were beyond doubt.

But poetry and lantern riddles were worlds apart.

Moreover, the Lantern Appreciation Festival was an annual grand event, and as a wastrel of Jingzhong, Qin Feng naturally could not be absent—which was why he had caused quite a few laughs in the past.

Because of Qin Feng's past "glorious achievements," coupled with the fact that this lantern riddle was excessively difficult, none of the guests present held any hope for Qin Feng.

Several young men who had long admired Liu Hongyan and Shen Qingci, hoping to catch the attention of the two ladies, began loudly mocking Qin Feng.

"Qin Feng, can you do it or not? If you can't, just admit defeat quickly and stop wasting everyone's time!"

"Hehehe, Young Master Qin, I advise you to stop struggling. Losing to Young Master Lin is nothing shameful!"

Seeing that Qin Feng was only busy flattering the three elder sisters and seemed to have already cast the matter of the competition to the winds, the Princess of Qiyang Commandery immediately grew impatient and urged him on: "Qin Feng, cease your dawdling! Otherwise I will rule your loss directly!"

Just as people on site kept urging and demanding that Qin Feng be declared the loser so they could move on to the next round, Qin Feng finally settled the three elder sisters in the spot with the best view, then strolled leisurely up onto the deck, looked at the riddles surrounded by lanterns on the Hua Fang opposite, and smiled faintly.

"Four Sides Mountain Stream Shrimp Play Water? Isn't it a bit too simple? I had thought, after all your preparation, you'd come up with something truly difficult. Seems I overestimated you…"

Simple?

That single remark instantly offended every single person present!

If even such a simple riddle couldn't be answered, didn't that make everyone present a fool?

Under the gaze of countless contemptuous eyes, Qin Feng clasped his hands behind his back, imitated Lin Quqi's scholarly demeanor, and swayed his head as he spoke: "This riddle—it's a character-guessing one!"

"Four Sides Mountain Stream Shrimp Play Water needs to be broken down and examined. Four Sides Mountain Stream stands for the character '田' (field), the shape of a shrimp resembles a horizontal hook, and 'playing in water' refers to the three water-drop radicals beside the horizontal hook."

"Therefore, the answer is the single character '思' (thought)!"

The once rowdy scene fell silent in an instant.

The way everyone looked at Qin Feng shifted again and again; what shocked them was not that Qin Feng had guessed the answer, but that he had done so with such effortless ease!

The answer they had racked their brains over had actually been guessed so easily by a notorious wastrel?

The scholars present all began to deliberate.

The entire Hua Fang echoed with the sounds of hushed whispers.

"Four Sides Mountain Stream Shrimp Play Water corresponds to the character '思'—you know what… it actually makes perfect sense!"

"Strange! In previous Lantern Appreciation Festivals, Qin Feng couldn't even guess the simplest riddles. How has he become so sharp now?"

"Guessing lantern riddles requires not only a nimble mind, but also broad experience and knowledge. And… the range of possible answers is so vast—how did Qin Feng know it was a character, and not something else?"

No one present could figure it out.

Little did they know that, for Qin Feng, this lantern riddle was at best elementary school level.

The categories of lantern riddles were nothing more than a handful: "characters, objects, animals, plants, place names, personal names," and so on.

And ancient lantern riddles were predominantly character-guessing ones.

Moreover, following the pattern of lantern riddles, since the clue contained "Four Sides Mountain Stream" and "shrimp," the answer could not possibly be related to aquatic creatures or place names, which further narrowed the range.

Combined with the fact that ancient people's understanding of flora, fauna, and objects was also extremely limited, Qin Feng ransacked everything he knew and found nothing suitable, so naturally only characters remained.

And the character '思' happened to be the optimal answer!

Qin Feng smiled at Lin Feimo: "Young Master Lin, if the lantern riddles you've prepared are all of this caliber, I don't mind giving you a few more, so you don't lose too embarrassingly. What if it ends up seven to zero? How will you get by in Jiangnan after that?"

Lin Feimo's face alternated between red and white.

He had never in his wildest dreams imagined that Qin Feng would crack the lantern riddle he had so carefully prepared so easily.

Looking at Qin Feng's insufferably arrogant face, Lin Feimo was so angry his chest felt tight, yet he was utterly powerless against him.

Lin Feimo clenched his teeth and said, word by word: "Don't celebrate too soon!"

The Princess of Qiyang Commandery's gaze at Qin Feng also turned complicated, but since this was only the first question and the outcome was still undecided, she immediately feigned composure and said: "First question—Qin Feng wins. Please prepare the second question, Qin Feng."

As someone who had read countless brain teasers and riddle compendiums, Qin Feng took the paper and brush, didn't even bother to think, scribbled a few strokes, and tossed the question to the boatman.

Just as the Hua Fang was preparing the second question, on a Talou several hundred zhang from Mingyue Lake, four people were standing.

The Liang Emperor, disguised in a yellow robe, stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the banners on the lake with a hint of amusement in his eyes: "A lantern riddle of this difficulty can't stump Qin Feng Xiao'er at all. Four Sides Mountain Stream Shrimp Play Water refers to the character '思'."

The moment these words were spoken, Duke of Ning, Xie Bi, who had been waiting nearby, lowered his head in thought for a moment, and his eyes suddenly lit up: "Why, isn't it exactly '思'! Worthy of a Sage—even a small lantern riddle is solved with a snap of the fingers."

Xie Bi was by no means merely flattering.

After all, as a martial man, Xie Bi truly was not skilled at this sort of scholarly pastime of guessing lantern riddles.

Li Zhan, meanwhile, wore a face full of smiles and praised without reserve: "Even the northern Di war that has plagued Shedynasty for generations has already shown signs of being resolved under the Sage's brilliant and decisive judgment. How could this little lantern riddle compare to matters of state?"

Just as Xie Bi and Li Zhan kept delivering one flattery after another to the Liang Emperor, Xie Yun'er, who was accompanying them, gazed toward Mingyue Lake and fell into deep thought.

The matter of Qin Feng beating Lin Feimo today had already spread throughout Jingdu.

Some troublemakers, ever eager to stir up trouble, had fanned the flames, claiming that the feud between the Qin and Lin families had reignited!

What was more, some openly declared that Qin Feng was arrogant because of his talent, and didn't even take the current Imperial Consort seriously.

Such remarks would surely give those enemies lurking in the shadows an opportunity to act, and they might even form an alliance to deal with the Qin Family together.

The peaceful days of the Qin Family were nothing but an illusion!

Undercurrents surged; the waves had already risen!

Once the northern Di war was settled, the Qin Family would be attacked on all sides!

The Qin and Xie families are already joined by marriage, so how should the Xie Family conduct themselves when the time comes?

Xie Yun'er sighed inwardly: "Qin Feng, oh Qin Feng, would it kill you to behave for once? Of all the people in this world you could provoke, you just had to go after someone from the Lin Family!"