Song Dynasty Dreams: Marrying Zhao Pan’er at the beginning

Chapter 32 The Fraudulent Top Scholar

“Could this be yours?”

Song Yinzhang looked at Zhao Pan’er in disbelief.

Zhao Pan’er nodded.

“It was given to me by my father before he was arrested.”

“But I failed to keep it safe—it was taken away by the madam of the Jiaofang Department.”

So that was the truth. No wonder Zhao Pan’er’s expression had darkened the moment she saw the jade thumb ring.

“I hope someone can defeat Ouyang Xu!”

Song Yinzhang clasped her hands in prayer. “That way, we’ll have a chance to win back the thumb ring!”

Zhao Pan’er took a deep breath, her eyes fixed on the jade ring being used as the prize.

_____

“Gentlemen, listen to the upper verse!”

Ouyang Xu basked in the admiration of the scholars from Jiangnan—he loved the feeling of standing above the rest.

“The deep waters of Zhejiang flow, the heart is filled with resentment and sorrow.”

The moment he recited the line, the scholars frowned. The first half was entirely water-related, while the second half was entirely emotion-related!

“What a brilliant scholar!”

“No wonder I couldn’t make it as a top scholar!”

The crowd was quick to praise Ouyang Xu. Song Yinzhang, however, furrowed her brows, frustrated.

“Why are they giving up so easily?”

“Come on, at least try!”

“This isn’t even that difficult!”

Zhao Pan’er was also deep in thought, trying to come up with a matching response.

Time passed.

“Since no one can respond to Top Scholar Ouyang’s verse, then the winner is…”

Just as Prince Qian was about to announce Ouyang Xu’s victory, Zhao Pan’er felt like she had fallen into an abyss.

She absolutely did not want to deal with Ouyang Xu. In her daze, she felt as though the jade ring was sinking into a bottomless pit—never to be recovered.

_______

“Sir…”

A loud voice suddenly rang in her ears. Zhao Pan’er turned around to see Gao You stepping into the hall.

As he walked, he recited, “A scholar stays up through the cold night, reaching enlightenment and wandering far and wide.”

The crowd froze in shock.

Wasn’t this guy just a painter? Since when did he know how to craft couplets?

“Bravo!”

Someone suddenly applauded. The others snapped out of their daze and realized—Gao You had just matched Ouyang Xu’s verse!

“Elder sister?”

Song Yinzhang looked at Zhao Pan’er in disbelief. Zhao Pan’er, on the other hand, was completely stunned, staring blankly at Gao You.

Ouyang Xu’s expression darkened.

This was his moment—how had Gao You barged in and stolen the spotlight?

And how had he matched his couplet so effortlessly?

_______

Ignoring the murmurs, Gao You stepped towards Ouyang Xu.

“My turn.”

“Go ahead.”

Ouyang Xu examined Gao You closely. He refused to believe that Gao You had actually come up with that response himself. It had to be Zhao Pan’er who had thought of it and fed it to him. That meant he had a chance—he could strike back and thoroughly humiliate Gao You!

He would make sure this fool embarrassed himself in front of everyone.

_____

Gao You picked up a calligraphy brush from a nearby scholar.

Lowering his head, he wrote.

The crowd followed along, reading the verse aloud. At first glance, it seemed simple. But upon closer inspection, the wordplay and phonetic repetition made it incredibly clever and seamless.

Coming up with a matching response would be immensely difficult. With Ouyang Xu’s earlier verse, some scholars may have pretended to struggle just to flatter him. But Gao You’s couplet? It outright stumped everyone. The room fell completely silent as if nobody was even there.

________

A quarter of an hour passed, Gao You glanced at Ouyang Xu in disdain.

“Should I give you another one?”

A Top Scholar—unable to respond to a verse crafted by a so-called fool. And the fool was now offering to change the verse for him!

This was pure humiliation. Ouyang Xu wanted to explode with rage, but this was Prince Qian’s Mansion—he didn’t dare.

______

“Clouds rise at dawn, dawn after dawn, dawn after dawn they disperse.”

Gao You picked up the brush again and wrote another couplet. The scholars struggled to even read it on the first try!

It looked repetitive, but it cleverly used identical characters with different meanings—allowing for multiple interpretations. Ouyang Xu stared at it, his vision blurring. Not just him—the entire hall was left dazed. But they weren’t the ones under pressure. They didn’t need to rack their brains.

If they couldn’t figure it out, they could just enjoy the show!

Watching a Top Scholar being humiliated by a so-called fool? That was prime entertainment.

______

“He failed to match two couplets in a row!”

“This Top Scholar is such a fraud!”

“Seriously, how did he even become a Top Scholar? Did he buy his way in?”

The duel between Ouyang Xu and Gao You had attracted several noble ladies as spectators. They weren’t highly educated, so they couldn’t fully grasp how difficult the couplets were. But one thing was clear—this Top Scholar was a fake!

And they had fresh gossip to share when they returned home.

______

Hearing the whispers from outside, Ouyang Xu’s rage grew uncontrollable. This was an outrageously difficult couplet. There was no way Gao You had thought of it on the spot!

It had to be a trap—planned in advance to make a fool out of him!