"Why?" Lin Wanrong exclaimed.
"Others are selecting a son-in-law through poetry, and what are you doing here?" Miss Bai cast him a disdainful glance, her face blushing slightly. She gently said, "If you utter a word, I will make Yushuang ignore you forever. Let's see how you handle that."
Oh, such a grand threat. Lin Wanrong chuckled inwardly, thinking that Miss Bai's punishment was weak. Did she really believe that if she spoke a word, Yushuang would ignore him forever? My little darling, I'm not that naive. However, if Miss Bai were to speak ill of Yushuang in front of her and instigate something else, that could be troublesome. On one side was Luo Nian's request, risking life for brothers; on the other was Yushuang's sisterhood, would it come to betraying brothers for the sake of love?
Seeing him silent for a long time, Miss Bai couldn't help but say, "Are you listening to me? Don't tell me you're coveting Miss Luo's beauty? You—"
Miss Bai clenched her silver teeth, and snorted, "Where do you place our Xiao family?"
Sweat, what does this have to do with the Xiao family? You said all the good and bad things by yourself. How can I answer that? Lin Wanrong could only respond with a wry smile and whispered, "Miss Bai, you are not aware. Miss Luo has high standards among the talented youths in Jinling. Today, her grandmother organized this event out of urgency, but Miss Luo's heart is not in it. She intends to find a way to reject these suitors. My relationship with Miss Luo is just a casual acquaintance. However, she is a good friend of Ninger, having helped me in the past. One cannot forget kindness, right? I'm here purely out of obligation, making a guest appearance for friendship. Just now, you heard what Xiaoluo said. Miss Luo and I are from completely different worlds, and there is no connection between us."
Miss Bai pondered for a while before saying, "Then, when the time comes, you are not allowed to speak freely. If someone proposes, intercept him. If no one responds, you are not allowed to speak."
Sweat, do you think I'm a prodigy? Just because I want to respond, doesn't mean I can match everyone. Lin Wanrong smiled bitterly, "Miss Bai, if I unexpectedly come up with a couplet, how can I match everyone?"
Well, although he had some literary talent, he wasn't considered the top scholar. Miss Bai smiled inwardly and remained silent.
While they were talking, Luo Ning was anxious. Seeing Luo Yuan turning around and looking at Lin Wanrong, she glanced at him. Seeing him smiling, her heart eased a bit.
It was said that Miss Luo might be choosing a son-in-law, and the young gentlemen who had been sitting for a long time all crowded into the hall. Seeing his mother in high spirits, Luo Min smiled. Seeing that the atmosphere was good, he gestured to add more seats and let those young talents sit in the hall.
"Ni'er, today, talented young gentlemen from Jiangsu are all here. You can propose a topic." The old lady smiled and said. For a while, the hall was extremely quiet, as everyone was waiting for Miss Luo's first topic.
Luo Ning, both shy and surprised, had no way to retreat. She bit her lip and, looking at the pond in the courtyard, whispered, "Green water originally has no worries, but the wind wrinkles its surface." This topic metaphorically represented her current state of mind. Originally, she had no intention of choosing a son-in-law, but due to her grandmother's deep affection, she had ruffled the calm pond of spring water.
After hearing this, Miss Bai breathed a sigh of relief. Miss Luo indeed didn't have such intentions, and Lin San didn't lie. However, other talented young men didn't share this mindset. Seeing Miss Luo proposing a topic, they couldn't help but think quickly, especially Hou Yuebai. For him, this was a golden opportunity.
Lin Wanrong, not paying attention to Luo Ning's topic, smiled at Xiao Yuruo and said, "Miss Bai, in fact, Miss Luo is mainly concerned about that monkey-like young man. As long as we intercept him, everything will be fine."
Empathy from Miss Bai, of course, she could understand Luo Ning's current mood. Unable to bear it, she urged Lin Wanrong, "Lin San, quickly respond—" After saying this, she regretted it. What's wrong with me?
Seeing Miss Bai so anxious, thinking that something had happened, Lin Wanrong hurriedly stood up and said, "Miss Luo, I've responded."
After he spoke, he glanced at Hou Yuebai in the distance, but the young man was deep in thought and didn't make a connection. What was Miss Bai doing? Wasn't she causing trouble for me? Lin Wanrong looked at Xiao Yuruo and saw her delicate face turn frosty, turning her head away as if she didn't want to pay attention to him.
Damn, it was you who asked me to stand up, and you're the one angry. I can't live like this.
Luo Ning, seeing Lin Wanrong stand up, felt a bit happy and quickly said, "Mr. Lin, please speak." Luo Yuan secretly gave Lin Wanrong a thumbs up; his elder brother was indeed generous.
Lin Wanrong felt embarrassed, scratching his head, "Miss Luo, it was too noisy just now, and I couldn't hear clearly. Can you please recite the upper line again?"
As soon as these words came out, Miss Bai and Luo Ning were about to faint. Luo Yuan and the people in the hall were also dizzy. What kind of person is this? He didn't even hear the upper line clearly, and he came out to say he responded. Clearly, he came to disturb Miss Luo's good thing. The Xiao family is too malicious to send a servant to ruin Miss Luo's event. Too unkind.
Miss Bai was shocked, but couldn't help feeling a bit embarrassed and a little pleased. She cast a glance at Lin Wanrong, softly scolding, "You, a person as beautiful as Miss Luo, don't you care about her at all? You didn't even hear the topic clearly. Why did you stand up to answer? Aren't you disrespecting our Xiao family's face?"
After hearing Miss Bai's words, Lin Wanrong's whole body got goosebumps. It's true what they say, a good man doesn't compete with women. Women are too changeable, good or bad, all decided by one person.
Luo Ning blushed with anger. Being humiliated like this in front of everyone, she was extremely embarrassed. At that time, when he criticized his painting, it wasn't as harsh as this.
Luo Ning's face turned cold, looking at Lin Wanrong, she bit her silver teeth and said word by word, "Alright, Lin gentleman, if that's the case, please listen carefully. The upper line I proposed is—'Green water originally has no worries, but the wind wrinkles its surface.'"
"Oh, it's this couplet—" Lin Wanrong's heart churned as he looked into the distance through the door curtain
and saw the lush green mountains. He chuckled and said, "Miss Luo, I will respond to you. The blue mountains are originally not old, for the white snow to become white hair."
Clever, the first to praise in the hall was an immediate reaction. Then there was a clamor of voices. This couplet, both in parallelism and artistic conception, was very fitting. Especially the second line, not only had a beautiful artistic conception but also subtly hinted at seeking a spouse. It was indeed a rare masterpiece, matching the occasion. Unexpectedly, a servant from the Xiao family had such outstanding talent. People were astonished when someone mentioned that this was the servant Lin San who had competed with the Tao family at the Qingyu Building in Hangzhou, washed his hands in oil, and befriended Master Xu Wei. Even Mr. Wen Chang looked at him with a different view, this servant, too unpredictable.
Lin Wanrong recited casually, and when the words came out, he felt something was wrong. The words "for white snow to become white hair" were too obvious. It was like stating that he wanted to marry Luo Ning, which was not his intention at all. Damn, too much talent is a bad thing.
He hadn't responded when Miss Bai worried about him. When he responded, the couplet was almost as explicit as expressing love to Luo Ning. Xiao Yuruo's face turned pale, and she turned her head to the side, refusing to look at him.
The couplet was ambiguous, and even if Luo Ning was open and generous, she couldn't help but blush. She glanced at Lin Wanrong, not knowing what to say.
"Good, good, good." The first to speak was the old lady. She held Luo Ning's hand, smiled, and looked at Lin Wanrong, saying, "Young man, you've responded well to this couplet. Ni'er, today, you can propose two more topics. Let's see if these young gentlemen can satisfy you."
Luo Ning didn't dare to go against her grandmother's good intentions. She glanced at Lin Wanrong secretly and blushed. She whispered, "Yes."
Lin Wanrong felt awkward, neither sitting nor standing. The young master supported him and said, "Lin San, respond to two more, marry Miss Luo as a maid, let the talented lady be a servant, you be the master, do whatever you want, it must feel great. Hehe." Lin Wanrong's forehead was sweating. The young master's thoughts were too modern and too lewd. I like it.
Miss Bai stared at Guo Wuchang with anger, and Guo Wuchang's face turned pale. Lin Wanrong was about to talk to Xiao Yuruo when Miss Bai snorted and turned her head away.
Luo Ning looked at Lin Wanrong, feeling a bit complicated. This person seemed talented yet unconventional. It was difficult to understand him. She sighed, glanced at the pond, and whispered, "Autumn water, silver hall, mandarin ducks together—"
The first couplet had some rejection towards a partner, but the second couplet changed its tone. She probably didn't even understand her own feelings now. Lin Wanrong didn't dare to respond casually this time. Once was an accident, but twice would be a blatant flirtation. Since he had helped once, he wouldn't want to provoke her again.
While everyone was thinking, Hou Yuebai suddenly clapped his hands and shouted like crazy, "I've responded, I've responded, Miss Luo, I've responded!"
Luo Ning sighed softly, "Did Lord Hou respond? Then, please speak, and Luo Ning will listen attentively."
Miss Bai didn't speak, but seeing Luo Ning's desolate and unwilling expression, she couldn't help but feel some pity. She pushed Lin Wanrong and said angrily, "You bad person, didn't I tell you to watch that Lord Hou? How did you let him respond?"
Lin Wanrong had nothing to say except for a stunned expression. In front of women, there was never any reason to talk.