Xu Zhiqing is a very smart woman. After hearing these words, she suddenly realized something in her heart and hurriedly said to Lin San: "What are you doing in a daze? Why don't you thank me quickly?"
"Thank you, thank you for what." Lin Wanrong wondered. He had no idea about these things. This kind of thing about giving a garden in one sentence was a plot on TV and had nothing to do with Lin. He had no knowledge in this area at all. consciousness.
Xu Zhiqing is angry and funny at the same time. When this person is smart, people want to bite him, and when he is stupid, they want to kick him. In short, if he doesn't hit him, he won't have a long memory.
Of course, Su Mubai would not make it clear that the man in the pavilion had a reason to appreciate Lin San, and this was something that he could not interfere with.
The old man seemed to like Lin Wanrong, a person like Lin Wanrong who pretended to be smart. He did not explain this. He laughed a few times and changed the subject: "Xu Yatou, Su Mubai, and Lin San who is sitting there, today I said I'm going to test you a lot, so I won't leave my words unanswered. Only those who answer well will be given a seat."
Su Mubai was the number one scholar in the current dynasty, and the emperor himself gave me the questions. Naturally, he was not afraid of him taking the test, so he bowed and clasped his fists and said, "Please, the emperor, sir, give me the questions."
The old man in the pavilion pondered for a long time and said with a smile: "Since you are admiring the flowers in this peony garden today, then you can tell me, among the flowers and plants in this garden, which flower is the leader?"
Oiran? ! Lin Wanrong suddenly remembered the past with Xian'er by the Qinhuai River, and couldn't help but have a smile on his face. An Hu didn't know where he hid Xian'er. He had not seen her face in the past few days in the capital.
After hearing this topic, Su Mubai pondered for a while and then said: "In Mubai's opinion, the king of flowers is none other than the top-quality peony 'Zui Yan Hong'. This Zui Yan Hong has delicate flowers. It opens and closes widely. , it has the style of a national scholar, its color is pure, and its meaning is profound. It symbolizes that our country is prosperous and prosperous, and it is a blessing from heaven. As the saying goes, the clear waves of the clear water nourish the fertile soil. It condenses the essence of the mountain and collects the softness of the water. It has come from ancient times, and its beauty has changed with the years. It is as beautiful as the hundreds of flowers. "
Lin Wanrong heard the black lines rising on his forehead, and said to Xiao Yuruo: "Miss, what is the number one scholar saying? Why can't I understand it?! Alas, it seems that I am lagging behind again. Can you translate it?"
The eldest lady is very knowledgeable and said with a smile: "This Su Zhuangyuan is indeed worthy of his reputation. He quoted from "Ode to the God of Peony Flowers", saying that this 'Drunken Beauty' has noble moral character and extraordinary origin. In such a short period of time, he has become According to the classics, he deserves the title of champion."
It turned out that he was writing an argumentative essay, and Lin Wanrong was very angry. Damn it, what the hell, just read a few words that I don't understand and fool you, and you can become the number one scholar? I'll go up and write down some calculus equations, and I'm sure none of you will recognize them. Then can I be the father of the No. 1 pick?
After listening to Su Mubai's words, everyone nodded secretly. Su Zhuangyuan's knowledge was indeed well-deserved - only Lin San was a big exception. If he had known that this garden already belonged to him and listened to these ancient classics from Su Mubai, he would have driven him out with a broom.
The old man in the pavilion smiled and said: "Very good, Su Mubai. Your talent is indeed extraordinary. It is not wrong to choose you as the number one scholar. Come and give me a seat."
Su Mubai hurriedly thanked him with his fists, a look of humility on his face. When the attendant brought the brocade stool, he carefully put his lower buttocks on it and sat down, which was far less secure than Lin San sitting on the ground. Lin Wanrong was secretly amused when he saw it. The top pick was so trembling that it was really not interesting. He was not as happy as Lin San.
"Girl Xu, it's your turn." The old man glanced at Xu Zhiqing and nodded slightly.
Xu Zhiqing gave a slight bow and walked slowly for a few steps in the forest. After patrolling for a long time, she said softly: "This is the leader of flowers - there is no one like him."
Everyone in the garden was stunned. The garden was full of delicate peonies. In Miss Xu's eyes, there was nothing like it? Her vision is too high.
Su Mubai frowned and said: "In my opinion, the peonies in this garden are not the king of flowers, so what flower can do this?"
Xu Zhiqing smiled slightly and said nothing. Only Lin San raised his thumbs up with a smile and said: "Good views, good views, I knew Miss Xu liked this."
The old man in the pavilion was also puzzled, but he understood the abilities of this girl Xu. Xu Zhiqing was a powerful woman who had fought with the barbarians on the battlefield. She could be said to be a woman who could not be inferior to men. Her words would never be that simple.
"Lin San, from what you say, you seem to understand what Xu Yatou said?" the old man asked with interest.
Lin Wanrong smiled and said: "I took a guess, but I don't know if it's right or wrong. Anyway, I'm not knowledgeable or knowledgeable, so it's okay to guess blindly."
Xu Zhiqing smiled slightly, glanced at him and said, "I don't care if you guess wrong."
The old man laughed loudly, and seemed to be very happy to hear the sound: "You kids always like to play riddles. If I were twenty years younger, I could play with you. Lin San, just tell me. "Xu Yatou, these four words are nothing, what does it mean?"
Lin Wanrong smiled and said: "Miss, let me play a word riddle for you to guess. There is no chance that it is correct. Just guess one word. If you guess it correctly, Miss Xu's riddle will be solved."
Xiao Yuruo thought for a moment, then smiled suddenly and said: "I understand, there is nothing wrong with it, but it is the word 'white'. It turns out that Sister Xu likes these white peonies. The whitest and most beautiful one in the whole garden is the one from Luoyang "Zhufengjiao" means "Zhufengjiao" is the king of flowers, right?"
Xu Zhiqing nodded and smiled: "The Xiao family sister is really smart." Xiao Yuruo smiled sheepishly, and Lin Wanrong answered for her in her heart: "No, no, our Lin San is smart."
Xu Zhiqing glanced at Lin San, with a glimmer of hope in her eyes. Although this person was joking and not serious, he always surprised people at key points. He had just made a complete circle with a small word puzzle, but this person could readily understand that he was indeed smart and witty, not simple! On the contrary, the number one scholar, Su Mubai, didn't understand the meaning, was eager to show off, and found it boring.
The old man nodded and said: "Girl Xu really has some skills. Why did you choose this white peony to be the king of flowers?"
Xu Zhiqing pondered for a while and said: "The beauty of the country is drunk in the morning, and the clothes are dyed with the fragrance of the sky at night. The four words of "the beauty of the country and the fragrance of the sky" describe the beauty and splendor of peonies in the world. Su Zhuangyuan fell in love with 'Zuiyanhong' because it has the effect of great joy. The color is an auspicious sign for the country. This "quivering wind" is pure and pure, which is the noble appearance of a true leader. The same is true for the way of flowers and the way of the country. Those who are good at it should learn from this. "Feng Jiao", always clean and pure, tempered by true fire, don't let your selfish desires stain your heart, only then can you deal with things fairly, govern the country and prosper it, and only in this way can you be drunk with beauty everywhere, make the heaven bring auspiciousness, and benevolent to my great son. civil."
However, Xu Zhiqing's words are based on flowers, and refer to people and countries. The meaning is profound, and it is a higher level than Su Zhuangyuan's pure flower theory. Lin Wanrong glanced at Xu Zhiqing. This girl is really a great scholar. Her words are based on classics but are simple and easy to understand. She is much smarter than Su Zhuangyuan. At least I, a novice, can understand it. She has ideals and ambitions and is not simple. !
The old man in the pavilion sighed and said: "Girl Xu, if you were not a girl, your father's position would definitely be inherited by you. It's a pity that although Xu Wei has a son and a daughter, one of them is brave but not resourceful. Another wise person is born as a girl, it's a pity, it's a pity."
The old man used two pity words in a row, and his emotion was beyond words. In this age where boys are valued over girls, there are only a handful of men with Xu Zhiqing's level of insight, let alone women.
Lin Wanrong secretly said: "Miss, is this the so-called national policy question? So when selecting the top candidate in the Golden Palace, are these questions the only ones asked?"
Xiao Yuruo smiled and said: "I have never passed the No. 1 exam, how do I know? However, the emperor directly asked questions about policy matters in the Golden Palace. People like Sister Xu, who have gone from flowers to people and then to politics, do not say that they have not, but It's not uncommon. With Sister Xu's knowledge, it's more than enough to pass the top ten exams."
Lin Wanrong smiled slightly. Although he didn't like the peonies, and Xu Zhiqing's remarks were also highly subjective and fanciful, it was not easy for her to think of this, and she should be paid tribute to.
Everyone in the garden was silent for a long time, and finally the old man said, "Come on, give Miss Xu a seat to the left of Su Zhuangyuan."
Lin Wanrong didn't understand the sentence added at the end, so he said to Xiao Yuruo: "Miss, why do you want Miss Xu to sit on the left side of Su Mubai?"
The eldest lady really couldn't laugh or cry about this curious baby's idiotic question. She couldn't bear to beat or scold her. She didn't know why she got obsessed with it and was deceived by this stupid person.
"This is just like arranging seats. The left is the largest and the left is the most respected - Lin San, I ask you a very serious question, have you ever read a book?"
Lin Wanrong's old face also turned red. He was so disgusted that he was despised by the eldest lady. These ancient rules were no longer popular in his previous life. How could he remember them.
Seeing his rare blush, the eldest lady smiled and said: "From tomorrow onwards, I will supervise your study. You will read Confucius and Mencius during the day and the Book of Songs at night. I will try to get you back with three yuan in a row in three years."
Read Confucius and Mencius during the day and the Book of Songs at night? Damn it, it's better to have big dreams during the day and have a little cum at night. Lin Wanrong chuckled: "Okay, okay, then the eldest lady will rape me day and night. She must do it well, not even once." The eldest lady's face turned red, and she rolled her eyes at him, winning three yuan in a row. The dream was strangled to death in his belly lustfully.
Xu Zhiqing did not refuse, and sat on the left side of Su Zhuangyuan as promised. Su Mubai was already well-known for Xu Zhiqing's talents, so it was not too embarrassing to see that she had the upper hand. Anyway, Miss Xu's reputation is known to the world, so losing to her once is justified. On the contrary, the master in the pavilion glanced at Su Zhuangyuan, sighed slightly, his eyes flickered, and he didn't know what he was thinking.
The blind old man standing behind him said softly: "Master, Master Su is inexperienced. Even if he fails for a while, it won't be a big deal. After further training, he can be reused."
A strange light flashed in the master's eyes, and he said: "Xiao Weizi, you recommended Lin San, why did you say good things for Su Mubai instead?"
Xiao Weizi's face remained unchanged and he said: "Master, there is no hindrance in recommending anyone. As long as it is something that benefits me, Dahua, I will take my slave's head, and I will have no problem with it."
The master's face flashed with gloom, and he said after a long time: "Xiao Weizi, I know your loyalty. You lost these eyes because of me. If you hadn't saved me at all costs, I'm afraid I would have been gone long ago." . Even Xu Wei, Li Tai and others don't know about that. It's been hard on you these years."
Xiao Weizi hurriedly knelt down and said in shock: "This slave is scared. My life is given by my master. For my master, I will be broken into pieces without any complaints."
"Get up." The master said calmly, looking into the distance, a hint of sinisterness flashed across his face, and said sternly: "That man is insidious and cunning, and he wants to cut off my bloodline and eliminate my descendants. If I hadn't been in the father's palace in the past, I swore a bloody oath before the bed, and I will definitely let him taste the feeling of losing his descendants."
The blind old man Xiao Weizi stood up without daring to say a word. The old man added: "My father made me swear that I would never touch him as long as I live, but how could he know that I was so miserable by this beast that I couldn't even leave any heirs? In the past twenty years, he has been doing all kinds of things in the court." . I hold back, now it's finally time for the reckoning. My father won't let me take action, so why can't I do it with someone else's hand?"
He slammed the table, a murderous aura emanating from his body, and said angrily: "I want him to taste that too, I will never let him go!"
The old man was so excited that he coughed sharply. Xiao Weizi hurriedly came forward and handed him the pills. After the old man swallowed the warm water, his coughing became much less severe, but a strange white color appeared on his face. He closed his eyes and thought for a while and sighed: "Since I landed, In the past twenty years since I've been in this position, I've only been able to talk to you. Even Xu Wei and Li Tai, who have been with me for thirty or forty years, gradually don't understand what I'm thinking."
He was silent for a while, glanced at several people in the garden, and suddenly smiled and said: "The Lin San you recommended is very good, very good. His talent is not deep, but his scope is extremely broad, and he is practical enough. He is a useful talent. It's no worse than what I worked hard to cultivate myself. He protected the stall in Jinling and wiped out the white lotus in Shandong. He did great work without being greedy for merit. I will keep this in mind today to reward him with this garden, although it is beautiful. , but it is of little use. I am just a peach on paper. I will not be jealous, and I will not be accused by the censors in the court. "
The blind old man knew that this was not his time to speak, so he kept silent. Sure enough, a glimmer of hope flashed in the old man's eyes and said: "As long as he does well, I will give him a fair chance. Opportunities for everyone." It's equal, not one point is more, not one point is less."
Lin Wanrong saw that Su Zhuangyuan and Miss Xu were both seated, but the gentleman behind the curtain was silent. After waiting for a while, there was no movement. He was about to ask a question when he heard the gentleman's voice with a smile: "Lin San, you Do you want to sit on the ground forever, or do you want to sit on a high stool? Now it's your turn. Among all the flowers in this garden, which flower is the leader?"
Among the three, only Lin San did not speak. Except for a few people in the garden, all the others couldn't figure out why this master raised Lin San to such a high level? Among the three people in the debate, one was the daughter of a bachelor named Xu. In terms of knowledge, he was even better than Xu Wei. On the other hand, who is Lin San, the servant of the Xiao family, worthy of this master comparing him to the first two?
Lin Wanrong was also surprised. This boss thinks so highly of me. He and I are not familiar with each other, so why did he insist on letting me speak?
Seeing his hesitation, the old man smiled again and said, "Why, do you not want to, or do you not dare?" [Heaven's Kiss Hand Beat]
Lin Wanrong chuckled and said: "It's not that I don't dare. I'm afraid that I dare to say it, but some people don't dare to listen."
There was a smile on his face, but what he said was shocking. The old man smiled softly and said to Xiao Weizi behind him: "I'm afraid no one will be able to cure this boy you recommended in the future."
The blind old man gritted his teeth and said: "If someone can cure him, it is not worthy of being recommended to you by this slave - Master, I would like to ask, who in the world can cure you?"
The old man understood this very clever analogy. He smiled slightly and stopped talking to Xiao Wei Zi. He only said loudly: "Lin San, why don't you do it?"
If you dare to listen, just say it. "
Lin Wanrong smiled and said: "Senior, you said that you want to choose the leader of the flowers from among the flowers in this garden, right?"
"Exactly." The old man replied.
"So, I can choose any flower in this garden?"
"Abi Ji, as long as you can give me a reason, you can choose the flowers and plants in this garden." The old man looked at him with interest.
Lin Wanrong smiled and said: "This is great." He shook the dog's tail grass in his hand and said: "I choose this."
Su Zhuangyuan almost fell off his stool when he saw the fluffy plant in Lin Wanrong's hand that said flowers were not flowers and grass was not grass. He was silent for a long time, and finally couldn't help but said: "Brother Lin, are you not mistaken?"
Lin Wanrong nodded and said, "This is it. I wouldn't choose it."
The eldest lady originally thought he would choose an orchid. After all, he was most familiar with orchids, but when he saw that he chose the most inconspicuous and even disgusting dog-tail flower, he immediately shook his head and said with a smile: "This bad guy. I have never been able to guess what he was thinking."
Xu Zhiqing glanced at Lin Wanrong, with a flash of interest in her eyes, and said to the eldest lady with a smile: "This person in your family will probably be very bad in the future. Sister Xiao, I would like to congratulate you first."
"What's so serious?" The eldest lady was happy when she heard this, but her face was full of embarrassment: "I'm afraid he's doing something wrong. Sister, this person is evil."
The old man in the pavilion was born in a noble family. He usually sees top-notch flowers and plants. Which one is not gorgeous? Today I saw this inconspicuous grass in Lin San's hand, and I suddenly wondered: "Lin San, what is this?"
Lin Wanrong smiled and said: "This is called the dog's tail flower. The fluffy flowers you see are the flowers it blooms. It is the most common and even the most annoying flower. How about it, is it ugly enough?"
As expected, it was so ugly that everyone in the venue shivered. The old man smiled and said: "Will you choose this dog's tail flower as the leader of flowers? It is indeed unexpected." Everyone in the garden couldn't help but laugh. This dog's tail flower can match the beauty of the country. Compared to peonies? Even a fool knows it won't work.
Lin Wanrong's expression remained unchanged, and Xu Zhiqing looked at him curiously, without saying anything surprising. What on earth is this person doing?
"The peony is so charming that it confuses people's hearts, and a country is crazy about money." Lin Wanrong read slowly, smiled and picked off a white jade "trembling wind jiao", put it on his nose and sniffed it, and said with a smile: "Beautiful. , fragrant, the four words "national beauty and heavenly fragrance" are indeed well-deserved. Ah, I suddenly missed the poem, "A clump of national flowers, a gift from ten households, every family has a custom, and everyone is fascinated by Su Zhuangyuan." , you are the number one scholar appointed by the emperor, can you explain to us what this poem means? "
Su Mubai's expression changed. Of course he understood the meaning of this poem. It said that Chinese people were intoxicated with peonies, almost obsessed with them. It was an allegorical poem.
Lin Wanrong sighed and said: "This peony is really beautiful, so beautiful that people can't bear to touch it - but besides being beautiful, what else can it do? It is delicate and easy to break, and needs your careful care. If you are not careful, , it will be gone, you see-" He threw the beautiful peony on the ground and stepped on it lightly. The petals were broken into pieces and were difficult to see.
"Brother Lin, what are you doing?" Su Mubai frowned and said, "We who appreciate flowers should cherish and love flowers. This kind of waste of flower branches is really a sin."
"Su Zhuangyuan said it well." Lin Wanrong gave a thumbs up: "You are really a person who appreciates, cherishes and loves flowers. But -" he changed his tone and laughed loudly: "I want to ask Su Zhuangyuan, What kind of flowers do you appreciate, what kind of flowers do you love——"
Su Mubai suddenly thought of something, his face changed, Lin Wanrong laughed loudly and said: "I will answer for the number one scholar. What you reward is beauty, what you love is the beauty and fragrance of the country, you will reward this dog's tail grass, Do you love it? It's right to say that you appreciate beauty, but it's wrong to say that you appreciate flowers, Zhuangyuanlang, am I right?"
What a sharp mouth. Su Mubai was speechless, but Xu Zhiqing watched with great interest.
"There is nothing wrong with loving beauty, but I would like to ask, in this world, are there more peonies or foxtail grass? You all should take care of that noble peony, love it, and pamper it, but Who cares about those thousands of dogtail grasses? Who the hell cares?" Lin Wanrong stepped on the peony again and shouted angrily.
The eldest lady hurriedly pulled him gently, glared at him with her beautiful eyes, and said softly: "Don't say bad words."
"Oh, Saorui, Saorui." Lin Wanrong smiled helplessly and glanced at Xu Zhiqing: "Miss Xu, the beautiful and proud white peony must be pure and untainted, and lead the group. Very good. This sentence makes sense, but I want to ask, who is the leader of your white peony? Is it peony, chrysanthemum or clivia? Wrong, wrong, all wrong. They are also leaders. You are leading a bunch of dogtails like us, worthless. The dog's tail grass is fine. If you are in troubled times, should you abandon the peony or the dog's tail grass first? Miss Xu, can you give me an answer?"
Xu Zhiqing bit her red lips and refused to speak. The man in the pavilion flashed his eyes and looked at Lin Wanrong with interest, a faint smile appeared on his lips.
"Actually, I don't need your answer." Lin Wanrong spread his hands, shrugged and smiled: "This foxtail grass is ugly and vulgar. When you walk on the road, when you see it, you want to trample it to death. But you really can trample it to death. "Lin Wanrong smiled slightly, threw the grass on the ground, stepped on it a few times, and when he picked it up, he saw that the grass was still connected to the bones, tall and slender: "We grass roots have the strongest vitality. Yes, it doesn't need you to take care of it at all. In troubled times, peonies can wither overnight, but the grass roots can last forever. There is endless gold in the sand. Can you figure out who abandoned whom? Miss Xu? To put it bluntly, the garden was burned down. Who is the undead phoenix? - Miss Xu, do you understand? What am I talking about?"
Xu Zhiqing gritted her teeth, her face flushed, her little hands clenched, she glanced at him but said nothing.
Lin Wanrong smiled, waved his hands and said: "No more, no more, it's meaningless if you say it too clearly. Everyone understands it anyway. This guy in the pavilion, I'm tired of talking, please get me a bench." "
The old man in the pavilion gave the blind old man a meaningful look and said with a smile: "It is appropriate to give him a seat. Xiao Weizi, according to you, let him sit on Su Mubai's left or right."
"Master has made a clear decision." Xiao Weizi said respectfully without changing his face.
"Come on, I'll give you a seat, Lin San, on Miss Xu's left." The old man smiled loudly and ordered loudly. There was a meaningful smile on the face of the blind old man Gujing Bubo...