Volume One, Chapter 18: If You Don't Know, It's Because You're Foolish
Others might be wary of Yunchen Mu’s status, but he himself was not intimidated.
When Changfeng Luo confronted Yunchen Mu like that, he was momentarily taken aback.
Still, he responded coldly, “Hmph... As for the second prince’s riddle, I doubt even he can answer it. If he can, then consider my previous words as never spoken!”
“But if he cannot answer, then I too will question the fairness of this literary contest!”
The moment he spoke, Changfeng Luo and the others were furious. This man was clearly trying to use this matter to strip Su Yuan of his first place in the couplet competition!
Could he be any more shameless? When he can’t win, he blames everything else.
Changfeng Luo opened his mouth to retort, but at that moment, Su Yuan spoke up: “Your Highness, what if I can answer it? Will you then concede and acknowledge me as the first place winner of this contest?”
Su Yuan saw clearly that his opponent was trying to cause trouble, so he decided to silence him once and for all. If others couldn’t answer, surely he could.
In later times, this riddle had countless possible answers. Though some were not suitable for public use, more than half were valid!
Yunchen Mu was surprised and looked at Su Yuan, momentarily hesitant to accept his challenge.
He believed that if Su Yuan posed the riddle, he should be able to answer it.
Yet, on second thought, it seemed impossible. Even he considered the riddle difficult. Gu Tingyu, the top scholar of the Great Qing, had declined, and Wu Honghui had failed as well. He refused to believe Su Yuan could know the answer.
Instinctively, he suspected Su Yuan had somehow obtained the answer by trickery, which was why he had sailed through. He was unwilling to let Su Yuan take first place by such cunning means.
Not only him, even the Emperor Chu was displeased. If his eldest son wasn’t the one showing off, even if it was his second son, he was still unhappy.
“Very well, I accept your challenge. If you can give the answer, I, representing Great Qing, will concede and acknowledge you as the winner of this couplet contest!”
Finally, Yunchen Mu decided to take a gamble.
He added coldly, “But if you cannot answer, then you must admit defeat and step down for someone else!”
He was dreaming big—and acting shamelessly. He was outright demanding Su Yuan’s surrender!
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Su Yuan cast him a cold glance before turning to Emperor Chu and saying lightly, “Your Majesty, do you have any objections to Prince Yunchen Mu’s words? Surely you wouldn’t allow endless challengers after I answer correctly. If that happens, this contest would never end!”
Yunchen Mu’s words clearly contained a trap; if Emperor Chu did not accept, he would be forced to find more challengers to compete with him!
Su Yuan was not afraid, but such endless hassle was truly exhausting.
The Emperor’s face darkened but he still said coldly, “I agree with Prince Yunchen Mu. If you can answer, you are the champion of this literary contest. If you cannot, step down and yield your place!”
His words sent a chill through Su Yuan’s heart. Despite his excellent performance, his stepfather showed no affection for him.
He sighed inwardly, cursing himself for still hoping. Suppressing his sorrow, Su Yuan’s expression grew cold.
“Listen carefully! ‘Smoke envelops the pond’s willow,’ paired with... ‘Lanterns hang by the brocade railing’s waves.’ It can also be matched with ‘Mist steams the tower’s clock’ or ‘Lanterns reach deep into the village temple’s bell,’ or ‘Peach blossoms set ablaze on the brocade riverbank.’”
He recited four answers in one breath, his voice growing louder.
At the moment he spoke, everyone froze, staring at Su Yuan with shocked expressions.
They had thought this was an unbeatable riddle, so difficult that it might take years or decades to solve.
Yet Su Yuan gave four answers at once—a feat beyond belief! Such talent was unmatched.
He looked at the stunned Yunchen Mu and sneered, “Prince Yunchen Mu, the couplet you find difficult is far too easy for me, Su Yuan! The reason you can’t answer is because... you’re stupid! Not because the riddle I posed is flawed!”
His words nearly made Yunchen Mu spit blood in anger. Su Yuan was blatantly calling him a fool.
Before Yunchen Mu could retort, Su Yuan added with a mocking tone, “If you think you’re not stupid, I’ll give you three more couplets. If you can answer them, then you’re not stupid.”
“Paint the lotus, paint the monk!”
“Looking at the river tower, looking at the flowing river; on the river tower, watch the flowing river; the river tower stands for eternity, the river flows for eternity!”
“Laugh at the ancient and laugh at the present, laugh east and laugh west, laugh south and laugh north; laughing back and forth, laugh at yourself for being ignorant and uneducated.”
The moment Su Yuan presented these three couplets, the room fell silent. Everyone stared at him, filled with shock and disbelief.
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Before, many had doubted Su Yuan’s use of the riddle ‘Smoke envelops the pond’s willow’ to defeat others.
Now, they realized their ignorance. Su Yuan did have unbeatable couplets; he just avoided trouble by using a single riddle to crush numerous challengers.
Otherwise, as the reigning champion, how many would come to challenge him? The sheer number was overwhelming.
The three couplets Su Yuan just presented were masterpieces: the first was a palindrome couplet, whose forward and backward readings sounded the same—a riddle as difficult as ‘Smoke envelops the pond’s willow.’
The second was a reduplicative couplet, nearly as challenging as the first two, and the third was even more extraordinary—a single character ‘laugh’ supported the entire couplet.
Finally, he even slyly insulted Yunchen Mu for being ignorant and uneducated, a fool.
Everyone stared at Su Yuan, their resentment turning into fear and respect.
Yunchen Mu’s face darkened at the insult. Answer? Not a chance! He couldn’t answer a single one. But he clearly heard Su Yuan’s accusation of his lack of culture!
Anger surged within him, and he opened his mouth to retort, but the words caught in his throat.
He was the Great Qing’s eldest prince—possibly crown prince. If he engaged in a quarrel like a commoner, his image would be ruined!
He glared coldly at Su Yuan, a sinister smile creeping onto his face.
“Fine... fine! The second prince truly deserves the title of champion of the literary contest. But I wonder if you can be as relaxed and confident during the martial contest. Let me remind you, the sword and blade have no eyes! Should any misfortune befall you, don’t blame me for not warning you!”
His tone carried a veiled threat, clear to all. The martial contest was when he intended to settle scores with Su Yuan.
Whether or not he dared to kill Su Yuan during the martial contest was unknown.
After all, the martial contest was no mere literary duel; it was a real fight with swords and spears, where injury or death was inevitable. Casualties were common and accepted.
Emperor Chu frowned at the threat, glancing at Yunchen Mu with anger flashing in his eyes.
He disliked Yunchen Mu’s threat. Though he disliked Su Yuan as a son, Su Yuan was still his son. If anyone from Great Qing killed him, it would be an insult to the Emperor himself.