When Gu Jinâan and Magistrate Gu came out, thatâs when they heard such humiliating words.
Around them, a group of students, each twice as tall as Brother Cheng, surrounded him, pointing and saying, "Thatâs right, Brother Xue is correct, you little country bumpkin donât know anything about riddles. The riddle you made is problematic; this round doesnât count!"
Gu Jinâan was very angry. He wouldnât get upset when insulted by others; he would just figure out a way to crush them. But when someone pointed at Brother Cheng and insulted him, he felt so sad that he wanted to cry.
Brother Cheng, whom he raised himself, had suffered greatly since childhood. Now that life at home had improved, he didnât want Brother Cheng to endure any more hardship.
But thatâs just how people are. Ever since noble families existed, farmers have been looked down upon. Terms like mud-leg, countryman, and lowlife are all derogatory names for farmers.
These derogatory names are nailed to farmers from birth. Even if you gain an official position, you only have face among farmers or ordinary rich families and landlords. In front of real noble families and nobility, youâre still as insignificant as dirt.
What made Gu Jinâan even sadder was that he had long anticipated that Brother Cheng would be surrounded and criticized by so many people.
But Gu Jinâan couldnât lose his temper. He had to hold back his anger and let Brother Cheng win on his own; only when he himself used his talent to defeat these people would the rumors of him being a fool be dispelled.
Yao Youqian, seeing those people trying to be unreasonable, angrily pointed at the students and said, "Donât bully just because you have numbers. Canât face losing? If you canât, then donât compete with a child."
He then pointed at Xue De and said, "Youâre old enough and still bully a child, have you no shame?"
Lv Bai, having shouted all morning, had a sore and painful throat, also quietly said, "This riddle is indeed correct."
Having heard this, Xue De shoved Lv Bai and angrily said, "Get lost! What right do you have to speak here, you who ranked last?"
The Xue Family had recently been very unlucky. Although Xue De passed the student exam, he was quite annoyed. He had lost a good marriage and was detested by Lord Yu. He would no longer be able to rely on Lord Yuâs connections in the government.
"What are you doing, Xue De? Do you actually dare to make a move?" Yao Youqian stood in front of Lv Bai, pointing at Xue De and said, "You who ranked second last, what right do you have to speak to Lv Bai like that?"
Seeing Yao Youqian daring to point at his nose and curse him, Xue De was furious and began to curse Yao Youqian, "You lowlife from the dung pit, stay away from this young master, you stink."
Magistrate Gu looked at the chaotic scene before him, his face sour. What sort of help was this? If they behaved like this upon reaching Linhe Prefecture, heâd lose face completely and become a laughing stock among the Jianghuai Prefecturesâ magistrates!
"Silence! Why are you making such a racket in the courtyard? Do you not have a scholarâs decorum?" Magistrate Gu sternly scolded, bringing Gu Jinâan down the steps, scanning the students present.
The students surrounding Brother Cheng earlier, upon seeing Magistrate Gu, each looked like a quail.
Yao Youqian bowed to Magistrate Gu and replied, "Greetings, Lord Magistrate. It was Xue De, Shi Fei Peng, and Xie Jin who bullied Brother Guâs younger brother, mocking him as a fool. Dissatisfied, Brother Guâs younger brother explained, but when they didnât listen, he challenged them to a riddle match. When Xue De couldnât solve it, he slandered Brother Guâs younger brother by saying he didnât understand riddles and made fake ones."
Xue De and the others somehow heard that Brother Guâs younger brother was beaten foolish by the Old Gu Family, and when Brother Gu entered to receive the scholarship documents, they began mocking Brother Guâs younger brother.
Brother Guâs younger brother is clever. When they refused to listen to his explanation, he simply challenged them. But after losing, Xue De and his group got furious and started resorting to trickery.
After hearing this, Magistrate Gu looked at Xue De and asked, "Is what Student Yao said true?"
Initially, Magistrate Gu had no impression of Yao Youqian. But, after Yao Youqian and Lv Bai shouted all morning at the government gate, it was hard for Magistrate Gu to not recognize Yao Youqian.
Xue De didnât want to admit defeat and continued to argue, "Sir, the riddle Gu Jincheng made had an issue; the word âautumnâ isnât as he described."
Yao Youqian sneered and said, "There is something in the world, different on each side. One loves turning green, the other loves turning redâone loves the rain, the other despises the wind. Isnât this clearly âgrainâ on the left and âfireâ on the right? Together they make the word âautumnâ. Whatâs wrong with such a riddle? You couldnât solve it yourself and played tricks, putting the blame on a child. What kind of man are you?"
He then angrily pointed at Xue De, "My family deals with night soil, but even I, a night soil handler, look down on you, a hypocrite!"
Hearing this, Xue De trembled with anger and said furiously, "Yao Youqian, you lowlife! What right do you have to insult this young master?"
Gu Jinâan laughed, looking at Xue De and saying, "If Brother Yao really wanted to insult you, he wouldnât call you a hypocrite but would mock you about your marriage. Do you really think your reputation is good? Youâve done disgraceful things yet instead of hiding at home, you come out here to make a fool of yourself. You truly are someone who admires Mr. Shi, being so brazen is remarkable."
Xue De, because of getting his cousin pregnant, had his engagement with Lord Yuâs family canceled. Storytellers talked about this event for days, making Xue De the cityâs laughingstock.
Magistrate Gu fell silent, realizing that Gu Jinâan, chosen by Junior Minister Ming, indeed spoke sharply, stripping away Xue Deâs dignity.
However, Gu Jinâanâs words were just the appetizer; there was more to come.
Brother Cheng squeezed out from a group of young men a dozen years older than he was, bowed, and greeted Magistrate Gu, "Good day, Lord Magistrate."
Seeing the speaker was a fair and adorable child with a playful demeanor, Magistrate Guâs face broke into a smile. He nodded and said, "You must be Gu Jincheng, thereâs no need for formalities, please rise."
He seemed quite clever, unlike the rumor that he was foolish due to a beating.
Realizing this, Magistrate Gu was startled and finally understood that the purpose of Gu Jinâan bringing Gu Jincheng here was probably because the Gu Family heard the rumors and wanted to show Gu Jincheng to people to dispel the notion of him being a fool.
Magistrate Gu felt a cold sweat coming on. This Gu Jinâan was quite cunning. Heâs not even twenty yet, but in another decade or so, heâs sure to be a significant figure, stirring up waves. No wonder Junior Minister Ming wanted to pull Gu Jinâan into the Ming Family party early on.
Brother Cheng withdrew his hands and smiled, "Lord Magistrate, since Brother Xue says the previous riddle doesnât count, Iâll make another for him, and you can be the judge, is that alright?"
"Of course," Magistrate Gu, eager to curry favor with Junior Minister Ming, was happy to do Gu Family a favor, "Go ahead and present your riddle."
Brother Cheng smiled at Magistrate Gu and said, "In the courtyard there is a person, holding Righteousness in the left hand, gripping a three-foot sword in the right, with one move breaking through four directions, fiercely killing a heart. Guess a word, and as for the time limit, please set it, Lord Magistrate."
Hearing this riddle, Magistrate Gu frowned and asked, "Who taught you this riddle?"
Brother Cheng replied, "No one taught me, I just came up with it while playing riddles with my family at home."
Second Sister said, regarding riddles, they are actually quite simple. It depends on how you construct them. As long as you make them reasonable and flawless, theyâre valid.