Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Chapter 103: The Intellectual Crushing Power of Little Li Tan Hua!
This year's imperial examination was extremely difficult.

Besides Bao Zheng and Gongsun Ce, Tang Yin, Li Xunhuan, and others also participated, and the crimes were inhumane.

Fortunately, Li Zhaoting was not falsely accused and imprisoned, otherwise they would have seen an ultimate demon king.

Those named "Suzhen" are often quite crazy.

Suzhen was a woman who helped her husband achieve the highest rank in the imperial examination.

Suzhen flooded Jinshan Temple and suppressed Leifeng Pagoda for her husband. In order to save her, her son became the top scholar in the imperial examination. Suzhen was destined to be associated with the top scholar.

Either become the top student yourself.

Either give birth to a top scholar (or a student who excels in the imperial examinations).

Yelü Yancai went to the Imperial Academy to provoke them, and they agreed to compete in five areas: music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and inscriptions. Yelü Yancai challenged five of the top talents in the Imperial Academy to a one-on-one contest.

Only three participants have been confirmed so far.

Liu Changying, Go (Weiqi);

Tang Bohu, painting;

Li Xunhuan, inscription on stone tablet;

The calligraphy and musical instruments have not yet been determined.

Liu Changying lost.

Tang Bohu is currently engaged in a contest.

Li Xunhuan is poised to strike.

To ensure victory, Gongsun Ce invited Li Zhaoting to participate in a musical instrument competition. In Gongsun Ce's opinion, none of the music masters at the Imperial Academy were as good as Li Zhaoting.

Of course, if possible, Gongsun Ce would prefer Feng Suzhen to disguise herself as a man and participate in the war. Unless the Liao Kingdom invites the Six-Fingered Qin Demon, they will surely lose the instrumental challenge!
It wasn't that the students of the Imperial Academy lacked knowledge, but rather that they were focused on the imperial examinations and Confucian classics. Playing the zither and chess was for cultivating their character. This was for the imperial examinations, not for the arts, and no one specialized in musical instruments.

In terms of musical instruments alone, the students of the Imperial Academy are inferior to those in the martial arts world. The great masters in the martial arts world who are famous for their musical instruments all have unparalleled skills.

Feng Suzhen frowned upon hearing this: "No! You have already lost. Five against one, as long as Yelü Yancai wins two rounds, you will be at a disadvantage. If he wins three rounds, you will suffer a crushing defeat. If Yelü Yancai wins a complete victory, all the students of the Imperial Academy will be ruined!"

Gongsun Ce immediately realized what was happening.

This is not a best-of-five series!

This is an unfair five-on-one match.

Yelü Yancai fought five consecutive matches, but his condition was not perfect except for the first match, which affected his performance in the other four matches.

To be precise, in order to conserve energy, they couldn't go all out in the first game, which also had an impact.

Under such extremely unfavorable circumstances, Yelü Yan's mere two victories were enough to enrage and even shatter the confidence of these proud and arrogant imperial students.

If Yelü Yan had won three or even five matches, some of the more hot-tempered students might have committed suicide by sword, washing away their shame with their blood.

Gongsun Ce was such a person.

If the Song Dynasty's students were to lose all five battles, and be outshone by the Liao in literary talent, what face would they have left to live? They would either commit suicide or return home to study diligently for ten years, seeking revenge against Yelü Yancai.

If Yelü Yancai had died after the competition, it would have become a permanent psychological shadow for these students.

This means they have no chance of winning anymore.

It is said that there is no first place in literature, but there is a second place in martial arts. The consequences of losing in literature may be more serious than in martial arts.

Li Zhaoting didn't want to get involved in these messy affairs, fearing he would bring disaster upon the delegation. But since they were courting death, Li Zhaoting was determined to go to the Imperial Academy to lend a hand.

After finishing her meal, Feng Suzhen changed into men's clothing.

The Five Rats wanted to go and watch the battle.

Mei Zhu took out a ruler and swung it twice.

The five rats obediently sat back down.

Lan Fenghuang revealed a pure gaze; her clear, large eyes proved that she had never been corrupted by knowledge.

What's so interesting about a scholar's literary talent?

Blue Phoenix had absolutely no interest in this!
It's not as fun as cricket fighting!
……

Imperial College!
This competition attracted countless candidates.

Participating in such a competition puts immense pressure on the candidates. Winning brings fame and fortune, while losing inevitably leads to infamy, a burden no one can easily bear.

Liu Changying, the son of a prime minister, covered his face and left after losing the game. He stayed at home to reflect on his mistakes, and he is likely to fail the imperial examination this year because he has lost his composure.

When Li Zhaoting and Feng Suzhen arrived, Tang Yin had just finished the last stroke. Yelü Yancai was slower than Tang Bohu and was also inferior in skill.

No judges are required to score.

Yelü Yancai readily admitted defeat.

"Tang Jieyuan is an expert in both calligraphy and painting. I admire you greatly. With a talent like you, the Imperial Academy is truly worthy of its reputation."

"You flatter me, Lord Yelü. The Song Dynasty is full of talented people. I am nothing special. For example, this Brother Li, although he is not as handsome as me, is far more talented than me."

Tang Bohu pulled Li Xunhuan over.

The students watching the game booed.

Tang Bohu was certainly not ugly; his eyebrows and eyes were quite handsome, and he had practiced martial arts since childhood, making him a talented man skilled in both literature and martial arts, with a unique air of elegance and romance.

However, he was comparing himself to Li Xunhuan.

Li Xunhuan, handsome as a god.

Why do we have to compare who's the most handsome of all?!

Is there even a comparison?

Handsome men like Li Xunhuan, Hua Manlou, Dongfang Sheng, and Li Zhaoting are like creations made by Nuwa to show off her skills when she created humans; they are so perfect that they are envied by the heavens.

Therefore, each has its own shortcomings.

Hua Manlou is blind;
Li Xunhuan has a serious brain ailment;
Li Zhaoting was a womanizer;
Dongfang Sheng's family is full of troubles;
No one is absolutely perfect.

The perfect outcome was "the heavens are jealous of heroes".

The inscriptions on the stone tablets were not carved on-site, but rather the inscriptions were authenticated by a notary public who brought out the stone tablets.

They wrapped the stone tablet in thick linen, and Yelü Yancai and Li Xunhuan each made holes in it to examine the inscriptions. The one with fewer holes won.

For example, if Yelü Yancai identified the stone tablet using three characters, and Li Xunhuan used two characters, then Li Xunhuan would win, resulting in a tie and the next round. The Imperial Academy prepared two stone tablets, one as the mandatory question and the other as an additional question.

If every question ends in a tie, the round is considered a tie, and the next round will begin.

Li Xunhuan said politely, "Brother Yelü, you are a guest from afar. Please give me some pointers."

That's a very polite way of putting it.

While saying "Please give me your guidance," he was actually letting Yelü Yancai go first. The one with fewer characters would win. If Yelü Yancai could identify the stone tablet based on just one character, Li Xunhuan would have to answer an additional question and could only see half a character.

This is extremely disadvantageous for Li Xunhuan.

Yelü Yancai did not stand on ceremony and said that he only needed to see one word. The guard stepped forward and cut open the hemp cloth.

The revealed character is...之!

"之乎者也" is the most commonly used character.

The character “之” can form countless structures.

Who can identify a stone tablet based on the character "之"?

Yelü Yancai is the only one who can do it.

Yelü Yancai carefully examined the characters and recognized them as a very standard example of Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy. This stone tablet was an authentic work by Yan Zhenqing. Historical records indicate that Yan Zhenqing wrote a total of thirteen stone tablets, five of which were incomplete.

There are eight complete stone tablets, three of which contain the character "之". One is the Duobao Pagoda Inspiration Stele written by Yan Zhenqing when he was 44 years old, which is full of spirit and elegance. The other is the Yan Qinli Stele written when he was 60 years old, which is dignified and vigorous. The third is the Magu Immortal Altar Inscription Stele written when he was 63 years old. At this time, Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy skills reached their peak and returned to simplicity.

We can deduce this by following these clues.

The "之" character displayed on this stone tablet is magnificent and boundless, clearly indicating that it is the Yan Qinli Stele.

Lifting the burlap sack, it was indeed the Yan Qinli Stele.

Everyone was amazed.

Firstly, he admired Yelü Yancai's exceptional insight; secondly, he was impressed by Yelü Yancai's quick wit and extensive knowledge; and finally, he worried about whether Li Xunhuan could solve the bonus question.

The bonus questions are much more difficult than the mandatory questions.

Li Xunhuan's decision to concede the first move put him at a severe disadvantage, bringing the situation to the brink of despair. Even Li Zhaoting was uncertain whether Li Xunhuan could win, since the two were now competing in knowledge and skills, not in throwing knives.

Li Xunhuan closed his eyes and pondered: "This stone tablet only needs half a character to be unfolded. I only need half a character!"

Cut open the burlap to reveal the radical for "wood".

There are countless characters with the radical "木" (wood), and more than a dozen of them are commonly used. How can one verify the authenticity of a stone tablet?

Li Xunhuan closed his eyes and pondered for a moment.

"First of all, the character is '林' (lín)!"
Secondly, this is the calligraphy of Wang Xizhi.

As is well known, Wang Xizhi passed down calligraphy works but not stone inscriptions.

Wang Xizhi never wrote any inscriptions on stone tablets.

Why does this stele bear the calligraphy of Wang Xizhi?
Because this was done by later generations.

In August of the 22nd year of the Zhenguan era, Emperor Taizong of Tang wrote the "Preface to the Sacred Teachings" for Xuanzang's newly translated Buddhist scriptures. Emperor Gaozong, who was the crown prince at the time, also wrote the "Record of the Preface to the Sacred Teachings".

The eminent monk Huai Ren was ordered to collect calligraphy rubbings. Based on the existing Wang Xizhi calligraphy at that time, he compiled Emperor Taizong's "Preface to the Sacred Teachings" and Emperor Taizong's reply, the Crown Prince's "Record of the Preface to the Sacred Teachings" and reply, as well as Xuanzang's translation of the "Heart Sutra".

It took more than 20 years to carve this stone tablet in the third year of Xianheng (668 AD), known as the Preface to the Sacred Teachings of the Great Tang Dynasty Tripitaka.

Please verify!

Before Li Xunhuan could finish speaking, Yelü Yan pulled back the burlap sack, revealing the Tripitaka Preface Stele.

"Impossible! This is impossible! The Tripitaka Preface Stele was destroyed in the fire, how could there be any remnants?"

"Because the fire destroyed the base, there are very obvious flame marks on the base. If you look closely, you can smell the burnt smell. The stone tablet needs to be carefully restored."

Li Xunhuan calmly gave an explanation.

In fact, this is a double gamble.

First, we inferred from the character "木" (wood) that it meant "林" (forest).

Li Xunhuan couldn't confirm whether it was a "lin" or a "bei". Fortunately, Li Xunhuan also liked running script. When practicing calligraphy, he would start with characters like "bei", "lin", "shu", "yang", and "qiao" differently, with the character "lin" being the most prominent.

The character “林” is composed of two “木” characters, and there is a technique involved in its initial stroke. Based on this trick, Li Xunhuan deduced that the hidden character was “林” and thus realized that it was an authentic work by Wang Xizhi.

Wang Xizhi did not leave any stone tablets. The only existing stone tablets are all forgeries made by later generations. One is the Goose Character Stele of Guoqing Temple, which is only composed of the character "goose". The other is the Sanzang Shengjiao Xu Stele, which is said to have been destroyed.

Li Xunhuan could only take the risk and guess.

Because he had practiced throwing knife techniques diligently since childhood and trained his hand strength by carving, his hands were very steady, and his mind was even more steady, always appearing calm and composed.

Yelü Yancai was completely convinced of his defeat.

The next competition is music theory.

Yelü Yan then had someone bring him a hujia (a type of reed pipe instrument).

Li Zhaoting did not appear.

Feng Suzhen also did not appear.

Just as Yelü Yan was about to play first, Feng Suzhen stepped forward and said loudly, "Is there no one left in the Imperial Academy of the Great Song Dynasty? Five against one is not a fair victory. I am willing to gamble with Mr. Yelü for five rounds. You can set the questions, whether it be the classics, history, philosophy, poetry, songs, rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, mathematics, or even martial arts competitions. I will respond to all of them."

The Liao envoy, Yelü Alian, shouted, "Are you a student of the Imperial Academy? I don't recognize you!"

Grand Tutor Pang said in a deep voice, "This is truly strange. I had no idea that the Imperial Academy had such a talent."

Li Zhaoting took out a scroll from his sleeve.

"Grand Tutor Pang, please look at this painting."

When the scroll was unfurled, the technique was very ordinary; it would be worth at most two taels of silver if sold. However, Grand Tutor Pang immediately recognized that it was painted by Emperor Renzong of Song himself.

Another notary, Grand Tutor Hua, also recognized it as the emperor's painting and asked, "Who are you? Why do you have His Majesty's painting? Where are you taking the exam?"

Feng Suzhen's mind raced, and she made up a name: "Feng Shaomin, a candidate from Hangzhou, greets all of you gentlemen."

"What does Mr. Yelü think?"

"I promise!"

(End of this chapter)