The first time in history

Bian Jing nodded, "Great sentence, a hundred times better than mine."

"Brother Lu, why don't you do it?" Zheng Cai asked.

Qian Mingduo looked at the three of them and said, "I am not very knowledgeable and I dare not show my weakness in front of a beautiful woman. Just let the three of you do it, I will not get involved."

"Brother is the top scholar in Lin'an Prefecture, how can you say that you are not talented and knowledgeable?" Feng Yixuan said jokingly.

Bian Jing smiled and said, "I think... Brother Lu just doesn't want to compete with us for Miss Ruyu."

"Or... Brother Lu simply doesn't bother to join us in making this couplet." Zheng Cai smiled sideways, "He is the champion of Lin'an Prefecture!"

Qian Mingduo sighed softly, "It's not what you think, but I'm just not very good at writing couplets. I'm just afraid of making a fool of myself."

"If you don't even get it right, how do you know if you'll make a fool of yourself?" Feng Yixuan urged, "Brother Lu, don't be polite. Just get it right."

Qian Mingduo looked at a few people and said, "Okay, let me see the first line." He thought for a moment and said, "Little sister, just tell your daughter that my second line is just four words - regret for the other shore."

"Brother Lu, what do you mean by this?" Bian Jing asked in confusion, "Your couplet is not neat, are you teasing Miss Ruyu?"

Qian Mingduo smiled and said, "I am just this level, how dare I compare myself with the three of you. No matter who gets the chance to join, I will congratulate him."

"The silk skirt flutters and the dancing sleeves flutter, the rhythm is like a dream." Bian Jing took the first couplet written by Miss Ruyu and read it several times. "Now I regret the other side..."

Bian Jing looked at Qian Mingduo, "Is the champion really the champion? He is extraordinary. I am ashamed to be inferior to him."

"Why do you say that, Brother Bian?" Zheng Cai asked.

"We are just making far-fetched assumptions and following the rules." Bian Jing looked at Qian Mingduo and cupped his hands. "Jie Yuan is right!"

Feng Yixuan was also confused. "Brother Bian, please tell me quickly. This will give us a better understanding."

"Thinking that Miss Ruyu may be proud, she is still a prostitute after all. The first line of her couplet has already expressed her helplessness and sadness." He picked up the paper Miss Ruyu wrote, "The word 'dream' is enough to explain her sadness and heartache."

"But Brother Lu's second couplet is not neat, nor does it rhyme. It's not even a couplet. Could it be that Brother Bian meant..." Feng Yixuan said, "The second couplets made by the three of us are not as good as Miss Yu's?"

Bian Jing raised his glass towards Qian Mingduo and said, "It is a great blessing to meet a bosom friend in life. I offer a toast to Brother Lu."

"I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Brother Bian." Qian Mingduo clinked his glasses with Bian Jingyao, "Brother Bian, you think too deeply. To be honest, I don't even think that way."

Bian Jing drank it all in one gulp. "Brother Lu, did you hand in your paper in a few hours today? Is it the same as when you took the provincial examination?"

"I just wrote it fast. I just answered it randomly." Qian Mingduo drank the wine slowly. "I finished writing it randomly. If I don't hand it in early, I will starve. I'm just hungry and want to leave the exam room early to eat."

"Brother Lu is really too polite."

The beaded curtain rang again, and the little girl walked in. "My lady invites this gentleman who answered four words to come over."

Feng Yixuan and Zheng Cai looked at Qian Mingduo in surprise, while Bian Jing had a relaxed expression as if he knew the result already.

Qian Mingduo asked calmly, "Little sister, is your daughter shortsighted? Why did she like my couplet?"

"After my daughter read your couplet..." She paused, "she burst into tears."