Heaven is the shore of mortal dust

Chapter 19

Wei Zijun looked at the man in white with pleading eyes, but the man in white did not move. For some reason, he was quite curious to see what it would be like when her clothes were taken off.

Seeing that the man in white did not move, Wei Zijun looked at General Chen, but General Chen was staring blankly at the two blushes on her face.

Wei Zijun cried out inwardly, desperately trying to protect her position. "Young master, please let go first. If you like, I'll take it off for you later. You can't take it off here."

Seeing that she was desperately tugging at the collar, and fearing that it would tear if she kept pulling, he had no choice but to let go and give up.

Wei Zijun breathed a sigh of relief and straightened her wrinkled clothes. The way her slender white fingers moved and manipulated the black fabric was strangely alluring.

The perpetrator couldn't resist reaching out and grabbing Wei Zijun's fingers again.

Seeing the fear and horror in her eyes, the assailant chuckled. "Pulling you down to eat! What are you thinking about?"

Wei Zijun sighed and sat down. She was truly terrified of him; the fear was so intense it could be described as terror. This man was far too difficult to deal with.

"What would you like to eat?" the man in white asked her.

"Is the young master treating us?" Wei Zijun asked in return.

"Of course it's your treat. You've taken all our money," the man in white said, feigning annoyance.

"Young master, look how thin I am, how can you bear to let me treat you? And looking at your bloated appearance, why don't you lend me some money?"

"I gave you all my money, how dare you take it from me?"

"Young master wouldn't be so stingy, would he? I seem to remember someone promising me a thousand taels."

"Hahaha, of course you won't be shortchanged."

"Sir, the dishes are here!" the waiter called out, bringing the dishes over.

"Waiter, bring two more of your specialty dishes. And bring a jar of your Dongyang wine," the man in white instructed the waiter.

"Alright, sir." The waiter replied and left.

Once the wine and dishes were served, the man in white raised his wine cup and said, "Come, let's reintroduce ourselves. Young Master Wei, I am Li Tianqi, courtesy name Boyuan. This is General Chen Chang, and this is Li Hongyi, courtesy name Shangzhen. We are all older than you, so let's call each other brothers."

"Just call me Brother Gongzhi. Let's not call me General's Son, it sounds awkward," General Chen said, raising his cup to Wei Zijun.

"My name is Wei Zijun." Wei Zijun also raised his cup, but knowing that drinking was unavoidable and that he couldn't hold his liquor, he couldn't help but frown slightly.

Li Hongyi chuckled and said, "You're afraid of getting drunk? Today I'll make sure you don't leave until you're completely drunk."

Fortunately, the restaurant was luxurious, and the cups were small and exquisite, each containing only about an ounce. The wine wasn't too strong either; after drinking it, a cool sensation slid down my throat, leaving a lingering, pleasant aftertaste. I couldn't help but exclaim, "Good wine!"

"My brother truly has good judgment," Chen Chang said, then poured more wine into everyone's cups. He then raised his cup.

"As the saying goes, no friendship is formed without a fight. Brother Wei, I never imagined that the day we felt a connection would lead to this gathering today. There is no greater joy in life than this. Come, let's drink this cup."

Wei Zijun looked at the jar of wine and felt bitter. One cup after another, she would get dizzy after a few cups.

“Brother Gongzhi, Ziju must drink this cup, but Ziju cannot hold her liquor. After this cup, how about Ziju has a little sip?” After saying this, he looked at the reactions of the others.

“Brother Wei, this is obviously not fair. How about we play a game that is fair and won’t involve excessive drinking? How about we recite poems together?” Li Tianqi asked.

"Excellent, excellent! I like it best. Both the clever verses and the linked verses are acceptable." Li Hongyi clapped his hands in delight.

“Good, very good. One person poses a couplet, and three people respond. Those who cannot answer or whose answers are not succinct will be penalized with a drink. But the person who poses the couplet must be able to provide a matching line.” Chen Chang became unusually excited.

All three of them turned their gazes toward Wei Zijun.

“Okay!” Wei Zijun nodded readily.

Matching couplets was no challenge for her. Her talent was known to almost everyone in the circle. She remembered once jokingly saying, "If I were in ancient times, I would be a talented woman skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting!" But unexpectedly, the person actually came to her.

“Alright then, Brother Wei is not a good drinker, so you should go first,” Li Tianqi said.

"You flatter me!" Wei Zijun pondered for a moment, then replied, "Smoke locks the willows by the pond." Hmph, this is an absolute poem by the old man Qianlong, just to give you a taste of his power.

“The moon shrouds the small dwelling in mist,” Li Tianqi replied.

"Well done, well done! Smoke locks the willows, the moon is shrouded in mist, the pond faces the small building—wonderful, truly wonderful!" Chen Chang clapped his hands in approval.

Li Tianqi looked at Wei Zijun with a smug expression, but she only smiled and remained silent. She then looked at Li Hongyi, who was deep in thought, and asked, "Well, have you found a match yet?"

Li Hongyi frowned in deep thought, then shook his head. "Boyuan, your answer, though evocative, is still not perfect. 'Smoke locks the pond and willows' has five radicals: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. I think we should each drink a cup as a penalty." With that, he picked up his wine cup and drank it down in one gulp.

The other two thought for a moment, then shook their heads and drank their drinks.

"Brother Wei, tell me your second line," Chen Chang asked, full of curiosity.

"Tea brewed from the spring water of the Qiongbi." He chuckled inwardly; this couplet had even made the newspapers. "Trying to mess with me? Your days are numbered."

The second line of the couplet uses the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, earth) to represent the five elements, and the imagery is quite good. The others found it wonderful and readily admitted defeat.

Next, it was Li Tianqi's turn to pose a question. Li Tianqi came up with a fitting couplet, so he turned his head to look out the window and saw a waiter in a blue robe downstairs inviting several newly arrived customers into the shop. An idea struck him, and he said, "The waiter in blue robes leads the red crane into the shop."

Everyone was stumped upon hearing this. It is well known that matching couplets for this occasion is the most difficult, because the matching person must also respond to the scene. Moreover, the subject is hidden here, and it is only used as an introduction. Furthermore, the word "building" is hidden after the crane, so a word must also be hidden to make it perfect.

Wei Zijun was also somewhat perplexed. Although she had composed all sorts of obscure and uncommon couplets, she had never composed one for an impromptu situation. While pondering, she looked out the window for something to see. She saw a teahouse across the street, where a maid in red was helping an elderly woman out, carefully descending the steps. Wei Zijun glanced at the teahouse and saw that the signboard read "Ningchenzhai".

Wei Zijun smiled slightly and said softly, "A woman in crimson sleeves helped Ningchen down."

[Volume 1, Deer City Chapter: Chapter 17 Joint Poems (Part 2)]

The group first followed Wei Zijun's gaze, and after a moment, they shouted, "Good! Well done! Absolutely brilliant!"