"Cousin Ye Xuan, your talent is at least eighteen streets ahead of our Chinese teacher!"
Chen Yan'er's voice carried, causing Chen Deyu's forehead to knot. He couldn't help but glare at his daughter, wondering what nonsense she was spouting.
However, his nephew's poem was indeed remarkable, that was beyond doubt!
With his brush poised, Chen Bingyan approached the ancient Xuan paper on the desk. He took a breath and carefully observed the calligraphy his nephew had written. The composition, stroke, and blank space...
All were impeccable!
"Get the scroll, and put this calligraphy away."
Chen Bingyan said nothing more, directly instructing. This scene was just like the calligraphy Ye Xuan had written at the birthday banquet, his actions were swift.
"Uh... cough cough, alright, Dad."
Second Uncle Chen Deming was stunned for a moment, then coughed and went to find the scroll. This showed how satisfied his father, Chen Bingyan, was with this piece of calligraphy. He hadn't even had time to appreciate it carefully yet.
The Second Uncle Chen Deming dared not delay in the slightest regarding the Old Master's words; he immediately went inside to retrieve the scroll.
Not long after.
Under everyone's gaze, Chen Bingyan and Second Uncle Chen Deming carefully placed Ye Xuan's calligraphy, "The Song of Everlasting Sorrow," into the scroll.
After completing this, Chen Bingyan held the scroll and carefully handed it to Chen Deming to put away. Chen Bingyan's face was beaming with a radiant smile.
Clearly, he greatly enjoyed Ye Xuan's gift!
"Hehehe, I'm in a good mood today."
After putting away the calligraphy, Chen Bingyan couldn't hide his joy. He then looked at his grandson, "Xiao Xuan, your skill with poetry and calligraphy is impressive, but I wonder how well you can compose couplets."
"Since I'm happy today, are you interested in pairing up with your maternal grandfather for a few rounds?"
Chen Bingyan said with great enthusiasm. Hearing Chen Bingyan's words, the surrounding youngsters' gazes all fell upon Ye Xuan, including Ye Xuan's parents.
They knew that their grandfather had been a master of couplet composition in the Writers' Association in his youth. They had rarely seen anyone more skilled than him.
But was Ye Xuan a match for the Old Master? Although his poems were quite good.
"Sure."
"Grandpa is rarely this happy, so I'll accompany you for a few, but you're not allowed to get angry if you lose."
Hearing his grandson's boastful words, Chen Bingyan felt a surge of competitiveness. "Good kid, do you really think your maternal grandfather was a principal for all these years for nothing?"
"Come on, let's have a spar."
Chen Bingyan smiled at his grandson, and thus the two began their couplet competition. The entire family watched the grandfather and grandson, their eyes filled with amusement.
Only Rong Ningning watched the scene with a peculiar expression, truly unable to believe that this person was someone even the Lin family of Tianhai feared and sought to appease.
"Listen carefully, the first one."
Chen Bingyan pondered for a moment, "Got it."
"Sha appears when water is reduced."
Huh!?
Hearing Chen Bingyan's upper couplet, Chen Ziyan looked at her grandfather. 'Shao' combined with the three-dot water radical forms the character 'sha,' and it also creates a sense of imagery. This couplet was not simple.
Upon hearing her father's upper couplet, Chen Xiaowan rolled her eyes at him. "At your age, why bother competing with a child?"
"But can that brat really be a match for the Old Master?"
Chen Xiaowan expressed great doubt, after all, the Old Master's skill was evident.
"Uncle Ye Xuan, go!"
Little Mengru cheered for her Uncle Ye Xuan with all her might. Clearly, she was closer to her Uncle Ye Xuan than her great-grandfather.
"Cousin, go for it!!"
Chen Yan'er also cheered them on, as with her grandfather's skill, she didn't need to cheer for him.
"It is earth and embankment that form the dike."
While Chen Yan'er and Little Mengru were cheering, Ye Xuan had already responded with a lower couplet, his voice echoing in the courtyard. Adding the radical for 'earth' to 'embankment' forms the character 'dike,' and it also carries a similar imagery.
Wonderful!
Ye Pengfei was startled. He hadn't expected his son to respond so quickly.
Chen Deyu and the others were also surprised, clearly not expecting Ye Xuan to respond so swiftly. While there might be other valid lower couplets for this upper one, managing to come up with one in such a short time was already very difficult.
"Oh?"
Chen Bingyan was also taken aback. "Good kid, it seems I underestimated you."
"Again."
Chen Bingyan's voice fell, and he continued, "Silkworm is a worm under heaven."
After pondering for a moment, Chen Bingyan presented another upper couplet, which held a deeper meaning. 'Silkworm' is formed by 'heaven' and 'worm,' with heaven above and worm below. This couplet was even more ingenious than the previous one.
Ye Xuan heard it and smiled slightly, "Swan is a bird by the river."
"Oh, this couplet is quite good."
Chen Deming's eyes flashed with a hint of brilliance. The characters 'river' and 'bird' form 'swan,' and the bird is by the river. The parallelism is flawless.
"An inch of land forms a temple; beside the temple, words speak of poetry; the poetry says: the bright moon sees the monk return to the ancient temple."
Ye Xuan calmly and eloquently composed the lower couplet. "Two trees form a forest; under the forest, a prohibition is shown; the prohibition says: axes and saws shall enter the mountains and forests in season."
"No mountain is as beautiful as Wu Mountain."
"What water can be as clear as the river water?"
"........."
"Ten thousand tiles and a hundred bricks built a十字庙 in a hundred days."
"One boat, two oars, three people rowed past the four-way bridge."
..........
Chen Bingyan and Ye Xuan went back and forth. No matter what upper couplet Chen Bingyan presented, Ye Xuan could always provide a fitting lower couplet. Their speed in composing couplets grew faster and faster.
The surrounding family members watched, their eyes wide. Especially Chen Xiaowan, who stared at the scene in disbelief, "Old Ye, when did that brat get so good at couplets? Even my grandfather can't stump him."
"This... you're asking me, who am I supposed to ask?"
Ye Pengfei also looked at the scene in astonishment, clearly not expecting his son to be so skilled at couplets.
"Good kid!"
Chen Bingyan felt exhilarated with the challenge, the feeling of meeting a worthy opponent was indescribably wonderful.
"Listen to another one."
He paused for a moment, thinking for a long while before speaking, "The sky is a chessboard, the stars are the pieces; who dares to play!"
"The earth is a pipa, the roads are the strings; who can play!"
Not long after Chen Bingyan's upper couplet was uttered, Ye Xuan's lower couplet emerged, perfectly and flawlessly matching in its structure. Their skill was now on par.
At this moment, Chen Bingyan's gaze towards his grandson changed. Remarkable, his grandson's skill in couplets was truly extraordinary.
Clap clap clap clap clap~
Chen Bingyan clapped his hands, his face flushed with excitement. "Good! Well composed! Marvelously composed!!"
"Heh, very good. It's been a long time since I've felt so invigorated."
Chen Bingyan was overjoyed, and his gaze towards Ye Xuan became even more satisfied. Seeing her grandfather so happy, Chen Xiaowan felt immensely proud, as if to say, "See? This is my son."