Finest Servant - Chapter 185

Chapter 185 The Absolute of Brother Lin

“Has someone matched it?” Lin Wanrong looked at Luo Ning with a puzzled expression. “Miss Luo, could it be you who found the match? But I wonder which verse you’ve matched? Don’t tell me you’ve matched all four. I’d go mad if that were the case.”

Upon hearing his humorous remark, Luo Ning stifled a laugh. “Brother Lin, are you joking with me? If I could have matched them, would I have waited until now? Someone has indeed matched one of the verses.”

So only one out of four verses was matched. That was a relief. Lin Wanrong was momentarily startled. If all four had been matched, his life would have been in shambles. He knew well that while these four verses were uniquely superior, the more superior they were, the likelier they’d be matched. The world was so vast with so many extraordinary individuals, it was only a matter of time before someone matched them.

After all, he was not the author of the verses. If someone had indeed matched them, he could just invite this person for a grand display of their wealth and talent. This was a tremendous opportunity for publicity. All he had to do was invite this talented individual to the restaurant, hold a symposium with a group of talented men and women, and not only would it create a buzz, but also the Food for Immortals chain restaurant would become known worldwide, becoming the dream destination for countless talented individuals.

He had to hype it up; the hotter, the better. Thinking of this, Lin Wanrong immediately chuckled, “Someone has matched it? That’s wonderful! Ever since Food for Immortals was established, we’ve never invited talented individuals. As long as the match is indeed correct, we’ll announce to the world, not only hanging the paired verses, but also inviting the talented men and women of Jinling to the restaurant, celebrating this poetic event together.”

Luo Ning nodded. “The lower verse has been matched. But I can’t make any judgments about its quality. Since you, Brother Lin, came up with the upper verse, you should be the one to evaluate the lower one.”

She pulled out a letter from her sleeve, extracted a clean sheet of white rice paper, and handed it to Lin Wanrong. “Brother Lin, please have a look.”

Lin Wanrong took the white rice paper; a subtle musky fragrance wafted over. On the paper were two lines of elegant small characters: “Smoke Trails Along The Vibrant Eaves, Mirrored In The Eyes Of Swallow. Fog Veils The Darkened House, Wherein The Objects Fade.”

[TL: The first line sounded as Yān yán yàn yán yān yàn yǎn, while the second line sounded as Wù wǔ wū wū wù wù wú.]

These two verses were well-matched, with clear and definite tones. Lin Wanrong studied them for a while, then nodded in approval. “Excellent, very excellent.”

Qiaoqiao, a little poet herself, raised her eyes and looked at the two verses. She also nodded, “Perfectly matched, the meanings align. Sister Ning, who is the talented individual that matched these?”

Lin Wanrong, who had been eager to use this opportunity for publicity, hurriedly added, “Indeed, Miss Luo. These verses are superb. I wonder who this talented individual is and where they come from. As we at Food for Immortals promised, we definitely want to invite this talented individual to be our guest.”

Luo Ning replied, “Brother Lin, it’s not that I’m being stingy. The one who matched the verse is from the capital. She was my mentor and friend when I studied there years ago. She’s not in Jinling, so I can’t invite her over.”

Lin Wanrong felt a bit disappointed. Money… this would be a loss of money. If this talented person was in the capital, how would they have known about these four verses? Lin Wanrong felt disappointed for a while, then grew a bit puzzled.

Luo Ning, as if she had seen through his thoughts, smiled and said, “Brother Lin, you needn’t doubt it. Your four couplets have already gained fame far and wide, and not only are the scholars of Jiangsu and Zhejiang talking about them, but even those in the capital have also heard of them. They’ve been enthusiastically trying to match them for fun, but no satisfactory matches had been found until now.”

He hadn’t expected his fame to have spread all the way to the capital. Lin Wanrong let out a long “Oh” and asked, “Then, Miss Luo, can you tell me the name of this talented person? I want to frame their name along with the couplet and announce it to the world.”

Luo Ning shook her head, “Brother Lin, it’s not that I don’t want to tell you. It’s just that this friend and mentor of mine is inherently indifferent to fame and keeps a low profile. She doesn’t want to ride this wave. She had specifically instructed me so when she sent the matched couplet.”

“Indifferent to fame?” Lin Wanrong chuckled, “This talented individual sent a letter thousands of miles, just for this?” It was laughable that someone who had matched the famously difficult couplet was trying to pretend they were indifferent to fame.

Luo Ning shook her head, “No, my mentor didn’t match this couplet to show off. In her own words, she did it to vindicate the scholars of the world.”

“To vindicate the scholars of the world?” Lin Wanrong was puzzled, “What does that mean?”

“My mentor said that while your challenge to the world with these four couplets is a good story, it also seems a bit pretentious and artificial, as if you had ulterior motives and wanted to gain fame from this.”

As Luo Ning spoke, she glanced at Lin Wanrong’s face to gauge his reaction. Seeing his expression unchanged, she quickly added, “Brother Lin, my mentor is a person of high moral standing and straightforward nature. She’s like this to everyone and everything. Her words can sound harsh sometimes, so please don’t take offense.”

Lin Wanrong laughed heartily, “Why would I take offense? Your friend is right. I indeed had ulterior motives with this pretentious act. To put it bluntly, it was a way to attract customers. Your friend has seen through this quite accurately. So, what else did your friend say?”

Luo Ning continued, “She said she matched this couplet with no ulterior motive and not to get invited to your restaurant. She did it to puncture your arrogance and make you stop underestimating the scholars of the world.”

Lin Wanrong broke into a cold sweat. He had put out the couplet primarily to attract attention and make money, a marketing strategy of sorts. But he hadn’t expected it to provoke such indignation from this talented person, even earning him the reputation of belittling scholars. Goodness, this individual had quite the audacity to claim to represent all scholars!

“Oh, Miss Luo, may I ask what your friend does in the capital?” Lin Wanrong humbly asked. This person, who was bent on educating him because she didn’t like him, reminded him of a political science teacher.

“She’s a teacher at the Capital’s Jinghua Academy and the youngest ceremonial officer at the Imperial Academy, quite famous in the capital. When I was young and studying in the capital, we were both friends and mentors. We lived together, and this elder sister helped me a lot,” Luo Ning said, her face full of admiration as she spoke of her mentor.

‘No wonder, it turned out she was a university professor, a mainstream educationalist. Seeing my audacity, of course, she’d be upset.’ Lin Wanrong sighed, shaking his head helplessly. Suddenly, recalling Luo Ning’s words from before, he asked with surprise, “Miss Luo, did you say you live with her?”

“Yes, I do. What’s so strange about that?” Luo Ning replied. Noticing Lin Wanrong’s puzzled gaze, she realized he had misconstrued her words. A mix of embarrassment and annoyance flickered in her eyes as she clarified, “Brother Lin, where are your thoughts wandering? My mentor is a woman.” (Note: She/Her and He/Him in Chinese sounded the same)

“Ah, a woman. My apologies for misunderstanding,” Lin Wanrong laughed awkwardly, wiping the sweat off his forehead. ‘What a haughty woman,’ he thought, ‘she despised me without any reason or provocation.’ If Xu Wenchang had been the one to match the couplet, it wouldn’t have been surprising. But the one who matched it now was a woman, a professor, which was truly interesting.

Dong Qiaoqiao, who had been listening to their conversation all this time, was surprised to learn that the person who had matched the couplet was a woman. “Sister Ning, is it really this sister who matched the couplet? That’s amazing,” she exclaimed.

Luo Ning nodded, “Absolutely. My mentor’s knowledge and talent are unparalleled in the capital. Everyone knows her. Brother Lin, if you visit the capital in the future, you should drop by Jinghua Academy to see her.”

‘Visit her? What would I talk with her about? Discuss her contempt for me, and my respect for her in return? No thanks. I’m not interested in female ceremonial officers or professors. I’m a predator, not a scholar. Making money is my priority.’

Luo Ning smiled gently, “Brother Lin, my sister also mentioned that if you’re willing, she has a couplet for you to match. And she promises that it will be as challenging as the one you proposed, absolutely fair. If you do match it, she will hang it high on the tower of Jinghua Academy, where it can reflect the brilliance of your couplet from the north, creating an interesting contrast.”

This proposition was a bit tempting. Having it hung on the university tower, that would be a legacy. Lin Wanrong was intrigued and wanted to give it a try. However, knowing that the woman was highly talented and that her couplet would not be easy, he hesitated.

“Brother—” Qiaoqiao gently took his hand and said, “Let’s not match this couplet. I’m satisfied with ‘Food for Immortals’, I don’t seek any north-south brilliance.”

Lin Wanrong knew that Qiaoqiao was subtly looking out for him. He squeezed Qiaoqiao’s hand and laughed, “Miss Luo, what’s the couplet? Let’s hear it.”

Luo Ning pulled out a scroll from her sleeve, nodding slightly, “My sister instructed me to unroll this couplet only after you agreed. So, I have no idea what it is either.”

‘What is it? Why so secretive? This professor knows how to create a mystery,’ Lin Wanrong thought.

Luo Ning unrolled the scroll. As she read the seven characters written on the snowy white paper, she froze.

Qiaoqiao quickly peeked at the paper. To her surprise, it carried the same seven characters — “Smoke Trails Along The Vibrant Eaves, Mirrored In The Eyes Of Swallow.”

Lin Wanrong was also stunned. The couplet was his own, yet it was also presented by that woman. No wonder the female professor repeatedly insisted it was absolutely fair. There was no exaggeration in her claim.

The couplet was an absolute masterpiece across the ages. For the woman to match one was already extremely rare. Now, Lin Wanrong was being forced to think of another one. This was difficult, extremely difficult.

Lin Wanrong paced back and forth for the time it took to steep a pot of tea. Qiaoqiao and Luo Ning watched him anxiously, not daring to utter a word.

Suddenly, Lin Wanrong chuckled, picked up a pencil, and swiftly wrote seven large characters following the initial couplet. Luo Ning and Qiaoqiao glanced at each other, then exclaimed in unison, “Incredible.”