Transmigration: Space-Aided Rise to Power and Prosperity-Chapter 284 - 120 Title

Gu Chengyu looked ahead and found that Sun Xian had squeezed in as well.

"Young Master! I didn’t expect so many people. This guesthouse isn’t cheap, right? They said if you answer one question correctly, the room charge is halved. It might still be more expensive than other guesthouses even after the discount!" Ming Yan observed the scholars squeezing inside, but very few were actually answering questions, mostly just chatting.

Gu Chengyu smiled slightly. This was just a marketing strategy, something common in the previous life. Since they dared to do this, the half-price room must not be more expensive than other guesthouses. After all, scholars aren’t fools, right? Besides, those who want to stay here aren’t just here for the room charge; they must be here for some honor.

After all, standing out among many scholars is a way to become famous before the examination.

"Young Master! Mr. Sun and the others have already squeezed in. Do you want to go in and take a look?" Ming Mo noticed the Young Master standing outside the crowd, glanced at his slender figure, and immediately understood.

"Come, come! All scholars wishing to answer questions, please line up properly. No crowding!"

At this time, a middle-aged man looking like the shopkeeper came out from the guesthouse, possibly because more and more scholars were arriving, and the guesthouse’s shopkeeper had to come out to maintain order. This guesthouse could invite officials and Great Scholars as judges, indicating that the people behind the guesthouse were extraordinary, and even the shopkeeper seemed imposing.

"Chengyu! I just went in to take a look. These questions aren’t easy to answer!" As scholars spontaneously queued up, Sun Xian squeezed out from the crowd.

Just as Gu Chengyu was about to ask what the questions were, a candidate beside him said, "Of course not, otherwise there wouldn’t be only one person who has managed to answer so far. They say it ends fifteen days before the Autumn Examination, and it doesn’t seem like all the free rooms will be filled!"

Sun Xian was also curious. "Brother, then why doesn’t everyone just pay to stay? How about the room charges here at this guesthouse?"

This scholar was quite enthusiastic, seeing that Gu Chengyu and they seemed to know nothing about the place, he started talking.

"Well, people aren’t stupid! The upper and middle rooms in this guesthouse are just a bit more expensive than others! But the upper room isn’t cheap; they say it costs five silver taels for one night!"

As he spoke, he smacked his lips, clearly envious.

"What? Five silver taels per night? That’s so expensive?" Ye Zhiqiu, who also came over, found it inconceivable that staying one night in the upper room would cost five silver taels.

"Five silver taels is a lot, but there are many wealthy families; they don’t care about this amount. Besides, there is still a chance to stay without spending silver, isn’t there?" The scholar became more enthusiastic, likely realizing these outsiders had never heard of Qunying Building.

"The questions for the lower rooms are already so difficult; wouldn’t the upper rooms be even harder?" Ye Zhiqiu remarked.

"You don’t know, do you? Every year, scholars who come for the Spring Examination want to stay here too! Three top scorers have stayed in Qunying Building!"

Just then, a cheer erupted nearby, "Really passed? Such good luck!"

Gu Chengyu’s attention was drawn over, only to see a scholar being led to the second floor by a young servant from the guesthouse.

"Not going to talk to you anymore, I’m going to try it too!" The candidate quickly queued up after seeing someone else pass.

"Do you think it’s that easy? Do you know who that person is?" One of the scholars asked the envious group nearby.

"Can you enlighten us, brother? Is that person very skilled?" Scholar A quickly asked supportively.

"That’s a somewhat renowned scholar from Jiangnan, named Meng Xiao. With his talent, answering couplets is a breeze!" The speaking scholar seemed to be from Jiangnan and quite admired Meng Xiao.

"If he’s just somewhat renowned, is there anyone more impressive?"

"Of course, the most talented ones are the Three Great Scholars of Jiangnan, but they haven’t come yet. Otherwise, we might get to appreciate their masterpieces."

Hearing this, Gu Chengyu became interested, thinking he should seize the opportunity to meet the Three Great Scholars of Jiangnan and recognize his shortcomings. Since this person revered them so much, they must have exceptional talents.

Now that the crowd had dispersed, forming a long line, Gu Chengyu should be able to see the questions hanging up.

Starting from the right, he saw that these two questions were the first lines of couplets; one only needed to write the second line. Although the requirement seemed simple, the first lines were not easy!

The first couplet’s first line was "Upon reaching sixty, add twenty-one years," while the second was "Three parts water, two parts bamboo, and add one part moonlight."

The first couplet seemed easier, with fewer breaks in the middle, yet both first lines contained numbers. Crafting couplets requires a balanced form, consistent punctuation, word classes that match, and related meanings. To do well, one must maintain a rising and falling tone, balanced tonal patterns.

The difficulty in these two lines lay in the middle numbers, making it difficult to form a harmonious pair, which explained the scarcity of successes. After pondering over the couplets, Gu Chengyu had an answer, but he had no interest in the lower rooms.

Looking at the middle questions, they were actual riddles requiring only a correct guess of the answer, which Gu Chengyu found interesting.

The first riddle was "Two nations at war, strong soldiers and horses. Horses don’t eat grass, soldiers don’t gather food" describing an object.

Gu Chengyu found it puzzling; this wasn’t hard! Moving on, the next one read, "Layers upon layers atop the jade platform; often summoned for cleaning, but never clear. Just when the sun sends it off; back it comes with the moon’s escort."

This poem posed a difficult riddle; it gave no indication of the answer type, making it hard to guess.

After stroking his chin and contemplating for a while, Gu Chengyu came to a likely answer, and decided it must be the correct one.

Having looked at both sides, he felt a bit challenged and became eager to check the questions on the left.

"Chengyu, how about it? Thought of an answer?" Ye Zhiqiu noticed Gu Chengyu moving towards the left, quickly pulling him aside. Although Ye wasn’t unable to match the couplets, he thought they weren’t quite polished and wanted more time to consider them.

Gu Chengyu’s scholarship was better, and perhaps by now he had already matched the couplets. Ye felt some comfort in that and wasn’t worried, though he wondered if Senior Brother Sun had answered anything. Glancing at the crowd, he spotted Sun Xian in a corner, still deeply pondering and unaware of this side.

Gu Chengyu strolled towards the left, observing the questions posted above. There was only one question: to compose a poem that included all four seasons, although there was no constraint on the format.

While challenging, it was still doable with some effort, but to take first place, he would have to put in considerable work.

"Chengyu! I’ve come up with a couplet match, but it’s somewhat imperfect. How about you? I’m going to mull it over a bit more before writing my answer." At this time, Sun Xian came over and asked Gu Chengyu.

```