Qianlong made a couplet and Ji Xiaolan couldn’t answer it and said that no one could answer it.

When Long was in power, he often sent out several couplets on a whim to test the ministers in the joint examination. These couplets are difficult and difficult, but most people will not get them right, because if you get them right easily, it means that the emperor's wisdom and knowledge are average, which will make him unhappy. Ji Xiaolan was one of the few ministers who dared to criticize the couplets, and was also known as "the most talented person in the Qing Dynasty". He has profound knowledge in couplets. However, once, Qianlong made a super simple couplet, but Ji Xiaolan failed to do it well. Not only could he not do it well, he also threatened: "No one in Daqing can do it well!"

What happened was that it was a hot summer and Ji Xiaolan was called to the palace to report his work to the emperor. Work. When meeting the emperor, one must be well-dressed and wrapped in the imperial robe. But the weather was too hot, and Ji Xiaolan soon started to sweat. Seeing this, Long ordered the eunuch to bring him two iced watermelons to relieve the heat. Just when Ji Xiaolan was eating watermelon and spitting out the seeds, Qianlong suddenly had an idea and said: "Sit facing south, eat watermelon and spit out the seeds to the east."

This couplet is very particular. Sitting facing south is static, while eating watermelons and seeds facing east is dynamic. It involves three things and four directions, which is quite difficult. However, this difficulty should be difficult for Ji Xiaolan, but Ji Xiaolan thought hard for a long time and he didn't figure it out. I am very proud to see that the most talented person of the Qing Dynasty can be embarrassed like this.

But was Ji Xiaolan really stumped? No, it’s not that he can’t be right, it’s that he can’t be right! The reason is simple. Sitting facing south means emperor. There is an idiom called "facing south to be king", or "facing south to be lonely". You can make a joke to describe courtiers sitting north and facing south, but Ji Xiaolan can't, otherwise he will be deceiving you! Therefore, Ji Xiaolan would also say, “Not only was I wrong, but no one in the entire Qing Dynasty was right.

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