Farmhouse Green Plum

Chapter 617 Photographic Memory

It would be inconvenient to wear women's clothes to attend a poetry gathering, so Song Ying found a shop, changed into men's clothes, and happily went to broaden her horizons.

The so-called Chengxinzhai is a garden. After passing through the moon-shaped gate, the view suddenly opens up. There are more than ten pavilions scattered among the winding corridors, and each pavilion has a gauze curtain of different colors hanging in it.

Servants in lilac clothes were flying back and forth like butterflies, holding pieces of poetry. Their chanting could be heard from afar.

"Today's competition is about rhyme and poetry." The servant leading the way pointed to the nearest Wisteria Pavilion and said, "Those wearing green robes, go that way..."

A string of silver bell-like laughter rang out in the distance. Song Ying looked over and found that it was several beautiful women. He couldn't help but be surprised, "Why are there women?"

The servant who led the way glanced at her and said, "Young Master, this must be your first time attending a poetry gathering. That is the female schoolmaster specially invited by the host family."

Song Ying looked confused. Who was the female schoolmaster?

She looked at Yuan Qing, but saw that his face was very unnatural. He coughed twice and said in a low voice, "Famous prostitute."

This is also why he refused when he heard about the poetry gathering. Whenever scholars gather, there are always beautiful women.

Song Ying's good mood disappeared instantly.

He was indeed a scholar, very romantic. When he held a poetry reading, he would invite a few famous prostitutes to liven up the atmosphere.

"If you don't like it, let's leave." Yuan Qing said.

Song Ying was about to nod when he heard someone whispering beside him, "I heard that the old gentleman invited to comment this time is the retired Zhou Hanlin."

To be able to enter the Hanlin Academy, one must be very knowledgeable. Yuan Qing has been searching for a famous teacher...

She looked over and saw that Yuan Qing, who had just wanted to leave, was no longer calm.

"Since I'm here, I'd rather not have this trip go to waste." She rolled her eyes and deliberately drew out her tone. "Come to think of it, I've never seen our great scholar Yuan so high and proud to receive such applause from the whole room."

Yuan Qing pretended to be distressed: "I am just a small scholar. I want to stand out among all the scholars. Aren't you making it difficult for me?"

Having said that, his eyes were searching and he quickly walked towards the group of people under a tree.

Squeezing to the front, he found out that they were playing Go. Song Ying didn't understand Go, and could only hear the onlookers cheering from time to time.

Her attention fell on the bluestone on which the chessboard was placed. This stone and this arrangement were very similar to the weeping crabapple tree in her master's yard.

It turns out that the stone slabs under the tree are not for sitting, but for playing chess.

Song Ying covered her face. Why didn’t her master tell her anything this morning? It was so embarrassing.

The game seemed to be getting exciting, and everyone watching around held their breath unconsciously.

At this moment, Song Ying saw Yuan Qing quietly raise his arm and lightly bump into someone diagonally in front of him.

The man stumbled and kicked the edge of the chessboard. The chessboard shook, the chess pieces shifted, and everything was in chaos.

Song Ying was stunned and asked with his eyes, what are you doing?

Yuan Qing gave her a look that told her to stay calm.

Over there, the two players playing chess looked up and glared at the 'culprit'.

The scholar who had caused the trouble bowed repeatedly and said, "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry. I was so engrossed in reading that I didn't pay attention."

After hearing what he said, the two players calmed down a little and watched with fascination, which showed that they were playing very well.

The others were filled with regret, "What a shame, the winner was about to be decided."

"That's right, can you put it out again?"

One of the players shook his head and said, "If it were mid-game, it might be fine, but now we've already played hundreds of moves, how can we possibly remember so much?"

"Ahem," Yuan Qing coughed twice, "Brothers, why don't you let me have a try?"

Everyone's eyes fell on Yuan Qing, and seeing that he was only sixteen or seventeen years old, they did not dare to be disrespectful.

One person made way for him and said, "Brother, please."

He then asked, "I wonder which teacher you studied under, brother. You look so unfamiliar."

Yuan Qing sat down and wiped away all the remaining pieces on the chessboard while saying, "I am from Jinchuan, and I came here to study."

"I see."

Yuan Qing held the white pieces in one hand and the black pieces in the other, and placed the pieces on the board quickly.

Song Ying had a good memory. Although he didn't understand, he roughly understood that he was replaying the chess game between the two of them just now.

I was shocked. What is this? Photographic memory?

The onlookers were becoming more and more surprised. To be able to pass the imperial examination, their memory was naturally not bad. At the beginning, they could barely remember the first three or five moves, but by the middle of the game, most of them had frowned and stopped counting secretly with their fingers.

Yuan Qing's expression remained calm, and he didn't hesitate even for a moment as he made his move. As his slender fingers lifted the cloud pieces, it was as if he wasn't replaying a game, but rather following an invisible chess manual. The crisp clicks of the pieces landing on the elm wood chessboard, one after another, even revealed a faint rhythm.

"Pah!" The last black piece landed steadily on the third and third position. Yuan Qing stood up and bowed to the stunned scholar: "Excuse me for the performance."

The scholar woke up as if from a dream, and the folding fan in his hand fell to the ground with a "clack". He opened his mouth, his Adam's apple rolled a few times, and finally squeezed out a sentence: "Brother, your memory, is it possible that you can remember everything you see?"

There was undisguised shock in his voice.

Yuan Qing avoided answering and said modestly, "It was just a fluke. My brother's performance was brilliant and I was watching intently, so I was able to remember it."

The crowd naturally did not take his modest words seriously. They also watched very attentively, but only remembered the first dozen or so moves.

"One hundred and sixty-seven moves, absolutely accurate. Even the chess masters recorded in the previous dynasty's "Wangyou Qingyue Ji" wouldn't have such a good memory."

"A fellow star player wrote in Jianshantang Chess Manual that someone who can accurately review a hundred moves is considered 'minorly intelligent,' and someone who can accurately review three hundred moves is considered 'divinely enlightened.'"

Everyone looked at Yuan Qing with admiration, envy, and jealousy.

For a scholar, a good memory is like a tiger with wings!

In the crowd, Yuan Qing raised his eyebrows at Song Ying, as if to say, "Have you seen enough?"

Song Ying was in shock. They had known each other since childhood. She had always known that Yuan Qing had a good memory, but she had never expected that it was so good that he could remember everything he saw!

The window of the small building next to it was half-open. An old man with white hair and beard sat alone in front of the window. He picked up the white jade wine pot, raised his head and drank it all in one gulp, sighing: "Young geniuses are as numerous as carp crossing the river..."

After finally getting out of the crowd, Yuan Qing smiled and said, "Have you seen enough of my high-spirited appearance?"

"Enough, enough!" Song Ying nodded vigorously, and then asked, "Is your photographic memory innate?"

"Of course not. I've read a lot and practiced it over time." Yuan Qing straightened his sleeves. "It's not like I have a photographic memory, but I have a good memory. If I put in the effort to remember, it's actually not difficult."

"I'd be surprised if I believed you. I've memorized a lot of medical books, but I haven't developed this ability," Song Ying said enviously. "You're really good at keeping it a secret. There hasn't been a single rumor in all these years."