The question left Yan Youcheng tongue-tied. After sitting stiffly for a moment, he began rubbing his temples. "Oh, no, I need a moment. My head's hurting again."
Xie Xinghan: (→_→)
Defeated by Xie Xinghan yet again, Yan Youcheng brooded over it and decided to call in reinforcements. "Brother Wen Shen! Your turn!" After a pause, he added, "And no going easy on a pretty lady!"
Liu Cheng smiled faintly but said nothing.
Yu Yi said, "Young Master Yan has suffered a minor defeat. Can Young Master Liu offer a defense?"
"Defeat" and "defense" were both technical terms in Pure Conversation, the former referring to a setback and the latter to a rebuttal.
Liu Cheng cupped his hands and smiled again, still saying nothing.
Xie Xinghan said, "If Young Master Liu has a rebuttal, I shall wash my ears and listen."
Liu Cheng had been waiting for Xie Xinghan to invite him. Now that she finally had, he first turned to Wang Yang. "Brother Wang, would you care to go first?"
Wang Yang saw through Liu Cheng's attempt to put on airs. This fellow's a bit of a poser. It's not as though he's ascending the throne after an abdication. Does he really need three refusals and three invitations?
Xie Xinghan addressed Wang Yang directly. "Young Master Wang, please offer us some instruction."
The tip of Liu Cheng's eyebrow twitched again.
Wang Yang praised her. "Lady Xie, your eloquence is lucid and penetrating, your language and analogies rich and wide-ranging. I look for you ahead, only to find you suddenly behind me. How could I dare speak of instructing you? Let Brother Liu take the floor."
Xie Xinghan glanced at Wang Yang.
Liu Cheng said, "Aren't you being overly modest, Brother Wang? Zong Ce told me you once defeated Lady Xie