In this couplet, some words are not arranged in the proper order. If the emperor knew about it, the county magistrate would probably be killed, and even the nine tribes would be implicated. Fortunately, the scholar laughed it off and helped him. Changed.
It is said that one year, a county magistrate came to have a son. He was very happy, so he held a wedding banquet and invited many relatives and friends to join in the fun. While everyone was drinking and eating, some people would ask for some poems and articles to add to the fun. Of course, the county magistrate humbly excused himself at first, and then asked someone to bring in pen and ink and write a couplet. The first couplet said, "A son should inherit his father's legacy" and the second couplet said, "The minister must repay the emperor's kindness."
Although this couplet is not a masterpiece, it is still neat. What’s more, the county magistrate commended his loyalty, so everyone clapped and praised the county magistrate for his excellent literary talent. The county magistrate was overjoyed by the crowd's admiration and ordered his servants to paste the couplet on the door.
At this time, a scholar happened to be passing by. He was stunned for a moment after reading the couplet, and then he laughed and said that the county magistrate's order would not be long. When the county magistrate heard this, he was very angry at first, and then a little scared. He quickly asked his servants to find the scholar and immediately asked him what he meant. The scholar replied: "You put your father in front and your king in the back. If the emperor knew about this couplet, Long Yan would be furious. The lightest punishment would be to be dismissed from office, and the most important thing would be to lose his life."
The county magistrate was suddenly enlightened upon hearing this, and quickly asked the scholar how to solve the matter. The scholar helped him change the couplet to "The king's kindness must be repaid, and the father's legacy must be inherited by the son." After reading the revised couplet, the county magistrate quickly bowed to the scholar. On the one hand, he admired the scholar's talent, and on the other hand, he thanked the scholar for his help.
From the current point of view, there is not much problem with the original couplet, but the story took place during the Qianlong period, which was the peak period of the Qing Dynasty’s literary inquisition, and there were many similar unjust cases. Someone once wrote a poem that said, "A person's heart is concerned with the turbidity and the qing". Because turbidity was placed before the qing, Qianlong said it was an insult to the Qing Dynasty. This person lost his life and even had his clan exterminated.