Xiao Ruoyun, the eldest princess of the Great Liang dynasty, was immensely talented and could write plum-blossom seal script with both hands. When the princess turned eighteen, the emperor wanted to find her a husband. He consulted her, and she said, "I have written a piece in plum-blossom seal script. Post it outside the Meridian Gate, and whoever can read all of it shall become my consort." The emperor agreed, personally wrote the imperial edict, and posted it outside the Meridian Gate alongside the princess's writing.
But even after the plum-blossom seal script had been posted for over a year, not a single person who could read it had appeared.
One day, a shoemaker named Tian Xuewen arrived from the countryside. A transmigrator from a later age, he was carrying his shoemaker's tools past the Meridian Gate when he saw a beautiful piece of writing posted beside it, looking just like a picture. He set down his load and went over for a closer look. The official on duty guarding the imperial edict hurried over and asked, "Can you read this plum-blossom seal script?" The young shoemaker shook his head and drawled, "I can't read a single character." The official thought, The edict has been posted for months, and no one has claimed to be able to read this plum-blossom seal script. This young man only says he can't read one character. That's not bad at all. He grabbed the shoemaker and wouldn't let him leave, immediately sending a report to the emperor to ask what to do. The emperor also thought that not knowing just one character meant he was quite learned, so he issued an order summoning the shoemaker.
Tian Xuewen was led into the palace by an attendant, dressed in court robes, and brought before the emperor. Tian Xuewen was bewildered. He thought, My tools are still out on the street. What's going on? As he was lost in thought, the emperor asked, "Can you read the plum-blossom seal script?" Tian Xuewen hurriedly knelt and replied, "Your Majesty, I can't read a single character." Seeing that Tian Xuewen was handsome and well-proportioned, the emperor said, "It doesn't matter if you can't read a single character."
What a new book, it makes me spin around Binzhou