The second judge, the old granny could not help but shout out, “Great couplet!” As a judge, she should not have said anything, but as a lover of couplets, she could not resist giving her kudos!
Wú shān…wū shān?
Hé shuǐ…hé shuǐ!
She looked at Zhang Ye with a pleasant surprise!
The next person tried a different method and came up with a rare couplet that had a missing word, hiding its true meaning, “Wū yā fēi rù lù sī qún, xuě lǐ sòng tàn. (A crow flies into a siege of herons; delivering coal in the snow – meaning to help someone when they need it most)”
But Zhang Ye immediately gave the second half, “Fèng huáng lì zài yuān yāng pàn, jǐn shàng tiān huā! (A phoenix stands upon the mandarin ducks’ pond; adding flowers onto embroidery – to make something beautiful, perfect)”