Little Youran jumped down from Madam Yun's arms and chuckled, "Young man, don't underestimate me, I'm quite amazing."

Zhou looked at Su with some surprise and doubt.

Su was full of confidence, and she stopped going to the cloth shop a few days before the New Year. Instead, she stayed at home teaching her son and daughter to read and write.

These past few days I've discovered that my daughter has a photographic memory. Not only have I taught her all the characters I know, but I've also deliberately taught her some rare characters.

That's why I dared to challenge this young man to a calligraphy contest.

Unexpectedly, he heard his daughter approach the boy and say in her childish voice, "Brother Qing, writing is so troublesome! If you don't want to compete in writing, we can compete in reciting. I've learned the 'Thousand Character Classic' and the 'Three Character Classic,' do you want to compete with me?"

Writing requires preparing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, which is troublesome.

Feng Ziqing: ...

Looking into the baby's clear eyes, he couldn't bring himself to refuse.

Feng nudged her son, "Son, your sister wants you to give her some pointers, so just agree."

She glanced at her mother-in-law, determined to show off and gain some prestige in front of her.

How could she not seize such a sure-fire chance of winning?

But fearing that others would say his son was bullying a five-year-old, he deliberately said "giving pointers." If anyone asked, he would say it was just the children learning from each other.

Besides, it was Su who proposed the competition first, not her. So what's wrong with her winning?

Feng Ziqing was about to refuse when Xiao Youran thought for a moment and said, "No, no, the Thousand Character Classic has a thousand characters, memorizing it is too slow. How about... we compete in divination?"

Feng Ziqing was genuinely surprised this time, "You also know divination?"

Xiao Youran nodded, "Yes, the numerology baby is also very powerful. If Brother Qing is scared, just admit defeat!"

Feng screamed, "Giving up before the competition even starts? Impossible!"

Su became somewhat worried, as she didn't seem to have taught him any numerology.

Xiao Youran nodded and started counting on her fingers. "Then I'll start with a question. Brother Qing, please listen to the question: There are 999 coins. Seasonal pears cost 1000 coins. Nine pears cost 11 coins each, and seven fruits cost 4 coins each. Question: How much are the pears and what is their price?"

Feng Ziqing felt a little confused. This...this question, it seems like he doesn't know how to do it?

Xiao Youran blinked. "Brother Qing, you don't know? Then let's try something simpler. Here's the question: A bamboo grove is one zhang tall. The end bends to the ground and is three chi away from its original height. How tall is the bamboo now?"

Feng Ziqing was still completely bewildered. What kind of question was this?

Xiao Youran sighed, "Alright, let's try something simpler: There are pheasants and rabbits in the same cage. There are 36 heads and 98 feet. How many pheasants and rabbits are there?"

Feng Ziqing breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead; he knew how to do this problem.

After a moment's thought, he replied, "There are twenty-three pheasants and thirteen rabbits."

"Correct answer!" Xiao Youran clapped her hands. "One out of three questions is correct. Now it's baby's turn to answer. Brother Qing, please ask the question."

Feng Ziqing broke out in a cold sweat. He felt that the last question the little girl asked might really be the easiest one, and that she asked it to save face for him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to answer a single question and would have been doomed to lose.

However, he didn't ask any questions. Instead, he bowed to Xiao Youran and said, "If my little cousin can answer the first two questions for me, I will accept my defeat wholeheartedly."

Xiao Youran's impression of Feng Ziqing suddenly improved. "Oh, okay, the pear problem is like this..."

She started babbling on, gesturing and explaining, and after a while, apart from Feng Ziqing whose eyes brightened as she listened, all the other women present, young and old, were completely bewildered.

Is this five-year-old girl really that amazing?

How could he solve divination problems that even nine-year-old Qingge couldn't do?

After listening, Feng Ziqing bowed deeply to her, saying, "I have learned a lot. Thank you for clearing up my doubts, little cousin."

Aunt Yun and Madam Feng were stunned. This meant that their nine-year-old grandson had lost to a five-year-old girl?

A woman standing nearby tried to salvage the situation by suggesting, "I heard this little cousin's surname is Jiang?"

Aunt Yun immediately perked up, "Hehe, I heard this little girl's surname is Jiang, not a member of your Yun family. Even if she beats my Qing-ge'er, it's nothing."

Xiao Youran's eyes lit up, "Then I'll go call my third cousin! My third cousin is good at both literature and martial arts, he's awesome at both!"

Yun Tiankuang and Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu studied the multiplication tables with her for a few days, and then she gave them these arithmetic problems!

After saying that, she ran out.

Madam Yun's hand, which was meant to stop her, froze in mid-air.

Granny Li brought up the tea.

Feng whispered two words in Aunt Yun's ear.

Aunt Yun's expression shifted slightly, and she said, "So this little girl is your maternal grandniece, Third Sister-in-law! This little girl is really clever, and I like her very much. We missed the opportunity to become in-laws once before, and we can't miss it again this time."

Upon hearing this, the Su family immediately went on high alert. Was this a prelude to their family?

Aunt Yun Liu habitually picked up her tea and took a sip, but finding the taste not very good, she frowned and put it down, continuing, "This little girl is so arrogant in front of her elders, I'm afraid she'll be hard to marry in the future. Why don't we betroth her to our Qing-ge? You've all seen how upright our Qing-ge is, he's sure to be successful in the future."

Zhou retorted without hesitation, "You nine-year-old Qing-ge'er can't even compare to a five-year-old girl, how dare you say you're promising?"

Aunt Yun glared at her angrily, "Do you still think you're the hereditary Yun Marquis family of the capital? You're just commoners now, mere commoners. Marrying into my Feng family is already a huge step up for you!"

Madam Su suddenly stood up. "Sixth Aunt Yun, I call you Aunt along with my cousins. Do you think I'm a member of the Yun family? I'm sorry, my surname is Su, and my daughter's surname is Jiang. It's not up to you, a married aunt from the Yun family, to decide my Jiang family's daughter's marriage!"

Aunt Yun slammed her teacup down on the table. "Is this your Yun family's niece? If this is how she's raised, we would never dare to arrange a marriage between us."

Madam Yun slammed her hand on the table. "You wouldn't dare, and we wouldn't want to either! You wanted to marry your daughter into the family more than ten years ago, and now you want to take away our grand-niece without even asking? You're dreaming! What's so great about your Feng family? A mere eighth-rank county magistrate dares to support such a large family. They're probably rotten inside and out, aren't they? And what are you doing putting on airs in front of me?!"

Aunt Yun was so angry she trembled all over. "You!"

Seeing that her mother-in-law had already broken off all pretense of civility, Zhou decided to be blunt and said, "I'm sorry, Sixth Aunt, but our branch of the family is now commoners and we've long been struggling to make ends meet. The sun is already high in the sky, so we won't keep you for dinner. Please make yourself at home."