Chapter 35 First Encounter with Fine Salt

Xiao Yao?

What did he want with Chu Jiubian?

Qin Xiao flipped the note over and looked at it. Seeing that there were no other words, he asked, "Are you going to keep this note?"

"Need not."

After Chu Jiu finished speaking, Qin Xiao crumpled the note into a ball and casually tossed it into the trash can next to the table.

The contents of the bins are disposed of by designated personnel, so it's perfectly fine to throw things in directly without worrying about being seen by others.

Of course, Qin Xiao would still burn the truly important messages, such as those sent by Qin Chaoyang, himself.

Chu Jiubian glanced at Qin Xiao.

Qin Xiao picked up the teacup beside him, took a sip, and casually asked, "Are you keeping your appointment tomorrow?"

"..." Chu Jiubian's gaze fell on the teacup in his hand, then he looked up at him.

Qin Xiao met his gaze, and after a moment's reaction, realized that his own cup was still on the table across the aisle, while the cup he was holding now was...

"Someone come in," he called, "bring the young master a cup of fresh tea."

Before long, a palace servant brought out a new teacup and added some more to the cup next to Qin Xiao's.

Qin Xiao was too lazy to change it, so he had someone take away the cup he had initially drunk from, leaving behind the one that Chu Jiubian had drunk from.

Chu Jiubian was somewhat surprised.

At this time, scions of prominent families would pay great attention to these things. Not to mention sharing a cup of tea with others, they would eat separately at banquets, and only family banquets would involve sitting around a table together.

Even at family banquets, there are a series of rules such as "not eating until you're full, not washing your hands while eating," all emphasizing the importance of "etiquette."

He thought Qin Xiao would feel uncomfortable drinking the tea he had drunk, but it seemed that Qin Xiao didn't react at all.

But then he realized.

Qin Xiao came from a military family, and he spent his childhood with his family in military camps, so he was naturally more rugged than those scholars.

Chu Jiubian didn't take the little incident seriously and replied to the other party's previous words, "Since Patriarch Xiao invited me, I will naturally go."

He had met Xiao Yao once before and even chatted with him at that auction.

At the time, his impression of that person was that he was "shrewd" and, like Minister Xiao, he was good at pretending and acting, and was used to showing people a gentle and kind appearance.

In reality, the Xiao family members are quite cunning.

"Did you say where we'd meet?" Qin Xiao asked.

"I suppose someone will come to pick me up after I finish my shift tomorrow. You and His Majesty don't need to wait for me for dinner tonight," Chu Jiubian said, then casually asked, "Would you like to come along?"

Qin Xiao chuckled and said, "They only invited you. What would it look like if I went?"

"That's true." Chu Jiubian also felt strange after asking the question.

Qin Xiao lowered his eyes to look at the teacup in his hand, his fingertips gently stroking the rim of the cup.

Chu Jiubian stared at the man's fingers for a moment, and when he came to his senses, he felt that the atmosphere in the room was a bit strange.

"Shouldn't the Prince of Jiannan arrive tomorrow?" he started a conversation.

Qin Xiao paused slightly, then looked up and said, "The day after tomorrow is a routine day off. He's eager to claim credit, so he'll probably have to rush back before tomorrow's morning court session."

When the morning court session began, the city gates had just opened.

If Baili Hai had returned then, he would have had to go back to the palace to see the Empress Dowager first, then wash up and change his clothes. It would have been too rushed to go to the morning court.

Why not get tired today and come back before the city gates close, so we can have a night to rest?

That evening, the Empress Dowager and the Xiao family could also take the opportunity to talk to Baili Hai about the morning court session the next day, so that he could perform better on his first court appearance.

“Then many people will be unable to sleep tonight,” Chu Jiu argued.

In Hexi Prefecture, the praise for Prince Jiannan was almost entirely different, and many literati wrote poems and prose to praise him. The people also spread the word about Prince Jiannan's benevolence. These messages reached the capital every day and also spread to more distant prefectures.

Unbeknownst to many, the reputation of Jiannan King Baili Hai had spread far beyond the capital city.

Under these circumstances, the Xiao family will definitely use tomorrow's morning court session to grant the Prince of Jiannan a special privilege, ensuring that he can attend court and participate in politics in the future.

Previously, when Xiao Wendao, the Vice Minister of Works, brought up this matter in court, few people spoke up; everyone was waiting to see how Qin Xiao would respond.

It was Chu Jiubian who retorted.

Times have changed. The reason why the major powers remained silent during the morning court session was because the King of Jiannan had not yet returned. His reputation and achievements were not yet substantial. Even the Xiao family themselves were unsure of his abilities, otherwise they would not have been rendered speechless by Chu Jiubian.

But now the other side has indeed built a dam, and has gained a lot of fame and popular support.

In this situation, if the Xiao family were to claim credit again, Qin Xiao, mindful of public opinion, would not be able to unilaterally refuse the Jiannan King's request to serve as an official in the court.

Other forces naturally do not want to see this outcome, so they will definitely try their best to stop it.

In this contest, all the power groups except the Xiao family will stand with Qin Xiao.

Even Su Sheng, the loyal Minister of Revenue, would not be able to stand by and watch the Xiao family rise to power.

Not for any other reason than for his little daughter, Su Xier, who almost died unjustly.

The people in the court initially failed to realize that Xiao Huaiguan had instructed Zhao Qianhe to kidnap Su Xier, but they would surely figure it out later.

With Su Sheng's intelligence, he must have known long ago that the Xiao family was behind all of this.

He and the Xiao family almost became mortal enemies, so how could he just stand by and watch them grow stronger?

Therefore, Qin Xiao and Chu Jiubian can rest easy at tomorrow's morning court session. They can simply observe how the other forces debate, and ultimately let the matter drop without making a big deal out of it.

The request of the Prince of Jiannan to serve in the court would be rejected on the grounds of "not in accordance with etiquette," and then supplemented with other rewards, so that no one could find fault with the emperor and Qin Xiao.

“But this reward cannot be too ordinary,” Chu Jiu argued.

Qin Xiao glanced at him sideways.

Chu Jiubian said meaningfully, "We must live up to the achievements and status of the King of Jiannan."

Ideally, it would also make others envious.

In the imperial court, what people envy, besides power and wealth, is something unique and irreplaceable.

But the national treasury is empty, and Qin Xiao doesn't necessarily have anything good in his possession.

With so many places suffering from disasters this year, the imperial court should reduce or exempt disaster victims from taxes for one or even two or three years, so that the people can have time to recuperate and restore their livelihoods.

However, this resulted in the court losing nearly half of its revenue.

Chu Jiubian did the math.

It's only July now, and the grain tax that should have been collected in October is already half gone. But by the end of the year, we can collect some money from the salt and iron, official kilns, and silk manufacturing bureaus, which can amount to quite a bit.

But after these layers of embezzlement, by the time it reaches the imperial court, at least a third of it will be gone.

Therefore, we still need the imperial examination system to replace those deeply entrenched corrupt officials.

The cost of organizing the Keke was considerable, and the imperial court's expenditures included military preparations, officials' salaries, and various construction expenditures inside and outside the palace.

Moreover, this year marks the ascension of a new emperor. According to the laws of Da Ning, all the regional princes must come to the palace to offer their congratulations during the New Year. The palaces that need to be repaired, as well as the food, clothing, and other necessities for receiving these people, will be another considerable expense.

After this ordeal, it's uncertain whether the national treasury will even be able to sustain the imperial examinations until the new year, let alone have enough money for the imperial examinations.

So, we still need to make money.

And it must be done openly and honestly.

The ice business won't last long, and the tinderbox business only yields a pittance, negligible compared to the expenses.

Chu Jiubian needs to give Qin Xiao another way to make money.

He had actually wanted to do that method for a long time, but he hadn't said anything because his alliance with Qin Xiao was not stable.

Now he and Qin Xiao are in the same boat; at least until the powerful families and vassal kings are eliminated, they will not be separated.

So it wouldn't be a problem to give that business to Qin Xiao.

As for why he didn't give the task to Si Tu Zhaoling, it was because only the imperial court could do that kind of business, and he didn't want to harm the Southern Frontier because of his own selfish desires.

Qin Xiao looked into his eyes and guessed something, so he asked, "What do you plan to reward the Prince of Jiannan with?"

"What do you mean I'm going to reward you with something?" Chu Jiubian raised his eyebrows, deliberately ignoring the question.

Qin Xiao smiled and said, "Please help me again, young master."

This guy is really shameless. The regent is getting more and more adept at asking for favors.

Chu Jiubian couldn't help but admire the man's vision.

But he didn't want to be taken advantage of, so he said, "Does the master intend to owe me another condition?"

"What does the young master need?" Qin Xiao asked.

The drought was of paramount importance, so even though Chu Jiubian didn't state his conditions, he agreed.

But whether or not this deal is made to reward the King of Jiannan is actually irrelevant, unless the reward to the King of Jiannan has another purpose.

Chu Jiu argued, "What if I said that such a reward for the Prince of Jiannan would cause a sensation throughout the court and fill the national treasury?"

Is the national treasury full?

Lord Ning, who was almost penniless again, suddenly felt that having more debts was not a burden, and decisively said, "I will write another guarantee for the young master."

Chu Jiubian was amused.

It was a radiant and joyful laugh, without restraint or pretense.

Like the dawn breaking through the clouds, the brilliant rosy clouds, carried by the long wind, stirred the calm blue lake.

Qin Xiao stared at him intently, and then, just as their eyes were about to meet, he subtly lowered his gaze.

"No need," Chu Jiubian said with a smile. "This time, I need you to help me find a few experts."

Qin Xiao: "Do you want it now?"

He has no shortage of skilled men under his command.

"The experts I'm talking about aren't those with great martial arts skills," Chu Jiu argued. "I'll write you a list tomorrow, and you can find all the information for me."

The talents needed for the imperial examinations require teachers. He had previously thought of finding more believers to serve as teachers, but he only had a few believer slots available, and it would be increasingly difficult to increase them later, so he couldn't waste them.

Therefore, asking Qin Xiao to help him find someone is the simplest solution.

Ultimately, what he wanted wasn't some exceptionally talented scholar; he wanted professionals skilled in carpentry, agriculture, weaving, mathematics, and so on. After a month or two of training, they could teach the newly admitted students.

Afterwards, those students could either build workshops or be sent to work in places like the Ministry of Works for internships.

These pre-trained teachers and scholars could then become the heads of various workshops, helping the court to make money and carry out construction.

As for students who passed the exams purely through academic ability, they were trained in a different way; they were actually sent to local areas or various government offices to become officials.

Chu Jiubian intends to teach these people himself, so there's no need for Qin Xiao to help him find a teacher.

"Okay." Qin Xiao agreed without hesitation.

He knew his own situation; he had few capable civil officials under his command, so the "expert" Chu Jiubian wanted him to find was definitely not this type.

As long as he doesn't hire that kind of person, he can find anyone for Chu Jiubian.

Having agreed on the terms, Chu Jiubian stopped keeping me in suspense and asked, "Didn't you ask me before what I put in the stir-fry?"

Qin Xiao's gaze narrowed slightly as he saw Chu Jiubian conjure up a small porcelain jar the size of a palm out of thin air once again.

The jar wasn't large; it resembled a rouge box used by women.

The pure white porcelain jar was unremarkable, and it was impossible to tell what was inside.

Chu Jiubian placed it on the table and said, "Open it and take a look."

Qin Xiao reached out and gently lifted the lid.

The contents of the lid were revealed: a jar of pure white, needle-like... grains of sand?

But this is something used for stir-frying.

Chu Jiubian's dishes didn't have the bitter saltiness of coarse salt, but they still had a salty taste.

So this thing, could it be...?

Qin Xiao felt his heart pounding wildly.

If this is truly such a thing, then the revenue it can bring to the imperial court will be immeasurable!

Chu Jiubian was sitting right next to him, so he could see his reaction clearly.

His gaze slowly shifted from the bulging veins on the back of the other person's hand to that taut, handsome face.

This reaction was much stronger than when they saw the ice cubes.

As expected, people like Qin Xiao are best able to see through what has greater value.

Chu Jiubian smiled and said, "Try it."

Qin Xiao's fingertips trembled slightly, but he didn't move.

Chu Jiubian's smile deepened, and he extended his hand.

Qin Xiao looked at the young man's fingers, which were almost as white as porcelain, and lightly touched the tiny particles.

Turning my fingertips over, I saw some white particles on my slightly pink fingertips.

Chu Jiubian raised her hand and slowly brought her fingers to the man's lips, gently pressing them against them.

Warm and soft, it was quite different from how the man usually made him feel.

Qin Xiao's hand holding the porcelain lid suddenly clenched, the veins on the back of his hand almost bursting out.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he looked up and met the young man's smiling eyes.

The porcelain lid fell onto the table with a soft, crisp sound, and the man grabbed Chu Jiubian's wrist.

My palms were burning hot, but I wasn't gripping them tightly.

Chu Jiubian's fingertips twitched slightly, almost plunging into the man's lips.

The scalding breath made his fingertips tremble slightly. Chu Jiubian suddenly clenched his fist, and Qin Xiao loosened his grip at the same time, letting the young man take his hand back.

Chu Jiubian glanced down at his fingertips and paused.

No, why is he hiding?

baffling.

He turned his head to look at Qin Xiao and saw the other man purse his lips.

Qin Xiao tasted a hint of saltiness on his tongue, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

It's salt!

It really is salt!

My heart started beating faster and harder, each beat pounding against my chest as if I wanted everyone to hear it.

I just don't know how much of my heart is beating because of this fine salt.

"How is it?" Chu Jiubian's clear, cold voice rang out.

Qin Xiao turned his head to look at him.

Their eyes met, and for a moment they were speechless.

But none of them avoided it.

After a long pause, Qin Xiao asked in a deep voice, "How many do you have?"

“I have a method for refining it,” Chu Jiu argued.

Qin Xiao stood up and bowed deeply in the direction of Chu Jiubian: "Qin Xiao thanks you, young master."

"I've said it before, as long as you treat me well, I'll have everything I need."

After saying that, Chu Jiubian felt that what he said sounded a bit strange.

Qin Xiao straightened up, his deep eyes falling on him.

"What's wrong?" Chu Jiu asked.

"It's alright." Qin Xiao smiled, as if he had already adjusted his mindset.

He sat back down in his chair and examined the small jar of fine salt closely in his palm.

Chu Jiubian asked curiously, "You felt bad about giving this to Baili Hai?"

Qin Xiao chuckled and said, "No, not really."

The salt and iron trade was supposedly controlled by the imperial court, but in reality, those powerful and wealthy people also profited handsomely from it.

But now that fine salt is available, the market for coarse salt has become much more difficult.

The method for refining fine salt is only in the hands of Chu Jiubian and Qin Xiao. They can use excuses such as "the method is difficult to learn" to send their own people to take over the salt fields in various places and clean up those salt fields that have been infiltrated by various forces.

Then, the departments responsible for transporting, selling, and monitoring salt can gradually be infiltrated by their own people.

Although they inevitably embezzled and always shared profits with local families and gentry, they were never as greedy as the powerful and wealthy families.

Moreover, being able to remove the hands of powerful and wealthy families from the "official salt" trade is already the greatest benefit.

With this operation, fine salt will gradually replace coarse salt in the future, and Qin Xiao will truly have a firm grip on the official salt business.

The powerful and wealthy families have a rich history, but the loss of a huge sum of embezzled funds is still a significant loss.

The idea is appealing, but the reality is that Qin Xiao doesn't have that many capable people.

Qin Xiao frowned, and his aura became somewhat sharp.

Chu Jiubian felt that he was somewhat like the person he was when they first met.

However, it didn't take long for Qin Xiao to relax his brow.

He closed the lid of the porcelain jar and placed it on the table, then said to Chu Jiubian, "You do it."

"What?" Chu Jiubian was taken aback.

Qin Xiao pushed the jar in front of him and said gently, "Whether you need people or other things, I'll give them to you. Do whatever you want."

Chu Jiubian had his own reasons for being able to produce fine salt.

He and Qin Xiao didn't have that many people at their disposal, so initially he didn't plan to immediately seize any salt fields.

His plan was to first purchase a batch of fine salt from the system's store, then sell it at a high price to these powerful and wealthy individuals, as well as merchants and gentry from prosperous areas, and use the money to cultivate talent and hold imperial examinations.

They had too many things they wanted to do, but each one required specialized talent, so the imperial examination was the next thing they had to do.

Once you have the manpower, whether you occupy the salt fields to control the salt transport, gradually control the local area, or even extend your influence to the Six Ministries, it can all be done gradually.

However, Chu Jiubian had no intention of getting involved in the salt sales. Once he got involved with "salt," he would be fundamentally connected with the state.

He thought it would be good enough if Qin Xiao would let him take charge of the imperial examinations, but he really didn't expect the other party to pull this stunt.

Isn't Qin Xiao afraid that he will control the salt transport and become the next "powerful family"?

"Are you testing me?" he asked Qin Xiao suspiciously.

Qin Xiao raised an eyebrow: "What were you testing?"

"It depends on how big my appetite really is."

Qin Xiao laughed: "Even if you swallow up this Great Ning, I will accept it."

Chu Jiubian: "..."

"Don't worry," Qin Xiao said solemnly. "I understand the principle of 'If you doubt someone, don't use them; if you use someone, don't doubt them.'"

That's bullshit.

The examples of doubting him before are still fresh in my mind.

Chu Jiubian took out a piece of fruit candy and handed it to him: "If you eat this, I will..."

Before he could finish speaking, Qin Xiao had already taken the candy, put it in his mouth, and tasted it, asking, "What does this taste like?"

Chu Jiubian also took one and put it in his mouth, mumbling, "Grape flavor."

"Grape?"

“It’s a fruit that should now be grown in the Western Regions.” Chu Jiubian turned to look at him. “I love to eat it.”

Qin Xiao nodded: "Then let's conquer the Western Regions so that Grand Tutor can have his fill."

Chu Jiubian scoffed lightly: "Are you going to use the meager sums in your national treasury to fight this?"

Qin Xiao: "So I'll have to trouble you, sir."

Suddenly, the sounds of palace servants greeting each other rang out from outside; it was Baili Hong.

The study door was already open. Chu Jiubian and Qin Xiao turned their heads to look out and saw the little boy walk in with a piece of paper in his hand and a worried look on his face.

Eunuch Hong followed behind him, holding a pen and ink in his hand.

One "crack" sound followed another.

Chu Jiubian looked at Qin Xiao and saw that the other party quickly chewed the candy in his mouth and swallowed it all.

This is to prevent children from watching.

Chu Jiubian then ate the candy with gusto and put away the salt jar, intending to give it to the Prince of Jiannan at the morning court the next day.

Since they were already quite familiar with each other, the three of them no longer exchanged polite greetings in private.

As soon as Baili Hong came in, he ran between the two adults with his short legs, and then tiptoed to spread the paper in his hand on the coffee table between Qin Xiao and Chu Jiubian's seats.

The two moved the teacups aside to make it easier for the child to lay out the paper.

"Uncle, I can't figure this out." Baili Hong didn't notice the two adults eating candy behind his back. He clung to the edge of the table with his little hands, looking at Qin Xiao with pleading eyes, looking as pitiful as could be.

Qin Xiao turned his head to look and saw that the paper contained a math problem, one that many students couldn't solve: "The monks of the ancient temple share steamed buns."

He looked at Hong Fu, who smiled and placed the brush and ink on the table.

Seeing Qin Xiao looking at him, Hong Fu's smile remained unchanged.

Clearly, this question was given to Baili Hong by him.

Chu Jiubian also turned his head to look at the question.

It's a very simple question. There are 100 monks in a temple, including senior monks and junior monks, and there are 100 steamed buns in total. If each senior monk gets three buns and each junior monk gets one bun, how many senior and junior monks are there in the temple?

Isn't this just a variation of the "chicken and rabbit in the same cage" problem?

And it looks even simpler than the chicken and rabbit problem.

However, arithmetic in this era was still at the stage where the "Nine-Nine Song" (multiplication table) had just been created, and more variations had not yet been developed.

Such problems require many adults to write and solve, let alone a little kid like Baili Hong.

Chu Jiubian couldn't help but look at Eunuch Hong.

Although he was the Grand Tutor, it was Qin Xiao and Hong Fu who actually taught the young emperor things on a daily basis.

Chu Jiubian had witnessed Hong Fu's talent firsthand, and when the system drew Hong Fu's card before, it also said that he was skilled in both literature and martial arts, and in terms of literature, he should be much stronger than Chu Jiubian.

It seems that the other party is quite adept at "tiger parenting."

Baili Hong is such a young child, it's already quite impressive that he can write large characters clearly. But because he has a photographic memory, he has already memorized the entire Analects. So Hongfu has started teaching him the interpretation of the Analects these past two days.

Chu Jiubian found this pace of progress absurd.

In his mind, three-year-olds haven't even gone to kindergarten yet, and being able to recite two ancient poems means they're smart babies.

It seems that Hong Fu is planning to teach mathematics as well.

Qin Xiao glanced at the question and asked Baili Hong, "How did you calculate that yourself?"

As soon as he opened his mouth, a sweet aroma wafted out.

The child sniffed: "What's that smell?"

Qin Xiao then raised his hand to cover his mouth and asked, "How was it calculated?"

The child's attention was diverted, and he obediently replied, "I first assumed there were ten senior monks and ten junior monks, then I realized that was wrong, so I assumed there were twenty of them, but that was still wrong."

So it was all a fluke.

Chu Jiubian silently drank his tea, trying to dilute the taste in his mouth.

"You can even use the hypothetical method, very good." Qin Xiao offered a word of encouragement, and seeing the child's eyes light up, he continued, "However, your assumption is in the wrong direction. You could start by assuming there are one hundred monks..."

He picked up a calligraphy brush and wrote down the solution process on a piece of paper as he explained.

The children listened attentively and understood quickly.

In the end, he calculated the result himself: "There are 25 senior monks and 75 junior monks!"

"right."

Baili Hong understood, but still frowned and said, "But it's so troublesome, Uncle. Instead of calculating the number of people, why not just call out all the monks, big and small, and count them all?"

The three adults in the room were amused.

Qin Xiao explained, "The problem you're working on only involves one hundred monks, so you think it's easy to count them. But what if there were a thousand, ten thousand, or millions of people? How would you count them then?"

The child blinked, seemingly lost in thought.

"Your Majesty is now the emperor, and you must keep the millions of people of the entire Da Ning Dynasty in your heart." Qin Xiao looked at the child's tender face and said in a gentle voice, "From now on, the accounts that Your Majesty needs to keep in mind are related to the millions of people. Whether they can eat steamed buns, and how many they can eat, must all be known to Your Majesty."

"So what Your Majesty needs to learn is not the problem itself, but the method of solving it."

Chu Jiubian's heart stirred, and he couldn't help but look at Qin Xiao.

Baili Hong asked in confusion, "But I have an uncle, a teacher, Eunuch Hong, and many, many other people. Everyone will help me with the accounts."

Qin Xiao did not want to teach the child to be too pragmatic, so he did not say things like "everyone can lie to you". Instead, he said, "No matter who does the calculations, they may make mistakes. This small mistake could cost countless lives. So Your Majesty must also calculate and be the last reliance of the people."

"But Uncle, I've never even met those people. Why should I be their support?" Baili Hong said somewhat dejectedly. "Besides, I'm still just a child, and I need to rely on you, Uncle, and many other people..."

He felt very useless.

Everyone says the emperor is very powerful, but now he can't do anything and needs help from others for everything.

Qin Xiao said, "Right now you have so many people helping and protecting you, but there will come a day when we are powerless to do so. At that time, it will be His Majesty who will protect us."

Baili Hong's eyes widened in surprise, and he exclaimed, "Can I protect you too?"

"certainly."

"Then I must become incredibly powerful!" the child clenched his little fist. "I also want to protect my uncle."

Then he looked at Chu Jiubian: "We also need to protect you, sir."

He then turned to Hong Fu and said, "You must also protect Eunuch Hong."

"I also need to protect Granny..." he said, and then he tried to walk out, as if he wanted to say it to everyone he cared about.

Chu Jiubian was charmed.

Qin Xiao grabbed the child's arm and brought him back, saying, "You don't need to tell them one by one, just remember them in your heart."

Baili Hong then obediently nodded.

"Did you understand that problem just now?" Qin Xiao asked.

The child nodded emphatically: "I know."

"Then I'll give you another one." Qin Xiao picked up his pen, turned the paper over, and wrote a new question on the back.

This question is a bit more complicated than the previous one; it's a true case of the chicken and rabbit in the same cage.

There are chickens and rabbits in the same cage. The head count is 35 and the feet count is 94. How many chickens and rabbits are there?

The little boy frowned and calculated for a while using the assumption method that Qin Xiao had taught him. The more he calculated, the more confused he became, and his once confident little face visibly fell.

"Uncle, I won't do it again." His big, watery eyes were filled with tears.

Qin Xiao picked up his sleeve and wiped it for him, his technique was extremely rough.

Chu Jiubian felt a pang of embarrassment at the sight, so he quickly stopped him and gently wiped the child's face with a handkerchief, saying, "Sir, you also have a solution to the problem. Would Your Majesty like to learn it?"

"Yes," the child nodded, his eyes red.

Since everyone around was familiar, Chu Jiubian simply picked up the child and let him sit on his lap.

Hong Gonggong was taken aback. Seeing that Qin Xiao had no reaction, he calmed down and listened to Chu Jiubian's solution.

The methods of immortals are no different from those of ordinary mortals.

"Let's assume there are A rabbits, then there are thirty-five minus A chickens..."

He taught linear equations in two variables directly, which may seem complicated to those who have never encountered this type of equation before, but once you understand it, you will find that it is easier than other assumption methods.

Qin Xiao and Hong Fu were increasingly impressed as they listened to his explanation.

Qin Xiao applied this method to the previous problem involving the senior and junior monks, and it worked quickly.

The reason Baili Hong couldn't do it was because after making initial assumptions, he went astray when calculating various differences later. However, the method taught by Chu Jiubian was universal and didn't require thinking about what to subtract or not to subtract.

"Sir, I think I've got it!" The little boy happily hugged Chu Jiubian's arm.

Qin Xiao then said, "Then I'll give you another one."

"good!"

A math class was in progress inside the palace when, at the same time, a group of soldiers suddenly rushed in from outside the imperial city gate.

Clad in armor and with swords at their waists, they ran all the way to the busiest Shenwu Street, loudly warning the people and vendors on both sides: "His Highness Prince Jiannan is returning to the city. All bystanders, please give way!"