Chapter 32: Just OK? Wanwan wants to learn, I can teach you...
The competition at the side seat had come to the stage of musical instrument performance. The musical instrument stand had been prepared, with several famous musical instruments placed on the sandalwood table. The slanting sunlight shone through the strings, casting a cold silver light.
Suddenly, the crowd became agitated and made way for the other party.
Shen Zhiyan was dressed in a moon-white brocade robe, walking calmly, with a cold and indifferent expression.
Walking side by side with him was Liu Shuyi, with only a white magnolia hairpin in her hair. It was extremely simple and elegant, but it made her look even more beautiful and elegant. She lowered her eyes slightly, with a faint smile on the corner of her lips.
"They are truly a perfect match!" someone exclaimed.
"Mr. Shen is a man of distinguished grace, and Miss Liu is gentle and demure. Your Majesty has granted their marriage; it is truly a match made in heaven!"
Everyone was talking about it, looking at them with envy.
At this moment, a piercing voice suddenly rang out in Luo Wan's ears: "Hey, isn't this the eldest daughter of the Chi family who is known for her 'excellent piano skills'?"
Luo Wan raised her eyes and saw that Liu Shiyu had been standing in front of the side table without her knowing when. He was looking down at her with a sarcastic smile on his lips.
He deliberately dragged out the tune, drawing the attention of those around him. "I heard that when Miss Chi first started learning qin at Hongwenguan, she achieved the feat of 'breaking the sanxian in one tune'!"
A low laugh broke out in the crowd.
Luo Wan's eyes were slightly cold, but he didn't say anything.
Seeing this, Liu Shiyu became even more proud and said loudly, "Today's zither competition is being conducted by my sister and Master Shen. I wonder if Miss Chi has the courage to step up on stage and give it a try? It would be great for everyone to see!"
As soon as he said this, everyone's eyes immediately focused on Luo Wan. Some were curious, some were mocking him, and most were waiting to watch the fun.
Pei Shaochuan frowned and was about to speak when he heard Liu Shuyi call out softly, "Brother."
She walked over slowly, gently pulled Liu Shiyu's sleeve, and shook her head to signal him to stop.
Liu Shiyu sneered, "Why, are you feeling bad, little sister? It's true, it's unbecoming for someone like Miss Chi, who can't even master the basic fingering, to go on stage." He turned to Luo Wan and said contemptuously, "But Miss Chi's younger siblings are all participating, and you, as the eldest sister, are just a spectator. That's really unreasonable."
Finally, after Liu Shiyu's repeated sarcasm, Luo Wan raised her eyes and said in a very calm tone, "I won't participate."
Liu Shiyu was still unwilling to give in, but a cold voice extinguished the restlessness on the scene like a cold spring.
"Mr. Liu."
Everyone looked in the direction of the voice. Shen Zhiyan was standing beside the zither platform, his eyes sweeping over calmly. "A zither competition isn't about verbal skills. Besides, Miss Chi is helping to organize the poetry and martial arts conference, so according to the rules, she's not allowed to participate."
Liu Shuyi pursed his lips slightly and said softly, "Brother, don't delay the competition."
Liu Shiyu snorted coldly, flicked his sleeves and retreated, not forgetting to glare at Luo Wan before leaving.
Liu Shuyi said helplessly: "Brother, I told you that Miss Chi and Mr. Shen have no relationship. It's just an ordinary teacher-student relationship. Why do you still want to embarrass a little girl?"
Liu Shiyu was indignant: "Do you know why my father punished me because of her? I don't understand why my father always ignores his own children for an outsider, in the past and now. I can't stand it. Why do they get such a special look from my father so easily! And I try my best but can't get a single compliment from him."
Liu Shuyi said, "Father is just not good at expressing himself, but deep down he still cares about us."
Liu Shiyu chuckled, "The day Chi Wanwan came to deliver the invitation, father chatted with her for half an hour on the Lotus Terrace."
Liu Shuyi lowered her eyes. At this moment, she didn't know what to say.
She could refute Liu Shiyu's paranoia, but she could not deny the established facts.
Because Liu Zong is indeed such a person.
Favoring outsiders.
I vaguely remember that many years ago, when my mother was seriously ill and on the verge of death, my father heard the news and immediately rushed to the palace.
The brother and sister looked at their father's resolute back as he left, feeling at a loss.
There was a storm outside the corridor, and the swaying palace lamps stretched their shadows very long.
Above the Qintai, a spring breeze blows gently.
Shen Zhiyan flicked his wide sleeves and sat down in front of the piano table.
He stroked the strings with his slender fingertips and tried a few notes. The clear sound of the piano immediately quieted the noisy training ground.
"In the first round, please play the song 'Yangchun'."
As his cold voice fell, the contestants from noble families came on stage one by one.
Everyone felt a little bored because they didn't get to see the eldest daughter of the Chi family, who sang "A Song of Broken Sanxian", on stage.
After several rounds, the piano competition ended.
The young ladies of the Gu family took the first two places, and Chi Mingshi took the third place, which did not bring shame to Feng Yuyun.
After the piano, the next class is arithmetic.
The piano stand was removed and abacus beads were placed on the table.
The young masters and young ladies of the Gu family were present in almost every competition of the Poetry and Martial Arts Conference, and arithmetic was no exception. The participant in this arithmetic competition was none other than Gu Sihan, who had once fought with Pei Shaochuan in Shen Zhiyan's class.
Gu Sihan, dressed in an indigo brocade robe, walked slowly onto the stage.
He was born with a handsome appearance, but there was a hint of arrogance between his eyebrows, which was completely inconsistent with his temperament.
The first round of the men's competition is divided into four groups according to the number of participants, with five people in each group, and a five-to-two mode is adopted; the second round is four people in each group, and a four-to-two mode is adopted; the third round is to compete among the four people to determine the top three.
Gu Sihan won every round of the competition.
The examiner in charge of reading out the results sang loudly on the stage: "First place in the arithmetic group, Gu Sihan."
Everyone had anticipated this outcome, but it didn't stop them from flattering the Gu family:
"Mr. Gu is extremely talented!"
"Duke Gu is truly a good parent!"
"That's right! Every championship in every competition is won by the Gu family!"
Gu Sihan didn't seem to care whether he got first place or not. He glanced around the crowd and finally fixed his gaze on Pei Shaochuan.
Gu Sihan smiled meaningfully: "Isn't this the young master of the Pei family? When he was in Hongwenguan, the young master Pei was famous for his arithmetic skills——"
He paused deliberately and said, "Slow down."
Luo Wan didn't have a deep impression of Gu Sihan. Apart from the fistfight with Pei Shaochuan, it was the amazing talent he showed in arithmetic class.
His provocative words were simply for revenge.
Luo Wan frowned slightly under his veil.
She could see that Gu Sihan was deliberately trying to embarrass Pei Shaochuan.
Pei Shaochuan's smile remained unchanged: "Master Gu, do you want to compete with me?"
Gu Sihan said, "After all, Master Pei is also a student of Master Shen, and we studied together at Hongwen Academy. If you didn't participate and I won first place, it would be an unfair victory. The official competition is over, and we are not afraid of Master Pei stealing the questions. Why don't we have an extra competition? Let everyone see that what I said is true."
The atmosphere was tense for a moment.
Pei Shaochuan stood up and said, "Okay! But if I win, the first place won't be yours anymore. You can't blame me if your father punishes you."
Gu Sihan sneered, "I just admire your ignorance of the world."
Pei Shaochuan bent down and said to Luo Wan, "Look, I'll help you vent your anger."
According to Luo Wan's concept, she never does anything that is uncertain or meaningless. She only does things that are in her control and are beneficial to herself.
Pei Shaochuan, a playboy who slept in class and joked around after class, suddenly wanted to compete with the top student in arithmetic.
In Luo Wan's opinion, Pei Shaochuan is a bad guy with a strong addiction.
Gu Sihan said, “Let Master Shen set the questions on the spot. I believe Master Shen will not be biased.”
Pei Shaochuan left the side table, came to the stage, and said, "Please ask Mr. Shen to give the questions."
Shen Zhiyan flicked his sleeves, took out a pen and paper, and wrote down the title:
"Now there is an object whose number is unknown. If you count three times three, there are two left. If you count five times five, there are three. If you count seven times seven, there are two. How many of these objects are there?"
As soon as the question was announced, the audience immediately started discussing it.
This "unknown number of things" is a difficult problem in "Sun Zi's Mathematical Classic" and can only be solved by people who are proficient in arithmetic.
The two of them quickly took out the counting sticks and began to deduce.
Luo Wan had never seen Pei Shaochuan like this before. The boy who was always laughing and joking had put away all his cynical expressions, and his brows showed a concentration and sharpness that she had never seen before.
"Twenty-three!" They both said in unison, with almost no difference in time, so no one could tell who was faster and who was slower.
It seemed like she had never really tried to get to know Pei Shaochuan.
Shen Zhiyan continued, "There is a well with a diameter of five feet, and its depth is unknown. A tree is placed beside the well, and the tree is four feet higher than the well mouth. From the end of the tree, one can see the bottom of the well, and one foot into the tree. How deep is the well?"
The students off the field joined in the arithmetic.
Not long after, Pei Shaochuan and Gu Sihan said at the same time: "Sixteen feet."
As the winner was still undecided, everyone began to get impatient, but they did not dare to speak out.
Shen Zhiyan paused and said, "Suppose we build a dike that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. The river is 48 feet deep. The dike is 20 feet wide at the top and 40 feet wide at the bottom. The dike is 100 feet long. We have already employed 86,400 workers. How much deeper do we need to make it so that the dike reaches 129,600 feet?"
Gu Sihan's expression changed slightly, but he quickly calmed down and began to deduce.
Pei Shaochuan was not in a hurry. He took out a charcoal pencil from his sleeve and started calculating directly on the paper.
Time passes by every second.
Gu Sihan placed more and more abacus chips, and sweat gradually seeped out of his forehead.
In contrast, Pei Shaochuan's writing was as smooth as flowing water, and the charcoal pencil made a rustling sound on the paper.
finally.
"Build it another six feet deeper." Pei Shaochuan put down the charcoal pencil and spoke in a clear voice.
Gu Sihan looked up suddenly, and the abacus in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter.
Shen Zhiyan nodded slightly: "Mr. Pei is right."
There was an uproar in the audience.
The first one is no longer the young master of the Gu family.
Gu Sihan's face turned pale: "This is impossible! You must be..."
Pei Shaochuan chuckled and said, "It was Master Gu who proposed the competition. Would he turn the tables and accuse me of cheating?"
Gu Sihan said, "I don't accept it! Let's play another round!"
Shen Zhiyan spoke at the right time: "The result of the competition has been determined. If Master Gu is not convinced, we can compete again at the Poetry and Martial Arts Conference next year."
The results came out, and the crowd gradually dispersed.
Pei Shaochuan faced Gu Sihan's vicious gaze and said calmly, "As for me, I keep a low profile because I don't want to steal Mr. Gu's limelight. After all... the Gu family values reputation the most, isn't it?"
Gu Sihan’s forehead veins bulged, and his fists clenched so tightly that they made a creaking sound. “Pei Shaochuan, just wait for me!”
Pei Shaochuan bowed nonchalantly: "I'm at your service anytime."
After driving Gu Sihan away, Pei Shaochuan returned to Luo Wan and blinked, "Wanwan, how did I perform?"
Luo Wan said: "It's okay."
"Just okay?" Pei Shaochuan pretended to be aggrieved.
Luo Wan raised the corner of his mouth slightly: "Very good."
Pei Shaochuan laughed and said, "Gu Sihan often bullies us in school, and today he finally got his revenge. He lost so much face because of his arrogance, and he will definitely be punished by his father when he returns."
Luo Wan said, "You and I slept together in the arithmetic class, but now it seems that you have made great progress."
"That old man's questions are all boring. It doesn't matter whether you listen or not." Pei Shaochuan waved his hand, tilted his head and smiled, "If Wanwan wants to learn, I can teach you."
Luo Wan refused.
At this time, waves of cheers from the crowd came from the west side of the parade ground.
Pei Shaochuan's eyes lit up: "Let's go and take Wanwan to see a good show."
-----------------------
The author has something to say: Note: The title comes from "Sun Zi Suan Jing"
Question 2 comes from "Mathematics in the Well" in the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art
Question 3 comes from "The Art of Diking Rivers and Building Dams"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com