Chapter 36 Zhou Chuanxing found a treasure
Tang Xinuan trusted Zhou Chuanxing, even though he was a bit slow and not as smart as she was.
But she believed that if he said it was resolved, then it was resolved.
Seeing Yao Qilin's sour face, she clenched her little fist and encouraged him, "Don't worry, good will prevail over evil, we will definitely get a place."
Yao Qilin had never seen such a handsome man before.
Amazed by her determination and confidence, he began to wonder if there was something wrong with his sexual orientation.
Why am I starting to feel fluttery around men?
"The competition is about to begin," Li Pixiu said as he walked onto the stage. Thinking of the 20,000 taels of silver that Prince Rui had given him, he grinned from ear to ear. Seeing the Regent sitting in the audience, he felt as if he had reached the pinnacle of this grand stage of life.
"Today's questions are more than ten times more difficult than yesterday's. I hope all the contestants can achieve good results."
"The competition will still be divided into three rounds, and the final ranking will be based on the final score."
Okay, I wish everyone good results.
The match begins now.
There were a lot of spectators watching the game today.
The entire street was already packed.
Of course, those who are close by can see what's going on clearly, but those who are a little further away can only join in the fun.
But that doesn't dampen anyone's enthusiasm to know who the smartest person in the Great Zhou Dynasty was.
Those with money all placed bets, while those who disliked gambling or didn't have any money didn't bet, but they still discussed with their friends and family who would win the final honor.
Today's questions were indeed much harder than yesterday's.
The first question is about area.
Yesterday's number-reporting girl is on stage today reading the questions.
She opened the prepared questions.
Read it aloud clearly and accurately.
"Guangling County has 15,300 mu of farmland, of which 3,000 mu are trapezoidal fields, 12,000 paces wide and 2,500 paces long..."
As the lady reading the questions was reading, she suddenly realized something was wrong.
Many of the numbers have been altered.
However, she was just a question reader; whether the questions were changed or not was none of her business.
Moreover, the question was written on a large sheet of white paper and had already been posted on the drawing board.
All participants are free to watch the videos themselves.
She read it twice more simply so that those audience members who couldn't read or were far away could hear it clearly.
Of course, people who can't even read won't understand what it means even if they hear it.
Everyone's just joining in the fun.
It did not dampen the public's enthusiasm for watching the game at all.
In fact, the imperial examinations in the Great Zhou Dynasty had not been held for more than ten years. After decades of war, there had been a talent gap. Unless one was from a powerful family or a far-sighted member of the imperial family, it was already good enough for ordinary people to be able to recognize a few characters.
They don't know anything about mathematics.
...
The question reader continued, "...Excuse me, how many acres of land does Old Zhang's family in Guangling County own?"
Zhou Chuanxing sat up straight, just as he had when he first sat down.
He seemed tireless, standing tall and straight like a pine tree.
He stared at all the participants with a relaxed expression.
Prince Duan was still shaking the tassel of his jade pendant.
He glanced at Prince Rui from time to time across Zhou Chuanxing.
Prince Rui had already reached an agreement with the owner of Caiyue Tower that the topics would all be provided by his own advisors.
Make sure that no one present can answer the question.
The three contestants he instructed already knew the answers. As long as they wrote down their answers and were the first to hand in their papers, these three people would instantly become famous.
Isn't my second brother eager to find talent?
He then sent his second brother three top talents.
He originally had his eye on Sun Qingzhao and Yao Qilin, and those were the two people he contacted first.
Because they possess genuine talent and ability, if they are put to use by the emperor and placed in the court, they can become pillars of the state in just a few years, and then they will become the most useful weapons in the emperor's hands.
Unfortunately, neither of them knew how to appreciate it.
He could only find the ninth and tenth place winners, and also recommended someone who was eliminated yesterday.
When Prince Rui saw that all three contestants were writing with their heads down, a hint of pride appeared on his face.
A mere warrior who only knows how to fight also wants to compete with him.
So what if he was born into the right family? He was born as the legitimate son and the emperor's younger brother.
He wasn't lacking in anything; at least his mother was alive and well, and his maternal grandfather's family was a good source of support.
This throne will be his sooner or later.
"Second brother, do you think the top three from yesterday have a chance to get a place today?"
Zhou Chuanxing replied casually, "The competition has just started, it's hard to say."
Having succeeded in his trickery, Prince Rui looked at Zhou Chuanxing with an air of amusement, saying, "I do have a humble opinion: those three yesterday were just lucky; today, none of them will get a place."
Zhou Chuanxing's expression was indifferent, and no one could see what he was thinking. He glanced at Prince Rui with an ambiguous look and said, "Is that so?"
Prince Rui seemed to have already ascended the throne, looking down on his two brothers with an air of superiority.
“This court,” he picked up his teacup and took a sip, “is not something you can understand just by brute force. Second brother, you haven’t been in the capital for years, so there are many things you don’t understand. Learn slowly.”
Prince Duan had long disliked Prince Rui.
He held his teacup over Zhou Chuanxing and touched it to Prince Rui's teacup.
"Fourth brother, have you had any eye problems lately?"
Prince Rui was taken aback: "Third Brother, what do you mean?"
Prince Duan glanced at the drawing board on the competition stage and said, "Didn't you notice that these questions are a bit strange?"
Prince Rui really couldn't see it. "What's strange about it?"
Prince Duan deliberately didn't tell him, saying, "Then you'll have to observe for yourself."
It wasn't until the first match was over, and all three contestants appointed by Prince Rui made mistakes, that he realized the problem on the drawing board.
The question was still the same one he had given, but many of the numbers had been changed.
Even if you only change one number, the result will be very different, let alone if you change so many!
He gritted his teeth in anger, "Third brother, you tricked me!"
Prince Duan chuckled and said, "If you don't do anything wrong, how can you be tricked by others?"
He paused for a moment, then deliberately provoked Prince Rui, "Twenty thousand taels of silver, tsk tsk, Fourth Brother is really rich."
In the first round of the competition, Tang Xinuan was not the first to hand in her paper.
He wasn't even the second to hand in his paper.
However, she rang the bell along with the second person, but she was slower and ended up being the third to hand in her paper.
Sun Qingzhao and Yao Qilin both told her that someone cheated in today's competition.
Although Zisu said that the prince had already dealt with it, she still felt uncertain when she saw that the two other contestants had finished before her.
Li Pixiu was unaware of the cheating.
He kept staring at Tang Xinuan because he believed she was one of the Regent's people.
Naturally, we hope Tang Xinuan can win.
If Tang Xinuan is happy, the Regent will be happy, and he can live a very comfortable life from now on.
Unfortunately, two people rang the bell before Tang Xinuan.
It's unbelievable.
After everyone handed in their papers, the girl reading the questions revealed the answers. No one else thought much of it, but Li Pixiu was the first to question it.
"There's something wrong with this answer."
The big boss who had been hiding behind the scenes: "..."
He frequently gave Li Pixiu meaningful glances.
Unfortunately, Li Pixiu not only failed to make contact with the question, but also ordered the question reader to change the answer to Han Xi's.
"Hmph, I can tell from Hanxi's answer that it's correct."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" the big boss finally couldn't help but step in.
The man in his fifties, with a blank expression, reprimanded Li Pixiu, "This answer was calculated by the person who set the question."
The big boss gave Li Pixiu a wink, and Li Pixiu returned the wink.
The Regent is not someone that ordinary people like them can afford to offend.
"Is it possible for the person who sets the questions to make mistakes?"
Before the contestants even had a chance to question the answers, the big boss and Li Pixiu started arguing.
In the end, they had to invite the person who set the questions to the scene.
The person who set the questions was a minor official of the sixth rank in the Ministry of Revenue named Zhao Ruiliang.
He was also a close confidant of Prince Rui.
Zhao Ruiliang was convinced that the answer was correct because he had set the question and calculated the answer.
With Prince Rui involved, he was extra careful, and only handed it over to Caiyue Tower after verifying it twice to make sure it was correct.
"This question was personally set by me, how could it possibly be wrong!"
Zhao Ruiliang was particularly unhappy. Although he wasn't wearing official robes, he still exuded an air of authority.
He looked down on these common people. If it weren't for Prince Rui's order, how could he possibly have given a question to a non-governmental organization?
Prince Duan couldn't sit still any longer. "Second Brother, shall I go and take a look?"
Zhou Chuanxing remained calm and composed, sitting in the central command tent.
"Don't be impatient."
The surrounding crowd was stunned.
The answer from Caiyuelou was problematic; the boss and the second boss disagreed.
Whose answer is correct?
Zhao Ruiliang disdained to argue with these unsuccessful contestants and planned to rule unilaterally.
He held up Li Mingcai's answer and said, "This is the standard answer; anything that's the same as his is correct."
Li Mingcai, Zhao Yinghuai, and Qian Zong were all Prince Rui's men, and all three gave the same answer.
Looking at Tang Xinuan with particular smugness, he said, "You thought you had it in the bag after getting first place yesterday? You still ended up as our defeated opponent."
Tang Xinuan, Sun Qingzhao, and Yao Qilin have all checked the answers.
All three of them gave the same answer.
It's impossible for all three of them to make the same mistake at the same time, so there's only one possibility: Li Mingcai and the other two had pre-arranged the outcome.
Yao Qilin made many sacrifices to get into the top three.
He clenched his fists in desperation, "How can we prove ourselves?"
Sun Qingzhao couldn't think of a good solution for the time being.
With conflicting accounts, it's clear that Li Pixiu doesn't carry the same weight as the big boss.
Even after the question setters proved that no one believed their answers were correct.
Unable to think of a solution, he pinned his hopes on Hanxi.
Tang Xinuan had never encountered such a troublesome situation before.
But she has a pure heart and no ulterior motives.
At this moment, faced with difficulties and ridicule, I didn't have any extra emotions.
She pondered for a moment, then said to Zhao Ruiliang, "May I see Li Mingcai's answer?"
Zhao Ruiliang looked down on him from the bottom of his heart because he had red lips and white teeth, and was more effeminate than masculine.
"Why bother? If you can't do it, just admit defeat. Why are you causing trouble?"
Li Pixiu was furious and had already flirted with the regent three times, but the regent seemed to be blind and couldn't receive the signals.
"Lord Zhao, this young master Han was first place yesterday, and he's definitely not convinced. Why don't we show him the answers and let him accept his defeat wholeheartedly?"
After a moment's hesitation, Zhao Ruiliang passed the answer to Han Xi.
Tang Xinuan took the answer key, and Sun Qingzhao and Yao Qilin both came over.
Tang Xinuan quickly revealed a strange smile. She first looked at Sun Qingzhao: "Brother Sun, do you think this answer is interesting?"
Sun Qingzhao also realized what was happening, and he laughed much more unrestrainedly than Tang Xinuan.
"Hahaha, no wonder the court is so eager for talented people, it turns out they're all raising Lord Zhao..." He looked Zhao Ruiliang up and down as if he were looking at trash, "This kind of mediocre talent!"
"Who are you calling mediocre!" Zhao Ruiliang retorted angrily.
He was the most knowledgeable mathematician in the Ministry of Revenue, and both the Vice Minister and the Minister of Revenue praised him for his limitless potential.
He couldn't possibly keep his composure after being mocked by a beggar.
“Mr. Li, I think we should get rid of this person as soon as possible. He did something wrong, yet he dared to question the answer and try to take such crooked paths.”
Chu Yanqing has been acting like a fool ever since she saw Tang Xinuan.
If it were just Han Xi, she might be able to convince herself that this person wasn't her cousin.
But the fact that Xiaoqian, dressed as a man, was standing not far away was just too much of a coincidence.
She didn't know where her cousin had settled after leaving the Marquis's mansion.
They actually showed up at the competition and even won first place yesterday.
I knew my cousin wasn't stupid, and reality proved me right.
What would my older brother's expression be if he knew that my older cousin got first place yesterday?
The fool he had always despised was about to become the most intelligent woman in the Great Zhou Dynasty.
He actually mistook a pearl for a fish eye!
Chu Yanqing remained in a daze, and Chao Li, worried for her, rushed down from the stage and called out, "Third Miss, what is your answer?"
Chu Yanqing then came to her senses; naturally, she was in the same boat as Tang Xinuan.
"Lord Zhao, your answer may not be correct. It would be better to have someone else check it again."
Zhao Ruiliang was about to lose his temper when someone reminded him, "This is the third young lady of the Marquis of Wu'an's mansion."
Zhao Ruiliang could only swallow his anger. "Since you think my answer is wrong, go ahead and find someone to check it. Let's see who in the Great Zhou Dynasty can solve this problem."
Tang Xinuan waved the answer sheet in her hand, "No need to have someone check it. I only have one question for Lord Zhao: how many steps are in one mu?"
Zhao Ruiliang scoffed at the most basic mathematical knowledge, saying, "Naturally, it's two hundred and forty steps."
Tang Xinuan looked at the drawing board, "Look at the question, how many acres and how many steps are there? And what are the answers in terms of how many acres and how many steps?"
Zhao Ruiliang still hasn't realized the problem; he looks at the drawing board with disdain.
After he saw the words clearly, he couldn't help but frown.
"What happened? Who changed the numbers above?"
Most people still don't understand what's going on.
That doesn't stop everyone from realizing that Zhao Ruiliang made a fool of himself.
Sun Qingzhao explained to everyone: "Our Great Zhou Dynasty has a rule that one mu of land is equal to two hundred and forty steps. The size of this piece of land is much smaller when expressed in mu than in steps, but the two scholars who handed in their papers first had the exact opposite."
Therefore, their answer is wrong.
His explanation was simple, and everyone could understand it.
Someone in the crowd burst out laughing first, and then the whole street was filled with joyful laughter.
Zhao Ruiliang was so ashamed he wanted to disappear.
"Impossible, impossible! The numbers in my question were definitely not these. How could this be? You must have cheated and changed the numbers."
Sun Qingzhao reacted quickly, "Then, Lord Zhao, should we ask Li Mingcai and the others why they gave the original answers? Who is the one who cheated?"
Zhao Ruiliang: "..."
He didn't want to get involved in this kind of thing. "How would I know? I'm just responsible for setting the questions. Okay, this has nothing to do with me. Do whatever you want."
After he finished speaking, he flicked his sleeves and tried to leave.
But then the Regent's personal bodyguard, Tao Guan, came down from the stage.
"Lord Zhao, our Prince invites you to come."
"The Regent..." Zhao Ruiliang hurriedly looked around, unaware that the Regent had personally come to Caiyue Tower.
His legs went weak and he was about to kneel on the ground, but Tao Guan caught him. "Lord Zhao, please don't kneel before me, I can't accept that."
Zhao Ruiliang: "..."
In the first round of the competition, Tang Xinuan was still in first place.
Yao Qilin ranked second, Sun Qingzhao third, and Chu Yanqing fourth.
Since there was no evidence to prove that Li Youcai and others cheated, their scores from the first round were not counted, and they were allowed to participate in the second round of the competition as normal.
Prince Duan never expected that Tang Xinuan, who was thought to have mental problems, could actually prove the opposite.
"Second brother, you've really struck gold."
Zhou Chuanxing liked to hear this, and a smile finally appeared on his handsome and dignified face.
It was as if he had won first place.
"That's natural."
Prince Duan couldn't stand his smugness. "Impressive, impressive! A ten-thousand-year-old iron tree never blooms, but when it does, it's a masterpiece."
Prince Rui was furious.
The 20,000 taels of silver was only for changing the location of Caiyue Tower.
In addition, it cost another thousand taels of silver to deal with the three contestants and to hire the question setter.
We didn't even hear a sound.
Suddenly, he heard his third brother say something about an iron tree blooming after ten thousand years, and then he glanced at the people on the stage.
Aside from Miss Chu, he really couldn't think of anyone else his second brother could like.
He lost this contest, but he won't let his second brother have a good time either.
He immediately went to the palace to ask his mother to arrange a marriage for his second brother.
First, watch him and the Empress start arguing.
Without the troublemaker, the next two rounds of the competition went smoothly.
Tang Xinuan was unsurprisingly the first to ring the bell in every round, and her answer was correct.
Sun Qingzhao answered all the questions correctly in the last two rounds, but his answering speed was much slower.
Chu Yanqing and Yao Qilin both only answered half of the questions correctly in the third round.
As for Li Youcai, none of the three pre-selected contestants got anything right in the second round.
He simply withdrew from the third round.
In the end, the rankings were the same as yesterday.
Li Pixiu set off firecrackers to celebrate, saying that Han Xi was the most intelligent person in the Great Zhou Dynasty, and he deserved the title.
He also presented one hundred taels of silver.
This was the first time Tang Xinuan had earned money using her own wisdom, and her happy smile was brighter than the sunshine.
She looked across the crowd at Zhou Chuanxing sitting in the audience and moved the tray in her hand forward a little.
The pure white silver gleamed in the sunlight.
Zhou Chuanxing gave a thumbs up without hesitation.
His daughter was indeed intelligent; she was the smartest person in the Great Zhou Dynasty from the very first move!
Logically, Zhou Chuanxing should have gone on stage at this point to praise the little girl.
However, it is not appropriate to reveal the identities of the two people at this time.
Zhou Chuanxing restrained his impulse and said to Prince Duan, "Release Zheng Jian'an later and have him wait for me at Babao Congee tomorrow afternoon."
Prince Duan was going to celebrate with Chu Yanqing, so he replied casually, "Don't worry, I'll take care of it in a bit."
After he stood up, he strode onto the stage.
With a single sentence, he decided the outcome: "Han Xi is undoubtedly the first place winner, and Sun Qingzhao is also quite good, second place."
Chu Yanqing and Yao Qilin are tied for third place. Neither of them got the third question completely right. Although Yao Qilin submitted his answer earlier in the second round, Chu Yanqing got more questions right on the third question.
Since Prince Duan had spoken, how could Li Pixiu dare to object?
He echoed, "Prince Duan is right. Sun Qingzhao is second, and Chu Yanqing and Yao Qilin are tied for third. Each of them will receive a reward of fifty taels of silver."
Subsequently, Li Pixiu personally presented Sun Qingzhao with eight silver ingots.
Five silver ingots were given to Chu Yanqing and Yao Qilin respectively.
Chu Yanqing felt unworthy of the honor, but since Li Pixiu hadn't said anything, why should she be modest?
Of course, only Prince Duan could do something so shameless.
Chao Li had promised Chu Yanqing that there would be a reward if she made it into the top five.
Now that she had won third place, she jumped onto the stage, grabbed Chu Yanqing's hand, and announced loudly: "Miss Chu, the most intelligent girl in our Great Zhou Dynasty, without a doubt."
I hereby announce that I bestow upon you one thousand taels of silver, ten bolts of brocade, ten strings of pearls, and ten baskets of imperial cuisine.
Such a generous reward surprised not only Chu Yanqing, but also the entire crowd of onlookers on the street.
Caiyuelou gave a reward of fifty taels of silver, but the princess actually gave her a reward of one thousand taels.
Who said that a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent?
This is real money.
At this moment, Chu Yanqing had become the most radiant girl on the entire street.
Others might not have noticed, but Chu Yanqing felt uncomfortable.
Because the smartest girl next to her should be her cousin.
However, since my cousin was dressed as a man, she obviously couldn't let people recognize her as a woman.
She couldn't help but look at her cousin.
Tang Xinuan has a pure heart; she doesn't have many thoughts.
He handed the silver to Xiaoqian and then jumped off the stage.
Sun Qingzhao hurriedly chased after him, "Brother Han, I have some money now, let me treat you to a meal."
Tang Xinuan was in a hurry to see Zhou Chuanxing. "Brother Sun, let's reschedule for another day. I have to go see my friend."
Sun Qingzhao was a little unhappy. "Aren't I your friend too? When you go to see your friends, you can take me with you. We can go together."
Tang Xinuan thought about it carefully.
Zhou Chuanxing was her first friend, and Sun Qingzhao was her second friend.
They must both really want to get to know each other.
"Alright, I'll take you to see him. We'll have lunch together today."
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Author's Note: Tang Xinuan: My two good friends must really want to see each other.
Zhou Chuanxing: No!!!
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