After a stick of incense had burned, the official from the Ministry of Revenue had solved the problem.
The aide grew anxious. Seeing that his colleagues were still clueless, he became utterly exasperated, threw down his pen, and exclaimed, "This question posed by the county magistrate is simply unsolvable!"
Su Youran smiled slightly and walked to the center of the room. "Everyone, the key to this problem lies in the 3x6 grid. In addition to using the candidate method, we also need to use the unique solution method. Do you remember it?"
One of the young officials' eyes lit up. "I remember now! The young county magistrate once told me an example!"
He quickly observed the area, then decisively filled in a number in the box. Soon after, his pen flew across the paper, and he finished the entire answer sheet in a few moments.
Seeing that Su Youran had solved the riddle with just a few words, the staff member was very dissatisfied. "I'm not convinced! You must have explained this problem before!"
"Even if I had explained this problem, seven years have passed. How many people would still remember it? And even if some people remember this one, could they possibly remember ten or twenty?" Su Youran smiled slightly, raising a stack of papers in her hand. "These are ten more problems I gave you while you were solving them. If you don't believe me, you can try solving them and have another round with them! If ten problems aren't enough, I can give you twenty or thirty more right now! Until you are completely convinced!"
The aide stared in shock at the papers handed to him by the palace servants.
He never knew that someone could come up with ten questions in the short time it takes for an incense stick to burn!
The people of South Vietnam were shocked.
Even the people of the Great Zhou were shocked.
Emperor Shunqing suddenly burst into laughter, "Good! The county princess can set questions until they are completely convinced!"
Tazashi's face looked very grim.
He originally intended to use this riddle to stump the people of Da Zhou, so that he would have more leverage in negotiations.
Unexpectedly, I was thoroughly humiliated.
Clearly, South Vietnam had no chance of winning.
He composed himself and suddenly burst into laughter. "Hahaha, it's just a game. My people thought this riddle was very interesting, so they brought it to share with everyone. Little did they know that you were already familiar with how to play it. In that case, let's not worry about winning or losing."
He gave a signal, and his staff and South Vietnamese officials returned to their seats.
"Haha, you're right. Come on, let's continue drinking and watching the singing and dancing!"
Emperor Shunqing also gave him face and did not dwell on the outcome.
Moreover, no wager was agreed upon between the two sides, so the Great Zhou has gained immense face this time, and that's enough.
As soon as he finished speaking, the music started, and a group of dancers returned to the center of the arena and began to dance gracefully.
The officials from the Ministry of Revenue took the questions and returned to their seats to continue working on them, still eager for more.
Su Youran smiled slightly and returned to her seat.
At this moment, a maid from Nanyue quietly approached and said, "Princess, the princess asked about her glass bead."
Su Youran glanced at her in surprise, then looked at Tazana not far away. Seeing her nod slightly, she handed the glass bead to the maid from her sleeve.
After another quarter of an hour, the dancers in the arena left, and a group of dancers from Nanyue entered.
Tazana suddenly stood up, struck a pose, and smoothly entered the center of the group of dancers.
The men in the room immediately focused their attention on Tazana's graceful dance.
As Tazara danced a sizzling dance, she cast a burning gaze at the prince.
The third prince noticed that Tazara's gaze was fixed on the crown prince, and suddenly understood Tazara's intention.
It turns out that they had previously revealed to their father that they wanted to form a marriage alliance with the Great Zhou Dynasty; this was the real reason behind it.
Looking at Tazana's voluptuous and alluring figure, her bare waist that seemed so small it could be encircled by one hand, and her delicate and three-dimensional features that were quite different from those of the people of Da Zhou, she would occasionally throw flirtatious glances at the crowd.
He gradually felt hot all over, and suddenly felt liquid flowing from his nose into his mouth. When he touched it, he found it was blood.
He immediately grabbed his sleeve and wiped the blood from his nose.
When the Empress saw that her son was staring at a beautiful woman until his nose bled, she cursed him under her breath for being so shameful and quickly sent a palace maid to serve him.
The third prince covered his face and hurriedly left the main hall to change his clothes.
A moment later, as the music faded, Tazana spun around and was surrounded by a crowd of admirers.
Applause erupted.
Tazana had obviously seen the Third Prince's nosebleed because of her, and she was secretly pleased with herself.
After the dancers had all left, she stepped forward and knelt before the emperor. "Your Majesty," she said, "before leaving for peace talks, Tazara was entrusted by her father to strive for a marriage alliance with the Great Zhou to strengthen the ties between our two countries. The Crown Prince of the Great Zhou once saved Tazara's life, and Tazara humbly requests Your Majesty to grant her and the Crown Prince a marriage."
The entire room fell silent instantly.
Emperor Shunqing was taken aback, then looked at the Crown Prince, "Crown Prince, what do you say?"
All eyes turned to the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince glanced coldly at Tazana and said slowly, "Father, I missed the wonderful scene of Princess Qingping proposing to the Grand Preceptor at the New Year's Eve banquet. I never expected that I would have the honor of putting on a show for everyone today."
Consort Zhou chuckled. "Indeed, I thought the Princess had already defied the world last time, but I never expected that the Princess of Nanyue would be even more unexpected today."
The Empress smirked. "Crown Prince, are you going to put on a show like the Imperial Advisor? You mean you're going to refuse the Princess of Nanyue? You should think this through; it concerns the diplomatic relations between our two countries!"
The Crown Prince said calmly, "Since the Empress is worried about the relations between the two countries, why don't you ask my third brother to marry the Princess of Nanyue?"
"No!" both the Queen and Tazana's voices rang out simultaneously.
The Empress said urgently, "The Princess of Nanyue is in love with the Crown Prince. How can you arrange such a marriage for her?"
Tazana also said anxiously, "Your Highness, when you saved me that day, I said that I would marry you to repay your kindness."
The Crown Prince glanced at her and said, "I said before that if you marry me, it won't be to repay my kindness, but to bring me trouble."
Tazana looked at him in shock and shook her head repeatedly. "Impossible! How could I possibly harm you?! If I marry you, we will forever be on good terms with our two countries, the war will be over, and countless people in the border city will benefit. Your Highness, you will also have such a good wife as me. This is a blessing that others would beg for. How could it be a disaster?"
The Crown Prince's lips curled into a smile, his words piercing the hearts of everyone present: "Didn't you ever consider that I am the Crown Prince, destined to inherit the throne? How could my Crown Princess be a woman of a different race? If you insist on marrying me, I will soon be impeached and ineligible to inherit the throne, and soon there will be calls to abolish the Crown Prince position. To me, aren't you just a menace?!"
Tazana's face turned pale. "You...I..."
She bit her lower lip, as if making a decision, and said, "I don't have to marry you as my principal wife, but I'll be your concubine!"
The Crown Prince shook his head again. "How can you still not understand? As long as I am the Crown Prince, I cannot have a woman of a different race as my bedmate. You are only proposing a marriage alliance between the two countries. My third brother is not yet engaged and is a good candidate."
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