"Young General!~" Steward Cao looked around. "It's late, everyone should be asleep by now. I wonder which one is Old Yun's family..."
Gu Zhenshan shot him a glare. "Can't your mouth ask? Are you mute?"
Steward Cao: "......"
Why do you always scold me when you're in a bad mood? It wasn't me who lost your sister back then.
In the deep autumn night, a fierce wind howled, rustling the grass on the rooftops of every house.
Gu Zhenshan dismounted, found a random household, and knocked on the door...
"Knock, knock, knock!"
"Who is it, so late at night?" Du Laosan's booming voice came from inside.
He had just taken off his clothes and gotten into bed. The kang was cold, and he hadn't lit a stove.
Huang Xiangyun had taken the children back to her maiden home, so Du Laosan was alone...
He came out with a wheeze, pushed open the door, and was instantly stunned. "No, why are you back again?"
Gu Zhenshan was equally shocked. "Why is it you again?"
Du Laosan, half-asleep, moved to close the door without another word.
Gu Zhenshan lunged forward, holding the door panel, and narrowed his eyes. "Tell me, is this Dashui Village? Where is Old Yun's family?"
This scoundrel, if he dared to lie, Gu Zhenshan would hang him from a tree and beat him...
Du Laosan exhaled a breath of alcohol. "What Dashui Village? Didn't I tell you to keep going straight? Also, there's no family surnamed Yun in our village. You should ask elsewhere!~"
Could it be that Old Yun's family had gotten into trouble?
Looking at this man, tall and strong, with a face full of rough flesh, if he were to go to Old Yun's house to kill, would that be good...
Gu Zhenshan was furious and raised his fist to strike him.
Steward Cao saw this and quickly stopped him. "Master, please calm your anger. I'm afraid this really isn't Dashui Village. It's no use even if you beat him to death!~"
Gu Zhenshan lowered his fist and ordered his subordinates, "Let's go!"
They had wandered the wilderness for several days. It was only after they learned that the Emperor was safe that Gu Zhenshan had the time to look for his sister...
Du Laosan sheepishly closed the door, his heart pounding.
This fellow was too terrifying.
The malevolent aura he exuded was like a mad ox. If he took one punch, he'd fall apart.
Du Laosan peeked out through the crack in the door. After confirming that the group had left, he breathed a sigh of relief...
"No, I have to go to Old Yun's house!~" Du Laosan went back into the house, put on a padded jacket, and then hurried towards Old Yun's home.
Yun Daman was adding grass to the manger when he saw Du Laosan rush into the main house like a gust of wind.
"This dead thing, drunk again!" Yun Daman cursed.
In the main hall, Old Yun was drinking tea, and Madam Gu was sitting by the warm wall, knitting a sweater for Jin Xiaolou...
Seeing Du Laosan rush in, out of breath, Old Yun asked, "What's wrong, chased by wolves?"
"Oh, Old Yun, you still have the leisure to drink tea?" Du Laosan plopped down on a stool. "You guys should pack up and hide. Someone wants to kill you!~"
Old Yun: "......"
Madam Gu: "......"
How much had he drunk? Talking nonsense.
Their family lived peacefully in Dashui Village, offending no one. Why would someone want to kill them out of the blue?
"Ahem, just now, someone was asking about your family's location. I fooled him with a few words. Alas, think carefully, who have you offended?" Du Laosan poured himself a cup of tea and gulped it down.
Old Yun and Madam Gu exchanged glances, both utterly bewildered...
What was all this nonsense?
"Daman, Daman!" Old Yun called out to the outside. "Go send him back. He drinks and just talks nonsense!~"
"Oh, I'm not drunk, *hic*!~" Du Laosan stomped his feet anxiously.
Yun Daman walked in and, regardless of whether Du Laosan was willing or not, carried him out...
The main hall became quiet again. Old Yun went out to relieve himself and returned saying, "Old woman, don't be scared. That dead thing just likes to blabber when he drinks. Who could our family have offended!~"
Madam Gu grunted and said nothing.
However, she had a faint feeling, as if a thorn had pricked her, causing both pain and discomfort...
Three days later, in the Prefectural City.
Yun Jinhe sat in the study, staring at the arithmetic problems in his book with a troubled expression, his brow furrowed tightly.
The Bochai Academy had been in session for some time. Yun Jinhe had expected the teacher to teach some relatively simple things, and that doing a few essays each day would suffice...
Unexpectedly, the Bochai Academy had introduced a new course: mathematics.
For Yun Jinhe, who had never been exposed to mathematics, it was as difficult as climbing to heaven. Solving problems made his head ache.
In the previous dynasty, there was no mathematics course. It was only in recent years that the Hanlin Academy had introduced courses in mathematics and astronomy...
Murong Qing had finished cooking and came to the study to call Yun Jinhe. "Jinhe, the meal is ready. Do your problems after eating!~"
"Wait a moment!" Yun Jinhe stared at the book. "Let me solve this problem first!"
"What problem is it? Is it very difficult?" Murong Qing walked into the study with her hands behind her back and glanced at the book. "It's very simple. If you use pi, you can solve it very quickly..."
"What?" Yun Jinhe was slightly stunned. "Pi, pi?"
The current dynasty did not yet have pi. Therefore, to calculate the circumference of a circle, they used the rolling method or the cutting method.
The so-called rolling method was to wrap a rope around the circle and measure the length of the rope.
The cutting method was to divide the circle into infinitely thin inscribed regular polygons and then find the area of the regular polygons.
Murong Qing picked up a charcoal pencil, casually wrote a formula on scratch paper, and then substituted the numbers, easily solving the problem.
Yun Jinhe watched, dumbfounded, and stared blankly at Murong Qing. "Miss Murong, how do you know this problem?"
This was too amazing.
Even though she usually did laundry and cooked at home, and carried water for the stove and the kang, she was surprisingly knowledgeable about mathematics...
Murong Qing smiled slightly. "I happened to see it in a book once!~"
"Wh-what book?" Yun Jinhe asked.
Murong Qing turned her beautiful eyes. "I don't remember!~"
Yun Jinhe: "......"
He opened the book again and randomly pointed to a few problems for Murong Qing. She solved them all effortlessly.
Yun Jinhe was completely bewildered. In such chaotic times in the Chen Kingdom, it was one thing for Murong Qing to be literate, but she could also solve problems.
Moreover, as far as Yun Jinhe knew, before the Chen Kingdom was destroyed, the course of mathematics had never been offered. Where exactly had she learned it?
Just then, there was a knock on the door from outside...