APSIL -Chapter 87 When “Luzhu” Starts Showing Off His Learning

In the middle of the night, the Imperial College instructors came hurrying in from every direction.

Some had been dragged from warm beds, still rubbing sleepy eyes. Others had reluctantly left the embraces of their women. Every one of them wore the same rigid, solemn expression.

If they hadn’t needed to preserve the dignified image of teachers revered by their students, they would have been cursing up a storm while yawning.

Naturally, no matter how fast Supervisor Xu Heida of the Discipline Office had moved, in the middle of the night he had only managed to notify the most important lecturers. As for the Imperial College’s Chancellor, Zhou Xun—a second-rank official—Xu dared not disturb him without good reason.

The unlucky one was Vice Chancellor Luo Siye.

Dragged out of bed by Xu Heida in the dead of night, the fourth-rank official had no choice but to come. Surrounded by several instructors, he had naturally become everyone’s leader.

Though Luo’s face remained stern, inwardly he was cursing just as fiercely as everyone else—Xu Heida included.

If this is such a major matter, why didn’t you wake Chancellor Zhou? Why drag me, the Vice Chancellor, here to take the blame?

Back when the Hall of Nine Chapters was quietly closed and even the Founding Emperor’s plaque was removed to a secret chamber for safekeeping, I wasn’t the one who made that decision!

Nor was the current Chancellor!

Even Ge Yong, the Honorary Chancellor, knew about it. He complained once before His Majesty, only to be persuaded to let the matter drop by his former students, who were now Grand Secretaries and Ministers.

So why has this old affair suddenly been stirred up by a newly appointed young Doctor of Mathematics?

Still…

Now that he had come, retreat wasn’t an option.

He couldn’t show weakness before his subordinates.

Nor could he show weakness before Zhang Shou, the Imperial Doctor who had seemingly dropped from the sky without following the normal procedures.

So Luo Siye could only brace himself, stride forward proudly at the head of the group…

Like a warrior crossing the Yi River.

“The wind blows cold; the waters of the Yi run chill…”

By the time they finally caught sight of the Hall of Nine Chapters, dawn was just beginning to brighten the eastern horizon.

The abandoned lecture hall, which ought to have remained like a sleeping beast hidden in darkness, instead glowed with a faint light.

As they approached, they realized the light came from rows upon rows of lanterns and candles carefully arranged on the ground.

The strange sight left everyone stunned.

Someone muttered a curse beneath his breath, apparently blaming the incompetent night watchmen.

Then another instructor exclaimed softly, “Those lanterns… they seem to form some kind of pattern.”

Vice Chancellor Luo immediately looked more carefully.

He stared for a long while.

So did every other instructor.

These were all men who had survived the brutal imperial examinations and earned the prestigious title of jinshi.

Yet every one of them stood there wearing expressions of complete bewilderment.

None understood what the arrangement meant.

At last, one Doctor burst out angrily, “It must be prophetic symbolism! A curse against the court!”

The instant he spoke, every other instructor turned to stare at him.

Really?

You’re going to accuse the Emperor’s personally appointed Doctor of Mathematics of spreading treasonous prophecies?

At least invent a charge people might actually believe!

Annoyed, Vice Chancellor Luo ignored his foolish subordinate.

After a moment, he merely sneered.

“A childish trick.”

Having heard their superior dismiss the display, everyone hurriedly echoed him.

“Childish scribbling.”

“Nonsense.”

“Meaningless.”

Amid the chorus of dismissive comments, Luo Siye nevertheless carefully walked around the array of lanterns and candles before finally reaching the entrance.

Then he looked inside.

The rebuke already on his lips froze there.

The broad central passage stretching from the doorway into the Hall had clearly been cleaned.

Even under the dim lantern light, the wet sheen of freshly washed stone could still be seen.

The large central desk and chairs gleamed.

Two figures stood with their backs to the entrance, wiping the great wooden pillars beside the desk with rags, their clothes covered in dust and grime.

But Luo Siye no longer cared that they hadn’t even turned to greet him.

His eyes had already noticed something else.

The hall had indeed fallen into disrepair over the years.

Yet…

Only the center had been cleaned.

Everything along both sides remained gray with dust.

Cobwebs still hung from the beams overhead.

In that instant, the experienced administrator understood everything.

Those lazy fools…

They shut down the Hall of Nine Chapters…

But no one ever ordered them to stop cleaning it!

What an embarrassment!

Swallowing the accusations he’d prepared, Luo Siye coughed lightly before speaking with surprising warmth.

“Doctor Zhang has worked through the night cleaning the Hall of Nine Chapters.”

“You’ve truly worked hard.”

Behind him, several instructors nearly coughed blood.

They had come fully prepared to denounce Zhang Shou.

Instead, their leader had turned the confrontation into a condolence visit.

It felt like throwing a powerful punch…

Only to hit cotton.

Then the young man in blue robes turned around.

The instructors finally saw his face.

They immediately became even more irritated.

Not only was he far younger than they were—

He also possessed such strikingly handsome features that there wasn’t a single flaw to criticize.

As Zhang Shou turned, he called to Lu Sanlang, who was still diligently working nearby.

The chubby youth immediately turned around.

He held a filthy rag.

His face was streaked black and white with dirt.

Even the tip of his nose had been smeared black.

Setting down his own rag, Zhang Shou smiled and cupped his hands.

“It wasn’t particularly hard.”

“I was simply surprised to discover that the lock on the Hall of Nine Chapters had already rusted completely through.”

Vice Chancellor Luo had just been preparing to reprimand him for entering the hall without authorization.

Instead…

He choked again.

What annoyed him even more was that Xu Heida suddenly stepped forward carrying the lock.

The enormous iron lock was covered in rust.

Its worst sections had corroded away completely.

“Vice Chancellor Luo.”

“The lock truly had rotted through.”

Why are you showing me this?

Doesn’t this only prove that the Hall has been neglected for years?

Luo Siye nearly pointed at Xu Heida’s nose and cursed him.

But remembering the man’s famously rigid personality, he forced himself to remain calm.

Stay calm…

Don’t let us start fighting among ourselves…

Lu Sanlang, who had always been exceptionally good at reading people’s expressions, immediately sensed how weak these instructors actually were beneath their stern facades.

He instantly raised his voice.

“The lock had rotted away.”

“The Founding Emperor’s personally inscribed plaque has vanished.”

“The main desk has been gnawed through by rats.”

“The chairs are practically falling apart.”

“The floor has holes everywhere—you could break through it with one careless step.”

“When Little Teacher and I cleaned this place tonight, I could hardly believe that Grandmaster Ge had still been teaching here only seven years ago.”

“This was the mathematics hall personally established by the Founding Emperor!”

“How could it fall into such a state?”

Zhang Shou wasn’t the least surprised by Lu Sanlang’s perfect assist.

Still, he deliberately rebuked him.

“Lu Zhu.”

“You shouldn’t say such things.”

“Why not?”

Lu Sanlang sneered.

“If there are no students studying mathematics, then closing the Hall temporarily would be understandable.”

“But why wasn’t there even anyone assigned to clean it?”

“Anyone with even the slightest respect for the Founding Emperor’s wishes…”

“Anyone with even the slightest respect for the plaque he personally inscribed…”

“…would never have allowed this place to decay into such desolation!”

By the end, Lu Sanlang’s voice rang with righteous indignation.

Throw accusations around?

I’m no worse at it than anyone else!

Seeing Vice Chancellor Luo’s face turn ashen—almost as black as Xu Heida’s—Zhang Shou calmly changed the subject.

“When you all entered just now…”

“Did you notice the lanterns and candles outside?”

“Do any of you know…”

“…which chapter of the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art they represent?”

A suffocating silence spread through the group.

Not one person answered.

Smiling, Zhang Shou said, “Lu Sanlang.”

“You explain.”

After all…

The lantern arrangement had been Lu Sanlang’s idea.

He might as well be the one showing off his scholarship.

Having worked all night, Lu Sanlang was instantly energized.

“The Shanggong chapter of the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art states:

‘Cutting a cube diagonally produces two qiandu. Dividing a qiandu diagonally yields one yangma and one bienao. Two yangma equal one bienao in a ratio of two to one. Three bienao combined form one whole. Verified upon the chessboard, its shape becomes evident.'”

“The lanterns and candles outside…”

“…form a simplified two-dimensional diagram of a bienao.”

At that moment…

Vice Chancellor Luo and every instructor present looked exactly like the lazy students they so often scolded as blocks of wood beyond carving.

Embarrassed.

Confused.

Desperately wishing a crack would open beneath their feet so they could crawl inside.

What’s a yangma?

Can you ride it?

And what’s a bienao?

Do turtles even have something called a ‘nao’?

Every individual character was familiar.

So why…

When put together…

Did none of it make the slightest bit of sense?