APSIL -Chapter 88 A Born Actor and the Power of Taking Action

Early that morning, the students who had risen at dawn to study were greeted with a strange sight.

A group of National Academy instructors, headed by Vice Director Luo, hurried away from the academy’s northwest corner with unusually flustered expressions. They walked so quickly it looked as though ghosts were chasing them.

Some sharp-eyed students hurried to the roadside to bow respectfully to their teachers, but Luo Siye and the others merely gave absent-minded nods without slowing down, as if stopping for even a moment would bring disaster.

Naturally, a few curious students secretly followed the direction from which the instructors had come.

That led them to an old lecture hall with its doors standing wide open.

Yet what drew even more attention than the open doors was the ominous figure standing at the entrance, staring thoughtfully at a pile of lanterns and candles on the ground.

It was none other than Xu Heida, the Superintendent of the Discipline Office.

The man every student feared.

His face was black, his heart was blacker, and his disciplinary cane was blackest of all.

The mere sight of him made every student instinctively clench their backside.

The few students who had come to watch immediately tried to tiptoe away.

Then they heard Xu Heida’s trademark icy voice.

“Lu Zhu.”

“Since you can recite The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Arts, answer me this.”

“What is a Yangma? What is a Bienao?”

The students exchanged bewildered glances.

One of them vaguely remembered seeing those terms somewhere before.

He frowned deeply, desperately searching his memory.

The answer came before he could remember.

“It seems…”

“…Supervisor Xu has never read The Nine Chapters.”

Lu Sanlang’s face practically glowed with satisfaction.

For years, everyone else had mocked him for being an ignorant fool.

Today…

For the first time in his life…

He was the one pointing out someone else’s lack of learning.

Only after hearing Zhang Shou cough behind him did he hurriedly tone down his smug expression.

“I’ll explain simply.”

“Suppose there’s a cube, one chi long, one chi wide, and one chi tall.”

“If you cut it diagonally from top to bottom, you get two qiandu solids.”

“Then take one of those and slice it diagonally again along the base and the top corner.”

“One resulting solid is called a Yangma.”

“The other is called a Bienao.”

“The Yangma occupies two-thirds of the original qiandu.”

“The Bienao occupies one-third.”

Seeing Xu Heida remain expressionless—though confusion was written plainly in his eyes—Lu Sanlang smugly continued, “My teacher explains it like this.”

“A Yangma is a quadrilateral pyramid with a rectangular base.”

“A Bienao is a triangular prism—well, more precisely, a triangular pyramid formed by two right triangles.”

“Their sizes refer to their volume.”

“As for what rectangles, right triangles, pyramids, and volume actually mean…”

“…our Grandmaster Ge will eventually compile a glossary.”

“Otherwise, I doubt any of you would understand.”

Before Lu Sanlang could continue showing off, Xu Heida’s face darkened even further.

Without saying another word, he turned and walked away.

The students who had been peeking around the corner nearly collided with him.

They hurriedly bowed.

“Supervisor Xu…”

Xu Heida merely flicked his sleeve and left.

Lu Sanlang, meanwhile, was grinning so broadly his teeth were almost visible from behind.

Then—

Thump!

A sharp knock landed squarely on his head.

“So pleased with yourself, are you?”

Zhang Shou withdrew his hand calmly.

“Have you forgotten what you told me before?”

“You admitted you’d read The Nine Chapters, but for sections like Shanggong, you couldn’t understand a thing until I explained them.”

“So now you’re showing off in front of complete beginners?”

“Why don’t you try showing off in front of Teacher Ge instead?”

Lu Sanlang’s soaring confidence instantly collapsed.

Holding his aching head, he fled a few steps away.

“We spent the entire night cleaning Jiuzhang Hall!”

“My back’s about to break!”

“Can’t you let me enjoy myself for just a little while?”

Zhang Shou was about to say no.

Then he noticed several students peeking from the distance.

Immediately abandoning his lecture, he dusted off his clothes and walked toward them.

The morning sun shone across his face, forcing him to raise one hand slightly to block the glare.

After hesitating briefly, the students approached.

The one who had finally remembered where the terms Yangma and Bienao came from smiled awkwardly.

“Junior Brother…”

“Were those questions Supervisor Xu asked just now from The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Arts?”

“What junior brother?”

“What questioning?”

Before Zhang Shou could answer, Lu Sanlang charged over.

Glowering fiercely, he barked, “My teacher is the newly appointed Doctor of the National Academy!”

“His Majesty personally appointed Doctor Zhang!”

“As for Xu Heida…”

“He doesn’t know the first thing about The Nine Chapters!”

“What qualifications does he have to examine—”

Thump!

Another solid rap landed on his head.

Retracting the two fingers he’d used to flick Lu Sanlang, Zhang Shou smiled gently at the stunned students.

“That’s right.”

“I’ve just been appointed as a Doctor of the National Academy.”

“In the future…”

“I’ll likely be teaching here in Jiuzhang Hall.”

The students froze.

A Doctor…?

I just called him Junior Brother…

The student who had done so wished the ground would open beneath him.

Yet looking at Zhang Shou’s warm smile, the panic that had nearly burst from his chest slowly settled.

Taking a deep breath, he bowed respectfully.

“Greetings, Doctor Zhang.”

“When we came over just now…”

“We saw Vice Director Luo and several doctors leaving in great haste.”

“Could it be…”

Lu Sanlang snorted.

“They were scared away by my explanations of Yangma and Bienao.”

“They’re not even as good as Xu Heida.”

“At least he admits when he doesn’t understand.”

“Those old fellows pretend to understand.”

“When pretending no longer works, they simply run away.”

“No wonder they let Jiuzhang Hall fall into such ruin.”

“They even removed the plaque personally inscribed by the Founding Emperor!”

The students gasped.

Unable to suppress their curiosity, they immediately pressed for the whole story.

Seeing that Zhang Shou made no move to stop him this time, Lu Sanlang launched into an animated retelling.

From escorting Zhang Shou to assume office…

To discovering the abandoned Jiuzhang Hall…

To cleaning it overnight…

To Luo Siye arriving with the instructors to make trouble…

To how The Nine Chapters had completely silenced them…

He spoke nonstop, cheeks wobbling and saliva flying, only stopping once he finally ran out of breath.

“In short…”

“My teacher is Grand Tutor Ge’s last disciple.”

“I’m Grand Tutor Ge’s disciple’s disciple.”

“The future of mathematics…”

“…will flourish in the hands of our master and disciple!”

Lu Sanlang really was born to perform…

Zhang Shou had long since given up trying to restrain him.

Watching Lu Sanlang’s dramatic storytelling leave the students completely dumbfounded—so stunned that they wandered off looking utterly dazed, as though their lifelong reverence for their instructors had collapsed overnight—he merely said calmly, “Collect the lanterns and candles.”

Lu Sanlang instantly grimaced.

Looking at the countless candles scattered across the ground, he suddenly regretted ever suggesting the idea.

But seeing Zhang Shou already bending down to gather them one by one, he resigned himself to helping.

“Teacher…”

“Did the two of us making such a fuss all night actually accomplish anything?”

“There wasn’t even much of a crowd.”

“If you ask me, Zhang Chen and the others should’ve stayed.”

“While cleaning, I learned quite a few interesting things from you—codes, ciphers, and all kinds of tricks.”

“They could’ve learned something too.”

“Besides…”

“Zhang Chen only looks impressive.”

“He’s actually pretty useless.”

“If his father objects, he’ll definitely stay home today.”

“The same goes for Zhang Wu, Zhang Lu, and the others.”

“That bunch only follows whoever benefits them.”

“They chased after Miss Zhu before because the Zhao Duke’s household was powerful…”

“I know all that.”

Zhang Shou yawned lazily.

“Otherwise…”

“Why do you think I only kept you?”

“There were many students at Cuiyun Pavilion.”

“But in the future…”

“The only one truly qualified to enter Jiuzhang Hall and study mathematics seriously…”

“…is you.”

“So even if you hadn’t volunteered…”

“…you’d still have been the only person qualified to become dormitory leader.”

Before Lu Sanlang could become smug again, Zhang Shou continued casually, “As for whether what we did last night was useful…”

“You should know something.”

“Zhu Ying…”

“…is someone with exceptional ability to take action.”

Almost as soon as he finished speaking—

A flash of brilliant crimson appeared in the distance.

Zhu Ying came charging over at full speed.

Before she’d even caught her breath, she announced excitedly, “His Majesty has sent word from the palace!”

“Since A-Shou is now a Doctor of the National Academy, and Lu Sanlang and the others are all academy students…”

“…the banquet of reward we were promised won’t be held in the imperial palace after all.”

“It will be held…”

“…right here at the National Academy!”

At that moment, Zhang Shou smiled at the dumbstruck Lu Sanlang.

“See?”

“Compared to the two of us…”

“…there’s someone even more formidable.”