DLERB -Chapter 205 My Crown Princess Must Understand Science!

Qilin Hall.

The camphorwood chest filled with scrolls was left open like a mocking beast.

Ying Zheng’s words still echoed through the hall.

“If you do not choose one you are satisfied with…”

“No one will be allowed to leave!”

Wang Jian stood with arms crossed like an iron tower.

Meng Tian sat upright, hands resting on his knees, motionless.

Li Si kept his head lowered—no one knew what he was thinking.

In front of Ying Ziye, the desk was covered with unfolded portraits of noble ladies.

Plump, slender, each one beautiful as a painting.

He did not look at them.

He picked up the wine cup on the table.

Gulp.

He drained it in one go.

Then he reached out—not to take the scrolls.

But to gently push one of the paintings away.

The scroll rolled off the desk and fell to the ground.

Then a second, a third.

Soon, the entire table in front of him was cleared.

Bang!

The bronze wine cup was slammed down heavily onto the table.

The sound was not loud.

But it instantly silenced the entire hall.

Every movement stopped.

Ying Ziye stood up.

He glanced at the portraits scattered on the ground.

“Father Emperor.”

He spoke calmly.

“These are all beautiful women.”

“They are well-versed in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—excellent choices for ornamenting a household.”

He paused.

“But my residence does not lack decorative vases.”

“The crown prince of Great Qin—the future heir—his wife cannot be a vase.”

BANG!

The hall erupted in shock.

“Presumptuous!”

An old scholar in Daoist-style official robes trembled with rage and stepped out from the ranks.

It was Sun Jing, the junior disciple of Kong Fu.

“Ninth Prince!”

He pointed at Ying Ziye, his fingers shaking.

“A woman’s virtue, appearance, speech, and conduct—gentleness and virtue—these are the foundation of ritual and propriety!”

“And yet you compare all noble ladies of the court to useless vases!”

“This is an insult to all women under heaven! It is also trampling upon the rites of Great Qin!”

Ying Ziye turned to look at him.

“Rites?”

He asked.

“Sun Scholar, let me ask you—can rites stop the blades of the Xiongnu?”

Sun Jing choked.

“Let me ask again—can a good poem feed the soldiers at the northern border?”

Sun Jing’s face turned the color of liver.

“Absurd reasoning! This is absurd reasoning!”

“No.”

Ying Ziye shook his head.

“I am simply stating facts.”

“My wife—the future Crown Princess—may not need to understand poetry.”

“But she must understand arithmetic.”

“Because she must be able to calculate how much grain, transport carts, and logistical loss are required to move an army of one hundred thousand.”

“She may not need embroidery skills.”

“But she must understand the principles of things.”

“Because she must know why it rains, why iron rusts, and why a stone thrown into the air falls back down.”

“She may not be good at music or dance.”

“But she must understand geography and strategy.”

“Because she must be able to read every inch of Great Qin’s land—where troops can be stationed, where roads should be built, and which places are strategic battlegrounds.”

With every sentence, Ying Ziye took a step forward.

His voice grew louder.

“This is the kind of wife I, Ying Ziye, require!”

“This is what qualifies as the Crown Princess of Great Qin!”

The entire Qilin Hall fell into absolute silence.

Wang Jian’s veteran eyes twitched; he stroked his beard slowly.

Meng Tian’s straight posture seemed to become even straighter.

Li Si lifted his head and stared at Ying Ziye as if looking at a monster.

This… was not selecting a wife.

This was selecting a top scholar!

No—

Even harder than selecting a top scholar!

On the dragon throne…

Ying Zheng did not speak.

He simply raised his wine cup and took a slow sip.

Ying Ziye stopped walking.

“Someone come.”

He called out.

“Brush, ink, and cloth.”

“The largest one.”

Very soon, several attendants carried in a massive roll of white cloth and spread it across the center of the hall.

Ying Ziye removed his outer armor, leaving only a black martial outfit.

He walked to the cloth and lifted a brush as tall as a person.

Dipped it fully in ink.

Without the slightest hesitation, his arm moved.

One massive Qin character after another appeared on the cloth.

Like dragons and serpents in motion—forceful enough to pierce the fabric.

When he finished, he dropped the brush.

An attendant tremblingly stepped forward and read aloud:

“First question!”

“Given: our army’s trebuchet has a three-zhang arm and a counterweight of one thousand jin. To hit an enemy city wall three hundred steps away, what angle should the arm be launched at?”

The hall fell into confusion.

What is “angle”? What is “geometry”?

The attendant wiped his sweat and continued.

“Second question!”

“An army of one hundred thousand departs from Xianyang toward the Yuezhi royal court three thousand li away. The route is mountainous; expected loss from carts and horses is 20%, grain spoilage and loss is 10%. Each soldier consumes two jin of grain per day. Question: how much grain must be prepared at departure to ensure that after arrival there remains twenty days of surplus?”

Li Si was in charge of taxation and logistics.

The moment he heard this, his entire body stiffened.

He could estimate rough amounts.

But to calculate this precisely—accounting for losses in advance…

How is this even calculated?

The attendant’s voice began to tremble.

“Third question!”

“This is a schematic of the Roman fortified city. Its walls are five zhang high, its moat ten zhang wide, with thirty thousand defenders and one year of provisions. Our army of fifty thousand has arrived at the city. List at least three methods of siege, and briefly explain their advantages, disadvantages, and expected casualties.”

On the cloth was a crudely drawn city map made with charcoal.

Wang Jian and Meng Tian both stood up at the same time.

They stared at the diagram and the question.

This wasn’t an exam question.

This was a war simulation—a national war council!

“Absurd! Utter nonsense!”

Scholar Sun Jing jumped out again.

He pointed at the cloth and shouted:

“What angles, what geometry, what loss estimation! These are trivial tricks with no relation to the teachings of the sages!”

Several young scholars behind him echoed immediately.

“Yes! Never heard of such things!”

“This must be witchcraft from the West!”

Ying Ziye turned to look at them.

“Oh?”

“If Scholar Sun thinks it’s simple, why don’t you try solving it?”

Sun Jing and the others froze.

They stepped forward and approached the cloth.

Staring at the text.

And the strange symbols they did not recognize—like some foreign numerical system.

One incense stick of time passed.

Sweat began to form on Sun Jing’s forehead.

A young scholar behind him started trembling.

They couldn’t even understand the questions.

Ying Ziye looked at their awkward expressions.

At that moment, a mechanical voice echoed in his mind.

[Ding!]

[System detection: Host uses “marriage selection” as a catalyst to awaken Great Qin’s intellectual potential and break the monopoly of aristocratic education—national fortune surge!]

[Reward: Complete “Yingzao Fashi” (Treatise on Architectural Methods)!]

Ying Ziye ignored the system’s voice.

He pointed at the massive cloth scroll.

Addressing the entire court—and the Emperor on the throne—he declared word by word:

“Three days.”

“This list of questions will be posted outside the Vermilion Bird Gate.”

“No matter birth or status, regardless of civil or military background—any woman in Xianyang may attempt it.”

“Whoever solves any one of these three questions may enter my residence as a strategist, with a salary of one thousand shi.”

The court was stunned!

Women as officials? And a salary of a thousand shi?

This was madness!

Ying Ziye ignored the reaction. He paused, then looked at Wang Jian, Meng Tian—and finally Li Si.

“And those who solve all three questions…”

He raised his hand and pointed at himself.

“May become my Crown Princess!”