Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

Inside the inn, the flickering candlelight illuminated the pale faces of the three great scholars.

The wind and snow were howling outside the window, but the house was eerily quiet, with only the occasional crackling sound of the charcoal fire.

Pei Yan sat on the armchair with a dull look, the tea in his hand had already gone cold, but he was completely unaware.

Fine beads of sweat on his forehead gleamed in the candlelight, and his fingers tapped unconsciously on the table, making a dull "thump thump" sound.

"This can't go on like this."

Pei Yanzhi suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse as if it had been rubbed with sandpaper: "If those two little ancestors come again tomorrow and we still can't answer them, our reputation will be ruined!"

His words shocked the other two people - the reputation they had painstakingly built for decades was about to be ruined by these two young children.

Sima Hui slammed the folding fan in his hand shut, and the crisp sound of the fan ribs hitting each other was particularly harsh in the silent room.

He said with a gloomy face: "Since we can't think of the answer, why not ask others or look through ancient books."

Cui Gaoxuan immediately agreed upon hearing this: "That makes sense! How about this? I'll go to the Chu Kingdom's library to look up ancient books, and you two can go and ask others for advice."

"Wait a minute!"

Pei Yanzhi suddenly sneered, a gleam of light flashing in his cloudy old eyes: "Why don't I consult the classics instead of letting Brother Cui ask others for advice?"

The atmosphere in the room suddenly froze.

Cui Gaoxuan's face flushed crimson instantly, his goatee standing up in anger. "Brother Pei, what do you mean by that? We're in the same boat now..."

"In the same boat?"

Pei Yanzhi interrupted him sarcastically: "Let me go and get rid of this person, Brother Cui is really good at calculating!"

Sima Hui watched coldly, but he knew what was going on clearly.

How can this be called being in the same boat?

It's clearly a case of mutual blame-shifting! As great scholars of the time, if they were to ask others for advice, their reputations would be ruined if this were to get out.

Again, they can die, but their reputation must not be ruined!

But at this moment, Cui Gaoxuan suddenly slammed the table and stood up, causing the teacups on the table to clink:

"Pei Yanzhi! Are you doubting me?"

"enough!"

Sima Hui suddenly shouted loudly, and the folding fan in his hand opened with a "swish". The four big words "Tranquility and Far-reachingness" on the fan were particularly eye-catching under the candlelight.

Seeing that the two had temporarily quieted down, he said in a deep voice, "What's the point of arguing like this? How about this - you two stay here to consult the ancient books, and I will personally visit the officials of the Chu State Imperial Observatory and the Ministry of Revenue."

Pei Yanzhi and Cui Gaoxuan looked at each other and snorted coldly, tacitly agreeing to the proposal.

As long as they are not asked to ask others for advice, they can do anything.

Just after noon, Sima Hui changed into plain casual clothes, deliberately avoided the main gate, and quietly left through the side door of the inn.

He deliberately chose an inconspicuous blue cloth sedan chair with the curtains drawn tightly, for fear of being recognized.

Of course I agreed to ask others for advice, but this is not a glorious thing after all, so of course I have to keep it secret.

Otherwise, if someone found out and spread the news, he would lose face.

The Imperial Observatory was located in the southwest corner of the imperial city. Sima Hui got off the sedan chair two streets away from the yamen and walked there.

The cold wind blew snow particles against his face, but he was completely unaware, his mind full of thoughts about how to start the conversation.

"This sir..."

The gatekeeper looked at the plainly dressed old man in front of him and spoke in a polite tone.

"Do you have a greeting card?"

Sima Hui pulled out a jade pendant from his sleeve and said in a low voice, "Please tell them... that an old friend wants to see Li, the Minister."

When the officer saw the delicate cloud patterns on the jade pendant, his expression suddenly became more respectful: "Sir, please wait a moment."

Soon, Sima Hui was led into a secluded side hall.

Li Moyang, the director of the Imperial Observatory, had been waiting there for a long time. When he saw Sima Hui, he was obviously startled: "Mr. Sima? What are you doing..."

"Master Li."

Sima Hui forced a smile and said with a bow, "This old man...this old man has a question I want to ask you."

A hint of surprise flashed in Li Moyang's eyes, and then he smiled and said, "Sir, please feel free to speak."

Being able to have a great scholar ask questions is also a matter of face!

"This one……"

Sima Hui's old face flushed slightly, and his voice became lower and lower: "Why is the moon sometimes full and sometimes not?"

"what?"

Li Moyang's expression froze instantly.

He stared at Sima Hui for a long moment, then suddenly burst into laughter: "Sir, are you kidding? This is a question that even a child would know!"

Sima Hui's face turned pale and blue, and he said with a stiff upper lip, "Master Li, please enlighten me."

Li Moyang's laughter stopped abruptly.

He carefully studied Sima Hui's expression and gradually realized that the other party was serious.

"This one……"

Li Moyang rubbed his hands together, sweat breaking out on his forehead. "Although I am in charge of the calendar, this kind of truth of heaven and earth..."

In the next half hour, Sima Hui watched helplessly as the head of the Imperial Observatory went from being full of confidence at first to hesitating and finally falling into the same confusion as him.

When Sima Hui left the Imperial Observatory, his steps were heavier than when he came.

Li Moyang didn't understand at all and was pretending in front of him at first!

You still want to laugh at me, but aren’t you also stumped? You even said you wanted to look through the books in the Imperial Observatory!

After coming out of the Imperial Observatory, he went to the Ministry of Revenue with the last glimmer of hope.

The reaction of Wang Yan, the head of the Ministry of Revenue, was even more interesting.

When hearing the question of "chickens and rabbits in the same cage", the calculating official from the Ministry of Revenue confidently picked up the abacus and started clacking for a while.

Then his movements became slower and slower, and finally he pushed the abacus aside and said with a wry smile:

"This...this question is strange..."

After calculating for a full half hour, he not only failed to figure it out, but was even confused.

It was late at night and the lights in the inn were bright.

Pei Yanzhi and Cui Gaoxuan each occupied a corner of the study, surrounded by piles of open books.

Pei Yanzhi had the Zhoubi Suanjing spread out in front of him, while Cui Gaoxuan was studying the Huainanzi Tianwenxun, and both of them had bloodshot eyes.

When Sima Hui dragged his tired body back, the two men immediately dropped the books in their hands and eagerly went to meet him.

"How?" Pei Yanzhi's voice was hoarse.

Sima Hui shook his head and sat down dejectedly in his chair: "The officials from the Imperial Observatory and the Ministry of Revenue couldn't answer it either."

"What?" Cui Gaoxuan cried out, "How is this possible?"

Sima Hui smiled wryly and recounted what he had seen and heard today.

When talking about the last expression of the head of the Ministry of Revenue as if he had seen a ghost, even Pei Yanzhi couldn't help but gasp.

"What should we do now?"

Cui Gaoxuan paced back and forth in the room anxiously: "Those two little ancestors will come again tomorrow..."

The three of them looked at each other and saw deep fear in each other's eyes.

Outside the window, the wind and snow were getting stronger.

A snowflake was blown in through the window by the wind and landed on the open copy of "The Analects of Confucius" on the desk, just covering the line of words "To know is to know".

The three great scholars were completely stumped and even forgot the real purpose of their visit.