Who put the yellow robe on me?

"Drilling wood to make fire?" Prime Minister He whispered, "This method is a bit old-fashioned, but it does work."

"Indeed, this method is recorded in ancient books. Although it is time-consuming and laborious, if successful, the white paper can be ignited." Minister of Personnel Wu Gongjin echoed.

"Yeah, I've thought of this method, but... time is tight, so it might not be successful."

More ministers expressed their opinions in whispers, and some even began to secretly regret that the Ninth Prince might not be able to complete the challenge in this limited time.

Jiang Chen stood aside, quietly observing the Ninth Prince's actions.

There was no fluctuation on his face, but he knew in his heart that the Ninth Prince had already lost half of this so-called challenge.

He shook his head slightly, thinking to himself, "To make fire by rubbing two sticks together in the time it takes to make an incense stick? I'm afraid Old Nine is being too confident."

The ninth prince Jiang Yu began to operate the wooden sticks. The two sticks kept rubbing against each other in his hands, and the speed became faster and faster.

At first, his movements were clean and neat, and he was full of confidence, as if victory was within reach.

However, as time went on, beads of sweat began to appear on the ninth prince's forehead and his breathing became rapid.

He increased the intensity of the friction, trying to create enough heat within the limited time to ignite the white paper.

However, as time passed, his movements became increasingly impatient, and the wooden stick in his hand began to become somewhat uncontrollable, even making an annoying "squeaking" sound.

All the officials in the court gradually quieted down, and everyone stared closely at the Ninth Prince's actions, as if waiting for a miracle to happen.

However, the wooden stick remained the same as before, without any smoke, and the white paper remained as flat as before, without any signs of burning.

The Ninth Prince's expression grew increasingly grim, and the stick in his hand grew heavier. As the time of an incense stick drew to a close, the Ninth Prince began to grow restless, even a little irritable.

"How is this possible? This is impossible!" As the incense stick burned out, the Ninth Prince Jiang Yu muttered to himself, with a hint of unwillingness and disbelief in his voice, "The history books clearly record that it is possible to make fire by drilling wood together..."

When Yelu Mengmeng saw the appearance of the Ninth Prince, a mocking smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.

She shook her head gently, her tone gentle but full of sarcasm: "Your Highness the Ninth Prince, your idea is good, but it is impractical.

If you carefully read ancient books, you will find that while drilling wood to make fire is possible, it takes at least three incense sticks to succeed without the help of extremely scorching sunlight. I'm afraid that within this incense stick..."

The Ninth Prince quietly retreated amid the clamor, his expression somewhat gloomy. Blushing, he lowered his head, trying his best to avoid everyone's gaze as he quietly retreated back into the crowd.

At this moment, the Sixth Prince Jiang Fu, after whispering with several ministers around him, leaped out of the court. He bowed to Emperor Liang and said, "Father, I am willing to give it a try."

Emperor Liang nodded slightly, indicating that he could go out.

Jiang Huai had a confident smile on his face. He turned to the ministers and said, "I believe that if you want to make white paper burn, you don't necessarily need direct flames. As long as you rub it with a sword to generate enough sparks, you can make the paper burn."

The ministers all expressed interest when they heard the Sixth Prince's words. Although the Ninth Prince's failure was still fresh in their minds, the Sixth Prince's proposed method seemed to make sense. After all, the clash of swords could indeed produce sparks.

After hearing this, Emperor Liang felt a glimmer of hope. He waved his hand and had the guards hand two sharp swords to Jiang Fu. The Sixth Prince took the swords without hesitation and summoned the two generals to his side.

Two generals stood in the open space in front of the hall, each holding a sword, and everyone's attention was focused on them again.

Following the Sixth Prince's order, the two sharp swords began to clash violently with each other, making a crisp "clang clang" sound and sparks flying everywhere.

However, something unexpected happened: although sparks were flying in the air, the white paper remained safe and sound, without even a trace of burnt marks.

As the swords collided again and again, the edge of the sword was gradually worn and became blunt.

However, the white paper still lay firmly on the ground, without any signs of burning.

The Sixth Prince Jiang Fu's expression gradually turned ugly. He was originally full of confidence, but now he obviously encountered an unprecedented embarrassing situation.

Yelu Mengmeng looked at the Sixth Prince's predicament with a hint of mockery in her eyes, but she still maintained a superficial courtesy and said softly, "Your Highness, Sixth Prince, perhaps this method is not suitable for this situation."

Although Jiang Fu was unwilling to give in, he had no choice but to retreat to his seat. He had no place to vent his frustration, so he had to suppress it forcefully.

Then the twelfth prince Jiang Zhan was seen walking to the giant cauldron, clenching his fists, his face full of determination and stubbornness.

He exerted force with his arms, veins bulging, and his whole body sank slightly, trying to lift the heavy tripod.

Inside the hall, everyone held their breath, hoping the Twelfth Prince would perform a miracle. However, after a moment of silence, the tripod remained in an awkward position, completely motionless.

Suddenly, Yelu Mengmeng let out a pleasant laugh, the sound as clear as a silver bell, echoing in the hall.

There was a hint of mockery in her eyes, but her tone remained polite: "Your Highness the Twelfth Prince, it seems that you are a little overwhelmed by the task of lifting the tripod.

Furthermore, the task itself requires two children to lift the tripod. Even if you can lift it with your own strength, it does not necessarily prove that two children are capable of doing it."

Jiang Zhan's expression changed slightly, but he didn't back down. Instead, he calmly responded, "Third Princess, if I can lift this tripod, and these two children can lift me, doesn't that indirectly prove that they are capable of lifting this tripod?"

However, Yelu Jiayi, the imperial teacher behind Yelu Mengmeng, smiled lightly, with a hint of sarcasm in his eyes.

He stepped forward slowly, bowed slightly, and spoke in a gentle but insightful tone, "Your Highness, the Twelfth Prince, your courage is indeed commendable, but your forethought is clearly lacking. If it's just a matter of lifting, wouldn't it be better to have a few more of those strong men from earlier?"

Yelu Jiayi's voice was not loud, but every word he said carried an unquestionable power. All the ministers in the hall nodded, as if they were all convinced by him.

Then several ministers came out to challenge, but all of them returned in defeat!

Yelu Mengmeng watched as the ministers came forward one after another to challenge, until no one dared to step forward. With a slight smile on her lips, she gracefully bowed and said to the Emperor of Liang, "Since that is the case, Your Majesty, it seems that no one in Daliang can solve these three problems. According to our previous agreement, can Daliang prepare food?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became tense!

"Shameless! The Northern Qiang are just trying to exploit this situation to seize our Daliang's grain!"

"This is too much! We can just fight at worst, but how can we let this little Northern Qiang kid bully Daliang like this!"

Among the ministers, angry whispers were heard one after another!

Seeing this, Yelu Mengmeng's smile remained undimmed. Instead, he glanced at the ministers with interest and said innocently, "Oh? You from Daliang don't seem convinced. Do you think this question is unfair? How about another person try? I'm really looking forward to seeing the wisdom of Daliang's talented people."

"It's you?"

"Why don't you try it?"

"This gentleman was the one who was yelling the loudest just now. Do you want to give it a try?"

Yelu Mengmeng chuckled and deliberately pointed at several ministers with her fingers, her eyes full of provocation.

The ministers who were called out were all in a panic. They were originally full of anger, but now they lowered their heads, closed their mouths, and dared not say anything more.

"Enough!" Emperor Liang shouted in a deep voice, his majestic voice instantly suppressing the noise in the hall. "Third Princess, your conditions are too harsh. I, Daliang, really... That's it! That's it! Someone..."

"Father, I am willing to give it a try."

The whole place was suddenly silent, and all eyes were focused on the source of the sound.

The Sixteenth Prince Jiang Chen slowly stood up...