Confucianism under Heaven

Chapter Forty-Three: The Number of the Six Arts

Magistrate Zhang and his entourage watched the Han family leave, then approached Ye Ru and bowed respectfully.

"I was entrusted with this task, and I was simply fulfilling my duty. There's no need for such formalities, Your Excellency. I am also a member of Qingyun County."

Ye Ru smiled and returned the greeting.

"You have made the greatest contribution, and I will not go back on my promise to you. I will report the opening of the Book Tower to the Holy Academy immediately, and I will inform you of the results as soon as they are available."

Magistrate Zhang said this, and the others were taken aback but did not say anything. Ye Ru's talent was worth studying and understanding.

"Alright, then I'll have to trouble you, sir."

Ye Ru's face lit up with joy, then he said seriously.

"It's alright. Even if those old guys at the National Academy of Saints won't open the Book Tower for you, I'll get those people at the Arbitration Institute of Saints to open it for you. These four pavilions and three bright platforms are up to me."

Chen Sijun waved his hand dismissively and said without any politeness. Then, as if he had thought of something, he leaned closer to Ye Ru and said in a low voice:

"Ye Ru, come with me for a moment. I have a problem from the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art that I would like to ask you for help with."

Although these words were spoken in a low voice, they were still overheard by those who were paying attention. Fang Zifeng and Magistrate Zhang's expressions all became somewhat unnatural.

Xu Qingyuan's lips twitched slightly. Although the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art was not included in the imperial examination textbooks, he could still use it to enhance his literary reputation.

The only difficulty was that the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art was quite difficult; he hadn't expected that Ye Ru would even know the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art.

"Okay, but I can't guarantee I won't."

Ye Ru gave a wry smile, then followed Chen Sijun to the study.

Besides the four pavilions and three bright halls, there are also study halls and other structures here.

The so-called "book hall" is a place where copies of classic texts are kept, similar to a library.

Ye Ru followed Chen Sijun into the study hall, which also attracted everyone's attention.

creak.

Pushing open the door, Ye Ru found four elderly men dressed in the robes of scholars, deep in thought, facing a problem.

"Old Chen, you're finally back! Come quick, take a look at this question!"

When Chen Sijun arrived, one of the old men waved to him, and the two of them came closer.

Ye Ru looked at the group of people huddled together looking at a piece of paper and was a little puzzled. What kind of question was so difficult that it could stump five scholars?

Ye Ru leaned closer, and when he saw the math problem, he couldn't help but burst out laughing, which made the other scholars look at him with strange eyes.

This is a 3x3 3x9 grid. You need to fill in the numbers from one to nine so that the three numbers in each of the three columns, rows, and diagonals equal fifteen.

Isn't this a brain teaser from elementary school?

"Old Chen? Why did you bring such a young and ignorant boy here? Don't you know this is an important place?"

One of the elderly men, who seemed to have a rather irritable temper, spoke to Chen Sijun in a deep voice, his words tinged with anger.

"Yeah, this is probably a brat who hasn't even grown any hair yet."

Another old man said casually.

"Get out of here right now, this is not a place for you."

The short-tempered old man then waved his hand, signaling Ye Ru to leave.

This made Chen Sijun a little embarrassed. She then coughed twice and said:

“Song Feng, don’t underestimate this young man. He was the one who invited the Arbitrators of the Saints back then.”

Upon hearing this, the expressions on their faces all changed.

"Even if he invited all the saints to arbitrate, this question is extremely difficult. Even those old guys from the National Saint Academy spent many days figuring it out."

Upon hearing this, the old man named Song Feng snorted coldly and said contemptuously.

He couldn't believe that a mere child student could solve a problem that five successful candidates couldn't.

"Ye Ru, can you solve this problem?"

Chen Sijun ignored Song Feng and instead asked Ye Ru directly.

"Let me try."

Ye Ru nodded, not angered by these few scholars. After a moment's thought, he casually said:

"Fill in five in the middle, and it will equal fifteen no matter how many there are."

Ye Ru's casual remark drew scorn from everyone, and even Chen Sijun became anxious:

"Ye Ru, don't talk nonsense, how could that be?"

"You're just a newborn calf that doesn't know the fear of tigers, so arrogant and boastful. Get out of here now, don't delay us from solving this problem."

Song Feng pursed his lips and said.

"If you esteemed scholars do not believe me, then you are welcome to try. Why resort to hurtful words?"

Ye Ru's expression was somewhat gloomy before he spoke.

"I'll try."

A gentle old man nodded, then wrote the number five on the paper.

Immediately afterwards, no matter what numbers the old man filled in next to him, the final result was always fifteen in all directions – horizontal, vertical, and diagonal – which shocked him greatly.

"It really is..."

"What's wrong, Lao Li? You haven't figured out a way to solve it, have you?"

When the old man named Song Feng saw Li Wenfeng freeze and not move, he casually patted Li Wenfeng's shoulder. When he saw the calculation on the paper and the conspicuous number five in the middle of the nine-square grid, his body also froze on the spot.

The remaining two noticed something was wrong and went over to investigate. Unsurprisingly, their aged faces were filled with shock. They hadn't expected that the number the young man had casually mentioned would actually solve the problem.

"My God, this young man actually solved it! I'm so ashamed, so extremely ashamed."

After a moment, Li Wenfeng recovered from his shock, but his heart was still churning with turmoil.

"This is one of the six arts of a gentleman, and even those people from the National Academy of Saints are troublesome to deal with."

"It seems we really are getting old. A problem that even a few successful candidates couldn't solve was easily solved by a mere student."

"This matter must be reported to the National Academy, so that the National Academy can reward this young boy."

The four elderly scholars, all of whom had passed the imperial examinations, discussed amongst themselves, but the shock on their faces remained.

"What's your name?"

Song Feng said to Chen Sijun.

"Student Ye Ru."

"I apologize for my previous offense. You deserve the praise of surpassing your teacher. However, I still want to ask, how did you do it?"

Hearing such praise, Ye Ru gave a wry smile, then said seriously:

“Nine-character diagonal arrangement, top and bottom interchange, left and right change, four dimensions protrude.”

Upon hearing this, the five scholars, including Chen Sijun, began to ponder. The more they thought about it, the more their expressions changed. Finally, Chen Sijun's eyes lit up:

“Excellent, this is a new discovery. If all the nine-square grids are transformed in this way, the other nine-square grids should also be able to be solved. I will report this new discovery to the National Academy tomorrow and sign it as Ye Ru.”

"Yes, we must report this to the National Sacred Academy and award Ye Ru, the young scholar, with a commendation. Otherwise, we will not let this go."

Li Wenfeng and the others spoke one after another.

"There's one more question, Lao Song. Hurry up and bring out that question. All those old guys from the surrounding dozen or so counties have solved it. We can't fall behind."

Chen Sijun gave Song Feng a wink, and the latter understood and quickly went to a large bookcase to find a book.

Open this book, and you'll find it filled with countless circles and symbols.

"This is the one, Master Ye. Could you please give us some pointers?"

Chen Sijun pointed to one of the questions and said with a wry smile.

"I'll give it a try, but if I can't figure it out, there's nothing I can do."

Ye Ru nodded and, under the expectant gazes of the five people, moved to the table.

However, upon seeing the question, which only had a question and no answer, his lips twitched involuntarily, and he almost stumbled and fell to the ground. He then read it with a face full of black lines:

"There are pheasants and rabbits in the same cage. There are 35 heads and 94 feet. How many pheasants and rabbits are there?"