This scoundrel is a bit of a swordsman.

Xiao Xingchen bowed again and began to retreat. Xiao Jianren's last wish had been fulfilled; now it was time to resolve Huangfu Lingxue's problem.

He ignored the pointing fingers and whispers around him, and walked straight up to the princess.

“You have a good mother, so I will help you solve today’s problem.”

Ignoring the siblings' astonishment, he turned to look at the city wall and questioned them.

"Your Highness, you previously said that if the Eldest Princess won two out of three rounds, the matter would be settled today. Do you still stand by your word?"

"Naturally, it counts,"

"Alright, then let the deposed empress return to the palace."

"Hahaha, who do you think you are? Do you have the right to speak here?" The Crown Prince laughed angrily. Where did this brat come from? Does he really think he can give orders just because he shouted a few slogans?

"The eldest princess won the first round and the second round, so naturally there's no need to continue to the third round. Is there anything wrong with what I said?"

"What a joke! Where did this ignorant brat come from? Guards, seize him!"

"Wait a minute," the eldest princess stepped forward at this moment.

"What did you say? You said you won the second game? What do you mean?"

Xiao Xingchen silently walked to the front of the screen displaying the second question, pointed to the question on the screen, and said firmly,

"I can solve this problem,"

"Young man, I know you have some literary talent, but this question is unsolvable. Before things escalate into disaster, you'd better step down."

Confucius sighed slightly. This arithmetic problem was familiar to them, these great Confucian scholars, and it was impossible for them to solve it. However, he was now inclined to defend the young man, because of those few lines of poetry he had just heard; he felt the boy was a promising talent.

But all he got in return was Xiao Xingchen's disdain. He snorted coldly, his mocking nature instantly taking over, and he suddenly launched into a furious verbal attack.

"Just because you can't do it doesn't mean I can't. A simple arithmetic problem has become an unsolvable problem in your eyes. I really don't know whether to call you idiots or useless..."

"And you lot, a bunch of grown men bullying a woman, aren't you ashamed? A princess coming to the capital and you're all panicking? Is this all the ability you have to be worthy of ruling the Great Qian in the future? Emperor Wu must be blind to make you the crown prince, you're utterly worthless."

"I'm not here today for anything else. I'm not asking to be made a king, nor am I going to marry a princess. I just can't stand you guys bullying the weak with your numbers. Damn it, I just like helping others. Once I solve this problem, you can't go back on your word."

"Holy crap, whose young man is this? How can he be so awesome? Does he have a death wish?"

Someone in the crowd sighed, and a chorus of agreement followed. "We've seen people who don't care about their lives, but we've never seen anyone this reckless! Pointing his finger at the Crown Prince and cursing him, even dragging Emperor Wu into it—it's like an old man hanging himself! He's tired of living!"

Didn't you see how the faces of all those important figures turned black after the boy launched into a tirade?

The princes' camp, led by the crown prince, was like the prelude to a storm. They believed that if it weren't for the large number of people and the cacophony of voices, the young man would have been hacked to pieces based on his few words just now.

"Where did this madman come from? If you can't solve this problem today, I guarantee you'll die a comfortable death."

"Alright, it's a deal, everyone can be our witness."

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Xiao Xingchen stopped wasting words. What he feared most was the Crown Prince changing his mind, but now that the Crown Prince had made promises twice in public, there should be no future trouble.

Huangfu Lingxue was also puzzled by the boy who suddenly appeared to help her out of the predicament, and couldn't help but wonder if she had really met a good person.

"Sister, this man's wife is still with our convoy. If necessary, we can take her down first," Ling Feng whispered.

Even though he spoke very softly, there were still people who heard him in such a public place.

Especially the deposed empress, she thought highly of the young man, not only because of everything he had done for her, but also because she greatly admired his arrogant and self-assured demeanor.

While she was making many guesses about the young man, she had already developed feelings for him. Now, upon hearing that he already had a wife, her eyes couldn't help but turn towards the convoy.

At the same time, Confucius was also looking at the convoy. They were all curious that such a young man had a wife. What would his wife be like?

"His wife is mute..." Ling Feng added at this moment.

"What a pity," Confucius shook his head, no longer doubting the boy's identity. He certainly didn't have any powerful connections, otherwise how could he marry a mute woman?

"Is she a mute girl?" the deposed empress asked, puzzled.

Daji sensed something; the mysterious symbol in her eyes vanished, and she transformed back into an ordinary woman. No one knew what she was thinking, but by the time Xiao Xingchen decided to step forward, she had already finished her wine.

The wine had already entered his stomach, so naturally he had to shield the young man at the city gate from the wind and rain; however, the wind and rain weren't strong enough yet.

"Solve the problem, I can't wait to kill you," the prince said with a sinister laugh, as if Xiao Xingchen's life was already in his hands.

"This young man is courting death. This is a riddle that could be used to confer a title of king. Many people have surely seen it before, but no one has been able to solve it yet. He is so young, could he be comparable to a great Confucian scholar?"

"The Crown Prince will definitely kill him,"

“I’m different from you. I admire him. I’m impressed just because he dares to curse people here.”

"What's this kid's background? I can't deny he has some talent. If he doesn't die today, he'll be someone important in the future."

. . .

Discussions resumed, but this time everyone was focused on how the boy would solve the problem.

Xiao Xingchen slowly walked to the carriage, stood at the highest point, and began his explanation.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this question is not difficult. It has a name: 'The Number of Things is Unknown'."

"The number of things is unknown?" Confucius was startled. Aside from a select few, only they knew the name of this riddle. The Sword Immortal had left it as a riddle, stating that the number of things was unknown. Could this young man truly understand it? That would mean… He felt the sky was falling; today's events might alarm the Martial Emperor.

Xiao Xingchen continued.

"This is a math problem, and it's very easy to solve. I'll give you a mnemonic, and I believe there are many smart people here who can solve it by following it."

"Three people traveling together are rare at seventy; five plum trees have twenty-one branches; seven sons reunited in half a month; subtract one hundred and five to find out."

"To prevent me from cheating, I now ask all the experts to solve this problem on the spot according to the formula, and then we will check if they are the same, shall we? As for whether this formula is true or false, I believe everyone can tell for themselves. I believe this is enough to prove that I can solve this problem and that it is correct."

After saying this, Xiao Xingchen began to wait. Solving the problem wasn't difficult, but making people believe it was. Only when everyone accepted the process and the result would the Crown Prince have nothing to say, and only then could today's situation be resolved.

Moreover, explaining the solution process is far more impactful than simply giving me the answer. Only those who truly understand will know the importance of those few key phrases. They are not just simple words; they are mathematical theorems and formulas, things that can be passed down through the ages.