Chapter 67

Chapter Sixty-Six

"The first question."

As soon as Zhao Hongrun spoke these three words, the attention of everyone at the table immediately perked up. They were very curious about what kind of innovative question the Eighth Prince had in mind.

Glancing at everyone, Zhao Hongrun posed the question: "I have an elder sister. Suppose one day I counted the number of my siblings in the palace and found that I have one more brother than sister. How many more brothers does my elder sister have compared to her sisters?"

Huh?

Everyone at the table was taken aback, clearly having never encountered such a question before, and they were momentarily at a loss.

However, some of them were already stunned when they heard the words "elder sister," staring in shock at Princess Yulong, who was sitting to Zhao Hongrun's right, their faces full of surprise.

"Princess... Princess?" Yang Cheng stammered, looking at Princess Yulong.

He Xinian also widened his eyes.

Although they initially found Princess Yulong's behavior somewhat strange, they hadn't guessed this. Now, hearing Zhao Hongrun's question, they subconsciously associated it with Princess Yulong's identity.

"What are you all doing?" Zhao Hongrun reminded them with a mix of amusement and exasperation.

Everyone quickly sat up straight, but their eyes kept darting towards Princess Yulong.

It was no wonder; an unmarried princess was rarer than an unmarried prince, and it was a great opportunity to see one from a distance, let alone this close. Unfortunately, Princess Yulong's face was partially covered by a silver mask, concealing everything above her cheekbones.

Even so, just half of her face was enough to spark endless imagination.

"Cough, cough!" Sixth Prince Zhao Hongzhao, noticing the small actions of his companions, pretended to cough a couple of times.

The young scholars then refocused their attention on Zhao Hongrun's question, looking at him awkwardly, clearly having missed the details of the question.

Seeing this, Zhao Hongrun repeated the question.

For a moment, the hall fell silent as everyone counted on their fingers to solve Zhao Hongrun's question.

To be honest, the question wasn't difficult, but it required some logical thinking. As long as one could understand the logic, the answer was simply 1+1-(-1), which equals three.

However, He Song clearly couldn't grasp the logic, sweating profusely and looking at a loss.

Since this was a contest between Zhao Hongrun and He Song, the other scholars didn't interrupt. In fact, they probably couldn't figure out the relationship either, as Zhao Hongrun had set two verbal traps in the question.

"Two more," He Song finally answered after a long while, gritting his teeth.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Zhao Hongrun shook his head with a feigned look of regret: "Wrong! It's three!"

He then explained the correct solution, and the scholars finally understood.

He Song, who had heard the entire explanation, turned pale. After all, he had boasted that if he got one question wrong, he would leave the hall with his head bowed and be expelled from the Elegant Wind Poetry Society. Now, he had already failed the first question.

He had brought this upon himself...

Seeing He Song's pale face, the other scholars shook their heads in silent disapproval.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Hongrun didn't rush to expel He Song. Looking at him, who was drenched in cold sweat, he said calmly, "Mr. He, don't be in a hurry. There are still a few more questions."

He clearly didn't take He Song's boast seriously, treating it as a joke.

This made the scholars find it somewhat amusing.

"The second question: Suppose there are four houses in a row. It is known that House A is next to House B, and House A is not next to House D. If House D is also not next to House C, then which house is next to House C?" Zhao Hongrun calmly posed the second question.

Hearing this question, the scholars felt as if their heads were filled with paste, completely muddled. Even Sixth Prince Zhao Hongzhao looked deep in thought.

As for He Song, his face turned even paler.

There was no denying that this question was more difficult than the previous one, requiring the use of elimination to rule out incorrect assumptions and arrive at the answer.

This was a significant test of logical thinking. If one's thoughts became disordered during the process, the entire line of reasoning would be lost, and one would have to start over.

For scholars like He Song, who had never encountered logical thinking questions, they couldn't even parse the question, let alone solve it.

Worse still, He Song was extremely anxious, and logical thinking required calm analysis. In his current state of mental turmoil, how could he possibly solve it?

Guess... guess one!

He Song stole a glance at Zhao Hongrun, who was smiling, seemingly just waiting to see him make a fool of himself. He felt both angry and anxious and guessed randomly, "It's... it's House D!"

Yang Cheng, who was also calculating, was taken aback and said, "Brother He, House C and House D are not next to each other, as clearly stated in the question."

He Song was immediately at a loss.

It turned out that in his state of mental turmoil, he had forgotten the question and had guessed randomly, and unfortunately, he had guessed an answer that contradicted the question.

Seeing this, Zhao Hongrun shook his head slightly and said, "It's House A."

He then picked up a pen that was already prepared and wrote down the arrangement of the four houses—C, A, B, D—and passed it to the scholars.

The scholars compared the arrangement, thought about it, and nodded in agreement, looking as if they had just enjoyed a refreshing drink of cold water on a hot summer day.

He Song, who had failed to answer two questions in a row, was now visibly restless, his forehead drenched in sweat.

"The third question: Suppose my son is the father of someone's son. What is the relationship between that person and me?"

Since two similar logical questions had already been asked, the scholars gradually found their way. The quick-witted Sixth Prince had already figured out the answer, but it made him somewhat amused.

He Song, however, was still counting on his fingers, his mind filled with thoughts of sons and fathers, becoming more anxious and confused the more he thought about it, almost feeling as if he was seeing stars.

After a moment, Zhao Hongrun said strangely, "This question is simpler than the last one. Mr. He, you still can't solve it?... The answer is simple: that person is my son, and I am his father!"

The scholars were taken aback, and a few couldn't help but laugh, but they covered their mouths to avoid embarrassing He Song.

However, He Song, who had been hit with multiple blows, seemed to be in a daze, muttering to himself.

"Mr. He, you haven't answered any of the three questions correctly!" Zhao Hongrun looked at He Song with a half-smile.

He Song's face flushed with shame and then turned pale. He gritted his teeth and said hoarsely, "One more question, Eighth Prince, just one more question, and I will definitely get it right."

"One more question? Why should I?" Zhao Hongrun smiled faintly. "Three questions are enough to prove the point... What did you say earlier? If you got one question wrong, you would leave the hall with your head bowed and be expelled from the Elegant Wind Poetry Society?"

He Song opened his mouth but had no response, his face a mix of shame and anger.

He gritted his teeth and argued, "With all due respect, the questions posed by the Eighth Prince are trivial... too vulgar to be worthy of a grand gathering!"

Still stubborn?

Zhao Hongrun narrowed his eyes and said sarcastically, "Why didn't you say that at the beginning?... Oh, I forgot, you were so confident then."

The other scholars, including Sixth Prince Zhao Hongzhao, frowned at He Song's words.

In their view, winning was winning, and losing was losing. There was no reason to blame the questions after losing.

This was clearly an excuse after losing!

Even the scholars who had a good relationship with He Song couldn't help but look at him with disdain.

He Song noticed the disdainful looks from his former companions and felt helpless and frustrated.

Who could blame him for his overconfidence earlier? Now, having failed all three questions, what could he do? Should he really leave the hall with his head bowed? If this news spread, wouldn't it be a laughingstock?

Compared to leaving the hall with his head bowed, being expelled from the Elegant Wind Poetry Society was even harder for He Song to accept. The society was the most prestigious gathering of young scholars in the empire, and many nobles and influential families' children vied to join. He Song had finally managed to be part of it, but now he would have to be expelled. How could he accept that?

Seeing him still arguing despite his sweat, Yang Cheng kindly reminded him, "Brother He, you must accept the consequences of your bet. We scholars are upright and honest. If you lose, you lose. In my opinion, you should apologize to the Eighth Prince, and we will plead on your behalf. Do you think the Eighth Prince would really hold a grudge and expel you despite our requests?... The Eighth Prince is a brilliant talent who has outwitted the Eastern Palace; he wouldn't stoop to your level."

This Yang Cheng...

Zhao Hongrun was somewhat surprised. After all, while advising He Song, Yang Cheng was also praising him, Zhao Hongrun, and using flattery to block his mouth.

Zhao Hongrun didn't mind this approach. After all, he and He Song had no deep grudges. He Song was just too arrogant, thinking he was too experienced and using his good relationship with Sixth Prince Hongzhao to challenge him, Zhao Hongrun, and even talking about the rules of the Elegant Wind Poetry Society, which was just asking for trouble.

If not for the sake of Sixth Prince, Zhao Hongrun would have made him understand what the rules of the Eighth Prince were!

However, since Yang Cheng had spoken, Zhao Hongrun could give him some face. After all, at the beginning, Yang Cheng had seen Sixth Prince's hint and stepped forward to smooth things over, indirectly resolving the awkward situation and earning Zhao Hongrun a favor.

Thinking of this, Zhao Hongrun no longer pressed the issue and continued drinking his wine, clearly indicating his attitude.

Seeing this, the scholars felt even more favorably towards the Eighth Prince and began to persuade He Song. However, He Song stubbornly clung to his so-called principles, refusing to admit defeat, which greatly disappointed the scholars who had a good relationship with him, and they let him be.

"Just one more question, just one more question!"

He Song stared at Zhao Hongrun with determination.

"Hongrun..." Sixth Prince Hongzhao looked at Zhao Hongrun with difficulty.

For the sake of his brother, he decided to let He Song off.

Sixth Prince gave Zhao Hongrun a meaningful look.

Seeing this, Zhao Hongrun smiled and shook his head, saying, "Alright, alright. For the sake of Sixth Prince and everyone else, I'll give you one more question. If you get it right, I'll pretend I didn't hear your earlier words."

He Song's spirits lifted.

Such an easy question? It seems Hongrun is giving me face...

Sixth Prince Hongzhao was also taken aback by the question but felt somewhat relieved.

However, what puzzled everyone was that Zhao Hongrun, seemingly not hearing clearly, asked He Song, "What? Speak louder."

Seeing this, He Song shouted, "Fall!"

"Good boy!" Zhao Hongrun suddenly smiled strangely, "You win, sit down."

"Eh?" Not only was He Song stunned, but the other scholars also looked puzzled.

A moment later, the hall burst into laughter, and He Song turned red with embarrassment.

No wonder Father Emperor likes Hongrun so much and calls him a rogue. He truly has a wicked nature...

Sixth Prince Zhao Hongzhao laughed bitterly.

He realized he had been too naive.

Page break for AD

End of AD