Chapter Thirty-Five: Wu Yuanshuang

Watching the handsome youth show off in front of the beautiful lady, Yun Hao found that the more he looked at that outrageously good-looking face, the more repulsive he found it. A fellow who hadn’t even attended primary school dared to flirt with a beauty in broad daylight.

“My good sir! You’ve miscalculated. Three times seven is twenty-one. One clay figurine costs seven copper coins, so three should be twenty-one, not twenty-four.”

The handsome youth was basking in his own triumph when, out of nowhere, a discordant voice cut in. He immediately turned, glaring daggers at Yun Hao. In these harmonious times, how could such an unharmonious person appear? Yet, as soon as he saw Yun Hao’s face, a chill ran down his spine.

King Qinguang may have fooled Yun Hao, but in terms of appearance, he had kept his word. He had said he’d give him the face of Tom Cruise, and Tom Cruise it was—he wouldn't even trade it for Tom Hanks!

And so… our young Yun Hao ended up with deep-set eyes, a high bridged nose, fair skin, and rugged features—a face that looked for all the world like it belonged to a steppe nomad. Especially those European eyes, as if they’d been cut straight from Tom Cruise’s own face. The only mercy King Qinguang had shown was not giving him blond hair and blue eyes.

After centuries of turmoil between the five barbarian tribes and the Chinese, there were plenty who looked like Yun Hao. All across northern China, Han people who had adopted barbarian traits and barbarians who had assimilated into Han society were everywhere. Even the ancestors of Li Yuan, now ruling Jinyang, had barbarian blood; not to mention the many generals of the Sui dynasty with all sorts of colorful beards. Especially Li Yuan’s son, Li Er, who had married Lady Zhangsun Wugou—a woman whose looks and even surname raised eyebrows.

Though Yun Hao looked like a foreigner and was a bit thin, with his fair skin making him seem as if he had just recovered from illness, there was an undeniable masculine vigor in his bones. In comparison, the handsome youth across from him seemed almost effeminate.

Wu Yuanshuang frowned and was about to retort, but the beauty’s maid cut in, her tone mocking: “My young master is one of the top math scholars at the Jinyang Academy—how could a country bumpkin like you compare? If the young master says it’s twenty-four, then it’s twenty-four.”

“Qiu’er, enough!” The young lady in the pale yellow dress stopped her maid, finally offering a fair word. “People make mistakes, even the best. Though my cousin is a top student at Jinyang Academy, he did miscalculate this time.” Even so, her words still tried to excuse her cousin.

Yun Hao pursed his lips and said nothing. By his standards, in these times, twenty percent of people were semi-literate, and the remaining eighty percent were completely illiterate. Just in arithmetic alone, Yun Hao, with his middle school education, was leagues ahead of these hicks, with a two-thousand-year advantage. To argue with them would be an insult to his own intelligence.

“Ke’er, I really did miscalculate! Still, it was only because I saw how hard the vendor works. Giving him three extra coins can help his family,” Wu Yuanshuang quickly improvised, unwilling to lose face in front of his cousin.

Sure enough, his words immediately elevated him to the image of a generous young gentleman. The noodle vendor, grateful for the tip, couldn’t stop thanking him, all the while casting looks of disdain at Yun Hao. If not for being busy thanking the young master, he might have scolded the “blind” country bumpkin.

“Tch…” Yun Hao sneered and prepared to walk on. He couldn’t care less for their petty games. If they wanted to show off, let them. Finding a place to stay was more important; he had no desire to spend the night on the streets with his mother.

“Stop!” A voice suddenly called out from behind.

Yun Hao turned to see that it was Wu Yuanshuang. Annoyed, he asked, “What do you want, sir?”

“I am Wu Yuanshuang, second son of an officer of the Eagle Guard. From your remarks just now, you must have had some schooling. I’d like to test your talents—do you dare accept the challenge?” Wu Yuanshuang swallowed the words “my worthy brother,” not wanting to associate himself with a bumpkin.

“No time!” Yun Hao refused to waste another second. Zhao, standing anxiously by his side, finally breathed a sigh of relief. Having just arrived in Jinyang, the last thing they needed was trouble with an official’s son. The title of Eagle Guard officer still carried great weight for a country woman like her.

“Clearly just a country oaf, too scared to compete with my master,” the maid in yellow piped up again, her face sharp and scornful as she glared down her nose at Yun Hao.

To be looked down on by a mere maid! If an uncle could tolerate it, an aunt certainly couldn’t. Yun Hao was infuriated, turning to Wu Yuanshuang. “Fine, how do you want to compete?”

“Good! Let’s compete in the River Diagram of the Luo and the Writing of the He!” Wu Yuanshuang declared confidently. He didn’t believe for a moment that a country bumpkin could possess any real mathematical talent. That earlier correction must have been luck. The River Diagram and Luo Writing were so arcane that even the academy’s teachers struggled with them, let alone a backwoods peasant.

Yun Hao was speechless. Still stuck on addition and subtraction? If he brought out a simple linear equation, that would be overkill. He couldn’t be bothered to argue, so he said, “Two and four are the shoulders, six and eight the feet, nine atop and one below, three on the left and seven on the right. Can you ask something more constructive? Measuring the depth of a well with a rope, do you know how it’s done? How tall is Mount Tai? How much sand does the Yellow River carry? Can you calculate it? There is nothing in the world that cannot be measured—by shadow you measure a mountain’s height, by measuring water you gauge the Yellow River. Do you know how?”

Wu Yuanshuang was stunned, his ears ringing. The nine-square grid had always been a closely guarded secret at the Imperial Academy; his family had paid dearly for him to learn it, and yet this country boy could recite it fluently. He knew about measuring wells with rope, but could Mount Tai really be measured? And the Yellow River’s sand content—could any human truly calculate that?

This must be nonsense, he told himself repeatedly. But the thought of losing face in front of his cousin made his anger burn even hotter.

“Mount Tai and the Yellow River—those are for gods and spirits to measure! How dare you spout such nonsense to me! Men, teach this liar a lesson!” Furious, Wu Yuanshuang gave the order, and several burly servants rushed forward to punish Yun Hao. Zhao turned pale with fright, grabbing Yun Hao and shielding him like a mother hen.

“Stop!” A loud shout rang out, and a dozen soldiers emerged from both sides. Wu Yuanshuang looked up and was instantly struck with dread.