The Slender Waist-Chapter 378 - 269: Psychological Game_2

"I expected him to lose, but not knowing a single question, losing like this is indeed quite embarrassing."

"Wait for him a moment longer," Feng Yun didn’t look at her, her gaze fixed on Xing Dalang in the arena, her tone calm and collected, as if it was no big deal.

Puyang Yi was almost worried to death.

Meanwhile, Yan Buxi had reached the fifth barrier checkpoint.

He seemed to be stumped as well...

"I’ve got it!" Xing Dalang suddenly shouted, "Bring me paper and pen."

A servant who had been following him the whole time quickly presented paper and pen upon hearing this.

Xing Dalang’s hand trembled with excitement as he swiftly began to write. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"The high bridge will emerge from the water after the flood recedes, so it will be submerged again in the next flood, hence it being flooded three times. The low bridge, after being submerged the first time, remained under the water level, thus it was flooded only once."

In the past few months, his writing had improved dramatically, and he wrote the answer with decent form.

"Pass."

The guarding attendant shouted loudly.

The bamboo gate opened in response.

Xing Dalang hurried in, then looked at the next question; with the approach for solving the first question, he found it easier when he encountered more tricky questions thereafter.

After the third question, he was getting into a good rhythm.

He had a natural talent for mathematics to begin with, and was well-versed in the mnemonics and formulas taught by Feng Yun, using numbers for calculation. When faced with computation questions, he was as fast as lightning, reaching the fifteenth checkpoint in no time.

At this point, Yan Buxi was still at the tenth checkpoint.

Fifteen to ten, the atmosphere in the arena was tense to the extreme.

Puyang Yi was so excited she almost jumped up.

However, Xing Dalang on the field suddenly stopped, as if encountering difficulty, and kept looking back frequently.

Puyang Yi became anxious again.

"What’s wrong, what’s wrong, has he come across some difficult problem?"

Feng Yun said, "Among the twenty questions, he is bound to come across some he cannot solve."

Upon hearing this, Puyang Yi was stunned.

"What should we do now?"

As long as it wasn’t the final moment, without securing victory, no matter how quickly one solved the previous problems, it was useless, it wouldn’t count as a victory.

She suddenly asked Feng Yun, "Can you solve it, Ayun?"

In her urgency, the way she addressed Feng Yun changed, becoming much more intimate.

Feng Yun raised an eyebrow slightly, "I might be able to if I see the question."

Puyang Yi was taken aback.

Both surprised and impressed.

"You really can?"

Feng Yun curved her lips and said to Puyang Yi, "Go tell Empress Dowager Li to grant me the honor of a first-rank noble wife, and I will help solve the problem."

Li Sangruo’s mood at this moment was quite similar to Puyang Yi’s, fluctuating up and down.

Initially thinking she had been made a fool of by Puyang Yi, she was so angry she wanted to kill.

Watching Xing Dalang begin to shine, and then surpass Yan Buxi, her doubts vanished, and her face showed unhidden pride.

"A mere servant can defeat the great scholars of Qi Country, those so-called scholars and talented people of Qi are just full of empty boasts..."

Thinking the victory was secure, who could have expected, Xing Dalang got stuck at the fifteenth checkpoint, unable to make any further progress.

Until Yan Buxi caught up, also reaching the fifteenth checkpoint, and began to solve it, Xing Dalang was still without any ideas.

"Aunt." Puyang Yi walked over silently and said in a low voice, "There is something I didn’t tell you clearly last night because of the urgency."

Li Sangruo frowned and stared at her.

"What is it?"

Puyang Yi hemmed and hawed, glancing towards Xing Dalang struggling in the challenge.

"This Azhou is actually a person of Feng Shi Er Niang..."

"What?" Li Sangruo had actually been puzzled when she saw the young man talking to Feng Yun earlier.

She had simply thought that men, from the old to the young, couldn’t resist fawning over a fox spirit...

"Pingyuan, you have some nerve," Li Sangruo said, grinding her teeth in fury, her voice altered, "How dare you deceive me so?"

Puyang Yi had already thought of a strategy.

As soon as she finished speaking, she immediately bowed her head in submission.

"Aunt, what Pingyuan did was all for the sake of Great Jin,"

Puyang Yi glanced at Xing Dalang on the field.

"Aunt has seen it, Azhou is truly a mathematical genius. At the age of fourteen, he finished the first fifteen stages before Yan Buxi..."

As she spoke, she looked up again at Li Sangruo.

"Would Aunt disregard the fate of the nation because of a personal grudge? Pingyuan guesses that with Aunt’s magnanimity, she certainly would not. That’s why I took the liberty of taking action first and reporting later."

Li Sangruo found herself in a difficult position.

She couldn’t just quit the contest because Xing Dalang was Feng Yun’s man, could she?

She suppressed the anger in her heart and clenched her handkerchief tightly.

"Enough, if he can win this round, I’ll let it go..."

Her voice had barely fallen when Puyang Yi weakly interjected.

"But Aunt, it seems that Azhou is stumped..."

Li Sangruo’s voice was cold.

"If he is useless, I’ll punish you along with him."

Puyang Yi bit her back teeth, struggling to say the next words.

She rehearsed the words several times in her head before she exhaled.

"Feng Shi Er Niang says she has a way to solve the problem."

Li Sangruo couldn’t believe it, "Her?"

Puyang Yi nodded, "Feng Shi Er Niang has been known as a prodigy since childhood. Her mother, Lu Sanniang, is also a famous talented woman of the time, and the Feng Family of Xuzhou is a century-old clan... The most crucial point is, this Azhou is her disciple, personally trained by Feng Shi Er Niang. If the disciple is so capable, how inferior can the master be?"

Li Sangruo felt both anger and hatred.

If she hadn’t been given hope at the start, she might have accepted her loss. But Xing Dalang’s consecutive stage clearances had raised her competitive spirit.

The civil and military subjects of the Great Jin Dynasty were watching her.

Her father was watching her.

The whole world was watching her...

If she could defeat Yan Buxi with a mere servant child, her fame would spread far and wide, and she would be immortalized in history...

Moreover, Xinzhou was conquered by Pei Jue.

If she let it slip from her hands, how would Pei Jue see her? Would it lead to more trouble that couldn’t be settled?

Li Sangruo needed this victory too much.

Feng Yun had kept her on edge until now, making it impossible for her to refuse.

"Hmph!" Li Sangruo watched as Xing Dalang was still at the same spot, while Yan Buxi had already passed the fifteenth stage and was working on the sixteenth stage.

Feeling anxious inside, she gritted her teeth and said:

"Fine. I’ll agree with you one more time."

Puyang Yi’s eyelids twitched, "Aunt, Feng Shi Er Niang has one more condition."

Another demand?

Li Sangruo scoffed.

"I knew she wasn’t that kind-hearted. Out with it, what’s her demand..."

Puyang Yi bowed her head, her voice low.

"Feng Shi Er Niang says, let Aunt grant her the title of a first-rank imperial wife..."