Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 138: An Guo's Madman

Lu Zheng's words were so shocking that no one present believed he could win the mathematics competition.

When Yang Heng heard this, instead of getting angry, he frowned.

There must be something wrong when things are abnormal. Lu Zheng's arrogance made him unsure of the situation and he didn't understand where the other party got his confidence from.

The courtesans nearby looked at Lu Zheng in surprise and confusion.

I have seen crazy scholars, but I have never seen one as crazy as this one. Do they really think that the people of Wu don't understand mathematics?
Lu Zheng looked at everyone present and said with a confident smile, "Anyone present here can ask questions, and I will answer them all!"

Many students were eager to try after hearing this, but when they thought that Lu Zheng was going to compete with Wu Ren, they did not ask any questions.

A courtesan from the Wu Kingdom couldn't help but ask, "Nine hundred and ninety-nine coins, and I'm going to buy a thousand pears in time. Eleven coins for nine pears, and four coins for seven pears. How much are the pears?"

Lu Zheng thought for a moment and said, "Pears are 647, and fruits are 343. Don't ask questions like that; it's just a waste of time."

Yang Heng thought for a while, thinking about Wu Guo's math problems, and then slowly spoke out a problem.

Everyone present listened carefully and wanted to calculate along.

As soon as the question was finished, Lu Zheng gave an answer.

The other students were astonished. Many of them hadn't even figured out the problem yet, and you already had the answer? Have you done this problem before?
"Mr. Yang, is the answer correct?" Lu Zheng looked at Yang Heng with a smile.

Yang Heng did not say whether it was right or wrong. Instead, he found a difficult problem from another mathematical book and then explained it.

It only took a few breaths for Lu Zheng to answer.

Yang Heng frowned and asked another question.

Lu Zheng looked calm and continued to answer quickly, so quickly that it seemed as if he wasn't even thinking.

The other students couldn't help but stare at Lu Zheng as if he were a monster.

"Could it be that Mr. Lu is a scholar who entered the world with his mathematics?" a student whispered.

"What kind of person is there? I've heard that there were geniuses in mathematics in the past who were particularly favored by the court and were able to be canonized and promoted to the level of scholar. I'm afraid it's impossible to be promoted to the level of scholar based on mathematics."

"Didn't he say that he only knew the basics of mathematics..."

"If Master Lu only knows the basics, what are we? Haven't we even gotten started?"

……

Yang Heng's expression became serious. He had selected different types of questions from several mathematics books. Some of them were beyond his ability to solve, and he only knew the answers.

However, Lu Zhengdu gave the correct answer easily and quickly.

So much so that Yang Heng suspected that Lu Zheng had read all these books and wrote down the answers.

But he also felt that this was unlikely. Who would be so bored as to read those math books just to memorize the answers?

After waiting for a while, Lu Zheng said, "Young Master Yang, can't you find the question?"

Li Zhao saw this and said with a smile, "Is this the math you Wu people usually learn? You can't even answer a question as quickly as Brother Lu!"

Yang Heng frowned and said, "I am not an actuary scholar and have not learned much. Can I borrow the book?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the students were shocked. They did not expect that Yang Heng would be forced to this point.

Lu Zheng's expression was calm, and he smiled and said, "Why not?"

Yang Heng flipped his hand and pulled out a new book, revealing its cover. "This is a classic of mathematics written by a great scholar from the Wu Kingdom. Has Mr. Lu ever read it?"

Lu Zheng took a look and shook his head, "I haven't read it."

Yang Heng didn't waste any words and picked up a question from it.

Lu Zheng thought for a while and gave the correct answer.

Ask again, answer again, and do this again and again, and there will be nothing wrong.

Yang Heng took out another book and continued asking questions.

No one present thought about these questions because they knew they could not give answers in a short time. They simply ignored the questions and just looked at Lu Zheng curiously, wanting to see where Lu Zheng's limits were.

However, they did not see Lu Zheng's limit. They asked more than ten questions, but Lu Zheng was just doing mental calculations and did not even use a pen to calculate.

Yang Heng held the mathematical book and fell into silence, beginning to doubt his life.

Did he encounter a monster that could read minds?
Lu Zheng looked at Yang Heng and said slowly, "Young Master Yang, do you have any questions? I've said before, even if I win, it doesn't count. These questions are too simple. If you can't find a difficult one, forget it."

It’s too simple… Yang Heng felt a little pain in his heart.

These questions, taken from classics, would require a mathematical expert to ponder for a long time, but Lu Zheng said they were too simple...

Just at this moment, there was movement from the county lord's ship.

The maid who had appeared before came out.

The maid came to Lu Zheng with light footsteps, presented him with a piece of paper, and said respectfully, "The county lady has a math problem that she can't figure out. Please, Master Lu, help her solve it."

"it is good."

Lu Zheng took the paper and looked at the question on it.

Then, he thought for a moment, raised a finger, and calculated in the air.

Everyone looked shocked and puzzled when they saw this. It seemed that the question asked by the county lady was indeed difficult, and it actually made Lu Zheng calculate with his fingers, but that seemed to be all.

After a while, Lu Zheng picked up a pen and wrote down the steps and correct answers on the paper so that the county lady could understand.

Then, Lu Zheng handed the paper back to the maid, "Okay."

The maid was surprised. The county lady had been thinking about this question for days without any clue, yet Lu Zheng solved it so quickly. It was truly terrifying...

The maid respectfully took the paper and returned to the boat.

Afterwards, the maid didn't respond. But everyone knew that Lu Zheng had gotten it right again.

Lu Zheng turned and looked at Yang Heng and the others, continuing to wait for them to ask questions.

The scene fell into silence again.

Now, no one thinks that what Lu Zheng said just now was arrogant, but rather the truth based on facts.

Yang Heng sighed inwardly and said, "I admit defeat in mathematics!"

Lu Zheng waved his hand and said, "I told you, I don't count as a winner. After all, you don't have the slightest chance of winning, so how can this be considered a competition?"

Yang Heng felt like he was stabbed in the chest and was a little suffocated.

He took a deep breath and said, "In that case, what would you like to have a formal competition with, Master Lu?"

Lu Zheng said slowly, "We still have calligraphy and painting left. We've already wasted a lot of time. Let's use one foot of literary energy as a literary treasure. Whoever has the better literary treasure wins. How about it?"

In previous years, the Qixi Festival literary gatherings were more about calligraphy and painting, but were also limited by the literary style.

If there were no restrictions, students with a strong literary temperament would have a huge advantage.

With the restrictions, what is being compared is the degree of control over one's own literary aura and the quality of that literary aura in calligraphy and painting.

However, the restrictions in the past were not so low. After all, it was only one foot of literary energy. It was not an easy task to make a literary treasure.

"Okay." Yang Heng had no objection.

Upon hearing this, the county magistrate ordered: "It is only a foot of literary spirit. Ordinary calligraphy and painting are easy, but writing a treasure is difficult. Go and get two sets of good writing desks!"

The person next to him agreed and quickly went to get the stationery.

On the deck, some servants hurriedly cleared their seats and left an area for Lu Zheng and Yang Heng to write their treasures.

After a while, two tables were set up.

Lu Zheng looked at Zhang Bo beside him and said with a smile, "Brother Zhang, would you mind going with me and grinding ink for me?"

Zhang Bo was shocked and said quickly, "I couldn't ask for more!"

So the two of them went downstairs and chose a table.

Zhang Bo rolled up his sleeves and started grinding there.

Yang Heng and a courtesan also slowly arrived, went to the table next to them, and began to prepare.

As the two sides got closer, Yang Heng couldn't help but look at Lu Zheng, but he found that Lu Zheng's aura was restrained, making it difficult for him to see through his depth.

Yang Heng regained his composure. Since he had some free time, he asked, "I wonder what kind of treasure Master Lu is going to make later?"

"Painting takes time. I just wrote four words. I wonder if Mr. Yang can follow them." Lu Zheng said with a smile.

Yang Heng raised his eyebrows. It is relatively easy to make a literary treasure with words, but it is not easy to make a good literary treasure.

Yang Heng said, "I'll wait and see."

Lu Zheng stood in front of the table, relaxed. To be honest, he limited his literary energy to one foot, which was a big restriction on himself, and it could not be considered as bullying the weak.

After a while, Zhang Bo next to him had ground the ink.

Lu Zheng was the first to pick up the pen, dip it in ink, and write something on the white rice paper.

Suddenly, colorful lights bloomed, and a majestic aura leaped onto the paper.

Zhang Bo stood aside, his eyes shining and his expression excited, carefully feeling the breath.

Not far away, Yang Heng, who was about to start writing, changed his expression slightly and glanced sideways at Lu Zheng.

The others present also widened their eyes.

"Hao, Ran, Zheng, Qi!"

Four neat large characters floated on the paper, shining with a unique brilliance. An aura of righteousness spread out and then quickly converged.

Now that the cultural treasure has been completed, the four big characters still shine brightly, embodying pure and righteous spirit.

The literary spirit is used to write literary treasures. Different words express different properties.

Just like the "benevolent heart" of Lu Zhengsong and Bai Zhi before.

If Bai Zhi did not have the heart of a doctor, she would not be qualified to accept such a treasure. Once she touched it, she would suffer backlash, which would at best reduce her cultivation level, and at worst kill her.

Such a "Haoran Zhengqi" cultural treasure is pure Haoran Zhengqi, and not everyone is qualified to obtain it.

Without a righteous spirit, it would be impossible for these four characters to be written into a literary treasure.

Yang Heng felt a chill in his heart. He knew very well that no matter what kind of cultural treasure he made, it could not compare to these four words.

Yang Heng looked at Lu Zheng with a complicated expression for a moment, and didn't even notice the ink from the tip of the pen dripping onto the paper.

Noble and righteous spirit! I didn't expect Lu Zheng to have cultivated such noble and righteous spirit.

If he knew about Lu Zhengxiu's righteousness, he would have stayed away from him long ago...

The county magistrate upstairs stroked his beard with one hand, saying with joy in his heart, "Great righteousness! What a great righteousness! Kaiyang County has truly produced an extraordinary scholar. It is a blessing for our country!"

“Is this the righteous spirit?”

The other students were extremely curious, as it was also the first time they had seen a Confucian and Taoist scholar cultivating a righteous spirit.

Lu Zheng put down his pen, gently reached out to pick up the treasure in front of him, and handed it to Yang Heng who was not far away.

"Young Master Yang, if you don't know these four words, do you dare to answer?"

(End of this chapter)