Tang Dynasty: Starting at Xuanwu Gate, this prince is better off not being one.

Li Yu was extremely disappointed.

When Fu Renjun started reciting it, he was secretly pleased that it wasn't that childish problem of "the rabbit in the same cage." But after listening to the rest, he instantly felt that it was even worse than "the chicken and the rabbit in the same cage"...

Helpless, Li Yu pondered for a moment before blurting out, "Seven hundred and fifty bushels for County A, five hundred bushels for County B, and two hundred and fifty bushels for County C."

Everyone was completely surprised that Li Yu answered so quickly. Their first reaction was that he was talking nonsense, so they all looked at Fu Renjun, waiting for him to give his answer.

"this……"

Fu Renjun was so astonished that his mouth hung open. This arithmetic problem was clearly one he had prepared to test the officials of the Imperial Observatory, and no one knew the answer. Yet Li Yu had blurted out the answer, which he simply couldn't believe.

"How is it? Is this kid's calculation accurate?" Li Er was getting a little impatient.

"Accurate... accurate, His Highness the King of Wu's calculations are extremely accurate."

Fu Renjun's words caused an instant silence in the room. Everyone stared at Li Yu in disbelief.

"Grand Historian, I ask you, how difficult is this question?" Li Er continued to ask Fu Renjun.

"Your Majesty!" Fu Renjun was still filled with shock. "These are questions I used to test officials."

"Boy! How did you calculate so quickly!" Li Er was beginning to feel that the officials of the Imperial Observatory were a bunch of idiots.

"Because this question is too easy..." Li Yu shrugged, indicating that it was not difficult at all.

Seeing Li Yu's smug and disgusting expression, Li Er was instantly enraged: "Fu Renjun, I ask you, is there any more difficult arithmetic problem?"

"Your Majesty, I have one more question!"

Fu Renjun couldn't believe that the exam questions he had pondered for so many days had been easily solved by Li Yu, a twelve-year-old boy. So, without Li Er's instruction, he automatically took out his final question.

"There is a bamboo that is ten feet tall, with its end broken off and touching the ground, six feet from the base. May I ask Your Highness, how tall was the broken bamboo?"

"..."

After listening to what Fu Renjun said, Li Yu pondered for a moment and almost burst out laughing.

A gust of wind broke a ten-foot-tall bamboo. The tip of the bamboo just touched the ground, and the tip was six feet away from the root of the bamboo. How high was the bamboo when it broke?

Isn't this just the Pythagorean theorem? Are you trying to test me with this?

He walked to the table, dipped his finger in a few drops of grape wine, and began to draw on the surface. In less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, he gave the answer: "The broken part is three feet two inches high!"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone looked at Fu Renjun in unison.

"This...this..."

Fu Renjun started to shiver, and even the flesh on his face trembled.

After a long silence, he knelt down before Li Er with a thud: "Your Majesty, His Highness the Prince of Wu is a genius in mathematics, and his skills are those of a master!"

"really?"

Although Fu Renjun was a great mathematician of his time and his words were absolutely accurate, Li Er still found it hard to believe that Li Yu could become a master of mathematics.

"Your Majesty!" Fu Renjun said, "The arithmetic problem just now was the result of my uncle Fu Yi's painstaking thinking for half a year. Even I was unable to solve it at the time. Yet His Highness Prince Wu only took half a cup of tea's time. It is evident that His Highness's arithmetic skills are no less than my uncle's, and may even surpass them!"

Upon hearing this, the hall fell silent once more.

"..."

Li Yu was speechless at the crowd's alternating silence and clamor.

He tentatively asked Emperor Taizong, "Your Majesty, may I take my leave and return to my seat?"

"Go back!" Li Er said angrily.

"Yes, ma'am!" Li Yu replied with a beaming smile.

.........

At the subsequent banquet, Li Er had no intention of testing Li Yu anymore; he just kept drinking in silence.

He didn't know whether Li Yu was just too abnormal, or whether his officials were all a bunch of idiots.

However, none of these were his biggest worries. What worried him most was the wandering Taoist priest that Li Yu had mentioned.

According to Li Yu, he had only been influenced by that Taoist priest for five or six years and already possessed so many skills. How much more unfathomable must that Taoist priest be?

And if there is such a person, then there may be others. But if these people cannot be used by the Tang Dynasty and instead fall into the hands of others, wouldn't that cause endless trouble?

Having considered this, he made up his mind that he had to find out the Taoist priest's identity...

"Hey kid, come here!"

When Li Er called him again, Li Yu was puzzled and was about to leave his seat to go to the center of the main hall.

"Come to my side!" Li Er stopped him.

Li Yu looked completely bewildered. He glanced at the ministers who were drinking their wine, but still obediently moved closer to Li Er's side.

"I ask you," Li Er stared at Li Yu's face, "Did you learn this skill from that wandering Taoist priest?"

Li Yu nodded, a sense of foreboding creeping into his heart. He had, after all, become somewhat complacent…

"Are you sure that old Taoist priest is no longer alive?"

Li Yu nodded again, beginning to consider his next words.

"Does that old Taoist priest still have any disciples alive?"

Li Yu shook his head this time and replied, "That old Taoist once told me that he had lived for decades but had never had a successor. I am half a successor, and there are no others."

Upon hearing this, Li Er nodded, pondered for a moment, and said, "Boy, tell me, what kind of person was that old Taoist priest? And where did his skills come from?"

"I dare not deceive you, Your Majesty. That old Taoist's skills were learned from various Western Regions countries, and he has mastered the strengths of many schools. Moreover, that old Taoist is a ruthless person. He only kidnapped me because he needed a boy to use in medicine."

"To be used in medicine? You mean he kidnapped you to use you as medicinal material?"

Upon hearing Li Yu's words, Li Er was greatly alarmed.

"That's right."

Li Yu started spouting nonsense again: "That old Taoist was obsessed with alchemy, always wanting to concoct an elixir of immortality, and the key ingredient he needed was the blood of a virgin. Unfortunately..."

Upon hearing about immortality, Li Er's eyes began to gleam with a strange light. "What's the pity?"

Li Yu glanced at Li Er and instantly noticed his odd behavior. To dispel his idea of ​​immortality, he continued his fabrication: "Unfortunately, that old Taoist didn't die of illness, but rather from his own elixir..."

Upon hearing Li Yu's words, Li Er's expression changed. He was about to say that Li Yu had committed the crime of deceiving the emperor when he suddenly remembered that Li Yu was not yet the emperor at that time.

Seeing that Li Er remained silent, Li Yu was worried that this would make him doubt the truth of his words, so he bowed deeply and explained, "I had no choice before. Although he used me as a medicinal ingredient, he is still my half-master. After all, such a way of dying is too shameful, so I had the thought of 'avoiding offending elders.' Please forgive me!"

.........