You're good at calculating, aren't you?

As dawn broke, Li Nuo woke up early, sitting up in bed and stretching comfortably.

These past two days had been exceptionally fulfilling, making his sleep exceptionally sound. He woke up full of energy, the only downside being that his already limited lifespan had decreased by another day. After a quick breakfast, he headed straight to the Chang'an County Office with Steward Wu.

Not long after, the Magistrate of Chang'an, Pei Zhe, yawned as he walked out from the back office. He weakly greeted Li Nuo, "Young Master, so early..."

One was going to work, the other was fighting for his life; their enthusiasm was naturally different.

Li Nuo smiled and asked, "Lord Pei, did you not sleep well last night?"

Pei Zhe rubbed his waist. Yesterday, the tigress at home suspected he had secretly gone to the brothel again. He denied it, but she insisted on proving it herself. To clear his name, he had to prove it until the middle of the night before he could sleep. He originally wanted to sleep in a bit longer, but a runner reported that the office hadn't even opened yet when Li Nuo arrived, so he had no choice but to come out and greet him.

Seeing that the Magistrate of Chang'an's eyes were too tired to open, Li Nuo waved his hand and said, "Lord Pei, please go back to sleep. You don't need to mind me."

Pei Zhe covered his mouth and yawned, "No, no, Young Master is here, how can I go back to sleep? There's still a lot of official business to handle at the office."

He had to admit, aside from his pleasant dream being disturbed, he was also grateful to Li Nuo.

As the magistrate of a county, and a county magistrate in the capital at that, he had too many things to manage. Although he had a county assistant and a county lieutenant to assist him, in Pei Zhe's eyes, those two were incompetent individuals who got their positions through connections. Moreover, they formed factions and were not afraid of him, the magistrate, at all. They didn't help him share his workload and hadn't come to the county office for many days.

As for Li Nuo... Compared to Li Nuo, Pei Zhe sometimes felt like he was the incompetent one who got his position through connections.

The ability to spot the murderer at a glance from hundreds of people, Pei Zhe still felt a shock in his heart whenever he remembered it.

He was not only skilled at investigating cases but also enjoyed solving them, as if he were born to cultivate the Legalist school.

Wait, hold on...

Pei Zhe seemed to realize something and instantly became a little more alert. He looked at Li Nuo and tentatively asked, "Young Master, you're not planning to cultivate the Legalist school, are you?"

Li Nuo nodded and said, "Yes, is there a problem?"

Pei Zhe froze on the spot.

The Legalist school, it's not something one should cultivate...

Although cultivating the Legalist school could make one stronger by judging cases, if one judged a case incorrectly, their cultivation could regress instead of advance.

This wasn't the main point. Throughout history, disciples of the Legalist school in the lower realms could still be active in the imperial court, but once they cultivated to the fourth realm, the danger would greatly increase. Historically, strong practitioners of the Legalist school often met tragic ends and did not die peacefully, leading to the Legalist school being almost defunct today.

And... if others cultivated the Legalist school, it would be one thing, but why would you, the son of the Minister of Justice, get involved?

Although cultivating the Legalist school involved the Heart's Law, and everyone had their own path, in the end, it still required upholding justice in one's heart, protecting the weak, and punishing the wicked.

He wouldn't possibly not know who the biggest villain in Great Xia was, would he?

It was a complete inversion...

But these were not words he could speak. Facing Li Nuo's question, Pei Zhe smiled awkwardly, "No, no, as long as Young Master likes it, likes it..."

Yesterday, Li Nuo had asked Lord Pei to arrange the case for today. After the county office opened, the people involved in the case were already lining up outside the court hall. Li Nuo did not waste any time, entered the court hall, and began to hear the case.

Meanwhile, at the Song Manor.

An old man with white hair flipped through two small booklets in his hands and nodded slightly. "You all did well on this assignment. Mu'er, in particular, even solved the Pheasant and Rabbit Problem. Did you solve this problem yourself?"

Song Mu'er answered honestly, "I asked Brother Li Nuo, and Brother Li Nuo explained it to me."

The old man said nothing about this. Besides assigning them basic homework every day, he would also give them a difficult problem to ponder on their own to cultivate their mathematical abilities.

Whether she solved it herself or by asking others, as long as she understood it, it was fine.

The old man continued, "Then tell me, how should this problem be solved?"

This Pheasant and Rabbit Problem was actually the simplest "Equation" problem. Confucian disciples who had studied mathematics could easily solve it, but it was still quite difficult for a six-year-old child.

Song Mu'er replied without hesitation, "Suppose we want to eat spicy rabbit legs and braised chicken legs for lunch. Now we need to use one leg from all the rabbits and chickens, and then use another leg... The final answer is eighteen chickens and nine rabbits."

The old man was stunned.

This method of solving, although different from the standard equation method in the "Mathematical Classic," seemed more ingenious and was easily understood even by children.

However, this clever method was only applicable to simple problems like the Pheasant and Rabbit Problem.

If one or more items were added, this method would not work, and one would still need to use "Equation," one of the Nine Calculations.

He decided to take this opportunity to let them learn the Nine Calculations in advance and said, "Today, I will teach you 'Equation'."

Song Mu'er asked doubtfully, "Teacher, what is Equation?"

The old man explained, "Equation, 'cheng', means course or lesson. When many things are mixed together, each is listed with its number. The total is stated. Let each row be a rate. Two items are a 'cheng', three items are three 'cheng'. All are listed according to the number of items, and arranged in rows, hence it is called Equation..."

The expressions of the two little girls gradually became confused.

What Song Mu'er had just explained was so simple that even Song Ninger, who had been sitting beside her, understood it. But what the teacher was saying now, she couldn't understand a single word.

She pouted and muttered softly, "What is this? The teacher's math isn't as good as a fool's..."

Although her voice was soft, the old man heard it.

He had dedicated his life to studying mathematics, mastered the Nine Calculations, and taught countless students, including even top scholars in mathematics. Now, when teaching mathematics, he was being told by a child that he was not as good as a fool. Even if it was innocent prattle, he felt that his lifelong learning had been insulted.

The great mathematical masters of Great Xia usually didn't yield to each other, and today he was actually told he was inferior to a fool...

Shame, shame!

But he couldn't argue with two little girls.

With a depressed mood, after finishing today's lesson, he looked at the two identical little girls. His heart suddenly moved, and he took out a hairpin ornament he had bought for his granddaughter from a wooden box on his desk and gave it to Song Mu'er, saying, "Mu'er, your homework yesterday was done very well. This is your reward."

Although she had many beautiful hairpins, this hairpin didn't compare to the others, but Song Mu'er was still very happy.

Because Song Ninger didn't have one.

If Song Mu'er was happy, Song Ninger would definitely be unhappy.

This was an unbreakable law between twin sisters.

The Old Man left them an assignment and looked at the two sisters with a smile, saying, "That's all for today's lesson. Next time, whoever finishes their homework better will receive a reward from me..."

Watching the two sisters leave, the Old Man sneered, "You're good at calculating and teaching, aren't you? I'll wait and see how you teach this time..."

The two sisters returned to a courtyard, and a Maid asked, "Miss Mu'er, Miss Ninger, what would you like to eat for lunch? This servant will have the kitchen prepare it."

Song Ninger, who was a little unhappy, thought for a moment and said, "I want to eat spicy rabbit legs and braised chicken legs."

The Maid immediately looked at Song Mu'er again and asked, "Miss Mu'er, what about you? The same?"

Under normal circumstances, the two sisters even had to eat the exact same thing every day, with no difference whatsoever.

Song Mu'er shook her head and said, "I don't want any. I ate at Brother Li Nuo's house yesterday. The cook at Brother Li Nuo's house makes delicious food..."