Learning from Mistakes, Again

Li Nuo ate lunch at the County Office.

For the past two days, he had been eating lunch at Magistrate Pei's home. Yesterday, it was only because Magistrate Pei's wife had returned to her maiden home that he had settled for a few steamed buns.

Today, he ate dumplings again for lunch.

Madam Pei's dumpling-making skills were superb, offering a unique flavor compared to the family's head chef.

The Li family's head chef was a seasoned gourmet. The dishes he prepared were perfect in color, aroma, and taste, with not a single flaw. However, they lacked a certain home-cooked flavor, and sometimes, that subtle flavor was the most important thing.

Li Nuo looked at Pei Zhe across from him and asked, puzzled, "Didn't Lord Pei have official business to attend to outside today?"

Pei Zhe picked up a dumpling and said, "Oh, Assistant Magistrate Zhang just came by and volunteered to handle the welfare of the widowed and lonely on my behalf. I couldn't refuse him, so I let him go..."

Assistant Magistrate Zhang had knelt on the ground, clinging to his leg, tears and snot streaming down his face. He wouldn't get up unless Pei Zhe agreed. In his helplessness, Pei Zhe had no choice but to let him go.

Normally, he should be happy that his subordinate was so obedient.

But Pei Zhe couldn't bring himself to be happy.

Ever since Li Nuo publicly beat Wang Yue yesterday, he had a vague feeling that something was wrong. It wasn't until Assistant Magistrate Zhang, acting out of character, knelt before him begging for mercy that Pei Zhe belatedly realized... he was in trouble!

He had become Li Xuanjing's pawn!

Even if he wasn't, others believed he was.

Speaking of which, these past few days, Li Nuo had been hearing cases at the County Office, and he had been constantly by his side. They even ate together.

Yesterday, the Official of the Ministry of Personnel sent his own son to the County Office to confess, resigned from his post overnight, donated money, and left Chang'an with his family. Besides Li Xuanjing, who else possessed such deterrent power? From an outsider's perspective, even he himself felt like he had allied with the Minister of Justice.

The current imperial court was a complex web of various forces, and the position of Magistrate of Chang'an was extremely sensitive. It was impossible to remain detached and neutral. Sooner or later, he would have to make a choice about where to stand.

He had already come to terms with this.

But he hadn't expected that before he could choose, someone else had already chosen for him.

"Sigh..."

Thinking of the reputation of that Lord Li, Pei Zhe let out a long sigh. This time, he wouldn't be able to clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River...

"Sigh..."

At this moment, in the Song Manor, after hearing Song Mu'er and Song Ninger finish explaining a problem involving an equation with as many as five terms, the old man with white hair couldn't help but sigh, a deep doubt arising in his heart.

He had taught mathematics his entire life, was he really inferior to an idiot?

This problem was already one of the most difficult in the "Equations" chapter of the Calculations Classic. Even some academy students who had studied mathematics for several years could not fully grasp it. Yet, these two six-year-old girls not only calculated the correct answer but also explained it eloquently.

It showed that they truly understood it.

He couldn't possibly teach them to this level.

The problem was with comparison.

As soon as he explained anything slightly profound, the two little girls would get sleepy, just like their elder sister ten years ago.

This gave him a strong sense of frustration.

Not far away, the look in Song Jiaren's eyes made him even more guilty.

He understood the meaning behind that look.

Ten years ago, when he taught her mathematics, he had commented that she "lacked mathematical talent." In his opinion, the mathematical talent of these twin sisters was about the same as Song Jiaren's back then.

Now it seemed that it wasn't that they couldn't learn, but that he couldn't teach.

He had truly misguided his students.

Thinking this, he didn't teach any new material today. He only had them review what they had learned before, rewarded each of them with a hairpin ornament, left a few problems, and then left in a hurry...

Although Song Ninger received a reward from the teacher this time, Song Mu'er did too, so there was nothing to be happy about.

She looked at the new problems in the booklet, her dark eyes darting around, thinking about something.

Song Mu'er saw through her thoughts and snorted, "Don't even think about tricking Brother Li Nuo into explaining the problems for you again. I've already agreed on a secret code with him, you can't fool him anymore!"

Song Ninger was stunned and asked, "What secret code?"

"One, two, three, four, five..."

Song Mu'er said, then winked at her, "I'm already six years old, do you think I'm a three-year-old child? You still want to trick me out of the secret code? I won't tell you, nyah nyah nyah..."

Sticking out her tongue playfully at Song Ninger, she quickly ran away.

Song Ninger crossed her arms and said disdainfully, "What a stupid secret code, who cares to hear it? I'll go ask Brother Yu..."

A moment later, in a courtyard of the Song Manor.

Song Yu spoke until his throat was dry. He picked up the teapot and drank it all in one gulp, asking Song Ninger with a sense of accomplishment, "Do you understand?"

Song Ninger shook her head, "No."

Song Yu rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

The teacher had explained this math problem to him the same way back then, and it had taken him a long time to understand it. And he was already over ten years old then. Ninger is only six. Why does she have to learn such difficult math at six?

When he was six, he was still reciting the multiplication table.

Helplessly, he could only explain it again.

"Understood?"

"No."

"You should understand this time, right?"

"Why does it have to be like this here?"

"Why ask so many questions in mathematics? That's how the teacher taught it, so just do it like that…"

Song Yu had already finished three pots of tea, yet his throat still felt dry and parched.

At the same time, he realized something: even the simplest "Square Fields" problem was still too difficult for the current Ning'er; she couldn't understand it at all.

Song Ning'er also realized something.

Her Brother Yu was different from Song Mu'er's Brother Li Nuo.

When Li Nuo taught her math problems, he wouldn't say things like Brother Yu did. He would not only tell her how to do it, but also why it should be done that way. She could understand what he said, but what Brother Yu explained was worse than what the teacher said…

If only she had let him play with her rattan ball that day.

Would he have liked her then, just like he liked Mu'er?

In Song Ning'er's opinion, it was normal for someone not to like her if she didn't let them play with her toys.

If she were treated that way, she wouldn't play with them either.

"Sigh…"

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel a little regretful. Mimicking the adults, she let out a long sigh.

Chang'an County Office.

Li Nuo had returned early today, not waiting until dark to leave.

It wasn't a big deal for him, but he felt bad making so many people from the County Office stay overtime with him.

The case was there anyway; if it wasn't judged today, it could be judged tomorrow. He had already gained enough today.

Even though there were still no major cases, he had accumulated seven days of Lifespan in one day, bringing his current Lifespan to forty-eight days.

And before the court adjourned today, there were still many commoners queuing up, so it was foreseeable that he would be busy for the next few days.

Upon returning home, Li Nuo found Song Mu'er waiting for him.

No, it could also be Song Ning'er.

It wasn't enough that the sisters looked alike; they even wore the same clothes, jewelry, and sachets. Li Nuo couldn't tell who was who.

Just as he was about to exchange the secret code, the little girl spoke first, "One, two, three, four, five!"

"…"

Li Nuo was speechless. This silly child, the secret code was meant to test Song Ning'er, not him. He didn't have a twin brother, so why would she say the code herself?

Thinking that she was only a six-year-old child, Li Nuo didn't say anything.

Li Nuo casually asked, "Where's your Sister Jiā Rén?"

Song Mu'er said, "She was just here, but I don't know where she went now. Brother Li Nuo, can you explain this problem to me again?"

Li Nuo took the booklet she handed him. Today's problem was no longer a system of linear equations with multiple variables, but finding the area of irregular shapes. This was classified as a "Square Fields" problem in the Calculations Classic.

"Square Fields," meaning square-shaped land, required the Government Office to accurately measure land area to determine specific taxes. This created an urgent need to calculate the area of various irregular fields, thus giving rise to the large category of "Square Fields" in mathematics.

In this chapter of the Calculations Classic, students needed to master the calculation of areas for various shapes such as squares, rectangles, triangles, trapezoids, circles, and sectors.

The problem Song Mu'er asked him was an irregular shape composed of a rectangle, a triangle, and a trapezoid. As long as the areas of each part were calculated separately and then added together, it would be simple for Li Nuo. However, Song Mu'er didn't even know the formula for calculating area, so Li Nuo had to start from the very basics.

Teaching students with some foundation was easier. Song Mu'er had no prior exposure to these concepts. Even for the formula that the area of a rectangle is base times height, she would ask "why" multiple times.

Li Nuo had no choice but to explain from the most basic principles. He explained it several times before she finally developed a concept of area.

When it came to the area of a triangle being half of the base times height, she started asking "why" again. Li Nuo had to draw auxiliary lines and complete two rectangles, letting her deduce it herself. Fortunately, she understood the calculation of the rectangle's area from before, and after Li Nuo completed the figure, she could deduce it easily on her own.

Then came the trapezoid...

After spending considerable effort, he finally got Song Mu'er to calculate this problem herself. Li Nuo breathed a sigh of relief.

The problem itself wasn't difficult, but explaining it clearly to a six-year-old child was not easy.

Just as a small sense of accomplishment began to rise in Li Nuo's heart, a small figure ran into the courtyard. Looking at the figure sitting beside Li Nuo, she angrily said, "Song Ning'er, what are you doing!"

Li Nuo looked at the indignant little girl at the door and was completely stunned.

A moment later, Song Mu'er stood with her hands on her hips, looking at Li Nuo with a look of disappointment, and said irritably, "What can I say about you? 'Climbing the mountain to fight tigers' was supposed to be answered by Song Ning'er, not you! How can you be so stupid and let her trick you again!"