Humility

Li Nuo had just arrived at Song Manor when he ran into Song Mu'er and Song Jiaren, who were about to head out.

They had been on their way to the Li Family to find him. Luckily, they had run into him at the entrance; otherwise, their trip would have been for nothing.

A short while later, in a small courtyard, Song Mu'er lay sprawled across the table with her chin in her hands. "Brother Li Nuo, why don't you just move in with us? Then we wouldn't have to run back and forth every day..."

Li Nuo smiled but said nothing. He wasn't a live-in son-in-law, and without some special reason, he certainly couldn't stay at Song Manor long-term.

The Li Family had only one heir and was counting on him to carry on the family line and fill the branches with leaves. There was no way he could marry into another family.

Mu'er was still young, so of course she didn't understand these things.

Li Nuo didn't pursue the subject. Pointing to a problem in her booklet, he said, "Let's look at this one first..."

Perhaps Song Mu'er's arithmetic teacher had taken pity on her. This time, she had only one problem for homework, and it wasn't very difficult. It described a troop of Great Xia cavalry who had to lead their horses to a river to drink, then return to camp. Given the cavalry's speed and the distances between the various locations, the problem asked for the best route and the quickest time.

It was a very well-crafted problem.

An army's greatest asset was speed. On the battlefield, speed and efficiency were crucial. At a critical moment, even a quarter-hour's difference could decide the outcome of a battle, or even affect the rise and fall of a nation.

To Li Nuo, this was the simple problem of a general watering his horse. Even primary school students in later generations could solve it. But the solution wasn't one of the methods in Nine Calculations. It also involved a postulate, and since Great Xia's mathematical world had no concept of postulates, explaining it to her was a little troublesome.

Song Mu'er propped her cheek in one hand and asked, "Why is the straight line between two points the shortest?"

Li Nuo wasn't a math major. Back when his teacher had taught them, all he'd said was that they just needed to remember the postulates; they didn't need to know why.

He had a maid from Song Manor fetch two wooden sticks and some sewing thread. He stuck the two sticks into the ground to represent two points, then let her try it out for herself.

Compared with six-year-old Song Mu'er, Song Jiaren found the problem much easier to understand.

Though she couldn't explain the exact reason either, common sense told her that going straight was definitely faster than taking a winding route.

Li Nuo had just finished explaining the problem to them when Song Yu entered the courtyard and invited him to join them for a meal, while also thanking him for saving him earlier that day.

Li Nuo was actually a little embarrassed, but Song Yu kept pressing him, and in the end, he had no choice but to agree.

In a small courtyard at Song Manor, Li Nuo saw the Zhou brothers again.

An hour ago, they and Song Yu had been at each other's throats. Now their earlier arrogance was nowhere to be seen. Heads bowed, they stood behind a middle-aged man like a pair of lackeys.

Song Yu was clearly surprised to see them there. He furrowed his brow and was about to say something, but Song Lian glared him into silence.

The middle-aged man looked at Song Lian and said apologetically, "Brother Song, I'm truly sorry. I failed to raise my sons properly. I've brought these two good-for-nothings to apologize to my nephew today. Please accept these modest gifts."

Song Lian hurriedly replied, "Brother Zhou, please don't say that. Young people are hot-blooded; it's normal for them to get into a scuffle. We were the same at their age. Besides, my own good-for-nothing son was at fault too. You must take these gifts back..."

The middle-aged man didn't bring up the gifts again. He smiled and said, "Speaking of those days, whenever you got the better of me, the next day we'd get beaten by Miss Song Zhen. Those were truly painful memories..."

Song Lian laughed too. "We were practicing tactics back then. These little rascals, on the other hand, actually got into a fight over a brothel girl. They've disgraced both our families!"

The two men glanced at their sons in unison. Song Yu and the Zhou brothers shuddered and lowered their heads even further.

From their conversation, Li Nuo gathered that the Zhou father and sons had come to apologize. Zhou Yu's father knew Song Yu's father, and the two seemed to share some history, chatting together in high spirits.

"You good-for-nothing! Apologize already!"

At the middle-aged man's sharp command, the Zhou brothers shivered and stepped in front of Song Yu. Lowering their heads, they said, "Sorry."

Song Lian gave Song Yu a look. Song Yu shuddered and hurriedly replied, "It's fine, it's fine. It was only three blows from the cane. I didn't take it to heart at all..."

With their fathers acting as peacemakers, Song Yu and Zhou Yu were quick to reach an understanding—or at least, they made peace on the surface.

To show that he truly held no grudge, Song Yu even invited the two brothers to join them for a meal.

The Zhou brothers had just received a flogging, so Song Yu thoughtfully had soft cushions placed on their chairs.

After taking their seats, Zhou Yu glanced at Li Nuo and asked, "Brother Song, who is this?"

At the Chang'an County Office, this was the man who had sentenced them to flogging. Zhou Yu had assumed he was an official there, and had been amazed that the official was so young. He hadn't expected to see him again at Song Manor.

Song Yu slung an arm around Li Nuo's shoulders, looking rather smug. "Let me introduce you. This is my brother-in-law."

The Zhou brothers were stunned.

Song Yu had three younger sisters, two of whom were still children. That meant the man before them could only be the husband of Song Jiaren—and Song Jiaren's husband had to be the son of Li Xuanjing, the Minister of Justice.

The brothers were officials' sons themselves, but they were nowhere near the other man's standing.

This was one of Chang'an's most powerful young nobles. With Song Yu so close to him, wouldn't Song Yu be able to throw his weight around from now on?

Thinking of this, Zhou Yu immediately raised his wine cup and said respectfully to Song Yu, "Brother Song, this was all my fault. I'll drink a cup as punishment!"

Seeing how sincere Zhou Yu was, Song Yu felt a little embarrassed too. He raised his own cup and said, "I was at fault as well. I'll drink with you."

"It was my fault, my fault. I'll drink three cups as punishment!"

"I was at fault too. I'll drink three cups with you!"

Li Nuo took a small sip of wine and found it unbearably harsh. After one mouthful, he set it down. Zhou Yu and Song Yu drank cup after cup, and after ten, they were already slurring their words. They began hooking arms and calling each other brothers. Compared with Zhou Tao, who sat foolishly off to the side, the two of them seemed more like real brothers.

After a few rounds of drinks, the conversation gradually picked up.

Zhou Yu took another sip. Though he looked a little reluctant, he still patted his chest and said, "We're all brothers. I was wrong before. I won't fight you over Miss Yuanyang anymore..."

Song Yu patted his chest too, full of brotherly spirit. "No, no. She's just a woman. I'll let you have her."

"You have her."

"You take her..."

They went back and forth, each trying to yield to the other, but neither could get the other to accept. After thinking for a moment, Zhou Yu met Song Yu's gaze and suggested, "How about... we share?"

The two met each other's eyes. Imagining certain scenes too scandalous to describe, they broke out in goosebumps and shook their heads in unison.

Though their friendship had grown by leaps and bounds, they weren't close enough to share a woman.

The thought was so horrifying that they couldn't even bear to entertain it.

But the mood had been worked up to this point, and neither of them had the heart to claim Miss Yuanyang for himself.

Their eyes met awkwardly again. Suddenly, they both thought of something and turned to look at Li Nuo.

"How about I introduce Miss Yuanyang to my brother-in-law?"

"Only Brother Li is worthy of such a beauty..."

Song Yu couldn't bear to let Miss Yuanyang go to Zhou Yu. But his brother-in-law had repaid kindness with kindness and helped him, so this could count as a way of thanking him.

If Li Nuo married a beauty, his happiness for the rest of his life would be ruined. As a member of the Song Family, Song Yu felt guilty about that and wanted to make it up to him.

Zhou Yu couldn't bear to let Miss Yuanyang go to Song Yu either. But Li Nuo was the son of the Minister of Justice, one of Great Xia's most powerful nobles. Zhou Yu wanted to get in his good graces, so he could only grit his teeth and give her up.

Hearing them, Li Nuo paused with his chopsticks. A figure flashed through his mind, and the dull ache in his chest returned. He waved his hands repeatedly. "No, no. You two go ahead. I'm not interested in that..."