Humility

Li Nuo had just arrived at Song Manor when he encountered Song Mu'er and Song Jiaren, who were about to leave.

They were going to find him at the Li family's residence. Fortunately, they met at the entrance; otherwise, they would have made a wasted trip.

A moment later, inside a small courtyard, Song Mu'er rested her chin on her hands on the table and said, "Brother Li Nuo, why don't you just live at our house? That way, none of us have to run around every day..."

Li Nuo smiled but said nothing. He wasn't a live-in son-in-law, and without a special reason, he couldn't possibly live at Song Manor permanently.

The Li family had a single heir for generations, and they expected him to continue the family line and have descendants. It was absolutely impossible for him to become a live-in son-in-law.

Mu'er was still young and naturally didn't understand these things.

Li Nuo didn't dwell on the topic. He pointed to a problem on her booklet and said, "Let's look at this problem first..."

Perhaps Song Mu'er's mathematics tutor had a moment of kindness, as her homework assignment for this session consisted of only one problem, and it wasn't particularly difficult. The question was about a troop of Great Xia cavalry who needed to lead their horses to the river to drink before returning to the camp. The problem provided the cavalry's speed and the distances between locations, asking for the optimal route and the fastest time.

This was an excellent problem.

Speed was crucial in warfare. On the battlefield, speed and efficiency were extremely important. At a critical moment, a quarter-hour difference could decide the outcome of a war, or even affect the rise and fall of a nation.

In Li Nuo's eyes, this was the simplest "general leading horses to drink" problem, something even modern elementary school students could solve. However, the solution method wasn't among any of the "Nine Calculations," and it involved an axiom. The concept of axioms didn't exist in Great Xia's mathematics community, making Li Nuo's explanation a bit troublesome.

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

Li Nuo wasn't a mathematics major. When his teacher taught them, he simply told them to memorize the axiom without explaining why.

He asked a maid from Song Manor to fetch two wooden sticks and some sewing thread. He stuck the two wooden sticks into the ground to represent two points, allowing her to experiment herself.

Compared to the six-year-old Song Mu'er, Song Jiaren understood the problem much more easily.

Although she couldn't articulate the specific reason, common sense told her that going straight would definitely be faster than taking a roundabout route.

Just as Li Nuo finished explaining the problem to them, Song Yu walked into the small courtyard and invited him over for a meal, also to thank him for his help earlier that day.

Li Nuo felt a little embarrassed, but he couldn't resist Song Yu's persistent requests and finally agreed.

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

An hour earlier, they had been at loggerheads with Song Yu, but now their arrogance was gone. They stood behind a middle-aged man with their heads bowed, like mere underlings.

Song Yu was clearly surprised by their presence there. He frowned and was about to say something when Song Lian shot him a look that silenced him.

The middle-aged man looked at Song Lian and said apologetically, "Brother Song, I'm truly sorry. I've failed as a father. I've brought these two scoundrels here today specifically to apologize to your nephew. Please accept these small gifts."

Song Lian quickly replied, "Brother Zhou, please don't say that. Young people have hot tempers; arguments and scuffles are normal. Weren't we the same back then? Besides, my own son also made mistakes in this matter. You must take these gifts back..."

The middle-aged man didn't press the issue of the gifts. He smiled and said, "Speaking of back then, every time you got into trouble, Miss Song Zhen would beat us the next day. Those were truly painful memories..."

Song Lian also laughed. "We were practicing tactics back then. Unlike these brats, who actually fought over a woman from a brothel. They're disgracing both our families!"

They both glanced at their respective sons, and Song Yu and the Zhou brothers shivered, burying their heads even lower.

From their conversation, Li Nuo learned that the Zhou father and son were there to apologize. Zhou Yu's father and Song Yu's father not only knew each other but also seemed to have some rapport, appearing to be having a pleasant conversation.

"Scoundrel, why aren't you apologizing yet!"

The middle-aged man let out a low growl. The Zhou brothers trembled and walked up to Song Yu, bowing their heads. "Sorry."

Song Lian gave Song Yu a look. Song Yu shivered and quickly said, "It's nothing, it's nothing. It was just three beatings, I didn't mind it at all..."

With their fathers mediating, Song Yu and Zhou Yu easily reached a reconciliation, at least on the surface.

To show he truly wasn't holding a grudge, Song Yu invited them to stay for the meal.

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

After they sat down, Zhou Yu looked at Li Nuo and asked, "Brother Song, who is this...?"

It was this person who had sentenced them at the Chang'an County Office. Zhou Yu had thought he was an official from the Chang'an County Office and was amazed at how young he was. He hadn't expected to see him again at Song Manor.

Song Yu put his arm around Li Nuo's shoulder, a proud expression on his face. "Let me introduce you all. This is my brother-in-law."

The Zhou brothers were shocked.

Song Yu had three younger sisters. Two of them were still children. Therefore, the person in front of them could only be Song Jiaren's husband. And Song Jiaren's husband... wasn't that the son of Li Xuanjing, the Minister of Justice?

They themselves were children of officials, but they were far from comparable to him.

This was the top elite of Chang'an. If Song Yu had such a good relationship with him, wouldn't he be able to walk around with his head held high in the future?

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

Seeing Zhou Yu's sincere attitude, Song Yu also felt a bit awkward. He picked up his wine cup and said, "I was also at fault in this matter. I'll drink one with you."

"My fault, my fault, I'll drink three cups to punish myself!"

"I was also at fault, I'll drink three with you!"

Li Nuo took a small sip of wine and found it extremely pungent. He put it down after one sip. Zhou Yu and Song Yu were drinking cup after cup. After ten rounds, their speech became slurred, and they started linking arms, calling each other brothers. Compared to Zhou Tao, who sat foolishly to the side, they looked more like real brothers.

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

Zhou Yu took another sip of wine. Although he looked reluctant, he patted his chest and said, "We're brothers now. I was wrong before. I won't compete with you for Miss Yuanyang anymore..."

Song Yu also patted his chest and said righteously, "No, no, no. It's just one woman. I'll let you have her."

"Take her."

"You go ahead…"

The two bantered back and forth, yielding to each other until neither could concede any further. Zhou Yu pondered for a moment, met Song Yu's gaze, and suggested, "How about we… together?"

Their eyes met, and imagining certain R-rated scenes in their minds, goosebumps rose all over their bodies. They shook their heads in unison.

Although their relationship had progressed by leaps and bounds, it hadn't reached the point where they would share a woman.

The sight was too appalling; they couldn't even bear to think about it.

But with the atmosphere reaching this point, neither of them felt comfortable monopolizing Miss Yuanyang.

Their gazes met again in awkward silence, and they suddenly thought of something simultaneously, both looking towards Li Nuo.

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

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

Song Yu was reluctant to give Miss Yuanyang to Zhou Yu, but his brother-in-law had repaid his kindness with virtue. This was a form of repayment.

Marrying this beauty would ruin his happiness for life. As a member of the Song Family, Song Yu felt uneasy and wanted to compensate him.

Zhou Yu was reluctant to give Miss Yuanyang to Song Yu, but Li Nuo was the son of the Minister of Justice. He also wanted to curry favor with this top dignitary of Great Xia, so he could only reluctantly give her up.

Hearing their words, Li Nuo paused as he scooped food, a figure flashed through his mind, and his chest began to ache again. He waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, you two go ahead. I don't have that kind of hobby…"