How can I bow my head and serve the powerful officials?
Chapter 212: The ordinary lady named Shen Yuanyuan, who listened attentively
Cheng Wuxue is the daughter of the Dali Temple Minister, so it is impossible for her not to know Sheng Yiren. It is obviously not a wise choice to pretend to be her at this time, so Xie Chengze said, "I was brought here by the eldest daughter of the Sheng family."
Instead of revealing his identity, Sheng Yiren was involved. Cheng Wuxue couldn't help but narrow his eyes, and his eagle-like sharp gaze fell on the veil, trying to see the true face of the other person behind it.
But...her eyes were a little blurry and she couldn't see clearly.
She couldn't help but stand up and walk towards Xie Chengze, wanting to get closer to see what this person looked like. When Xie Chengze saw her approaching, he subconsciously took two steps back to maintain a safe social distance, "Girl, what are you doing?"
"Young lady, you haven't revealed your real name yet, so we naturally can't easily talk to you." Seeing him retreat, Cheng Wuxue stopped and raised her chin slightly, "If anyone can enter the banquet with the title of the eldest lady of the Sheng family, wouldn't it put the safety of us noble ladies at a disadvantage?"
"I see." Xie Chengze smiled calmly and said quickly, "My name is Shen Yuanyuan, just an ordinary citizen. Fortunately, Lord Shen appreciated me and was brought to the banquet by Miss Sheng."
"Oh?" Hearing the three words "Lord Shen", Cheng Wuxue's bright eyes moved, and she looked at Xie Chengze again.
Although Cheng Wuxue's talent is not famous in Jian'an, she can still compete with Sheng Yiren, the most talented woman in the capital.
Influenced by her father's official position, she has always admired upright and decisive people. When Shen Yuan was in the Ministry of Justice, he used thundering means to clean up many corrupt officials and even toppled the Minister of Revenue. She became interested in this person and wanted to get to know him.
In fact, she did it, and even fell in love with Shen Yuan at first sight. However, even if she revealed her identity and talent, he rejected her feelings on the spot. Although she quickly let go of this knot, she couldn't help but feel a little more competitive when she suddenly heard that a woman was appreciated by him.
She couldn't help but ask, "Then what talent do you have to win the favor of Lord Shen?"
Xie Chengze rolled his eyes, thinking of something, and couldn't help but smile, "Well, I just know a little bit about arithmetic."
"Arithmetic?" Several noble ladies looked at each other, "What kind of talent is this?"
Women have always been particular about music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and never learn arithmetic. Even those powerful and wealthy sons only learn some simple arithmetic, which is never used as a reference to determine whether they are talented.
But Cheng Wuxue knew. She had heard from her father that the court was planning to promote science and engineering imperial examinations and even to open an Imperial College in the capital, and the noble ladies might have to go to school.
This order was issued by the Second Prince, and as Shen Yuan was a member of the Second Prince's faction, it would be difficult for him not to find arithmetic talents for him.
But it was also the first time she heard of a woman who was proficient in arithmetic. Could it be that she was just proficient in numbers like Sheng Yiren?
Cheng Wuxue couldn't help but ask, "I wonder... Miss, how well do you know about arithmetic?"
Xie Chengze touched his chin, "For example, at the bottom of a wooden barrel, there are two outlets blocked by wooden plugs. If the left wooden plug is pulled out, the water in the barrel will take half an hour to drain out. If the right wooden plug is pulled out, it will take three hours to drain out. If both plugs are pulled out at the same time for one hour, a total of 1,200 stones of water will be drained. If the left wooden plug is plugged in again, how long will it take to drain out all the water in the barrel?"
Several noble ladies looked confused, "What's the use of knowing this arithmetic problem?"
Cheng Wuxue also looked at Xie Chengze, not understanding why this could win Shen Yuan's favor.
"Hmm..." Xie Chengze touched his chin again, "Now that I know this, can it be used when building dams in the future?"
Dam?
The ladies couldn't help but look at each other again.
Although they could not take part in the imperial examination, they heard that there was an additional question in this year's examination, which was about the flood disaster in Yizhou, which inevitably involved the issue of dams.
The students were discussing the matter enthusiastically, and even the brothers at home often discussed the matter privately, so it was difficult for them not to know about it.
"If you learn this, you can build a dam?" Cheng Wuxue was puzzled. "Isn't that a craftsman's job? What does it have to do with this?"
"The existing dams are simply piled up, and they cannot reasonably use the geographical advantages to make profits. Only by learning arithmetic can we better determine the shape and size of the dam according to the terrain and water flow, and achieve the functions of diversion, storage, and irrigation." Xie Chengze talked freely, "Take the terrain of Yizhou as an example. Once we have cement, we can build dams in the inner and outer rivers separately..."
He picked up the paper and pen on the table and began to draw a modern picture of the Dujiangyan Irrigation System. He also gave a simple example of a reservoir for storing and releasing water. His explanation was easy to understand, and even the ladies who had never been exposed to this kind of thing listened with great interest. They felt that their thoughts were clear and it seemed as if a new world had been opened up to them.
This girl is really well-educated and much more interesting than those sour scholars who recite poems and discuss Taoism all day long. In her mouth, they seemed to be able to foresee that behind this building derived from arithmetic, the people welcomed the relief of stored water in the drought season, looked at the diverted river water in the flood season, and proudly declared war on it, saying: natural disasters cannot resist human wisdom.
This is the charm of arithmetic.
A unique charm that is close to "life".
But... this girl's handwriting is also very unique.
Cheng Wuxue looked at the crooked and untidy handwriting on the paper, and finally pinched his thigh to hold back the urge to complain.
She is an ordinary citizen and it is normal that she doesn’t have time to practice calligraphy. She cannot offend her!
The noise of Xie Chengze's explanation also attracted many noble ladies. The Peach Blossom Banquet, which was supposed to be led by Sheng Yiren and Cheng Wuxue, was attracted by one of them because of a latecomer. As a result, many noble ladies flocked here. When they found that Cheng Wuxue was listening attentively, they couldn't help but follow suit.
Cheng Wuxue, the second most talented woman in the capital, is so serious, so how can they fall behind?
Women's learning ability has always been high, but they are stuck in the arts of music, chess, calligraphy and painting. As noble ladies in the capital, they have all been trained to be "competitive". You have to be better than your competitors in every aspect, so that you can find a better husband.
Although they came halfway and it was a little difficult to listen to because there was no prelude, they were all trying hard to listen and try to understand the principles. When they heard that these things could improve flooding, they couldn't help but let out low sounds of surprise.
"Is this the solution to the flood in Yizhou?"
“Although I didn’t understand the first part, I heard the part called the reservoir very clearly and it felt very practical!”
"Normally, this is something that only students would discuss. I never thought we could get together to discuss such an important matter. It's a bit incredible!"
"It doesn't seem that difficult! When the Yizhou test papers were first distributed, I said I wanted to take a look, but my brother said that I was a stupid woman. Even if he showed me the answers directly, I would not be able to understand them. Ha, now it seems that he really underestimated me!" A noble lady in yellow snorted.
Xie Chengze chuckled, "He went to school and learned a little knowledge, so he looked down on those who couldn't go to school. This is his ignorance and ego. Girl, you are eager to learn and confident, and you don't give up on yourself because of other people's derogatory words. You will be a great talent in the future."
The noble lady in yellow blushed upon hearing this and waved her hands, "How can she become a great talent? Don't we women have to get married and raise children in the end?"
"Yes, no matter how much you learn, you still have to manage household chores and respect your parents-in-law in the end..."
"It's a pity that we women can't take the imperial examinations and become officials. I think building dams is much more interesting than staying at home and doing housework..."
Xie Chengze shook his head gently, "Don't you know that the court is going to open an Imperial College where both men and women can attend?"
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