Yun Chuhuan, still carrying the same bold confidence from before, marched into the courtyard for the mathematics division with his head held high.
Yet the moment one foot crossed the threshold, he was met with a burst of weeping from within.
And it was not merely a single child crying. It was wave upon wave of sobs echoing throughout the courtyard.
Yun Chuhuan froze. "...What?"
Surely not. Could it be that the test was so difficult it made everyone cry?
Even the absurd medical test just now had not reduced anyone to tears.
His other foot, still hovering in the air, nearly retreated in panic. Just then, Yun Shu, who had been walking at a leisurely pace behind him, reached out and gave him a firm push on the shoulder.
"Why are you blocking the entrance?"
"..."
"Fifth Elder Sister, there is no way you did not hear all that crying."
Yun Chuhuan's earlier swagger vanished. He stuck close to Yun Shu like glue and began to drag his feet.
Still, his mouth remained as stubborn as ever.
"This noise is insufferable. I no longer wish to enter."
As if in perfect reply to Yun Chuhuan's complaint, the cries inside were followed by pleading voices.
"Please, Teacher, please give me another chance. I only hesitated for a moment. I can definitely answer it correctly this time."
"I failed the accounting test and now this. If I cannot pass the mathematics test either, I will not be admitted into Tian Sheng Academy. My father will scold me to death. Please, Teacher, I beg you!"
"Can't even pass the accounting test and still dare to come to mathematics?"
Huyan Mingchuan, who had ignored the previous whining, could not let that line slide. He sneered coldly.
"Where did you get such courage? From Her Highness the Crown Princess of Tian Sheng?"
Yun Shu: "..."
"...What is all this racket?"
Yun Shu had planned to observe a little longer, but upon hearing her own name used so flippantly, she stepped forward like a stern school instructor and addressed the chaos with a line that had clearly been rehearsed.
"Out of the entire academy, your division is the most absurd. What sort of test leaves every child in tears?"
"You think you can do better? Then come and try."
The man in question had always been foul-tempered and difficult. The only reason he had agreed to serve as mathematics instructor in this so-called academy was because of the mathematics texts Yun Shu held in her possession.
That he had managed to endure these noisy, weeping children without flying into a rage was already a miracle. Expecting him to show patience or kindness was simply too much.
Huyan Mingchuan's face darkened further.
"I have tested these children all morning, and not one shows the slightest trace of intelligence. If you ask me, this entire mathematics division should have been abolished from the start."
"This Princess recalls that when I offered to provide you with test questions, you insisted on preparing them yourself."
Over the past few months, Yun Shu had gained a firm hold over Huyan Mingchuan, all thanks to the miraculous subject of mathematics. She was no longer intimidated by this infamous troublemaker from Bei Xiang.
She calmly pulled out a chair and sat down.
"Now not a single child out of this crowd has managed to pass. Have you considered that the problem might lie with you?"
"What problem would that be?"
Huyan Mingchuan shot back, his expression as frosty as ever.
"Mathematics is a field for the intelligent. I do not have time to teach pigs."
"Is that so?"
Yun Shu raised an eyebrow, then casually beckoned to one of the children still wiping away tears.
"You. Come here."
"M...me? Hic!"
The child she summoned was about six or seven years old, and already had tears streaming uncontrollably down his face.
Now, faced with her gaze, he grew so anxious he began hiccupping as he spoke.
"Hic! My name is Dan Wazi."
"Dan Wazi," Yun Shu repeated, her voice gentle with a touch of reassurance.
"A rather adorable name. Now tell me, what question did Master Huyan just ask you?"
"Master asked..."
Dan Wazi glanced nervously at Huyan Mingchuan, then lowered his head like a quail and whispered.
"He asked, if my older siblings always bullied me and my parents favored them, what should I do?"
Yun Shu: "...?"
She was momentarily at a loss for words, then gave a disbelieving laugh.
"Master Huyan, and what exactly is the connection between this and mathematics?"
"None."
Huyan Mingchuan's face was stormy, but absurdly, he still managed to defend his actions. "But it reveals whether or not they possess a working brain. If I asked actual mathematics problems, they would not be able to answer anyway."
"The intelligence required for mathematics and the wit needed to deal with your strange scenario are not the same."
Yun Shu clicked her tongue, then turned back to Dan Wazi.
"Once there was a little crawling creature with no wings, yet it could fly. Why was that?"
Dan Wazi blinked. "...Huh?"
"Because it drank a magical water."
Yun Shu continued in a serious tone.
"Then there was a little frog that could also fly. Why do you think that was?"
"Because..." Dan Wazi hesitantly guessed, "It also drank the magical water?"
"No. Because it ate the little creature."
Yun Shu did not pause and pressed forward.
"After that, a snake could fly. Why?"
"Because it ate the frog!" Dan Wazi answered brightly, his confidence growing. The tears on his lashes still clung there, but he had already forgotten to cry.
"And then an eagle could fly. Why?"
"Because eagles can fly anyway!"
"Exactly."
Yun Shu reached out to tousle his hair, smiling warmly.
"That was quite well done. He can think, he understands logic, and his mind turns quickly. He even avoided the trap. I find him quite promising."
Huyan Mingchuan: "..."
Yun Chuhuan: "..."
Why did it feel like his Fifth Elder Sister was even less reliable than this disagreeable Ninth Prince of Bei Xiang?
This was definitely not the kind of thing she had taught him when performing those so-called "magic" tricks using mathematics.
"What are you gawking at?"
Turning back to see Yun Chuhuan standing dumbfounded, Yun Shu lifted her chin slightly.
"Weren't you the one who insisted on taking the mathematics test?
"Master Huyan's questions may not suit you. Why not let This Princess administer one instead?"
"No need!"
Her questions bordered on the mystical and unpredictable. Heaven knew what sort of bizarre logic she would use to test him?
If he managed to answer correctly, all would be well. But if he failed in front of so many people, his dignity would be utterly shattered.
Yun Chuhuan instinctively took half a step back.
"There are still many others waiting to be tested. I should not take up everyone's time."
"As you wish."
Yun Shu could see straight through his petty excuse.
Still, she let it slide to spare him a bit of pride.