Chapter 50: Envoys from various nations vie to answer, the eternal mystery remains unsolved

"To this day, he remains an unshakable shadow in my heart."

Li Er gave a bitter laugh.

"Is that why Your Majesty is so impatient to have Changle marry Zhangsun Chong, just to ensure this secret remains buried forever and to solidify the Zhangsun family's merit?"

Empress Zhangsun immediately guessed Li Er's true purpose.

Only in this way could Li Er perhaps find a little comfort in his heart.

Li Er did not speak, only nodded silently.

Empress Zhangsun also did not know what to say.

As Empress, giving unconditional support to His Majesty was her duty.

Yet, she was also a mother, after all.

After a long while.

Empress Zhangsun slowly opened her mouth to say: "Your Majesty, I wish to ask you for one thing."

"Speak your mind."

"Changle has always longed for life outside the palace. Could you allow me to take her out of the palace to stay for a few days? It would fulfill one of her final wishes."

"Very well. In any case, I must be busy dealing with the envoys from the various nations these next few days. You may take the girl out to properly clear her mind."

Li Er agreed without the slightest hesitation.

This was perhaps the only thing he could do for Changle as a father.

"On behalf of Changle, I thank Your Majesty."

Empress Zhangsun bowed gently.

The morning in Changancheng was as peaceful and tranquil as always.

Outside the imperial palace.

Envoys from various nations arrived one after another from Vermilion Bird Street.

They gathered in groups of three or five, conversing with one another.

However, most of them wore a trace of solemnity on their faces.

It seemed the three difficult problems posed by Li Er had indeed stumped quite a few people.

"Honored envoy of Gao Chang, have you thought of a solution to those three difficult problems?"

"Sigh, it is difficult! We can only leave it to fate."

"Who can say otherwise? The Emperor of the Great Tang is truly wise and martial to be able to conceive of such difficult problems."

The envoys from the various nations discussed the matter, shaking their heads and swaying their heads.

Lu Dongzan walked toward the imperial palace with a light gait, his expression extremely relaxed, forming a sharp contrast with the surrounding envoys.

Last night.

Qin Mu had already told him the answers to the three difficult problems.

Lu Dongzan was naturally full of confidence.

Even if the answers to these three problems were incorrect, he would have no fault.

In any case, he was acting according to the answers given by His Majesty.

At the very least, he had no psychological burden.

"The envoys of the various nations are granted an audience!"

Following a loud shout, the numerous envoys arrived one after another at the Taiji Hall.

At this moment, inside the Taiji Hall, the civil and military officials of the Great Tang had already arrived and were waiting.

Li Er sat upon the dragon throne, his face full of spring breeze, waiting to welcome the envoys of the various nations.

Zhangsun Wuji stood to one side, lost in thought, feeling very strange in his heart.

According to his conjecture, Lu Dongzan must not have been able to think of the answers to the three difficult problems and would certainly have come to the Duke of Zhao's residence early this morning to seek the answers from him.

But who would have thought.

Zhangsun Wuji had risen early, only to wait in vain.

Not only did he not see a shadow of Lu Dongzan, he even almost missed the time for the morning court session.

Frustrating!

Truly extremely frustrating!

Besides this.

Zhangsun Wuji also felt a trace of lingering fear in his heart.

After all, telling the Tibetan special envoy the answers to the three difficult problems was a task personally assigned by Li Er, yet he had feigned compliance while acting in opposition.

If Lu Dongzan could not state the answers to the three difficult problems, then His Majesty would certainly blame him; but if he took the initiative to tell him the answers, wouldn't that be a slap to his own face? A dilemma!

"This Lu Dongzan, he truly does not know the times!"

Zhangsun Wuji complained in a small, resentful voice.

And just at this moment, the envoys from the various nations had already arrived one after another at the Taiji Hall.

"We pay respects to the Emperor of the Great Tang!"

The crowd bowed to Li Er one after another.

"You may all rise and stand at ease."

"Regarding the three difficult problems agreed upon yesterday, I presume you all have the answers, so let us begin the solutions."

Li Er smiled slightly and gave a wink to the attendant beside him.

The attendant understood, stepped forward, and began to announce the question in a loud voice.

"The first problem: threading a needle through a pearl!"

After the words fell, several guards brought a long table in from outside the hall.

On the table sat a bright pearl, along with several silk threads.

In the center of that bright pearl was a small hole, with nine winding paths inside, the craftsmanship extremely complex.

"Honored envoys, please thread the silk thread from one end of the pearl to the other."

The attendant said loudly to the envoys of the various nations.

"I shall try!"

An envoy from Tuyuhun walked impatiently to the front of the long table and tried to force the silk thread into the small hole of the pearl, but no matter what method he used, he could not make the silk thread come out from the other side of the pearl.

Soon, the Tuyuhun envoy was sweating profusely from anxiety.

He failed!

Next.

The second and third envoys tried their hands one after another, but without exception, they all failed.

"Emperor of the Great Tang, this problem is truly too difficult; there is simply no way to solve it!"

"Indeed, how could anyone possibly accomplish this?"

"It is impossible!"

The crowd shook their heads and sighed, feeling extremely annoyed.

Li Er also nodded with a smile and said: "You need not be discouraged. This problem is indeed an eternal puzzle; even if you cannot solve it, it is not your fault."

In fact, even he himself did not have the answer to this difficult problem.

Of the three difficult problems, Li Er actually only knew the answer to the last one.

Because only that last problem was one he had posed himself.

As for the first two difficult problems, they were both unsolvable!

This was precisely where Li Er's brilliance lay.

Two unsolvable problems, plus one problem he controlled himself—one only needed to grasp this single answer to be sufficient for someone to win.

It both reduced the risk and increased the certainty. **CHAPTER 52**