Chapter 23: Chicken and Rabbit in the Same Cage

Sang Hongyang, this famous financial expert and minister of the dying emperor in history, was only in his early twenties now.

A Jiao followed Liu Li's suggestion and summoned Sang Hongyang, who was currently serving as an Attendant in the Office of the Privy Treasurer, to the Xuanshi Hall. Liu Li followed by A Jiao's side and finally saw this commercial genius who was said to be comparable to Lu Buwei of the Great Qin.

Historical records state that Sang Hongyang came from a family of merchants and was famous in Luoyang at the age of thirteen for his proficiency in mental arithmetic; he was a well-known child prodigy in the local area.

At that time, the still-living Han Jingdi heard of this and summoned Sang Hongyang to Chang'an to serve as a study companion for the Crown Prince, Liu Che. It could be said that the private friendship between Sang Hongyang and Liu Che was quite deep.

After Liu Che ascended the throne, Sang Hongyang was appointed as an Attendant, but he had not been able to exert his usefulness at this time.

Because in the early days of Emperor Wu of Han, the wealth left behind by the two emperors Wen and Jing was enough for Liu Che to squander. Sang Hongyang was accustomed to careful calculation, but the wealthy and powerful Liu Che felt it was unnecessary, so all these years, Sang Hongyang had no opportunity to be promoted.

Now suddenly summoned by the Emperor, Sang Hongyang just thought the Emperor was bored and looking for him to reminisce. Entering the Xuanshi Hall, he not only saw the Emperor but also unexpectedly saw a little girl of about five or six years old sitting beside the Emperor.

The little girl's eyes, like glazed beads, stared straight at him, with curiosity undisguised in her eyes. After a moment of thought, Sang Hongyang recognized the little girl's identity.

The legitimate daughter born to the Empress, the Jianling Chang Gongzhu who had just been titled by the Emperor a few days ago.

It was a rare thing for the Emperor to actually bring the Princess to the Xuanshi Hall.

Seeing that Sang Hongyang had arrived, A Jiao directly let Sang Hongyang take a seat and went straight to the point: "Attendant Sang, if I were to grant you the position of Grand Minister of Agriculture, what kind of financial reform could you bring me?"

The Grand Minister of Agriculture was an official under the Grand Minister of Agriculture, ranking among the Nine Ministers, specifically in charge of money, grain, and financial revenue and expenditure, which was simply a perfect match for Sang Hongyang's major.

Hearing the Emperor's words, Sang Hongyang was stunned on the spot, unable to believe his ears: "Your Majesty, you... what do you mean?"

Had the Emperor finally started to consider how to make money instead of how to spend it?

"It is exactly what you think it means."

He stood up almost excitedly, full of ambition: "Your subject will certainly not fail your expectations. Tomorrow, your subject will present a memorial." In all these years as an Attendant, he had actually calculated countless times regarding the economic reform of the Great Han.

It was just a pity that every time he wanted to mention these things to the Emperor, the Emperor would always use the excuse that the national treasury was full and did not intend to vigorously develop the national commerce. This also made him have full ambitions but nowhere to display them.

Now that the Emperor had suddenly changed, Sang Hongyang was naturally excited and happy. He had already walked back and forth in front of the Emperor several times, seemingly unable to calm his excitement.

Seeing him like this, A Jiao only found him interesting. She lowered her eyes to look at her daughter, asking with her gaze: How to make him calm down?

Liu Li could actually understand the excitement of Sang Hongyang, whose ambitions could finally be displayed after so many years. This was like working diligently and hard in a company every day for decades without being able to get a promotion. But suddenly one day, the boss promoted you, letting you change from an ordinary employee to a department manager.

Could one not be excited?

Liu Li climbed up from the soft cushion beside A Jiao and walked toward the still-excited Sang Hongyang with her short legs. She reached out and gently tugged at his sleeve, looking up at him: "Master Sang."

Sang Hongyang snapped back to reality, looking down at the source of the voice. Looking at the Princess who looked like a little dumpling, he couldn't help but bend down slightly before speaking: "What are the Princess's instructions?"

Liu Li puffed out her cheeks slightly, pretending to touch the back of Sang Hongyang's hand inadvertently, and successfully heard the system's prompt: 【Ding, unlocked Sang Hongyang's favorability: 5】

Whoa? Sang Hongyang actually had an initial favorability value of 5 points toward her; this was quite a surprise to Liu Li.

"Master Sang, I heard from my Imperial Father that you were particularly good at mental arithmetic when you were young?" Liu Li asked Sang Hongyang in a childish, innocent voice.

Mentioning what he was best at, Sang Hongyang nodded confidently: "Of course, your Imperial Father once competed with me."

"Then who won?" Liu Li asked deliberately.

"That goes without saying? Naturally, it was me..." He answered proudly, but realized that the object of that competition was right in front of him, so he hurriedly remedied: "Of course, the Emperor was also very impressive at that time."

Liu Li chuckled, and then said: "Master Sang, actually I can also do mental arithmetic, and I also want to compete with you. Do you dare to compete with me?"

Sang Hongyang's gaze fixed on the little girl in front of him, his expression as if he had heard some huge joke: "You?" It was not that Sang Hongyang was boasting, but he was indeed proficient in mental arithmetic when he was young. Before entering the palace, he had already been helping to handle his family's business.

For him, arithmetic problems that required calculating rods could all be solved through mental arithmetic.

Now a five-year-old child actually wanted to challenge him; for a moment, he was between laughter and tears.

However, Sang Hongyang caught a glimpse of the Emperor to the side, who seemed very interested in this unfair competition. Could it be that the little Princess said she wanted to compete with him just to please the Emperor?

Even if she lost to him in the end, it was nothing shameful; on the contrary, the Emperor would definitely think Princess Li was intelligent.

Tsk, were the children in the Weiyang Palace so scheming at five years old?

If Liu Li knew that Sang Hongyang was thinking of her this way, she would probably go find a piece of tofu to bump into to prove her innocence.

Oh, in the Western Han at this time, there wasn't even tofu.

Sang Hongyang raised his eyebrows and said: "Since the Princess wants to compete with me, then I will certainly accompany you. Why don't you set the question yourself, Princess?"

Liu Li blinked her eyes and said: "Okay, then I will ask the simplest chicken and rabbit in the same cage problem." She remained innocent on the surface, but her heart was already blooming with joy.

She cleared her throat and asked the question: "Now there are chickens and rabbits in the same cage, with thirty-five heads above and ninety-four feet below. How many chickens and rabbits are there respectively?"

Sang Hongyang, who was proficient in mental arithmetic: "..."

The chicken and rabbit in the same cage problem could be considered a relatively well-known arithmetic problem in ancient times. This classic problem was also recorded in the "Mathematical Classic of Master Sun." However, this "Mathematical Classic of Master Sun" originated from the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, so for the Western Han at this time, it was an advanced problem.

Looking at Sang Hongyang's gradually solemn expression, Liu Li pursed her lips and thought, would she be bullying the ancients a bit too much by doing this?

"So, how many chickens and rabbits are there exactly?" Leaving the Xuanshi Hall, mother and daughter sat on the imperial carriage, and A Jiao also asked her daughter with great curiosity.

Just now, even Sang Hongyang couldn't answer this problem and had to go home to calculate it, and would come back with the answer later.

Liu Li burst into laughter and then told A Jiao the answer: "There are 23 chickens and 12 rabbits."

"Why?" At this moment, A Jiao completely transformed into a curious baby. Why was it this number?

Liu Li held A Jiao's broad, large hand and wrote and gestured in her palm, teaching her how to solve the problem: "Let's assume that all the animals in this cage are chickens..."

A Jiao listened carefully to her daughter's explanation. She nodded as if she understood, but she was still confused.

It couldn't be blamed on A Jiao for not understanding; after all, in this era, even the education received by the nobility was limited.

"A Li, is that future of yours very exciting?" A Jiao suddenly felt a yearning for the future Liu Li spoke of; it must be a very beautiful world. Just judging by the strange and peculiar things Liu Li took out every time, A Jiao felt that it was something the Great Han could not compare to.

Liu Li nodded: "Yes, the future is very exciting."

A Jiao: "I really want to go and see the future you speak of."

Liu Li saw the yearning in A Jiao's eyes and said silently in her heart: There will be a chance. As long as this split-off space-time develops according to the historical progression, then the Huaxia nation will never fade.

While A Jiao and Liu Li were busy in the Xuanshi Hall, Liu Che was not idle in the Jiaofang Hall. According to ritual law, the Empress had to go to the Changle Palace to pay respects to the Empress Dowager on the first and fifteenth of every month.

At the beginning of the tenth month, because he was busy with sacrificial ceremonies, Liu Che did not go to the Changle Palace. Now it was the middle of the month, and according to the rules, he had to go to the Changle Palace.

Because he was pregnant, Liu Che had been very sleepy recently. On the day of the audience, he got up late,

and arrived at the Changle Palace late.

Inside the Changle Palace, the ladies saw the Empress arriving late, but they dared not be disrespectful and stood up to perform the bowing ceremony one after another. Liu Che glanced at the crowd, and Fuqu, who was to the side as the Longyu, returned the salute on behalf of the Empress.

Liu Che walked to Wang Taihou and subconsciously raised his hand to perform a virtual salute. Before he could speak, he heard Wang Taihou say coldly: "For today's audience, not only is the Empress late, but you are not even performing the kneeling ceremony?"

Liu Che was startled and only then realized that he had come to pay respects to his mother in the identity of A Jiao. After all, the person before him was his own mother, so Liu Che immediately lifted his robes and knelt down, performing the kneeling ceremony to his mother on the main seat: "May Mother be healthy and peaceful."

He prostrated on the ground, waiting for his mother to let him get up. However, after waiting for a long time, he did not hear his mother speak.

Liu Che couldn't help but feel a bit puzzled. He raised his body to look at Wang Taihou, and Wang Taihou scolded: "Empress, when did I tell you to raise your head?"

Liu Che: "??"

Wang Taihou's face was full of displeasure: "It was fine that you didn't come to the audience at the beginning of the month, but you are late again for this audience. If you don't want to come to pay respects to this old woman, then don't come ever again."

With Chen Aiao's temper, she might really not come again in the future. Wang Taihou thought to herself that if Chen Aiao really didn't come, then she could reprimand her on the grounds that the Empress did not follow ritual law.

Facing his own mother, Liu Che was still very patient. He explained: "Mother, you have misunderstood. Recently, I have been a bit sleepy and got up late."

This sentence reminded Wang Taihou, and she said unpleasantly: "Lady Wei has been pregnant for five months, yet she has never been late for an audience day. You don't even have a shadow in your belly yet, but you have become so precious."

Liu Che: "???"

Was this still his gentle and kind mother? Why would she say such harsh words to him? Liu Che looked at his mother before him, but felt an indescribable sense of disconnection.

In his impression, his mother was an intelligent and powerful woman who taught him to learn to endure and restrain himself, but why was his mother so different today?

No, his mother had never treated him like this; this attitude was clearly targeting A Jiao.

But... why would his mother make things so difficult for A Jiao? ===== CHAPTER 24 =====