Chapter 310: Mindset Explosion

Oh, someone else is handing in their paper?

Su Qingyao and Gongsun Ang looked at each other, and Gongsun Ang laughed, "It should be Young Master Duan."

After all, besides Jiang Zhan, Duan Xiu was the strongest in the whole hall, and they had long ago made a bet and were in a state of open and secret struggle.

Jiang Zhan just handed in his paper; could Duan Xiu endure it?

Su Qingyao thought the same.

When the test paper was placed on the desk, the first thing the two did was to look at the signature.

And then they both said "Eh" at the same time.

"Jiang, Yan?" Su Qingyao read the name in confusion.

Strange, it wasn't Duan Xiu.

Gongsun Ang was also a bit surprised, but his attention quickly turned to the paper in front of him, "I do have some impression of this Jiang Yan; he seems to be the 16th place in the last round, and his literary talent is also very outstanding."

Su Qingyao suddenly became interested and lowered his head to look at the test paper.

"Hmm, the poem is written well, meaningful, every word is a pearl, one can see it was written by someone with depth and experience." He was very satisfied.

Gongsun Ang nodded along, "It is indeed worthy of being called excellent."

Flipping to the second page.

Arithmetic problems all have dead answers, and grading them is very simple; one look is enough to know if it's correct or not.

Su Qingyao's gaze swept over it casually.

The next moment, his pupils shook.

He turned his head woodenly to look at his old partner beside him, full of doubt about life, "Old Gongsun, you say my problems... are they too simple?"

Otherwise, why did everyone solve them, and so fast!

"That shouldn't be." Gongsun Ang was also puzzled, "Anyway, if I were to do them, I couldn't solve most of them."

He laughed, "Master, don't be in a hurry. Let's call that Jiang Yan up and ask, and we'll know."

Su Qingyao nodded gloomily.

He had been interested in arithmetic since he was a child, one could say to the point of obsession, and he had always been conceited, thinking that few people in the whole Da Zhao could beat him.

But now, two candidates in a row had easily solved the high-difficulty arithmetic problems he set.

Jiang Zhan was fine; after all, he was Jiang Mo Nian's cub, so it was reasonable for him to know how to do them.

What kind of monster was this Jiang Yan?

Eh, wait!

Jiang Zhan, Jiang Yan, both surnamed Jiang...

Su Qingyao suddenly realized something and hurriedly flipped to the native place on the two people's papers. Sure enough, as expected, they both wrote "Longquan Village, Xiushan Town, Wutou County."

Thinking for a while, he ordered the bailiff to bring the person who handed in the paper.

Soon Jiang Yan stood in front of the invigilator's platform.

Su Qingyao looked down at him. He was a bit old, but he looked quite spirited, and his face looked like an honest man who didn't joke around.

"Jiang Yan, I have already read your test paper; you did well." He paused, then asked, "Are you from the same village as Jiang Zhan?"

Jiang Yan bowed slightly and performed a half-bow, his attitude neither humble nor arrogant.

"Strictly speaking, we are from the same clan; I am Jiang Zhan's clan uncle."

So that's how it was.

Then it was no wonder.

Su Qingyao felt he understood, "In that case, your arithmetic should also have been taught by Jiang Mo Nian, right?"

Jiang Yan didn't blush or skip a beat, "Master has a discerning eye."

Su Qingyao was suddenly relieved.

He had said so; the problems he set were clearly so difficult that even arithmetic masters couldn't solve them, so how could everyone know how to do them?

Jiang Mo Nian was indeed very powerful.

However, Su Qingyao was half curious and half unconvinced about just how powerful he was, so he decided to examine Jiang Yan on the spot.

"Suppose I have ten lit candles on this desk, and suddenly a strong wind blows in from the door, blowing out three. I hurriedly go to protect them, but the wind is too strong, and it blows out another one. I ask you, how many candles are left on the table?"

Calling it an examination was more like making things difficult.

This problem was given to him by Uncle Si Zhu Xian back in the day, and he got it wrong.

Today, he would take the opportunity to suppress Jiang Yan, so Jiang Yan wouldn't think his arithmetic was invincible in the world, *humph*.

Gongsun Ang beside him wanted to speak but stopped.

Jiang Yan suddenly wanted to laugh; Su Qingyao was deliberately digging a hole for him to jump into.

For the past few days, Du Ruo had been giving him and Jiang Zhan intensive training every day, and it just so happened that this type of problem was included. Du Ruo called it a "brain teaser," saying that one had to consider it from a different angle to get the correct answer.

And the correct answer was...

"There are four candles left," he said.

Su Qingyao was completely stunned.

Gongsun Ang sighed secretly; this was a giveaway question, so how could he get it wrong?

Ten candles, four blown out, of course, there are six left.

Even a child could solve this problem.

Just as he was thinking this, he heard his Master speak gloomily, "Hmm, let's just say you got it right."

Now it was Gongsun Ang's turn to be stunned.

Got it right?

How could this be!

He looked at Su Qingyao in surprise. Not being able to stump Jiang Yan as expected made Su Qingyao a bit unhappy, and he waved his hand, "Alright, I have an idea of your strength. Go back and prepare for the next exam."

The implication was that he passed.

"Thank you, My Lord." Jiang Yan was neither happy nor impatient, turned calmly, and walked toward the outside of the exam hall.

When he couldn't see his back anymore, Gongsun Ang asked hurriedly, "Master, why are there four candles left?"

"Are you stupid?" Su Qingyao rolled his eyes at him, "Ten candles, besides the four blown out by the wind, the rest naturally burned out, so where would there be any left?"

Gongsun Ang: "..."

What was burning wasn't candles, but his brain; it was all burnt to a crisp.

Su Qingyao stood up and stretched, walked down the invigilator's platform, and began to pace back and forth in the exam hall.

Originally, Jiang Zhan handing in the paper early had brought a certain amount of psychological pressure to the candidates, and later seeing Jiang Yan also hand in the paper made them even more restless.

Now with the chief examiner watching, everyone was nervous to the point of breaking.

Especially Duan Xiu.

Duan Xiu's mindset was about to explode.

(Alas, I really don't have time, let's just water down a chapter first, and I'll make up for it tomorrow.) ===== CHAPTER 311 =====