Chapter 495: Bad News Arrives

"Oh my, Chan'er, the sun is so strong today, let me do it, let me do it, you go aside and rest!"

Feng Sanniang looked at Xie Chan, truly liking her more the more she looked; this woman who had spent half her life as an armed escort dreamed of nothing more than her son giving her a grandson to hold soon. Ever since Liu Dahao was promoted to Prefectural Governor of Liangzhou, Feng Sanniang had gradually handed over the business in her hands to her nephews and nieces, intending to return and enjoy her twilight years.

With her own son being so capable, why would she still keep thinking about escorting?

She had always been a wanderer of the pugilistic world.

Naturally, her mind did not hold many concepts of "social standing matching."

Therefore, she was very satisfied with Xie Chan.

The more she looked, the more she liked her...

During this time, Xie Chan had also long grown accustomed to the lady's enthusiasm toward her. Facing this kind-hearted and spirited woman, she also felt a fondness in her heart, even feeling that she treated her better and with more concern than even her own mother, the Empress, did...

Liu Zheng must have truly grown up in a perfect family, right?

"Madam, Xie Chan is fine..."

Xie Chan hurriedly performed a curtsy.

Feng Sanniang walked over, affectionately took her hand, and laughed heartily: "Then the two of us will do it together, the two of us together, come, come, come!"

This mother and daughter-in-law-to-be, as expected, went to distribute grain together.

This made Xiao Tao, who was behind them, mutter another sentence. But muttering was just muttering; in truth, she understood in her heart that her young mistress was already twenty years old, and finding a suitable family to marry into where she wouldn't be bullied was what truly mattered... This Feng Sanniang was truly good; she was meticulous about everything, it was just that her personality was a bit silly... Every so often, she would lock the two of them in Liu Zheng's room, under the pretext of letting Xie Chan first experience Liu Zheng's living atmosphere.

Moreover...

She also knew that her young mistress was actually becoming more and more interested in this Prefectural Governor Liu.

A few days ago, Liu Zheng sent her a letter, and she smiled as she read it.

Sigh...

Thinking back to the "stabbing tomorrow" of the past, Xiao Tao only felt that all things in the world were truly hard to fathom...

The two women began distributing grain amidst the gratitude of the people, while she, a maid, had instead become a complete idler.

What a sin!

Is there any maid like her?

Xiao Tao was bored to death, rolling her eyes as she looked around.

Suddenly.

She felt the surrounding environment was somewhat wrong.

Why were there so many people queuing for grain today?

A sense of alarm suddenly arose in her heart, and she shouted: "Madam, Young Mistress, be careful!"

"I've figured it out, I've figured it out!"

"Help me take a look, is it like this, is it like this?"

Liu Zheng hadn't even gotten out of bed that day when the door was being banged on.

He got up, dazed, to open the door.

Jie Yu was already standing at the door in excitement, running in with a huge pile of files in her arms, and with a clatter, threw them all on Liu Zheng's floor, shouting: "Is so-called Algebra just the roots of variables?"

Liu Zheng's sleepiness was instantly startled away.

Good heavens...

Was this Jie Yu truly a genius? He had only proposed the concept of Algebra a few days ago, and following that, she had been obsessed for several days; he hadn't expected her to find the basic concept of Algebra so quickly!

Amazing!

A genius!

In ancient times, after a large number of solutions to various quantitative problems had accumulated in arithmetic, in order to seek systematic and more universal methods to solve problems of various quantitative relationships, elementary algebra, centered on the principles of solving equations, was born.

Algebra evolved from arithmetic; this was beyond doubt. As for which era the discipline of Algebra was produced in, it was not easy to clarify. For example, if you consider "Algebra" to mean the technique of solving equations represented by symbols like bxk=0, this kind of "Algebra" only developed in the sixteenth century.

Which is to say, now.

Therefore, in reality, the development of human mathematics had already reached the point where the concept of Algebra was about to appear.

Jie Yu had been shackled for a long time, and she was just a hair's breadth away from a breakthrough.

The person pointing the way for her was naturally Liu Zheng.

Liu Zheng chuckled: "That's right."

Jie Yu added excitedly: "Then Geometry is space?"

Liu Zheng was startled again, nodding in a daze.

"I understand!"

Then...

Jie Yu picked up her pile of files again and slammed the door as she left.

I...

Liu Zheng touched his nose; just like that?

He couldn't help but laugh.

He actually quite liked the busyness of these past few days; these people of Wangbei would wait for him every day to explain this and that, many strange and peculiar questions, and thus there were many strange and peculiar answers for them.

It really is good...

Imparting knowledge and teaching the Dao makes one feel refreshed.

"Haha, Prefectural Governor Liu is up very early today!"

Liu Zheng got up and went out to wash, and Wang Chao had actually already arrived.

Liu Zheng smiled: "Dean, today this is..."

Wang Chao laughed heartily, not knowing if it was true or false, and said leisurely: "The days Prefectural Governor Liu has been here, I have truly been rarely relaxed! If Prefectural Governor Liu could always be at the Academy, that would be great."

Huh?

Liu Zheng gave a wry smile.

The way these intellectuals spoke was just different. Did this mean he was complaining that he had stayed at the Academy for too long? That it made him, a dignified Dean, have no sense of presence?

This whole thing was laughable.

Back at Cloud Peak, he had been desperate to lock himself away for a month, fearing he wouldn't make it back for Xie Tianyao's birthday; now, he was afraid that if he stayed too long, this Academy would truly have no place for him. This complex shift in his mindset naturally stemmed from the recent changes in the Academy...

Liu Zheng chuckled, "But Liu Zheng cannot stay for long, and I must return to Liangzhou in the coming days. However, I have prepared some books I recently compiled for you, Dean. Could you take a look to see if there is anything amiss and help me polish them? Naturally, these books must bear your name as the author, Dean, otherwise, I fear my name alone would not be enough to convince the public!"

Wang Chao's eyes lit up, "Is that true?"

Liu Zheng nodded with a smile, "Naturally, it is true."

If someone had suffered a loss, didn't one have to give them a piece of candy? Liu Zheng's grasp of the human heart had reached the pinnacle. He knew that by forcing a cooperation with the Academy, Wang Chao must be feeling uncomfortable. At a time like this, one could not suppress him too much; instead, one had to elevate his status, and these books were the perfect opportunity. People of this era cared most about reputation, and Liu Zheng no longer needed it.

What did it matter if he put his name on them?

"Hahahaha, Prefect Liu is truly magnanimous, good, good, good! Then this old man will work through the night to finish the revisions!"

Wang Chao laughed happily.

At this moment.

Suddenly, there was a sound of hurried footsteps. Looking back, Qin Zhangfeng appeared with an anxious look on his face.

Had something happened?

Liu Zheng suddenly shuddered.

Qin Zhangfeng walked over, ignoring Wang Chao's presence, his voice choked with emotion, "Young Master, the Madam and General Xie..."

Liu Zheng felt dizzy, "What happened?"