Chapter 196 Shen Qing is truly a genius
Outside the main hall, the crowd of female dependents and eunuchs who came to watch the excitement were also in a frenzy.
Tao Hong tugged at Qin Guiru's sleeve and whispered,
"Lord, this question is too difficult, isn't it? Can Lord Shen answer it?"
Before Qin Guiru could speak, a eunuch next to her interjected in a low voice, "I bet Lord Shen can!"
A strange glint flickered in Qin Guiru's beautiful eyes; she had an almost blind faith in that man.
At the same time, several young Palace Maids had already taken off, their short legs carrying them like the wind towards the Imperial Harem.
Kunning Palace, Fengyi Palace… the Empress, the Noble Consort, Consort Qing, and even Consort Su, who served the Empress Dowager, had all sent their people to wait outside, just for this first-hand juicy gossip.
This kind of famous scene of intellectual combat in the imperial court was a hundred times more exciting than the catfights among sisters in the Imperial Harem!
...Inside the Golden Throne Hall, the atmosphere was growing increasingly tense.
Emperor Ren looked at the ministers below, who usually boasted to high heaven but were now completely stumped at the crucial moment, his face almost as dark as the bottom of a pot.
He turned his head and asked He Shun beside him in a low voice, "Did you figure it out?"
He Shun pulled a long face, leaned into Emperor Ren's ear, and replied in an even lower voice,
"Replying to Your Majesty, this old servant cannot figure it out. The jade pendant on this old servant's body is fake."
Emperor Ren: "..."
Just then, First Scholar of Wulin Kingdom took an incense stick from his attendant, lit it on the spot, and placed it in the incense burner.
A wisp of green smoke curled upwards.
He sneered and announced, "I'll give everyone the time it takes for one incense stick to burn.
If the incense burns out and you still haven't thought of an answer, then these five hundred thousand taels will belong to our Wulin Kingdom!"
Time passed by second by second.
Watching the incense stick burn down by nearly half, the hall remained in dead silence, everyone at a loss.
Weigh it once?
No matter how they weighed it, they couldn't figure it out!
Emperor Ren's forehead had already begun to sweat.
Five hundred thousand taels!
If he lost this, he would have to tighten his belt this month!
He slammed the dragon chair, his gaze like lightning, directly shooting towards the figure in the corner.
"Minister Shen!"
"Do you have a solution?"
Whoosh—
All eyes in the hall instantly focused on Shen Yulou.
Under everyone's gaze, a mixture of anticipation and doubt, Shen Yulou slowly walked out from the ranks.
He glanced at First Scholar of Wulin Kingdom, merely giving a faint smile, his tone full of disdain.
"I thought it was some earth-shattering problem.
After all this fuss, it turns out that the smartest person in the Wulin Kingdom can only come up with questions like children playing house?"
As soon as these words came out, First Scholar of Wulin Kingdom's face instantly changed!
His face flushed, and he said somewhat angrily,
"The question is simple? Then you answer it!
Answer it first, then you can boast!"
Shen Yulou ignored him, merely bowing slightly to Emperor Ren, his voice not loud but clearly spreading throughout the entire hall.
"Replying to Your Majesty, this question is quite simple."
"From the first box of jade pendants, take out one piece.
From the second box of jade pendants, take out two pieces.
From the third box, take out three pieces... and so on, until the tenth box, from which you take out ten pieces."
"Then, place all the taken-out jade pendants together on a scale to weigh them."
"If all ten boxes of jade pendants are genuine, then their total weight must be a fixed standard value."
"And now, because one of the boxes is a fake, the actual weight measured will definitely be lighter than the standard weight."
As Shen Yulou said this, a playful smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, his gaze sweeping over the dumbfounded First Scholar of Wulin Kingdom.
"The actual weight is lighter than the standard weight by how many parts? Then, that box of fakes is the corresponding box number."
"For example, if it's lighter by three parts, then the third box is fake. If it's lighter by five parts, then it's the fifth box."
As his voice fell.
The entire Golden Throne Hall was silent, so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.
A few seconds later.
"Holy crap!!"
"So that's how it is!"
"Damn it! Why didn't I think of that!"
All the ministers, after a moment of dead silence, exploded!
Their faces were filled with expressions of sudden realization and 'holy cow, that's brilliant'.
At this moment, many people suddenly recalled that some time ago, Shen Yulou seemed to have used a similar method to test Grand Tutor Wang!
It was also a seemingly impossible task, and also a solution that made people exclaim in admiration!
What kind of brain did this man have, after all?!
First Scholar of Wulin Kingdom's arrogant face had completely collapsed at this moment.
It turned red, then white, and finally became a liver color.
But in Yue Yao's captivating beautiful eyes, there were continuous flashes of brilliance!
She looked at the man standing with his hands behind his back, calm and composed, and felt as if a mysterious aura enveloped him.
This man was indeed... extraordinary!
"Good! Good! Good!"
On the dragon chair, Emperor Ren slapped his thigh and excitedly stood up.
"As expected of Minister Shen! Truly a prodigy!"
Emperor Ren was immensely pleased, and his posture straightened a few points.
He looked down at the stunned First Scholar of Wulin Kingdom below, deliberately drawing out his words as he asked,
"Talented Scholar Zhou, are you convinced by Minister Shen's solution?"
First Scholar of Wulin Kingdom's face was extremely ugly, his mouth open for a long time, but he couldn't squeeze out a single word.
He gritted his teeth; although Shen Yulou had given the answer, he was certainly not convinced!
"Emperor Ren, this is just the first round. Lord Shen was lucky to guess correctly, it doesn't count for much."
"I posed a question to your esteemed country, and according to etiquette, your esteemed country should return the favor with a question!
If I answer it, then today's matter can only be considered a draw!
Only if I cannot answer it will you be considered the winner!"
"Holy crap! Shameless!"
"Exactly! If you lose, you lose, a draw? Where's that rule?"
The ministers below immediately erupted, each filled with righteous indignation, feeling that this talented scholar's skin was thicker than the city wall.
Emperor Ren snorted coldly, now full of confidence in Shen Yulou.
He waved his hand and said to Shen Yulou,
"Minister Shen, since the Envoy has said so, then you pose a question to them, and let them lose convinced!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Shen Yulou lazily responded and stepped out.
He glanced at First Scholar of Wulin Kingdom, a hint of disdain curving his lips.
"Sigh, I originally didn't want to bully you all.
The difficult problems you racked your brains to come up with are merely child's play in our Da Hun."
Shen Yulou shook his head and sighed.
"How about this, I won't make it difficult for you. I'll just give you a few questions that three-year-olds in our Imperial Academy can answer."
As soon as these words came out, First Scholar of Wulin Kingdom's face instantly turned cold, and he said disdainfully,
"Lord Shen is far too arrogant! Whatever questions you have, just ask them!"
"Good, then listen carefully."
Shen Yulou extended a finger and slowly said,
"First question: a monkey riding on a tree, and one monkey on the ground. Please tell me, how many monkeys are there in total