Chapter 263: The Gap is Too Wide
Before even stepping onto the steps of the Imperial Examination Hall, Li Xiaonan heard the sounds of laughter and a great clamor from within.
Gu Yan let out a faint hum.
His uncle advocated for a balance of work and rest to allow for the free expression of nature, but every time they let him go, they couldn’t reel him back in!
Li Xiaonan quickened her pace. Just as she passed Gu Yan, Wan Jing rushed forward and grabbed Li Xiaonan’s arm, then quickly let go.
Li Xiaonan stumbled from the pull.
Gu Yan and Fourth Mistress Wei both looked at Li Xiaonan.
Li Xiaonan steadied herself, quickly putting on a smile and gesturing for Gu Yan to go ahead.
Gu Yan glanced at Wan Jing and stepped forward.
Fourth Mistress Wei did her best to suppress a laugh and patted the head-bowed Wan Jing.
As Gu Yan stepped over the threshold, a crisp, loud whip crack suddenly sounded. The clamor within the Imperial Examination Hall abruptly ceased, replaced by the sound of hurried footsteps.
Li Xiaonan quickly stepped forward, holding her breath, and craned her neck to look inside the Imperial Examination Hall.
Wei Educational Commissioner and the others, who were waiting and talking inside the gate, hurried forward and stood in a line with their hands clasped.
Wei Educational Commissioner looked at Li Xiaonan, who was standing next to Gu Yan and craning her neck to look around, then at his nephew. A wave of melancholy and sadness washed over him. His nephew, who was brilliant in both literary and military arts, handsome, and held a high position, was going to marry such a crude country girl!
Alas!
Li Xiaonan walked closely beside Gu Yan, turning her head to look around as she walked.
The scholars attending the lecture stood in formation along both sides of the path. In front of each formation stood a board identical to the whiteboard she had prepared, with two scribes standing beside it.
Li Xiaonan thought of Shi Gun’s introduction. Yes, it was like a live broadcast classroom, but with a human touch. She wondered how effective it would be.
Gu Yan glanced at Li Xiaonan from time to time, his hands behind his back, his expression unusually cold.
Alas, A Nan has no presence looking left and right. He feared that if he were to remain as amiable as before, A Nan would not be able to control the situation when she lectured, and it would become chaotic. These young scholars were the most audacious and reckless.
Li Xiaonan looked at the scholars standing so obediently, only daring to move their eyeballs. She wanted to sigh; the rules here were too strict!
The place for lecturing seemed to be specifically designed for it. It was a square pavilion, situated on a stone base about two feet high. The door panels on all four sides of the pavilion had been removed, and there were steps on all four sides. Below each set of steps was a whiteboard.
Gu Yan stood at the foot of the steps and gestured for Li Xiaonan to go up.
Li Xiaonan lifted her skirt and lightly ascended the steps. Wan Jing curtsied to Gu Yan and followed Li Xiaonan up the steps.
She was Li Xiaonan’s chief assistant.
Gu Yan watched Li Xiaonan sit down in the center of the pavilion and then turned to enter a temporary tent set up to the side.
Wei Educational Commissioner followed Gu Yan, muttering, “Truly ignorant and fearless.”
Gu Yan turned back to look at Wei Educational Commissioner. “Rest assured.”
Inside the pavilion on the platform, Li Xiaonan got straight to the point. “We will now begin with the first problem from the Sea Island Mathematical Manual.”
Li Xiaonan paused. Wan Jing quickly took out a paper scroll labeled with the character “one” from a box that had been placed in the center of the pavilion earlier. Four servants each handed a scroll to the foot of the steps on the four sides. Wan Jing lifted the red silk covering the whiteboard in the center of the pavilion.
As soon as Li Xiaonan finished speaking, her words spread outwards like ripples, and it seemed to be working.
Mr. Shao and Ni Rush stood among the scholars’ formations, listening to the sound being transmitted, and craned their necks to look at the whiteboard.
The scribes next to the whiteboard had already seen the diagrams beforehand. With a glance, they quickly drew them out with charcoal pencils and rulers.
The drawing was simple: a triangle with a diagonal line and two straight lines in the middle.
Ni Rush frowned and looked closely. Mr. Shao smiled and nodded. It was a good start, but the Sea Island Mathematical Manual was truly too simple.
“How to solve this problem, everyone present surely already knows, so we will skip over it. This problem uses similar triangles. We will discuss the conditions for similarity. How to determine if two triangles are similar, how to prove it…”
Ni Rush looked stunned and instinctively looked at Mr. Shao. Mr. Shao stretched his neck, staring at the triangles being drawn one after another on the whiteboard, clearly unable to keep up.
From the moment Li Xiaonan said “skip over it,” Wei Educational Commissioner was confused. However, he had never been good at Investigation of Things. Wei Educational Commissioner turned to ask the Investigation of Things professor from the Prefectural School, “Which book are these she’s talking about from?”
The Investigation of Things professor frowned and shook his head.
“Then did you understand it?” Wei Educational Commissioner sized up the Investigation of Things professor.
“It’s alright, please don’t speak,” the Investigation of Things professor said, his brow furrowed.
“Tell Miss Li to speak slower,” Gu Yan calmly instructed Shi Gun.
He had experienced A Nan’s profound knowledge in Investigation of Things.
Inside the pavilion, Li Xiaonan paused. “Regarding parallel lines, does anyone have any questions?”
There was a moment of silence in the crowd. Someone raised their hand. “Student believes that visual estimation is sufficient.”
Wan Jing immediately looked at Li Xiaonan, her face blooming into a smile as she rushed towards two paper tubes.
Thin, transparent bamboo shadow paper was passed from all sides to all directions. Straight lines were drawn on the bamboo shadow paper.
Immediately after, another piece of cotton paper, covered in shades of color, was passed out again. The scribes, following instructions, placed the colored cotton paper beneath the bamboo shadow paper.
After a moment of silence, screams erupted, and the scene descended into chaos.
“Now, can you still estimate visually? Seeing is not always believing,” Li Xiaonan said with a smile.
Wan Jing tightly pursed her lips, standing on tiptoe, watching the chaos below.
Wei Educational Commissioner stared at the parallel lines that became crooked and distorted the moment the cotton paper was placed underneath. He rushed forward, pulled away the cotton paper, and watched the lines instantly become straight again. He waved his hand, signaling the scribes to place the cotton paper back, and watched the lines become chaotic again. He grabbed the Investigation of Things professor, “What is going on? How can this be?”
“I don’t know either!” The Investigation of Things professor stepped forward, lifted the bamboo shadow paper, looked, put it down, looked again, and lifted it up.
“Why is it that when those colors are placed underneath, our eyes are deceived? Why are we in the mirror the reverse of ourselves? If we can truly understand the Sea Island Mathematical Manual, we will understand why.”
Ni Rush stared at the lines that were sometimes straight and sometimes chaotic. Listening to Li Xiaonan’s words, he was filled with confusion. He looked at Mr. Shao, whose brow was deeply furrowed. Knowing that he surely didn’t understand either, he couldn’t help but ask, “Teacher, what is going on?”
“I heard there are lecture notes,” Mr. Shao replied, not answering the question.
Gu Yan stood at the entrance of the tent, watching the confused scholars around him with a half-smile.
He knew they wouldn’t understand!
Inside the tent, Wei Educational Commissioner grabbed the Investigation of Things professor again. “Did you understand it or not?”
“I have some understanding, some understanding. Don’t talk!” The Investigation of Things professor pushed Wei Educational Commissioner away.
Wei Educational Commissioner glanced at the Investigation of Things professor, who was sweating profusely, and walked over to Gu Yan. “I didn’t expect the Sea Island Mathematical Manual to be so profound. I think…”
“Whether the Sea Island Mathematical Manual is profound depends on whether one encounters a profound person. When you taught me back then, it wasn’t this profound,” Gu Yan retorted unceremoniously.
“Indeed, indeed. Uncle isn’t good at Investigation of Things,” Wei Educational Commissioner said with a dry laugh. “I mean, why don’t we let everyone see the lecture notes? Miss Li’s lecturing is like casting pearls before swine. Look, even Old Liu didn’t understand.”
Gu Yan looked at Wei Educational Commissioner. After a moment, he grunted.
This was the effect he wanted. He didn’t want A Nan to lecture all day; he was too fond of her!
Li Xiaonan’s grand lecture only lasted half an hour before she and Wan Jing moved to the main hall behind. They leaned against the window frame, watching the scholars in the classrooms on both sides and in the courtyard, with professors or senior students leading them, frowning at the whiteboards.
“Is it that difficult?” Li Xiaonan asked Fourth Mistress Wei.
“Father has already sent an urgent copy of the lecture notes to the Hanlin Academy. There is an Investigation of Things Hall in the Hanlin Academy,” Fourth Mistress Wei said, bowing slightly with great respect.
Her Wei family held the utmost respect for true scholars.
Li Xiaonan rested her chin on her hand and sighed heavily. If what she had lectured on today was too difficult, then the things she planned to write might not be understood by anyone, and writing them would be in vain.
She needed to find a way to write some foundational books first!
