Chapter 50  : Cruel Slap to Own Face

Xu Wenzhao had seen it with his own eyes.

Shen Lang spent a really short time to figure out the first nine questions and nearly did not do any computations.

He thought Shen Lang was writing nonsense.

However, he got all the questions correct.

That was absurd.

The nine questions were tough Mathematical questions, and only a handful in Xuanwu City could solve them.

Even Xu Wenzhao himself had to spend quite some time and do rigorous computations to solve all of them.

However, Shen Lang merely spent a few moments.

“How… how did he do that?”

Moreover, he did not even do any computations. How did he manage to do the calculations?

Shen Lang did not get exposed to Mathematics before. Could it be a talent he’s born with?

That was incredibly terrifying.

…

Xu Wenzhao closed his eyes and allowed himself to calm down before turning to the last question.

Shen Lang had answered the first nine questions correctly. Xu Wenzhao was doomed to be embarrassed.

Moreover, the tenth question was a matter of competition of knowledge in Mathematics.

There were 20 trees in total. What is the maximum number of lines there could be if we planted four trees in every line?

Xu Wenzhao saw this from an ancient Mathematics book and spent more than ten years to come up with a 14-row formation.

Xu Wenzhao strongly believed that Shen Lang would not be able to solve it because it was a question that required intelligence in Mathematics.

However…

He took a glance.

Xu Wenzhao felt goosebumps all over his body.

“What the f*ck, Shen Lang… are you mad?”

“No, heavens, are you mad?”

The question was a drawing question and only needed one look.

Xu Wenzhao could tell by one look that Shen Lang’s answer was more than 13 lines.

Then, he began to count.

, 16, 17, 18… 23!

There were 23 rows!

He began to question his life as chills ran down his spine!

“How, how was that possible?”

trees, four trees in a row. He came up with 23 rows. 1

How?

Was that humanly possible?

“I, Xu Wenzhao, spent more than ten years trying to come up with a 14-row formation.”

“How long did Shen Lang take?”

“Less than an hour!”

At this moment, Xu Wenzhao started to question his own intelligence and felt despair. 1

He loved Mathematics and was extremely good at it.

Although Mathematics was not tested in imperial examinations, he thought that nobody could defeat him in Mathematics.

Thus, he was in charge of the Palace of the Earl’s accounts and had an indispensable role in the palace.

He was, therefore, very arrogant.

However, he realized that his achievements in Mathematics had been thrashed by Shen Lang.

How could he not feel defeated and crushed?

…

The Earl’s wife was drawing.

She was excellent in martial arts, but that was because she was forced to practice since she was young. She hated it.

She liked drawing but her skills?

Anyway, nobody dared to say anything negative about her drawing skills.

At this moment, the Earl’s servant said anxiously from outside of the room, “Madam, Sir asked you to hurry over to the institution now.”

The Earl’s wife said coldly, “Why? Jin Mucong is getting hit? Let him be.”

The servant said, “No, it’s not young master Jin, it’s…”

Before he completed his sentence, the Earl’s wife said, “It is normal for teachers to hit students. That applies to whoever is getting hit.”

The servant said, “It is young master Shen Lang, Xu Wenzhao wants to give him 100 whips.”

“Swoosh…” A long stroke was made across the canvas.

The Earl’s wife’s drawing was ruined.

“Is Xu Wenzhao crazy? What is he doing?” said the Earl’s wife angrily, “Lang’er is a genius and an obedient boy, and he wants to hit him?”

After saying that, she threw her brush and walked quickly to the institution.

The servant could not catch up with her. He felt sad for the son of the Earl.

…

Xu Wenzhao looked at Shen Lang’s answer script with both hands trembling and his face pale.

What should he do next?

Must he really apologize to Shen Lang in front of others?

Then, his image would be ruined!

Everyone lived for their image.

No… no way!

Xu Wenzhao thought about it and suddenly tore Shen Lang’s answer script. He shouted angrily, “What nonsense are you writing, none of the answers are correct!”

After tearing the paper, the evidence was gone.

Seeing that, Shen Lang became speechless.

Xu Wenzhao was not only cunning, but something was wrong with his morals.

Were all Mathematicians like that? How did the Earl endure with him for more than 20 years?

The Earl frowned.

Even if Shen Lang did not get any questions correct, why did he have to tear his paper?

When Xu Wenzhao completely tore Shen Lang’s script, he said emotionlessly, “Everything is wrong, so what should we do?”

However…

Shen Lang took out another identical answer script calmly.

He always liked to prepare for the worst.

“How coincidental, I had too much time earlier on and wrote two sets of answers because I was bored.”

Shen Lang passed his answers to old Mister Lin, who taught him “Yi Jing” and said, “Mister, you are good at Mathematics too; please help me take a look and see how many questions I answered correctly?”

After hearing that, Xu Wenzhao became stunned.

“Shen Lang, you are so shrewd!”

He shook violently and almost fainted on the spot.

The old teacher took over Shen Lang’s script and said, “Anyone who studies ‘Yi Jing’ loves Mathematics. Although my knowledge in Mathematics is not as high as Mister Xu, I can still tell whether the answer is correct or wrong.”

Then, the old teacher began to read Shen Lang’s answers.

After reading everything, he became utterly astonished.

He was confident about Shen Lang and thought he could answer at least three or four questions correctly.

However, he did not expect him to answer all of the questions correctly!

Some of the questions were really difficult.

The most astonishing question was the last question.

He, himself, had dwelled over it for a few years.

Xu Wenzhao managed to come up with a 14-row formation, and he managed to come up with a 15-row formation. However, he did not publicize his answer. Nevertheless, he was still very proud of himself. 1

However, he did not expect Shen Lang to come up with a 23-row answer!

“That… that was absurd!”

“He… He was a Mathematics genius!”

The Earl asked, “Mister Lin, how is it?”

Mister Lin bowed down to the Earl. “Congratulations, Sir, your son-in-law is a genius in Mathematics! I have never seen someone like him before!”

The Earl asked, “How many questions did he answer correctly?”

Mister Lin said, “All of them. Moreover, Shen Lang’s knowledge in Mathematics has surpassed the limits of the ten questions. I am ashamed of myself.”

The Earl could not believe it and was pleasantly surprised.

His son-in-law had already given him several surprises, especially his photographic memory.

However, Mathematics needed a teacher’s guidance? How was it possible for someone to be born with such knowledge?

“Lang’er, how did you do that?” the Earl asked.

Shen Lang said, “Father-in-law, I taught all of it to myself.”

The Earl said, “However, without guidance from a teacher, how did you manage to attain such standards?”

Shen Lang said, “Father-in-law, sometimes, a genius is so exceptional. Mathematics requires 99% genius and 1% hard work.”

At this moment, not only was Jin Mucong annoyed, but the Earl also did not feel like listening to him and instead, wanted to beat him. 1

“No wonder Shen Lang had no friends!”

After that, the Earl wanted to ask Xu Wenzhao why he tore Shen Lang’s script. However, because there were students in the classroom, he did not ask.

The Earl did not want to embarrass Xu Wenzhao in public.

However, this was what Shen Lang liked.

“Mister Xu, why did you tear my script? Are you trying to destroy the evidence?” asked Shen Lang.

Instantly, Xu Wenzhao’s face turned green, and his teeth gritted his teeth.

Shen Lang said, “Mister Xu, you said that you will apologize to me if I get five questions correctly. Now that I have answered ten questions correctly, how are you going to go about this?

“Of course, mister, I will not force you to apologize to me. After all, I respect you. However, as a teacher, you should keep your words.”

After hearing that, the students in the classroom became excited.

It was a rare sight.

Xu Wenzhao was getting slapped on the face!

Instantly, everyone turned to Xu Wenzhao.

Xu Wenzhao was burning with embarrassment; he had never been so embarrassed before. He wanted to hide.

Did he really have to apologize to the pretty boy?

Then, his image would be ruined!

“Hmph, how can you do this?”

Xu Wenzhao was about to leave.

He wanted to leave without apologizing.

He had made up his mind. At the very most, he would stop teaching in the future and only be in-charge of the bills of the Palace of the Earl. Then, he would no longer have to face the students.

However, at this moment, the Earl spoke.

“Mister Xu, as a teacher, you have to be a role model.”

The Earl was serious.

Xu Wenzhao wanted to leave, but he did not dare since the Earl was his higher-up.

Then, the Earl’s wife entered. She spoke in a gentle but affirming tone, “You should bear the consequences of your own actions. You should keep your word.”

Xu Wenzhao was the relative of the Earl’s wife, and she was considered his support.

Since both of them had spoken, he did not dare to disobey.

Therefore, clenching his teeth, Xu Wenzhao walked to Shen Lang.

In front of the public, every step he took felt extremely heavy.

He held his hand out and bowed to Shen Lang, “Sorry, Shen Lang! I was too anxious earlier and wronged you!”

Humiliation, an unprecedented humiliation!

“Floor, please crack open and let me in to hide.” 1

***