Chapter 55 Contact

  Inside the Eastern Palace, a young eunuch rushed in and ran straight into Crown Prince Li Chengqian's study, nearly extinguishing the candle flame on his desk with the cool breeze. Li Chengqian was startled, slamming his book onto the table with a loud "Pak" sound, scolding loudly: "You little slave! Are you looking to get yourself killed?!

  The eunuch fell to the ground with a thud and exclaimed, "Your Highness, it's not good! The Empress Dowager is critically ill, and the Emperor is urgently summoning you! You must go quickly!"

  "What?! Li Chengqian's body went limp as he slumped into the chair, his chest feeling heavy as if the entire sky was pressing down on him. He asked incredulously, "What did you say? The Empress Dowager is critically ill...? How can this be possible? Just the other day I was strolling and chatting with her."

  Inside, the eunuch knelt on the ground and trembled as he said: "The Emperor has already sent someone to summon Prince Wei and Prince Jin. Your Highness the Crown Prince should also make haste with your preparations! If you're late, it will be too late!"

  "Yes, yes, I must hurry, hurry, Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager!" Li Chengqian shouted as he rushed out of the study. The icy cold wind outside made him shiver and his wound under his ribs began to throb with pain again.

  Divine doctor? Where is the divine doctor? When can Li Ji bring the divine doctor here?!

  At this moment, Li Chengqian needs the help of a divine doctor more than ever.

  But where is the divine doctor?

  Li Ji and had rushed to San Yuan County overnight, in the past few days he had searched the entire county town, this time he put his main attention on the rural areas of San Yuan County. At that time, the divine doctor's disguise was exactly like a farmer, maybe he lived in these villages.

  He sent many people and searched very carefully.

  However, Li Jihe's search was destined to be in vain. He could never have imagined that the "divine doctor" mentioned by the prince and the medicine shop owner would turn out to be a veterinarian in the countryside, who at this moment was not even at home.

  Liu Yitiao, Liu Xiaohui, Zhang Chuhu, and Zhang Chuchu, four people in a row, two pairs of siblings, strolling together in the lantern market. Although Zhang Chuhu was a bookworm, he also knew how to have fun. Along the way, he carried Liu Xiaohui in his arms, walking ahead, admiring the flower lanterns and watching the street performers, leaving Liu Yitiao and Zhang Chuchu far behind, deliberately creating opportunities for the two of them to be alone together.

  Zhang Chuchu hung her head low, entwining her two small hands behind Liu Yitiao's back, with a well-behaved and endearing appearance that was indeed very likable.

  Liu Yitiao also took the opportunity to carefully examine this girl who was supposed to be his fiancée. He didn't know if it was because of her Tang heritage or what, but Zhang Chuchu's physical development and intellectual maturity gave Liu Yitiao a feeling that she wasn't like a typical 16-year-old girl should be. Compared to modern people, she looked more like a young woman in her twenties.

  Is this the reason why ancient people got married early? I don't get it.

  "Master Liu!" Zhang Chuchu hastened her pace by two steps and walked shoulder to shoulder with Liu. She looked like she wanted to say something but hesitated.

  Liu Yitiao saw her like this and smiled: "Miss Chu has something to say, don't worry, I'll keep it confidential."

  Zhang Chuchu clenched her small fist and said, "I want to know the calculation method of the two math problems that Master Liu solved last time. I'm very curious about how Master Liu quickly got the correct answer? And what do those strange symbols that Master Liu wrote on paper mean? I looked at them for three days at home, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't see any connection between them and the answers. Would Master Liu be willing to teach me?"

  "Ah," thought Liu, this little girl is indeed a math enthusiast. However, to make the ancients understand those simple equations isn't an easy task. It seems that during the Tang Dynasty, there were no Arabic numerals or English letter notation, nor were there simple equation calculation methods. "Chu Chu, if you want to know, I'll have to start from the beginning..."

  As a result, the two of them just kept discussing some mathematical things all along, such as what is an equation, what is an unknown number, what is unary, binary, multivariate, first-order, second-order, multi-order..., and wasted the opportunity that Zhang Chuheng had worked hard to create for them.

  However, this is not a complete loss. At least in the process of discussion and transmission, the relationship between the two has become much closer. Zhang Chuchu's eyes looking at Liu Yitiao have begun to sparkle with small stars. And Liu Yitiao, who had multiple records of failing higher mathematics in college, has transformed into a seasoned "professor" in mathematics, with his confidence greatly satisfied.

  It wasn't until after 11 o'clock at night that Liu Xiaohui really couldn't keep her eyes open, and the four of them reluctantly said their goodbyes.

  When they returned to the Yang residence, Liu Xiaohui was already asleep in Liu Yitiaos arms. Liu Yitiao then carried her directly to the guest room arranged by Yang Shu for them. There, Liu He had already returned and was chatting with Yang Li.

  When Liu Yitiao returned, Mrs. Liu stood up and took the little girl from Liu Yitiao's arms, asking softly, "Why are you back so late?"

  "Mother, this lantern festival only happens once a year, it's rare, so I'll just take a stroll for a bit longer." Liu Yitiao glanced at Yang Lishi and asked: "Aunt Yang, why don't you play for a while longer? The flower lanterns outside are beautiful and will be lit all night."

  Yang Li smiled and said: "Today is just the first day, what's good to look at. The real good stuff will only be brought out tomorrow night. No need to rush."

  Liu He gently laid Liu Xiaohui on the bed, covered her with a quilt, and said softly: "Yes, after all, today is not really the Lantern Festival. The flower lanterns outside can only be considered a prelude. To see the lights, you have to wait until tomorrow night."

  "Hehe, mother is right." Liu Yitiao asked: "Has my father and Yang Shu not returned yet?"

  "They must have gone to some hotel to drink, how could they come back so early? But the second one ran back early and is now sleeping in the house." Yang Li saw that Liu's face showed obvious signs of fatigue, so she stopped nagging and said with concern: "Alright, Liu, you've been out all night, you must be tired. Go rest, I don't need you to accompany me here."

  "Thank you, Auntie. I'll take my leave now." Liu Yitiao bowed to the kind-hearted aunt and said, "Goodnight, Auntie. Goodnight, Mother!"

  Back in his own room, he found Liu Er Tiao sleeping on his bed. Liu Yi Tiao shook his head and smiled, thinking that this kid was probably used to sharing a bed with him at home, and now he had even run over here. Seeing Liu Er Tiao sleeping soundly, Liu Yi Tiao didn't disturb him and lay down on the other end of the bed, still fully dressed.

  No sooner had he lain down than Liu the Second became aware that he was awake. He sat up in bed, pulled Liu the First up too, and entwined himself around him, saying: "Big brother, help me with a half-verse of poetry?"