Chapter 69 Zhang Chuchu's Background

  Zhang Chuchu's father, Zhang Yukuang, served under Wang Xiaotong, a Taishi Langzhong during the Wude period. He was appointed as a Shushu Boshi, an unknown minor official responsible for astronomical and calendrical affairs.

  Zhang Yukuang was talented and learned, skilled in mathematics, and a descendant of the great mathematician Zhang Qiujian of the Jin Dynasty. He inherited the handwritten notes of Zhang Qiujian, "Zhang Qiujian's Mathematical Classics" in three volumes, which he studied deeply. In astronomy and arithmetic, he also had considerable attainments.

  Logically, an official with real talent like him would eventually be reused by the imperial court and wouldn't stay in a small position like Suan Li Doctor for too long. However, Zhang Yuankuan never had the opportunity to get promoted.

  Zhang Yu was indifferent and not good at socializing or flattering the powerful, belonging to the type of intellectual who focused on research. Therefore, his official career did not go very smoothly in that era where background and connections were important, and after six years under Wang Xiaotong's tutelage, he was still only a small official no bigger than a sesame seed.

  Until the ninth year of Wude, after the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Crown Prince Jiancheng was killed, and the political situation in the court underwent a major earthquake. Many officials fell from power, and even Zhang Yuankuan, a small official, was affected because he was found to have some connection with a certain former minister, and was demoted back home in the first year of Zhenguan.

  On the way home, Zhang Yuankuan was depressed and couldn't vent his emotions. His physical condition had always been poor due to lack of exercise, so when they passed through Xiaoxin Village in San Yuan County, he fell ill and couldn't get up. Fortunately, they were rescued by a kind-hearted man named Zhang Puliang who took them in. From then on, the father-daughter duo stayed at the Zhang's home. During his convalescence, Zhang Yuankuan saw that Zhang Chuheng, the young son of the Zhang family, was clever and understood etiquette, which suited his temperament, so he decided to take him as an apprentice. Firstly, it was to repay Zhang Puliang for saving his life, and secondly, he wanted to leave behind a successor. The Zhang family's arithmetic learning couldn't be buried just like that.

  However, Zhang Chuhu's performance was very disappointing to Zhang Yukuang. Although Zhang Chuhu was clever, he wasn't very sensitive to numbers and didn't understand calculations or calendar methods at all. No matter how hard Zhang Yukuang tried to teach him, Zhang Chuhu couldn't remember the key points, while Chu Chu, who had been playing on the side, could quickly grasp it after listening just once.

  After several attempts at teaching without success, Zhang Yu Kuan had to admit that arithmetic also required innate talent. He then gave up on the idea of teaching Zhang Chu Wen arithmetic and instead let him focus on literature and history, hoping he would achieve great things in the future and thus repay the debt of gratitude owed to Zhang Ju Liang for saving his life.

  As for arithmetic, Zhang Yu Kuang immediately shifted his gaze to Chu Chu, who was only five years old at the time. Perhaps due to heredity, family education, or being influenced by Zhang Yu Kuang from a young age, Zhang Chu Chu's understanding and calculation abilities in mathematics often left Zhang Yu Kuang in awe. When teaching Zhang Chu Chu arithmetic, he would often exclaim, "I regret that Chu Chu is not a boy!"

  From then on, Zhang Chuchu studied mathematics, and Zhang Chuwen studied literature and history. Under the guidance of Zhang Yukuang, a great talent with a belly full of poetry and books, they studied for two years.

  In the second year of the Zhenguan era, Zhang Yuankuan died of a long illness in mid-March at the age of 35. At that time, Zhang Chuchu was only seven years old. At the age of seven, she saw her biological father pass away, and the pain can be imagined.

  After helping to bury Zhang Yu Kuan, Zhang Pu Liang and his wife took pity on Chu Chu's youth and adopted her as their goddaughter in the second month. From then on, Zhang Chu Wen called her sister. At that time, Zhang Chu Wen was ten years old and had already shown talent in private school, earning praise from his teacher. Zhang Pu Liang and his wife knew this was due to Zhang Yu Kuan's influence and grew even more fond of Chu Chu, treating her like their own child. Zhang Chu Wen also loved his sister dearly and knowing she enjoyed mathematics, often brought back books on arithmetic for her to study from his private school teacher.

  Zhang Chuchu has always been obedient and knows how to repay kindness, from a young age she knew the way of filial piety, often helping Zhang Liu's wife raise silkworms and manage household chores. She delighted the two elderly people. Deeply loved by Zhang Bo Liang and his wife. The old couple treated her even more intimately than their own biological son.

  By the eighth year of the Zhenyuan era, Zhang Chuchu had grown into a beautiful young woman loved by all who saw her, and she was also at the age for marriage. The number of suitors coming to ask for her hand in marriage gradually increased, among whom were many talented scholars with good reputations. However, at that time, Zhang Chuchu did not have any intention of getting married. Firstly, she wanted to serve Old Man and Lady Zhang for a few more years to repay the kindness they had shown her over the past few years. Secondly, she wanted to find a husband who could inherit her father's legacy and pass on the mathematical knowledge of the Zhang family.

  Thus, there was a reason for Chu Chu's three questions to determine her husband.

  Zhang Chuchu's questions were mostly arithmetic, and most of them were difficult problems from the three-volume "Zhang Qiujian Suanjing". Few people could answer them. She also used this to delay her marriage again and again, dragging it on for two years, and the number of matchmakers who came to propose marriage became fewer and fewer. In the last year, not even one matchmaker was willing to come and propose marriage. Zhang Qiujian and his wife were getting anxious about her. A woman at sixteen not yet married was already a big problem at that time. If she dragged it on for much longer, would anyone still be willing to marry her?

  This point Zhang Chuchu and Liu Yitiao are quite a match, one is eighteen and unmarried, the other is sixteen and unwed, both are difficult to handle. So when San Gu came to propose marriage for Zhang Chuchu, Zhang Boliang was overjoyed. He had met Liu Yitiao before, knew etiquette, had ability, and his appearance was passable, if his daughter could marry him, it would be a good ending.

  So after San Gu left, Zhang Pu Liang and Zhang Liu Shi kept persuading Zhang Chu Chu to give up the topic, hoping she could reduce the difficulty of the topic at least. Zhang Chu was grateful for Liu Yi Tiao's kindness in sending cattle last time, and was also very satisfied with Liu Yi Tiao, so he also spoke highly of Liu Yi Tiao on the side, making Zhang Chu Chu curious about this person a little bit.

  When Liu Lao Shi brought Liu Yi Tiao to propose, Zhang Chu Chu hid behind the door curtain and secretly watched. Liu Yi Tiao was not very tall, but standing there he looked very stable, and looking at him made people feel a sense of solidity in their hearts. This feeling, Zhang Chu Chu had only experienced on her father's body when she was young.

  "Mr. Liu is very much like my father," Zhang Chuchu said softly, sitting down across from Liu Yitiao, her beautiful eyes gazing at him with a nostalgic look: "Pure, elegant, carefree, and confident. Talented, but not fond of showing off. And in terms of mathematical skills, Mr. Liu is even more accomplished than my father."

  "So, Chu Chu doesn't want to deceive the young master. She's thick-skinned and tells him about her family background, so that after they get married, the young master won't regret it."

  Liu Yitiao listened quietly, watching as Zhang Chuchu's voice was soft and gentle, speaking without haste or slowness, making it comfortable to listen to. However, Liu Yitiao had not expected that Zhang Chuchu would have such a miserable life experience. Having lost both parents at a young age, she had been raised by others. Wouldn't her heart be filled with countless sorrows?

  Looking at the slender body in front of him, Liu Yitiao couldn't help but feel a hint of sympathy.

  He put the tea bowl on the table, his two eyes staring deeply at Zhang Chuchu, and said with an extremely firm tone: "Miss Chuchu, I, Liu Yitia, although a farmer, am also a man who stands tall on this earth. What I, Liu Mou, have said and done, will never have the words 'regret'!"

  Zhang Chuchu heard this and lowered her head, her hands clasped tightly together. Her face was like a red cloud.

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