The Prime Minister's Darling novel Chapter 557

Chapter 557: 274 Crying out of frustration! (Second update)

The matter of Zhuang Yuexi losing face in front of the Empress Dowager was not immediately known. However, the Phoenix Seal of Empress Dowager Zhuang was broken - the phoenix on it was knocked off, and the eunuch Qin had taken it to the Shanggong Bureau for repair.

Furthermore, Zhuang Yuexi had moved out of the Imperial Palace around this time, leading many to speculate whether she had been responsible for breaking the Phoenix Seal.

However, the news from Renshou Palace was not easily obtained, and those from the Zhuang family remained tightlipped, leaving the matter unconfirmed.

Xiao Liulang was oblivious to the palace affairs. He was just off-duty and looked rather gloomy.

It wasn’t because he was being ostracized by his colleagues, or that a scholar in charge of the academy was secretly setting him up, but the sight of Liao Quan waiting by the road as soon as he left the Hanlin Academy.

"What happened?"

He remembered telling Liao Quan that he didn’t need to be picked up, that he could walk back on his own.

Liao Quan reluctantly said, "It’s about Jingkong... He... is in some trouble."

To be precise, the little fellow was asked to bring his parents to school again.

Xiao Liulang had a toothache. How many times has this happened this semester? It didn’t seem that long since the incident of the bird-eating-bird, and yet trouble had been stirred again so soon?

Xiao Liulang took a deep breath and slowly asked, "Which classmate has he bullied this time?"

Even though he was the smallest in the primary school, he always managed to bully those much older than him until they burst into tears. While it seemed intentional, it was not entirely so. Nevertheless, this little thing had an innate ability to make people cry.

Liao Quan hesitated to respond, "It’s not a classmate, it’s Master Sun."

A twitch crossed Xiao Liulang’s brow, the little chap had bullied the master now? This was tantamount to disrespecting one’s teacher and ancestors!

Now Xiao Liulang understood why Liao Quan had rushed to the Hanlin Academy. This was indeed a serious matter.

Unable to articulate the specifics of the situation, Xiao Liulang went directly to the primary school and met the senior official in charge of the entire school, named Ouyang.

Xiao Liulang, the laureate of this year’s examination and a graduate of the Guozijian Shuaixin Hall, was well known to Officer Ouyang, who greeted him courteously.

Xiao Liulang set his crutch aside and saluted, "May I know what happened this time?"

Ouyang Xuezheng hesitated a moment before he finally said, "I think... You should see for yourself."

Xiao Liulang saluted him, "Master Jiang."

Master Jiang returned the gesture politely and didn’t beat around the bush, directly explaining what had happened.

Apparently, during today’s arithmetic class, Master Sun offered a problem that extended to the topic of pi, and Jingkong claimed in front of all the students that Master Sun was wrong.

"In fact, he was not wrong," Master Jiang said.

The ratio of radius to circumference was about twenty-two sevenths, and another approximation was three hundred fifty-five over one hundred thirteen, accurate to the seventh decimal place. This is recorded in the "Ten Books on Arithmetic."

Xiao Liulang had also been studying the "Ten Books on Arithmetic" lately and knew the value of pi was indeed this number.

"Why did he say Master Sun was wrong? Did Master Sun show him the ’Ten Books on Arithmetic’?"

Jingkong was a meticulous child who usually would not make a fuss as long as he was shown the source.

The problem arose here.

Master Sun had shown him the "Ten Books on Arithmetic," but he claimed it wasn’t accurate enough. He recited a long string of numbers, at least seventeen or eighteen decimal places, which stunned Master Sun.