My Wife is Unbeatable in the Whole World, Touch Me If You Dare!-Chapter 39: Fall Into the Pit, Then Fall Again

Li Nuo had lunch at the County Magistrate's Office.

Over the past few days, he had been dining at County Magistrate Pei's home. Yesterday, however, due to Mrs. Pei visiting her parental home, he had settled for a few simple buns.

Today he again ate dumplings for lunch.

Mrs. Pei's dumpling-making skills were unparalleled, offering a unique flavor compared to the head chef's at home.

The head chef of the Li Family was a seasoned foodie whose dishes were perfect in look, scent, and taste, leaving no room for criticism. They only lacked a homely touch, but sometimes, that touch was the most important.

Li Nuo looked across at Pei Zhe, puzzled, and asked, "Lord Pei, weren't you supposed to be out on official duties today?"

Pei Zhe picked up a dumpling and replied, "Ah, earlier, County Magistrate Zhang came by, eagerly volunteering to take over the task of offering condolences to the orphans and widows for me. I couldn't refuse him, so I let him go..."

Just before that, Zhang, the County Magistrate, had knelt on the ground, clutching his legs, crying and weeping. He wouldn't rise unless Pei agreed, leaving Pei Zhe no choice but to give in.

Normally, someone so obedient would be a cause for joy.

But Pei Zhe just couldn't bring himself to feel happy.

Yesterday, after Li Nuo had publicly reprimanded Wang Yue, Pei had sensed that something was amiss. It wasn't until Zhang had deviated from his usual demeanor, kneeling before him and begging for mercy, that Pei realized... he had become a pawn of Li Xuanjing!

Even if he wasn't, others believed he was.

In these recent days, Li Nuo had been reviewing cases at the government office, and Pei had catered to him diligently; they even had their meals together.

Just yesterday, the Minister of the Examination Bureau had his own son confess to a crime at the government office, resign from his position, donate money, and leave Chang'an with his family overnight. Besides Li Xuanjing, who else could exert such influence? From an outsider's perspective, even he thought he had sided with the Minister of Justice.

The court was a labyrinth of complex powers, and the position of Chang'an County Magistrate was particularly sensitive. It was impossible to remain uninvolved and detached; aligning with a side was inevitable.

He had been aware of this.

Yet, before he could choose, others had chosen for him.

"Ah..."

Thinking of the reputation that followed Lord Li, Pei Zhe sighed deeply. This time, he felt that not even jumping into the Yellow River could cleanse his name...

"Ah..."

Meanwhile, at the Song Residence, after listening to Song Mu'er and Song Ning'er explain a complex five-part equation problem, the elderly tutor with graying hair couldn't help but sigh deeply, doubting himself.

He had taught Mathematics all his life, was he really worse than a fool?

That problem was one of the hardest in the "Equations" chapter of Calculus. Even some academy students who had devoted years to studying Mathematics couldn't grasp it completely. Yet these two six-year-old girls had not only calculated the correct answers but had explained them logically.

They truly understood it.

He couldn't have taught them to be as such.

It was all about comparisons.

Whenever he delved slightly deeper, the two girls would start to nod off, just like their elder sister ten years ago.

This realization filled him with a deep sense of defeat.

Not far away, the look in Song Jiaren's eyes made him even more uneasy.

He understood the message in that gaze.

Ten years ago, when he taught her Mathematics, he had declared she had no aptitude for it. In his eyes, these twin girls of the Song Family had no more talent than Song Jiaren did back then.

Now it appeared, they didn't fail to learn; he failed to teach.

He truly lamented misleading his students.

With this on his mind, he hadn't taught any new material today. Instead, he had reviewed past lessons with them and rewarded each girl with a flower hairpin before quickly leaving after setting a few problems...

Although Song Ning'er had also received the teacher's reward, Song Mu'er had as well, which took away any reason for excitement.

She stared at the new problems in the booklet, her eyes whirling as she pondered.

Song Mu'er saw through her thoughts and snorted, "Don't even think of tricking Brother Nuo into explaining it to you again. I've already agreed on a secret signal with him. You can't trick him anymore!"

Song Ning'er was taken aback and asked, "What's the secret signal?"

"One, two, three, four, five…"

Song Mu'er said, then winked and teased, "I'm six years old now. You treat me like I'm three. You want the secret signal? I won't tell you, nuh-uh..."

Playfully sticking out her tongue at Song Ning'er, she quickly ran off.

Song Ning'er crossed her arms and disdainfully remarked, "What kind of secret signal is that? Who cares, I'll ask Brother Yu..."

Moments later, in a courtyard of the Song Residence.

Having explained until he was tired and dry, Song Yu grabbed a teapot, drank it dry, and asked Song Ning'er with a sense of accomplishment, "Do you understand now?"

Song Ning'er shook her head. "I don't understand."

Song Yu massaged his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

He had been taught this Mathematics problem in the same way by his tutor, and it had taken him a long time to understand, even though he was in his teens back then. Ning'er was only six; how could she be expected to tackle such difficult Mathematics at this age?

He was still reciting the multiplication table at age six.

With no other choice, he could only explain it once more.

"Did you get it?"

"No."

"You must have understood this time, right?"

"Why does it have to be this way?"

"There are not so many 'whys' in mathematics. My teacher taught me this way, and you should do the same..."

...

Song Yu had already finished three pots of tea but still felt parched.

He also realized something. Even the simplest "square field" problem was too difficult for Ning'er at the moment; she simply couldn't understand.

Song Ning'er realized something too.

Her Brother Yu was different from Li Nuo, Brother of Song Mu'er.

When Li Nuo taught her mathematics, he wouldn't just dictate how to do it like Brother Yu; he explained why it should be done that way. She could understand him; Brother Yu wasn't even as good as their teacher...

If only she had let him play with her vine ball that day.

Maybe then he would like her as much as he liked Mu'er.

In Song Ning'er's eyes, it was normal for someone not to like her if she didn't let them play with her toys.

If she were treated that way, she wouldn't want to play either.

"Ah..."

Thinking about this, she felt some regret, took on an adult's air, and heaved a deep sigh.

...

Chang'an County Government.

Li Nuo came back early today, not waiting until it got dark.

It wasn't a big deal for him, but he felt bad for making so many people at the government office work overtime with him.

The cases were still there; if not judged today, they could be judged tomorrow. Today, he had already had enough gains.

Even without any major cases, in one day, he had accumulated seven more days onto his life, now reaching forty-eight days.

Before leaving the office today, there were still many citizens lined up. It was foreseeable that he would be busy for the next few days.

When he got home, Li Nuo found that Song Mu'er was already waiting for him.

Wait, it might also be Song Ning'er.

It was bad enough that the sisters looked alike, but they also wore the same clothes, donned the same jewelry, and carried the same perfume pouches. Li Nuo couldn't tell who was who.

He was about to check the password when the little girl blurted out, "One, two, three, four, five!"

...

Li Nuo was somewhat speechless; the password was meant to test Song Ning'er, not him. He didn't have a twin brother, so why was she reciting the password first?

Considering she was only a six-year-old child, Li Nuo didn't say anything.

Li Nuo casually asked, "Where's your sister Jiaren?"

Song Mu'er said, "She was just here, I don't know where she went. Brother Li Nuo, could you please explain this problem to me again?"

Li Nuo took the small booklet she handed over. Today's problem was not a system of linear equations anymore, but about calculating the area of irregular shapes, classified as a "square field" issue in 'Calculus.'

"Square field" refers to square-shaped land, which the government needs to measure precisely to determine specific taxes. The urgent demand to calculate the area of various irregular fields led to the development of the "square field" category in mathematics.

In this chapter of 'Calculus,' students needed to master the calculation of areas for various shapes including squares, rectangles, triangles, trapezoids, circles, and sectors.

The problem that Song Mu'er asked about was an irregular shape composed of rectangles, triangles, and trapezoids. By calculating the area of each section and summing them up, it was very simple for Li Nuo, but Song Mu'er didn't even know the formula for calculating area...

Teaching students with some basis was one thing, but Song Mu'er hadn't been exposed to these concepts; even for rectangle area being base times height, she would ask why.

Li Nuo had no choice but to start from the basics, explaining several times until she finally grasped the concept of area.

When explaining that the area of a triangle is half the base times the height, she questioned why again. Li Nuo had to draw auxiliary lines, sketch out two rectangles to help her deduce, luckily, she had already understood the area calculation of rectangles with his complete sketch.

Then came the trapezoid...

It took quite an effort for Song Mu'er to calculate this problem herself, and Li Nuo breathed a sigh of relief.

The problem itself wasn't hard, but explaining it clearly to a six-year-old was not easy.

Just as a small sense of accomplishment began to build up within Li Nuo, a small figure dashed into the courtyard, staring angrily at the person sitting next to Li Nuo and exclaimed, "Song Ning'er, what are you doing!"

Li Nuo looked at the angry little girl at the gate, completely dumbfounded.

Moments later, Song Mu'er, hands on her hips and with a look of disappointment, scolded Li Nuo, "What am I supposed to say to you, 'beating the tiger on the mountain' was meant for Song Ning'er to respond to, not you, how can you be so silly, letting her fool you again!"

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