The Ideal Son-in-Law

Chapter 92: Cao Chong weighing the elephant and Archimedes' principle

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When the emperor asked this question, the miserable condition of Zhou Xun, the chief academic officer of the Imperial College, was suddenly ignored, and the atmosphere became unprecedentedly lively.

After all, this group of young men who came from noble or official families usually avoided the school officials even when they were seeking pleasure, and they were often scolded for being unlearned. It was impossible to expect them to sympathize with Zhou Xun.

Especially Lu Sanlang, who was looked down upon all day, was the first to speak up and shouted: "Your Majesty, I dare not say that there must be a secret scroll hidden in the plaque inscribed by Emperor Taizu, but I know that Emperor Taizu is unfathomable and always prepares for rainy days. He can be said to be a rare saint since the beginning of the world. Anything he can do is possible!"

When Lu Sanlang spoke, Zhang Chen also echoed him, fearing that the world would not be in chaos: "That's right, the emperor's deep intentions are beyond the comprehension of mortals like us!"

After the representatives of these two dandy young men gave their opinions, the others naturally did not want to lag behind and vied with each other to express their admiration for Taizu and, at the same time, to discredit the Imperial College without making a fuss.

For them who had accumulated resentment for many years, this was almost an instinctive choice. Even Zhu Er, under Zhu Ying's shove, hesitated and said that Taizu inscribed a plaque to hide the secret scroll, maybe, probably, or... it was very likely!

Seeing these noble students taking advantage of the situation, Luo Siye wanted to help his master, but he couldn't find a good reason, so he could only stand a little further away and worry. As for Zhou Xun himself, he was shaking like a sieve, his face was pale, his lips were trembling, and he couldn't say a word.

Amidst the clamor, the emperor smiled and looked at Zhang Shou, who was silent, and suddenly asked with great interest, "Zhang Shou, why don't you say anything?"

Zhang Shou said calmly, "Your Majesty, I am wondering what material the Taizu used to write the plaque."

"Oh? Are you thinking about this?" The emperor raised his eyebrows thoughtfully.

"If I remember correctly, it was made of dark wood. It was shipped to the capital as a treasure by local officials. According to the Records of the Great Ancestor, there were more than a dozen dark woods, except for the charcoal-like parts, which were fine-grained and hard as copper and iron. They sank immediately in water. So when the Imperial College was built, the plaques of the Suan Ke and Ge Wu halls were all made of dark wood."

"Emperor Taizu required it to be thick and solid. Each plaque is very large. At least several people are needed to carry it. If we want to make more, there won't be enough. The remaining ones are just scraps. There are still a lot of them hidden in the palace treasury. I only have people carve some small ornaments. Although dark wood is occasionally found in various places, it is rare to find such good quality material."

"Besides, sending it all the way to the capital would be a waste of money and manpower. Emperor Taizu accepted the gift and reprimanded the governor, so no one would send it all the way to the capital now. Even so, some people thought that the Yinchen Wood had too much Yin energy, but Emperor Taizu said that the Imperial College had too much Yang energy, which was just right for balancing Yin and Yang, and they stopped them."

Seeing that Zhang Shou was still frowning in thought, he simply waved his hand and said, "If you are curious, you can come over and knock on it. The sound is very special."

Since the emperor had spoken, Zhang Shou certainly would not be polite, and immediately stepped forward, squatted down, stretched out two fingers and knocked on the edge and center of the inscription. Finding that it was indeed difficult to tell whether it was hollow, he pondered for a moment, then stood up and faced the emperor.