Inside the private puzzle room, Elara looked at the huge bamboo scroll covered with dense writing. She still found it hard to believe.
This surprise started in her mind the moment she first saw the puzzle. But she held back when she was dealing with that group earlier. Now, seeing the puzzle again, she could not help feeling amazed.
The male servant who brought her here seemed sure she would need a few days to solve it. So, he thoughtfully called a maid to bring snacks, tea, fresh brushes and ink. He even changed the bedding on the nearby couch for her.
Elara stopped the male servant and pointed at the large bamboo scroll in her hand with some hesitation. "If I solve this puzzle, can you tell if my answer is correct?"
The male servant looked a little confused by her question but answered dutifully, "Of course, Miss."
Elara stood and stepped forward. Then she asked, "Are you sure you have the correct answer to this puzzle?"
Hearing her doubt again, the male servant finally understood what she meant. His respectful face turned serious. He said coldly, "Miss, what are you questioning? This puzzle has hung here in the Plumera Kingdom's puzzle house for many years. If my master did not have the right answer, how could he dare to use it to test others? We do not deal with tricks or cheats here."
After saying this, the male servant did not bow but turned and closed the door of the puzzle room firmly.
Elara watched the door shut with a bang and was silent for a moment.
It was not that she wanted to cause trouble. The puzzle on the bamboo scroll was just way beyond what this age should have.
This was a university-level math and statistics problem!
Not only this puzzle, but the other two puzzles placed at the same level were also at a university-level physics and advanced math.
Most people would not notice this, but Elara could tell right away from the puzzles that they related to military weapons and some important machines.
If solved, the results could optimize the performance of cold weapons and machine structures.
But the Plumera Kingdom's puzzle house belonged to another country. Elara, as the princess of Plumera Kingdom, did not want to help a foreign country grow stronger in arms. So, she only chose this puzzle used for calculating daily large-scale statistics.
Even though solving this puzzle could help optimize daily data calculations for armies and other big groups, the impact was not big. Also, they could not understand her solving method. So Elara chose this puzzle.
Still, no matter what, even for many modern people, advanced math was a nightmare. Few people in society could understand or use it well.
Now, in this ancient time with no math basics, not even a full concept of math yet, Elara truly doubted without any disrespect whether they really had the correct solution to this puzzle.
If what the male servant said was true, and this ancient time had geniuses who could solve such a hard puzzle, Elara would be amazed at their intelligence.
Though she could solve this puzzle in about ten minutes, she stood on the shoulders of giants using the laws found by many modern math experts to solve it quickly and accurately.
But how did those geniuses in ancient times solve it with no foundation?
Elara thought for a while but put her doubts aside for now.
She decided that in the future she must gather the best talents from all over the world to Plumera Kingdom to see how brilliant their minds really were.
Elara picked up the brush beside her and started writing and calculating on the bamboo scroll spread on the table.
She had practiced different writing styles before for signing and attending various events, so writing with a brush was easy for her.
Only before, she wrote on paper, but now this era did not have paper yet. She was lucky her brushwork was good enough to write clearly on the bamboo strips.
Ten minutes later
Elara held the bamboo scroll and opened the door, running into the male servant who was asking a maid to change her bedding.
Though unhappy about her earlier doubts, the male servant still asked carefully, "Do you need anything, Miss?"
Elara shook her head and handed him the bamboo scroll.
"I have finished. Here is the answer."
The male servant took the thin two bamboo strips and looked surprised.
Elara turned and sat back comfortably in the soft chair inside the room. She picked up a crispy snack from the table.
"Stop standing there. Go upstairs to your master and check if his answer matches mine."
...
Upstairs, a young man in blue clothes was pulling a young man in white and laughing.
"Izekiel, you have been out looking for the sacred vein for some days now. It is rare for a woman to accept the first-level puzzle here at the puzzle house. Your next stop, Azalea Kingdom, is not far from Plumera Kingdom. The two kingdoms share a border. On a fast horse, it would take about half a month. So, don't rush to leave. Rest here and have fun for a few days. Then see if the woman is real or not before you go, how about that?"
Without waiting for the young man in white to answer, the one in blue called a maid to prepare rooms for both of them, acting like they would stay for a while.
"Hey! Izekiel, I'll tell you, although Plumera Kingdom is in decline and the royal family is weak and cruel, it still has some interesting things. Like that long princess, famous for having many handsome men around. Heh, in the next few days, I'll take you to enjoy the city slowly…"
The young man in white sat straight across from the one in blue, his back still very straight. His face showed no interest in what the blue one said.
The blue one didn't mind and kept chatting about the fun places in the capital.
Just then, the male servant carrying two bamboo strips ran upstairs, his face red with hurry. His hands trembled as he knocked on the door.
"Sir, Miss has finished the puzzle. I bring the answer for you."