The Chang'an Youth Episode 14 Recap
> The Chang'an Youth Recap
After Shen Yiyi's narrow victory in the second cooking competition, which leveled the scores between the two nations, the upcoming mathematics competition, featuring Second Prince Xinyuan, was deemed critical. Han Shangshu discussed the matter with the Crown Prince, who expressed indifference, confident that Second Prince Xinyuan would win and curb the East Kingdom's arrogance.
However, Han Shangshu worried that such a victory would only further increase the Emperor's favor for Second Prince Xinyuan, especially since the Emperor was already paying close attention to the competition and had praised Shen Yiyi for her cleverness after her win. Han Shangshu suggested that Second Prince Xinyuan should be prevented from participating with a minor injury, thereby averting future concerns and allowing the Crown Prince to do the East Kingdom a favor.
The Crown Prince agreed to this plan, entrusting Han Shangshu with the task. That night, Ning Xiang attempted to assassinate Second Prince Xinyuan. Fortunately, Dugu Muxue intervened. As he looked at Ning Xiang, his mind was flooded with thoughts, and Ning Xiang seized the opportunity to wound him in the abdomen. When Dugu Muxue inadvertently called out "Rou," Ning Xiang momentarily panicked, but quickly regained her composure.
She threw an antidote to Dugu Muxue, telling him to take it or face death, before swiftly fleeing the scene. When others arrived, Second Prince Xinyuan explained that a masked assailant had tried to kill him, and Dugu Muxue had saved his life. They soon discovered Dugu Muxue's injury and called a doctor. The doctor examined Dugu Muxue's wound, noting it was deep but not life-threatening. He dressed the wound and advised daily changes, cautioning against reopening it.
Curiously, despite signs of poison, Dugu Muxue showed no adverse reactions. With the medical treatment concluded and the night drawing late, everyone suggested Second Prince Xinyuan return to his room to rest for his crucial competition the next day. Second Prince Xinyuan thanked Dugu Muxue for saving him and left. Initially, Tangtang also wanted to stay, but Yang Zian persuaded him to leave, citing the inconvenience.
Only Shen Yiyi remained to care for Dugu Muxue, reassuring him that she would always support him. Feeling he could confide in Shen Yiyi, Dugu Muxue shared his past. He recounted being an orphan, born in the borderlands, and adopted by a general. In the general's army, he had few friends until his adoptive father brought home another orphan, a little girl named Rou. Dugu Muxue and Rou were inseparable.
One day, while they were out, Dugu Muxue left Rou briefly to buy her a sugar-coated haw. In that moment, Rou was abducted. His adoptive father, before his passing, had two wishes: to pacify the border and for Dugu Muxue to find Rou. Dugu Muxue expressed his lingering guilt and despair at losing her. He admitted that recently, he felt Rou was near, but she was no longer the innocent girl he remembered.
Shen Yiyi, seeing his confusion, gently advised him to trust Rou if she was truly important to him, suggesting she might have her own unspoken reasons for her actions. The mathematics competition began. Second Prince Xinyuan and the East Kingdom envoy exchanged problems, each answering with impressive speed and accuracy, making it difficult to determine an advantage.
The East Kingdom envoy initially posed several challenging arithmetic and logic problems, which Second Prince Xinyuan solved promptly, demonstrating mental calculation skills that stunned the audience. Next, the East Kingdom envoy presented a problem involving cutting a cake five times to serve twenty people. Second Prince Xinyuan asked if the pieces needed to be of equal size or shape; upon learning they did not, he swiftly completed the task, earning admiration.
When it was Second Prince Xinyuan's turn to present a problem, he introduced a "nine interlinked grids" puzzle, a variant of Sudoku, explaining the rules for filling in numbers from one to nine without repetition in any row, column, or smaller grid. The East Kingdom envoy struggled, his brow furrowed, unable to begin for a long time. Eventually, time ran out, and Second Prince Xinyuan was declared the winner of the round.
Afterward, the East Kingdom envoy, admitting defeat, presented one final challenge: a complex problem about placing rice grains on a board, doubling the amount in each subsequent grid, asking at which grid the total would exceed one hundred million. He claimed no one in his country had ever solved it. Amidst the audience's disbelief and murmurs that the problem was unsolvable, Second Prince Xinyuan quickly provided the answer: the twenty-eighth grid, explaining the exponential calculation.
The East Kingdom envoy was profoundly convinced, praising Great Yu's scholar and graciously conceding. The Shangyi School was announced as the winner of the mathematics event, a victory that delighted the Emperor and infuriated the Crown Prince, who chastised Han Shangshu for his failure. Back at Shangyi School, Second Prince Xinyuan's friends praised his brilliance, jokingly offering him an accountant position, to which he playfully demanded high compensation.
He then acknowledged his debt to Dugu Muxue for saving his life, which enabled his victory. As the swordsmanship competition approached, Dugu Muxue's friends worried about his severe injury. He reassured them, stating he wanted to keep his injury quiet and was determined to win. Meanwhile, Ning Xiang knelt before Han Shangshu, attempting to explain her failure.
Han Shangshu, still suspicious from the "Censor Tu incident" and deeply disappointed by her recent incompetence, warned her with dire consequences if she failed again. Alone, Ning Xiang reflected on Dugu Muxue. A memory flashed: young Dugu Muxue comforting a young Rou about a training injury, promising to protect her. In her current state, Ning Xiang sadly acknowledged that Dugu Muxue remained the same, but she, as Rou, was no longer.
Her hands were stained with blood, and they were now destined to live in two different worlds. The swordsmanship competition was held within a transparent curtain, the wind creating a tense atmosphere. Dugu Muxue and the East Kingdom warrior were initially evenly matched. However, the East Kingdom warrior seemed to discover Dugu Muxue's injury and relentlessly attacked his wounded area. Unable to defend himself adequately, Dugu Muxue was defeated, and the East Kingdom envoy was declared the winner.
Before the final event, the weiqi competition, Shen Yiyi left a note and some homemade dessert for Yang Zian, thanking him for helping her name her dishes and wishing him good luck. The weiqi competition required both players to memorize the board and play five simultaneous games blindfolded, with a stone placer moving the pieces according to their verbal instructions. The first to win three games would be victorious.
Despite initial doubts from some spectators, others, like Shen Yiyi, expressed confidence in Yang Zian. Yang Zian, showing the hospitality of Great Yu, allowed the East Kingdom player to take the black stones and make the first move. In the initial phase, the East Kingdom player employed a cunning and unpredictable style, quickly gaining an advantage in one of the games. Yang Zian's friends, including Second Prince Xinyuan, observed his strategy.
Second Prince Xinyuan explained that Yang Zian deliberately appeared to fall into a trap in one game to make his opponent overconfident. He then expertly executed a counter-attack, turning the tide in another game and winning it, much to the opponent's frustration. As the competition progressed, the East Kingdom player's composure began to fray under Yang Zian's meticulous and unyielding play.
Realizing he was outmaneuvered in one of the games and facing a likely draw at best, the East Kingdom player requested a draw in that specific game, which Yang Zian graciously accepted. The remaining games intensified, with the East Kingdom player visibly agitated and Yang Zian remaining calm and focused. Finally, in a fit of frustration, the East Kingdom player tore off his blindfold, approaching the board in bewilderment, asking why he was losing.
Yang Zian calmly offered a piece of wisdom: "Weiqi is about more than just skillful play; one must not be impatient to achieve victory." The East Kingdom player humbly conceded, admitting he had lost not just the games but also his composure. The judges declared Shangyi School the overall winner of the competition. Overjoyed by their triumph, Shen Yiyi excitedly hugged Yang Zian, while Tangtang, in his enthusiasm, aggravated his leg injury and was taken away by Second Prince Xinyuan. Shen Yiyi stayed behind, waiting for Yang Zian.
