On this morning, Xia Xue was practicing archery in the courtyard.

Blue sky and white clouds, sunny and dreamy. She tilted her head slightly, and saw clumps of white cumulus clouds, shaped like piles of delightful ice cream, and high above, the cool sky was set against cirrus clouds like feathers.

Stimulated by the sun, she closed her eyes slightly, and her thick curly eyelashes cast a small shadow on her cheeks.

"It's been a great day!" Xia Xue felt a little thirsty, so she put down her bow and arrows, went to the pool in the courtyard to wash her hands, then went back to the room to wipe her sweat with a towel, poured a cup of tea, and sat at the door of the boudoir and sipped it slowly. Admire Wuji's brother and cousin Gao to practice archery.

At this time, I suddenly heard a commotion outside, and after a while, Ouyang Yong and Ouyang Qian walked in angrily, followed by three people.

Ouyang Qian shouted as she walked: "Sister Xue, these people have to see you, I can't stop them!" ”

The eldest grandson Wuji and Gao Cheng also stopped archery, and turned their heads to see that Mrs. Gao and Aunt Xian Yu also walked out of the back room when they heard the noise.

"Who wants to see me?" Xia Xue was puzzled, put down the teacup, and walked out of the boudoir.

I saw Ouyang Yong followed by three people, walking in front of a young man, about twenty years old, slender and tall figure, wearing a white robe made of high-grade silk fabric, handsome and upright. With a high forehead and a wide heavenly court, a high nose bridge, deep eyes, long thick eyebrows, light gray eyes, and an expression that seems to be smiling at the corners of his lips, he exudes a noble and arrogant temperament. With his hands behind his back, he swaggered behind Ouyang Yong and paced slowly.

Behind the handsome young man were two tall and burly men with scimitars at their waists and bearded sideburns. None of these three men were of Central Plains appearance, and felt as if they were Arabs.

The handsome young man saw Xia Xue at a glance, his face was full of surprise, he walked forward quickly, bowed deeply to Xia Xue, and then magically took out a large bouquet of fragrant, gorgeous and fiery roses from behind.

Xia Xue was stunned for a moment.

"Miss Eldest Sun, I am Muhammad, the prince of the Great Food Country. Root. Nadull, I saw you at the auction, you are so beautiful, I fell in love with you at first sight and wanted to propose to you. The handsome young man stammered to Xia Xue in stiff Chinese language.

The Great Food Country of the Sui Dynasty was the Arab country of later generations, and the abrupt actions of this Arab prince not only stunned Xia Xue, but also made the eldest grandson Wuji, Gao Cheng, Mrs. Gao, and Uncle Xian Yu petrified instantly.

"Why are all the Arab princes coming, how do they know about me?" Xia Xue was confused.

"How did you know about me?" Xia Xue asked suspiciously.

"Oh, Miss Changsun, your name can be said to be a household name in Bohai County! How could I not know? I came to Sui to do business, the silk and porcelain of Middle-earth are very exquisite, we eat nobles very much, I came to Middle-earth to do business, and secondly, I came to play, the mountains and rivers of Middle-earth are beautiful, and the scenery is very beautiful. But no matter how beautiful the scenery is, it can't compare to the beauty of Miss Changsun's fairy jade! The Arab prince stammered in praise in stiff Chinese, and looked at Xia Xue with affection in his two deep eyes.

Xia Xue's face couldn't help but blush, "Who are these people, first the son of the county prince of Bohai County, and now the prince of Arabia, Miss Ben is not interested in love and marriage at all now!" Her mind was racing, thinking about what to do. But it doesn't seem polite to refuse directly, plus maybe this Arab prince has a lot of power behind him, if he openly offends him, the family of Wuji's brother and cousin Gao Cheng may be implicated and invite trouble. What should I do? ”

Xia Xue rolled her eyes and smiled at the Arabian prince, laughing so hard that the prince's eyes straightened.

"Your Royal Highness, thank you for the compliment, I'm not as beautiful as you say!"

"No, no, Miss Eldest Sun, your beauty cannot be described in words, it is the most gorgeous words in the world, such as the city and the country, the sinking fish and the geese, etc., and you can't describe your beauty, what I said is true!"

"Do you know the customs of our hometown? Do you know the purpose of the Big Buddha of Nanshan Temple? ”

"I know, I know, I heard this person here say that you are a fairy of the Nine Heavens, and I believe this is true, because your beauty is not something that mortal women can have. You can only marry the true dragon emperor, and I know this. The Arabian prince paused, then straightened his back and said proudly: "Miss eldest grandson, my father has made me the crown prince, and I will be the future true dragon emperor, so I feel that I am qualified to propose to you." Miss Changsun, please think about it. ”

"Well, that's good. The true dragon son is a condition, but I like wise men, I don't know how wise His Royal Highness the prince is? "Summer snow's big eyes, clear as water, are as gentle as clouds, and as soft as the moon.

"I'm well-read, well-traveled, well-informed, and I think I'm a very wise man." The Arab prince said confidently.

"If you have wisdom or not, then I will take a test." Xia Xue's eyes narrowed, bent like a string moon, and said with a smile.

"What does Miss Eldest Sun want to do?"

"Let's guess a simple riddle first."

"I'm the best at guessing riddles, please tell Miss Changsun." The Arabian prince was confident.

"The riddle is simple. What is it, please? Four legs when I was a child, two legs when I grew up, and three legs when I got old? ”

"Is there such a strange thing in the world?" The Arabian prince was momentarily confused, scratching his ears and cheeks, and he turned to consult the two attendants, whose heads were shaking like rattles.

After a quarter of an hour or so, the Arab prince who racked his brains couldn't think of it, so he had to beg Xia Xue for mercy and let her reveal the mystery.

"Hehe, the mystery is—'people!' Xia Xue's red lips curved upwards in a beautiful arc.

"Ahh What the? - 'People'! ......" The Arabian prince was puzzled, and suddenly he slapped his thigh, and suddenly realized: "Oh, people crawl and walk when they are young, so they have four legs, and when they are young, they walk on two legs, so they have two legs, and when they are old, they can't walk steadily and need to use a cane, so they walk on three legs." …… Ah, why am I so stupid, I can't even guess such a simple riddle! ——”

Looking at the Arab prince's embarrassment, Ouyang Qian couldn't help laughing, and the Arab prince's face turned red like a red cloth.

He said to Xia Xue in frustration, "Miss Eldest Sun, do you have any other riddles?" ”

Xia Xue smiled lightly, "Don't guess the riddle when you come down, Your Royal Highness the Prince, although you didn't guess the riddle, you still have a chance." ”

"I still have a chance?" The Arabian prince cheered excitedly.

"If you can scrape together the dowry I need, I'll promise to marry you!" The curvature of the corners of Xia Xue's mouth curled higher.

"What dowry? Gold, silver and jewelry, Miss Eldest Sun, you can say it casually, there is nothing I can't take. The Arabian prince regained his confidence and asked excitedly.

"Your Royal Highness, have you ever played chess?"

"Of course, I'm very knowledgeable, of course. Does the eldest grandchild want to play chess with me? ”

"No, I don't play chess with you. If you've ever played chess, you know how many squares there are on a chess board, right? ”

"Yes, I know, there are 64 squares on the chessboard." The Arabian prince was full of suspicion, not knowing what Xia Xue was doing with this simple question.

"The dowry I want is very simple, I don't want gold, silver and jewelry, I just want grain and wheat." The smile on the corner of Xia Xue's lips was as beautiful as the morning light.

"Oh my Allah! Great, this dowry is so simple! Miss Eldest Sun, how much wheat do you need? Anyway, no matter how much, I'll be sure to make it up for you. The Arabian prince was full of confidence and excitement, he did not expect this beautiful sweetheart to ask for such a simple dowry, and he couldn't help but smile with joy.

And the eldest grandson Wuji, Gao Zheng, Xian Yu, Mrs. Gao, and Ouyang brothers and sisters were so anxious that they stomped their feet.

"I don't want much wheat. Your Royal Highness, as long as you put 1 grain in the first slot of the chessboard, 2 grains in the 2nd slot, 4 grains in the 3rd slot, 8 grains in the 4th slot, and so on, the number of grains in each slot will be twice the number of grains in the previous slot, until the 64th slot is full. Xia Xue said with a gentle smile.

"Whew! - Great! The Arabian prince let out a long roar excitedly, "The eldest grandson girl wants such a small amount of wheat, not to use liters, catties, or two scales, but to count the grains, that is too easy!" If this is the case, the eldest grandson girl will ask for ten chess boards of wheat, and I can make up enough. The Arabian prince shouted excitedly.

"Your Royal Highness the Prince, it doesn't matter so much, I only need one chessboard, as long as you fill a chessboard with 64 squares according to the rules I said."

"Miss Eldest Sun, you have to talk and count! No, when the time comes, I will bring the amount of wheat you said, and you will not admit it again. The Arabian prince eagerly asked Xia Xue to reassure.

"Don't worry, I can make a note." Xia Xue said with a serious face.

"Great, please make a note for Miss Changsun, I will go back immediately to prepare the wheat dowry you want, and come to marry you to our big food country immediately." The Arabian prince was thrilled.

"Your Royal Highness, what if you don't have enough wheat for me?"

"Miss Eldest Sun, that's impossible! If I don't get enough of the wheat you want, I'll be a big eater. I will be ashamed to come to Sui again, and even more ashamed to come to see you! ”

"Why so little?" Ouyang Qian was so anxious that she ran over and gently pulled Xia Xue's sleeve, and kept giving her a look, hoping that she would change her words.

Xia Xue smiled at her, and then smiled at Brother Wuji, cousin Gao Cheng, aunt Xianyu, Niang Qin Gao, and Ouyang Yong's younger brother who were full of anxiety and doubts, and took a pen, ink, paper, and inkstone from the house with a relaxed expression, and wrote on it: "If I can make up enough for the dowry I need: put 1 grain of wheat in the 1st grid of the chess board, 2 grains in the 2nd grid, 4 grains in the 3rd grid, 8 grains in the 4th grid, and so on, After that, the number of grains in each grid was twice as many as in the previous grid, until the 64th grid was filled with the number of grains, and I agreed to marry Muhammad, the prince of the Great Food Kingdom. Root. Nadull. If you can't make enough, please don't bother me again! ”

His name was written on the letter: eldest grandson Xue, and then solemnly sent it to the Arabian prince.

Muhammad. Root. Nadul ordered his subordinates to take a luxurious brocade box, and then carefully put the guarantee written by Xia Xue into it.

"Please Miss Changsun wait for good news, I will return to China immediately to prepare the dowry you need, and I will come in a short time to marry the beautiful fairy Your Excellency." After the Arabian prince gave Xia Xue roses, he turned around in a hurry and hurried back to prepare the dowry wheat that Xia Xue needed.

As soon as the Arabian prince left, Wuji's brother, cousin Gao Cheng, aunt Xianyu, mother-in-law Mrs. Gao, Ouyang Yong, and Ouyang Qian hurriedly surrounded him.

"Oh, Cher, why did someone as smart as you make a mistake this time?"

"Oh, that's it, Sister Xue, why are you so impulsive this time? Do you want me to go after the Arab prince and get back the guarantee you wrote? ”

"Oh, Sister Xue, you didn't fall in love with that Arab prince and did it on purpose, did you? He is indeed very handsome, he is still the future king, the future true dragon emperor, Sister Xue will not suffer a loss if she marries him, but, but the Great Food Country is too far away, and it will not be easy for us to see you in the future! ”

“……”

Everyone chatted around Xia Xue non-stop, Xia Xue looked light-hearted, and said to everyone with a smile: "How can I marry that Arab prince." I am not dizzy, nor am I impulsive, rest assured, I assure you that the Arabian prince will never come again! ”

Seeing Xia Xue's confident appearance, everyone look at me, I look at you, although full of suspicions, but in the end I still choose to believe in the magical "little fairy".

After returning home, the Arab prince who was full of joy, confidence, longing, and pride immediately ordered his subordinates to open the granary and put wheat on the chessboard according to the rules Xia Xue said.

The counting of wheat grains began, with 1 grain in the first compartment, 2 grains in the second compartment, and 4 grains in the third compartment,...... After that, the number of grains of wheat in each compartment was twice as large as the number of grains in the previous compartment,......, and before the twentieth compartment was reached, the sacks of wheat were empty, and sacks of wheat were carried before the prince. However, the number of wheat grains increased rapidly one after another, and the prince was shocked to find that according to the agreement with Xia Xue, the number of wheat in the whole diet was not enough for even half of the number of grids on the chessboard, and the number of wheat grains that Xia Xue asked for was simply astronomical, even if he took out the world's grain, he would not be able to fulfill the dowry that Xia Xue needed.

The Arabian prince sat down on a mountain of wheat, his joy and longing bursting like a soap bubble.

It turns out that the total number of wheat grains required for summer snow is: 2+2^2+2^3+......+2^64 = 18446744073709551615.

How much wheat is there? For example, if you build a warehouse for the wheat, which is 4 meters high and 10 meters wide, the length of the warehouse is twice the distance from the earth to the sun. And to produce so much wheat, it would take the whole world 2,000 years. Although the Great Food Eater is relatively wealthy, the Arabian princes cannot scrape together enough wheat to buy all the wheat from all over the world.

In this way, the smart Xia Xue sent away the annoying suitors through a simple math game, making them retreat from the difficulties, making them ashamed of themselves, and not hurting any harmony.