The officials whispered among themselves.

None of them had ever seen these things. They had nothing to go on and could not guess at all.

Looking at the toothbrush in his hand, Ning Chen thought of a riddle, and said, smiling, "Let me set you all a riddle. There's a prize for getting it right."

"A thing that is born seven inches long, hair at one end and bare at the other. Name a household article... What do you all say it is?"

The officials of the court, civil and military, froze on the spot.

Some looked at Ning Chen with contempt in their eyes, and some cursed his coarseness under their breath.

"Lord Fan is a man of wide learning. Do you know the answer?"

Fan Taihe's face was full of scorn. Even if I knew it, I could hardly say it in open court.

"Hmph. This minister reads the books of the sages. I am an officer of the court and a man of letters and refinement... Why would I answer a coarse, indecent riddle like that?"

Ning Chen gave a slight smile and let it go.

He looked at the Right Chancellor. "My lord Right Chancellor. Can you guess the answer?"

The Right Chancellor's face was full of scorn, and he made a cold sound in his nose. "This chancellor does not stoop to answer a low, indecent riddle of that sort."

Ning Chen only smiled, and looked at the officials of the court, civil and military. "Can my lords guess the answer?"

The officials' faces were full of scorn, all of them wearing the look of men of letters and refinement who decline to answer an indecent question.

Ning Chen looked at the Xuan Emperor. "Can Your Majesty guess the answer?"

The corner of the Xuan Emperor's mouth twitched. He was about to tell Ning Chen to stop making trouble when a censor stepped out and rebuked him. "Marquis Ning, this is the court, not the pleasure quarter. Guard your tongue!"

Another censor stepped out. "Your Majesty! Marquis Ning is coarse and indecent and brings dishonor…