11 Chapter Eleven

Since Shen Ruozhu had found a martial arts master for Qi Yunmiao, when Wen Tingyao and Song Xiao arrived, they naturally witnessed Qi Yunmiao’s formal apprenticeship ceremony at the Prime Minister’s residence.

The rituals for taking on a master in martial arts and in literature were, in essence, quite similar. The difference lay in the object of reverence: those studying academics pay homage to Confucius and Mencius, while martial artists salute Lord Guan, the revered Guan Yu.

Shen Ruozhu had prepared everything meticulously.

Throughout the ceremony, Qi Yunmiao was immensely exhilarated.

She clearly remembered that on the very first day she arrived at the Prime Minister’s residence, her mother had promised to find her a martial arts master.

She had never expected it would happen so soon.

They had been at the residence for less than a month!

The female master Shen Ruozhu had found for her today was surnamed Lin, named Zhou Yi, who was said to have served under General Yue Qunyao of the Dingyuan army and had accompanied the troops on several campaigns.

General Yue Qunyao hailed from the Lingyang Marquisate, being the younger sister of the current Lingyang Marquis Yue Qunshan, and notably, the only female general in the current court who had been officially promoted to the fourth rank.

The entire Yue family were military officers. While Marquis Yue Qunshan led the forces guarding the borders, his sister Yue Qunyao commanded an all-female battalion, which had returned to the capital last autumn to replenish its strength and had not left since.

Shen Ruozhu had long planned to secure a female master from the military camp for Qi Yunmiao.

Since she liked it and had resolved to learn, she naturally wanted the best for her.

However, she had been busy recently, and it was only after witnessing Qi Yunmiao getting into a scuffle with Song Xiao at the Song residence yesterday that she realized this matter must be expedited.

Qi Yunmiao was not at fault for the fight.

She did not need Qi Yunmiao to reflect on it; all she wanted was for her to become stronger, to be able to protect herself and avoid harm next time.

Lin Zhou Yi was invited by Pei Xun to the Lingyang Marquisate, and Yue Qunyao had spared no effort to assign one of her most capable female soldiers as the master.

With the apprenticeship ceremony complete, Qi Yunmiao was about to take her master to the backyard to show her the various weapons she owned.

Wen Tingyao called out to her just in time.

“Miao Miao…”

With others present, Wen Tingyao glanced at Song Xiao, then at Shen Ruozhu, conveying everything without words.

Shen Ruozhu understood.

She had someone lead Lin Zhou Yi away before finally asking Wen Tingyao the purpose of his visit today.

Wen Tingyao awkwardly tugged at Song Xiao’s sleeve, urging him forward.

Song Xiao hesitated, clearly reluctant.

But having just witnessed Qi Yunmiao’s apprenticeship ceremony—saluting Lord Guan and having a master from the military camp—he was terrified of getting beaten again. Under his mother’s watchful eye, he reluctantly stepped forward to apologize to Qi Yunmiao.

His voice was barely audible.

Qi Yunmiao barely caught it at first.

“What did you say?”

“…”

Song Xiao was flushed with shame, convinced she was pretending not to hear.

He shot her a glare.

Qi Yunmiao smiled broadly.

Though she hadn’t heard clearly, she certainly knew what Song Xiao wanted to say.

She was indeed being deliberately obtuse.

“All right, if you don’t want to say it, then don’t. I’m going to find my master now.” She said this in front of Shen Ruozhu and Wen Tingyao.

“Wait!”

Song Xiao quickly called after her.

His hands hung loosely by his sides, clenched into fists, as if struggling with something difficult.

Qi Yunmiao waited a moment, then a voice rang out before her like a thunderclap: “Qi Yunmiao, I’m sorry! I was wrong! I shouldn’t have said those things yesterday.”

Qi Yunmiao was satisfied.

She didn’t know if Song Xiao truly understood his mistake or if it was insincere, but at least she heard an apology.

Magnanimously, she said, “Fine, I’ll grudgingly forgive you.”

Song Xiao finally exhaled in relief.

Wen Tingyao did the same.

Seeing Qi Yunmiao take on a master at the Pei residence was completely unexpected.

Given that just yesterday Qi Yunmiao had fought with Song Xiao, and today Shen Ruozhu had found her a martial arts master, it was hard not to suspect there was more to it than coincidence.

Only heaven knew what images flashed through Wen Tingyao’s mind when he saw Qi Yunmiao’s apprenticeship.

Fortunately, Qi Yunmiao was reasonable.

As for Shen Ruozhu…

After Wen Tingyao and Song Xiao apologized and exchanged a few words with Shen Ruozhu, he called Song Xiao to board the carriage home.

Inside the carriage, he said to his son, “From now on, behave yourself. When you have nothing to do, be like your sister—befriend Qi Yunmiao, understand?”

“Why?” Song Xiao asked, puzzled.

“Because her mother is a wise and spirited woman. Such a woman, I don’t want to be her enemy.”

If they could get along, all the better.

Song Xiao truly did not understand what Qi Yunmiao’s mother had done to make his own mother see her as both intelligent and spirited.

He gave a perfunctory reply but paid no heed to his mother’s words.

—

Qi Yunmiao now had her own martial arts master.

Each day, besides attending the Song family school, she added a fixed activity—practicing martial arts.

Lin Zhou Yi was a female soldier from the military camp, skilled with spear and staff, and her training was rigid, leaving no room for slack.

On the first day, Qi Yunmiao witnessed her strictness firsthand.

Lin Zhou Yi showed her the many “weapons” her father had left her.

There was a large bow that required great strength to draw, a lighter bow made by her father especially for her practice, as well as slingshots, sharp hunting knives, a seven-foot-long five-pronged fork for catching wild beasts and birds in the mountains, and even a peachwood sword crafted by her father.

Lin Zhou Yi looked over the collection and laughed when she saw the peachwood sword, then asked, “Which weapon do you want to learn most?”

“I want to learn them all,” Qi Yunmiao said. “These are all my father’s belongings—he knew how to use every one!”

Lin Zhou Yi scoffed, “Do you know that in our military camp, mastering even one of these is considered extraordinary?”

Qi Yunmiao did not know.

Her dark eyes stared at Lin Zhou Yi unwaveringly.

Seeing the assortment, Lin Zhou Yi called her into the courtyard.

She cleared away the servants moving about and had Qi Yunmiao demonstrate each weapon, starting from the simplest slingshot, then the bow and arrow, followed by the hunting knife, and the five-pronged fork.

Qi Yunmiao’s use of the slingshot and bow was quite decent, but her handling of the hunting knife and the fork was clumsy.

Still, given her young age and the heaviness of these weapons, it was impressive she could lift them at all.

After assessing her, Lin Zhou Yi decided that in the first year, Qi Yunmiao would only learn the basics of martial arts and continue improving her relatively strong archery skills. She was forbidden from touching the other weapons for now.

“But I want to learn swordsmanship,” Qi Yunmiao said.

“Once your archery is good enough to graduate, then you can learn swordplay,” Lin Zhou Yi told her.

“How do I know when I’m ready to graduate?”

Qi Yunmiao looked at the distant target; she had just hit the bullseye.

Lin Zhou Yi, understanding what the girl was thinking, glanced at the arrow lodged in the center of the target.

Then she bent down, pulled two arrows from her quiver, and stepped back two paces.

She drew Qi Yunmiao’s father’s large bow and nocked the two arrows simultaneously.

In an instant, the wind howled as the arrows flew, embedding themselves precisely at the very top and bottom edges of the target.

The placement was so precise that the arrows were barely clinging to the target; any slight miscalculation and they would have fallen off, lost to who knows where.

Yet Lin Zhou Yi controlled the shot with such exactness that no accident was possible.

Qi Yunmiao stared in amazement.

That was her father’s large bow, which she usually struggled to hold, yet Lin Zhou Yi drew it effortlessly.

And with two arrows on one string!

Without looking at her, Lin Zhou Yi soon withdrew three more arrows from her quiver.

This time, three arrows struck simultaneously: one at the far left, one at the far right, and one squarely in the bullseye.

They were perfectly aligned from left to right.

“Understand now?” she asked Qi Yunmiao.

Qi Yunmiao nodded like a chick pecking at grain, no longer daring to question anything.

Thus began Qi Yunmiao’s journey learning martial arts under Lin Zhou Yi.

Whatever Lin Zhou Yi instructed, she obeyed.

She was told to abandon her former pride in archery and start with the basics—horse stance.

She obediently followed orders, focusing solely on mastering the fundamental stance.

The Prime Minister’s residence’s rear garden, once always quiet and peaceful, now frequently echoed with the sound of the young girl running about and practicing horse stance beneath the mulberry tree by the rockery.

Aunt Fang watched in astonishment, utterly confused as to why a well-behaved young lady like Qi Yunmiao would want to learn martial arts.

At first, Pei Xun thought Qi Yunmiao’s desire to learn martial arts was mere whimsy—a novelty that would fade within ten or fifteen days.

But when he discovered that for over half a month, every day after school at the Song residence, she earnestly studied with Lin Zhou Yi, he was astounded.

Qi Yunmiao did not neglect her studies at the Song family school even while learning martial arts.

On the day Pei Ze returned home, Pei Xun had just invited Qi Yunmiao to the flower hall for a meal.

Though she had not yet taken his surname, Pei Xun never treated his stepdaughter unfairly.

Knowing how hard she had been training, he instructed the kitchen to prepare some nourishing medicinal broth.

When Pei Ze arrived, Qi Yunmiao was warming herself with the chicken soup in the flower hall.

Pei Xun chatted casually with her: “Miao Miao, how did you come to want to learn martial arts?”

Qi Yunmiao’s desire to learn martial arts naturally stemmed from her wish to grow up like her father and become an excellent hunter.

But looking at Pei Xun, her mother’s new husband, she felt she could not say that outright.

Instead, she replied, “Because I want to be a heroine. When I grow up, I want to protect my mother and many others I care about.”

Her answer was rather naive.

Pei Xun smiled upon hearing this: “Now that you and your mother have entered the Prime Minister’s residence, you’re part of our household. The residence has stewards and guards; wherever you and your mother go, you will be well protected.”

“Hmm…”

But last time when she fought Song Xiao, no one protected her.

Qi Yunmiao met the Prime Minister’s gentle gaze and pondered for a moment, unsure how to respond to his words politely.

Saying the truth seemed rude.

In the end, she decided not to say anything.

After much thought, she could not find a tactful reply and simply kept her head down, pretending to sip her chicken soup.

Just then, Pei Ze entered.

Hearing his footsteps, Qi Yunmiao looked up to hear him say, “The Prime Minister’s residence isn’t omnipotent. There are people and things it cannot protect. It’s good that you’re thinking of learning some martial arts yourself.”