The cruel little princess

"Well, I see you get up early every day and go to the training ground for morning exercises. Do you want to learn martial arts?" His Royal Highness Prince Jin finally asked what was in his mind.

"That's indeed what I meant. That time, when I saw your extraordinary lightness skills, Huaijin, I thought about the dangers at the border, and I also wanted to learn some life-saving skills. I just don't know if it's too late for me to learn now?" Shen Youyou definitely couldn't reveal the fact that he was a soldier king in modern times.

"It's not too late. As long as you're determined to do it, it's never too late!" Prince Jin offered comfort. "But if you learn alone, you won't be able to grasp the key points. It's better to find someone to teach you. That way it will be easier to get started."

Shen Youyou was in a dilemma. Her father was seriously injured and hadn't recovered yet. Her eldest brother couldn't even get out of bed, let alone teach her martial arts! She didn't know the other people well. Besides, even if she looked for them, they might not be available.

Seeing her frown, His Royal Highness Prince Jin took the initiative to say, "I happen to be free recently. If you want to learn, I can teach you!"

Shen Youyou's eyes lit up after hearing this. A ready-made master had just arrived! "Master! Please accept..." Before she could salute, His Royal Highness Prince Jin had already lifted her up from where she was about to squat. "I don't want to be your master!" he said quickly.

Shen Youyou looked bewildered. You said you'd teach me martial arts when you had time, but now you say you don't want to be my master! What's going on? You've made her lose all her skills.

"Well, what I mean is, you and I don't have to call each other master and disciple! I'll just give you some pointers occasionally! No need to become your disciple!" His Royal Highness Prince Jin's throat was rolling up and down. Master, master, once a teacher, always a father. If she really waited for her to kneel down and kowtow to him, then he would be her master for the rest of his life, with no possibility of further advancement! Therefore, he couldn't be her master, nor did he want to be!

"Well, then if there's anything I can help you with, just tell me directly, and I'll definitely go through fire and water for you!" Shen Youyou also expressed her gratitude.

After that, the two agreed to go to the mountain for morning exercises at 1:15 AM. There were too many people at the training ground, and there was no dedicated place for them to practice.

After His Royal Highness Prince Jin left, Shen Youyou flipped through medical texts for a while, combining ancient and modern knowledge to prescribe appropriate remedies for Shen Duanfang and Shen Zijin. Then, Chuntao arrived to serve dinner. After they finished eating, one returned to sewing a notebook while the other continued writing their training plan. At 11:00 PM, Shen Youyou remembered she had to get up early tomorrow to practice martial arts. After all, it was her first day of training, and she had to make a good impression on her martial arts partner! So, Shen Youyou and Chuntao washed up and went to bed.

The next morning, Shen Youyou quickly got up and dressed, still wearing her usual tight-fitting clothes with three-kilogram sandbags strapped to each leg. When Shen Youyou emerged from the tent, she saw His Royal Highness Prince Jin standing beside his majestic horse, looking incredibly impressive! An Er was leading a matching white pony, its large, watery eyes glancing at An Er from time to time.

An Er walked forward to introduce Shen Youyou, "Miss Shen, the prince's mount is Jing Lei, and this is Taxue. The prince specially ordered someone to find it for Miss Shen. Taxue is a small mare with a gentle and kind temperament, suitable for beginners. This is a carrot, you can feed it to increase your affection." An Er handed over a few washed carrots.

Shen Youyou took the carrot and walked in front of Taxue. She knew that she had to walk in front of the horse to make sure the horse could see her so that the horse would not feel uneasy. His Royal Highness Prince Jin taught her to hold a carrot in her right hand with her palm facing up so that it could see it. Taxue stretched out her clever tongue and gently rolled the carrot into her mouth, then snorted happily and began to eat. Shen Youyou followed the same method and fed all the carrots to Taxue. Taxue ate happily, and His Royal Highness Prince Jin lifted her wrist again and asked her to put her hand behind Taxue's ear and gently stroke from behind the ear to the lower end of the neck. Taxue obviously enjoyed the touch, and shook her big head slightly to rub against Shen Youyou for a touch.

"Let's go to the mountain closer to the military camp first. This side of the mountain is relatively low, right where the An Er Folding Willow Branch is. Even if we walk, it will only take a cup of tea to get there. Once your riding skills improve and you have some basic skills, we can go to the farther mountains, where the slopes are steeper."

"Okay." Shen Youyou also replied happily.

"Can you get on the horse by yourself?" His Royal Highness Prince Jin asked her.

"That should be no problem!" Shen Youyou hadn't expected this martial arts instructor to be so good. He took every aspect into consideration. Not only could he teach martial arts, but he could also teach horsemanship. She wondered how many surprises she hadn't yet uncovered!

She gently grasped the saddle rope, leaped up, and sat firmly on the horse's back. Suddenly she realized that the saddle was carefully padded to prevent her from sitting too long.

Shen Youyou then followed His Royal Highness Prince Jin's instructions, gently pulling on the reins to maintain balance, legs lightly clamped around the horse's belly. Taxue received the command and took powerful strides forward, slightly faster than an average person's walk, but not quite trotting. Shen Youyou was relatively comfortable with this pace; she was a beginner after all! Why demand so much?! His Royal Highness Prince Jin rode Jinglei at a leisurely pace alongside him. An Er, using his Qing Gong skills, advanced a step further, breaking off another willow branch...

Such a short distance was reached in a short while. Before Shen Youyou could get any idea about riding a horse, he heard His Royal Highness Prince Jin say, "Youyou, we're here."

So fast? ... Shen Youyou was a little puzzled. If it was so close, why ride a horse? Wouldn't it be better to run? It would also exercise the body. But when she returned, she understood why she had to ride a horse...

His Royal Highness Prince Jin first stated, "Since I want to give you some advice, then you must follow my arrangements."

"That's a must!" Shen Youyou replied.

"Then you should jog up the mountain and then down the mountain, back and forth five times."

Shen Youyou looked up. It wasn't that high, only about a thousand meters, though the path was a bit bumpy and winding. Five round trips would only be a little over ten thousand meters, which was acceptable. She took a deep breath and broke into a quick run. It was special training, she understood!

When she ran, His Royal Highness Prince Jin also ran with her all the way, but she also tied a sandbag, while His Royal Highness Prince Jin did not have a sandbag. After running for more than half an hour, she was out of breath, holding her knees with her hands and gasping for breath.

"Next, we'll do the horse stance. I see you usually do it in the mornings. Just do it for half an hour this time." Prince Jin said, and then he began the horse stance. The horse stance helps strengthen the lower limbs, improve balance and stability, and regulate and enhance the practitioner's internal energy. It was special training, she understood!

At first, she was able to hold the horse stance steadily, but after half a quarter of an hour, she began to feel a little exhausted. However, she still gritted her teeth and persevered.

His Royal Highness Prince Jin was sitting steadily in horse stance and secretly practicing internal martial arts.

After the horse stance, she ran five times. On her last descent, Shen Youyou stumbled and fell to the ground, rolling down the slope twice before she managed to steady herself by grabbing a handful of grass leaves.

His Royal Highness Prince Jin quickly leaped in front of Shen Youyou, "Youyou, are you okay? Where are you hurt?"

"It's okay, I just slipped and fell." She raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead. Suddenly, she froze when she saw the leaves in her hand. If I'm not mistaken, these should be... sweet potato leaves?!

"Chu Huaijin, do you know what this is?" She picked up the leaf and handed it to His Royal Highness Prince Jin, asking him to look at it carefully.

"Isn't this just a grass leaf? Could it be some kind of herb?" His Royal Highness Prince Jin took the leaf and sniffed it carefully. There was no special smell, so it was hard to judge.

Shen Youyou... Please forgive my intrusion, it's normal for a noble prince to not know the common grains...

Shen Youyou lifted up her skirt and plucked up another handful of leaves from the ones she had just grabbed. Then, using all her strength, she pulled them out, bringing up several clumps of dirt, large and small. Shen Youyou smiled happily at the scene. His Royal Highness Prince Jin was a little confused. How could he be so happy just pulling out a handful of grass leaves?

"Do you recognize this thing?" Shen Youyou picked up the mud and gently patted the remaining dirt on it. She revealed the object inside and asked him if he knew it.

His Royal Highness Prince Jin shook his head again, "I really don't know."

Just then, An Er arrived. He was picking willow branches at the foot of the mountain when he saw the prince's hasty signal and rushed over. "What are your instructions, my prince?" He bowed.

"An Er, do you recognize this thing?" His Royal Highness Prince Jin asked An Er again while holding it.

"I don't know." An Er took it and examined it carefully. It looked like a tree root with tendrils, but it wasn't that hard. It was covered in mud. He really didn't know what it was. He had never seen it before.

Shen Youyou smiled, "Your Highness, An Er, you two are in for a treat today!" She smiled and beckoned An Er over to follow her lead, pulling up all the sweet potato leaves! Because these sweet potatoes grow from roots, pulling up a bunch of leaves brought out a multitude of sweet potatoes of varying sizes. (Note: I looked it up, and in Yunnan, there's actually a saying about digging "April potatoes." Just consider it to add to the story's richness, don't take it too seriously!)