The surrounding palace maids and servants all gave her knowing looks, and Li Mama awkwardly tugged at the hem of the lady's skirt.

Ding seemed to have gone mad, pleading, "Your Highness, please stop! There are children here!"

Chen Mianmian secretly glanced around—the child? Where? Oh, she was talking about her. She's alright; what storms hasn't she weathered?

Although Princess Ruian was easygoing, she was not rude. Seeing that Madam Ding was really unhappy, she could only shake her head helplessly.

In reality, I haven't given up yet.

Princess Ryan rubbed her neck and twisted her waist, then laughed and said, "I really haven't been active for a long time. I'm already sweating after just a short while. I should definitely move around more often in the future."

Turning my head, I saw Chen Mianmian.

"Shen, I heard you've been practicing martial arts with Qingzhou?"

Shen Mianmian respectfully replied, "Your Highness, I don't know if this counts as practicing martial arts. The young master taught me a set of staff techniques, and I've been practicing them these past few days."

Princess Ryan became interested and said, "Someone, bring her a long stick so I can show it off."

Sleepyhead—well, they're treating her like a monkey.

Afterwards, Lady Ding accompanied the princess to the pavilion to rest and cool off, while Chen Mianmian performed stick fighting on the open ground outside the pavilion.

The first set is finished.

Princess Ryan sipped her tea. "Are you practicing stick fighting or dancing? Why is it so weak? Every movement needs to be precise, every swing needs to be forceful. You're using a stick to hit someone, not to perform for them. Try again."

"???"

Chen Mianmian was completely bewildered—wait, didn't the princess just want to see the monkey show? The monkey had already finished twirling the stick, so why was she starting to give technical instructions?

There was no other way, so Chen Mianmian played another set of moves.

This time, I put in a lot of effort.

After it was over, I was already out of breath.

Inside the pavilion, Princess Ruian and Lady Ding were eating melon seeds. "Pause for a moment before each movement," she said.

"..." Chen Mianmian looked at Ding Shi with pleading eyes.

Ding gave her a helpless look in return—if the princess tells you to play, then play; you'll get your share of the benefits.

Shen Mianmian was about to cry—was it a problem with the benefits? No, it was a problem with her physical strength!

I couldn't help but think – there's no harm in comparison. Compared to the princess, Master Fengchu is so gentle and considerate.

My nose tingled with emotion; this was the first time I had ever missed Fengchu so much.

There was nothing she could do; the princess was the eldest, and she was just a little Karami. Could she disobey the princess's orders? She could only resign herself to her fate and start wielding the stick.

After this, Shen Mianmian felt that she couldn't even lift a stick anymore.

Princess Ryan looked at her with disdain. "I say, did you learn staff fighting to please Qingzhou? Or is it some other kind of fun?"

Helpless, Shen Mianmian could only tell the truth, "Your Highness, I certainly want to learn properly. It's not that I don't want to put in the effort, but after practicing three sets of staff techniques, I really have limited strength and no energy left. Also, I initially wanted to learn fist techniques, but the Crown Prince thought that staff techniques could better train the strength of the waist and back, so he made me learn staff techniques."

Princess Ryan asked in bewilderment, "Martial arts? What would a young lady like you do if you learned close-quarters combat techniques? Shouldn't you be learning a longsword or a whip?"

Chen Mianmian answered weakly, "To fight."

"?" Princess Rui'an looked at Ding Shi beside her in confusion.

Ding was both amused and exasperated. "Your Highness, this is a long story."

Princess Ryan was bored out of her mind, and when she heard there was a new story to hear, how could she let it pass? "Come in and rest for a while, and tell me what happened."

Chen Mianmian put down the stick, and a maid immediately brought over a copper basin for the noble lady to wash her hands.

After washing her hands clean in the basin, Chen Mianmian took the towel offered by the maid, dried them, and entered the pavilion. Without even drinking water, she began to tell Princess Ruian about the past of the Anning Marquis's Mansion and the Xuanping Marquis's Mansion.

Princess Ryan was instantly enraged upon hearing this. "What? You got beaten up? You couldn't beat that skinny horse?"

Shen Mianmian nodded aggrievedly, "Your Highness, please understand. That skinny horse is not as strong as me, but she knows the moves. When I hit her, she can defend herself, but when she hits me, I can't defend myself. So when I came back, I was so angry that I asked the young master to teach me boxing."

Princess Rui'an suddenly realized that she had wronged her, and immediately turned her anger on Ding Shi beside her, "Ah Xuan, Qingzhou was bullied, why didn't you tell me?"

Ding was helpless—did she dare to speak? If she did, Princess Ruian would definitely run to the Xuanping Marquis's residence. The problem was, at most, Princess Ruian could only help them vent their anger and couldn't solve the actual problem. Not only would it cause trouble for Princess Ruian, but it would also spread rumors in the capital that the Anning Marquis's residence was bullying people by relying on the princess's residence.

Shen Mianmian understood the difficulties the lady was facing, and also knew that as a high-ranking princess, she couldn't always empathize with those below her. So she tactfully smoothed things over, saying, "Your Highness, please understand. The young master means that this is a grudge between us juniors, and it shouldn't be elevated to a grudge between the Marquis's family. We also wouldn't dare trouble our elders to help resolve it."

Whoever is absent takes the blame.

Today, the Crown Prince will take the blame.

Princess Ryan understood. "So it was Qingzhou's decision? That makes some sense. Haha, I never thought that little Qingzhou would grow up one day. Alright, let's go along with it."

When Ding saw that Shen had resolved the problem in just a few words, she was both surprised and pleased, and looked at Shen with a changed expression.

Princess Ryan pointed at Chen Mianmian, "Drink some water and rest for a bit, then continue practicing later."

Sleepyhead is confused—again, training?

Ding thought: Shen had just helped her out of a predicament, so now it was only right that she should help Shen out of a predicament.

He then said, "Your Highness, shall we call it a day? Let's rest a bit longer; we still want to play mahjong."

Princess Ryan looked at her with a disappointed expression, "Ah Xuan, you're already so old, how can you still be so playful? This girl has already been beaten up, why are you still playing mahjong?"

"..." Ding was inexplicably scolded.

Princess Ryan glared at Chen Mianmian, who was still in a daze, and said, "What are you looking at? Are you rested enough? If you're rested enough, go practice now."

"...No...Princess, please calm down and let me rest a little longer." Shen Mianmian hurriedly picked up her teacup and gulped down two mouthfuls.

While drinking, he winked at his wife—"My savior, my lady! I'm counting on you today!"

Having received the look of envy, Madam Ding could only bite the bullet and continue to persuade him, "How could we possibly take up Your Highness's time? Let Madam Shen keep you company, and you can practice again when we return to the Marquis's residence."

Princess Ryan asked seriously, "You just said that Qingzhou won't be staying at the Marquis's residence for a while?"

"Yes, Qingzhou is away studying under Mr. Ouyang, preparing for the imperial examination."

"Since he's not here, who will teach the Shen family martial arts? You?"

"I……"

Ding was speechless when asked the question.

Princess Ruian began to scold Ding Shi, "You, you, how come you're getting older but not more thoughtful? The Marquis of Xuanping's family is bullying you, and you still don't care? I'll leave Shen Shi with me, and I'll personally teach her martial arts. I refuse to believe she can't beat that bitch!"