As the future princess consort, Lu Ming was brought to the palace to learn etiquette and could no longer freely enter and leave the military. According to the rules, she should serve the empress, but since the empress had left the palace, this matter fell to Consort Lan.
Consort Lan didn't give Lu Ming a friendly look and had already warned the nanny to teach her "seriously".
Here we go again.
Lu Ming had a bowl of water, eight-tenths full, balanced on her head. She couldn't sway, and her steps couldn't be fast or slow; she had to walk with graceful steps.
She has a foundation in martial arts, so these things aren't difficult for her. The difficulty lies in people deliberately making things difficult for her.
The nanny made her walk from east to west, a full hour.
Exhausted, Lu Ming walked cautiously. A sharp pain shot through her back, and she trembled. The bowl of water on her head slipped off, but she caught it with lightning speed.
The old woman, holding a whip, said, "Miss Lu, you have a good reputation in the army and should be a smart person. How come you can't learn these basic etiquettes?"
Lu Ming turned her head and glared at her, her anger blazing: "You're clearly just looking for trouble!"
The old woman scoffed, "Quite the temper, Miss Lu. I've gone to great lengths to teach you, and instead of learning diligently, you're trying to act tough. I'd like to see if this gets back to His Majesty's ears—you'll still be able to remain the Crown Princess!"
The old woman's threats were like sharp pliers, slowly stripping away Lu Ming's claws and teeth. Lu Ming slowly loosened her grip, swallowing all her dissatisfaction and grievances.
The old woman nodded in satisfaction: "You're a promising student, continue."
Lu Ming placed the water bowl down, and the nanny watched and waited. When Lu Ming couldn't hold on any longer and made a mistake, she was scolded and made to continue learning how to serve the Crown Prince.
It wasn't until it got dark that the nanny finally let Lu Ming go. Lu Ming collapsed on the stone bench in the garden, her whole body aching. It was even more tiring than military training, and it took her a long time to recover.
Ever since she entered the palace, Chu Huan has been transferred away, and Consort Lan has been causing her trouble every day. She would search her palace thoroughly over the smallest things, and she was unjustly accused without anyone to inform her.
Chu Huan...
A tall figure flashed through Lu Ming's mind. She thought that if Chu Huan were here, her father would have received her letter. No... if Chu Huan were here, he wouldn't let her suffer such injustice.
"What's wrong?" Xiao Lingshou walked over from the other end of the garden, his jade pendants tinkling.
"Your Highness!"
Lu Ming swept away her dejected and dejected expression, and smiled happily. She took a big step, but then froze. Remembering the nanny's scolding, she moved gracefully to him.
"May I send a message to my father, Your Highness?"
Xiao Lingshou asked, "Why is that?"
Lu Ming looked troubled and hesitated for a moment before revealing all the things that Consort Lan had done to her. At the end, fearing that Xiao Lingshou might misunderstand, she whispered, "I'm willing to go to the Buddhist temple or accompany Her Majesty the Empress. I don't want to stay in the palace."
Xiao Lingshou removed a green leaf from her shoulder. His expression remained calm and unchanged. He said, "It was my oversight. Once things have calmed down with Father, I will not let you suffer such injustice again."
Lu Ming lowered her head, her cheeks slightly flushed: "I don't feel wronged..."
Xiao Lingshou reached out and pulled Lu Ming into his arms, gently stroking her back. Lu Ming hissed softly, and Xiao Lingshou's movements became even gentler: "Later, I will send word to the imperial physician to prepare a muscle-regenerating ointment for you, so that you will not have any scars left on your body."
A strong masculine aura enveloped her, making Lu Ming feel dizzy.
She agreed to everything Xiao Lingshou said.
Suddenly it dawned on me that Xiao Lingshou had been serving the Emperor every day recently, and with the recent cold weather, he was bound to catch a chill, so I decided to make him knee pads myself.
On the snow-covered mountain where the wind howled, Chang Lili and Meng Yuxiu walked one after the other. Meng Yuxiu coaxed her for a while, and most of her anger subsided. She was still dissatisfied with Meng Yuxiu's reckless actions, but she stopped complaining. They needed to conserve their energy.
"We're heading to the highest mountain, and there's no guarantee we won't encounter another pack of wolves. We also have no food on us, not enough to sustain us until we reach our destination. Meng Yuxiu, what should we do now? Go back?"
Meng Yuxiu looked in the opposite direction and saw only the white of snowflakes; nothing else.
"I……"
Meng Yuxiu had just uttered a single word when a figure suddenly darted out from the snowdrift. The person noticed them, dared not shout, and quickly waved his arm to call his companion. He then slid down and came to stand in front of Meng Yuxiu and his companion.
"General, I have finally found you."
The explosion on the snow mountain shook all directions. Suspecting it was man-made, they followed the trail and noticed a strip of clothing stuck in a snowdrift. They chased after it without stopping and finally found the figure.
The guards still had packages containing dry rations on them. Chang Lili breathed a sigh of relief and said to Meng Yuxiu, "We don't need to turn back."
Meng Yuxiu nodded and instructed, "Find a place to rest for a while before continuing on your way."
The guards immediately made arrangements, splitting up to search. They found a sheltered hillside, sat down, ate some dry rations, drank some hot water, and waited until they were warm before setting off towards the snow-capped mountain.
Chang Lili looked back and realized that Li Er was not there. She casually asked him, and the guard replied, "He has already left. He said he was just a guide. He has already led the way. If the person is still alive, he can pay him the rest of the money. If not, then forget it."
Chang Lili didn't say anything. She took the tools on her body, looked at the snow mountain, and had her guards take down the package. They tied them all together into a long rope, and then, with the help of the sword sheath, inserted it into the snow mountain to make a climbing rope.
"Meng Yuxiu, break these four swords in half. I'll use them as climbing shoes." Chang Lili took the weapons from the guards and handed them to Meng Yuxiu.
Meng Yuxiu casually broke the sword in half, and Chang Lili immediately tied the broken sword to the sole of her shoe and smoothed the other side with a wire saw.
Chang Lili said, "There aren't many things I can do. It's best if four people go up the mountain and the others come down to support us."
Meng Yuxiu put on one of the shoes, walked around, and found it very stable on the snow. He said, "That's enough."
Chang Lili was going, so Meng Yuxiu selected two more bodyguards, put on protective goggles, and climbed the mountain with them. The others watched from below, and soon only a small black dot remained of the climbers.
After climbing for half an hour, Chang Lili was panting heavily, but she gritted her teeth and persevered. She vaguely heard a sharp cry, and a hawk spread its wings and pecked at them. Meng Yuxiu immediately drew his dagger and chased the hawk away.
Chang Lili exhaled a breath of hot air, grinding her teeth in anger: "Aren't these eagles afraid of freezing to death!"
Meng Yuxiu frowned and said, "No, the Flying Eagles' offensive is too swift. Let's find a place to rest and regroup, so we can have the strength to fight back."
The four continued climbing, finding a place to stand. Before they could react, the eagle swiftly approached. After Meng Yuxiu chased it away, the eagle remained, watching them intently.
"Do you have any other ideas?" Meng Yuxiu asked.
"What can I do? I can't fly." Chang Lili was terrified, staring blankly at the eagle circling in the air, when a thought suddenly flashed through her mind, "Maybe we can use it as armor!"
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