Chapter 87 His Highness is Doing Horse Stance
Yifeng Palace.
The queen sat by the couch holding a book.
There are no chrysanthemums inside or outside the windows, but there is a rich fruity fragrance in the hall.
The queen doesn't like the scent of flowers, she doesn't like the smell of any flowers, she only likes the natural scent of fruit.
But it is not an easy task to fill such a large hall with the fragrance of fruit.
There are four large celadon jars in the main hall of Yifeng Palace, filled with fresh and ripe fruits.
These fruits were rushed to the palace from other places hundreds of miles away. The plump and fragrant ones were carefully selected and sent to Yifeng Palace and placed in large celadon jars.
This large vat needs to be cleaned every two days, with the old fruit thrown away and replaced with fresher ones. If the fruit is not replaced in time, it will have a rotten smell.
The Queen smelled the fruity fragrance in the palace today and felt refreshed:
"The pear fruit smells good today."
Nanny Dong massaged the queen's legs: "These are fragrant pears sent as tribute from the Western Regions. They smell fragrant and taste sweet."
The Queen closed her eyes and said leisurely, "Well, have someone stew a few cups of sweet soup with these pears and send them to the Emperor and Zhen'er. Send someone to deliver it to Qi'er as well."
She paused, opened her eyes and continued:
"How's Qi'er doing lately? Any news?"
Nanny Dong: "The eldest prince is in good health and in high spirits, but he still has some childish tendencies, as usual."
Nanny Dong spoke tactfully, but the queen knew very well what kind of personality her eldest son had.
"As long as Qi'er can stay calm and don't cause any trouble that might anger the Emperor, that'll be fine."
After all, a son is a piece of flesh and blood from one's body. Even if he is not very good to his mother, a mother will still feel pain in her heart.
Two years ago, the emperor asked Qi'er to leave the palace. The queen pleaded with him several times, but the emperor refused.
The queen felt unhappy when she thought about this.
"The Second and Third Princes will be twelve soon, right?"
Aunt Dong: "Yes, after the New Year, it will be twelve."
"Since my daughter Qi'er has set this precedent, the princes who come after me must follow suit."
The Queen took a deep breath:
"Mammy, send a message home, saying that the younger one should follow the elder one, and the younger brother should follow the older brother. Have father and eldest brother mention this matter."
"Yes, your majesty." Nanny Dong accepted the order.
"Qi'er is dying, but luckily I have Zhen'er." The queen felt a little comforted when she thought of the prince.
"Send a few bottles of Pearl Jade Cream to Zhen'er. Zhen'er has been practicing martial arts recently, so he's bound to have some bruises on his body."
Nanny Dong smiled and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince practices martial arts. Who would dare to hurt him?"
Martial arts training ground.
A group of children are doing horse stance in the warm autumn sun.
The sun doesn't burn people, and the wind doesn't make them feel cold. It's very suitable weather for practicing martial arts.
But the children in front of Yuan Chi were all standing shakily and panting.
In addition to studying the classics, royal disciples must also learn martial arts. They don't have to become masters, but at least they can strengthen their bodies.
The prince has reached the age to learn martial arts, and the emperor has recently taken a liking to Yuan Chi, so he gave this task to Yuan Chi.
Asking the General of Zuo Wuwei to teach a group of children basic skills is really like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, but you can't complain about a sledgehammer.
"General Yuan, I'm so tired. I can't stand anymore."
Murong Ming swayed his body and sat down on the ground, his front teeth still chattering when he spoke.
Ever since he knocked out his front teeth last time, he stayed in the house for a long time and refused to go out, lying on the couch and eating candy every day.
The imperial physician came to see his teeth:
"Although the Crown Prince's front teeth are missing, fortunately they will grow new ones after the next two years. However, if the Crown Prince continues to eat sweets every day, his other teeth will also be damaged."
So He Yan forced Murong Ming to go to the palace to study with her.
Murong Ming was very excited when he heard that he was going to learn martial arts, but after standing in horse stance for only a stick of incense, he started to cry out that he couldn't hold on any longer:
"What's so good about learning horse stance? Why don't you teach us sword techniques and spear techniques?"
Yuan Chi said with a cold face, "Master, learning martial arts is not easy. First, you must practice the basic skills well before you can learn the moves."
Yuan Chi is a man who has been on the battlefield. Even if he is not fierce, he has a fierce aura when he is serious.
Murong Ming only dared to pick on the weak, and seeing that Yuan Chi was not someone to be trifled with, he could only continue to stand there obediently.
Murong Wan's face was pale and her legs were sore. She was even weaker than her twin brother.
As soon as Murong Ming got up, Murong Wan couldn't hold on and fell backwards.
After that, the others fell down one after another, and Crown Prince Murong Zhen could not hold on any longer and was barely able to stand with the help of palace servants.
The only one who persevered to the end was Princess Ning'an.
While others were complaining about sore legs with sad faces, Princess Ning'an just had a slightly red face and a little sweat on her forehead, but there was nothing unusual otherwise.
Yuan Chi's eyes showed a bit of surprise: "Princess Ning'an has good endurance."
When he finished speaking, he remembered that Princess Ning'an was the daughter of Concubine Shu, and was actually a descendant of a military general, and he understood a little more.
"General Yuan, you are too kind."
Princess Ning'an is straightforward and never hides her pride when showing off.
She said "thank you" but the smug expression on her face clearly said "praise me more".
She couldn't learn as well as others in Lihe Hall, so she was naturally very happy to be able to perform well in the martial arts arena.
Murong Zhen asked, "Does the emperor ever practice this technique?"
Princess Ning'an said vaguely, "I guess so. I just practiced a little bit."
She was raised by her mother since she was a child. Every time she made a mistake, her mother would punish her by making her do horse stance or run around the yard ten or so laps.
This is how she developed her physical strength and endurance.
It is said that her mother was worried that she would suffer from narcolepsy like her second brother, so she asked her to exercise more since she was young.
Ning An was in a good mood today because he was in the spotlight.
Murong Wan and her brother were the first to give up and felt ashamed.
When he came out of the palace and got in the carriage back home, he didn't smile at all.
As soon as she returned home, she went to her mother to complain:
"Mother, Wan'er doesn't want to learn martial arts. It's too tiring and embarrassing."
After hearing what her daughter said, He Yan put down the account book in her hand:
"What happened in the palace today?"
Murong Ming who followed in also had a complaining look on his face:
"We had martial arts class today, but Yuan Chi didn't teach us anything. He just made us do horse stance. It was really exhausting."
It's rare for Murong Wan to be on the same side with her brother:
"There are so many guards in the palace. If anything happens to us, they will desperately protect us. Why should we learn martial arts?"
"If you really want to learn, brother is a man, so you can go and learn. Wan'er doesn't want to learn anymore."
He Yan couldn't say anything bad about the palace, so she just forced a smile:
"Wan'er and Ming'er, there's no need to be so serious about this. Just treat it as a physical exercise. If you feel tired, just rest."
Nanny Lin also chimed in:
"Practicing martial arts is vulgar. What good is there for a girl to learn martial arts? There is not a single lady in Chang'an who wants to fight and kill."
When Nanny Lin said this, a trace of disgust and hatred flashed in her eyes.
The scar on the side of her forehead even twisted.
The scar was long and deep, as if it had been caused by a whip many years ago.
No matter how much ointment I apply, it can't be removed, and no matter how much powder I put on, it can't be suppressed.
Nanny Lin would occasionally touch the scar, and the scene of the woman whipping her would appear before her eyes, and she could even feel the pain of her skin being torn.
He Yan glanced at Nanny Lin with a hint of reproach in her eyes.
She also didn't like her daughter practicing martial arts, but how could it be called vulgar when it was something that the prince and princess in the palace were doing?
Nanny Lin knew she had spoken out of turn and stopped talking awkwardly.
He Yan touched her daughter's head and said, "It doesn't matter if Wan'er doesn't learn martial arts. She can learn some talents such as music, chess, calligraphy and painting."
Murong Wan's emotions calmed down a bit, and she thought for a moment:
"Mom, I want to learn sword dancing."
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