Half an hour later.
Inside the reception hall of the fifth courtyard.
Gong Qingyun was dressed neatly, waiting with a somewhat uneasy expression. He held a medical book, glancing at it from time to time while murmuring under his breath.
Chen Yi stood behind him, accompanied by the maid Caiyun.
After waiting for about the time it takes to brew half a cup of tea, the curtain to the inner room finally lifted, and a tall woman walked out.
The woman was around eighteen years of age, resembling an iceberg snow lotus. With delicately curved brows, eyes containing clear water, snow-white features, and slender legs, she wore winter clothes, though not with a girl's elaborate ruffles, but rather tight trousers. Every step she took seemed light yet landed on a precise point with exceptional rhythm.
Although Chen Yi had only recently come into contact with the martial arts, he could still sense the formidable power behind the woman's leg techniques.
Upon seeing Gong Qingyun standing there, a flash of imperceptible doting crossed the woman's eyes, which immediately turned icy cold.
"Xiaoyun, during my absence, you've actually grown bold enough to flirt with a personal maid? Have your feathers all grown in now, haven't they?"
Her voice was crisp yet carried a hint of majesty.
Gong Qingyun shrank his neck in fright and opened his mouth to defend himself, but was stopped by a wave of Gong Qingshui's fair hand.
"I shall test your studies first. If you cannot answer, the punishment will be doubled!"
With that, she walked over and sat down in the master's armchair. A maid had already brought over tea to serve, while another maid held a horsewhip in both hands, placing it lightly on the table.
"First, recite all the acupoints and medical principles of the twelve hand and foot Yin and Yang meridians."
"Ah? I haven't learned that far yet..." Gong Qingyun was instantly dumbfounded. What he had studied were only the twelve primary meridians; he truly hadn't learned the branching channels of the limbs.
"You've been studying for five years and still don't know this? Stand properly and lift the stone locks!"
Fortunately, it wasn't the whip.
Gong Qingyun breathed a sigh of relief. Having practiced his Stance Skill now, lifting a fifty-jin stone lock wasn't too difficult. *Older sister still cares about me after all.*
"Right, Sis, how long do I lift them?"
"How long? Until you can answer my question."
"Ah?"
Gong Qingyun was stunned. In an instant, the stone lock in his hand felt as heavy as a mountain.
Then, the eldest miss asked a second question, even harder than the previous one—all complex theories from the latter half of the medical books, the kind that even Chen Yi would have to ponder before answering.
At this point, Chen Yi understood that the eldest miss hadn't come back to test him on problems at all; she simply wanted to discipline this younger brother of hers.
Then, a thought occurring to him, he said nothing further and stepped directly beside the young master, using both hands to lift the other stone lock.
Even the young master was going to be punished; could he, a study companion who followed him every day, hope to come out unscathed?
*Hmm?*
The eldest miss glanced sideways at Chen Yi. *Quite a crafty little fellow.*
For the next quarter of an hour, the eldest miss asked nearly every difficult medical puzzle she could think of. Gong Qingyun couldn't answer a single one, switching the stone lock between his arms as his limbs trembled violently from exhaustion.
Whenever he tried to slack off, he would receive a lash from the whip.
Chen Yi did not slack off. He was a servant; even if he couldn't endure it, he had to persist, otherwise what awaited him wouldn't be a whip.
Gong Qingyun had never suffered such hardship. In truth, given his physical condition and progress in stance training, lifting the stone locks for a short while was well within his limits, but he had long since wailed and cried that he was tired, in pain, and couldn't take it anymore.
Gong Qingshui still doted on her younger brother after all. Seeing this, her heart softened and she told him to stand up.
As for Chen Yi, he could actually have persisted a little longer, but given his status as a servant, it was inappropriate to show himself outperforming the young master in any aspect.
Therefore, long before the young master reached his limit, Chen Yi feigned extreme exhaustion and inability to bear it any longer.
"You may get up as well."
"Th—thank you, Sis," Gong Qingyun said, his voice trembling slightly.
"Thank you, Eldest Miss," Chen Yi replied, also putting on an appearance of utter weakness.
After getting up, Chen Yi stood behind Gong Qingyun. Because of his recent heavy physical exertion and the overdrawn muscles in his upper body, he subconsciously recalled a few postures from the Fist Stance designed to promote the recovery of Qi and Blood in the upper body, slightly adjusting his standing posture.
Immediately, he felt the flow of Qi and Blood within his body accelerate, focusing actively on his arms, chest, and other muscle groups.
The eldest miss glanced at Chen Yi once more, then looked at her younger brother, cursing him inwardly for being so spineless:
"Crane Stance, stand properly!"
Gong Qingyun instinctively assumed the stance posture. The moment he stood like this, he felt considerably lighter.
"Hold the stance for half a hour, then copy medical texts all morning—three thousand characters of the original text plus annotations. Not a single character less! You won't eat until you finish writing!"
"Ah?" Gong Qingyun's face showed hesitation. If he had to finish all that, wouldn't the sun be setting by then?
But seeing the eldest miss lightly brush her hand over the handle of the whip, he immediately nodded and agreed.
"You, come outside with me!" The eldest miss glanced at Chen Yi.
Chen Yi followed closely behind the eldest miss, stepping out of the room into the courtyard, and stood still.
"For the past half year, have you been the one accompanying the young master in his studies and martial arts practice?"
"Yes."
"How much of the medical books do you understand?"
"About the same as the young master." Chen Yi thought for a moment and gave a relatively modest answer.
"Hmm. Why did you abet the master in matters of men and women?"
Gong Qingshui asked the crucial question. Chen Yi knew that if this question wasn't answered well, it would show bad intentions, implying he might corrupt the young master, and the consequences could be grim.
"The young master enjoys horseback hunting and amusement, and his heart is not in medicine and martial arts. I had no choice but to resort to this drastic measure to reluctantly bring the young master's interest back to the medical books."
*Hmm, the little brother is indeed somewhat unruly. Although this method was a bit unorthodox, it did manage to hit the mark regarding his interests, and was applied quite cleverly.*
Gong Qingshui pondered for a moment before speaking:
"The young master wanted to go to Zuichun Pavilion. Was it you who stopped him?"
*Sure enough, there's a mole in the young master's residence, most likely Caiyun.*
Chen Yi understood in an instant, because when he previously reported to the master, it was Chen Yi who had persuaded against going to Zuichun Pavilion while the young master himself had been stopped. Now that the eldest miss had returned and stated the true situation, it could only mean someone close had leaked the information.
"Yes. The young master's martial arts have not yet reached the Force-Entering stage, so it is not yet appropriate for him to break his chastity. I could only do my utmost to help the young master guard this bottom line, though I nearly caused a blunder because of the incident with Caiyun. That was my fault."
Unlike when he faced the master, this time Chen Yi chose to speak the truth.
The eldest miss nodded, her favorable impression of Chen Yi rising a notch. He had a clear mind and boundaries; truly worthy of someone who had fled from a prominent family in Snow Country.
"Want to practice martial arts?" The eldest miss looked Chen Yi up and down, then shook her head and said,
"You started too late, and your physical foundation is too poor. You have no great future ahead.
Considering you have a nimble mind, I will give you a chance to follow me. Perhaps you will still have a glimmer of hope in this lifetime to enter Ming Jin."
*Follow you? To save my skin earlier, I already told the master that I serve only the young master alone. If I were to change masters now, wouldn't I become a two-faced servant serving two households?*
*Besides, you constantly travel outside, fighting for opportunities for the young master. If I went with you, wouldn't I just become cannon fodder?*
*I possess the Purple-Gold Fate; I just need to keep a low profile and play it safe, and sooner or later I will develop and grow strong. There is no need whatsoever to go wandering out there.*
"I'm sorry, Eldest Miss. Although I would very much like to follow you, the young master needs me more here. I'm afraid I can only remain loyal to him." Chen Yi observed the eldest miss's expression and politely declined.
"Hmph, you don't know what Qingyun is like in front of me? If I want someone, does he dare refuse?
However...
Very well. I, Gong Qingshui, never force anyone. Today you missed your chance; another day when you come crawling to beg me, it will depend on my mood."
With that, Gong Qingshui sent Chen Yi into the room and then instructed Caiyun:
"Later on, boil a bowl of Bone-Strengthening Broth and give it to Chen Yi."
Caiyun asked in surprise, "Eldest Miss, you're actually making an exception to give medicinal soup to a servant?"
"This person handles matters with sharpness and intelligence, and is well-bred—different from ordinary servants. He is worth cultivating to a certain degree.
It's just that he's somewhat foolishly loyal. Give him a little sweetness, and one day he will come begging to me."