General Guo looked at Wu Wanning with undisguised approval. “That’s right. Horse stance. Today, you’ll be practicing the horse stance!”
Several of the children who had never heard of the horse stance looked at one another, their faces blank with confusion.
General Guo did not beat around the bush. After clearing his throat, he said, “Considering the differences in your physiques yesterday, the amount of time you’ll spend in the horse stance today will vary as well. Gu Shen’an! Wu Wanning! You two will stand for the time it takes two incense sticks to burn!”
Wu Wanning shot Gu Shen’an a challenging look, only to find that he was ignoring her completely. She straightened her back and said, “Yes, General!”
Gu Shen’an said, “Understood.”
General Guo continued, “Princess Fuxi, Princess Shengping, the Heir of Prince Guang… Feng Qinzhi, Li Xiangyu, Zhang Xianyu—you will each stand for the time it takes one incense stick to burn.”
“Yes!” the group replied in unison.
General Guo looked at the three princes once more. “As for the princes, you will stand for half an incense stick.”
The three short, tiny princes glanced at one another and puffed out their chests. “Yes!”
Nearby, the empress and Consort Liu both breathed sighs of relief when they heard that their sons only had to stand for half an incense stick.
Cui Huaiyin, however, gazed anxiously at her daughter.
Her daughter’s legs had been so weak yesterday that she could barely walk. How could she possibly manage the horse stance?
She had once seen her Third Brother practicing it and had secretly tried to imitate him. She had not even been able to hold the pose for more than a few breaths. Her daughter was still so young—how could she possibly stand for that long?
The incense sticks had already been prepared.
At General Guo’s command, the children who practiced martial arts copied his posture and began holding the horse stance.
Unexpectedly, not long after they started, the emperor arrived.
He excused them from the formal greetings and ordered them to continue standing while he summoned General Guo for an explanation.
General Guo gave him a detailed account of the tasks he had assigned and how long each child was required to hold the stance.
Dantai Ji nodded, his gaze sweeping over the children arranged in a line from tallest to shortest.
The tallest of them, the Fourth Young Master of the Duke of Zhenguo, Gu Shen’an, had assumed a remarkably proper stance. It seemed he had practiced often at home. Calm and composed, he truly looked like a stake driven into the ground—worthy of being the son of a military commander.
What surprised him was Wu Wanning, the daughter of the Vice Minister of Rites. Not only was the girl tall and sturdy, but she also held the horse stance with impressive form. No wonder General Guo had assigned her two incense sticks. To possess such endurance at so young an age, she was a natural martial arts prodigy.
What a pity she was a girl.
Feng Qinzhi, the grandson of the Minister of Personnel, had slender arms and legs. Though he was tall, his legs were already beginning to tremble, even though they had only just started.
Zhang Xianyu of the Duke of Zhongguo’s residence was no more capable.
Li Xiangyu, the empress’s niece, was a girl after all. Her body was already swaying unsteadily.
Then came his own disappointing children.
Look at them. What kind of stance was that? Was that supposed to be the horse stance? It was more like a swaying stance!
The more Dantai Ji looked, the more displeased he became. He walked over and patted his eldest daughter on the shoulder, doing his best to suppress his anger. “Yaoyao, sink lower. Yes, just like that.”
Then he instructed his second daughter, “Stop swaying. Spread your legs farther apart!”
To his third son, he barked, “What kind of stance is that? Crouch lower!”
To his fourth son, he said, “You’re swaying before we’ve even begun. How do you expect to last half an incense stick?”
Then he turned to his fifth son. “Steady yourself, boy! If you fall before half an incense stick has burned, I’ll punish you by forbidding you to eat for an entire day!”
After scolding his own children, Dantai Ji did not play favorites. He went down the line and reprimanded the other companions and the child from Prince Guang’s household as well.
He did praise Gu Shen’an and Wu Wanning.
But after praising them, he looked back at his own children and found them irritating all over again.
He consoled himself with the thought that they were still young. They would improve once they grew up.
He stood there, watching them sternly.
Yet before half an incense stick had burned, someone could no longer hold out.
The first to collapse was the Fourth Prince. His forehead was covered in sweat, and his little face was flushed. He looked both nervous and frightened.
The empress hurriedly ordered someone to help him.
The emperor did not stop them. Frowning, he said, “Take him back and have someone massage his legs properly. Otherwise, he won’t be able to walk tomorrow.”
The empress clenched her hand and glanced at the other children. “As Your Majesty commands.”
The empress said nothing more, but the Fourth Prince began to cry, tears streaming down his face as he looked utterly pitiful.
It was hard to tell whether he was exhausted or blaming himself.
He had only just been helped to his feet when the Fifth Prince and the Third Prince also could not hold on any longer and collapsed.
The empress’s expression softened slightly.
Feng Qinzhi, Zhang Xianyu, and Li Xiangyu soon followed. Not one of them had managed to last until a full incense stick had burned. Li Xiangyu and Feng Qinzhi had not even made it halfway, collapsing at nearly the same time as the princes.
In the end, only Princess Fuxi, Princess Shengping, Wu Wanning, and Gu Shen’an remained.
Princess Fuxi and Princess Shengping were clearly gritting their teeth and forcing themselves to endure.
The two princesses had to stand for one incense stick, but only half an incense stick had passed.
Their foreheads were slick with sweat. Their little faces were bright red, and their clothes were soaked through.
Cui Huaiyin watched from the side, her daughter’s unnaturally flushed face causing her heart to ache. She felt that there was no need for her daughter to suffer like this.
Her daughter was a princess. She did not need to practice martial arts; there would always be people to protect her.
Unable to hold herself back, she called softly, “Yaoyao, you don’t have to keep standing.”
“Mother, Yaoyao is fine,” Princess Fuxi replied.
The emperor glanced back at Noble Consort Cui and coughed, putting on a stern expression. “Do not distract the child!”
Seeing her daughter’s stubborn refusal to admit defeat, Cui Huaiyin did not dare say anything more lest she distract her.
Standing to Rongyao’s right, Princess Shengping gritted her teeth tightly, suppressing the trembling in her body.
She could not lose. She could not lose. She could not lose to Princess Fuxi.
With Father Emperor watching, she had to show him that she was no worse than Princess Fuxi.
Yet after she had no idea how long, she stared at the incense stick that seemed not to have moved at all. Her head buzzed, and stars danced before her eyes.
Had the incense gone out?
Her legs suddenly gave way, and she fell to the ground.
When they saw the Second Princess collapse as well, a palace maid hurried over to support her.
The emperor also came over to check on his daughter and asked whether she was all right.
Princess Shengping lay weakly against the palace maid, pointing toward the incense. “Father Emperor, has the incense gone out?”
The emperor said, “…No.”
Princess Shengping’s face stiffened slightly. Looking more carefully, she realized that the incense had only burned halfway.
Had she been seeing things just now?
“I was wrong. I didn’t manage to last for a full incense stick.”
The emperor gently patted Princess Shengping on the head. “This is your first time practicing the horse stance, and you managed to hold it until now. That is already very good—much better than your younger brothers.”
Princess Shengping clenched her teeth. The emperor’s words did not make her happy. Instead, she raised her head and looked toward Princess Fuxi.
“Big Sister, you really are amazing.”
The emperor looked up at the only child who was still standing, pride unconsciously showing on his face.
“She is your elder sister. It is only natural that she would be better than you.”
Princess Shengping lowered her head, her hands clenching tightly as she murmured, “Yes. She is Shengping’s elder sister…”
When the incense was nearly burned out, everyone gathered their strength and held their breath as they watched Princess Fuxi continue to stand.
At last, the incense burned down completely. Noble Consort Cui was the first to run over and embrace her daughter.
“It’s over! You lasted for a full incense stick, Yaoyao. You don’t have to stand anymore!”
Rongyao pinched her own legs and let out a sigh of relief. Her legs and feet were still there!
Dantai Ji walked over with a look of satisfaction. “Yaoyao did very well today. Go back with your mother consort and get some good rest.”
Rongyao obediently nodded and lay against her mother to rest. Gradually, feeling returned to her legs.
Her eyes shone as she gazed at Gu Shen’an and Wu Wanning, who were still standing where they were, upright and unshaken. Her eyes were filled with admiration and respect as she wondered whether they could hold out for the time it took two incense sticks to burn.
At last, another incense stick burned down.
General Guo cleared his throat and announced, “Two incense sticks have passed. Gu Shen’an and Wu Wanning, you may slowly rise.”
Yet when Gu Shen’an and Wu Wanning relaxed their stances, they showed none of the disheveled exhaustion the others had displayed earlier.
Wu Wanning even hopped in place a few times before walking up to Rongyao. “What’s wrong with all of you? You were only squatting for a little while. Was it really that tiring?”
Rongyao: “…”
Cui Huaiyin: “…”
General Guo: “…”
Dantai Ji: “…”
Even Gu Shen’an looked somewhat astonished.
Curious, Dantai Ji walked over and stared at Wu Wanning. “Do you often practice standing stances at home?”
When Wu Wanning saw that the Emperor himself was speaking to her, she hurriedly straightened up and replied, “I—I just like practicing standing stances. I also like practicing with spears and blades!”
General Guo, who had heard her answer, exclaimed, “What! You practice with spears and blades too? You know how to use them?”
Dantai Ji’s eyes widened in shock. “You’re only seven years old. How can you even lift a tasseled spear or a broadsword?”
Wu Wanning scratched her head. “Oh, I was just born strong.”
Dantai Ji stared in astonishment at this little girl, who was only a year older than his daughter. He had never seen such a prodigy in the martial arts before.
And she was a girl, at that.
If she grew up, she would probably become even more formidable.
It was just a pity…
Princess Fuxi suddenly spoke up. “Sister Wanning is so amazing! She can become a woman general when she grows up—protecting Father and protecting Great Zhou!”
