"Banging on the door at the crack of dawn, I thought the cabin was on fire." Bai Shiqi complained to Zhao Ziheng: "I rushed out to ask, and it turns out the old master just had a sudden whim to have me accompany you for morning exercises. Do you have some grudge against your cousin?"
Thanks to years of well-honed adaptability, she had managed to get herself fully dressed within a minute, crawling out of her warm bed to open the door, and then... she was hauled onto the deck.
She had tried to refuse, but the guards under Zhao Ziheng's cousin seemed impervious to reason, literally carrying her out to the deck.
Zhao Ziheng felt a bit more balanced now: "...Didn't you just call him 'cousin' too? We're brothers, you and I! My cousin is your cousin!"
The two of them were forced to stand in the chilly morning breeze, holding a horse stance. Since heading north with the grain transport ship, Bai Shiqi had been living the life of waking up naturally every day. Freed from Bai Zhenting's control, her days couldn't have been more carefree. She never imagined that on the return journey, she'd be carrying a Buddha like Zhao Wujiu.
She had practiced since childhood; holding a horse stance was an old routine for her. But Zhao Ziheng was in a much more pitiful state. Before long, he was swaying unsteadily and fell flat on his backside, clutching his tailbone with a grimace and refusing to get up, outright refusing: "I'm injured, injured! Can't do this anymore!"
Bai Shiqi laughed heartily.
Shu Changfeng, under orders to monitor Zhao Ziheng, grabbed him by the collar and hauled him up: "Thirteenth Young Master, the master says you must stand for a full hour."
The guard behind him brandished a rod about an arm's length long.
Zhao Ziheng's wails shook the heavens.
In the morning light, the grain ship sailed steadily in the middle of the river. On the bow stood Zhao Ziheng, legs trembling and shaking uncontrollably, with Shu Changfeng holding a wooden rod behind him. Zhao Ziheng's calves had already suffered several sharp strikes, and he felt multiple times like he couldn't hold on any longer.
In contrast, Bai Shiqi beside him had an extremely stable lower stance, and she even found time to mock him now and then.
Once the hour was up and Shu Changfeng and the others withdrew, Zhao Ziheng plopped down onto the deck, on the verge of tears, deeply regretting this trip.
Back when his parents had assured him: "Wujiu has a very upright, rigid character. At the palace matchmaking banquets, many young ladies were scared off by just one sentence from him. The Empress's idea is that your personality is lively and flexible, and you're better at pleasing young ladies. It would be good for you to accompany him south to seek medical treatment, and incidentally... you could also teach him a thing or two."
Zhao Wujiu had gone to the distant border at sixteen as a prince, spending years fighting campaigns abroad. His marriage had become a major headache. Returning to the capital once every two or three years, Empress Luo in the palace was extremely worried for her younger son. The matchmaking banquets held for him numbered at least eight if not ten, but each time he successfully intimidated any young lady who tried to approach him, becoming an automatic cooling unit, with excellent chilling effects.
In stark contrast was Zhao Ziheng. Since childhood, he was full of clever tricks, sweet-tongued like honey, could even compose a few appropriately sentimental poems on the spot, and was a master of food, drink, and entertainment. Though he had a reputation for being a flirt, at every gathering of young men and women, he could steal the spotlight and garner a large following of adoring girls.
In May of this year, the Great Xia, which had been entangled with the Great Wei on the northwestern frontier for twelve years, was finally completely defeated and fled west. In the final battle at Liusha Valley, Zhao Wujiu was seriously wounded, unconscious for half a month, and was escorted back to the capital by military physicians, unable to even attend the victory banquet.
He did wake up on the journey back, but unfortunately, he lost all sensation from the waist down, unable to walk, let alone marry and consummate a marriage.
The current Empress Luo had two sons. The eldest was long established as Crown Prince, and the younger was the Zhou Prince Zhao Wujiu, who caused her endless worry.
After Prince Zhou returned to the capital, both imperial physicians and famous doctors from the capital took turns rushing to the palace. Months passed, but Prince Zhou's condition still showed no sign of improvement.
As time went on, the Emperor and Empress grew increasingly anxious. They summoned close ministers to discuss the matter. Someone advised the Emperor to summon renowned doctors from across the land to treat Prince Zhou. The Minister of Revenue, Xia Chengjie, who hailed from Jiangnan, mentioned the Jiangnan master physician Huang Youbi. However, this person was often elusive, with an eccentric personality. If he saw an imperial summons, he might not necessarily agree to come; he would need to be sought out slowly.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Wujiu intended to go to Jiangnan personally to search for him. No matter how much Empress Luo tried to persuade him, she couldn't make him change his mind. Scouring the imperial clan and relatives, she finally settled on Zhao Ziheng, whose maternal family was in Suzhou and who was lively and outgoing.
"...My cousin's mother said he's taciturn and that I could cheer him up, so it's most suitable for me to accompany him." He clung to Bai Shiqi's arm, nearly in tears: "Shiqi, can we turn the ship around? I want to go back to the capital."
This was hardly him cheering up his cousin; it was his cousin tormenting him to tears.
The two brothers sat side by side on the deck. Bai Shiqi patted Zhao Ziheng on the head: "Ziheng, I really regret knowing you."
A momentary lapse in judgment had led her to fall for a terrible trick and take on this domineering cousin.
Zhao Wujiu forcing her to get up for exercise before dawn gave her the vague sensation of having a National Day holiday, planning to sleep in lazily for seven full days, only to be dragged back to work by the company boss on the third day for overtime—the kind without overtime pay.
The frustration was unbearable.
Zhao Ziheng completely understood his good brother's meaning. His eyes welled up: "I also deeply regret knowing my cousin."
The two supported each other as they returned to their cabins to wash up and have breakfast. Zhao Ziheng's legs kept trembling. Sitting in Bai Shiqi's room, even the breakfast sent from the kitchen tasted like sawdust.
Halfway through the meal, he put down his chopsticks, his attitude of resistance firm: "No, we can't just let ourselves be slaughtered."
Bai Shiqi readily agreed: "Makes sense."
No one could deprive her of the joy of sleeping in.
In the guest cabin next door, porridge and side dishes were set on the table. Zhao Wujiu, his hair meticulously combed, sat at the table eating breakfast: "How was the morning practice?"
Shu Changfeng: "The Thirteenth Young Master has probably never practiced before. He fell many times, and it was only by threatening him with the rod that I got him to stand up. That Young Master Bai, the deputy gang leader, seems to be a trained practitioner; his lower stance is extremely stable."
Zhao Wujiu was quite surprised, raising an eyebrow: "Trained? How does he compare to you all?"
Shu Changfeng: "We haven't sparred, so I don't know his actual martial arts skills."
Zhao Wujiu: "Find an opportunity to test him." He seemed to understand as well: "Looking at that Deputy Gang Leader Bai, with his fair, tender appearance and frivolous, slick demeanor, but he managed to escort grain north alone and deal with officials at checkpoints along the way. He must have some real capability."
Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.
Having commanded troops for many years, Zhao Wujiu was accustomed to controlling the overall situation, deploying troops and generals. He disliked the feeling of losing control the most. Before boarding the Jiangsu Gang's grain transport ship, he had already sounded out Bai Shiqi's background from Zhao Ziheng.
However, in Zhao Ziheng's mouth, Bai Shiqi was described in the most glowing terms. The two were practically on the verge of swearing a blood oath to become sworn brothers.
Zhao Wujiu held a skeptical view of this fraternal bond of theirs.
After finishing breakfast, Zhao Ziheng mustered his courage to come reason with Zhao Wujiu, bringing his helper Bai Shiqi for support: "Cousin, you can't have Shu Changfeng drag me out of bed for morning exercises at dawn. Starting martial arts training at my age is far too late. Even if I achieved some results, I'm not planning to join the army as a military officer. Why suffer this hardship?"
Zhao Wujiu shot him a disdainful look: "If the Great Wei had military officers like you, it would be a disgrace to the officer corps."
Bai Shiqi smiled and chimed in agreeably: "Cousin really understands Ziheng."
Zhao Ziheng cried out indignantly, "Shiqi, whose side are you on?" He was fighting a lonely battle for the brothers' right to sleep in, and not only did Bai Shiqi refuse to help, she even had the audacity to flatter his elder cousin.
Bai Shiqi said, "What Cousin said is true."
Zhao Wujiu frowned slightly, not appearing pleased by the flattery at all; on the contrary, he seemed quite displeased.
"If there's nothing else, Changfeng, see our guests out."
Bai Shiqi: "..."
In the first round, they were kicked out before they could even draw their weapons, and with the dismissive attitude of someone who didn't even consider them worthy opponents.
Bai Shiqi felt deeply aggrieved.
The next morning, Shu Changfeng went as usual to haul Zhao Ziheng out of bed for horse stance practice, but the men sent to fetch Bai Shiqi returned empty-handed.
The two guards had served Zhao Wujiu for years and never expected to underestimate Bai Shiqi.
"...Young Gang Leader Bai couldn't be found."
"What do you mean, couldn't be found?"
"Her cabin door opened with a light push, but a canal worker was sleeping in the bed, not Bai Shiqi."
Shu Changfeng's face turned green. "Didn't you ask him about Young Gang Leader Bai's whereabouts? He couldn't have just abandoned the canal boat and run off, could he?"
Zhao Ziheng's eyes lit up, and he flopped straight back onto his bed. "Even Shiqi is gone, and there's no one to exercise with me. I might as well catch up on some more sleep."
Shu Changfeng gritted his teeth. "Thirteenth Young Master, the master has given orders. If you slack off, it's the military rod for you!"
Zhao Ziheng painstakingly peeled his body off the bed, his face sour as he got dressed for his training.
It was almost noon when Bai Shiqi finally showed up, no one knew which cabin she had rested in the previous night.
Zhao Wujiu sent someone to invite her over for a talk.
When Bai Shiqi entered, Zhao Ziheng glared at her resentfully. "Shiqi, I thought you were my brother!" Sharing the good times but running off alone when trouble came, without even calling him.
She stretched lazily, slumping into a chair as if boneless, and let out a delicate yawn. "Getting older makes the body sleepy. I wonder what Cousin called me here for?" She then earnestly advised her good brother, "Ziheng, you must understand Cousin's well-intentioned efforts for you. He can't bear to see you waste your time, which is why he assigned a specialist to guide you. You are the primary target; I'm just an afterthought. Besides, what if Cousin wanted someone to teach you some secret techniques? Me staying would just be taking advantage of Cousin's kindness. Right, Cousin?"
Zhao Ziheng was left speechless by her.
Zhao Wujiu's impression of Bai Shiqi worsened further, adding another stamp of "smooth-talking and insincere" on her forehead in his mind.
"Practicing horse stance doesn't require avoidance," he said stiffly.
Bai Shiqi said with a cheeky grin, "As a good brother, watching Ziheng practice horse stance severely wounds my body and soul. I've never seen anyone perform horse stance so poorly—legs trembling, posture completely wrong—it damages the tall, mighty image of my brother in my heart. I had no choice but to avoid it." She added understandingly, "I'm also thinking of our brotherly bond, Ziheng. You have to understand."
Zhao Ziheng nearly fled in tears.
It was bad enough that his elder cousin tortured him, but now even his good brother Bai Shiqi had abandoned him and was mocking him too. Life was simply unbearable!
