Volume One, Chapter 14: So Smooth! So Sharp!

Winter Solstice frost condenses.
Snow melts in the biting cold.
Shen Yiguang, bare-chested and well-fleshed, gripped fifty-kilogram boulders in each hand, sprinting relentlessly around the courtyard.
Throughout the morning, he had the servants prepare various training aids in the yard, doubling his efforts on recovery and physical conditioning exercises.
In the midst of ice and snow, his body steamed with heat, sweat pouring down.
Upon hearing Princess Changyang's startled cry and seeing her swift, lightning-fast retreat from the courtyard,
Shen Yi paid no mind.
“Shen Yi! Are you mad? Bare-chested in the dead of winter!” Princess Changyang scolded furiously from behind the wall. “Put on some clothes at once!
I have something important to say to you!”
Shen Yi exhaled calmly and plainly, “No time.”
“You!” The princess fumed at the wall, “I warn you, regarding Nurse Wang, you must apologize to her!
Or else, you’ll regret it!”
Shen Yi signaled Shen Liang and the others waiting nearby to stay put, then resumed his rigorous physical training using a specialized military regimen.
Though it couldn’t rival the so-called martial arts here, it was far superior in coordination and overall capability.
His true strength lay in solo combat and guerrilla warfare.
Like an assassin.
And the cold winter was perfectly suited for training bare-chested!
Many fierce mercenaries from Siberia had emerged from such harsh environments and brutal battles!
At this moment,
Shen Yi’s silence embarrassed Princess Changyang. She wanted to lash out but hesitated, unwilling to look at his bare torso.
After a long pause, she gritted her teeth and said, “Shen Yi, I wonder how long your money will last! If you don’t pay, the kitchen won’t prepare your meals!
I won’t believe you won’t come begging me! Hmph!”
She turned away, only to be stunned by the sight of a roasted suckling pig, a steaming pot of chicken soup, and piles of noodles being carried inside...
“Your Highness, Prince Consort Shen has provided the funds…” the head cook said anxiously.
Princess Changyang’s face flushed with anger, and without a word, she swept away in a fury.
After finishing his training, Shen Yi took out blueprints and instructed the craftsmen, “Build one of these in every room of this courtyard.”
This was a heated kang bed.
In this era, only the imperial palace had sophisticated floor heating and underground warm chambers; ordinary people lacked such luxuries.
Most used hot water pots, stoves, or burned charcoal indoors.
But these were costly and not very effective.
Common folk sometimes burned firewood inside, or layered thick quilts on their beds,
Taking turns changing clothes to go work outside.
But this winter was so bitterly cold that even the prince consort’s mansion felt chilly with a stove—let alone commoners.
Moreover, Liu Zhaoqin, a petty woman, had stopped the supply of his smokeless coal.
He didn’t mind much; winter was the prime season for recovery and training.
But many Shen family servants who had followed him from Mu Prefecture suffered.
This heated kang, created by making an external vent and a sealed big bed inside, could warm the room cheaply with ordinary firewood.
Yet the craftsmen of this era were terribly unskilled, only capable of rigid overall construction.
They had no concept of such a clever little design involving bricklaying and bed-building.
“Once it’s finished, we can popularize it. Keep these craftsmen here for future projects,” Shen Yi muttered to himself.
The craftsmen’s eyes lit up as they studied the blueprints—such ingenious design!
“Brilliant! Simply brilliant!”
“How could I have never thought of this!”
“This makes the room like an underground warm chamber, but so cheap and simple!”
They instantly saw a lucrative business opportunity!
If they took this design back home, they would have endless work!
At that moment, Shen Yi smiled faintly at them. Want to leave?
No chance.
After considering, he instructed Shen Liang not to let them go yet.
Then he began his archery practice and adaptation!
This was his true priority!
“You were quite bold last night,”
Yun Cang approached, expression indifferent, watching him pick up a heavy longbow. She smiled faintly, “How was the taste of the capital’s four top courtesans?”
Shen Yi tested the bow, about fifty kilograms, suitable for his current strength.
He raised his hand,
Nocked an arrow,
Drew the bow,
Gazed straight ahead, grinning, “Refreshing.”
“Heh.” Yun Cang chuckled, “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you spent the night with that woman.
If I hadn’t conveyed the emperor’s message to clear your name, you’d surely be dead or imprisoned.”
Shen Yi moved back and forth, regaining his aim, smiling without looking up, “Well then, thanks for your surveillance last night.”
Yun Cang shook her head coldly, dismissive, “Young master Shen, you’re still too inexperienced. Some people you just can’t touch.
Just like this bow, you think you can master it at once?
Without years of practice, don’t expect to excel.
Planning to head to the front lines in a month?
Heh, cramming won’t save you.
You’re overestimating yourself.”
Swish!
Just as she finished speaking,
An arrow pierced the air!
Yun Cang smiled faintly, watching the sky, still shaking her head with disdain.
Shooting at thin air?
Suddenly,
Her expression froze, eyes widening as she saw a pigeon falling from high above!
She was shocked beyond belief!
“How is this possible? Nearly two hundred meters high!
Not to mention the power!
The accuracy?! Even the top three archers of the Great Cheng Empire can’t match this!
Yet I’ve never heard he knew archery!”
Yun Cang was stunned inwardly.
Such archery!
In a two-hundred-meter outdoor battle,
This man would be a serious threat!
How could he hide such skill?
“I think it’s alright. Between women and archery, I have some talent,”
Shen Yi picked up the pigeon, glanced back, flashing a cocky smile, feeling somewhat vindicated.
“Too bad this pigeon carries no secret message.”
I am the king of guerrilla warfare, specialized in sniper rifles!
Two hundred meters is not my limit!
It’s this bow and my current strength that cap me!
If only I had crossbows!
Seven or eight hundred meters, I’d be confident to hit the mark!
Yun Cang flushed slightly, hesitating to speak, forcing calm, “Your archery is just so-so.”
“First, eat.” Shen Yi set down the bow, unwilling to argue with this old man. After intense training all morning, he needed to replenish energy.
But Yun Cang stared at the arrow in silence, perhaps realizing this young man was truly fit for the front lines.
Unfortunately,
He was the prince consort.
Also a hostage used by the emperor to control the Zhenmu King.
She shook her head, sighing. This youth rivaled her in three ways!
Very strong!
…
“Your Highness! Princess Nanyang is here again!”
At that moment, Qiuxiang hurried over, just as Princess Changyang was returning to her chambers.
Already irritable, Changyang was furious, “What is she doing here again?”
“She came with Prince Lin, wanting to bring you some specialties,” Qiuxiang bowed her head, “Also, to share a poem Prince Lin wrote for Princess Nanyang...”
“Another one?” Changyang groaned. Yesterday’s poem was indeed good, but hardly breathtaking.
A hasty creation, awkward in phrasing, feigning elegance.
Not even a full day later, here they came again?
She really did not want to see their public display of affection. Oh well, she’d be cold during the poetry reading.
Meanwhile, Nurse Wang and Yang Lintan, dressed in a long robe over military attire—handsome and somewhat resembling Princess Changyang—were earnestly discussing something.
At the height of their fervor, they were impassioned and united in indignation.
“Nurse Wang! Rest assured! The princess’s matter is my duty as captain!”
“Hmph! A powerless, worthless young master dares to threaten a royal princess! He disrespects His Majesty and disregards our princess’s family!
He dares to bully my cousin?
Let’s see if my Changying Spear agrees!”
“Let’s go! Make sure he behaves properly in the prince consort’s mansion!”
Nurse Wang was delighted. This young man was promising! She could trust him with the mansion’s guards!
…
At the same time, throughout the city, the poem “Qingping Tune” spread widely in the streets and alleys, fueled by those with agendas.
“Did you hear? Damn! Last night Prince Consort Shen was back in the headlines! He wrote a timeless masterpiece, topping Miss Qianyue’s poetry list!”
“In four months, just this one! I heard he even trounced one of the seven great scholars, Lu Xueshi!”
“The most explosive part: Prince Consort Shen spent the night with Miss Qianyue, only coming out of the side room late at night!”
“Oh my! What kind of poem is so amazing?”