Chapter 84: The Defeated Dog, Get to Know It

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Li Lin walked in and saw Zhang Chun and Ye Shi Yun accompanying Zhao Yu at mealtime.

Li Lin froze; she thought she hadn't even eaten breakfast yet and had rushed over to find Zhao Yu early enough, but Zhang Chun and Ye Shi Yun had arrived even earlier.

"Have you eaten?" Zhao Yu asked.

"Already eaten," Li Lin replied.

Hearing Li Lin had already eaten breakfast, Zhao Yu did not invite her to sit and eat with them, nor did he serve her lotus seed soup.

Thus, Li Lin could only stand like a servant beside them, watching Zhao Yu, Zhang Chun, and Ye Shi Yun eat and talk.

Zhang Chun and Ye Shi Yun, who had been angry at Zhao Yu for forcing them into female competition, now felt utterly satisfied seeing themselves seated beside Zhao Yu, eating the lotus seed soup he had personally served them, while Li Lin stood helplessly watching.

And Li Lin, standing aside, was truly embarrassed.

'Won't you even yield a little?'

'If you sincerely invited me again, I'd mercifully sit down and eat with you—then I wouldn't have to stand here like an idiot watching you eat.'

'And don't you know "eat without speaking, sleep without talking"? What's so interesting to say? What's so funny? Are you doing this for my benefit?'

Soon, Li Lin's embarrassment turned to something deeper—she suddenly felt Zhao Yu, Zhang Chun, and Ye Shi Yun were a family of three, and she had become an extraneous shadow in this warm scene, all light and warmth focused solely on them, excluding her entirely.

Li Lin's heart churned with mixed emotions. She understood perfectly: every inch of space at this table silently declared subtle status and distance, and she was clearly outside the circle.

In fact, Li Lin felt she had come too early—she should have come later, or not come at all today.

Li Lin endured for a long time before the three finally finished eating.

Only then did Zhao Yu seem to remember Li Lin, turning to her and asking: "Línlín, why did you come to see me?"

Hearing "Línlín," Li Lin grew even angrier; she felt Zhao Yu deliberately used this nickname—equivalent to "silly girl"—to pour oil on her already burning fury.

Yet before Zhao Yu, who held her fate in his hands, Li Lin dared not lash out; instead, she hastened to say: "Your servant has heard His Majesty enjoys cultivating strength and health techniques. Your servant possesses two such techniques—one rigid, one soft: the rigid is called 'Fangcun Fitness,' the soft is called 'Shenxin Fanxing.'"

At first hearing these strange names, Zhao Yu was baffled, unsure what Li Lin intended to teach him.

Tasting their meaning, Zhao Yu—who knew Li Lin excelled at 'Prisoner Fitness' and 'Yoga'—suddenly understood, guessing what she wanted to teach him.

Zhao Yu thought, 'To win me over, you're truly willing to offer everything. Good, good—I must hold you tighter now, friend. Loser, take a look.'

Afraid Zhao Yu would refuse to practice 'Prisoner Fitness' and 'Yoga' with her—thus depriving her of a stable, frequent connection with him—Li Lin began to lavish praise on 'Prisoner Fitness' and 'Yoga':

"Your servant's 'Fangcun Fitness' can reshape His Majesty's physique even in the smallest room, granting him strength, agility, and vigor."

As she spoke, Li Lin performed a handstand push-up.

Her arms firmly planted on the ground, her legs straight and vertical in midair, her posture light yet radiating resilience. Her arm muscles subtly bulged with each motion, each push-up powerful yet fluid.

To be fair, Li Lin's movements were truly beautiful.

But Zhao Yu's attention was not on her movements—he was focused elsewhere…

Li Lin forgot: this was the Northern Song, not her past life.

Women of this era wore crotchless pants, formally called 'wudang ku.'

Why did women of this era favor wudang ku?

Mainly because they made using the toilet convenient.

Women's skirts of this era layered many garments: shirts, jackets, robes, pants, and more.

Thus, putting them on or taking them off was extremely inconvenient.

If they wore pants with crotches, using the toilet would be troublesome.

Once removed, they could not be easily put back on in a short time.

Putting them on and off wasted time and effort, and if attire became disheveled, it violated propriety and decorum.

If one suffered sudden diarrhea, the situation would become dire.

Hence, wudang ku perfectly solved this problem.

Thus, women of this era wore wudang ku—Confucian moral constraints were kicked aside by practicality and physiological need.

But—

Because such attire easily exposed flesh, women would never casually lift their skirts (i. e., their outer garments) unless crossing a river; they maintained strict posture when standing or sitting, observing etiquette rigorously, like women in the Republic era wearing qipaos—with strict rules ensuring that, barring accidents, you would see absolutely nothing.

Of course, if you performed a handstand like Li Lin, there was no avoiding it.

To entice Zhao Yu to practice 'Prisoner Fitness' and 'Yoga,' Li Lin not only did handstands but also vigorously demonstrated one-handed handstands, handstand push-ups, and Thomas flairs.

Throughout, Li Lin did not glance once at Zhang Chun and Ye Shi Yun, who had sat beside Zhao Yu eating while she stood watching—so she naturally did not see them frantically signaling her to cover herself.

Finally, Li Lin grabbed a moon gate and performed a flawless human flag, hoping to shock Zhao Yu.

Unfortunately, Zhao Yu's attention remained fixed on the earlier view, wasting Li Lin's efforts.

After demonstrating, Li Lin spoke calmly to Zhao Yu: "If His Majesty practices 'Fangcun Fitness' with your servant, you will gain strength—the strength of the extreme, the strength of survival—just as your servant has."

After a pause, Li Lin's face softened into serene tranquility: "As for 'Shenxin Fanxing,' it allows His Majesty to achieve profound mind-body unity through every breath, casting aside distractions, as if dwelling in the pure land of Brahma. Practicing it will not only relieve daily fatigue and vexation but elevate His Majesty's spirit, enabling inner clarity and peace even amidst courtly turmoil."

The progressive challenges of 'Prisoner Fitness' cultivate perseverance and stress resilience; the meditation and mindfulness of 'Yoga' alleviate anxiety and sharpen focus. Together, they form a dynamic-static psychological regulation model, sustaining high physical performance over long periods.

Crucially, through scientific integration, 'Prisoner Fitness' and 'Yoga' achieve balanced hard-soft optimization of body and mind, delivering comprehensive health while greatly enhancing strength, endurance, agility, speed, and flexibility.

Of course, for Zhao Yu, the two most important benefits were simple: improved health and greater enjoyment.

In any case, practicing 'Prisoner Fitness' and 'Yoga' with Li Lin was far superior to Zhao Yu randomly doing bodybuilding exercises himself.

So Zhao Yu said: "Your Majesty's 'Fangcun Fitness' and 'Shenxin Fanxing' are worth trying. Attend me—change my clothes, and head to the training hall."

Upon saying this, Zhao Yu went to change into short-sleeved athletic attire. Li Lin and Ye Shi Yun still stood dumbfounded, unsure why Zhao Yu was calling them to help him dress, when Zhang Chun had already hurried after him.

Only then did Li Lin and Ye Shi Yun realize: they were Zhao Yu's concubines—they were expected to assist him in dressing.

Only then did Li Lin and Ye Shi Yun hurry after Zhao Yu and Zhang Chun.

When Zhao Yu removed his garments, the three women were stunned to discover his physique was extraordinary—he had eight-pack abs and a defined V-line.

Ye Shi Yun drooled openly: 'This little brat's got it going on—these abs could double as a washboard. I wonder how they'd feel to touch?'

Unlike Ye Shi Yun, who openly stared at Zhao Yu's physique, Zhang Chun found it too embarrassing to look directly—but she couldn't help stealing glances; after seeing, her face burned hot with shame.

Li Lin asked with some skepticism: "Has His Majesty practiced shape-forming arts?"

"What are shape-forming arts?" Zhao Yu immediately denied: "I have only practiced Daoist health-preserving arts with Zhang Hu and others."

'Can Daoist health-preserving arts really build the body?' Li Lin thought.

Li Lin and Ye Shi Yun did not know who Zhang Hu was and felt nothing about him, but Zhang Chun knew Zhao Yu must mean Zhang Xubai; she thought, 'Has Zhao Yu absorbed Zhao Ji's health retinue? Then he probably won't be a short-lived man, right? If that's true, my Empress Dowager dream should be hard to realize, shouldn't it?'

Although her Empress Dowager dream seemed shattered, Zhang Chun felt little sorrow—only a faint regret.

Zhang Chun changed her thoughts: 'I could be Deng Sui, the Empress of Civil Governance and Martial Might, the crown of empresses.'

Soon, Zhao Yu changed his clothes and asked the three women: "Do any of you wish to change as well?"

Li Lin, by nature carefree, wanted to say no, but Zhang Chun and Ye Shi Yun spoke in unison: "Thank Your Majesty," then pulled her left and right toward the exit.

Outside, Li Lin still resisted: "You two go change—I don't need to. Today I'm only here to instruct Zhao Yu, just demonstrating the key movements. No need to change clothes."

Zhang Chun gave Li Lin a withering look: "You're really that oblivious? You still don't realize you made a fool of yourself?"

"Made a fool of myself?" Li Lin frowned: "What did I do?"

Ye Shi Yun looked at Zhang Chun: "Do you think Li Jie did that on purpose?"

"Hard to say—I strongly suspect she did," Zhang Chun said.

'???'

Li Lin was utterly confused by Zhang Chun and Ye Shi Yun: "What exactly are you two talking about?"

Seeing Li Lin still didn't get it, Ye Shi Yun prompted: "What are you wearing?"

Li Lin looked at herself: "Same as usual—nothing different?"

Zhang Chun added: "Below."

Li Lin looked at her long skirt, left and right—seemed fine.

Ye Shi Yun had no patience left for this clueless woman; she rubbed her temples as she said: "Inside."

"Inside is fine too..."

Only then did Li Lin realize: she had worn pants—but open-crotch pants—and just now, she'd been vigorously performing a handstand in front of Zhao Yu.

Even Li Lin, usually so unconcerned with propriety, blushed crimson in an instant!

Zhang Chun teased: "Now you're shy? Where was your shame when you were doing that Thomas full twist?" "Didn't we pull you out for good reason?"

Ye Shi Yun asked Zhang Chun: "Do you think Zhao Yu just now thought Li Jie was seducing him—that he'll call Li Jie to his bed tonight?"

Zhang Chun deliberately frightened Li Lin:

"He'll definitely think that."

"As we know, the women in this harem all vie for favor in their own ways. Some rely on their dazzling beauty, dancing gracefully beneath flowers and moonlight to catch Zhao Yu's eye; some rely on talent, displaying extraordinary skill in poetry, music, chess, and painting, engaging Zhao Yu in ancient and modern discourse to spark spiritual resonance; others excel at reading Zhao Yu's mind, offering gentle, thoughtful care and perfectly timed flattery, giving him a warm haven after wearying state affairs."

"But all those are child's play—how can they compare to Li Jie's move?"

"I guarantee, tonight, Zhao Yu will belong to Li Jie."

"All our hard work advising Zhao Yu can't beat Li Jie's Thomas full twist."

Heaven and earth bear witness: Li Lin approached Zhao Yu only to gain the chance to command troops—not to sleep with him. Otherwise, she wouldn't have visited only during the day, nor chosen the identities of a Prisoner Fitness coach and a Yoga instructor—roles that ensured prolonged contact with Zhao Yu without requiring bed.

Yet, this backfired.

Scared by Zhang Chun and Ye Shi Yun, Li Lin became hyper-cautious during the rest of her instruction in Prisoner Fitness and Yoga, terrified of further misunderstanding from Zhao Yu.

Unlike Li Lin, who had no intention of developing anything further with Zhao Yu, Zhang Chun and Ye Shi Yun endured the exhausting, stinking Prisoner Fitness and Yoga solely to wait until nightfall, when Zhao Yu might choose one of them for his bed.

Yet, just as Zhang Chun and Ye Shi Yun collapsed from exhaustion by afternoon, someone arrived to report: "The Empress Dowager requests His Majesty join her for a meal."

Zhao Yu guessed the Empress Dowager had heard rumors and wished to speak with him.

He had to go—otherwise, if something like Empress Cixi imprisoning Emperor Guangxu happened, wouldn't he be doomed?

He told the three women: "You three continue—I'll go first," then left, leaving behind Li Lin, who exhaled deeply, and Zhang Chun and Ye Shi Yun, stunned into silence.

'What the hell? I've been advising you, training with you—and just when you're about to climb into bed, you walk off? Is this how you treat people? Can we even keep playing together after this?!'

…

(End of Chapter)