No wonder she had turned herself into the appearance of a female ghost and dragged her down to this state.
Lin Ruochu lowered her gaze, resentment welling up in her heart.
In truth, if this female ghost hadn't used her body to degrade herself, she could have relied on the influence of the General Residence to properly discuss marriage with the Yong'an Marquis Estate.
Although Zhang Jingwan came from a prestigious family, her brothers and father were incompetent—neither accomplished in literary pursuits nor martial arts. They merely maintained the family's dignity through inherited official positions.
Their only reliance was Zhang Guifei, who had entered the palace and become the emperor's favored consort.
With the male members of the family being useless, they depended solely on the women's talents and connections to attract noble husbands in the capital, sustaining the family's glory through marital alliances.
These intricate relationships were something her Lin family couldn't compare to, but when it came to ability, actual power, and official positions, the General Residence was in no way inferior.
Her father had repeatedly achieved great military merits and received countless military honors. Her eldest brother had followed their father into battle since childhood, employing ingenious tactics to surround and eliminate bandits with a small elite force. The reputation of this young general was known throughout the capital.
Her second brother, born with a weak constitution that prevented him from practicing martial arts, had nevertheless worked hard and excelled. He placed first in the provincial examinations at twelve, topped the palace examinations at sixteen, and now served as the youngest Chancellor of the Hanlin Academy.
If this female ghost hadn't degraded herself, but had first discussed marriage matters with her parents and brothers, giving both families an opportunity for careful consideration, it wouldn't have been impossible to strive for a proper marriage.
Unfortunately, she couldn't remain patient, unwilling to take risks. She took unorthodox approaches, investigated Shao Mu's whereabouts, pursued him recklessly, confessed her feelings impulsively, engaged in improper relations, and even committed many acts that Lin Ruochu found despicable.
When the affair came to light, her mother vomited blood, her brothers pleaded with her to return home in near-begging tones, yet she used the coldest words to break her family's hearts.
In the end, her father tearfully wrote a letter severing ties, and Shao Mu kept her in his residence without proper status or justification.
Claiming to give her a home, promising to ensure she'd never worry in this lifetime.
Hah! Easier said than done!
If he truly cared for her, he should have respected her, striven earnestly with his parents, and properly married her into his family with all due ceremonies!
Instead, he used this method of keeping a mistress, engaging in improper relations with her first, then confining her within his residence, completely destroying her reputation and cutting off all her retreat options!
And still he kept claiming to dote on and love her!
He was simply treating her like a cat or dog to amuse himself!
Lin Ruochu's anger surged within, yet her expression remained calm.
She could hear this female ghost's mutterings, but the female ghost seemed unable to perceive her thoughts. She decided to pretend for now, acting as if unaware of these matters, to extract more information from this female ghost's words…
For the next three days, all was calm.
Shao Mu didn't return, and the female ghost had exhausted herself with tantrums, remaining mostly silent, occasionally emerging to scornfully curse her: "The moment I leave for a day, you let that bitch Zhang Jingwan drive you to eating cornbread and chaff on this mountain—truly useless trash."
Lin Ruochu paid no attention, picking up food with her chopsticks and eating even more heartily.
She even ate four cornbread buns in one go.
With her hunger satisfied and thirst quenched, after recovering from the exhaustion of recent travels, she chose a sunny afternoon to go to the small grove behind the courtyard. There, she carefully selected a wooden branch that was moderately thick, long, and straight.
She swung it in her hand once, found it just right, and carried the branch back to the courtyard.
In the yard, Jinyu was taking advantage of the good weather to sun-dry the laundry.
Seeing the wooden stick in Lin Ruochu's hand, Jinyu thought she wanted to gather branches for firewood because the charcoal in the room was insufficient, so she reminded her:
"Concubine, these branches aren't like charcoal. They produce too much smoke when burned and can't be used in the brazier for warmth."
Lin Ruochu shook her head: "I'm not using them for burning."
After speaking, she gripped the stick with her right hand, took a deep breath, and then with a flick of her arm, the stick shot forward like a spear through the air.
This movement completely caught Jinyu off guard, and her eyes widened in surprise.
Dressed in a plain long skirt, Lin Ruochu moved with the grace of a rainbow piercing the sun one moment and a silver snake dancing wildly the next. The long stick in her hand took on the form of a red-tasseled spear.
Her figure was agile, as if dancing gracefully, yet her footwork remained steady and firm. With each thrust and retraction, the cold wind howled along with the stick, her skirt fluttering and stirring up gentle breezes—like a dragon emerging from the sea or clouds and mist swirling.
Jinyu stood there, utterly stunned.
The delicate and frail Consort Lin knew how to wield a spear?
Of course, Lin Ruochu did.
It wasn't just the spear. Since childhood, she had practiced martial arts with her father and brothers. Among the eighteen weapons in the courtyard, which one had she not handled? Which one had she not mastered?
Disguised in men's clothing, she had followed her elder brother to the military camp and had often taught lessons to the new recruits.
Unfortunately, she was born a woman and was ineligible to enlist as a general. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been just her eldest brother who could earn military merits to share their father's burdens!
The long stick swept up fallen grass and leaves, only to be fiercely chopped down again. Its sharp momentum split a withered leaf cleanly in two mid-air.
As she landed gracefully, she twirled the stick, spinning in place before drawing it behind her back.
Jinyu immediately jumped up and clapped, her usually mature face revealing a childlike excitement:
"Concubine, your stick technique is incredible! You're even more impressive than the generals in those storybooks!"
She loved reading storybooks and had devoured many in her spare time—tales of majestic generals and ethereal knights-errant—but she could never quite picture them in her mind.
Now, witnessing Lin Ruochu's every move with the stick, she finally understood what "heroic and spirited" meant, and what it was for "women to not let men overshadow them"!
Lin Ruochu wiped the sweat from her forehead and smiled at her:
"These are just a few ordinary moves to strengthen the body. There's no need to flatter me like that."
Jinyu blushed: "N-No, I'm not flattering you. I truly admire you."
Though she had grown up among women, this was the first time she had seen a woman practice martial arts.
In her astonishment, a small doubt arose in her heart: Could women really practice martial arts?
Lin Ruochu didn't tease her further. She simply patted her head and went inside to change her clothes.
Sweating heavily in winter was not good—it made one prone to illness. She needed to change into dry, warm clothes as soon as possible.
She had only been itching to try out the simplest spear techniques to test whether her body, neglected for three years, still remembered the moves her father had taught her.
Unexpectedly, while she remembered all the techniques, her physical stamina had deteriorated far too much!
After just a few movements, she was drenched in sweat and her breathing had become erratic. It was truly unacceptable.
With such a frail body, she feared she wouldn't be able to handle any unexpected situations.
Lin Ruochu disliked this feeling. She decided to prioritize physical exercise starting that day.
The next day, in addition to her cultivation, she began practicing horse stance.
While sun-drying and washing clothes with Jinyu, she often performed tasks while maintaining a horse stance.
Jinyu didn't understand, but she imitated her anyway. In less than two seconds, she fell and landed sitting on the ground, making Lin Ruochu burst into laughter as they tumbled about together.
In the afternoons, she would always set aside the time it takes for one incense stick to burn, slowly recalling and practicing the various techniques she had learned in the past.
When Jinyu was busy, she would just stare and watch. When she wasn't busy, she would pick up a tree branch herself and secretly mimic the movements from behind, like a little tail. Often, due to her overly clumsy limbs, she would trip and fall.
So Lin Ruochu would laugh at her while pulling her close, teaching her hand in hand.
Regarding this, the Female Ghost in her head was quite resentful.
[Why exercise in winter? Why exercise against the north wind in a winter without heating? What kind of masochistic constitutions do you natives have?]
[My arms and legs are sore and swollen, it hurts so much. Can we please stop practicing…]
[When will Ah Mu come to take us back? I've had enough. I want to lie on my brocade silk quilt-covered bed and eat roasted lamb.]
Go find yourself some shit to eat.
Why doesn't the pain just kill you?
Lin Ruochu rolled her eyes and cursed at her in her heart.
After learning that the Female Ghost also shared the physical sensations of her body, she became even more diligent in exercising, even starting to stretch and press her legs in a self-torturing manner.
The Female Ghost squealed for a while, then fell completely silent.
Probably went off to die somewhere.
Feeling quite pleased, Lin Ruochu completely ignored her.
Seven days passed like this. Zheng Shi and Zhang Jingwan remained very quiet, but Shao Mu seemed unable to sit still any longer.
He sent Shoucheng over to ask how she was doing.