Afterwards, Wang Yutong instructed A-Wu:
“A-Wu, first arrange for them to repair the estate at the foot of the mountain so they’ll have a place to settle down.
After the house is repaired, dig a canal from the stream to the farmland on the estate to make irrigation easier.
Once those are done, find a hidden spot on these two mountains. I plan to build a training ground there.
After that, we’ll start clearing the land. I intend to plant some medicinal herbs on the mountain in the future to sell, so you’ll also have something to do to support yourselves.
Also, go find some orphans between the ages of five and ten and train them to become the estate’s reserve strength.
Oh, and remember to find me two young maidservants. Otherwise, it doesn’t look proper when I go out without a maid.”
Wang Yutong calmly issued all her upcoming arrangements in one breath.
A-Wu was slightly startled after hearing her instructions, and his earlier underestimation instantly faded.
As expected the older generation was still the most experienced. Old Marquis’s judgment was still as sharp as ever; he had already seen how extraordinary the Sixth Miss was.
Normally, a six-year-old girl would never think of such things.
“Understood, Miss. A-Wu will carry it out,” he replied respectfully.
At first, when A-Wu was assigned to follow the Sixth Miss, he only obeyed Old Marquis’s order and came unwillingly to serve a discarded daughter of the marquis household.
But after hearing her series of arrangements, he was completely convinced by this six-year-old girl.
In his decades of experience, A-Wu had seen many noble young ladies, but his young mistress was the most unusual one.
That composure that did not match her age made him willingly become her right-hand man.
Of course, at the moment he was only the leader of a ten-man squad.
After arranging everything, Wang Yutong returned by carriage to the residence near the academy—Piaoyi Residence.
The medicinal herbs had already been purchased. Wang Yutong did not let Cuifen or Chuntao handle the brewing of the body-strengthening liquid, because the order of adding the herbs mattered—neither too early nor too late, and the proportions had to be exact.
So she personally brewed the medicine in a dedicated training room using a small stove, then poured the medicinal liquid into prepared clean water.
After everything was ready, Wang Yutong removed her outer clothes, wearing only a white inner garment, and stepped into the wooden tub.
The medicinal liquid slowly submerged up to her neck.
The medicinal energy seeped into her body through her pores like fine needles.
First, her skin felt as if it were burning—hot and intense.
Then her muscles began to ache, a dense, needle-like pain spreading through them—numb, itchy, and hard to endure, making her want to cry out yet still barely tolerable.
Next came the bones, as if crushed by a vehicle. The pain made her groan softly.
When the medicinal force entered her blood, the pain became so intense that sweat covered her forehead. She tried to stand but had no strength left.
Fortunately, Wang Yutong knew this was the normal process of body tempering, so she clenched her teeth and endured.
In her heart, she kept encouraging herself:
“Wang Yutong, endure it. This little pain is nothing. To endure hardship is to become superior.
In her past life as the heir of a martial arts family, she had endured far worse pain. This was nothing. Just endure it.”
With this self-encouragement, she finally completed her first body tempering session.
The water in the tub gradually turned clear, and the medicinal scent slowly faded.
As the pain subsided, she knew it was time to get up.
The moment she stepped out of the tub, she felt a long-lost sense of lightness throughout her body.
She carefully sensed that her meridians and blood flow had clearly improved.
Taking advantage of the remaining medicinal effect, she immediately began circulating her internal energy technique to cultivate.
The medicinal power followed the circulation path, gradually transforming and refining every part of her body.
After circulating the technique three times, the medicinal energy was fully absorbed.
..
The next morning, when Wang Yutong appeared before Cuifen and Chuntao again, both of them were stunned.
The young lady in front of them seemed entirely different—her temperament was refined, calm, and elegant.
They felt she had changed, but couldn’t tell exactly how.
Wang Yutong saw their stunned expressions and almost laughed.
“What’s wrong with you two?”
Chuntao recovered first and stammered:
“Miss… you… you seem like a different person, more energetic than before.”
Cuifen nodded vigorously beside her.
Wang Yutong covered her mouth and smiled lightly:
“Perhaps I just slept well last night.”
She concealed the fact that she had undergone body tempering; she did not want too many people to know about it.
“Chuntao, prepare my school supplies. In three days, I will officially attend the academy.”
“Yes, Miss,” Chuntao replied happily.
..
Time quickly arrived at the day she was to start school.
The Wang Clan Women’s Academy had a very intensive curriculum.
Besides not studying imperial examination subjects, they still had to learn qin, chess, calligraphy, painting, household management, accounting, horsemanship, archery, and needlework. They didn’t need to excel in everything, but they had to be outstanding in at least one or two areas, otherwise they would not receive a good evaluation.
The teacher’s evaluation determined the women’s future fate, so everyone studied desperately.
Wang Yutong entered the academy early that morning. The school was converted from a three-courtyard residence.
The women’s classrooms were in the back courtyard, and the back gate had been widened for entry.
She slowly walked toward Class C.
Class C consisted of students who had studied for less than two years.
After two years, they would advance to Class B, study for about three years, then enter Class A for another three years before graduating and returning home.
Each class focused on different subjects:
Class C: Thousand Character Classic, Hundred Family Surnames, basic arithmetic, and introductory qin/chess/calligraphy/painting.
Class B: horsemanship, archery, and more advanced arts.
Class A: household management and internal administration.
Etiquette was required in all three classes.
Because the academy’s teaching was comprehensive, many noble families went to great lengths to send their daughters here.
Just as Wang Yutong was about to enter the classroom, she unexpectedly ran into people she did not want to see—Wang Yuxin and Wang Yulu.
She hesitated slightly about whether to greet them, when Wang Yuxin let out a cold snort and said sarcastically:
“Well, well, isn’t this the Sixth Miss of the marquis household?
What, now that you’ve moved out, you don’t even greet your elder sister anymore?
Wings hardened already?
Wang Yutong, is this how your concubine mother taught you? No manners at all.”