Ch. 276..280: The Princess of Northern Land Chapter 276-280

Chapter 276: Chapter 276 Shocking (7)_1

But the spectacle before them sent shivers down their spines. Even without Prince using his inner strength, this girl was incredibly formidable. All of her intricate moves-- striking, resisting, blocking, stabbing, and swinging-- dazzled the spectators.

"Time’s up." Si Jinhan, who had been watching the lively scene, was reluctant to see it end. But, as the referee, he had to abide by the agreed-upon time.

The posture of the two on the field was absurd; Lin Ziyin’s short stature meant her stick was pressed directly against Chu Suifeng’s heart, while Chu Suifeng’s stick lay against Lin Ziyin’s throat. Both of them were targeting fatal areas, implying a draw with no clear winner.

The soldiers were eager to see how many white dots were on each person.

Si Jinhan nonchalantly began to check the white dots on both of them.

In the end, Lin Ziyin’s body had more white dots than Chu Suifeng’s, several more, in fact.

"You’ve won," Chu Suifeng said indifferently.

"Thank you for letting me win," Lin Ziyin answered without any false modesty.

The soldiers were perplexed. Clearly, Lin Ziyin had more white dots on her body, but how did she win in the end?

"Little miss, you do value your life," Si Jinhan, the sly fox, teased, immediately realizing what was going on.

"Isn’t that a given? Only an idiot wouldn’t!" Lin Ziyin retorted lackadaisically. Today had been a lousy day for her. Chu Suifeng had hit her so many times with his stick that she was in serious pain; the prince was a tough guy and showed no mercy towards women.

Lin Ziyin imagined her bruises were a sight to see.

Only after a reminder from Si Jinhan did the soldiers realize that despite the many wounds on Lin Ziyin, most of them were not very serious. In contrast, although Chu Suifeng had fewer wounds, every single one of them was on vital areas.

After getting a better look, everyone looked at Lin Ziyin with admiration. Her fighting skills were excellent; if they could learn from her, the soldiers could potentially avoid many casualties on the battlefield.

"Train twenty individuals for an hour every morning and night," Chu Suifeng ordered coldly.

An hour training session twice a day meant four hours of work. Lin Ziyin wanted to go on strike, but she knew better than to confront Chu Suifeng whose stern gaze immediately quelled her temper.

"Should I also teach them coordinated combat?" Lin Ziyin mumbled under her breath, venting her frustration.

"As a citizen of the Northern Land, defending your country is also your duty," Chu Suifeng glared at her. "Since you have a coordinated combat method, you should also set aside an hour each day to discuss this with me."

"Why should I?" No matter how good-tempered someone is, they can only take so much. Even a cornered rabbit will turn aggressive. "Isn’t warfare a man’s affair? As a prince, you naturally have concerns about it. But why should I, a mere woman, be expected to be involved?"

Lin Ziyin was on the verge of shouting out her grievances. She was not a ruler of the Northern Land, and, therefore, defending the country did not concern her much.

"Are you flirting with me?" Right after her complaints, Chu Suifeng’s counter-question nearly toppled her over. The accompanying soldiers and Si Jinhan were also left dumbstruck by his astonishing words.

"What are you talking about?" Lin Ziyin, now quite offended, retorted. "Prince, you can’t tarnish my reputation like this."

"Little girl, just a moment ago, you claimed that your reputation isn’t as important to you as your life. Now, you’re suddenly changing your tune. Your words are quite unbelievable," Si Jinhan remarked, giving her a pained look. "But I must admit, you are quite bold. You even dare to flirt with the prince. I admire your courage."

"Nonsense. I didn’t flirt with anyone!" Lin Ziyin flared up. She had lived two lifetimes and still hadn’t had a boyfriend, let alone flirt with an aloof and indifferent man. While he might be handsome, he was not her type.

"Still denying it? Not only did the prince catch on, we all did too. You don’t want to serve the prince because you think your status isn’t high enough, right? You said that as the ruler of the Northern Land, the prince should be responsible for its citizens and spend all his time on the battlefield. If you were the ruler, then you would be willing to serve the Northern Land. The Northern Land only has two rulers. One is the prince, and the other can only be the princess of the Wang Residence. By flirting with the prince, you’re just being too hasty. It’s not only embarrassing for the prince but also for us. Don’t you agree?"

He rambled on for quite a while until the soldiers suddenly understood and turned their surprised gazes to Lin Ziyin.

What a load of nonsense! Lin Ziyin hardly ever used foul language, but today, both Chu Suifeng and Si Jinhan had pushed her to the brink.

"Not bad. The prince will let you keep that thought for now. But whether you can enter the Wang Residence will depend on your skills," Chu Suifeng added leisurely from the side.

Good heavens! Strike them down with a bolt of lightning now. Lin Ziyin was sure that Chu Suifeng was intelligent and skillful in martial arts but terribly inept in handling emotions.

Chapter 277: Chapter 277: Hiring a Hitman(1)_1

As for the foxy Si Jinhan, he was just a mischief-maker, deliberately stirring up trouble.

"Prince, third young master, you’re thinking too much," Male or female, when it comes to flirting, unless the woman is a hooligan, she’ll always end up worse off, especially the innocent ones.

"Once you return to the manor, immediately replicate the equipment here and send a few sets to the military camp," Chu Suifeng sternly ordered his subordinate.

As a former, honorable military instructor, Lin Ziyin would not allow any negligence under her watch. The training equipment here just barely qualified as fitness gear, far worse than professional training gear.

"Prince, don’t rush. The machinery here is too simple. I will give you a design when we get back, and you can make it according to the blueprint," Lin Ziyin had a feeling of picking up her old trade.

"Let’s go," The order from Chu Suifeng continued, but he did not command his subordinate to find someone to produce the equipment. Instead, he quietly followed Lin Ziyin.

"Prince, third young master, why are you following me? I have to eat when I get back." Lin Ziyin looked unhappily at the two men trailing her. No, not two men; they each had several guards trailing behind them.

Qiaoqiao felt a bit fearful and kept looking back from time to time.

"I’m going to your manor with you for dinner. After dinner, we can start learning immediately," Chu Suifeng calmly replied. His entitled attitude made Lin Ziyin grit her teeth.

The pursuers were already on their tail, she couldn’t possibly shoo them away now. In the end, Lin Ziyin decided on a ’what the eye doesn’t see, the heart won’t grieve over’ approach and jogged agilely towards the front with Qiaoqiao. Everyone training here ran, as it was a type of physical exercise, and there was no exception for anyone.

Even she, Lin Ziyin, was not entitled to any special privileges.

Exhausting all her strength for the nearly two-mile run, she was slightly out of breath when she reached home. However, Chu Suifeng and Si Jinhan, who followed her in, did not seem tired at all.

This stark contrast left Lin Ziyin feeling defeated. The difference between those with Inner Strength and those without was truly large.

"Ziyin, I asked the kitchen to prepare your meal." As every member of the Lin family was busy with their own affairs, they ate whenever they had the chance.

Mornings were usually not bad, everyone could gather after practicing martial arts. Even the old master would stretch and kick around the village for exercise.

However, this morning, Lin Ziyin was delayed at the training ground, and most members of the Lin family had finished their breakfast.

Guo Huiniang asked the kitchen to specially reserve some food for her. Unexpectedly, when she looked up, she saw Chu Suifeng and Si Jinhan had followed them in as well.

Fortunately, there has always been someone in the kitchen at the Lin family. Also, Master Hui Zhen from Ding’an Temple would occasionally bring a few martial monks over for a meal, so even with Chu Suifeng and the other’s presence, there was plenty to eat.

"Prince, it’s not easy to feed all of you for free considering how humble our household is," Lin Ziyin joked while continuing to eat.

"Congyi," Chu Suifeng called out calmly.

Congyi instantly stepped forward, startling Lin Ziyin, "Bring some rice, flour, and meat here."

"Yes, sir. I’ll take care of it right away." Having finished eating in another room, Congyi immediately went out to execute the order.

The remaining guards didn’t dare to dawdle. Once they finished their meal, they all stood vigilant outside.

After Lin Ziyin finished her meal in a huff, Chu Suifeng immediately urged her to produce the blueprints.

Lin Ziyin lost interest in squabbling with this man who lacked emotional intelligence and was utterly unsympathetic. "Qiaoqiao, fetch my charcoal pencil," she instructed.

Chapter 278: Chapter 278: Hiring a Hitman(2)_1

It was described as charcoal, but in reality, it was just a burned tree branch.

"Instead of a perfectly good brush, you’re using this?" Si Jinhan sneered at her particular preference.

"I prefer it," countered Lin Ziyin, silencing him with three simple words.

Lin Ziyin, hard at work, was a sight to behold. Si Jinhan and Chu Suifeng, good partners as they were, kept quiet as they watched her work without rest. Yet, the moment she finished a diagram, they would snatch it up eagerly to examine it carefully.

Lin Ziyin worked with meticulous detail, even taking the time to describe the function of each device in depth.

"Get someone to hand these diagrams to the craftsmen, and have them made according to the specifics," Chu Suifeng instructed his men as soon as all the diagrams were ready.

"Yes, Prince."

"Lin Ziyin, what’s this ’combined tactic’ you speak of?" Si Jinhan asked, sitting upright.

Usually carefree, he appeared nearly unrecognizable when serious.

Her entire body ached, yet these two men were relentless, caring little for her physical state. She feared they would keep pestering her if she didn’t satisfy their curiosity.

Unable to escape, she resigned herself to continue explaining.

"Speaking of which, this is a profound subject," Lin Ziyin began, ignoring the doubtful looks from Chu Suifeng and Si Jinhan. "The art of war proposes thirty-six stratagems. Each one isn’t meant to stand alone. If applied flexibly on the battlefield, they can produce significant results."

Chu Suifeng and Si Jinhan furrowed their brows slightly. As experienced warriors, they often had to engage in both physical and mental battles with the Tatars and even amongst the Imperial Court and other princes. And as for intelligence, they modestly believed few match their cunning, especially with the exceptionally shrewd strategist Situ Gong in their midst.

If Lin Ziyin’s hand-to-hand combat was considered skillful and extraordinary, her strategies, however, were taken lightly by Si Jinhan, even somewhat belittled by the third prince.

Though Lin Ziyin could guess their thinking, she didn’t care. Being forced to explain to Chu Suifeng and Si Jinhan was partly out of coercion and partly her sincere hope that they could effectively defend the Border City.

If the Border City were to fall, as residents of the Northern Land, the fate of the Lin family would be dire.

Lin Ziyin understood the principle that all share in the glory and the loss.

"The first among the thirty-six stratagems is ’fool the emperor to cross the sea,’" Lin Ziyin explained calmly. It felt as if she was back teaching at the military academy, only this time she was explaining tactical strategies rather than mechanics. As a military professor, she had a broad knowledge base. Given her frequent interactions with military personnel, and frequent discussions about tactics, strategy, and situation analysis during gatherings with friends, Lin Ziyin was far from unfamiliar with these concepts.

At first, Chu Suifeng and Si Jinhan started listening carelessly, but as Lin Ziyin went on, their expressions gradually turned serious.

Lin Ziyin had to be credited for being an excellent teacher. She didn’t just ask Chu Suifeng and Si Jinhan to memorize the stratagems. Instead, she used stories to prompt analysis, even using the tea set on the table as teaching aids.

Though the era was not one she was acquainted with from history, Lin Ziyin used the story editing method, and Chu Suifeng and Si Jinhan didn’t notice anything amiss.

"The key to ’fool the emperor to cross the sea’ lies in deceit - you must be able to fool yourself before you can fool your enemy," Lin Ziyin concluded. She spent the entire morning on just the first stratagem.

Chapter 279: Chapter 279: Hiring a Hitman(3)_1

"Doesn’t seem like cooperative combat to me?" Si Jinhan playfully taunted her.

"That’s just getting started. Cooperation not just refers to the coordination among soldiers but also the integration of command strategies." Noticing the look of relentless curiosity on Chu Suifeng’s face, Lin Ziyin briefly outlined the relationships and coordination dynamics between infantry, cavalry, drivers, and transporters.

"Continue." Chu Suifeng urged, tapping the table.

"I’m afraid I won’t be able to do so today; the fried-food workshop and bean-product workshop might be launching new products, so I need to go over and check." Lin Ziyin replied.

Those two jerks, really taking her for unpaid labor.

"Who’s your master?" Chu Suifeng suddenly asked.

Lin Ziyin looked up and saw a sharp look in his eyes, packed with threat and suspicion.

She wasn’t scared of the suspicion, or even the threat; at the very least, Lin Ziyin herself held essential value, and had not taken any action detrimental to him, Prince Chu.

"My master usually keeps moving around unpredictably, so I do not know where he is, nor what his full name is." Lin Ziyin replied indifferently.

Both Si Jinhan and Chu Suifeng’s eyes narrowed. Among the famous figures in the world, there were only a few, but none they heard of were as eccentric. Judging from Lin Ziyin’s demeanor, her master must be a true genius, adept in both literature and martial strategy.

Si Jinhan and Chu Suifeng racked their brains, but still could not figure out who this mastermind could be.

Lin Ziyin secretly chuckled. The knowledge she possessed was the epitome of countless generations’ wisdom; even with their heads racked, they couldn’t figure out who this mysterious "master" might be.

"Your Highness, I’ll be taking my leave." After sitting for a long time, her lower back hurt and her buttock muscles were aching terribly. The most immediate issue was to take a hot bath and apply some bruise-removal medicine, for Chu Suifeng had given her a ruthless beating.

"Young lady, how did you get hurt?" Master Hui Zhen arrived with a basket of herbs on his back.

"Got a little injured while sparring. Master, do you have any external injury medicine to reduce bruises?" Lin Ziyin looked hopefully at him. Master Hui Zhen was known as a medicinal monk who excelled in martial arts; treating external injuries was a piece of cake for him.

"Here you go, girls shouldn’t get involved in violent fights, injuries are not worth it." Master Hui Zhen didn’t look like the enlightened monk he professed to be at the outset but more like a nagging househusband.

Knowing that he meant well, Lin Ziyin didn’t mind the lecture and allowed him to drone on.

"Great Monk, if everyone saw how you behave, you could say goodbye to your reputation as an enlightened monk." Si Jinhan teased him.

"My body may be in the world, but my heart belongs to Buddha. Ah, Amitabha. Benefactor, you should not step outside today, as you may invite a disaster. These are for you, use them well. The white bottle is for facial application, girls seem to love it." Master Hui Zhen pulled out several bottles from his robe and handed them all to Lin Ziyin.

"Great Monk, don’t scare me," Si Jinhan hid behind Chu Suifeng, "I have important matters to attend to in the coming days and cannot afford any delays. Oh, why did you give her such a large bottle of the precious Holy Healing Medicine? I remember you being so stingy when I asked for just a single piece. You’re really being partial here."

Suddenly, Si Jinhan caught sight of the bottle in Lin Ziyin’s hand, and jealousy rose in him. Without any gentlemanly reservation, he tried to snatch the bottle from her while talking.

Lin Ziyin had been on alert while he was talking and had held the medicine close to her. Qiaoqiao was also there to protect it.

Master Hui Zhen reacted more directly, slap-pushing him back, "Benefactor, beware of the bloody disaster."

Chapter 280: Chapter 280: Hiring a Hitman(4)_1

"Great Monk, you’re infuriating me! You can’t be so biased, you have to give me a bottle too, a big bottle." Si Jinhan, unable to defeat Hui Zhen, glared resentfully.

"Amitabha, Buddha said..."

"Your so-called Buddha’s teachings are bullshit, it’s all your own ideas." Si Jinhan started to curse.

"Master, at noon, I will make you sour and spicy fish. I have already prepared the homemade pickles." Lin Ziyin offered Hui Zhen a peace offering as she withdrew.

"Amitabha, in my previous life, I had a particularly close relationship with cows and chickens." Hui Zhen gave Lin Ziyin a knowing look.

"Yes, we have it all, sour fish is a new product." Lin Ziyin explained, then ran away.

"Favoritism." Si Jinhan continued to complain resentfully.

Unfortunately, Hui Zhen ignored him completely, "Benefactor, Buddha said, all people are equal, love..." Facing his nonsensical talk, Si Jinhan got so furious that he couldn’t say another word for a long time.

"Bring a writing brush with you tomorrow." Chu Suifeng ordered.

"Little girl, you never cease to surprise." Si Jinhan also sighed.

The impressive Lin Ziyin, after soaking for a while in hot water and then applying medicine, finally felt revived. It had been a long time since she had pushed herself so hard as she had that morning, getting hurt like when she was just starting to practice combat skills.

Thinking of her friends in the modern world, she felt a rush of nostalgia.

"Miss, where should we go first?" Qiaoqiao asked in front.

"Let’s go to the roast goods workshop first." Lin Ziyin answered.

In the roast goods workshop, the workers were busy in an orderly manner. Selecting, prepping, roasting, and packing; a full assembly line process. Everyone here wore clean white uniforms, the floor laid with green stone slabs, everything was spotlessly clean, not to mention the workbench, it was polished to the point that you could see your reflection.

"Miss, how should the ingredients for the ’luohan’ beans be done?" Wa Chuanhe asked, grabbing a handful of broad beans.

Lin Ziyin pinched a few beans, finding that the soaking and steaming was done right, the rest depended on how well they would fry.

"Wait a minute," Lin Ziyin said, "Come with me to the spice room first, let’s prepare some spices, then we can fry."

The spice room wasn’t a place that just anyone could enter, all the most important things for the roast goods were the spices and the oven, which Lin Ziyin didn’t trust the villagers around. People would always think of themselves when faced with self-interest, those without a bottom line were even more terrifying.

Having quickly prepared some seasonings and then let others carry it out, Lin Ziyin personally went over to the big fryer to watch the workers operate. The stove and the pot were in two separate rooms, how well it would turn out depended entirely on the cooperation between the fryer and the fire handler.

"Fry it until it’s about eighty percent done," Lin Ziyin commanded.

If the oil temperature is too high, it can easily cause overcooking, but if it’s not hot enough, the taste will be off. For the first few soups, Lin Ziyin personally supervised by the side until the person in charge of frying was proficient, then she felt relieved. There was also a bit of a trick to rolling in the ingredients, it must be done while the beans were still hot, and as there was a previous experience with green beans, the mixing personnel had gotten quite proficient.

Lin Ziyin looked at the ingredients in the oil pot, reminding the fryer to avoid letting it stick to the bottom of the pot.

"Master, don’t worry, we understand." Liang Zi said cheerfully. He and his wife made up one team, one in charge of the fire and one responsible for frying, and the two worked together seamlessly. Because of their large output, they made a lot of money last month. The couple were full of energy, knowing that as long as they worked hard, they would have good days ahead.

With the roast goods section settling down, Lin Ziyin and Qiaoqiao moved on to the bean product workshop. The bean product workshop was no longer just making tofu, tofu was also being made, and many large customers from Feng City’s restaurants came over to transport goods, but most of them were making small packages of bean products, all kinds of smoked tofu, stewed tofu, tofu stew, and stinky tofu were also jarred. This way they were able to be sold for takeaway.