Contrary to what Anji expected, she overheated before reaching forty breaths. After thirty breaths, Anji felt extrely dizzy and had to call for Lizi to assist her out of the tub. Her cheeks were flushed, and she was dehydrated, much to Lizi’s panic. Anji couldn’t help but feel a sense of frustration and disappointnt in herself, her body’s limitations becoming more apparent.
After helping Anji to change and giving her a cold wipe down, Lizi carefully tucked Anji into bed and urgently summoned the family physician to attend to the young princess, who had once again caused a stir with her health.
"It’s not serious," the family physician gave Anji a knowing look after taking her pulse. "She must have stayed too long in the tub. From now on, the young mistress is only allowed to soak for up to twenty minutes in the tub, no longer than that. Although hot water helps to relieve the muscle ache, overdoing it ends up creating other problems."
Doctor He Qiu might not be a cultivator, but he knew a stubborn patient when he saw one. In na, he was the family physician working in the Celestial Dragon Sect. In reality, his only patient was Zhao Anji. After Zhao Mingfeng, Anji’s father, pestered him endlessly, He Qiu finally decided to give humanity a second chance and ended up working for the sect. Nobody better understood Anji’s personality and condition than him, having been with her since birth.
"It was good that you called for Lizi before you fainted in the tub. Drowning in the tub is not uncommon. No doctors can revive a dead person," the doctor admonished. His thin moustache twitched with agitation as he lectured.
There were not many scary people in the Celestial Dragon Sect that Anji feared. Even Bai Dajin wasn’t as terrifying as Doctor He Qiu when angry. Anji had been on the receiving end of many seemingly rciful punishnts when she failed to heed his advice. The family pharmacist and dicine shed was one place not even her parents had any say in. According to Lizi, Doctor He Qiu used to be very famous among non-cultivators. People sought him from distant lands for treatnt. However, an unfortunate incident ruined him forever, and if not for her father begging Doctor He to co with him to the sect, He Qiu would have led the life of a beggar until he eventually starved to death.
With his strict and unbending personality, Anji thought Doctor He would offend many people regardless of their background. It was one of the reasons why she found him scary. Another reason was how his slanted and sharp eyes would stare straight into her soul as if telling her he knew exactly what mischief she was up to. Even if she did not spill the beans, he could tell what she had done with a quick pulse reading.
Behind the doctor, Zhao Mingfeng sighed. Of his four children, Yihao was the one who usually caused him a headache. Mingshen and Ruiting would occasionally cause problems, but those issues were usually quickly resolved. The powerful Celestial Dragon Sect could compensate for their heirs’ mistakes without much difficulty. However, when an heir unintendingly self-harms, no amount of power, knowledge, connections or wealth can solve the problem.
"Anji, my daughter..." Zhao Mingfeng sat beside his dizzy daughter’s bed after Doctor He took his leave. What will I do with you? Just yesterday, your teacher gave a new lesson plan to conduct with you. You’d only stopped physical training today, and already, you’ve collapsed. How can I send you to the Mystical Qilin Sect with peace of mind?"
There was nothing Anji could say to refute or defend herself. After all, it was her fault that she ended up almost fainting. The look of worry hurt more than disappointnt. The one feeling Anji hated more in this world than sadness was helplessness.
Looking nervously between the master and the young mistress, Lizi quickly thought of a solution to lighten the sombre atmosphere.
"Master, how about reading her a book and sharing with the young mistress about so cultivation theory basics instead? The young mistress might be unable to leave her bed today, but I can bring so books from the library over."
It wasn’t a bad suggestion. Mingfeng considered suitable cultivation theory books to teach Anji without interfering with Yan Ping’s successor training. Unlike Ruiting, Yihao and Mingshen, who received basic cultivation theory lessons when they were young, Anji wasn’t even taught how to read or count until recently. He had no idea how much Anji knew and where Mingshen stopped teaching her. It was better to cover all the basics again.
"How many words can you read?" he asked.
Anji paused. Do people usually count the number of words they recognise when reading? Normally, Anji would choose a book that looked interesting and pick it up from there. If there was a word she did not recognise, she would ask Brother Mingshen or consult the dictionary alone. It did not take long for Anji to rember new characters. However, writing was different. Her penmanship was still very ssy because the brushes were too big for her, and ink often got into her sleeves. If her father only referred to reading, Anji was confident enough to say she knew more than a thousand words after reading for over a year.
"I’m not sure," she replied. "But I know how to read the Doctrine of the an without consulting a dictionary now."
If the average scribe needed to know about three thousand characters to write letters and notices, a scholar must know about five thousand characters. If Anji did not need a dictionary to read the Doctrine of the an that was written for top scholars, Mingfeng estimated Anji to know more than five thousand characters. It took the lord of the Celestial Dragon Sect many years to fully rember every word in the Doctrine of the an and more years to grasp their profound aning. However, his three-year-old daughter claid to be able to do it easily. Even as a father, he found it hard to believe.
"Bring the Doctrine of the an to ," he told Lizi. "And a dictionary."
Obeying the request, Lizi quickly left to fetch the two books. Unlike the master, she had been by Anji’s side constantly. If not for that, she would also find it difficult to believe such a young child could read as well as a scholar. Anji struggled to read at first. However, she worked hard to rember all the new words even after her bedti. Lizi knew this because she saw the young mistress secretly lighting a candle at night and reviewing her lesson with a dictionary. However, as it was dangerous for her young mistress to light a candle by herself, the witty maidservant often left an incense candle burning in the corner of Anji’s bedroom. Although the incense candle only lasted four hours, it was enough for Anji.
Back in the bedroom, Mingfeng studied his child. Of all his children, Anji was the dearest but also the most difficult to fathom. He could never know what she was thinking.
"Anji," he called out, reaching to stoke her cheek. "Do you like studying?"
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