Murim's Weakest Princess-Chapter 42: Picture Book

After lunch, Anji hugged her mother, who left reluctantly to return to work. Lizi was still made to rest, so the other maids assisted Anji with her massage.

Gu Ying had no idea why an assistant teacher was assigned to remain by Anji’s side until dinner. Although her official work started tomorrow, she could not defy the Madam’s orders. Hence, she stood guard inside Anji’s bedroom and watched the small girl groan in agony at the massage the other maids were giving her.

"What’s Manchuria like?" Anji asked. "Is it pretty? Can you see the ocean from there?"

Happy to share more about her country of origin with Anji, Gu Ying reminisced about the little memories she had about her childhood while her parents were still alive. frёewebnoѵēl.com

"We’re nomads," she explained. "All the people born in the grassland are nomads. Some raise horses, while others raise sheep. The sky was very huge, and there was nothing but grass and snow as far as the eye could see."

Anji listened to Gu Ying recount the condors and wild horses she encountered during her travels. The Manchu people loved their music and hunting competitions during their free time. They drank strong alcohol even as children and ate weird food like sausages made from blood and sheep cheese.

Somewhere in the middle of the story, Anji fell asleep. Gu Ying smiled at the sleeping child as the maids bowed and left the bedroom. The teaching aide was about to do the same when she spotted a pile of books on the table. They were all related to medicine.

After exiting the room, she approached a nearby maid on standby duty.

"Those books on the table... do they belong to the young miss?"

Smiling proudly, the maid on duty praised Anji’s intelligence and reading ability even at an early age. According to her, Mingshen taught Anji how to write her name at the age of two in secret because the sect master refused to enrol Anji in formal lessons.

"Although the young miss still cannot count, she can easily read the Doctrine of the Mean without the dictionary. Master was very impressed and had nothing more to teach her. That’s why Madam took over her morning lessons to teach her martial arts."

Cannot count? Contrary to popular belief, basic arithmetic skills were required in learning martial arts. Some of the natural practitioners remember best by moving their bodies. However, regular learners must count the number of rotations and remember angles when learning a routine. Spatial awareness was equally important when dealing with longer weapons like the staff and spear. Even without weapons, it was common to count heads and steps when sparring to prevent fatal injuries. A slight shift in the angle of elevation could lead to broken craniums and internal injuries.

With another two hours before Anji woke up, Gu Ying wondered what she could do as a teacher aide. Even after watching Wanting’s demonstration, it was probably difficult for Anji to remember everything. Not many people could remember an entire set of martial arts with only one look. Gu Ying would have forgotten at least half of that if she had been told to only observe from a distance. Most martial arts were written into manuals with precise instructions for the movements. It was up to the practitioner to interpret the movements according to their body’s compatibility with those instructions. The calculations were brief and not measured with specific units like inches or degrees. However, the books often included measurement units such as "an arm’s length" or "half a step to the right". For anyone without martial arts basics, these directions would be confusing.

Leafing through the pages of the books ANji was reading, Gu Ying realised these weren’t textbooks. Correction, they weren’t textbooks for scholars or children. They were professional medical journals with illustrations of meridian flows and herbs.

Seeing the graphic diagrams and pictures, Gu Ying suddenly had an idea. Although uncommon in the Central Plains, her people used to learn while travelling with carved wooden plaques that contained common characters. Children would gather in the teacher’s caravan tent to review the words together and learn about the outside world when the teacher drew in a large sandbox. They also practised writing with a sandbox. It was less wasteful than using paper because they could level the sand repeatedly to practise writing without throwing anything away.

Maybe she could help Anji master the Taiji Fist quicker with a detailed drawing of each pose from various angles. Like the medical journals, Gu Ying planned to do a more detailed picture of key points to take note of. The only downside to the picture book was the lack of clarity in connecting those movements. However, it was better to memorise those movement poses before learning how to connect them.

"Sorry," Gu Ying smiled at a maid on standby. "Could I borrow some paper and brushes? I’d like to draw a picture book to help Anji study the martial arts taught earlier."

Hearing the request, the new maid beamed and nodded eagerly. What a novel idea!

Together, the maids worked quickly and silently not to wake their sleeping young lady. Gu Ying noticed they also brought the expensive coloured ink to the writing desk. Although she had seen how much the clan adored Anji, the display of wealth here surprised her once more. She only intended to draw using black ink because that was the cheapest. One bottle of coloured ink would cost as much as a bale of silk. Most people would not be able to afford it.

"Is it really alright to use coloured ink for a simple picture book?" Gu Ying asked hesitantly.

Puzzled, the maids looked at the writing supplies and smiled mysteriously.

"If it is for the young lady, you don’t need to worry about expenses. The master and Madam are aware of it. If you feel uncomfortable using coloured ink, we also have a variety of coloured chalk and the special charcoal pencils that the master created for our young mistress."

Charcoal pencil? Curious, Gu Ying held the fragile writing tool in her hand as the maids brought out the coloured chalk. The Celestial Dragon Sect spared no expense when it came to the well-being of their youngest daughter. Hence, Gu Ying felt it would be inappropriate to stinge on the quality of her picture books, especially if it were for the young lady’s personal use. Children loved colourful things, from candies to kites. It was no different for a book.

"I would like to complete the book before the young mistress wakes up," Gu Ying whispered to the maids. "Could you help me colour and dry the sheets while I draw? I’d also need some strings to bind the pages together later."

Thrilled that they would be tasked to help with the special picture book, the maids divided their tasks efficiently. Leaving matters to their capable hands, Gu Ying started drawing. She left the design of the book’s protective sleeve to a maid who was great at embroidery. Another maid was in charge of creating the book cover as she was the only one who had some knowledge about bookbinding and calligraphy.

Together, Gu Ying and the team of maids worked with minimal noise. Page by page, Anji’s picture book came to life while she slept.