The next morning, Qian Meiling had a hearty breakfast of congee and rice.
When the sun rose, Qian Meiling was already wide awake and dressed. She had the maids arrange her hair and apply some light makeup to her face.
She put on a beautiful light green dress with golden flowers embroidered into the cloth, making her look even more beautiful and elegant.
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince is here."
"Hmm, alright." Qian Meiling nodded her head as she heard Lulu's words. "Bring him here."
"Yes, your Highness." Lulu bowed and left.
After a few minutes, Lulu brought in a young man with two people behind him.
The young man had a handsome face with a strong jawline, sharp eyes, and a tall stature. His shoulders were broad and he wore a white robe with a golden dragon embroidered on it. He looked to be in his late teens.
"Greetings to the Eldest Princess." He cupped his hands together and bowed, his voice calm and deep.
"Crown brother." Qian Meiling replied, raising her hand as a sign for him to rise. "Please, have a seat."
The crown prince nodded his head and walked over to the chair in front of Qian Meiling, sitting down.
"Thank you- for coming on such short notice. I hope I wasn't interrupting- anything important." She said softly, her voice sounding gentle and soothing.
"No, not at all." The crown prince shook his head, a smile forming on his face. "I am always ready to come to my Eldest sister's aid."
Qian Meiling smiled back, but did not reply.
"Well then, I think it's time that we start discussing why you called me here."
Qian Meiling nodded but looked at the two men behind him, before gesturing to them to leave.
The two men hesitated for a moment, and turned to the Crown Prince.
"Those two are my personal guards." Qian Renran said.
Qian Meiling nodded in understanding before sighing. "Crown Brother, this must stay between us."
"What?" The Crown Prince asked, frowning slightly.
Qian Meiling raised her arm and gestured towards her maids. "Please leave us alone for a while."
"But, your Highness..." The maid protested.
"It is fine. I am with my brother. He won't do anything to me." Qian Meiling waved off the maid's concern.
Lulu glanced at Qian Meiling before nodding her head.
Qian Renran also looked at his guards and they frowned.
"Crown Prince, it isn't wise to leave you alone, especially now with the..." One of the guards whispered into his ear.
"It's fine." Renran interrupted before glancing at Qian Meiling.
"Shin Lin, you can leave me alone with my sister for five minutes. Nothing should happen at that time."
Shin Lin looked at him worriedly, but nodded his head and left.
Qian Renran looked at his sister again. "What is it? Is there something important that needs my attention?"
Qian Meiling shook her head. "Not really, but I wanted to talk to you about my future."
Renran raised his eyebrows. "Oh? What about it?"
Qian Meiling paused for a second before grabbing a cup of tea and taking a sip. She then looked back up at her brother.
"Father is planning to marry me off to the Tang Empire, right?" She asked calmly.
Qian Renran froze for a moment. He hadn't expected his sister to find out about this.
"How did you know?" He finally asked after a while.
"Emperor Father sent me a letter." She said, taking a deep breath.
"I'm not stupid enough to- not understand." She added after a while.
Qian Renran nodded his head, and started to fiddle with a gold coin.
"My dear sister, this shouldn't be the reason why you called me. You well know that the Emperor's decision cannot be changed."
"No, it's not that. I just wanted to ask if- if you will teach me internal strength."
Qian Renran widened his eyes in surprise, staring at her for a long time before shaking his head. "I can't."
Qian Meiling smiled wryly and nodded. "I know. Even though women aren't- supposed to learn internal strength, I still want to know how to protect myself. I'm stuck here and can't even move."
Qian Renran sighed. "Sister, even if you learned internal strength, what would it change? If anyone finds out that you practiced internal strength, then you would be executed."
Finishing speaking, he also grabbed a cup of tea while still fidgeting the gold coin.
"I now understand why you wanted everyone to leave the room." He said with a wry smile. "You really want to learn internal strength, huh? Why? Do you have some hidden lover or something?"
Qian Meiling laughed lightly, but then immediately started coughing due to shortness of breath.
"Be careful!" Qian Renan said, helping her relieve her cough.
"Don't worry brother. I don't have any- any such intentions. I just want to learn how to defend myself. I'm tired of being a cripple, unable to do anything bu- but lie around all day." She said, taking another sip, "Isn't the Crown Prince of the Tang Empire marrying me? If I don't learn how to defend myself, what will happen to me?"
Qian Renran was silent for a while, the coin in his hand flipping between each finger like a snake. His head was shaking side to side as he mulled over his sister's words.
"You are right, it is true that I am worried about your safety." He said after a few minutes of silence. "But you are weak, you would never be able to defeat someone else in battle. And even if you could, it would only take a few seconds for them to overpower you. So how can you protect yourself?"
Qian Meiling stared at her brother with a smile on her face. "I have a plan. You will help me, right?"
Qian Renran shook his head. "If you were anyone else, I would definitely refuse. But you are my beloved sister. I will do as you wish. However, this will be our secret. If anyone finds out, then I can't guarantee your safety. You also must promise me that it wasn't me who taught you this, alright?"
Qian Meiling smiled and nodded her head and handed him some ink and paper.
Qian Renran started to draw something on the paper.
After he finished drawing, Qian Renran looked up at his sister.
"These are the two forms of internal strength. The first form is called 'Inner', the second form is called 'Extrenal'." Qian Renran said as he pointed to the paper.
"Inner means the energy of your body. It is the energy that flows through your veins, nourishing your flesh and blood. Your body's energy is the most powerful and dangerous force in the empire. If you can control your body's energy, then you can kill any man with a single blow."
He explained while pointing at the paper. "The second form is external, which uses your Internal strength and attaches onto something like a weapon. It can even be used on skin to pick up poisonous items and such. However, External strength can only be used once you have enough Internal strength."
Qian Meiling listened carefully as she stared at the drawing.
Qian Renran paused for a moment before continuing.
"I will only teach you the Inner form, since it is the simplest of the two." He said, pointing to the drawings.
"To learn Internal Strength, you must first work your body to exhaustion. Then, when your body reaches its limit, you will feel your energy flow through your veins. At this point, you must focus on channeling this energy into your chest, then into your heart. This will allow you to cultivate your internal strength."
Qian Meiling listened attentively as she tried to memorize everything.
Qian Renran continued explaining for a while, before finally saying, "This is all I can tell you. The rest is up to you. As for training, you should start by running every morning for at least two hours." Saying that, he paused and took a look at his sister, "Maybe a two minute walk will do."
Qian Meiling smiled bitterly and nodded her head. "Thank you- for telling me this."
Qian Renran shrugged. "It's not much, and I hope it helps you. However, remember what I said, if anyone finds out about this, you'll be executed. Don't make me regret teaching you this."
Qian Meiling nodded her head seriously, and then picked up the piece of paper.
Just as she picked up the paper, Qian Renran's expression changed and said, "Watch out!"