"You... want to increase the intensity?" Li Wanming was a bit incredulous.
She looked at the expressions of the three girls, which clearly read, "No, we don't want to exercise. We just want to teach Lu Ping and Wu Yao a lesson."
However, Qing Lan scowled, glaring fiercely at Lu Ping and Wu Yao. But what came out of her mouth was, "Yes. I think we've been a bit slack lately. We sincerely ask cousin-in-law to make a new fitness plan for us."
"Are you sure?"
Li Wanming looked at Qing Lan. With her big frame and strong build, she looked exactly like a healthy farm woman.
Cai Wei was no less impressive, with powerful arms that were almost like a bodybuilder's!
Among the three of them, only Zi Fu still vaguely retained her once delicate and graceful appearance. But overall, she had also bulked up and looked no different from an ordinary farm girl.
They were already like this... and they still wanted to increase their training?
Cai Wei gritted her teeth but nodded seriously. Then she pushed Zi Fu in front of Li Wanming.
"Cousin-in-law, I think Zi Fu's physical strength is still not good enough. Yesterday, after just washing three basins of clothes, she was too tired to even lift a bucket. How can this be? Cousin-in-law must strengthen her arm strength training today."
Ever since Cai Wei and Qing Lan started receiving a substantial monthly allowance from Li Wanming, they had completely switched sides and were now firmly on the side of the great mistress Li.
The two of them despised Zi Fu's attempts to climb into the prince's bed. They couldn't understand Zi Fu's mindset of wanting to be a concubine so badly.
Wasn't it nice to stay close to the princess and receive ten taels of silver every month, just like they did?
Why did she have to hang onto the prince, who already had a wife?
Moreover, the princess had promised them that if they opened branch stores in the future, they would all be made the big managers of those stores!
Oh my god! Going from being a maid in the palace to becoming a powerful businesswoman was such a worthy thing to strive for!
Just thinking about it made one's blood boil.
Why couldn't Zi Fu, with her thick skull, understand this?
Cai Wei and Qing Lan discussed and both thought that Zi Fu needed to be disciplined!
As sisters from the same palace, even though they didn't like Zi Fu, they didn't want to see her go down the wrong path. They thought it was necessary to give her a hand.
This girl Zi Fu... just needed to suffer a bit!
So, taking the opportunity to try to keep Li Wanming, Cai Wei hurriedly pushed Zi Fu forward.
Since doing laundry and making chicken soup hadn't made you see the situation clearly, then have a good workout today. Let your body and mind go through a baptism of blood and fire!
Li Wanming walked around Zi Fu twice. "Hmm, this little body does need some strengthening... Zi Fu, do you really want to become stronger?"
She looked at the girl in front of her intently with bright eyes.
Zi Fu was about to cry...
But she didn't dare to defy Cai Wei and Qing Lan.
Cai Wei and Qing Lan were both first-class maids under the princess and were half her superiors.
When they returned to the palace in the future, she would still have to work under them.
Zi Fu could only hold back her tears and nod sobbingly. "Yes, I want to become stronger. Please train me, cousin-in-law..."
"Since that's the case, let's start!"
Li Wanming put her hands behind her back and stood to one side, starting to give them instructions.
"Your physical strength has improved a lot. Traditional exercises like running, frog jumps, and high knees are no longer suitable. We need to use some equipment."
She asked Wu Yao to fetch two small buckets of water and ordered Zi Fu to hold the buckets horizontally. "Fifteen times is one set. You can rest for thirty breaths in between. Do three sets."
Then she tied bricks to Cai Wei and Qing Lan's ankles. "My second sister said this is called weighted running. Once you get used to it and then remove the bricks, you'll be as light as a swallow... Well, you two, run ten kilometers first!"
Of course, she didn't spare Lu Ping and Wu Yao either.
"This axle was taken off a broken carriage and hasn't been repaired yet. You two use this. Tie a rope to it and drag it back and forth fifty times!"
"However, remember what I told you before. Warm up first, go slowly, and gradually increase the intensity. Don't get injured!"
The yard became lively again.
Li Wanming stood under the eaves, hands on her hips, looking at everything in front of her very satisfied.
Good.
Very good!
This proved that her transformation efforts in the previous period had been very effective.
These cousins, who used to be idle and knew nothing about work, finally loved fitness and sports!
Only Xiao Jingnan quietly hid behind the door of the side room, head down, covering his face with his sleeve, feeling very guilty.
Every time someone ran past him, he would whisper,
"You've worked hard. I'm really sorry..."
"After today, I'll treat you to a big meal..."
He knew that the "cousins" were doing this for his own good. They wanted to keep Li Wanming by his side to help him through this difficult time.
At first, they had thought of many ways, such as pretending to be sick, setting the house on fire, or knocking Li Wanming out...
But later they thought that since it was the prince's birthday, it wasn't appropriate to do such inauspicious things. So... exercise!
Anyway, strengthening the body was always a good thing.
When Li Wanming first gave the orders, Xiao Jingnan also wanted to persuade her. "My dear, they've been busy with the wine shop and family affairs lately. They're tired. You don't have to be so strict. You can make it a bit easier..."
But Lu Ping and Wu Yao both stared wide-eyed and gritted their teeth. "Cousin, we specifically kept cousin-in-law today because we want a really intense workout!"
If the intensity was too low, it would end soon. How could they keep Li Wanming until midnight?
Seeing their enthusiasm, Li Wanming was filled with pride. "Good. My husband and I haven't run for a long time. We'll run with you today!"
Xiao Jingnan gasped and the smile on his face froze. "I... I don't think I need to..."
Li Wanming had already tied bricks to his ankles and wrapped them with cloth. Then she patted his shoulder. "What are you waiting for? Let's go!"
This large-scale sports event lasted for the whole morning, and everyone was exhausted.
However, after lunch and a short nap of half an hour, Cai Wei and Qing Lan called Li Wanming up again.
"Cousin-in-law, let's continue training!"
The two of them had extremely determined looks in their eyes.
Li Wanming rubbed her sore legs. "Okay! Cousin-in-law will accompany you all today, even if it means sacrificing myself!"
However, the intensity in the afternoon was finally a bit lower.
Li Wanming said that even when exercising, one should combine work and rest.
In the evening, Uncle Zhong and Nanny Yu brought a barbecue grill and said that everyone had worked hard recently. They had specially bought some excellent venison. Tonight, everyone would barbecue venison in the yard.
It gradually got dark.
The Prince and Princess of Ning sat under the eaves, covered with blankets, watching the children in the yard laughing and playing.
The firewood crackled, making everyone's faces glow red.
The golden-brown venison emitted an alluring aroma, and the grease dripped into the fire, making a sizzling sound.
They didn't use wine bowls but each held a jar of Jin Yutang wine and drank heartily.
Li Wanming had been brewing wine for so long, but she had never drunk as happily as today.
She didn't remember how much she had drunk. She only vaguely heard the night watchman strike the midnight bell.
With a hazy look in her eyes, she pointed at the sky. "Look, it's snowing."