“No, no, that’s not what I meant. Alright, alright, Mother won’t say anything more. Don’t be impulsive, it’s my fault.”

Fang Lan saw that her eldest daughter-in-law was unhappy and immediately realized she had said the wrong thing.

She hurriedly tried to console her.

If she truly pushed her eldest daughter-in-law into leaving home, her eldest son would probably jump out of his grave to find her.

Although it was just a cenotaph!

Back in the days of fierce battles, her husband had only managed to recover Yingbo’s helmet—nothing else.

A month later, they still found nothing, so they officially announced Yingbo’s death and built a cenotaph for him.

Over the years, they had accepted it.

“Mother, I’ll head back first. Please rest well.”

Shi Hui noticed her mother-in-law’s nervousness and softened her tone before getting up to leave.

“Go on, go on!”

Fang Lan quickly waved her hand guiltily, signaling her to leave.

…

Lin Yuxin followed her grandfather all the way to the Zhao family’s martial arts training ground.

Though the Zhao family came from humble beginnings, three generations had served in the military, so they had built a 100-square-meter training field at home.

It wasn’t large, but it was sufficient for the Zhao family’s needs.

As soon as Lin Yuxin entered the training field, she saw the five Zhao brothers along with her fourth and fifth uncles running laps.

She stood at the edge, watching them silently. Only after they completed five laps did she step forward.

“Fourth Uncle, Fifth Uncle, good day to my cousins!”

Lin Yuxin noticed their sweaty faces, knowing they had run more than just five laps.

“Yuxin is here!”

“Little sister Yuxin!”

The group of young men scratched their heads in embarrassment as they greeted her.

“Stand properly! Look at yourselves—what kind of posture is that?”

Zhao Shijie, unimpressed by their sloppy stance, scolded them.

Immediately, the young men straightened up, standing at attention with focused gazes.

Lin Yuxin tried to stifle a laugh.

[“I never expected my uncles and cousins to be so afraid of Grandfather!”]

“Yuxin, you decide how to train them. I’m handing them over to you.”

Zhao Shijie ignored Lin Yuxin’s amused thoughts and directly placed the group under her command.

If these boys weren’t afraid of him, wouldn’t they be impossible to control?

“Alright!”

Lin Yuxin nodded, then turned to her uncles and cousins. Her expression suddenly turned serious as she spoke coldly:

“Today, I’m here to assess your training progress over the past month, including your medication use. We have two tasks. The first is a physical endurance test. You’ll repeat everything I taught you a month ago so I can evaluate your weaknesses.”

“You have half an hour to complete all the exercises.”

“What?!”

“Ah! That’s too hard!”

“I can only finish half in thirty minutes!”

“I might just barely pass…”

Upon hearing Lin Yuxin’s requirements, the boys wailed in despair.

A month ago, when she had them start from scratch—even bringing in little Zhao Chenfeng, who was only a few years old—they had been confused.

Take the eldest, Zhao Chenxi, for example.

He had learned martial arts from their grandfather and father since childhood and had some skill.

So when Lin Yuxin asked him to start over, he found it strange.

But since she was their little sister, they indulged her, treating it as a game.

However, now, completing everything in just thirty minutes?

That was a lot—really a lot.

Push-ups, sit-ups, sprints, frog jumps, one-legged squats, 400-meter obstacle runs, weighted long-distance runs, monkey bar exercises, crawling through barbed wire, dumbbell workouts, resistance training, arm strength drills, ground rolls, and crawling forward…

All sorts of bizarre exercises.

At first, they had been exhausted beyond belief, but with the medicinal baths Lin Yuxin provided, they recovered quickly.

That was the only reason they had managed to persist for over a month.

“Alright, let’s begin!”

Lin Yuxin ignored their complaints and gave the command.

Though reluctant, the boys still obeyed. After all, she was their only little sister, and they had been training for so long—there was no real fear left.

The seven young men lined up, ready to start running.

“Go!”

Lin Yuxin shouted.

Like predators spotting prey, the boys sprinted forward at full speed.

Their movements were agile, their speed incredible.

Lin Yuxin nodded in satisfaction—they had taken their training seriously.

She observed for a while, then took out a notebook and began jotting things down.

Gradually, differences between them became apparent.

The first to fall behind was the youngest, Zhao Chenfeng.

Then Zhao Chendong. Surprisingly, Zhao Changhai was the third to lag, which shocked Lin Yuxin since he was four years younger than Zhao Chendong.

After that came Zhao Chenxuan and Zhao Chenxi, while the two uncles remained in the lead.

Time passed quickly.

The first to complete all tasks was Fourth Uncle, followed by Zhao Chenxi, who overtook Fifth Uncle in the final challenge.

By the end, everyone was completely exhausted, lying flat on the ground, panting heavily.

“Ah! I’m dying!”

“Little sister Yuxin, where did you come up with these training exercises? They’re brutal!”

Zhao Chendong groaned as he lay on the ground. The previous training wasn’t this intense, but now, he felt like he was on the brink of death.

“Useless! Complaining over a little training! If you disgrace our Zhao family outside, don’t say you’re one of us!”

Zhao Shijie and Lin Yuxin approached just in time to hear the complaints. His face darkened as he scolded them.

The boys shivered and immediately shut their mouths, struggling to stand up, heads bowed in silence.

Oh no.

They had forgotten Grandfather was still here. Now they were definitely going to be punished.

“Grandfather, my uncles and cousins are already tired. Let’s end training for today. Please don’t be too harsh on them.”

Seeing them shrink back like frightened turtles, Lin Yuxin’s stern expression softened slightly as she stepped in to help.

“Fine. For Yuxin’s sake, I’ll let you off today. But remember, there are no cowards or deserters in the Zhao family!”

Zhao Shijie relented but still issued a stern warning.

“Understood, Grandfather!”

They responded in unison, secretly grateful for their little sister.

“Alright, now for the second task—taking your pulse. I’ll check your health after a month of training and adjust your training plans accordingly.”

Lin Yuxin smiled.

“Phew! I thought we had another round of hellish training!”

Zhao Chenfeng patted his chest in relief.

“Keep your voice down! If Grandfather hears you, you’re dead.”

Zhao Changhai whispered a warning.

Zhao Chenfeng immediately shut his mouth.

Zhao Shijie ordered the servants to prepare a rest area next to the training ground.

Inside, the room was simple—just a few chairs and a wooden table, already set with tea.