Youthful Glory

The night passed with the wind stilled and the trees silent. Early the next morning, Jiang Xu and his party accompanied Emperor Chengkang as they set off toward the hunting grounds deep in the dense forest.

Ming Tan had no energy to exert herself today. She hadn’t even changed into her riding attire. After seeing Jiang Xu off outside the tent, she burrowed back under the covers and slept until the Sixth Princess’s chattering outside the tent forced Lǜ'e to come in and wake her.

Lǜ'e, however, was too considerate to disturb her. But the back-and-forth argument outside had already roused Ming Tan from her slumber.

She lay there for a moment, staring blankly at the tent ceiling, then propped herself up against the embroidered pillow and called out, "Let the Sixth Princess in."

Silence finally fell outside.

Led in by Lǜ'e, the Sixth Princess saw Ming Tan drowsily leaning by the bedside and suddenly felt a pang of guilt. "Did I disturb your rest?"

"You should know you did," Ming Tan replied sleepily, casting her a glance.

The Sixth Princess rubbed her nose, her guilt fleeting, and promptly sat down beside the bed, shaking Ming Tan’s arm impatiently. "Well, since you’re already awake, you might as well get up quickly."

Dizzy from the shaking, Ming Tan called for her to stop and sighed. "Fine, I’m getting up now."

Hearing this, Lǜ'e gave a slight curtsy and quietly withdrew.

Soon after, she returned with four maids to assist with washing and dressing.

The Sixth Princess stepped aside, assuming it would take no more than a quarter of an hour before they could leave the tent together. But to her surprise, one quarter passed, then another… an entire hour later—after she had even gone back to her own tent to change into a more comfortable pair of old boots—Ming Tan was still at her toilette!

The Sixth Princess was baffled. Why did her hands need to soak in goat’s milk? Why were petals added to the milk? What was that paste applied afterward? Why rinse it off with water after a while? And what was that final layer being smoothed on?

"Your Highness may not know this," Lǜ'e explained as she combed Ming Tan’s hair, "but the Princess Consort must care for her hands with fresh goat’s milk every morning and night. The milk must be no more than two hours old, strained before soaking, then followed by a thick layer of jade cream. After washing that off, she applies a honeyed dew made from morning dew. Only with such meticulous daily care can her hands remain soft, smooth, and free of fine lines."

The Sixth Princess listened in stunned silence. Just as Lǜ'e finished styling Ming Tan’s elaborate coiffure and set down the comb, she turned slightly and curtsied again. "With our limited supplies on this journey, we must make do. Please forgive the impropriety, Your Highness."

"…"

She had indeed witnessed it—but found nothing laughable about it.

"You… do all Daxian women live like this…?"

Ming Tan covered a yawn lazily. "Not all. That cousin of mine you saw yesterday gets ready quite quickly in the morning."

The Sixth Princess felt slightly comforted—otherwise, she wouldn’t have known whether she or the women of Daxian lived more like princesses.

In her daze, she had forgotten that her purpose in seeking out Ming Tan that morning was to teach her archery and show off her own skills. Only when Ming Tan finally finished her routine did she exclaim, "Why aren’t you wearing your riding clothes?!"

"Why should I? I was too tired yesterday. I don’t feel like going into the forest today."

"…?"

Wait—how was burying rabbits by the forest’s edge with her friends yesterday exhausting? And how was it a "dense forest" when the imperial camp was just a few steps away?Ming Tan signaled Lǜ'e to massage her neck for a while, then said lazily, "Besides, there's an archery competition tomorrow that will take up most of the day. I need to stay in camp today to rest and conserve my energy. Oh, I've also invited some people to play backgammon. Would Sixth Princess like to join?"

"..."

"Then I'd better go hunt some game first," Sixth Princess pouted. "My imperial brother is terrible at archery. If we end up with pitifully few trophies, wouldn't that damage the prestige of our Nanlü Kingdom!"

Ming Tan looked at her with an admiring gaze that clearly said "I never expected this from you," staring so long that Sixth Princess grew embarrassed. Throwing out a "What are you looking at?" she dashed away in a huff.

After leaving Ming Tan's tent, Sixth Princess didn't delay. She mounted her horse and rode alone into the dense forest.

Her equestrian and archery skills were quite good, but today as she ventured deeper, she had no choice but to have more guards accompany her.

Annoyed by the guards following behind, she flicked her whip and shouted, "Giddyap!" Suddenly leaving the guards far behind.

Galloping swiftly through the dense woods, she suddenly spotted a white figure leaping past at incredible speed.

Huh? A white fox?

She gave chase—

It really was a white fox.

When it reached a thick tree, the fox leisurely wagged its tail and rested against the roots.

For some reason, she suddenly thought how beautiful this white fox fur would look as a cloak for that embroidered pillow.

With this in mind, she reined in her horse and raised her bow, concentrating fully on aiming at the oblivious little white fox in the distance. But her horse seemed to have been bitten by some wild insect in the forest, suddenly lifting its hooves and shaking restlessly.

This jolt caused Sixth Princess, who had loosened her reins, to sway precariously on horseback. With the arrow already nocked, she had no choice but to release it—but it flew off course, who knows where!

"Clang!"

Ahead came the sound of an arrow being deflected.

Sixth Princess didn't have time to look, busy trying to regain control of the reins. Amidst the chaotic blur of white light and tree shadows, someone suddenly wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her away from the increasingly frenzied horse. Within moments, she was safely seated on another steed.

Her heartbeat raced wildly from the sudden turn of events. Still shaken and mind blank, all she saw before her was a broad, straight back.

The guards quickly caught up. The new horse advanced a short distance before stopping. The person seated in front of her nimbly dismounted, bowing his head with clasped hands in apology. "My lady, exigent circumstances compelled me to act. I apologize for any impropriety."

"Sixth Princess!" the guards called from behind.

The man paused slightly, then added, "My respects to Sixth Princess."

By now Sixth Princess had regained her composure, though her heartbeat showed no signs of slowing. She studied the man before her intently.

His martial skills were exceptional, his features strikingly handsome, radiating youthful vigor.

After a long moment, she asked, "Who are you?"

"This humble one is Shen Yu."

When the approaching guards recognized Shen Yu, they immediately knelt on one knee in salute. "Our respects to Young General Shen."

Sixth Princess grew even more curious. "You're a general of Daxian?"

Shen Yu constantly remembered Cousin Tan's teachings about propriety. Just wrapping his arm around someone's waist had made him extremely uncomfortable, and now he didn't even dare raise his eyes to look at her, merely nodding slightly in acknowledgment.The Sixth Princess wanted to ask more, but Shen Yu had no intention of lingering. Before she could speak, he cupped his hands again and said, "Your Highness, it's best to have your guards accompany you during the hunt in the dense forest. If there's nothing else, this general will take his leave."

The Sixth Princess paused, watching his hurried figure retreat into the distance, then suddenly realized, "Hey! Don't go! This princess still has matters to discuss!"

Shen Yu quickened his pace.

"Your horse!"

But Shen Yu had already vanished from sight.

The Sixth Princess felt inexplicably annoyed. Stroking the horse beneath her, she muttered to herself, "Why are people from Daxian so strange? If he wanted to leave, fine, but did he really have to abandon his horse too? What a fool!"

She gently patted the horse's head, then murmured after a while, "But this fool isn't any worse than Prince Dingbei. I wonder if he's betrothed... He'd make a fine consort, at least much better than the one Father has his eye on."