Youthful Glory

"The manor is surrounded by soldiers. How did you communicate with the Shoukang Palace? I need to know how to leave the manor." In the woodshed, Ming Tan stood tall, calmly looking down at the old woman bound and thrown on the ground.

The old woman didn’t seem to mind the dirt and dust of the shed, leaning against the wall as she glanced up at her and sneered, "This servant being able to communicate with the Shoukang Palace doesn’t mean this servant has a way out."

"If not, then forget it." Ming Tan had no desire to waste words with her and turned to leave.

But the old woman called out to her, "Consort!"

Ming Tan paused.

"It’s said there’s a secret passage in the manor leading outside, but this servant doesn’t know where it is. Even if I did, someone like me wouldn’t be able to get near it—but perhaps the Consort could."

Hearing this, Ming Tan walked out without looking back.

A secret passage in the manor? The first thing Ming Tan thought of was Jiang Xu’s study.

Back then, she had only known there was a hidden chamber inside. But now, upon reflection, the guards that day seemed unaware that Jiang Xu was secretly discussing matters with someone. If they had known, they wouldn’t have let her deliver late-night snacks inside—at the very least, they should have announced her arrival first.

If the guards didn’t know, how did the people in the discussion appear in the hidden chamber out of thin air?

Realizing something, she headed straight for the study.

……

The deep winter night was pitch black, with thick clouds obscuring the moon for several days in a row. When Ming Tan emerged from the manor through the secret passage in the study, the cold outside was biting, the wind icy enough to pierce through her heavy cloak.

She boarded a gray-canopied carriage and hurried all the way to the Bieyu Tower.

Passing by the government office, she lifted the curtain and suddenly called out, "Stop the carriage."

She stepped down and walked straight to the notice board outside the office, slowly reading the edict word by word.

When Suxin had reported it earlier, she hadn’t fully believed it. But now, seeing the multiple imperial seals on the edict, the red of those seals felt especially glaring. Even more glaring was how closely this edict matched what the old woman had said.

The only difference was that Prince Dingbei wasn’t leading troops to battle against Behe in three days—it was tomorrow.

She couldn’t wait any longer. She had to see Jiang Qizhi tonight and hear his explanation in person.

That was her father, her elder brother, her clan. She couldn’t just sit idly in the manor, gambling the lives of the entire Ming family on some vague notion of trust—

While war brewed in the north and the capital was in turmoil, the Bieyu Tower remained a den of indulgence, a haven of warmth and revelry. From afar, it glittered brilliantly with lights.

Time was too tight for Ming Tan to make any thorough preparations. She simply changed into a servant’s disguise in the carriage and met her cousin from the Bai family outside the tower, entering with him.

The last time she had been here, she was still an unmarried girl. During the Qixi Festival, the outside had been lively while the inside was quiet. In Shui Ying’s chamber, she had nervously and curiously opened an illustrated book of intimate arts.

Now, the hall was resplendent, filled with the most renowned beauties of the capital’s premier tower. She even caught a glimpse of Shui Ying gracefully descending with colorful ribbons, likely performing a newly choreographed dance to a crowd of admirers.

The Bieyu Tower was as lively as ever, but those moments of unease and shyness hidden in its empty halls seemed like a lifetime ago.

"Second Cousin, stay here. I’ll go up," Ming Tan whispered.

"Ah, no! I’ll go with you. How can I let a young lady go alone?"

"It’s fine. I know what I’m doing.""That still won’t do, I—" Just as the second cousin of the Bai family was speaking, his gaze inadvertently swept past a familiar figure at the corner of the upstairs corridor. He murmured, "Why is Master Zhou here too? I thought he avoided women."

"Which Master Zhou?" Ming Tan followed his line of sight but couldn’t spot anyone after a long while.

"The advisor my father trusts the most. You know my father’s temper—like a firecracker, exploding at the slightest spark. Only Master Zhou can calm him down."

Ming Tan’s eyes suddenly froze, locking onto a figure nearly invisible in the shadows. After a long pause, her hands clenched tighter and tighter, nails digging into her flesh as if she felt no pain.

Master Zhou.

So it was him.

She had never understood why the figure she glimpsed briefly at the prince’s residence had seemed so familiar, yet she couldn’t recall where she had seen him before. Now she remembered—on the day Shu Jingran visited the mansion, the third person in the study had been him.

This favored advisor by her uncle’s side was actually Jiang Qizhi’s man.

Countless forgotten details suddenly flooded her mind at this moment—

Ming Tan recalled a long time ago when she and Bai Minmin had hidden in the study to read novels and accidentally witnessed her uncle storming in, furious and demanding to "skin the Ling Guo Gong Mansion alive." It was this Master Zhou who had gently advised him to remain calm, suggesting they wait until her father returned to the capital to avoid accusations of overstepping.

If—if what Empress Dowager Su said was true, then his schemes had begun even before she broke off her engagement with the Ling Guo Gong Mansion, hadn’t they?

Looking back now, the causes and consequences of many past events had indeed been overlooked.

How had her uncle learned about the Ling Guo Gong Mansion’s tightly concealed affair and illegitimate child? Had Master Zhou—or Prince Dingbei himself—played a role in this?

Were the family secrets of the Ling Guo Gong Mansion that her uncle had helped her uncover truly discovered by him, or were they deliberately revealed to her by Prince Dingbei through Master Zhou?

And though she had only known fragments of the truth, why had the rumors about the Ling Guo Gong Mansion later spiraled out of control, spreading like wildfire throughout the city?

……

Had her broken engagement and subsequent arranged marriage been predestined long ago?

For some reason, Ming Tan dared not dwell on it further. For a fleeting moment, she hesitated, almost afraid to take another step up the stairs.

As if stepping forward would force her to confront whether the so-called love and affection were real—or merely an illusion she had willingly embraced, despite its flimsy construction.

In truth, if she thought about it this way, she had asked, and he had answered.

"Did my husband marry me to repay a debt of gratitude? Is your kindness toward me also out of gratitude?"

"Not entirely."

She lifted her gaze to the lanterns atop the Jade Pavilion, their dazzling brilliance swirling within, so radiant it stung her eyes—

"……There’s no need to station many troops here. Given the natural defenses, the best strategy is to exhaust the enemy’s supplies and manpower. The left and right armies should focus on attacking Qiangyu and reclaiming Rongzhou—that is the primary objective of this campaign."

"Then will Your Highness and your party depart tomorrow via Qingzhou?"

"After mustering the troops and leaving the capital tomorrow, you will split into three groups and set out first. I still have matters to attend to.""Lord, are you returning to the manor?" The recent events at Jing'an Marquis Manor had been the talk of the town, with many strange occurrences. The Lord had remained silent on the matter, and even after returning to the capital yesterday, he hadn't gone back to the manor. Some curious souls couldn't help but ask.

Jiang Xu neither confirmed nor denied it.

Suddenly, his gaze paused as he glanced toward the door.

The others in the room also sensed something, and the atmosphere grew quiet.

Ming Tan had been hiding and sneaking her way up to the top floor of Bieyu Tower. Earlier, when she learned that Bieyu Tower was a property of the Prince's household, she had asked Jiang Xu and knew that if he came here, he would most likely be on the top floor.

However, the top floor was heavily guarded. She had barely taken two steps after finally making it up when the guards crossed their sword sheaths to block her path, shouting, "Who are you? No unauthorized entry is allowed here. Leave at once!"

Ming Tan remained silent for a moment before suddenly removing her hat, letting her long black hair cascade down. She lifted her eyes calmly and said, "I am Princess Consort Dingbei, here to see the Lord. Is that not allowed?"