Youthful Glory

Pregnant?

Ming Tan's mind went blank for a moment.

Earlier when she was vomiting, she had vaguely suspected this possibility amidst her shock and confusion. But now that the news had actually come from the imperial physician's mouth, she still couldn't quite process it.

She sat motionless on the couch for a long while, her fair jade-like wrist adorned with a blue lotus bracelet resting on the pulse pillow, fingertips trembling slightly, equally reluctant to withdraw.

Everyone in the room was overjoyed, surrounding Ming Tan with exclamations and sighs. It was Zhou Jingwan who first regained her composure, immediately instructing servants to fetch blankets and hand warmers. Bai Minmin quickly followed suit, urgently sending someone to inform Jiang Xu at the capital garrison. The room suddenly became a flurry of activity—freshly brewed warm congee, thick blankets—all soon piled before Ming Tan.

The news came too suddenly, and everyone was too shocked and delighted to remember to keep it secret. In no time, the news spread like wings throughout Prince Dingbei's Manor, even showing signs of flying beyond its walls.

Uncle Fu received the happy news and first leaned back, rolled his eyes, and fainted from joy. Upon waking, he wiped his tears and briskly headed straight for the ancestral hall. It's said the old man knelt outside the hall, kowtowing and murmuring prayers of gratitude for a full half hour.

Jiang Xu had been handling military affairs at the capital garrison today. Two of his generals had clashed, coming to blows over a disagreement, both ending up injured in a rather embarrassing incident.

He had just finished dealing with the two when someone from the manor came to report.

"What?" Jiang Xu looked up. "Say that again."

"My lord, the Consort is with child! Imperial Physician Feng is still at the manor—it's absolutely true!"

Jiang Xu's face showed no expression, revealing nothing of his emotions. Yet after only a pause of one breath, he stood up decisively and left the tent.

Shen Yu happened to be looking for him to request leave, but Jiang Xu didn't even glance his way, directly mounting his horse and galloping straight out of the camp. The cool night breeze couldn't chill the burning heat rising in his chest.

"My lord! My lord!" Shen Yu called after him twice, receiving no response.

Well, there goes that leave request.

Shen Yu shook his head, both helpless and frustrated.

......

When Jiang Xu returned to the manor, Bai Minmin and Zhou Jingwan had already left. Ming Tan remained alone in the inner chamber, refusing any attendants, saying she needed quiet. Imperial Physician Feng was still drinking tea in the manor's reception hall, knowing that if he left, he'd just be dragged back for questioning.

Sure enough, even this god of war who could summon wind and rain, upon learning his beloved wife was pregnant, asked the same mundane questions anyone would: how many months along, whether the pregnancy was stable, what precautions to take. The physician, well-prepared, answered fluently.

After seeing off Imperial Physician Feng, Jiang Xu immediately entered the inner chamber.

Seeing Jiang Xu enter, Ming Tan instinctively stood up. For some reason, with such momentous news of pregnancy falling upon her, she felt everything was somewhat unreal and rather bewildered.

"Don't move around." Noticing her unsteady steps as she rose, Jiang Xu stepped forward, scooped her up horizontally, and placed her on the bed.

Ming Tan half-reclined against the bedside, clinging to his neck and refusing to let go. Unable to stand straight, he simply sat down.

"What should I do... I'm pregnant." After spacing out for a long while, Ming Tan suddenly asked absently.

"What do you mean 'what should I do'? Haven't you always hoped for this?"

Before, when others were pregnant while she remained without news, she had indeed been anxious and worried. But now that it was truly happening, she felt somewhat at a loss.

"Afraid?"

Ming Tan didn't respond.

"Don't worry, I'm here. A Tan doesn't need to be afraid." Jiang Xu rubbed her head, then pressed his forehead against hers, softly promising.Ming Tan wasn't exactly afraid, just somewhat bewildered.

Her thoughts wandered for quite a while before she suddenly hit Jiang Xu: "Imperial Physician Feng said it's been over a month—it must have been that time at Misty Mountain Hot Springs! It's all your fault!" She'd told him not to, yet he'd pressed her for two more rounds. She wasn't ready to be a mother yet!

Jiang Xu was exceptionally agreeable at this moment. He didn't refute how actively she'd participated in their passionate encounter at the hot springs, merely responding in a low, coaxing voice, "Yes, it's all my fault."

Ming Tan wasn't in the mood to fuss with him further. She lowered her head, timidly and hesitantly touching her belly, finding it hard to believe that inside already lay a child of hers and Jiang Xu's.

Ming Tan's reaction seemed slightly delayed. After the candles were trimmed and everything settled, with Jiang Xu already deep in sleep, her heart quietly blossomed with threads of joy amidst her bewilderment.

She suddenly sat up from the bed and shook Jiang Xu awake.

"What's wrong, A Tan?" Jiang Xu rubbed his brow, his voice hoarse.

"We're going to have a child."

Jiang Xu responded with an "Mm," waiting for her to continue.

But after saying this, Ming Tan puffed her cheeks in dissatisfaction: "Why don't you look happy at all?"

"..."

"When have I not been happy?"

"Right now. Go look at your grumpy face in the bronze mirror."

Coincidentally, the night watchman's clappers sounded outside the residence—one slow beat followed by three quick ones. Jiang Xu paused silently: "It's the fourth watch. How... exactly should I be happy right now?"

"..."

The fourth watch. Being all smiles at this hour would indeed be rather odd.

Ming Tan temporarily let him off, curling back under the covers alone, facing inward. Thinking that she and her husband might have a well-behaved son like Cousin Hua's little Yin or an adorable daughter like the Duke of Yu's little Long, she couldn't help but smile, giggling quietly under the blankets.

"What are you laughing about?"

"Nothing," Ming Tan turned back, looking at him seriously. "Just thinking how lucky our baby will be to look as good as me—that's a blessing earned over eight lifetimes!"

"..."

"Husband, don't you think I'm right?" She clung to him, nuzzling into Jiang Xu's embrace repeatedly.

Jiang Xu paused briefly, then replied without changing expression or heartbeat: "Everything A Tan says is right."

Only then did Ming Tan feel satisfied. Nestled in his arms, she found a comfortable spot and settled down to sleep peacefully.

However, Ming Tan's belated joy didn't last long, because she soon discovered that after becoming pregnant, she'd completely lost her freedom!

"This, this, and this—lock them all away in the storeroom. Except for fresh fruits, no incense of any kind is allowed in Qi'an Hall, understand? If you encounter any incense elsewhere, you must immediately change your clothes before entering to serve!"

Early in the morning, Lǜ'e adopted the authoritative manner of the princess consort's chief maid, sternly issuing orders in the main hall.

Even the usually gentle Suxin was as authoritative as Lǜ'e today, delivering a strict lecture to the junior maids and adding pressure at the end: "These foods Her Highness loves but can't eat now—Uncle Fu has already instructed the kitchen not to purchase or prepare them. Even if Her Highness orders it, you are not to secretly buy them from outside to curry favor. If discovered, His Highness will show no mercy. Understood?"

The junior maids all curtsied in unison, acknowledging the orders.

Ming Tan wasn't unreasonable—for the sake of the child in her belly, she naturally wouldn't eat what she shouldn't.Yet the entire household was overly cautious. Imperial Physician Feng had merely advised against consuming too much cold food, but the household took it to mean eliminating all cold dishes entirely. Ming Tan couldn't even get half a bowl of almond milk ice, and summer hadn't even arrived yet—she could already imagine how unbearable the coming season would be.

When it came to food, Ming Tan wasn't someone who indulged excessively in culinary pleasures, so she could tolerate it. But what she couldn't bear was the restrictions on her wardrobe. Her belly was still flat enough to balance a teacup, yet Suxin and Lǜ'e had already packed away all her fitted dresses, leaving only loose, shapeless garments. Even her suggestion to loosen the sashes slightly was firmly rejected.

Extremely frustrated, Ming Tan lost all desire to go out since she couldn't wear pretty clothes.

Stuck at home with nothing to do, she found ways to pester Jiang Xu—sometimes demanding dumplings from a specific shop, other times complaining of sore legs and shoulders that needed his massaging. Jiang Xu patiently indulged her every whim.

Pregnancy brought heightened emotions, and Ming Tan, already delicate by nature, became even more sensitive. The slightest dissatisfaction would upset her, yet even when everything went her way, she was prone to melancholy.

One day, Jiang Xu brought her a steaming piece of sugar cake. Halfway through eating it, she suddenly teared up, clinging to him as she asked in a choked voice, "Husband, am I too difficult to please? Do you resent me a little?"

Without giving him a chance to answer, she began listing all the ways she was being unreasonable.

Jiang Xu spent a long time comforting her, repeating over and over, "A Tan is perfect." Finally, she stopped crying, though she hiccuped and seemed faintly annoyed that he could only muster the same phrase repeatedly.

After becoming pregnant, Ming Tan remained confined to the estate. Her first venture outside was to attend the hundred-day celebration of her own baby brother.

Madam Pei had given birth. Given her age, the delivery had been difficult—she narrowly survived to deliver a baby boy.

Due to her recovery, the third-day and full-month ceremonies had been modest affairs. The grand hundred-day celebration was only possible now that Madam Pei was finally well enough to move about.

In the Ming family, girls' names contained the character for "wood," while boys' names contained "jade.Ming Tan chose a single-character name for her brother: Lang, meaning "glittering gem," symbolizing flawless rarity.

Little Lang didn’t resemble Ming Tingyuan but bore a striking likeness to Ming Tan. Everyone who saw him teased that the boy had chosen wisely—why take after anyone but his fairy-like elder sister? With his delicate features, he was sure to grow into a dashing scholar who would have ladies vying for his attention.

Ming Tan was delighted to hear such praise, though her pregnancy made it inconvenient to hold Little Lang.

Late in life, Ming Tingyuan was overjoyed to have a son. With Madam Pei still recovering and Ming Tan pregnant, he shamelessly enlisted the help of Duchess Changguo and Shen Hua to organize the hundred-day banquet.

Joy brings vigor, and Ming Tingyuan cheerfully accepted every toast. Seeing Ming Tan worry about her father drinking too much, Jiang Xu quietly stepped in to shield him from the wine.

With Prince Dingbei intercepting the drinks, who dared keep toasting? Aside from a few bold souls, the rest retreated sheepishly.

The celebration was lively and bustling. By the time it ended, Ming Tingyuan hadn’t even had the chance to get drunk. Beaming, he suddenly announced that he wanted to have a private talk with Ming Tan.

It had been a long time since father and daughter had spoken alone.

Understanding, Jiang Xu nodded and quietly excused himself.