Youthful Glory

The princess of Nanlu married into Shangjing, and to demonstrate the profound friendship between Daxian and Nanlu, the wedding ceremony was arranged according to the regulations befitting a Daxian princess.

Shangjing hadn’t witnessed such a lively wedding in a long time. The air was filled with the clamor of gongs and drums, the hall adorned in resplendent colors, and the streets lined with vibrant red silks stretching for miles. The residence of General Yunhui was bustling with endless streams of guests, creating an extraordinarily festive atmosphere.

However, Ming Tan, who had been eagerly anticipating the excitement, ultimately couldn’t attend the ceremony.

The reason was simple. Although the marriage had been announced early in the year, the journey from Nanlu to the capital was long and arduous for the Sixth Princess. Moreover, she encountered flooding along the Xin River, making water travel impossible. The detour by land delayed the wedding repeatedly, and it just so happened to coincide with Ming Tan’s labor.

Ming Tan’s delivery was far from smooth. Her labor pains began in the morning and persisted well into the night without progress.

Jiang Xu repeatedly attempted to enter the room, but Ming Tan adamantly refused, insisting she looked too dreadful and didn’t want him to see her in such a state. Imperial Physician Feng and the midwives also cautiously advised against his entry. Standing outside with his hands clasped behind his back, his oppressive aura made it difficult for anyone nearby to breathe.

As the hour grew late, the cries and shouts inside suddenly weakened. Voices of urgency could be heard: “Your Highness, don’t fall asleep! Wake up, please wake up!”

Jiang Xu could wait no longer. “Move aside!” he commanded.

He strode into the room, his expression icy, and no one dared to stop him.

“Lord…”

“My Lord, you mustn’t…”

Ignoring them, he stepped toward Ming Tan and grasped her cold hand. “A Tan, wake up. It’s me,” he said, his voice as cool as jade yet laced with unmistakable tension.

Ming Tan’s eyelids fluttered weakly before she managed to open them. Turning her head slightly to look at him, she whispered in a frail, pitiful voice, “Husband, I’m so tired… I just want to sleep for a while…”

“Be good. Sleep later. I’ll stay with you,” he reassured her.

Seeing her awake, the physician, midwives, and maids all encouraged her. “Yes, Your Highness, just hold on a little longer. The baby is almost here!”

Ginseng soup was quickly brought in. Jiang Xu took it, blowing on each spoonful to cool it before feeding her. Finally, he placed a ginseng slice under her tongue.

Gradually regaining some strength, Ming Tan—perhaps influenced by too many dramatic tales—suddenly looked at the physician and said weakly, “If you can only save one… save my child. After all…”

“Save the Consort,” Jiang Xu interrupted firmly, leaving no room for argument.

The physician wiped his sweat and replied cautiously, “My Lord, there’s no need to worry. As long as Her Highness pushes a little harder, both mother and child will be safe.” If things were truly dire, there would be no choice to make—both would likely be lost.

However, physicians always spoke conservatively. If he claimed both could be saved, he had full confidence.

“Your Highness, the baby is in the right position now. Just one final push. Relax first, take a deep breath, and hold it. You can do this.”

Ming Tan seemed to find some hope in his words. Her gaze returned to Jiang Xu, and with tearful insistence, she pleaded softly, “Then please go outside. It’s so ugly… I don’t want you to see me like this.”

“A Tan isn’t ugly.”

Ming Tan hadn’t expected him to say something like “In my heart, A Tan will always be the most beautiful girl.” Yet after staring at him tearfully for a long moment, she felt somewhat comforted. Still, she kept pushing him away.

Reluctantly, Jiang Xu yielded and stepped outside.

When the creak of the closing door reached her ears, Ming Tan had more ginseng soup brought to her. After taking a few sips, she inhaled deeply, closed her eyes, bit her lip, and summoned every ounce of strength she had left.She trembled all over, her face deathly pale, beads of sweat rolling down her forehead. The blood from her bitten lips spread in faint streaks of pain at the corners of her mouth, yet this pain was almost negligible compared to the agony in her lower body.

Suddenly, Ming Tan's vision went blank for an instant, and her consciousness seemed to detach abruptly along with the sudden relief of weight below her.

"It's born!"

"It's born, it's born!"

"The Consort has given birth!"

Jiang Xu had just stepped outside when he heard the joyful cries from within and the gradually intensifying wails of a newborn. He turned back and pushed the door open.

"Congratulations, my Lord! The Consort has safely delivered a young prince!" The midwife held the child wrapped in a brocade blanket, her face beaming as she presented the baby to Jiang Xu.

But Jiang Xu didn't even spare half a glance, even raising a hand to block the way, signaling for her not to obstruct him.

"How is the Consort?" he asked gravely.

The imperial physician hurriedly replied, "The Consort is exhausted and has fainted for the moment. Lady Suxin has already given her ginseng slices. She should regain consciousness shortly."

Jiang Xu gazed at Ming Tan lying on the bed, her face drained of color and drenched in sweat. Just as he was about to step forward, Suxin, who had been waiting nearby, spoke up, "My Lord, we need to change the Consort's clothes now."

He paused briefly, stepping back half a pace to allow the maids to lower the bed curtains and attend to Ming Tan.

During this brief interlude, he glanced at the wrinkled infant nestled in the silk swaddling clothes. Perhaps due to his imposing presence, the baby's cries grew even louder.

Jiang Xu frowned slightly and remarked indifferently, "Too noisy. Take it away and don't disturb the Consort's rest."

The midwives exchanged glances: "..."

Ming Tan woke half an hour later. Knowing her preference for cleanliness, the maids had changed all her clothes and bedding, and the scent of blood in the room had been completely dispelled by freshly lit calming incense.

They say childbirth is akin to passing through the gates of hell. After the ordeal, her scattered strength seemed to slowly return, and upon waking, Ming Tan actually felt much lighter.

"Husband, is it over? Is it a boy or a girl? Or... did I not manage to keep the child?" Seeing the silence around her, Ming Tan felt lost and anxious.

"It's over. It's a boy. I had them take him away so as not to disturb your rest."

"I want to see him," she pleaded, her eyes fixed on Jiang Xu.

Jiang Xu gave a slight nod and ordered the child to be brought over, adding as a forewarning, "The imperial physician said newborns are a bit wrinkled from the amniotic fluid and aren't very good-looking at first."

Ming Tan nodded but paid no mind, waiting eagerly yet nervously for the baby to arrive.

When the child was finally brought to her, Ming Tan stared for a moment, her heart skipping a beat.

After a long pause, she spoke haltingly, as if unable to accept it, "This... isn't just 'not very good-looking,' is it?"

"He'll improve as he grows."

With a heart full of despair, Ming Tan said, "The Fourth Young Master of the Fengchun Marquis's household was said the same way since childhood." Now that he's grown, he's only grown uglier—so much so that he can't even find a wife.

"..."

"Our child won't be that bad."

Ming Tan was silent for a moment. "True. After all, we are the Prince Dingbei's Manor, not the declining Fengchun Marquis's household." She seemed slightly comforted by this. After another long silence, she half-raised herself with a sigh and said, "Never mind. A mother doesn't disdain her child's ugliness. Come, let me hold him."

The midwife carrying the child forward was utterly perplexed. Where was the young prince ugly? His nose was a nose, his mouth was a mouth—perfectly formed. He was just a bit wrinkled now. Based on her experience, in no time he would surely become as lovely as jade and snow!"How truly unsightly..." Ming Tan took the child in her arms, her tone full of disdain, yet she carefully leaned in to kiss his little cheek. "Let's call you Chou Chou (Ugly)."

"...?"

The midwife couldn't help but glance at Jiang Xu, but his expression remained unchanged as he simply responded, "Call him whatever you wish."

Poor little heir!

...

Ming Tan was merely indulging in verbal amusement. As members of the imperial clan who frequently entered the palace during festivals, they couldn't possibly introduce their child to the entire imperial family with the nickname "Ugly.The Jiang family maintained single-character names for this generation, with male names containing the "roof" radical. The Ministry of Rites had long prepared names with excellent meanings for both heirs and princesses. However, after receiving them, Jiang Xu barely glanced at the suggestions—he already had his own ideas for their child's name.

"Ding? Jiang Ding?" Ming Tan looked at the characters on the paper and couldn't help voicing her question.

He paused briefly with his brush before writing two more characters beside it.

"Bei Gui? Is this his courtesy name?"

Jiang Xu gave an affirmative hum.

"Giving him a courtesy name so young?"

"I also received mine shortly after birth."

It wasn't uncommon for noble families to bestow courtesy names early, but he was actually giving his own title to their son as both name and courtesy name. Everyone knew "Returning After Pacifying the North" represented his historically recorded lifelong glory.

Ming Tan stared blankly for a moment before suddenly throwing herself into his arms, holding him tightly.

...

"Jiang Ding?" Emperor Chengkang pondered briefly before nodding. "A well-chosen name." After studying the infant closely, he raised an eyebrow. "This child looks exactly like you did as a baby."

"Your Majesty was merely a child yourself then—how could you remember clearly?" Jiang Xu refuted calmly.

"What's wrong with being a child? My memory is excellent—I even held you, you brat!"

Ming Tan found this somewhat believable. After a month, their child had transformed completely from his newborn appearance—his little face soft and tender, eyes clear and bright, features blossoming into adorable handsomeness. If her husband was this handsome now, perhaps he'd looked just like this as a baby.

Seemingly to prove his excellent memory, Emperor Chengkang began recounting childhood anecdotes. Jiang Xu occasionally corrected him, inevitably provoking the emperor to glare and puff out nonexistent whiskers in irritation.

As the two men engaged in rare casual conversation, Empress Zhang smiled slightly and gestured for Ming Tan to join her outside to admire the flowers.

Ming Tan hadn't visited the palace for months during her pregnancy. Today's summons came because Emperor Chengkang wanted to meet Jiang Xu's firstborn, taking advantage of officials' rest days to summon the entire family.

After the northwestern war, court affairs had relaxed. Jiang Xu often ignored summons, making this rare visit precious enough for Emperor Chengkang to insist they stay for lunch, then dinner, then forcibly keep Jiang Xu for a game of Go—leaving the family no choice but to stay overnight.

That night, Ming Tan's unanswered question resurfaced. Lying in bed, she whispered, "Husband, may I ask... why does His Majesty trust and value you so particularly? While he trusts others too, it always feels different with you."

"It's a long story."

"Then give me the short version?"

Jiang Xu ruffled her hair. "The long version would suffice too."

The truth was, before Emperor Taizong's passing, he discovered his most beloved Crown Prince Mincong hadn't died accidentally—but was murdered by the then Crown Prince who succeeded to the throne, the late emperor.

The late emperor wasn't inherently cruel. It was precisely because of his inherent benevolence and talent for peaceful governance that Emperor Taizong had chosen him as successor.After the incident, the late Emperor knelt before Emperor Taizong, weeping bitterly, admitting that he had been led astray by evil thoughts and bewitched by the Su woman, leading to this grave mistake. After the death of his elder brother, he could not sleep at night, overwhelmed with regret. He was willing to abdicate in favor of the rightful heir, the Crown Prince's son, and confine himself in the Imperial Clan Court for the rest of his life to atone for his sins.

In truth, the late Emperor's succession was already the general consensus at the time. He could have easily denied the matter or even arranged for Emperor Taizong to pass away unnoticed. Yet, faced with the overwhelming power of ruling the realm, he ultimately could not overcome his inner demons.

At that time, Jiang Xu was still young, and the court was fraught with unpredictable turmoil. Even if the throne were abdicated to him, it was uncertain how long he could hold onto it. Thus, Emperor Taizong wrote a secret edict stating that after the late Emperor's death, the throne would be returned to the rightful heir, Jiang Xu, and locked it in a sophisticated mechanism crafted by Master Yunyan. The late Emperor also promised Emperor Taizong that he would honor his word and, upon his own death, pass the throne to Jiang Xu.

The "Su woman" mentioned by the late Emperor was none other than the future Empress Dowager Su. Though the late Emperor had grown to despise her, the Su family's power had already reached its zenith. Under various pressures, the late Emperor still allowed her to ascend as Empress after the previous Empress passed away.

The late Emperor had been benevolent and kind-hearted throughout his life, but a single moment of weakness led him to harm his elder brother, who had always trusted and cherished him. Though he ruled diligently, the deep-seated guilt weighed heavily on him, and he passed away from illness after only a few years on the throne.

By the time of the late Emperor's death, Jiang Xu was no longer a child and had uncovered the truth. He had always believed the late Emperor to be cunning and hypocritical, biding his time for years to exact revenge for his father's death.

Yet, to his surprise, on his deathbed, the late Emperor confessed the entire truth in front of Jiang Xu and Chengkang, who had already secured his position as Crown Prince. He also retrieved the mechanism containing Emperor Taizong's secret edict and a handwritten decree of his own, both of which he handed to Jiang Xu.

Both the secret edict and the decree stated the same thing: the throne was to be passed to Jiang Xu.

Having done this, the late Emperor passed away peacefully.

How could one describe such a feeling? It was like punching cotton—the grudges and grievances were settled, yet there was no sense of satisfaction.

Nor could he transfer this hatred to Chengkang and let it fester further.

He and Chengkang had known each other since childhood and had weathered countless hardships together. Even when he first learned that the late Emperor was his father's murderer, he had never considered taking revenge on Chengkang. Similarly, his only conviction had ever been to personally avenge his father, not to reclaim the throne that should have rightfully been his father's.

To be fair, Chengkang was far more suited to be the ruler of the nation. In the end, standing before Chengkang, Jiang Xu burned the two decrees that could have altered the fate of the entire Daxian court. He left the palace alone, heading north to the battlefield, as if only through fierce combat could he find meaning in his existence.

By the time Jiang Xu finished recounting this story that began during Emperor Taizong's reign, it was nearly dawn.

Ming Tan remained silent for a long time, unsure whether she was still processing the tale or simply at a loss for words.

But she finally understood why Chengkang could unconditionally tolerate and trust Jiang Xu, even when the latter's attitude bordered on disrespect at times.

This trust was not only rooted in their childhood bond and shared trials but also in guilt—and in the throne that Jiang Xu had willingly relinquished.

How could someone who had outright abandoned his rightful claim to the throne ever stoop to scheming for power?The days passed unhurriedly, and before they knew it, another Qingming Festival arrived. Ming Tan, Bai Minmin, Zhou Jingwan, the Sixth Princess, and Shen Hua made plans to bring their husbands along for an outing in the countryside to admire the flowers.

Jiang Xu, surprisingly, agreed to join them.

The place they visited was both familiar and unfamiliar—the ruins of Hanyan Temple, which had been razed to the ground by a great fire years ago. Now, a schoolhouse stood on the leveled land, surrounded by the chirping of birds in the woods and the clear, resonant sound of students reciting their lessons.

Ming Tan and Jiang Xu were tasked with fetching water from the stream. As they walked along, Ming Tan occasionally glanced at the schoolhouse before turning to Jiang Xu excitedly. "Oh, Husband, my brother wrote that a new school opened in Tonggang this spring, and they’ve already enrolled over fifty students!"

"That’s wonderful news."

"Brother says Tonggang is thriving now. Ah, I’d love to see it for myself."

"If you wish to go, we can. I have no pressing matters lately—I’ll accompany you."

At his words, Ming Tan, who had just been brimming with enthusiasm, hesitated and didn’t respond immediately.

"What’s wrong?"

"I’m afraid we can’t go anytime soon," she said, looking up at him with feigned distress.

"Why not?"

Ming Tan thought for a moment, then gestured for him to lean down. Standing on her tiptoes, she whispered in his ear, "I think I’m with child again!"

Jiang Xu paused, his Adam’s apple bobbing as his voice came out hoarse. "Truly?"

"Ah Chun confirmed it—there’s no mistake."

He had forgotten that the Sixth Princess of Nanlü also had some knowledge of medicine.

"Ah Chun also said there’s a good chance it’s a little girl this time. If it is, that would be wonderful! Ding’er takes so much after you—a little girl would surely look like me." Ming Tan gently touched her still-flat belly, already filled with anticipation. "What should we name her if she’s a girl?"

Jiang Xu reached out and placed his hand on her belly as well, his voice softening. "How about Koukou? When I first met you, it was right here—you were just a young girl, barely past the age of budding youth."

Back then, he had never imagined that the somewhat delicate girl before him would one day become his wife. His life had once been driven by vengeance, then by duty to Daxian. But after meeting Ming Tan, his story seemed to have gained many more chapters—ones filled with warmth.

"Koukou it is!" Ming Tan agreed after a moment’s thought.

Seeing that the others were nowhere nearby, she wrapped her arms around Jiang Xu’s neck, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed him on the lips.

In the distance, the laughter of Bai Minmin and the Sixth Princess chasing each other could be heard, mingled with the amused admonishments of Zhou Jingwan and Shen Hua. The stream gurgled clearly, carrying fallen apricot blossoms downstream as the spring sunlight bathed everything in brilliance.

Ming Tan tilted her head, shielding her eyes from the dazzling sun, and watched the man ahead of her—who maintained his lordly demeanor even while fetching water—before a smile curved her lips.

That day, after leaving the Yunhui General’s residence and realizing she was likely pregnant again, she had quietly visited Lingmiao Temple.

While noble ladies in the capital favored Daxiangguo Temple, few knew that the overlooked Lingmiao Temple was actually the most efficacious.

Here, she had prayed for a beloved husband. Here, she had prayed for her husband’s safe return. And that day, she had made one more wish—though it was so far-reaching that she would likely have to wait until after her death to fulfill it.