Youthful Glory

By the time Ming Tan realized there might be an issue with the belt she had gifted, several days had already passed since Jiang Xu wore that fragrant-turned-foul belt at the capital garrison, offending a whole group of officers.

Ming Tan rarely repeated outfits during summer. After discovering that the few garments soaked in insect-repellent spices indeed kept bugs away, she stopped wearing them. They lay untouched for quite some time until one day, when Lü'e opened the chest to organize them and suddenly discovered—the entire trunk of clothes had developed a strange odor beneath their fading fragrance!

Ming Tan was stunned. After thorough investigation, she learned that two particular ingredients in the insect-repellent spices clashed, producing an unpleasant smell once the fragrance dissipated.

Anxious, she secretly prayed her future husband hadn't used it. If he'd thought the returned item unnecessary and simply discarded it upon receipt—that would be ideal!

But Shen Hua shattered this hope completely—

While embroidering sachets together in the courtyard, Shen Hua kept glancing at Ming Tan with a hesitant expression.

Noticing this, Ming Tan asked, "Cousin, is there something you wish to say?"

After a pause, Shen Hua carefully worded her response: "Yesterday evening, when I brought supper to my brother, he mentioned... recently there's been talk in the military about Prince Dingbei..."

At the mention of "Prince Dingbei," Ming Tan's ears perked up.

"They say His Highness dislikes bathing and has developed an odor... Some even claim His Highness has rather... unique preferences regarding scents." Shen Hua phrased it delicately.

"...?"

Ming Tan froze momentarily before sudden realization struck.

Disaster.

Absolute disaster!

Did her future husband think she'd deliberately sabotaged him out of dissatisfaction?!

First, there was her immodest sneaking into the military camp to peek at him, now this botched attempt at returning his belt with pest-repellent fragrance. Despite the sweltering heat, an icy gust seemed to sweep through Ming Tan's heart—

She desperately wanted to explain properly and convey her apologies to her future husband. But as a young lady, she couldn't possibly visit him uninvited for such matters. Moreover, within days, Shen Hua informed her that Prince Dingbei had left to inspect troops in the north—a mission that likely wouldn't conclude until year's end.

This news left Ming Tan despondent for many days. She'd originally hoped to catch a distant glimpse of her betrothed during the Dragon Boat Festival races at Xianjiang River, where many nobles would gather. Perhaps she could've even engineered a brief opportunity to explain. Now? No chance whatsoever.

Fortunately, her future husband showed no intention of breaking off their engagement over this incident. Instead, the Ministry of Rites sent word that the wedding date had been set—after completing all ceremonial procedures, they would likely marry come spring.

After days of moping, Ming Tan finally regained her spirits!

With the wedding date confirmed, ceremonial preparations progressed methodically.

The palace sent wave after wave of gifts for the future Princess Consort of Dingbei. Tailors visited five separate times to take measurements for her auspicious wedding attire. Empress Zhang even dispatched etiquette instructors to teach her royal protocols.

Ming Tan had always excelled at learning decorum, requiring little effort. Yet she never grew complacent, remaining humble throughout and showing utmost respect to her instructors.

Empress Zhang was thoroughly pleased upon hearing this. She'd taken an immediate liking to Ming Tan during their encounter in the warming pavilion at Yong Garden—now she felt her judgment had been absolutely correct.While learning etiquette and manners from the matron, Ming Tan also began a six-month regimen of meticulous self-care.

Maintaining a slender figure meant strictly controlling her daily meals, while keeping her skin smooth and radiant required diligent care...

These were habits she had already practiced, but now she held herself to even stricter standards. After all, her efforts were aimed at becoming the most beautiful bride, determined to overturn her future husband’s impression of her—failure was not an option!

As Ming Tan busied herself daily, others were far from idle.

Most of the girls around her were of marriageable age, and their families were busy arranging betrothals. During this time, wedding celebrations in the capital came one after another.

Shen Hua was quite satisfied with the second son of the Li family, whom she had met earlier. The young master’s background was respectable—neither too lofty for her to aspire to nor too humble. Moreover, his father had a good reputation as an official, and a promotion seemed imminent. Most importantly, during their meeting at the Great Xiangguo Temple, Shen Hua observed that he was upright and ambitious.

Thus, she agreed to the match, and with Madam Pei handling the arrangements, the engagement was smoothly settled.

Since this was not an imperial marriage, the formalities between the two families progressed much faster. The Li family also held Shen Hua in high regard, sparing no effort in the betrothal rites and presenting generous gifts.

Aside from Shen Hua’s engagement, Madam Pei also quietly arranged Ming Chu’s marriage.

The groom chosen for Ming Chu was the third son of the Feng family, whose patriarch held the title of General Xuanwei—a fifth-rank military officer without a fixed post. The Feng residence was not in the capital, perfectly aligning with Ming Tingyuan’s earlier requirements.

Ming Tingyuan had dealt with General Feng before and held a favorable impression of him. Upon further inquiry, he learned that the Feng sons were all decent young men.

The third son, in particular, took after his father. Despite his youth, he had already risen to the rank of company commander in the Hezhou military camp. Thus, when Madam Pei presented the match to Ming Tingyuan, he approved it without hesitation.

As a man, Ming Tingyuan could scarcely pay attention to anything beyond the character of the groom’s father and brothers. But with a little investigation, Ming Tan and Shen Hua quickly realized that Ming Chu would have little room to stir up trouble in the Feng household.

The Feng matriarch ruled her family with an iron fist—and a sharp tongue. The previous generation’s disputes had even led to a family split. While most families would conceal such scandals, the Feng matriarch was different—she not only aired their dirty laundry but even took the matter to court, demanding justice. Her notoriety was well-known in Hezhou.

Moreover, upon marrying into the family, Ming Chu would gain two sisters-in-law from military households. These women were true daughters of generals, far more skilled in martial arts than Ming Chu, whose only talent was wielding a soft whip for show.

With this arrangement, Ming Chu would have no chance to flaunt her status as a daughter of the Marquis Jing’an’s household or throw her weight around in her marital home.

When Ming Chu first learned of the betrothal in the ancestral hall, she threw a fit—weeping, screaming, smashing things, and even threatening to starve herself. But none of it fazed Madam Pei.

Madam Pei had previously ignored her, but now that she had decided to intervene, she had no trouble bringing Ming Chu to heel.Ming Chu had just begun her hunger strike when Madam Pei cut off her meals under the pretext that "the Third Young Lady is devoted to Taoist fasting." By the time Ming Chu could no longer endure it and relented, Madam Pei wielded ancestral family rules and filial piety to torment her further. Before long, the ancestral hall quieted down, and no more protests of "I'd rather die than marry" were heard from Ming Chu in the mansion.

The two marriage arrangements of Marquis Jing'an's household proceeded relatively smoothly, but the match for the Changguo Duke's family encountered difficulties.

The Duke and Duchess of Changguo had previously selected a match for Bai Minmin. Although no formal betrothal gifts had been exchanged, both families were well aware of the arrangement. Who could have expected that at this critical juncture of marriage negotiations, the other family would silently align themselves with the Su Commandery Prince's household and arrange a marriage with the Commandery Prince's daughter, County Princess Qingyao!

Bai Jingyuan was furious and threw a massive tantrum in the mansion.

Bai Minmin, however, remained unusually calm this time—no tears, no tantrums, no anger. After all, she wasn't particularly eager to marry. The match had been her parents' choice, and she had no strong feelings about it. Fortunately, since no betrothal gifts had been exchanged, she was free to consider other matches at any time.

Zhou Jingwan had also reached marriageable age. However, the Zhou family was renowned for its scholarly traditions, having produced generations of distinguished scholars and ministers. The reputation of Zhou's daughters was second to none, making marriage prospects the least of their worries.

Matchmakers had nearly worn out the Zhou family's doorstep, yet her parents gave no definitive answer to any suitor, saying there was no hurry—their Jingwan was still young and could take her time choosing.

Only Zhou Jingwan herself had inadvertently discovered that among the suitors was the infamous Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guards, Lu Ting. She was so frightened that she couldn't sleep peacefully for several nights, praying that her parents would swiftly reject the matchmaker sent by this Commander Lu.

"Commander Lu?" Ming Tan exclaimed in surprise. "Why would Commander Lu propose to you? Do you know each other?"

Zhou Jingwan shook her head and whispered, "No, I don't know why he proposed."

Bai Minmin thought for a moment, then teased with her chin propped on her hand: "I think Commander Lu must have fallen for you at first sight that day at Daxiangguo Temple!"

"Stop talking nonsense!" Zhou Jingwan, unable to bear the teasing, flushed with embarrassment and annoyance.

"How is it nonsense? You only met that one time—if it's not love at first sight, then what else could it be?" Bai Minmin pressed on relentlessly. "What's wrong with Commander Lu? He's the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guards. The current Commander is just a nominal position, so the Imperial Guards are effectively under his command. The Imperial Guards! To hold such power at such a young age—imagine what heights he'll reach in the future!"

Bai Minmin grew more and more animated: "Though Commander Lu has a fearsome reputation, when we saw him at Daxiangguo Temple, he wasn't as terrifying as the rumors say. If we're talking about ruthless methods and bloodshed, isn't Prince Dingbei even more notorious?

"But we've all seen Prince Dingbei with our own eyes and even heard him speak. He may be cold, but he's extraordinarily handsome and quite courteous. So all these rumors are just prejudice!"

Ming Tan cupped her face and nodded in emphatic agreement.

Bai Minmin continued: "Besides, Commander Lu is on good terms with Prince Dingbei and Second Young Master Shu. If you don't trust Prince Dingbei, surely you can trust Second Young Master Shu? His noble character is renowned throughout the capital!"

"...?" Ming Tan, who had been nodding along just moments ago, suddenly retorted, "How is my future husband untrustworthy?"