Youthful Glory

The hall fell into complete silence. For a moment, the theater and the cool chambers below were so quiet one could hear a pin drop. It was unclear who rose first, but soon the palace ladies in their splendid attire stood up in small groups, curtsying in unison as they greeted, "We greet Your Majesty. May the Emperor enjoy boundless fortune and peace."

Emperor Chengkang remained silent. Everyone remained half-curtsied, not daring to rise as they usually would. Even Jiashuyi, who had been so smug moments ago despite her pregnancy, showed no trace of her usual affectations, bending nervously and properly in place.

The Emperor's expression was unreadable as he clasped his hands behind his back and walked over to Jiashuyi.

Jiashuyi, quick-witted enough to sense trouble, immediately admitted her fault: "This concubine spoke out of turn. I beg Your Majesty to punish me."

She had always been blunt and unrestrained in front of Emperor Chengkang, often speaking without proper decorum. Accustomed to the docile and submissive beauties of the inner palace, the Emperor had indulged her occasional audacity.

This time, having inadvertently offended Prince Dingbei, she assumed that a prompt apology would suffice—that the Emperor would at most reprimand her verbally before letting the matter slide. After all, even when she had refused to apologize or done so half-heartedly in the past, the Emperor had never truly punished her.

But today, Emperor Chengkang's reaction was unexpectedly stern. His voice was cold and authoritative as he declared, "Repeated admonishments have failed to correct you. It is time you faced consequences."

"Your Majesty!" Jiashuyi looked up in alarm.

"Guards."

Seeing that the Emperor meant business, she swiftly turned and curtsied deeply to Jiang Xu and Ming Tan, speaking quickly before the Emperor could issue his orders: "My Lord, My Lady, this concubine misspoke earlier. I beg for your forgiveness."

At this moment, Ming Tan couldn't help but view Jiashuyi in a new light. It seemed this woman wasn’t entirely without brains—at least in critical moments, she knew how to swallow her pride.

Jiashuyi was indeed one of the more brazen and frivolous figures in the inner palace. Relying on her noble family background, she often provoked high-ranking favored consorts and bullied those of lower status. She had even dared to mock the Empress for lacking the Emperor's favor right outside the Empress's palace. Yet her audacity wasn’t solely rooted in her family’s influence or her reckless arrogance.

She knew that Lanfei, ever the refined and aloof talent, disdained petty squabbles and would not retaliate unless severely provoked. As for the Empress, she maintained the dignified, magnanimous demeanor befitting the mother of the nation, viewing the quarrels of the inner palace as mere squabbles among concubines. Even if they privately gossiped about her, the Empress would hardly deign to lower herself to engage.

Earlier, in her anger, Jiashuyi had indeed overstepped by mocking Ming Tan. To make matters worse, she had been caught by the Emperor and Prince Dingbei. The Emperor was one thing, but Prince Dingbei—who had recently executed a marquis—was an entirely different matter. Faced with such an unassailable figure, what else could she do but submit?

She submitted without hesitation. Yet the world did not operate on the principle that an apology must always be accepted.

"If every transgression could be dismissed with a claim of misspeaking, what need would the Great Xian have for laws?" Jiang Xu remarked coolly.

Emperor Chengkang pondered briefly before nodding. "Prince Dingbei speaks wisely. Guards, Jiashuyi—"

Seeing this, Jiashuyi panicked. Suddenly, she clutched her stomach with a pained frown, letting out a soft cry before feigning a struggle to endure. "Your—Your Majesty, this concubine's belly—"

The palace lady who had earlier defended her hurriedly helped her sit down, pleading urgently, "Your Majesty, Jiashuyi is unwell—perhaps the child is restless. In this humble one’s opinion, it would be best to let her rest first. Other matters can wait.""If discomfort can be alleviated by resting, then can border emergencies be resolved by waiting?" Jiang Xu remarked nonchalantly. "Battles must be fought when they arise, and illnesses must be treated when they appear."

Emperor Chengkang glanced at Consort Jiashu and ordered in a deep voice, "Summon the imperial physician."

Jiang Xu added, "Summon Imperial Physician Feng."

Consort Jiashu bit her lip and looked at Emperor Chengkang. "Your Majesty, Physician Li has always been in charge of my pregnancy."

"Does Consort distrust Imperial Physician Feng?"

Suppressing her panic and fear, she retorted, "Then does the Lord distrust Physician Li?"

"I do."

"..."

Such words could only be spoken by Prince Dingbei.

No one else dared to object. Emperor Chengkang sat silently on the throne, his expression unreadable, waiting for Imperial Physician Feng to arrive and take the pulse.

In truth, everyone present understood the situation perfectly—how could her discomfort be so conveniently timed? Whether she was given a way out depended entirely on the Emperor's whim.

Yet no one had expected Prince Dingbei to be so uncompromising for the sake of his consort, making the decision for the Emperor without sparing any regard for the dignity of Consort Jiashu's unborn royal child.

As expected, after carefully taking her pulse multiple times, Imperial Physician Feng cautiously reported, "Your Majesty, the royal child in Consort Jiashu's womb is perfectly stable. Logically, there should be no abdominal pain. As for the cause of this pain... this humble physician truly cannot determine."

Consort Jiashu trembled with fear, biting her lip in silence.

Emperor Chengkang stared at her for a moment before suddenly slamming his cup down in anger—

crack!

The sound of shattering porcelain was sharp, and everyone instinctively dropped to their knees—except Jiang Xu, who remained standing with his hands behind his back, unflinching before the Emperor's wrath.

"Consort Jiashu has behaved improperly, using her pregnancy to seek favor. Such conduct is unworthy of her title as Consort. She is hereby demoted to Noble Lady and confined to her quarters until our return to the palace, where she may reflect on her actions and focus on nurturing her child," Emperor Chengkang declared sternly.

Jiang Xu nodded slightly. "Your Majesty is wise."

The others hurriedly echoed, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Emperor Chengkang: "..."

He shot Jiang Xu an exasperated glare.

Jiang Xu pretended not to notice. "If there is nothing else, this subject takes his leave."

Emperor Chengkang waved his sleeve, signaling for him to leave at once.

Jiang Xu turned and walked over to Ming Tan, extending a hand to her as she still knelt on the ground. "Rise," he said calmly.

Was this allowed?

No one seemed to object.

Ming Tan hesitated, then cautiously placed her small hand in his and slowly stood up. Once upright, she curtsied respectfully to Emperor Chengkang before obediently letting Jiang Xu lead her away, step by step, out of the pavilion.

The other consorts: "..."

They couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy.

Only when they were far from the pavilion did Ming Tan finally relax slightly. Still, she couldn't shake her worry. As they walked, she carefully asked, "Husband, earlier... might the Emperor have been somewhat...?"

It had almost seemed as though he had forced the Emperor to punish Consort Jiashu. She feared the Emperor might resent him for it. After all, Consort Jiashu was carrying the Emperor's child—some respect should still be shown to the royal heir.

If Consort Jiashu became distressed and harmed the child, the Emperor might hold a grudge against Jiang Xu in the future.

But Jiang Xu remained indifferent. "It's fine," he replied.

Since he said so, he must have his reasons. Moreover, though she didn't fully understand why, Ming Tan had begun to sense that Emperor Chengkang's trust in Jiang Xu seemed to surpass the usual bounds between ruler and subject—or even between royal cousins.At this thought, Ming Tan obediently nodded and didn’t press further. However, she hesitated before bringing up another topic with some awkwardness: "Actually... what Jia Guiren said is also true. Husband, we’ve been married for over three months now, but my belly doesn’t seem to show any signs of movement."

"Only three months—what kind of movement are you expecting?"

"But many families conceive within the first month of marriage..."

"And many families remain childless for life."

"..."

"Which families?"

Ming Tan asked with genuine curiosity.

Jiang Xu paused. "This prince isn’t in a hurry, so why are you? Besides, early pregnancy isn’t beneficial to a woman’s health."

"Oh."

Hearing this, Ming Tan felt much more at ease. Since her husband wasn’t anxious, neither was she. Moreover, she truly wasn’t ready to become a mother yet.

The garden was serene in the evening.

Jiang Xu left the garden to attend to military affairs, while Ming Tan idly plucked at the zither in the pavilion. Unexpectedly, Lanfei came to seek her out.

Ming Tan was slightly surprised. "Your Highness Lanfei."

"Princess Consort." Lanfei greeted her with a neutral bow.

Lanfei was a delicate and graceful beauty, her temperament somewhat similar to Shen Hua’s. However, compared to Shen Hua, Lanfei was more reserved, exuding a quiet, almost chilly aura. Ming Tan had met her several times but had rarely heard her speak.

Before Ming Tan could say anything, Lanfei took the initiative to explain, "Today, I must thank the Princess Consort for not taking offense at my choice of

The Full Moon

. I truly meant no hidden meaning."

"I know. Your Highness need not worry."

When Shufei had asked her to choose between

The Rain on the Plane Trees

and

The Full Moon

, there was no way she would have picked

The Rain on the Plane Trees

.

Aside from its tragic theme, the most critical issue was that

The Rain on the Plane Trees

depicted the love between an emperor and his favored consort. With the Empress sitting right there, how could one glorify the emperor’s love for a concubine?

"However, the harem is a complicated place. Your Highness should be more careful in the future," Ming Tan reminded her.

For some reason, Lanfei fell silent for a long moment before nodding lightly. "By the way, I noticed the Princess Consort enjoys lychees today. There happen to be some fresh ones in the palace, so I brought them along."

Ming Tan smiled. "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness."

Ming Tan did love lychees, but fresh ones were a rare delicacy. Among the consorts, aside from the Empress, only Shufei, Lanfei, and Jia Guiren—who was currently pregnant—had received any from the recent tribute.

Chunxing Pavilion had sent a small basket yesterday, which she had already finished. Today, she had eaten another small plate in the cooling room but still craved more. To her delight, Lanfei had anticipated her preference—and judging by the quantity, it seemed she had brought all the lychees the Emperor had bestowed upon her.

Lanfei added, "Lychees are warm in nature, but after being soaked in ice, they can become too cold. The Princess Consort should eat them slowly."

Ming Tan responded with restraint.

But once Lanfei left, Ming Tan immediately directed her maids to lay out all the lychees.

Since she wasn’t watching a play in the cooling room, she didn’t have to peel them herself. She savored the chilled lychees her maids had prepared while having her nails painted, with Suxin reading to her beside her. The gentle night breeze made the moment nothing short of "blissful."

Little did she know that the price of this bliss would be agonizing stomach cramps in the middle of the night—so severe that the entire Yongchun Garden mistakenly thought a murder had occurred in Chunxing Pavilion, and the Emperor nearly rushed over in person.

"How is the Princess Consort?"

Imperial Physician Feng hesitated. "The Princess Consort has consumed too many chilled lychees, and... and...""What else?"

"Her monthly courses have just arrived, hence the abdominal cramps."

Imperial Physician Feng had been startled into a cold sweat by the urgency of the maidservant who came to fetch him. Now, with his back chilled by the drying sweat in the breeze, he said, "This humble physician has already prescribed a remedy for the Consort. However, the severity of cramps varies by individual—it may take some time before relief is felt."

Jiang Xu: "..."

He had been at the military camp tonight, originally intending to discuss urgent matters with the generals returning from Qingzhou by candlelight. But when word came that the Consort was suffering severe abdominal cramps and had turned deathly pale—raising suspicions of poisoning—he had no choice but to leave the generals behind and rush back.

And it turned out to be from eating too many lychees.

After a moment of silence, he suddenly lifted the curtain and entered the chamber.

Inside, Ming Tan lay curled on the bed, too exhausted to cry out anymore. Waves of abdominal pain still wracked her body, each surge bringing beads of sweat rolling down her forehead. She had curled into a tiny ball, the agony leaving her barely conscious.

The matters discussed tonight had been of great importance, and being interrupted by such an absurd triviality had initially irritated Jiang Xu. But seeing her now—hair disheveled, face as pale as paper, looking utterly miserable and pitiful—that irritation was instantly replaced by other emotions.

He sat by the bed, gently brushing aside the strands of hair sticking to her face. His rough fingertips lingered on her delicate cheek for a moment. Just as he leaned closer, her eyes fluttered open, dazed and unfocused.

"Husband," she whispered weakly, voice trembling with tears. "What's wrong with A Tan? Is A Tan dying?"

"Nothing's wrong. Don't be afraid."

After a moment's thought, he gathered her into his arms, his warm palm resting against her abdomen.

"But what's really wrong with A Tan? Earlier, there was so much blood... Could it be... could it be a miscarriage from eating something wrong?"

Her monthly courses had never been this painful before. Combined with their recent frequent discussions about pregnancy, her mind had instinctively jumped to this conclusion.

Jiang Xu had no idea how she'd made such a connection. Temporarily speechless, he didn't know whether to respond or not.

Taking his silence as confirmation, Ming Tan's tears immediately gushed forth. "A Tan is sorry for our unborn child! It's all A Tan's fault! How did this happen? Was it Jia Guiren who—"

"No, there was no miscarriage. You just ate too many iced lychees and got your monthly courses," Jiang Xu had to explain.

"..."

Ming Tan instantly stopped crying. Tearfully, she stared at Jiang Xu, unconsciously letting out a little sob.