Youthful Glory

The incident happened in the blink of an eye. Before Ming Tan could even consider whether this flight and fall would leave her half-crippled or dead, she had already crashed heavily into a cool embrace.

White light flashed before her eyes, followed by flickering stars, and in that hazy moment, she vaguely saw the familiar handsome face of her husband.

Not far away, Lanfei was also stunned.

She had rushed outside the courtyard following the screams, only to witness Princess Consort Dingbei falling from midair straight into Prince Dingbei's arms. The princess consort's legs were wrapped around the lord's waist, her entire body pressed tightly against him. Even with the prince's profound inner strength, the impact forced him to take half a step back.

The courtyard fell silent, even the cicadas stopped chirping. For a moment, the scene seemed frozen, the very air standing still.

The first to regain their composure were the maidservants. Their hearts seemed to have flown out along with Ming Tan, and now that they'd landed, they hurriedly knelt and kowtowed in apology: "This lowly one deserves death, this lowly one deserves death!"

The sound of these pleas for forgiveness brought Ming Tan back to her senses. As her awareness gradually returned, along with the lingering shock and fear, her blurred vision slowly cleared. Before her, meeting her gaze, were a pair of calm yet familiar star-like eyes.

Their gazes locked.

After what felt like an eternity, she finally realized what had just happened—

She had accidentally flown off the swing. Not with the graceful descent of a celestial maiden, but in a straight forward plunge accompanied by uncontrollable, ear-piercing screams.

And then her husband had caught her.

Which meant that after being exposed by Ming Chu for sneaking into the military camp to spy on him, and getting caught red-handed studying those "fire prevention illustrations" at Bieyu Tower, she had now created a third peak of embarrassment before her husband—one that she doubted she could ever surpass.

Because this time, sharing in the spectacle of her humiliation was Lanfei, whom she'd always mentally compared herself to and considered something of a romantic rival.

Ming Tan turned her stiff neck to glance at Lanfei, then shifted her gaze back to Jiang Xu. Her scalp tingled, her expression frozen in something between crying and laughing. She felt so embarrassed she could probably dig the entire Thirteen Ming Tombs with her toes right now.

After the maids finished their apologies, they knelt trembling, awaiting their master's punishment. Finally, Jiang Xu broke the courtyard's silence: "For failing to protect your mistress, twenty strokes of the rod for all."

Hearing this, Ming Tan momentarily forgot her embarrassment and stammered out a quiet explanation: "H-husband, it's not their fault... They did warn me that swinging so high was dangerous, but I insisted..."

Her voice grew smaller with each word, until by the end it was nearly inaudible.

But Jiang Xu remained unmoved: "As close attendants, it's their duty to advise and dissuade. If one warning isn't heeded, there should be a second. Otherwise, if one day you were to do something truly wrong, would they simply follow along like accomplices? Suxin, Lǜ'e, thirty strokes."

Ming Tan: "...?"

Why were the punishments increasing? And how did swinging on a swing escalate to being accomplices to evil?

She wanted to speak up again, but Suxin and Lǜ'e quickly kowtowed in unison before she could: "We thank Lord for his instruction and willingly accept our punishment."

Not only were their words synchronized, their thoughts aligned perfectly too: Please Miss, for heaven's sake stop talking!

Jiang Xu's unrelenting reprimand also snapped Lanfei out of her daze.

Sometimes, those who accidentally witness an embarrassing moment feel even more awkward than those who created it.She curtsied from a distance, then coughed lightly and hurriedly said, "This humble one came to deliver tea. Now that the tea has been served and there are still matters to attend to in the hall, I shall not disturb the Lord and Consort any further."

Having said this, she signaled the palace maid to present the tea, curtsied once more herself, and hastily turned to leave.

After Lanfei departed, the courtyard fell into silence once again.

Ming Tan remained clinging to Jiang Xu. The embarrassment had left her eyes vacant, her limbs and thoughts utterly adrift.

Jiang Xu had initially been holding her face-to-face when he suddenly tossed her upward, slinging her over his shoulder. As he carried her toward the house, he coolly ordered, "Take down the swing."

Whether it was these four words that stung her or something else, Ming Tan suddenly began struggling, kicking her legs and pounding Jiang Xu's back with her hands. "Let me go, wuwu... This is so humiliating, I don't want to live anymore!"

Jiang Xu ignored her protests, carrying her straight into the inner chamber and tossing her onto the bed.

Ming Tan sank into the soft bedding, grabbing a brocade quilt to cover her face. She kicked her legs and muffled her frustrated venting beneath the quilt. Only after a long while did she finally quiet down.

"Done throwing your tantrum?"

Jiang Xu had been standing by the bed watching her. Seeing her calm, he suddenly reached out and pulled the quilt away.

Ming Tan's hair was disheveled, her eyes still vacant, and her face was blotchy red from her own rubbing—utterly resembling a little madwoman.

Yet even in this state, the little madwoman never forgot about her image. Despite everything, she immediately turned her back to Jiang Xu.

Jiang Xu had actually been somewhat irritated earlier, but for some reason, seeing Ming Tan like this dispelled all his annoyance and even amused him slightly.

"What would you like for lunch?"

"Do I look like I can swallow anything right now?" Ming Tan's voice was small, tinged with resentment.

"..."

Fair enough.

Ming Tan grabbed an embroidered pillow to cover her face, her voice muffled. "Husband, could you let me be alone for a while?"

Hearing this, Jiang Xu said nothing. After a brief pause, he quietly withdrew.

Outside, Suxin and Lǜ'e had already finished their punishment. Despite thirty heavy strokes, they could still stagger around—proof of how lenient the punishment had been.

When they saw Jiang Xu, the two nervously bowed and apologized, then cautiously asked if they could enter to attend to their mistress.

"No need. Let her be."

They acknowledged the order, exchanged a glance, and dared not disturb her.

Ming Tan's solitude lasted from noon until evening.

Jiang Xu hadn't taken the matter seriously at first—young girls were thin-skinned, and she would recover on her own. But after returning from an errand outside the garden, he was surprised to hear that the Consort had neither eaten nor left her room since noon.

He lifted the curtain and entered, walking slowly to the bedside.

Ming Tan didn't use perfumes in summer; the room carried only the faint fruity scent of bergamot and pear.

She wasn't asleep. At the sound of footsteps, her body tensed noticeably.

Jiang Xu sat by the bed, first glancing at Ming Tan, then reaching out to brush away the stray hairs on her face. "Are you angry with me?"

Ming Tan shook her head slightly. "I'm angry with myself."

"About what?"

"About humiliating myself."

"Who said you were humiliated?"

She suddenly turned over, her eyes red. "They might not say it, but they're definitely thinking it!" Especially you!

Jiang Xu seemed to hear her unspoken addition. "No matter what others think, I don't see it that way." He paused, looking at her reddened eyes. "Did you cry over this?"Ming Tan hurriedly covered her eyes, but they were a bit sore, and covering them felt uncomfortable. So she simply covered Jiang Xu's eyes instead, being utterly unreasonable as she declared, "Which law of Daxian forbids a woman from venting her anger by crying!"

Jiang Xu inwardly laughed, his broad palm covering her small hand. Just as he was about to remove it, she put on a slightly fierce expression: "Don't look, it's so ugly!"

"Ugly doesn't matter. After all, a man does not cast aside his wife of humble origins."

"…?" Ming Tan released her hands herself, staring wide-eyed at Jiang Xu in disbelief. "How am I a wife of humble origins?!"

The memory of her husband saying "Not ugly, my wife is very beautiful" on their wedding night was still vivid in her mind. Yet in less than half a year, she had become an "ugly doesn't matter" wife of humble origins.

Truly, the affection between husband and wife in this world was nothing more than this!

Her heart instantly turned icy, and her lips pursed.

Seeing that Ming Tan was about to take it seriously, Jiang Xu stroked her soft cheek, his thumb wiping away the tear tracks beneath her eyes, and knew when to stop. "This Lord was merely jesting."

"…"

"My husband knows how to jest? It's not funny at all!"

Ming Tan was genuinely angered! She turned her back to him again.

But she couldn't hold back her frustration and soon turned back, glaring at Jiang Xu accusingly. "Couldn't you say something nice to praise me or coax me? You brute! You have no sense of romance at all."

"Romance?" Jiang Xu slowly repeated the word, then suddenly chuckled lightly and called out, "Attendants, prepare water. The Consort will bathe."

"…?"

"I don't want to bathe!"

Jiang Xu effortlessly lifted her into his arms, stroking her sweaty back. "Not bathing?"

"Then... then I'll bathe alone. Not with you."

The moment he mentioned "romance," he ordered water to be prepared. It was obvious what mischief he had in mind—she wanted no part of it! Every time they were in the water together, the bathing chamber ended up soaked, the commotion was loud, and it was utterly embarrassing.

Amid their bargaining, the bathing chamber soon filled with steam, the gauze curtains swaying gently, petals floating on the water's surface, creating a hazy, ambiguous red.

Jiang Xu carried her into the bathing chamber and set her down on a stool beside the pool. The bathing chamber in Chunxing Pavilion had a white jade pool. Since arriving at Yongchun Garden, the two had not yet shared intimacy more than twice, let alone tried it in this pool.

Ming Tan nervously rubbed her feet, her entire body radiating resistance. "I... I can wash myself. I don't want to do it with you."

Having gone days without intimacy, she had a strong premonition that if she let him have his way tonight, she wouldn't be able to get out of bed tomorrow.

Jiang Xu chuckled very softly. "I'm afraid that's not up to you."

Hearing this, Ming Tan knew things were about to go badly. She stood up to flee, but how could she be a match for Jiang Xu? She was quickly caught and pressed against the folding screen.

Jiang Xu leaned close to her ear and warned, "Keep struggling, and the screen will fall."

"…"

And then the maids outside would think the Lord and Consort were being quite... vigorous.

Ming Tan stopped moving, pretending to surrender. But just as Jiang Xu's handsome face slowly drew near, she suddenly bumped her forehead against his, seized a fleeting moment, and tried to run again.

Unfortunately, she hadn't noticed that the sash of her robe was still in Jiang Xu's grip. With this sudden movement, not only was her robe pulled open, exposing her delicate shoulder, but she nearly stumbled forward.

Jiang Xu steadied her, his lips quirking in amusement. "Is the Consort personally demonstrating the 'romance' of playing hard to get for this Lord?"

"…"

Absolutely not!

Flustered and furious, she pushed at Jiang Xu, but the man didn't budge. Instead, her feet slipped, and she fell backward—

"Plop!"He tumbled into the bathing pool.

The maids outside thought: The Lord and his Consort are truly passionate.