Youthful Glory

When Jiang Xu returned to the room, Ming Tan was already fast asleep. The room was dim; a lamp had been left on the table for him, but it had gone out at some point, leaving only the faint shadows cast by moonlight filtering through the window paper.

He walked to the bedside, gently lifted the embroidered quilt, and glanced at the injury between Ming Tan’s legs.

Though the room was dark, he could still see the bruises and abrasions left by the saddle on her inner thighs, stark against her otherwise fair skin—a sight that was rather jarring.

This was his oversight. Accustomed to riding, he could travel a hundred miles in a day without issue, and in his haste, he had forgotten to consider whether his delicate young Consort could endure such a journey.

Yet for two nights, she hadn’t complained or shed a tear.

Jiang Xu brushed his thumb lightly over her cheek. He had intended to apply medicine but found it had already been done. Pausing briefly, he tucked the quilt back around her.

The next day, as they set off again, Ming Tan noticed the cushions in the carriage seemed thicker than usual. Since she usually propped her book on the small table, she found it oddly lower today.

Jiang Xu was riding outside, so she took the opportunity to investigate.

She discovered that only the cushions on her side had been padded.

Puzzled, she lifted the carriage curtain and motioned for Yun Yi, who was walking alongside, to come closer. “Did you add these cushions to the carriage?”

Yun Yi shook her head blankly. “What cushions are you referring to, Consort?”

Then, as if remembering something, she added, “This morning, the Master ordered some things to be placed in the carriage. Perhaps those were the cushions you mentioned?”

Husband?

Ming Tan was momentarily stunned before leaning forward to catch a glimpse of Jiang Xu’s tall, imposing figure on horseback. The corners of her lips curled upward inexplicably, a strange sense of satisfaction blooming in her chest.

Since they were traveling through the city, their progress was slow, and by mid-morning, they still hadn’t left the city limits.

Approaching noon, Jiang Xu signaled for the carriage to stop, choosing a nearby tavern to rest and eat.

Opposite the tavern was some kind of shop, bustling with activity. In the short time they had been seated, several waves of finely dressed Madams and Misses, attended by maidservants, had already come and gone.

When the waiter brought their food, Ming Tan couldn’t resist asking, “What kind of shop is that across the street? It’s so lively.”

“That? That’s Yu Luo Fang! A tailor shop, newly opened these past few days.” Since their table had ordered plenty of dishes, the waiter was eager to elaborate. “Their goods are outrageously expensive, but they’ve got quite the business sense. Aside from the fabrics and clothes on display, they’ve been promoting—how did they put it?—‘exclusive garments’ for Madams and Misses to celebrate their grand opening. Supposedly, their seamstresses and tailors poured their hearts into crafting them. They’ve been hyping it up extravagantly, opening only at noon each day and releasing just ten pieces daily. Each Madam or Miss can buy only one per day.”

Ming Tan’s interest was piqued.

The waiter leaned in, clicking his tongue. “You wouldn’t believe how popular Yu Luo Fang has been these days. Their prices are sky-high, yet the Madams and Misses in the city flock there daily. There was even a quarrel over a dress the other day. Ah, right—today’s the last day of their three-day promotion. If you’re interested, Madam, you might want to take a look.”

Having said his piece, he retreated with the empty tray.

Ming Tan turned to Jiang Xu. Though her face was veiled, the sparkle in her eyes betrayed her eager anticipation.

Jiang Xu glanced at her and ordered, “Yun Yi, accompany Madam.”

“Thank you, Husband!” Ming Tan immediately rose to her feet.Only Yun Yi, who had been eyeing the braised pork belly, suffered. The dish of pork belly had perfect layers of fat and lean meat, with an excellent caramelized color that promised tender, flavorful bites.

She swallowed her saliva discreetly and followed with her sword in hand, though it was unclear whether she noticed Shu Jingran’s silent signal: "Don’t worry, I’ll save half the plate for you."

Arriving at the Yuluo Boutique across the street, Ming Tan examined the shop sign that had previously been obscured by street stalls.

The calligraphy on the sign was well-executed, and the wood used was high-quality rosewood, with delicate gold leaf adorning the characters.

Spotting customers, a shop assistant came forward with a smile. "Madam, are you here to browse our garments? Please, this way."

Ming Tan nodded and followed him inside.

The shop was elegantly decorated, with neatly arranged bolts of silk and satin behind the counters. Ready-made garments for men and women were hung separately on either side, each given ample space for careful inspection—a practice no different from the upscale tailor shops she frequented in the capital.

"What kind of garments would Madam like to see? We have both understated and luxurious styles," the assistant inquired attentively from her side.

Ming Tan’s gaze swept casually over the displayed clothes, while Yun Yi responded coolly from behind, "Our Madam naturally only looks for the unique."

Understanding immediately, the assistant bowed even lower. "Then please, Madam, this way."

He hurried ahead to lift the door curtain for her.

Beyond the curtain was a separate, exquisitely arranged space, clearly reserved for distinguished guests.

The assistant guided her to a square table and served her tea. "Madam, please wait a moment. The remaining garments for today will be brought to you shortly."

From his tone, it seemed many had already been sold.

That wasn’t surprising—after all, wasn’t there already a dispute over a garment inside?

She didn’t touch the tea, instead glancing toward a partially screened table diagonally across the room, where a tailor and embroiderer were displaying a dress currently at the center of a heated argument.

The outfit was a combination of apricot-pink and jade-white, featuring a cross-collar short blouse paired with pleated skirts. From a distance, the embroidery was hard to discern, but notably, the blouse was made of Yaohua satin.

Yaohua satin was a new pattern from Suzhou this year. A few months ago, less than ten bolts had been presented as tribute. The Empress had received two and gifted them to Ming Tan, who had made a dress from it—only for it to be torn the first time she wore it by someone with no self-restraint.

Rumor had it that Yaohua satin was difficult to weave, and even months later, production remained limited. She had repeatedly demanded Zhou Jingwan compensate her for the ruined fabric, and though Jing Wan had agreed, it wasn’t until her visit to Yongchun Garden that she finally received it.

For Yuluo Boutique to already have garments made from Yaohua satin was impressive—no wonder people were fighting over it.

"Our Madam took a liking to this Yaohua satin dress yesterday and instructed me to purchase it today. Miss Su, it would be wise to step aside," said a maid, her tone haughty and domineering, though it was unclear which household she belonged to.

"Miss Lingzhi, let’s be reasonable—didn’t everyone take a liking to this dress yesterday?" retorted Miss Su’s maid. "The shopkeeper clearly said it wouldn’t be sold until today, and whoever arrived first would get it. Our Miss came early, so it should rightfully be ours."

The maid called "Miss Lingzhi" smirked. "If you arrived first, why didn’t you pay upfront? All this hemming and hawing—isn’t it just because it’s expensive and doesn’t fit well?"

"You—!"That Miss Su stopped her maid and spoke up herself, "If I'm placing an order now, why are you stopping me?"

"Until the order is placed, it doesn't belong to you. My Madam's order was placed here first, so this dress belongs to my Madam." Lingzhi glanced at the tailors and embroiderers nearby, "Tell me, isn't that right?"

"This..."

Today, Miss Su had come first to claim this dress, only wanting to try it on first to see how it could be altered for a better fit, so naturally, the dress should belong to Miss Su.

But this Lingzhi's mistress... they couldn't easily offend her either. The tailors and embroiderers exchanged uneasy glances, truly caught in a dilemma.

Lingzhi impatiently said, "Think carefully. Our Madam comes from the Jing'an Marquis Manor and is the elder sister of Princess Consort Dingbei. If you upset my Madam, and she sends a letter to the Marquis and the Princess Consort, whether your shop can stay open will be hard to say!"

Hearing this, Ming Tan: "...?"

Since when did she have such a good sister?

At that moment, the attendant who had greeted Ming Tan earlier returned with other tailors and embroiderers carrying several sets of clothes: "Madam, these—"

Ming Tan interrupted, glancing toward the screen opposite, and softly asked, "Over there, could that be someone from the Xuanwei General's household?"

The attendant nodded, looking embarrassed but unwilling to say more.

Clearly, Lingzhi's words had hit the mark. After a moment of silence behind the screen, it was Miss Su who reluctantly conceded, "Give it to her. I don't want it anymore."

With that, Miss Su stormed out with her maid in tow.

Her little maid grumbled indignantly beside her, "Relying on having a sister who's a Princess Consort to act high and mighty all day—she's not even the Princess Consort herself!"

Ming Tan had intended to call out to them, but after a moment's thought, she held back and signaled Yun Yi with her eyes not to act rashly.

Several other ladies and misses were still in the shop browsing clothes. Some pretended nothing had happened, while others stepped forward to flatter Lingzhi: "This dress, in my opinion, suits your Madam perfectly. At the Lotus Banquet two days from now, when your Madam wears this, she will undoubtedly outshine everyone else."

"Naturally. Thank you for your kind words. I must hurry back to report to my Madam after purchasing this dress, so I won't keep you."

Lingzhi's tone was haughty—she didn't even refer to herself as "this servant." For a maid to be so insolent—if this were the Jing'an Marquis Manor or Prince Dingbei's Manor, she would have been sold off a hundred times over.

After Lingzhi left, Ming Tan tried to remain composed as she browsed the clothes and asked the attendant beside her, "I'm new here. Does the Third Young Mistress of the Feng Family always carry herself with such... authority?"

The attendant dodged the question, "Our shop has only been open for three days. We don't even recognize all the noble ladies in the city yet, let alone know such details."

Ming Tan glanced at Yun Yi, who promptly took out a pouch of silver and handed it to the attendant.

The attendant was taken aback—this Madam was truly...

After a long pause, he finally composed himself and lowered his voice, "Though our shop has only been open for three days, I... I used to work at another shop and have heard a few things about this Third Young Mistress of the Feng Family. She..."

Ming Tan listened patiently, but the more she heard, the harder it became to suppress the anger rising in her chest.

It turned out that when Ming Chu first married into the Xuanwei General's household, with Old Madam Feng keeping things in check, she had caused little trouble inside or outside the household—she had even rarely appeared in public.But since the start of summer this year, Old Madam Feng had fallen gravely ill and remained unconscious to this day. Ming Chu had grown increasingly audacious as a result. Though she didn’t dare provoke her two sisters-in-law, both formidable daughters of military families, outside the Feng residence she frequently flaunted her connections to the Jing'an Marquis Manor and Princess Consort Dingbei.

Especially Princess Consort Dingbei—who in Hezhou could possibly reach such lofty heights?

Though no one had heard whether the Princess Consort was close to her elder sister, they were still blood sisters. If Ming Chu dared use her name like this, their relationship must be quite good.

Hearing this, Ming Tan was so furious she nearly fainted.

Ming Chu truly had no limits—even after marrying into Hezhou, she refused to settle down. Hadn’t she always looked down on her before? Now she was brazenly using her name to bully others.

Still, she wasn’t as foolish as before. This behavior served two purposes: gaining benefits through influence while also tarnishing Ming Tan’s reputation. What a perfect two-for-one deal!

The shop assistant added, "...Today’s incident involved Miss Su, who was originally intended to be betrothed to Third Young Master Feng. But after he became engaged to the Jing'an Marquis Manor in the capital, the Third Young Madam frequently targeted Miss Su."

Ming Tan remained silent.

After a long pause, she suddenly stood up. "I’ll take the dress. Yun Yi, pay."

By the time they returned to the restaurant, Ming Tan was seething with rage. Even behind her veil, her anger was palpable—it felt like pouring water on her would make her steam.

Jiang Xu glanced at her, then at Yun Yi.

Yun Yi: "..."

Even the braised pork had lost its flavor.

Ming Tan suddenly asked, "Husband, I can issue decrees, can’t I?"

Jiang Xu nodded. "What’s the matter?"

"Nothing. No need to trouble you."

If Ming Chu dared use her name to act with impunity and bully others, then she would make sure she understood the price of wielding that name!