The very thing Shen Yu dreaded came to pass. He had feared the Sixth Princess would bring up yesterday’s incident when he accidentally embraced her while saving her. Earlier, she seemed unaware of it and didn’t mention it, but now she had realized what happened.
His face flushed red as he opened his mouth, unable to utter a word.
The Sixth Princess, being considerate, said, “I don’t mean to pressure you. If you’d rather not answer, how about we have a competition when we go out there? If I win, you’ll tell me then, alright?”
Shen Yu’s face and neck turned crimson as he stammered, “It… it wouldn’t be honorable to compete against a lady.”
“Don’t underestimate women, Young General Shen,” the Sixth Princess proudly lifted her chubby face. “My archery skills are excellent. I insist on competing with you!”
“If that’s the case, then… I’ll give you a three-arrow advantage.”
The Sixth Princess didn’t argue further. She simply tested her bowstring and cheerfully said, “Deal!”
Soon after, the competition began.
Ming Tan sat beside Jiang Xu, maintaining the dignified poise of a royal consort. In truth, she found these archery competitions quite dull; unless the competitor was exceptionally handsome, even perfect marksmanship held little appeal.
After sitting quietly for a while, Ming Tan finally perked up when she saw the Sixth Princess and Shen Yu take the field together.
They exchanged some words, and then Shen Yu made a “please” gesture. The Sixth Princess stepped forward with her bow and arrows, straightened her small frame, aimed at the target’s center, and began shooting.
Previously, Ming Tan had only heard the little princess boast about her skills, claiming she only noticed someone’s presence in the forest after she had pinned a rabbit. Now, seeing the princess in action, it was clear her self-praise wasn’t entirely unfounded.
The princess’s chubby face tensed in concentration as she drew her bow. She continuously retrieved arrows from her quiver, firing ten shots in rapid succession. Remarkably, every arrow struck the bullseye.
In contrast, when Shen Yu took his turn, although he also hit the bullseye with each shot, he stopped after only seven arrows.
Ming Tan leaned close to Jiang Xu and whispered, “My lord, don’t you think the Sixth Princess of South Lu and Cousin Shen make quite a good match standing together?”
Jiang Xu nodded, a rare occurrence.
After leaving Shen Yu’s tent the previous night, he had dispatched secret agents to investigate. He realized he had overthought the situation; his young consort’s inquiries about Shen Yu were likely on behalf of the South Lu Sixth Princess.
As the competition ended, Ming Tan observed the Sixth Princess’s beaming smile and proudly puffed-up chest. Pleased, she took a small sip of fruit wine.
After today’s archery contest, they would break camp and return to the city. The South Lu delegation, having been in the capital for several days, was set to depart the day after tomorrow.
However, on the journey back to the city, the Sixth Princess suddenly climbed into Ming Tan’s carriage, looking dejected.
Noticing her sudden low spirits, Ming Tan cautiously asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Before the competition, I made a deal with Young General Shen. If I won, he would tell me if he had any lady he fancied,” she explained, resting her chin on her hand with a worried expression. “I just asked him, and he said no.”
Ming Tan sighed in relief. “Isn’t that good news?”
“Then I asked if he would be willing to become my consort. He said he was a soldier of Da Xian, sworn to protect his country until death, and couldn’t become a consort of another nation. I told him he misunderstood, that I didn’t mean for him to leave Da Xian – I could marry into his country instead! But then he said we had only just met yesterday, and how could we discuss marriage so soon? He said marriage requires mutual understanding to make a decision, but I’m returning to South Lu the day after tomorrow. There’s no time for us to get to know each other.”
By this point, the Sixth Princess’s entire chubby face had fallen.
“Do you think he dislikes me and that’s why he’s making so many excuses? Is marriage always this complicated in Da Xian? I could petition your Da Xian Emperor to force the issue, but if he’s unwilling, wouldn’t that make him dislike me even more?”
Ming Tan pondered for a moment before carefully responding, “I don’t think he’s intentionally making excuses to reject you. You truly haven’t known each other long enough. Marriage is a matter that requires careful consideration from him, and even more so from you.”
“Really?” The Sixth Princess looked at her with pitiful eyes.
Ming Tan nodded and beckoned her to come closer.
She hesitantly leaned in.
Ming Tan whispered, “During your competition earlier, I asked my husband about it. He said that in the Northern Army, no one could surpass Young General Shen in archery. If he wanted to, he could have not only hit the bullseye but also shot down your arrows in the process.”
The Sixth Princess froze for a moment, then slowly asked, “So he was deliberately letting me win?”
Ming Tan silently confirmed.
The Sixth Princess quickly grasped Ming Tan’s hands. “If he doesn’t dislike me, how can we get to know each other? We only have two days, and… and my father has already chosen a consort for me back in South Lu…” Her voice trailed off, sounding a bit guilty.
Ming Tan had an idea but suddenly remembered the white fox the little princess had taken back. She swallowed the suggestion that had come to her lips.
She cleared her throat dramatically and then said slowly, “There is a way, of course. It just depends on whether the princess truly wants to know.”
The Sixth Princess looked confused. “I do.”
Ming Tan avoided looking at her, instead smoothing out the creases in her clothes and muttering to herself, “Winter is approaching, and I haven’t had new clothes made yet. I didn’t get new clothes last year either. It seems the Royal Consort is living too frugally.”
The Sixth Princess finally caught on. “I’ll give you the white fox fur!”
“If you had sincerely given it to me yesterday, that would have been the price. But since you took it back, the price has changed today.”
“Then… then what do you want? I’ll give you anything.”
“Before you leave, come to the royal manor and roast a leg of lamb for me.”
“Deal!”
Satisfied, Ming Tan smiled and gestured for her to lean in closer. She whispered a few words in her ear.
The Sixth Princess’s chubby face immediately lit up. “Two legs of lamb! I’ll roast two for you!”
Two days later, the South Lu delegation prepared to return home. Emperor Cheng Kang had prepared over ten carriages of gifts and a letter of goodwill, expressing Da Xian’s friendship towards its ally.
Ming Tan rose early to dress and took the royal manor’s carriage to the city gates to bid farewell.
Seeing Ming Tan, the Sixth Princess quickly dismounted and smiled, “I thought you weren’t coming.”
“How could I not? I promised to see you off, so of course I’m here.”
Lu E timely presented a brocade box, which Ming Tan accepted and handed to the princess.
“For me?” the Sixth Princess took it and asked curiously, “Can I open it now?”
Ming Tan nodded. “Of course.”
She eagerly opened it to find an exquisite sachet inside. She gazed at it in admiration, “It’s beautiful! Did you embroider this yourself?”
The day they left the carriage, the Sixth Princess had casually asked Ming Tan where the Northern Prince got the sachet on his waist, commenting on its beautiful embroidery. Ming Tan had taken note and embroidered one for the little princess upon returning to the manor.
The Sixth Princess couldn’t put it down, examining it carefully for a while before excitedly pointing to a character subtly embroidered on the inside. “You even embroidered my given name, ‘Chun’!”
Ming Tan smiled and nodded.
“But what’s this? Is it a bun?” The Sixth Princess looked confused at the embroidery on the sachet. It looked like a bun, but why embroider a bun on a sachet?
Ming Tan couldn’t help but pinch her cheek. “It is a bun!”
…!
“Alright, if things work out, you’ll be coming back to the capital sooner or later, so I won’t see you off further.”
The Sixth Princess had been feeling a bit reluctant to leave, but hearing this, she nodded. She glanced at Shen Yu, sitting straight as a young pine on his horse, then happily hugged Ming Tan, whispering in her ear, “Just wait, I’ll be back as your little sister-in-law!”
Ming Tan: “…” This Sixth Princess was quite young, why was she so fixated on changing their relationship?
Shen Yu inexplicably sneezed, instinctively looking back at the Sixth Princess who was whispering with his cousin Tan. He had an ominous feeling about being assigned to escort the return gifts to South Lu. It seemed this journey wouldn’t be peaceful.
Sure enough, not long after leaving the city, the Sixth Princess deliberately slowed her pace to ride alongside Shen Yu. She smiled sweetly, “Young General Shen, we have a long journey ahead. Now we have plenty of time to get to know each other well!”
Shen Yu: “…”
So it was her request.
After seeing off the Sixth Princess, Ming Tan lazed at home for several days, not going out.
With the Ling Province matter settled, the recovery of Rong Province seemed to be back on the agenda. These days, Jiang Xu often received guests in the library, and Ming Tan didn’t disturb him. As winter approached, marking nearly another year’s end, she also had many matters to attend to.
Unexpectedly, Lady Pei made a rare visit to the Northern Prince’s manor.
As Ming Tan’s mother, her visit to the manor should have been ordinary. However, considering she wasn’t Ming Tan’s birth mother, she felt it wasn’t appropriate to treat the royal manor as her backyard, coming and going as she pleased. Usually, Ming Tan would visit the Jing’an Marquis Manor instead.
“Mother, what brings you here today?” Ming Tan hurriedly helped Lady Pei to the main seat in the flower hall and instructed Su Xin to serve Lady Pei’s favorite tea and pastries.
Lady Pei gently moved the tea lid and smiled warmly. “Nothing much. I watched a new play by the Fuchun Troupe at the Changguo Duke’s manor today and thought I’d stop by to see you.”
The Changguo Duke’s manor and the Northern Prince’s manor were so far apart that one could make two round trips to the Jing’an Marquis Manor in between. Ming Tan understood and gestured for the unfamiliar manor maids to withdraw temporarily.
Once they were alone, Ming Tan asked, “Mother, what’s the matter?”
Lady Pei didn’t beat around the bush. After some thought, she carefully asked, “Has… has the Prince mentioned any court matters to you recently?”
“No, he hasn’t.”
Lady Pei pondered for a moment, then said, “It’s nothing. It’s just that I’ve noticed your father seems preoccupied these past few days. When I asked him about it, he wouldn’t say.”
Lady Pei sighed. “You know how things are between your father and me. In the past, it was one thing, but now…” She looked a bit embarrassed, then leaned in to whisper something in Ming Tan’s ear.
Upon hearing it, Ming Tan’s eyes widened in surprise.