Introduction
A sweet and fluffy Chinese historical romcom, with three cute couples and a spicy dash of palace politics. Fast pace and doesn’t drag. A nice watch between two serious dramas, or if you just want to unwind from your stressful days. This is the first part of three recap series article.
Drama Info
Drama title: Youthful Glory (Native title: 韶华若锦 )
Alternative title: Shao Hua Ruo Jin , Xiao Dou Kou
Genres: Historical, Mystery, Romance
Aired: May 19, 2025 - Jun 2, 2025
Episodes: 30 | Duration: 45 minutes
Directors: Min Guo Hui ( 闵国辉 ) and Xie Guo Wei ( 郄国伟 )
Screenwriters: Zhu Yi ( 诸懿 ) and Liu Jia ( 刘佳 )
Adapted from the novel "Xiao Dou Kou" (小豆蔻) by Bu Zhi Shi Ke Cai (不止是颗菜).
Where to read the English-translated novel: MyDramaNovel
Where to watch: MangoTV, iQiyi, and Viki
OSTs: Full album (fansub)
Trailer:
Synopsis
After spending eight years defending the northern borders, Prince Jiang Xu returns to the royal court of the Daxian Dynasty to investigate the embezzlement of military funds from his army. To help his investigation, he proposes marriage to Ming Tan, a young woman from a distinguished military family, to shield her family from political exploitation.
However, as Jiang Xu delves deeper into the case, he discovers that the embezzled funds are deeply intertwined with the Daxian Dynasty’s entire economy – but as he works to dismantle the criminal network, the Ming family becomes scapegoats for the true masterminds.
Can Jiang Xu clear his wife’s family’s name, and will his efforts bring him and Ming Tan closer than they ever expected to be? (Source: Viki)
Characters
Main Characters
Song Wei Long ( 宋威龙 ) as Jiang Xu
Jiang Xu is the Prince of Dingbei. He is exceptionally talented in military affairs, making the Dingbei army famous.
However, during the Battle of Dongzhou, due to issues with military pay, the war was difficult. After the battle, he was not summoned back to the capital but instead secretly investigated the military pay embezzlement case.
Bao Shang En ( 包上恩 ) as Ming Tan
Ming Tan is the youngest daughter of the Marquis Jing’an, born into a prestigious military family. Her father is stationed at the border, leaving her in the capital under the care of her father’s old friend, the current Prime Minister Su Wen Chun. With both beauty and intelligence, she is renowned as the “First Noble Lady” of the capital and is also a trendsetter in the fashion world.
Supporting Characters (Characters Chart)
Since someone has graciously translated the character chart provided, I will not list the supporting characters. The relationship chart is pretty much self-explanatory.
Recap Episodes 1 to 10
Episode 1
Ming Tan is to be engaged to Duke Ling’s son, named Liang Zi Xuan, but she knows that the Duke is only interested in his father’s military power. Besides, Liang Zi Xuan already has an affair with his cousin and got her pregnant. Ming Tan tries hard to delay the engagement until the auspicious time is over. She also wants to find proof of Liang Zi Xuan’s affair to break off the engagement completely. When she hears that Liang Zi Xuan is going to a temple with his lover to pray, she follows them. That’s where she met Jiang Xu.
After the couple leaves, Ming Tan wants to get their wish card so she can use it to break off her engagement. Alas, the card hangs too high, and she falls. Just in time, Jiang Xu rescues her. Earlier, in the woods, Jiang Xu was surrounded by assassins. Since there are too many of them, he flees to the temple. That’s where he met Ming Tan.
Let’s appreciate our handsome ML
The pursuers chase Jiang Xu to the temple. They are the sheriff of the Capital prefecture and his people. They want to enter the praying hall, but are stopped by Su Xin, Ming Tan’s maid. Ming Tan herself acts snotty and refuses to open the door. Mainly, because she doesn’t want to be found with the man by the sheriff. Since the pursuit is supposed to be a secret, the sheriff retreats.
From Ming Tan’s token left behind, Jiang Xu finds out that she’s Marquis Jing’an’s family member. He wants to hitch a ride in her carriage since he’s injured. He’s still pursued, tho. The assassins attack the carriage, but Jiang Xu takes Ming Tan and her maid to a safe place. But Ming Tan is too afraid to help him, so she leaves. But not before she throws water and medication at him.
It seems the mission has failed. Not only did Ming Tan lose her token, but she also lost the wishing card. Bai Min Min, Ming Tan’s cousin and bestie, advises her to find the affair evidence straight into the enemy’s lair, the Ling Mansion. So her godmother accompanies her to the Ling Mansion, pretending to apologize for the engagement mishap. Ming Tan pretends to want to talk to the cousin and walks out with a maid. She sweet-talks the maid, who later leaves her to prepare the beauty ingredients. Ming Tan has a chance to look for a piece of evidence in the mansion. There is some noise in the Mansion, so she goes into hiding… and faces Jiang Xu again! The secret room they’re hiding in is full of silver and gold bars. She thinks the Duke Ling embezzles government money, so she takes a bar as a piece of evidence. That’s when she’s knocked out by Jiang Xu!
When she’s awake, she’s back home. Ming Tan is more adamant about canceling the engagement because Duke Ling embezzles government money. But Jiang Xu clears up all the silver and gold and leaves the Duke a letter that he takes his embezzlement money back.
There is a banquet in the palace. The Emperor praises the Prince of Dingbei’s military contribution, but he’s not summoned to the capital by the Emperor. But… he suddenly shows up. Guests speculate that something serious must happen at the border.
Episode 2
Jiang Xu apparently is the Emperor’s bestie or something, since he doesn’t seem afraid of the Emperor, and the Emperor is happy to see him uninvited. A fangirl wants to perform a piece of music, but he rudely rejects her. Ming Tan’s archenemy, Zhai Nian Ci, uses this opportunity to embarrass Ming Tan, publicly praising Ming Tan’s (mediocre) music skills. Ming Tan tries to get out of the embarrassment. Jiang Xu rudely says that he doesn’t want to hear any music. Instead, he turns the banquet into a courtroom! Jiang Xu brings a dead body in and wishes to discuss it with the Emperor and the ministers. The Empress knows her position, so she dismisses herself with the ladies. The dead body is none other than the sheriff of the Capital prefecture, who chased Jiang Xu to the temple last time! He didn’t kill the man, tho! He asks in front of everyone a thorough investigation into this matter.
Oh no, apparently, Ming Tan’s godfather, the Chancellor, must be the top villain! The suspect of the military fund embezzlement, Duke Ling, rides together in his carriage, and they discuss Jiang Xu’s movement. The Chancellor wants to help Duke Ling through the marriage of Duke Ling’s son, Liang Zi Xuan, to Ming Tan. They have to get married ASAP!
We see the F4 of Shangjing in a tea house: Jiang Xu, Zhang Huai Yu, Shu Jing Ran, and Lu Ting. They eavesdrop on Ming Tan and Min Min’s convo next door about Duke Ling’s involvement with the embezzlement and the rush to marry off his son to Ming Tan. The convo then moves to who Ming Tan’s better candidate is to marry for love. Min Min suggests the sophisticated Shu Jing Ran, but Ming Tan thinks he’s above her level. How about the King of Dingbei? Min Min thinks her criteria match his, but Ming Tan talks down to him. Hearing that, Jiang Xu refuses to marry her, too! When the girls leave, Zhang Huai Yu is curious about the girls, so he takes a peek and is mesmerized by Min Min’s appearance.
The girls enjoy the Lantern Festival, but Liang Zi Xuan has an evil plan to tarnish Ming Tan’s reputation, so she has to marry him. He sent his servant to push her into the water, then Liang Zi Xuan jumped into the water, pretending to save her. Ming Tan doesn’t want to be saved by Liang Zi Xuan, so she fights him. But she gets weaker and passes out. At that time, as usual, the Male Lead is the knight for the damsel in distress. Jiang Xu saves her and takes her to the top of the entertainment place, Bieyu Mansion. When Ming Tan hears that Jiang Xu monitors the Duke Ling’s family, she wants to work with him. But he refuses with the same excuse she gave him last time: an unmarried man and an unmarried woman can’t be seen together.
Episode 3
While Ming Tan disappears from Bieyu Mansion to find Zhu Er, Min Min comes looking for her. Zhang Huai Yu wants to impress her by telling her that he knows where Ming Tan is, but she hits him, lol. When he takes her to the room where Ming Tan is, she has gone. Min Min is suspicious of Huai Yu, so she ties his ankle with hers while they’re waiting together for Ming Tan and Jiang Xu to come back.
Chancellor wants Duke Ling to kill the pregnant girl, Zhu Er, who is sent to the countryside. Ming Tan finds Zhu Er, since she wants to take her back to the Capital as a witness to cancel the engagement. Assassins come to kill Zhu Er, and again, Jiang Xu saves both of them. Zhu Er is about to deliver her baby. The midwife and Ming Tan help with the delivery. After the baby is born, he’s taken to safety, and Zhu Er agrees to go back to the Capital to seek justice.
The rest of the episode is annoying with the appearance of Marquis Jing’an’s concubine and her spoiled brat daughter, Ming Chu. I won’t write about them. Ming Tan’s father also arrived at the Capital. Dad is very angry that his daughter will be married off to Duke Ling’s son. He has a trump card, Zhu Er, whom Jiang Xu brought to the Capital. As per Jiang Xu’s instruction, Zhu Er makes a scene in front of Ming Tan’s father and Duke Ling’s family, so Marquis Jing’an breaks the engagement.
Episode 4
After the engagement is cancelled, everyone is looking for a candidate for Ming Tan, including the Emperor and Jiang Xu, because of Marquis Jing’an’s military importance. After no candidate pleases Jiang Xu enough, he offers himself to the Emperor. The Empress Dowager wants to marry him off to Zhai Nian Ci, but he doesn’t want it. The Emperor asks if he likes Ming Tan. Jiang Xu says, “If not me to bear this for the country, then who?”
Ming Tan goes to Hanyan Temple and is sent to pray and reflect by a little monk because she doesn’t like her food, lol. She unintentionally prays right next to the room where the Emperor and Jiang Xu are playing Go. After reflecting on her mistakes, she continues with a LONG list of what kind of husband she wants to have, while the Emperor and Jiang Xu overhear her prayer. Jiang Xu says that she’s beyond cure. The Emperor sighs and says that, fortunately, Jiang Xu will take her in. Jiang Xu leaves and doesn’t have any desire to play anymore.
Episode 5
The edict competition to marry off Ming Tan, between the Emperor and the Empress Dowager (she is the late Emperor’s wife and from the powerful Su Clan), is hilarious. The Emperor calls Dad in and somewhat forces him to agree to marry off Ming Tan to Jiang Xu, because the Dowager’s eunuch is already at his home presenting the edict. If not passed, the Empress Dowager will keep pushing her candidates to Ming Tan. Fortunately, neither Ming Tan nor her father is at home. She’s at the tea house with Min Min, arguing with her nemesis Zhai Nian Ci about Jiang Xu. Dad told the Emperor that his daughter is at the tea house, so the Eunuch goes there right away and declares the edict in front of the public that she’ll marry Jiang Xu. Ming Tan passes out upon hearing that she, not Zhai Nian Ci, will marry the terrifying War God!
After waking up, Ming Tan asks Dad about the man she’s supposed to marry. Being a military guy, Dad praises King of Dingbei in a bloody way, of how the man won battles, which doesn’t help Ming Tan feel at ease. When Dad says that the man is tall and handsome, Ming Tan is curious to see him in person. Min Min has an idea for her to sneak into the military camp disguised as a maid from the Ming Mansion to bring snacks to the future son-in-law.
Ming Tan successfully meets her future husband, and is in shock that he’s none other than the ‘bandit’ she encountered a few times. Jiang Xu is also surprised that she dares to sneak into the camp disguised as a servant. To clarify her misunderstanding, he explained what he actually did during their two previous encounters. She also asks why he wants to marry her. Apparently, all the criteria Ming Tan listed during her prayer to Buddha match Jiang Xu’s qualifications! She’s a little bit disappointed that it’s a marriage of convenience, but Jiang Xu argues that she doesn’t have anyone she wants to marry in the capital anyway. Ming Tan is still in a daze when she walks out of the camp, after finding the high qualifications of her future husband. Luckily, it’s not one way. At home, Jiang Xu’s butler praises Ming Tan as she rallied for the military fund in the past. The butler says it’s a match from heaven and will happily prepare for the wedding.
Episode 6
Because Ming Tan is getting married, her older sister Ming Chu is supposed to marry also, so they arrange a blind date for her and… Lu Ting! Ah, please don’t let him be with her, that girl is a meanie! Ming Tan has to accompany her sister, so Min Min also goes with her. Somehow, the Shangjing F4 is there, too, probably accompanying Lu Ting. Min Chu looks down on Lu Ting so he rejects her. Ming Chu walks by Jiang Xu and Zhang Huai Yu, and she remembers this is the guy she had a crush on back in the country, when he and Ming Tan went to save the pregnant woman. Ming Chu follows Jiang Xu secretly.
Ming Tan is in the garden playing guqin while waiting for her sister to finish with her blind date. Her friend Min Min is asking Buddha to ward off troublemakers, who is none other than Zhang Huai Yu, with whom she had bad encounters before. Somehow, her talisman gets mixed with another talisman. Min Min then sees Zhang Huai Yu and Jiang Xu, and wants to try her talisman on Zhang Huai Yu. Ming Tan sees her friend and is embarrassed to see Jiang Xu. She deliberately greets Jiang Xu as the Prince of Dingbei to inform Min Min, who talked badly about him before, about who the Prince is. The situation between the four is awkward until Ming Chu shows up. The meanie deliberately tries to flirt with Jiang Xu, but he doesn’t remember her. Lu Ting and Shu Jing Ran join them, and Min Min can guess right away that Lu Ting and Ming Chu are in a blind date. Ming Chu is angry that Lu Ting says straightforwardly about their failed date, so she intentionally humiliates her sister by telling everyone that Ming Tan sneaked into the military camp at night. Min Min defends her bestie mightily. Ming Tan is embarrassed by the situation, so she fakes fainting. Ming Chu already knows about her sister’s habit. She mocks Ming Tan, and Jiang Xu hits her acupoint to stop her from talking.
The jealous Ming Chu goes all the way to hire bandits to attack Ming Tan’s carriage and pretends like she saves her sister. But the Shangjing F4 comes to the rescue, and of course, Jiang Xu, again, saves Ming Tan. Ming Chu notices the ring worn by Ming Tan and realizes she was the one who snatched the ginseng she bought, since Ming Tan needed it to help with the baby delivery at the countryside inn last time.
Remember the talisman Min Min got to ward off troublemakers? Min Min dropped it while fighting with Ming Chu, and Zhang Huai Yu picked it up. He returns it to her, and Min Min says it’s meant for him (so she won’t meet him again). However, because of the mix-up at the temple, Min Min gets a love talisman instead. When Zhang Huai Yu returns to Bieyu Mansion, his female employee tells him that the talisman is usually given by a woman who loves a man for a long time!
At home, Dad is angry about the bandit attack and criticizes Ming Chu for not defending her sister, since Ming Chu knows martial arts. However, Ming Tan questions her sister, since it seems her sister knows the bandits. Ming Chu is punished to kneel at the ancestral hall, but Ming Chu objects and tells Dad that Ming Tan secretly met a man in the countryside inn (she saw the ring). Luckily, Jiang Xu walks in, and declares that Ming Tan met him. He visits them at night to resolve the bandit attack matter. He also suspected that the bandit attack was intentional, so he investigated the matter, and it was clear that Ming Chu had hired the bandits. Jiang Xu, being a general, directly advises Dad to marry off Ming Chu to someone far away, keeping her close by will be negative for Dad’s family.
Episode 7
Moreover, Jiang Xu also authoritatively suggests that Ming Chu’s mother be sent to a nunnery. Smart Ming Tan guesses that it must be her fiancé’s idea, since the woman is probably the one paying the bandits, and is punished quietly so nobody will accuse Marquis Jing’an of collaborating with bandits. The wedding date is also pushed sooner.
With the wedding approaching, things are stressful. Min Min suggests that Ming Tan release stress in Bieyu Mansion and learn guqin from the best entertainer, Miss Shui Ying. Shui Ying thinks that Ming Tan wants to learn about sex education, so she leaves the girl with sex books. Min Min argues with Zhang Huai Yu again and leaves Ming Tan. Jiang Xu happens to be there with Shu Jing Ran, so he takes her home. Ming Tan and Jing Xu stamped their marriage contract agreement with (Jiang Xu’s) blood.
Godfather silently disagrees with the marriage, but he can’t protest because it’s the Emperor’s edict. He orders people to kidnap Ming Tan right before the wedding.
Episode 8
While people at the Marquis Jing’an’s household try to stall the wedding and prevent people from seeing the bride (one of the maids disguised as Ming Tan, whose face is under the bridal veil), Jiang Xu follows Ming Tan’s lead to find her. She throws her jewelry, including her mother’s hairpin, so Jiang Xu can track her down. Of course, he finds her, and the wedding proceeds successfully. Ming Tan is still shocked and tired of the kidnapping, so she retires early.
I’m somewhat suspicious that Godmother knows about and agrees to the kidnapping orchestrated by her husband, because she insisted on seeing Ming Tan under the veil, when Ming Tan was still away.
Episode 9
While walking on the street looking for a gift for her husband to thank him for saving her life, Ming Tan meets Gu Ji Rou, the daughter of the Marquis of Cheng’en, who was imprisoned for the embezzlement case (but he was just the Godfather’s lackey). Ji Rou is one of Ming Tan’s close friends. Ji Rou asks Ming Tan to help her meet her father since she has never been in prison before. Ming Tan then visits Jiang Xu at the garrison and gives the soldiers snacks to save his ‘reputation’, lol. She also informed Jiang Xu about her plan to accompany Ji Rou to visit her father at the prison.
Poor Ming Tan, hahaha! She’s already fallen for her husband and tries to be romantic with him, but all under the name of her “pride and reputation,” as written on their marriage contract she drafted last time. Because her mother died and her father is a general stationed on the border, nobody close to her knows about married life. Even Jiang Xu prohibits the sex books given by Miss Shui Ying. Ming Tan tries with her limited knowledge to seduce her husband, but after a few days of marriage, he seems uninterested in her. She thinks that he’s impotent, lol.
Since Ming Tan is practically a royal family member (Jiang Xu is the Emperor’s cousin), she has to pay respect to the royal elder, who is none other than the Empress Dowager, the Emperor’s stepmother. Jiang Xu’s parents have already passed away. Ming Tan knows the Dowager is unhappy because her two marriage arrangements failed. Firstly, when the Emperor outsmarted her edict. Secondly, the Dowager planned to marry Jiang Xu to her granddaughter, the mean Zhai Nian Ci.
Episode 10
Zhai Nian Ci insults Ming Tan mercilessly because Ming Tan ends up being the one who marries that scary Prince of Dingbei, not her. Ming Tan tries to defend him because she finds out that he actually is a nice guy. The mean princess even trips on Ming Tan, and as usual, Jiang Xu ends up saving her. He princess carries her all the way from the inner court to the gate, and the news about it spreads all over the capital. Min Min is dying to get the juicy details about her bestie’s married life, but Ming Tan says he doesn’t like her and thinks that he’s impotent, right when Jiang Xu comes home and overhears their convo, hahaha!
Ming Tan takes her friend Gu Ji Rou to visit her father with food at his request. He actually doesn’t care about her or her mother, only his son. He secretly wants her to take a ledger and give it to the bad guys who kidnapped his son, so that he will be released. Right after eating, he dies! Ji Rou knows nothing about the poisoned food. Later, she takes the ledger to a remote area where her brother is kidnapped. However, she informs Ming Tan before she meets the kidnappers. Ming Tan and Min Min want to save their friend, and they also inform Jiang Xu. When he and his people deal with the kidnapper, Ji Rou runs away, and someone chases her. Ji Rou runs towards Ming Tan and Min Min. Ming Tan sees the person’s eyes. She realizes those eyes are the same as the man who abducted her!
Conclusion
As Jiang Xu and Ming Tan find out that their marriage partner is not that bad, how will this couple navigate their marriage, especially when the palace power struggle casts a shadow over their married life? Let’s continue to the second part: Youthful Glory: Drama Info and Recap Episodes 11 to 20!
