Thirteenth Lady's Comback: Her Everyday Life as a Bystander-Chapter 117 - 9: Sisters Reunited (Part 2)

Ruan Qiniang knew that Susu was more concerned about Ruan Sixth Son, so she comforted her, "Don’t worry, Sixth Brother and the other brothers and nephews are all well. Although the Northwest is harsh, the Emperor doesn’t dare to go too far. Moreover, our mother secretly takes care of them. They haven’t suffered much hardship; food and drink aren’t an issue."

Ruan Qiniang was afraid Susu would be heartbroken, so she didn’t tell the truth. How could they not suffer being exiled to the Northwest? No matter what, their mother has remarried; how could she openly take care of the legitimate grandchildren of her former husband?

Sixth Brother’s letters were always mixed in with the private correspondence between herself and their mother, always reporting the good news while hiding the bad. It was already fortunate to keep their lives under the Emperor’s repression. Without needing to guess, Ruan Qiniang could imagine the hardships involved.

The only time Ruan Sixth Son expressed emotion in his letters was about the Thirteenth Lady. But how would Ruan Qiniang dare to write such head-losing matters in letters?

The current Emperor’s hatred for the Ruan Family was evident from the continuous suppression of the surviving Ruan sons! If the letter were discovered at a post station by someone with ulterior motives, the Ruan Family would be facing the deadly crime of deceiving the Emperor!

Ruan could only tell her brother that Thirteenth Lady was doing well. In a year, there was only one letter. After Sixth Son asked three times, he no longer asked. Although Ruan Qiniang was heartbroken, as long as everyone was alive, there was hope!

Though Thirteenth Lady was officially dead, Susu was alive, but today, how many women of the Ruan Family were still here? 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

The hate in Ruan Qiniang’s heart was like a fire that never extinguished—endure it, endure it, let’s see who outlasts whom!

"Thirteenth Lady, as long as one lives, there is hope. What I’m about to say, you must remember it with all your heart," Ruan Qiniang’s expression was so stern it was almost frightening. Seeing Susu nod with a flower-like smile, she stepped forward to hold Susu’s hand, but the words she spoke bore no semblance of surface calmness.

"The Founding Four Dukes, Six Marquis, and Eight Earls were conferred as hereditary nobility without exception by the Founding Saint Martial Emperor. The Saint Martial Emperor declared that as long as these families don’t rebel and the titles are inherited, they may share the country’s fate with the Great Chu Dynasty. Future emperors should also remember the merits of the founding contributors who helped the nation to prosper."

Upon hearing this, Susu was taken aback. Duke Li merely participated in a succession dispute, which wasn’t rebellion, yet they still had their title stripped and were executed!

Perhaps Susu’s facial expression was too obvious, as Ruan Qiniang let out a few cold laughs before explaining, "It’s just political chess. Plus, our father indeed provoked the current Emperor too much, so our family was pushed out to be the example when the Emperor ascended the throne, merely a chicken killed to warn the monkey! He killed our father and brothers on charges of treason, exiled the underage boys to the Northwest, and suppressed them in every way, with the women all turned into official slaves, forbidden from redemption, and utterly humiliated. The world merely thinks Duke Li’s Mansion no longer exists; however, the other seventeen founding noble families in the Capital all know that the title of Duke Li’s Mansion still exists. As soon as a new emperor ascends the throne, the first thing to do is reinstate the Ruan Family’s title; otherwise, no other family among the seventeen would agree to set this precedent. Who knows which family will be next?"

"Even though the current Emperor suppresses us, he doesn’t dare go all out, because he fears triggering public anger! You must know, the Capital’s founding eighteen noble families have intermarried for generations. How many girls and daughters-in-law of other families are in Duke Li’s Mansion? Aside from my mother, this time, everyone has been paid in full!" Ruan Qiniang seemed to squeeze these words out through gritted teeth, her fingers shaking from hatred.

Susu held her hand, worriedly saying, "Seventh Sister!"

Ruan Qiniang let out a long breath, "I’m fine! I kept these words in my heart, not daring to tell even your brother-in-law. They all think I don’t know, but little do they know, before my mother remarried, she told me everything, urging me to live well, for we are young and will see the day when the Ruan Family rises again."

Susu had a question lingering for seven or eight years, "Seventh Sister, why did Duke Li’s Mansion get involved in that unpopular succession dispute? After all, our family was already a founding Duke’s Mansion; there was no more title to be gained. It couldn’t have been just because Aunt was the Princess Liang, could it?"

Ruan Qiniang sighed and said, "Though a son does not speak of his father’s faults, you should still know some things." And then Susu heard a truly melodramatic story.

It has been said before that the eighteen founding noble families in the Capital have intermarried for generations; roundabout as it is, they are all relatives!

The current Empress Dowager and the Old Madam of Duke Xian’s Mansion were maternal first cousins. At that time, the current Empress Dowager, when she was Consort, had no children of her own and was genuinely fond of the Second Prince, whose birth mother had a low status! When the Second Prince was three years old and began his education, Consort wanted to choose a companion for him from a high-born family for future support. After much selection, she finally chose her cousin’s son—the legitimate eldest grandson of Duke Xian’s Mansion at that time, who was the father of Ruan Qiniang and her sisters, and later became Duke Li.