Ties of Love, Ruan Wan

Ruan Wan first went to pay her respects to the Empress. The Empress was much kinder and more benevolent than last time, and kept staring at Ruan Wan's belly the whole time. "You and Qian Yuan have been married for more than half a year now, why is there no sign of pregnancy?"

Ruan Wan blushed. "Auntie, how could it be so fast?"

The Empress knew that Ruan Wan had come to see Ruan Yuanyan, so she did not try to keep her any longer and let Ruan Wan go to Ruan Yuanyan's Chengqian Palace.

The Empress also sent her personal nanny to escort Ruan Wan to Chengqian Palace.

After seeing her to the door, the nanny smiled and said to Ruan Wan, "Please sit for a moment, Madam, don't linger."

Ruan Wan smiled and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Granny."

Ruan Wan waited at the door for a while, and the maid went in to announce her arrival.

After waiting for a while, the maid smiled and welcomed Ruan Wan in, while Qiu Shuang stood guard at the door.

Chengqian Palace truly lived up to its reputation as the residence of the Imperial Concubine; it was resplendent in gold and jade, and the furnishings and decorations inside were all rare treasures.

Palace maids and eunuchs came and went in an endless stream. Some were tending to the flowers and plants in the courtyard, while others were busy sweeping and cleaning. Everyone was doing their job in an orderly manner.

Led by her maid, Ruan Wan arrived at the bedroom. Ruan Yuanyan was lying on the bed at the time. Upon seeing Ruan Wan, she sat up slightly and said, "Sister is here."

Ruan Wan quickly stepped forward and pressed Ruan Yuanyan down, saying, "Lie down quickly, don't catch a cold."

Ruan Yuanyan immediately lay back down, and Ruan Wan took a step back and bowed to Ruan Yuanyan, saying, "This humble woman congratulates Your Highness on the birth of your son."

Ruan Yuanyan smiled and instructed a palace maid beside her, "Quickly, give my sister a seat and serve tea."

After Ruan Yuanyan became pregnant and gave birth, she became much fuller-figured, but she also appeared more charming and alluring.

She no longer had the demeanor of a young girl, but rather the mature charm of a woman. In this way, she didn't look much like her aunt.

Ruan Yuanyan glanced at Ruan Wan's belly and said with a smile, "My eldest and second eldest sisters already have their own children, and now I have also given birth to an imperial heir. Only my third sister is missing."

Ruan Wan glanced down at her belly and said with a smile, "This humble woman is not as fortunate as Your Highness, the Imperial Concubine. These things cannot be rushed."

Ruan Yuanyan smiled and said, "That's true, but with my sister and brother-in-law being so loving, they're bound to have children sooner or later."

Ruan Yuanyan then asked, "It seems a concubine in the Seventh Prince's residence has died. I heard she was poisoned. Have you heard of this, sister?"

Ruan Wan pretended to lower her head and think for a while. "It seems that there is such a thing. Qiu Shuang mentioned it to me a few days ago. She said it was the talk of the town. But from what I heard, it was about a dead nanny who became a concubine."

Ruan Yuanyan smiled and said, "Perhaps it's a rumor. Have you visited the Seventh Prince's residence, sister? Linglong must be about to give birth soon."

A maid brought over tea, and Ruan Wan took it, intending to use the excuse of drinking water to change the subject.

As soon as the lid was opened, Ruan Wan smelled the medicinal aroma inside. Although a lot of tea leaves were put in to cover up the smell, Ruan Wan still smelled it immediately.

No wonder the old woman told me not to linger.

Ruan Wan used the cup lid to block Ruan Yuanyan's view, pretended to take a sip, and then said with a smile, "This humble woman has not yet visited the Princess, but the time is approaching. I will visit her after the Princess gives birth."

At this moment, a palace maid entered and bowed to Ruan Yuanyan, saying, "Your Highness, the Noble Consort and the Virtuous Consort request the presence of the Crown Prince's wife."

Ruan Wan immediately stood up. "This humble woman will not disturb Your Highness's rest any longer."

Ruan Yuanyan smiled and said, "Sister, if you have time to visit the palace, we sisters can often catch up. I'm so sorry I can't get up to see you off."

After Ruan Wan left, Ruan Yuanyan's face turned cold. She picked up the teacup on the stool, looked around, sneered, and threw the teacup to the ground. All the palace maids and eunuchs in the room knelt down.

Standing with Qiu Shuang at the entrance was Ying Bi, Consort Ruan's personal maid. Ying Bi bowed to Ruan Wan and said, "Her Highness Consort Ruan invites the Crown Prince's wife to a gathering at Qixiang Palace."

Upon arriving at Qixiang Palace, Consort Shu was already waiting at the entrance. She immediately took Ruan Wan's hand and said, "You've finally arrived! I was so worried about you, seeing you stay in Chengqian Palace for so long."

Consort Shu pulled Ruan Wan inside while smiling, "The Empress truly loves you because of your love for her. She really cares about you and sent her personal maid, Granny Qiu, to wait outside the palace gates. She only left after seeing my maid leave."

It seems everyone knows that Ruan Yuanyan is planning to do something bad to her. Ruan Wan is quite speechless; how come everyone seems to know all about this?

Upon entering the inner hall, Qiu Shuang lay on the floor wrapped up. Ruan Wan took the bundle and handed it to Ying Bi, saying, "Aunt, this is a pillow made from dandelions that Qian Yuan and I personally picked at the estate. They're dried and used to help us sleep."

Consort Shu smiled and said, "These past few days, I've occasionally thought of Chang Le, and it has indeed caused me some insomnia. Wan'er is so thoughtful."

After sitting for a while, Consort Shu naturally started talking about her and her mother's past. Ruan Wan then took the opportunity to ask, "Does Aunt know about my maternal grandmother?"

Consort Shu thought for a moment and said, "I only know that your maternal grandmother's family was originally a local official in the Jiangnan region. Later, they were transferred to the capital, and their home in the north of the city was only separated by a wall from your grandmother's original home. That's how they became acquainted. I don't know anything else. Your maternal grandmother's family has no male descendants, and they have no relatives in the capital. I don't know if they have any relatives in Jiangnan."

Ultimately, no clues could be found, and the old house of my maternal grandmother had long since changed beyond recognition.

The original houses have long been demolished, and now they are inhabited by insignificant people.

Even if the emperor exonerated my maternal grandfather's family from their wrongful conviction, everything would have already been lost.

Today, the maternal grandfather's family's maternal burial site and memorial tablets are all managed by Ruan Zhengqing.

Lou Qianyuan used all his connections, but still couldn't find a trace of his maternal grandmother.

Perhaps this is the inevitable path after death; all traces of one's existence in this world will gradually disappear, until finally, not a trace remains.

Yingbi escorted Ruan Wan out of the palace gate, where Lou Qianyuan was indeed waiting.

Lou Qianyuan greeted her with a smile. Yingbi bowed to Lou Qianyuan through the door, and Lou Qianyuan returned the bow, saying, "Thank you for your trouble."

Ruan Wan took out a silk handkerchief and wiped the sweat from Lou Qianyuan's forehead. "Isn't it hot in this blazing sun? Why don't you wait in the car?"

Lou Qianyuan laughed and said, "Since we're going to wait, we should make sure everyone sees me waiting."

"You also need to project the image of a good husband in public."

Lou Qianyuan helped Ruan Wan into the carriage, then followed her in. "Wrong, not the image of a good husband, but the image of a henpecked husband."

Ruan Wan glared at him. "You think my reputation in the capital isn't bad enough? You also want to give me the reputation of a jealous and shrewish woman."

Lou Qianyuan laughed and said, "You don't care about these things, and besides, they're so useful. Haven't you noticed that I haven't had to go out for social engagements lately after court?"

That is indeed the case. Unless Lou Qianyuan has official business, he goes straight home after court. If he does have business, he goes to Xia Changfeng's place.

In the past, after court, Lou Qianyuan would spend his time in entertainment venues such as restaurants and theaters.

Nowadays, it is widely rumored in the capital that Lou Qianyuan loves his wife dearly and has changed his former philandering ways to become a good family man.

"You've certainly gained a good reputation. Now, when I go out and meet those ladies and young women, people will be gossiping about me again."

Lou Qianyuan leaned closer and put his arm around Ruan Wan's waist. "People will only ask you how you manage to control your husband so well, they'll want to learn from you."

Ruan Wan pushed Lou Qianyuan away. "Then it will be even harder for me to ask. If someone really asks me, I won't be able to say a single word."

Lou Qianyuan leaned closer again, saying, "Just say that as long as someone is as beautiful, kind, and brave as you, men will naturally be obedient to you."

Ruan Wan clenched her fist, ready to punch him, but Lou Qianyuan seized the opportunity to grab her wrist and pull her into his arms. "Alright, I won't tease you anymore. Did you get any useful clues from Consort Ruan today?"

Ruan Wan loosened her fist and sighed, "My aunt doesn't know much either, just about the same as what you investigated. She only knows that my maternal grandmother's family was transferred from Jiangnan to the capital."

"My maternal grandfather's family's household registration documents were all destroyed during that miscarriage of justice. If we could find out which state my maternal grandmother came from, we could check the local county annals."

This is the difficulty. The only people who were close to my maternal grandmother were her family. Now all the clues have been cut off. Jiangnan is so big, we can't just go to such lengths to investigate one prefecture after another.

Lou Qianyuan suddenly looked at Ruan Wan and said, "My elder brother is still in Qingzhou. Should we write a letter and ask him to investigate?"

Ruan Wan shook her head. It's better not to let more people know about this.

Especially now that the Great Xia and the Eastern Yi are on the verge of war, if someone with ulterior motives were to find out that I have Miao blood, they might use it against me.

"If we can't find out, then so be it. Anyway, my maternal grandfather's family has already been exonerated, and I don't want to cause any more trouble."

Moreover, even if they found out, their grandmother had already died, so they wouldn't be able to get any useful information.

If only I had asked Mao Chihua for more information back then, I wouldn't be in such a passive position now.

The decade she mentioned, though seemingly a long time, is actually just a few short years.

Ruan Wan decided to temporarily stop investigating the matter. If she had the opportunity to contact the Grand Elder in the future, perhaps all her questions would be answered.

The holy maiden of Miao territory, Mao Chihua, has gone to another world. When the next decade arrives, the holy maiden will definitely be required to attend the Miao ceremonies.

Seven hundred and seventy-seven years, the change of capital, may well be a new turning point in destiny.

Ruan Wan leaned against Lou Qianyuan's chest, looking up at the radiant Lou Qianyuan.

She has at least ten years to enjoy her married life with Lou Qianyuan.

At the end of July, Linglong gave birth to a princess. Both mother and child were safe and sound, and the Empress and Xia Changfeng in the palace breathed a sigh of relief.

The princess's words salvaged the situation. As long as things are managed well and Linglong is prevented from having more children, there shouldn't be any major problems.

Ruan Wan could not avoid it in the end, and went to Xia Changfeng's inner residence again to visit her newborn niece.

The most favored prince of the court celebrated the full moon of his first daughter's birth, and naturally, everyone in the capital came to offer their congratulations.

The main character of the day was naturally the precious young princess, who was personally named Mingyue by the Empress. While she was still a month pregnant, the Emperor also bestowed upon her the title of Princess Anning, showing his high regard for the Chu Kingdom.

At this crucial juncture, the ruler of Chu agreed to send envoys to the border to mediate.

Once peace talks begin, it will demonstrate the position of the State of Chu, and the war will not break out.

Next, all that's needed is to discuss the compensation, and the matter of Duomuhe will naturally be put to rest.

August 14th is just one day away from the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the little princess's birthday is almost the Ghost Festival.

Linglong must have been terrified during the birth, finally giving birth to the little princess at the age of fourteen.

However, many people were craning their necks to see Ruan Wan's reaction at this full moon celebration, even though she had already attended the New Year's celebration once before.

But this time it's completely different.

If Ruan Wan hadn't been jilted, she would be the one everyone should be congratulating now.

In the eyes of people in the capital, even if Ruan Wan married Lou Qianyuan, the heir of a duke, it would still be inferior to her being a legitimate princess.

Moreover, this princess is very likely to become the empress of the Great Xia Dynasty in the future.

Everyone was waiting to see how jealous and resentful Ruan Wan would be.

So when the Lou family's carriage stopped in front of the Seventh Prince's house, many people stood at the door to watch.

Ah Jin lifted the carriage curtain, and Lou Qianyuan got off the carriage first. Then, a pair of slender hands reached out, and Lou Qianyuan immediately helped her up and took Ruan Wan's hand as they got off the carriage.