Thirteenth Lady's Comback: Her Everyday Life as a Bystander-Chapter 198 - 1: The First Day of the Twelfth Lunar Month

"There are no walls in the world that can keep out the wind." Although Prince Ke Mansion’s Chongyang Festival incident was timely intercepted by Ruan Qiniang and involved Fourth Miss from Shun’an Earl Mansion, Princess Ke decisively sealed off the small garden where the incident occurred, attempting to minimize the impact.

However, there were other noble ladies present at the time, who were so frightened by the scene that they could barely stand. Naturally, they sought comfort from their mothers or grandmothers, and the matter began spreading within a small circle.

With the guidance of someone behind the scenes, by the time Susu learned that Ruan Shiniang and her son were safe, the "Chrysanthemum Blood Case" had already become a hot gossip topic among the residents of the Capital.

Why was the concubine about to give birth wandering in the small garden of Prince Ke Mansion? Was the illegitimate daughter of Shun’an Earl Mansion wronged? What was the true nature of Princess Ke? Were the Ruan sisters truly close?

All these questions were akin to modern hot searches. For a time, Prince Ke Mansion, Shun’an Earl Mansion, and even Duke Li’s Mansion, which had been stripped of its title and confiscated, were thrust into the spotlight, with even the nobles in the palace hearing about it.

Prince Ke had not yet managed to handle the chaos in the inner court or comfort Shun’an Earl Mansion when he was nearly driven to spit blood by the series of rumors.

Princess Ke regretted things so much that it felt like her intestines had turned green.

The couple refrained from fighting each other, and decisively entered the palace. Prince Ke went to the Emperor, clinging to his father’s leg, crying tearfully about his sparse offspring—a hard-won second son being harmed to the point of being a fragile, sickly child. Then he lamented his early-deceased mother, altogether very aggrieved.

Meanwhile, Princess Ke cried in front of the Empress Dowager. Although she felt wronged, she dared not show it. After confessing her wrongs with heads bowed to the Empress Dowager, she expressed her shame as the main wife of the mansion for failing to bear a legitimate son for Prince Ke and for not protecting the women in the backyard, begging the Empress Dowager to allow her to divorce.

This couple were masters of drama, integrating disguise and performance into their very beings. Having finished airing their grievances in the palace, they wiped their faces, and as they left the palace, their faces wore a facade of strong smiles over their hidden worries, causing those with insight to secretly rejoice and revel in their misfortune.

But soon, those who took pleasure in others’ misfortune found themselves suffering instead, while the ones who had cried bitterly became the ultimate winners!

The details of the investigation, of course, were not for outsiders to know. In short, the current Emperor initiated an investigation; the various methods and processes need not be elaborated, as the world only focuses on the results.

The Eldest Prince, Prince Jing, was admonished by the Emperor over a small incident and demoted from a princely title to a duke title.

The Empress Dowager issued an edict granting Prince Ke Mansion two titled concubines: one was a lady from Annan Earl Mansion, and the other was the Fourth Miss from Shun’an Earl Mansion. After next year’s selection, they were to be placed into Prince Ke Mansion.

By rights, even the royal family’s concubines, were merely more noble than common concubines, with the bride price being less than a third of what a main wife would require. Yet the Empress Dowager and Empress each gifted two chests of dowries for Fourth Miss Song, greatly enhancing her prestige.

Later, the Empress Dowager personally summoned several ladies from the Song Family and praised, "Outstanding charm and appearance." When the most honorable person in the palace spoke such words, who would dare criticize Miss Song or imply "upstarts don’t understand etiquette"? This was Prince Ke’s way of addressing the issue with the Song Family.

The "Chrysanthemum Blood Case" was thus considered settled among nobility, but the biggest victim, Ruan Shiniang, was deliberately overlooked by those in power. Even the ceremonies for the child’s third-day and full-month celebrations were merely within the confines of Prince Ke Mansion’s closed doors, with only a few items gifted from the Empress Dowager. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Fortunately, Prince Ke could promote a concubine to a second-tier wife without needing palace approval, otherwise, it would’ve been unclear if this was good or bad news for Ruan Shiniang.

The Chrysanthemum Blood Case provided the citizens of the Capital with more than two months of gossip until the victory report from the Northwest arrived: the Hami Guard captured the Sixth Prince of Tartar alive, and the Tartars sent envoys with peace treaties, soon to enter the Capital with the honored troops.

This matter was then cast aside, and people turned to discussing the credibility of the Tartar peace treaty. They also speculated why the Saint Martial Emperor, unlike his campaigns in Japan, Ryukyu, and Goryeo back then, hadn’t subdued the Tartars, and it was just over a month until the New Year.

For Susu, state affairs were not her concern. She was busy preparing her dowry because Hong Sheng was included among the awarded soldiers. Susu had just received a letter from Hong Sheng saying he would soon enter the Capital, but within just a few days, the Northwest Army and the Tartar envoys were nearly in the Capital.