The new emperor's first decree upon ascending the throne was to forcibly take his cousin as his

Before Ruan Xianrong set off, her father sent a letter to Mingzhou, where people were already waiting at the city gate.

They are my second uncle's cousins.

Upon seeing the carriage, he immediately ran forward, "Has Second Sister arrived?"

The coachman reined in the horse, and Ruan Xianrong was about to lift the curtain and get down when her cousin said, "It's good that you know it's you. Don't get down yet. Let's go home first."

It took the carriage about half an hour to reach the Ruan family's old residence.

Old Madam Ruan and her family were waiting at the door early in the morning. The messenger ran back, shouting, "They're back! They're back!"

The carriage stopped, and as soon as Ruan Xianrong stepped down, Old Madam Ruan immediately embraced her, saying, "My dear granddaughter, I've missed you so much! Let me take a good look at you."

Ruan Xianrong obediently called out, "Grandmother."

"Was the journey smooth? Nothing went wrong, right?"

"Don't worry, everything is going smoothly."

Second Aunt helped the old lady up, "Mother, you've just recovered, and the doctor doesn't want you to overwork yourself. Let's go back and talk, and let Niannian rest too."

Then everyone returned to the main room.

Ruan Xianrong had returned in previous years and was familiar with the people in the old house, so the family was not reserved.

Grandma Ruan held her granddaughter's hand and said, "Our Nian Nian has grown up since she came of age, and she's even more beautiful than the fairies in those paintings."

"Yes, Niannian was only twelve years old when she last came. She's grown even more outstanding in the few years since we last met," Second Aunt He echoed.

"Niannian is the most beautiful girl in our Ruan family."

"Second Aunt, please stop praising me. I'm easily embarrassed, and I'll blush if you keep praising me," Ruan Xianrong said with a smile.

"Pfft," her cousin Ruan Tinglan burst out laughing. "You little rascal, if you're so thin-skinned, then we're shameless."

The main room erupted in laughter, creating a lively atmosphere.

After exchanging greetings and conveying the Empress's regards, Madam Ruan needed to take her medicine and rest, so her second aunt took her to a private room.

She knew all the Ruan family members, but this was the first time she had met her second aunt's daughter, who was born a few years ago.

The little girl is only three years old, soft and cuddly, just the most fun age to play with.

"Call me 'sister'."

The little girl could already speak, and she wasn't shy at all. In a soft voice, she called out, "Second Sister."

"Good boy/girl, come here, let your second sister hug you."

The child couldn't stay still and kept making a fuss over her, so her second aunt had no choice but to take the child back.

"Your uncle is still at the yamen today and hasn't returned yet. Your aunt is already on her way. You should rest first and talk to your older brother and sister."

Ruan Xianrong nodded, then, remembering that she had a younger brother in Mingzhou, asked, "Is Zhaoyuan not home today?"

"He's at the academy, saying he didn't want to neglect his studies, which is why he hasn't come back."

My second aunt avoided eye contact and didn't say much to her. She went downstairs to settle the child and the suitcase she had brought.

As soon as everyone left, Ruan Xianrong immediately pulled Ruan Tinglan aside and asked, "Has something happened to Zhao Yuan?"

"No, it's just that..." Ruan Tinglan looked at her brother.

Ruan Zhaoyu, the second son of the Ruan family, sighed, "I went to the academy to tell him that you were arriving today, but he refused to come back."

Ruan Xianrong was not surprised. Ever since she sent the letter back last time, she had guessed that something must have happened to Ruan Zhaoyuan to cause such a big change in his attitude towards her.

However, she still doesn't know what exactly happened.

"Second sister, don't be sad. Zhaoyuan is still young. She's probably just in a bad mood. She'll definitely be back in a couple of days."

"I'm fine. I'm so happy to see my grandmother and family today."

Ruan Tinglan and her brother talked with her for a long time before there was a commotion outside; her aunt and second uncle had returned.

Madam Ruan only had two children, a boy and a girl. The eldest was her father, and the daughter was the current empress.

The second son, Ruan Zhongqian, was born to a concubine and is now an official in Mingzhou. The youngest daughter, Ruan Ci, was also born out of wedlock and has long been married, living with her husband in Nanyang, south of Mingzhou.

Now, everyone in the Ruan family has a bright future, and the family gets along well.

The aunt lifted the curtain and came in, immediately spotting her strikingly beautiful niece.

Having grown up in Kyoto, she is different from women from Jiangnan; even though she is gentle, her temperament is unique.

Ruan Xianrong curtsied, "Second Uncle, Aunt."

"Good child, no need for such formalities. You must be exhausted from your journey from Kyoto."

"It's alright, it's my aunt who has been working hard. I heard that my aunt hasn't been feeling well lately, but she still had to travel for me. It's all my fault."

"That's not right. We're family, why say such distant things?"

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Ruan Xianrong went to the main courtyard and brought out the gifts she had brought for everyone to choose from.

Most of the younger generation in the family had never been to Kyoto, so they were all incredibly curious about the things she brought.

Nguyen Dinh Lan and Nguyen Chieu Ngoc are too grown up to go forward.

Unlike her father, who never took a concubine after marrying her mother, her second uncle took several concubines in Mingzhou and had children with them, so the second branch of the family was more numerous than the first branch.

Furthermore, his second aunt was not favored by his second uncle, so the relationship between his wives and concubines was not very good.

However, with their grandmother in charge, they didn't dare to cause any trouble.

She leaned close to Ruan Tinglan and whispered, "Cousin, I've prepared something else for you and your brother."

Ruan Tinglan was taken aback. The old woman patted her head and said, "Your cousin didn't spoil you for nothing."

The main courtyard was bustling for quite a while before gradually dissipating. Several children surrounded her, all wanting to talk to her.

But she wasn't good at dealing with children and didn't know what to say, so she just gave them the candy she had brought.

"Niannian must be tired from her journey and needs to rest. Please be considerate and don't bother her anymore." Ruan Tinglan sent the people away before taking her back to her residence.

"If those people bother you like this again, just refuse to see them if you don't want to, otherwise it will never end."

"It's alright, we're all family, I know that."

"You're just too good-natured. Don't you know what Qin Fangyuan is up to? Once she realizes you're easy to manipulate, who knows what demands she'll make?"

Ruan Tinglan thought her cousin had a really good temper.

Given her status, countless people would want to curry favor with her. As the daughter of the prime minister and the future crown princess, anyone even remotely related to her would try to rise to prominence with her.

Those born out of wedlock, wanting to take shortcuts, naturally tried every means to curry favor with her.

Ruan Xianrong understood, but she didn't say anything. If she knew that Ruan Xianrong wasn't a biological daughter of the Ruan family, she would probably regret trying to curry favor with her.