The Ao Dynasty had a strict law regarding traitors including usurpers.
Public beheading for the instigator, imposed slavery on their families; the men were sent to exile to do rough work while the women became military prostitutes.
All, without exception.
Who would've thought the imperial court would be humiliated by a woman in the backyard.
The young emperor didn't say anything, precisely he couldn't, he was just a decoration after all.
"Grand Duke Han, what do you mean by this?" A tall man in a red court robe stepped up and the meeting hall quietened.
It was another day of the An brothers quarrel. The visibly younger and smaller statue just now had similar features with the man in the center hall wearing his full military commander outfit.
Grand Duke Han Wangyi was the eldest son of Duke An Mansion, but he refused the heir position and separated himself from the family. He went as far as changing his name from An Wangyi to Han Wangyi.
With stellar military achievement and merit saving the previous emperor and current emperor lives' on rebellion, he became the Grand Duke - the highest titled noble, second only to the royal family. Everyone knew if not for his devotion to the army, the regent position wouldn't be on Duke An Jing's hand.
"The Emperor ordered you to bring the traitor's wife for the execution, but you come back empty handed! What do you mean by this? Even if they die, you should bring their bodies back!"
The tall burly man didn't even glance at his direction, keeping eye contact only to the emperor.
The young emperor knew, the only people who actually thought of him as ruler of this nation were those ignorant peasants and this heroic man in front of him.
He smiled, truthfully grateful that among his father's subordinates, there was actually a loyal one like him; "Grand Duke Han, This One also wants to know the full report. Please elaborate."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Unyielding and full of reverence, this attitude was completely different from his usual cold demeanor or the stoic stance just now.
It was a public secret that the one with power was the regent - Duke An Jing and the Prime Minister side, but the blatant disrespect Duke An Jing showed just now compared to respectful Grand Duke Han really left a bitter taste in the emperor's people.
How can a mere regent be so impudent in front of the legitimate leader of the nation!
"Your Majesty, the Warlord Palace was burnt to the ground and we discovered it too late because the fiefdom is empty. The Warlord Lady is the acting chief, and as early as her husband's start the rebellion she dismissed everyone from the fiefdom and locked the city. Based on the forensics' report, the Warlord Lady was the only one killed by the fire."
Chill ran down the ministers' spine.. Does it mean..
Emperor: "What do you mean by that, Grand Duke Han?"
"With the able-bodied men of the warlord family going to war, the only one left was the weak and old, and the children and women of the family. Toxicity reports show that everyone died by sleeping poison long before they were burnt by the fire."
The young emperor grimaced, still hesitant whether his assumption was correct or not.
The old people of the court on the other hand was admiring the lady's ruthlessness
"Are you telling me that the traitor's wife poisoned the rest of the warlord's family beforehand and killed herself after her husband's rebellion quelled?"
Han Wangyi once again ignored An Jing's question and the young emperor suppressed his excitement, didn't look at that man who was made a fool by his own brother, and asked: "Grand Duke Han, is that correct?"
"Based on the doctor's report and eye witnesses, that is correct, Your Majesty. The family died before the punishment was given, so they are just dead civilians. It's not right to bring their bodies back to the capital city."
Murmurs were heard throughout the hall, but they got more important stuff to do to care more. The rebellion was over and the sinner already on their hand, why should they pursue dead people?
The emperor on the other hand was intrigued and found a new respect for the lady. Killing people was against nature, but she killed the entire house before the rebellion actually had an outcome, as if she knew her husband was going to lose.
Some might argue she did that to avoid punishments, but she was selfless enough to empty the fiefdom so the people won't be affected by the war or result of the war, branded as outcast as people from the land of the traitor.
She did her filial piety as a woman of the family even if she must dirt her hand, and yet still carry out the leader's responsibility to keep the people safe.
This Warlord Lady is very interesting.
"Grand Duke Han, by any chance, do you know what the lady's name is?"
"Oh, it's an old acquaintance of mine, Your Majesty. The eldest lady of the Ruan family, Ruan Di."
.
.
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The old acquaintance of Han Wangyi's mouth was a lingering soul in front of her mother's tombstone.
Ruan Di had accepted the fact that heaven won't take her, but she never thought hell would despise her too and she became a wandering ghost instead.
A month ago, an official carriage rested close enough in the border of the fiefdom and knowing they went to the capital city, she followed along.
She went to Ruan house and found out their mother was sick and Ruan Shu, her late father's youngest daughter took care of her. The timid girl had turned into a delicate and soft spoken woman and meticulously took care of Madam Ruan.
Madam Ruan was the wife, but she wasn't the mother of the daughters. Madam Ruan wasn't blessed with children of her own, but treated her husband's daughter with love and care.
Who knows, in the middle of the night, when Madam Ruan's breath was shallow and short, Ruan Shu didn't panic and sat down beside her instead.
The rain was heavy and thunder was roaring outside, the room was deadly quiet as Ruan Shu retold how she swapped Ruan Di's belongings with the chickenpox patients' belongings and made her cancel the debutante party resulting in her engagement with An Jing to be postponed.
In the time Ruan Di was recuperating, Ruan Shu seduced An Jing and a year after they got married, leaving Ruan Di heartbroken and married to the Heir Apparent of Warlord Xu - Xu Kai.
Ruan Shu told Madam Ruan how excited she was knowing Ruan Di was dead now and with Madam Ruan gone, the inheritance of the Ruans would be hers alone as their dead father was an orphan and had no son to pass the family property.
Ruan Di's shrill cry was echoed by the thundering rain as Madam Ruan was coughing blood and lost her life.
White lanterns hung in the Ruan family. The men of the Ning family - Madam Ruan maternal's family and An Jing as his son in law led the funeral procession.
Along with them was the invisible Ruan Di, everything was blurry and only after Heaven's know how long she stayed on her mother's tombstone without seeing her even once, Ruan Di's soul suddenly drifted away.
When the wind blows, she floats around the world with the wind.
She saw some families having children, seeing the white-haired man giving birth to the black-haired man, she also saw some men and women being affectionate, she saw the young girl looking shyly at the man next to her, and she saw the innocent children in the fields playing mudd or flying kites.
Year after year, she had seen too many vicissitudes of the world, as well as all the joys and sorrows. Slowly, the hatred and unwillingness that she once had have faded away.
She recalled everything in her life, and even felt that it was a painting or a book. Everything had condensed into the morning frost in autumn. When she thought about it, she felt cold.
An Jing, who was An Jing, he was just a shadow in the memory.
On this day, a gust of east wind came from nowhere, blowing her up, and following the dandelions in the wind, she floated into the distance, and came to an uninhabited wilderness.
There was a solitary grave here.
The small mound was shabby. There was no stone tablet. There were only a few pieces of gravel piled in front of the tomb, and there were still some vague ashes of paper money.
Ruan Di looked at the solitary grave and when the familiar feeling hit, she suddenly realized that the solitary grave contained her own body.
But she was burnt in Xu fiefdom. Who would..
It turns out that after she died, there were still people in this world who cared about her, and they still lay incense sticks for her after her death.
But who?
Ruan Di looked at the tall unfamiliar back. Even though she knew that the other party couldn't see her, she still carefully floated to the side and watched from a distance.
The man's temples were stained with frost, and he had an extraordinary appearance. His expression was majestic, and he was obviously a man of high authority.
A handful of incense was burning in his hand. He bent down to put the incense in place, then straightened up and lowered his head slightly. The head looked at the smoke.
Ruan Di didn't remember seeing this person before her death, but from his unusual clothes and slightly familiar facial features, she vaguely felt that he was An Jing's brother.
Ruan Di didn't know An Jing's brother. She had only vaguely seen him once before. He was a military commander. At that time, she was scared when she saw him, so she hid. Now she never thought that he could actually burn a stick of incense for her.
While she was watching, she suddenly heard the man say: "Ruan Di..."
This call was.. was something, something that made a soft warmth entered her heart.
This feeling was so strange, it was something she had never felt before. She had been wandering around the world for so many years, and she had never felt anything like this before.
When she was about to raise her head and take a closer look at An Jing's brother, she felt as if she was being pulled by an invisible force, sinking into darkness.