[COMPLETE] Transmigrated Author: The Quiet Plum

Chapter 68: Sister-in-Law

Media: https://pin.it/6udT772

I'm so sorry this was meant to be posted earlier but my wifi was down. 

Rouli's heart lurched when the fiery-haired lady suddenly turned to her.

"And you! You're my sister-in-law?"

This question erased all the jealousy in her heart. Her guess was right. This lady was the Marquise Yan of the Huang territory who didn't show herself throughout these years.

Huang Rouli was among the few in the know that she was actually missing.

"I vaguely remember da ge having a childhood sweetheart. Is that you?"

The Duchess blushed at this question which made Qiaoli chuckle. This kind of reaction. Did her brother mistreat her this much that she got so embarrassed at this question?

"You're Qiaoqiao?"

Rouli's voice was small like she was a frightened child. Qiaoli couldn't believe it. As far as she knew, her mother and the past generations of Duchess were all fiery women.

Plus her AI sensors were telling her something else. The woman in front of her has high cultivation, much like her brother. But it seemed she was hiding it because the AI was sensing a limiter too.

The funny thing was when she mentioned sister-in-law, the woman's heartbeat spiked. Was it from joy or something else? Did she like being called sister-in-law?

Fast like lightning, Qiaoli was in front of her holding her hands. The younger lady grinned like she found a new toy when the Duchess immediately went to defense mode.

"Da jie, I like you. Aside from knowing my brother since kids, I think you care for him. But most of all, you're hiding huuuuge strength. You could have easily killed those three women earli-"

Rouli didn't care if she only met her long-lost sister-in-law, she quickly covered the younger girl's mouth from saying anything else. And the latter could feel the calloused hands over her lips.

No one had ever been physical to Qiaoli except when she faced hostilities so this also caught her off-guard. 

But the strength behind the older lady's hand was no joke. It went to show her sister-in-law was totally different from what she showed.

She wondered if her brother even knew about this.

Qiaoli put her hands in the air to admit defeat. Her sensors showed that the woman could crush her skull accidentally if she wasn't careful.

Butler Ping was about to interfere but the Marquise glared at him. It was clear where her bias was.

Rouli realized what she was doing and immediately released her hold. "Q-qiaoqiao, expelling all the concubines won't bring trouble but the consorts too?"

>Concubines have lower status than consorts.<

The young lady only smiled. From here, they could hear the commotion from other areas of the estate. It seemed the order of sending the ladies out was being carried despite protests.

"No worries, I think Da ge might even thank me."

Ah, how could Rouli forget? Huang Li Yun had been the Huang princess' slave from the moment she was born. She had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time she would witness unreasonable behavior from the Marquise.

What she didn't realize though was being married to the Duke meant she was also a slave by extension.

"Then this will be a year all about how the Huang princess got back to the genteel after years of recuperation?"

The Duchess asked this like nothing extraordinary happened earlier.

From this short exchange, Qiaoli liked this sister-in-law more. From the looks of it, she knew the real reason Huang Qiaoli had been absent all these years. But decided not to ask unnecessary questions.

---

"What a mess..."

Later that night, the Duke arrived and learned everything that happened from Butler Ping.

"The families of the consorts have been informed of the news and they sent messengers demanding an explanation."

Ying was laughing in one corner of the study. "Master should have seen it. That noisy consort's face was something."

Huang Li Yun smiled at his mischievous Pillar and that effectively shut him up.

"And what has the Madame have to say to this?"

With that question, the sliding doors burst open.

"What will the Madame say if you've been mistreating her?"

"Q-qiaoqiao, I'm not allowed... to be... here."

A lady with a mop of fiery red hair walked in with a soft-spoken woman in tow.

Rouli's heart was pounding. Huang Qiaoli suddenly entered her room and half-dragged her all the way here to the study.

She looked ahead to see Li Yun's straight face. It was scary, she'd never seen him like this since the day Qiaoqiao disappeared and their parents passed.

But she knew this was the real him. Not the him hiding behind his famous smile.

Then she remembered she shouldn't be here so she hid behind Qiaoli but it didn't do much because she was taller than the girl.

"Mistreating?" Huang Li Yun's brow twitched. He hadn't seen his sister for a week and the first thing that came out of her mouth was an accusation.

"In all history of our Huang family, when did concubines have their place? All duchesses from our direct line were confident women backed by their spouses. And yet..."

The Duke felt his sister's frustration even from across the room.

All these years he was only occupied with finding her. If he didn't have a fiancé since childhood, he wouldn't have even married.

He didn't care about descendants or building a home. What was the use of continuing their line if he couldn't even find his family?

But he couldn't bring himself to say these things. That would sound like he was blaming her.

Li Yun's eyes accidentally met his wife's. Rouli was surprised and looked down. From the moment they were married, he still thought of him as his good friend. Like nothing changed.

Looking back now though, she never left. She had always been a quiet existence in his life. Silent but always there.

Li Yun sighed. "Stay out of this, Qiaoqiao."

"Alright." Qiaoli stared at him hard before she nodded and left. She didn't need to use her AI to know that her brother started thinking about things. When he was unguarded, his thoughts could be seen on his face.

She, of course, signaled everyone to go with her. Something Li Yun couldn't miss. Now it was only him and the Duchess who stuck out like a sore thumb in his study.

She was clearly uncomfortable.

He stood up and it startled her. He didn't remember her being this jumpy. Was he that bad?

"Shall I walk you back?"