When it came to the Ruan clan that lived in the west of the city, there was no one in the whole of Yu Zhou that did not know of them. During the founding of the country by the Great Ancestor, an ancestor of the Ruan family had been at his beck and call and often showed his might. Even though he later went back to his province and returned to his maternal family, the imperial court remembered the contributions of the Ruan household and had bestowed a multitude of items that caused the clan to have never lacked for anything. Although several hundred years had gone by, the glory of the past laid the foundation for the Ruan clan’s extraordinary status. On top of every generation operating businesses in the correct method, their numbers of farmland, shops, real estate, and silver they had stored in the banks only ever increased and had never lessened.
The Ruan clan remained a large and influential family in Yu Zhou. The local governor, several prefectural magistrates, and the garrisoned general frequently curried favor with them. The reason was not because of the ancestor but because the Ruan family was wealthy beyond compare.
Last summer, a flood had devastated the outskirts of the city. Thousands of commoners had drowned and countless houses and buildings had collapsed. If it were not for the Ruan clan funding the construction of these buildings and quieting the civilians’ anger, there may have been civil unrest. If that had happened, the local official would have been punished by the imperial court. A lesser punishment would be the removal of their post as even saving their head would be difficult.
This year, starting from spring, there was no rain for several months in a row and not a single grain of early season rice was harvested. Don’t mention the farmers not having anything to eat, they didn’t even have any seeds with which to plant the summer harvest. Once again, the Ruan clan stepped in and provided rice and backed the farmers in working their land. Fortunately, the Heavens were kind and rain fell several times, and the autumn harvest was not bad.
These acts were gargantuan blessings during the natural catastrophes. After the imperial court was aware of these matters, unavoidable commendation was given. An imperial edict was issued, giving the Ruan family a black official hat. But the master of the Ruan clan had no intention of becoming an official and wholeheartedly wanted to continue as a commoner to preserve the accomplishments of previous generations, thus kowtowed in thanks but refused to receive the imperial edict.
It was good that this current Emperor’s vision was not bad. Even though his face was refused, he was too lazy to bicker with a small commoner. If the Emperor was someone lacking in experience or was narrow-minded, perhaps he would have ordered the execution of the Ruan clan under the charge of offending the Heavenly order.
The Master of Ruan clan was precisely Ruan Zhu’s father, Ruan Zi Xu. He had two daughters but no sons. Ruan Zhu was the eldest daughter and had been married off to Lan Zhou in spring. His second daughter still remained at home and the number of matches seeking marriage with her have broken their doorstep.
These two daughters were both born of the principal husband and were Master Ruan’s own flesh and blood.
Madam Ruan’s maternal family lived in the capital and her father was a military official from Qi Ping though his post was not high. Influenced by her family, Madam Yuan knew a few martial arts moves and her temper was also somewhat fiery but she was actually an exquisite beauty. She was already thirty-some years old and had given birth to over a dozen children but her figure still resembled a young maiden and caused her several husbands to increasingly love her like crazy.
The entrance of the Ruan residence was like all other aristocratic clans, a lofty gate engraved with the pattern of all kinds of beasts. A guardian stone lion crouched by either side of the entry and on the vermilion gate, there was a plaque with a black background and six large words ‘Imperial-Built Yu Zhou’s Ruan Residence’ written in large gold lettering. Reportedly, this plaque had been bestowed by the Great Ancestor that fateful year.
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Husbands Seeking Love
Romance[C O M P L E T E] The day she transmigrated it, she was already the wife of two men. She later became the Queen of the country. Her life has been cherished by seven men.
