Thirteenth Lady's Comback: Her Everyday Life as a Bystander-Chapter 322 - 2: White Tiger Seal (2) (Second Update)
Ever since the Song Family allied with Prince Rong’s powerful ship, when Prince Rong ascended the throne, their fortunes naturally rose with it, glittering like flowers and simmering like oil on fire.
But the wise Old Madam said, "Being close to the king is like being close to a tiger, even in peace, one must think of danger."
The Song Family leaped from salt merchants to nobility, openly taking a share of maritime trade, and their trade caravans stretched as far as Holland Rotterdam, with a flood of silver coins flowing into the Song Family’s treasury.
But only a few knew that the silver coins merely circled within the Song Family’s treasury and then flowed out like water.
With a financial assault of spending like flowing water, the Song Family established a vast underground network across the east, south, west, and north of Great Chu within a few short years.
Named after the four holy beasts—East Cyan Dragon, West White Tiger, North Black Tortoise, and South Vermilion Bird—each accompanied by a unique seal.
Members of the underground network only recognize seals, not people. Possessing a seal makes one the Chief of the Dark Department, able to mobilize all resources, be it personnel, silver coins, channels, or information, within the area the seal represents.
Susu held the White Tiger Seal in her hand, feeling its heavy weight of a thousand gold.
"Uncle Wei, I can’t accept this!"
"This is from your godmother, your grandmother asked me to give it to you, but don’t be too sentimental. When the Northwest war ends, it must be returned. Uncle Wei hopes to pass it to your brother Dazhuang next!"
Wei Changhong could see that Susu earnestly refused, not just pretending, and seeing how quickly she calmed down from the shock and rationally refused the seal that could control countless people and silver coins, he couldn’t help but secretly sigh: truly a child grown up beside her godmother, the most beloved by her godmother.
One must know that even within the entire Song Family, only a few were aware of the Dark Department.
And those who could wield the Master Seal must be absolutely loyal to the Song Family or have absolute interests tied, and must also be extraordinary and decisive.
Wei Changhong didn’t mind that her godmother asked him to temporarily give the White Tiger Seal to Susu; he just didn’t expect her godmother to trust Susu to this extent.
No matter how smart she was at home, Susu was just a young girl who had just come of age after all.
Moreover, with the current urgent situation in the Northwest, and with Prince Ke about to arrive in the Northwest, if Susu inadvertently leaked anything, causing suspicion from the higher-ups, it could spell doom for the Song Family.
But her godmother’s decisions had never been wrong, and Wei Changhong would firmly execute her decisions.
"Susu, your grandmother knows your character. Now, with the Northwest in peril, the more dangerous it gets, the less you will abandon Hong Sheng to return to the Capital alone. Your grandmother only hopes you have the means to protect yourself.
Moreover, with Prince Ke and the Fourth Girl also in the Northwest, it’s impossible for Uncle Wei to stay there forever. Should anything truly happen, someone must lend a hand to Prince Ke.
And that person cannot be the Fourth Girl; we cannot trust others, so only you can be entrusted. Therefore, accepting this seal is not solely for yourself. Although it represents great power, it is equally dangerous."
Susu, always a calm and rational person, knew she had no choice but to accept the seal after hearing Wei Changhong’s words.
"Uncle Wei, rest assured. Involving Prince Ke, I will handle it cautiously and will not expose the Dark Department!"
Wei Changhong earnestly advised, "Uncle Wei and your grandmother hope you protect yourself. Even if it’s truly unbearable, sacrificing a part for survival is always an option."
Susu’s heart trembled, "Uncle Wei, is the situation really that unfavorable?"
Wei Changhong bitterly laughed: "Prince Ke and that Prince Yong left the Capital around the same time as I did, and ever since they left, there have been three to four assassination attempts both openly and secretly. Among them were death warriors sent by the Tartars and hidden guards from the Capital; things were terribly chaotic. They are soon reaching the foremost Ningxia Guard of the Nine Guards of the Northwest..."
At this, Wei Changhong couldn’t help but curse, "Those people are throwing lives into a pit, had I not rushed here to see you, I might have ended up as collateral damage! Now, Prince Ke’s party is resting at Ningxia Guard, and around the Mid-Autumn Festival, they’ll likely arrive at the Northwest Governor’s Mansion."
Throughout history, what kind of deranged actions haven’t been committed for that position?
Susu wasn’t surprised by this, only concerned, "Is Fourth Miss alright?"
Susu didn’t doubt Fourth Miss’s capabilities at all; if it truly came down to it, even Ruan Shiniang, a transmigrated female lead, might not have fared better. Fortunately, with the two now allied, Susu wasn’t caught in a dilemma.
"Fourth Girl is fine, but I hear another Ruan Concubine got injured while shielding Prince Ke, her arm was poisoned. I’m not sure about her condition!"
Hearing this, Susu was shocked at heart, listening to Uncle Wei’s lament, "Royal favor doesn’t come for free; lucky that Fourth Girl isn’t foolish!" and displayed confusion.
"Ruan Concubine? Oh, is she the Ruan Concubine who got bumped at last year’s Chrysanthemum Banquet? I remember her little son isn’t even one year old yet; why did she also come to the Northwest?"
Uncle Wei sighed again, "I heard bits of this when the Fourth Girl returned to the mansion to bid farewell to her godmother.
It seems that Ruan Concubine is also a pitiful person. Speaking of background, she’s actually higher than the Fourth Girl, being the illegitimate daughter of the Principality Duke and the younger sister of the Second Young Madam of Annan Earl Mansion.
But the Duke Li’s Mansion was confiscated, and their title revoked, and she fell from being a noble girl to an official slave—it’s certainly the whims of fate.
Her little son was affected by external forces before birth, and she had a difficult labor. Although mother and son were eventually safe, the son’s health was far from good.
After painstaking care by the Ruan Concubine to improve her son’s health, the Princess hit upon the idea of adopting the little son as her own, swearing to treat him as her own child.
They say the current emperor bears a strong aversion to the Ruan Family, and the little son born to that Ruan Concubine hasn’t even been granted a name or entered into the royal family tree.
Uncle Wei sipped his tea, noticing Susu’s interest, and continued: "Not only would adopting him into the Princess Consort’s line grant him a proper name on the Jade Dishware but also instantly make him a legitimate son.
Even Prince Ke couldn’t deny the Princess Consort’s goodwill, naturally agreeing.
However, no one thought to ask for the birth mother’s opinion.
Afterward, probably Prince Ke felt guilty and thought of letting the Ruan Concubine come to the Northwest. I reckon he intended for her to bear another child?
Moreover, the grace of raising outweighs that of bearing. With the child so young, the birth mother absent, in three or five years, he would only acknowledge the Princess Consort as his mother, and she couldn’t disagree with such benefits and risks.
That’s why they brought her along with the Fourth Miss."
These deductions were made by Wei Changhong after gleaning bits from his niece and piecing together rumors from Shangjing. Undoubtedly, he was spot on. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚
Except for one reason he couldn’t guess, which Susu realized, leading to a cold smile—it was because Prince Ke knew that Sixth Son and the others were also in the Northwest.
Seventh Sister was right; compared to his father, Prince Ke was also far from a good match. He hadn’t given up on controlling the hidden forces of Duke Li’s Mansion.
