When Madam Liao came out, Ren Yaoting was still standing quietly in the corridor, lost in thought.

Turning to see Madam Liao’s face full of smugness, Ren Yaoting’s eyes brightened, and she hurried forward to support her: “Grandmother, how did it go? Did Great Uncle agree to what you discussed with him?”

Seeing her only legitimate granddaughter, Madam Liao’s smile grew even wider. She patted Ren Yaoting’s hand, supporting her: “Naturally, he agreed.”

Ren Yaoting was overjoyed, becoming somewhat incoherent: “Then Third Sister and Young Master Han’s engagement… won’t happen?”

Upon hearing this, Madam Liao looked at Ren Yaoting strangely: “How did you know I came to discuss this matter?”

Ren Yaoting stammered: “This morning I saw you weren’t in good spirits, so I asked the people in your courtyard.”

Madam Liao didn’t take offense, but was pleased that her granddaughter cared about her.

“Then Third Sister she…” Ren Yaoting desperately wanted to know the exact news.

Madam Liao said indifferently: “Marriage alliances between families aren’t child’s play—how could they be called off just like that? From what they said, the Han family should be sending matchmakers soon.”

Upon hearing this, Ren Yaoting felt as if struck by lightning: “What did you say? Young Master Han is still going to become engaged to Third Sister?”

Madam Liao looked at Ren Yaoting strangely: “Why are you speaking so loudly?”

Ren Yaoting’s face went pale, and she followed Madam Liao away in a daze.

Several days later, Ren Yaoqi had just come out of the study in the west side courtyard when her maid Sangshen reported: “Miss, someone from your maternal grandmother’s house has arrived. Madam is speaking with them in the main room.”

Upon hearing this, Ren Yaoqi immediately turned toward the main room, asking as she walked: “When did they arrive? Why wasn’t I informed?”

“They arrived less than a quarter-hour ago. You were in the study at the time, and Master doesn’t allow us servants to enter and exit the study freely, so this servant didn’t dare go in,” Sangshen replied while following Ren Yaoqi’s steps.

Ren Yaoqi said nothing more and went straight to the main room.

Li Shi’s two senior maids, Xi’er and Que’er, were both guarding the entrance, with no other servants or maids around. Ren Yaoqi could tell at a glance that Nanny Zhou had instructed that no idle people should come near.

When Xi’er and Que’er saw Ren Yaoqi approaching, they exchanged glances. Xi’er was about to go in and announce her, but Ren Yaoqi had already waved her hand and lifted the curtain to enter herself.

Xi’er and Que’er looked at each other again, but ultimately remained standing obediently with their hands folded.

When Ren Yaoqi entered, there was no one in the main hall, but faint conversation could be heard from the eastern side room on the right. She walked to the curtain and heard a female voice inside saying, “Xia Sheng also discovered that the Han family’s old madam was originally quite capable. Because Han Jianping only had one daughter and his first wife died early, she was in charge of all household matters, big and small. However, after marrying Han Dongshan, she rarely went out, spending her days in the inner quarters supporting her husband and educating her children…”

Ren Yaoqi stood there listening for a moment, but instead of going in, she turned and came back out.

Gesturing for Xi’er to come aside with her, Ren Yaoqi asked: “Is it Miss Yihong who came? She didn’t come alone, did she?”

Though Xi’er was somewhat surprised that Ren Yaoqi had come out so quickly and seemed as if she hadn’t gone in at all, she still quickly replied in a low voice: “Miss Yihong came, and with her is that martial artist called Xia Sheng. But since he’s a man, he can’t enter the inner courtyard, so Nanny Zhou arranged for someone to take him to drink tea in the outer courtyard.”

Ren Yaoqi nodded: “They’re talking inside, so I won’t go in.” With that, she turned and left.

When she reached the entrance of Ziwei Courtyard, Ren Yaoqi beckoned to a servant woman: “Go to the outer courtyard and bring that person called Xia Sheng from my maternal grandmother’s house to Yiran Pavilion outside the second gate.”

Though Yiran Pavilion wasn’t in the inner courtyard, it was very close to the second gate. Usually, when servants and maids needed to meet people from the outer courtyard, they would go there. Since the pavilion had excellent visibility all around and people frequently passed by, there was no fear of impropriety. When the masters went out, if their sedan chairs or carriages hadn’t arrived yet, they would also wait in the pavilion for a while, so Ren Yaoqi going there wouldn’t seem inappropriate.

Ren Yaoqi returned to her room to change into outdoor clothes, then took two maids and two servant women to the second gate.

Xia Sheng was already waiting in Yiran Pavilion under someone’s guidance.

Seeing Ren Yaoqi come out, Xia Sheng was somewhat surprised—he had thought Nanny Zhou had summoned him.

“Cousin Miss,” Xia Sheng bowed with lowered head.

Ren Yaoqi nodded: “Did you go to Jizhou this time?”

Xia Sheng cupped his hands in reply: “Yes, Cousin Miss, it was this humble one.”

“I have several questions I’d like to ask you. What Yihong relayed might not be as clear as what you know directly,” Ren Yaoqi said with a smile, looking at Xia Sheng.

“Please ask, Cousin Miss.”

“The previous Han family patriarch, Han Jianping, only had one daughter, so Han Dongshan couldn’t inherit the patriarch position. Who is the current patriarch?”

“The current Han family patriarch is Han Jianxin, a distant cousin of Han Jianping. He’s nearly twenty years younger than Han Jianping, about the same age as Han Dongshan, but since his generation is higher, Han Dongshan recommended him as patriarch. Though Han Jianxin is the patriarch, he relies heavily on Han Dongshan, consulting him on all clan matters, big and small, before making decisions. A few years ago, when the Han family wanted to establish a clan school, it was also Han Dongshan’s proposal, and Han Dongshan bore all the expenses. Therefore, Han Dongshan’s prestige in the clan exceeds even that of Patriarch Han Jianxin.”

“Oh? So no one in the clan speaks ill of him?” Ren Yaoqi raised an eyebrow slightly.

Xia Sheng thought for a moment, then said: “Not really. Han Jianping had one or two closer cousins, but their attitude toward Han Dongshan wasn’t as good as those more distantly related. There’s one called Han Jianmin who was Han Jianping’s cousin. I heard that Han Jianping once planned to adopt his youngest son to inherit the family business, but for some unknown reason, Han Jianping abandoned this idea. Not only did he entrust all the family property to his son-in-law Han Dongshan to manage, allowing Han Dongshan to enter the Han family ancestral hall, but he also schemed to build Han Dongshan’s prestige within the clan.”

“Later, when Han Jianping died, Han Jianmin originally planned to unite with several clan brothers to drive out Han Dongshan together, but Han Dongshan struck first and punished them. After a few years, Han Jianmin died, and no one in the Han clan led any more trouble, especially since Han Dongshan was quite caring toward the Han clan members. When I went to Jizhou this time, the Han clan members almost unanimously spoke well of Han Dongshan. Even the closer branches didn’t dare openly criticize Han Dongshan. Only Han Jianmin’s youngest son, Han Zuwang, seemed very dissatisfied with Han Dongshan, saying many unpleasant things. However, I also verified what he said, and most of it was slanderous.”

Xia Sheng seemed somewhat dismissive when he reached this point, clearly looking down on Han Zuwang.

However, Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help but become thoughtful. She didn’t care about Han Zuwang’s character—she only wanted to disrupt the marriage between the Han and Ren families.

“What’s Han Zuwang’s family situation like?”

Since Han Zuwang was one of the few people in the Han family willing to speak ill of Han Dongshan, Xia Sheng had indeed investigated this person thoroughly. When asked, he replied: “Han Zuwang’s father, Han Jianmin, had three sons. He originally intended to have his youngest son adopted by Han Jianping, so after Han Jianmin died, Han Zuwang, who had been the most favored youngest son, actually received very little family property. After the three brothers divided the household, he still brought his whole family to stay in the ancestral home that went to his eldest brother, refusing to leave, relying on occasional support from his two brothers. When drunk, he always tells everyone that everything Han Dongshan has now should have been his, and that an outsider has no right to the Han family property. His dissatisfaction with Han Dongshan is probably for this reason.”

“Oh? Han Dongshan just lets him talk such nonsense?” Ren Yaoqi asked with a smile.

With Han Dongshan’s great abilities, having managed to pacify all the Han clan members, how could he not handle one Han Zuwang?

Xia Sheng shook his head: “Han Zuwang is convinced that Han Dongshan’s wealth should be his, and he doesn’t care about losing face—he’s truly unmoved by soft or hard tactics. His two brothers are also very troubled by him. This person is a troublemaker. He once declared that his father died mysteriously because he opposed Han Dongshan back then, and if anything happened to him, it would be Han Dongshan’s doing. With this threat, no one dares touch him.”

Upon hearing this, Ren Yaoqi became somewhat interested in this person—he didn’t seem completely brainless.

“In the previous letter, besides asking you to investigate these family relationships, I also asked you to look into Han Dongshan’s background. What did you find?” Ren Yaoqi asked again.

Xia Sheng’s previous answers had satisfied her. She had dealt with Xia Sheng for a period in her previous life and understood his working methods somewhat, knowing that despite his rough appearance, he was very meticulous. Therefore, she had specifically requested Xia Sheng to go to Jizhou in her last letter.

“I asked an old man who used to work for the Han family. Han Dongshan did indeed flee from the south as a refugee. In the thirty-second year of Qinglong, drought occurred in the south, followed by locust plagues, killing many people. Many fled to Yanbei, which was relatively less affected. Han Dongshan came to Jizhou with a group of people during this time. Once, when Han Jianping was traveling outside, he encountered several disaster victims who were nearly starved to death and had desperately turned to robbery. He was saved by Han Dongshan and then brought back to the Han household. According to Han Dongshan, his family members had all died, and he had some distant relatives on his mother’s side in Yanbei, so he came to seek refuge. But with time passing and the Liao invasions, he could no longer find those distant relatives, so he stayed with the Han family. Later, he gained Han Jianping’s appreciation and was taken as a son-in-law.”

“Besides this, you couldn’t find anything else?” Ren Yaoqi frowned. “Didn’t he ever mention his former family members?”

Everyone has an origin and background. She didn’t believe Han Dongshan had sprung from a rock, nor that he had left no traces after all these years.