Xiao Jinglin escorted Ren Yaoqi back to Bottle Gourd Alley and stayed for lunch before leaving with Hong Ying.
Shortly after Xiao Jinglin left, Pingguo returned with Xueli.
Although Xueli’s clothing had become much more modest since leaving the Ren family, her complexion was better than when she had been at the Ren family. Upon seeing Ren Yaoqi, Xueli immediately stepped forward to bow.
Ren Yaoqi noticed her flushed cheeks and slightly rapid breathing, clearly indicating she had hurried to see her immediately after returning from the Lei family estate.
Ren Yaoqi wasn’t in a hurry to question her. She first had Xueli sit down to drink some tea and eat some pastries to rest, and also sent someone to invite Ren Yaohua over. When Xiao Jinglin had been present earlier, Ren Yaohua hadn’t pressed to ask about the meeting with Lei Pan’er. Ren Yaoqi also wanted to wait for Xueli’s intelligence before discussing Little Qiao Shi’s matter with Ren Yaohua.
When Ren Yaohua arrived, Xueli had finished a cup of tea and eaten several pieces of cake, roughly filling her stomach.
Ren Yaoqi then recounted to Ren Yaohua everything about meeting Lei Pan’er and Little Qiao Shi that day, including her speculation about Little Qiao Shi’s motives.
Xueli added from the side: “Fifth Miss’s guess should be correct. When this servant met Young Lady Lei’s wet nurse, she said that as soon as Little Qiao Shi entered the Lei mansion, she began paying constant attention to Young Lady Lei, insisting on personally managing her clothing, food, and daily life. Originally, the wet nurse had been taking care of all of Young Lady Lei’s matters, big and small, but after Little Qiao Shi arrived, the wet nurse couldn’t get involved. Little Qiao Shi wanted Young Lady Lei to move to her courtyard to live with her. The wet nurse told the Lei family head that Young Lady Lei was particular about her sleeping arrangements, so Young Lady Lei ultimately remained with Second Master Lei. Possibly because of this incident, Little Qiao Shi harbored resentment against the wet nurse. Later, the wet nurse was accused by Little Qiao Shi of embezzling Young Lady Lei’s private funds and was driven out of the Lei mansion.”
Ren Yaohua had been listening with a frown throughout, finally thinking and asking: “Does this Little Qiao Shi truly resemble Pan’er’s birth mother?”
Xueli nodded: “The wet nurse said the two were seven or eight parts alike in appearance, but the former Lady Qiao had a gentle nature and excellent temperament, unlike Little Qiao Shi.”
Ren Yaoqi asked: “Little Qiao Shi never had children while at her husband’s family?”
“It seems she once became pregnant, but unfortunately her husband died around that time. She miscarried due to grief and shock. I heard that when the child was miscarried, it had already taken shape—it was a female infant.”
Ren Yaoqi nodded. No wonder Little Qiao Shi, despite never being a mother, had such an obsession with children. It turned out she had once gained and then lost a child.
“What is the Lei family’s attitude toward Little Qiao Shi?” she asked again.
“Since Little Qiao Shi closely resembles Young Lady Lei’s birth mother, Young Lady Lei doesn’t reject her closeness and is willing to listen to her words. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have allowed her to drive the wet nurse out of the mansion earlier. As for the Lei family head, his attitude is unclear, but he instructed everyone in the Lei family not to slight her and doesn’t prevent Young Lady Lei from being close to her. However, regarding the proposal for Young Lady Lei to move and live with Little Qiao Shi, the Lei family head hasn’t agreed.”
After listening, Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help but fall into thought, then looked at Ren Yaohua, who was frowning silently.
Noticing her gaze, Ren Yaohua turned her head, raising an eyebrow questioningly.
Ren Yaoqi smiled: “This is the Lei family’s inner courtyard matter. It’s not appropriate for me to interfere. Even you shouldn’t intervene to manage it right now.”
Ren Yaohua understood and nodded: “I naturally know this.” After a pause, she said to Ren Yaoqi: “Don’t worry. When I… when the time comes, I’ll handle it myself.”
Ren Yaoqi smiled warmly. Although she was worried, she knew she needed to let Ren Yaohua handle things herself, or Ren Yaohua might resent her for meddling.
Before Xueli left, Ren Yaoqi comforted her: “I want to delay your marriage to Zhu Ruomei by another year, but don’t worry—when the time comes, I’ll ensure you have a splendid wedding.”
Upon hearing this, Xueli’s face turned red as if blood might drip from it, but she still tried to appear gracious: “This servant thanks you, Miss.” She hesitated for a moment, then asked: “Miss, after this servant marries, can I still work for you?”
Hearing this, Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help but laugh, with a teasing tone: “Zhu Ruomei is now someone of considerable standing. When he goes out, many people must address him as Master Zhu. What would it mean for you to come back and work for me?”
Xueli thought Ren Yaoqi was joking with her and quickly said: “This servant just wants to serve you.”
Xueli’s words were heartfelt. Although the master-servant relationship between Fifth Miss Ren and herself hadn’t had a beautiful beginning, after staying by Ren Yaoqi’s side for a long time, she understood that Fifth Miss Ren was a very good master.
Even after she left the Ren family, Ren Yaoqi continued to care for her. Her monthly allowance and rewards were no less than those who served closely, and because Fifth Miss Ren valued this maid so consistently, the entire Zhu family treated her with great respect.
Moreover, Zhu Ruomei currently had no official position, and Xueli only thought he was an unnamed minor attendant under the Yanbei Prince’s mansion’s Second Prince. Xueli thought that even if serving her mother-in-law in the future made it inconvenient to serve closely by Fifth Miss’s side, she could still competently manage dowry shops or estates for her.
Ren Yaoqi patted her hand and said gently: “It’s good that you have this intention. How about this—when the time comes, if you feel it’s good to return and help me with work, then come back. I won’t treat you poorly.”
Hearing this, Xueli breathed a sigh of relief and quickly expressed her thanks.
Ren Yaoqi said this only to comfort her, because she knew Zhu Ruomei was no ordinary person. From the current situation between the Yanbei Prince’s mansion and the Xian Prince’s mansion, there would likely be significant moves in the coming year, and Zhu Ruomei would surely be of great use then. When Zhu Ruomei had some official position before marrying Xueli, it would naturally be better than Xueli entering the family now. However, these matters weren’t suitable to clarify with Xueli now, so Ren Yaoqi didn’t explain much.
The following days were quite peaceful, and before long it was late August, with Ren Yaohua’s wedding imminent.
A few days before Ren Yaohua’s wedding, news came from the Ren family’s old residence that Fourth Miss Ren, Ren Yaoyin, had returned.
Eldest Madam Ren was not pleased with her daughter’s return at this time. The Ren family was currently in turmoil, and no one knew when they might weather the crisis. Eldest Madam had recently corresponded with her eldest daughter, asking her to find a good family for Ren Yaoying in Jiangnan. Using the Gu family’s influence and providing a generous dowry, she wasn’t worried about finding Ren Yaoyin a good family.
But Ren Yaoyin had to return at this time. Where did the Ren family have the heart to plan for her marriage now? Yet Ren Yaoyin’s age could no longer be delayed. This frustrated Eldest Madam’s plans, so even though she had genuinely missed her daughter after years of separation, she still didn’t give Ren Yaoyin a pleasant reception.
Ren Yaoqi had no particular reaction. The third branch had already moved from White Crane Town and would increasingly be able to stand on their own. There would naturally be little intersection with Ren Yaoyin.
Moreover, Ren Yaohua was about to marry, and since she disliked Ren Yaoyin, they could avoid each other completely in the future. There was nothing to worry about.
The day before the wedding, the Ren family sent out the dowry.
The Ren family had prepared dowry for Ren Yaohua, following the example for legitimate daughters by providing an estate, a three-courtyard residence, two shops, a set of yellow rosewood furniture, plus clothing, jewelry, various decorations, and daily necessities. Although the current Ren family wasn’t what it once was and Ren Yaohua’s dowry had been considerably reduced, to outsiders, Ren Yaohua’s wedding still appeared splendid.
Generally speaking, when daughters of wealthy families married, besides the dowry provided by the clan, parents and maternal relatives would also contribute supplements. The amount of supplementation entirely depended on each branch and household’s capabilities. So sometimes even legitimate daughters from the same branch of the same family would have different dowries.
Li Shi hadn’t saved much private money over the years, so she only gave Ren Yaohua several sets of fine jewelry and hair ornaments she had accumulated. Li Shi felt very guilty about this. Other mothers would supplement their daughters with their own dowries, but when Li Shi married, the Xian Prince’s mansion was going through its most difficult period—what dowry could she have brought? Ren Yaohua didn’t mind this at all. She understood the third branch’s financial situation better than anyone, so she was only willing to accept half of the jewelry and hair ornaments Li Shi wanted to give her, wanting to leave the other half for Ren Yaoqi.
However, Ren Yaoqi had a conversation with Ren Shimin. That evening, when Third Master Ren received Ren Yaohua for her pre-wedding instruction, he generously gave her three thousand taels of silver for her dowry chest, plus several famous paintings and calligraphy works—valuable and elegant items to serve as impressive additions. This shocked and delighted Ren Yaohua.
Lady Rong also added to Ren Yaohua’s dowry: two thousand taels in banknotes plus a pair of dragon and phoenix jade pendants. After the Xian Prince’s mansion reestablished contact with the capital, some things no longer needed to be hidden away—they still had some foundation. The jade pendants were said to be items bestowed by the former emperor.
Other relatives also contributed more or less when adding to Ren Yaohua’s dowry. Ren Shijia was the most generous, giving Ren Yaohua not only a set of pure gold hair ornaments, a pair of jade bracelets, and eight bolts of brocade, but also an additional thousand taels of silver.
Ren Shijia hadn’t been so generous when other nieces married. Her special treatment of Ren Yaohua was mainly due to Ren Yaoqi, plus the Lin family had already divided their assets, Lin Kun controlled many properties, and Ren Shijia had ample funds.
She even secretly told Ren Yaoqi: “Good child, when you marry, your aunt will have even better things for you.” Her confidence was abundant.
On the day the dowry was sent, among the eight dowry maids Old Madam Ren had prepared for Ren Yaohua, four were supposed to be sent to the Lei family along with her dowry. However, Old Madam Ren hadn’t expected that before the dowry was sent to the Lei family, Nanny Zhou had quietly replaced all the maids she had carefully prepared.