Ren Yaoting recalled: “When I secretly entered the back courtyard, I happened to see that the door to the main hall in the back courtyard was open. When I got closer, I discovered there was an old woman burning incense inside. Because I was afraid of being discovered by her, I didn’t dare go near. I could only vaguely see two or three rows of memorial tablets enshrined above the incense table.”

“You said they weren’t Han family tablets? Did you see the characters on the tablets?” Hearing this, Ren Yaoqi felt that if she could know which family’s tablets those were, perhaps the mystery surrounding Han Dongshan’s background could be unveiled.

Ren Yaoting frowned as she recalled: “Although that main hall had candles lit, it was still somewhat dark. Just as I was about to look more carefully, the old woman seemed to hear some movement and suddenly turned to look over. I was so frightened that I quickly hid behind a pillar in the side room, so I only saw one character, ‘Qu’… Yes, the surname on the tablets was ‘Qu’!” Speaking of this, Ren Yaoting asked somewhat puzzledly: “Why would the Han family enshrine Qu family tablets? Does the Han family have any relatives surnamed Qu? Or was the original owner of this residence surnamed Qu? But that doesn’t make sense either. How could the original owner leave their ancestors’ tablets for others to enshrine? The Han family wouldn’t need to do such a thing either.”

“Qu?” Ren Yaoqi pondered silently. Han Dongshan naturally wouldn’t enshrine other people’s family tablets, so Qu was very likely his original surname.

As far as she knew, there didn’t seem to be any prominent Qu family in the Yanzhou area in recent decades.

Han Dongshan appeared to be about fifty years old this year, so if he was surnamed Qu and was from Yanbei, then there should have been news of the Qu family in Yanbei fifty years ago. Or perhaps Han Dongshan simply came from an ordinary, humble family?

Ren Yaoting complained on the side: “Tell me, when will this foot injury of mine ‘heal’? And my mother will ask about it.”

Ren Yaoqi temporarily withdrew her thoughts: “Didn’t we say the injury wasn’t serious? Just rest for a few days, and it will be fine. As for today’s incident of you trespassing into the Han family ancestral hall, you must never let others know about it. If the elders find out, they will think you’re not steady and reliable, and unfit for important responsibilities.”

This accusation would be serious. Generally, when prominent families chose wives for their eldest sons and grandsons, dignity and reliability were the most important qualities.

Although Ren Yaoting was young, she was very sensitive to such matters now. After thinking it over, she understood and nodded: “I won’t tell anyone else. Fifth Sister, you won’t tell anyone, will you?”

Ren Yaoqi smiled: “If I were going to tell others, why would I remind you?”

Ren Yaoting was very satisfied and intimately linked arms with Ren Yaoqi: “Fifth Sister, you’re good to me.”

The Ren and Han residences weren’t far apart, so the carriage quickly arrived at the Ren residence. Second Madam Ren had received word earlier from a servant who had returned first, and worried that Ren Yaoting had really injured herself somewhere, she had already sent a trusted nanny out to greet them.

Ren Yaoting was surrounded by people as she returned to the Eastern Manor. Before leaving, she didn’t forget to say to Ren Yaoqi: “Fifth Sister, I’ll be staying home these few days, recovering from my injury and can’t go out. When you have time, come visit me at the Eastern Manor.”

Ren Yaoqi smiled and agreed, then returned to the Western Manor with Ren Yaohua and the others.

When they reached Ziwei Courtyard, Ren Yaohua asked somewhat strangely: “Why have you been getting closer to her recently? And how did she manage to sprain her ankle at someone else’s residence when she was perfectly fine?”

Ren Yaohua knew about Ren Yaoting’s intentions. With such thoughts, shouldn’t she be trying to perform well at others’ residences and leave a good impression on the elders? Ren Yaohua felt she couldn’t understand Ren Yaoting’s behavior anymore.

Ren Yaoqi smiled: “Although Seventh Sister is usually somewhat difficult to get along with, she’s quite easy to coax. It was just that time when she came to our courtyard – I comforted her well, and somehow she became close to me after that.”

Ren Yaohua was somewhat skeptical and looked at Ren Yaoqi sideways: “How did you comfort her?”

Ren Yaoqi blinked and said seriously, “Naturally, by joining her in speaking ill of the people she dislikes.”

Ren Yaohua was stunned, then remembered that the person Ren Yaoting disliked most at that time seemed to be her…

After figuring this out, Ren Yaohua was about to scold her, but Ren Yaoqi had already cleverly retreated several steps away from her, making faces at her: “Who told you to give visiting guests cold looks? I was helping improve your relationship. Besides, I’ve already told you, so this isn’t talking behind your back! It can only be considered a tactful and roundabout strategy! You need to have the magnanimity of an older sister and can’t lose your temper and scold me!”

With that, Ren Yaoqi very wisely took her people and fled.

Ren Yaohua watched Ren Yaoqi’s figure running far away, grinding her teeth in anger.

The maids behind her saw that Ren Yaohua was angry, but for some reason, they didn’t feel the tension they used to feel when seeing the two sisters at odds. They just found it somewhat amusing how Fifth Miss now always deliberately teased Third Miss like this, so they all suppressed their laughter and looked down at their feet.

Although Ren Yaohua felt somewhat angry, it wasn’t the same kind of anger as before when seeing Ren Yaoqi made her want to slap her twice. She just felt somewhat frustrated and helpless, with anger, but nowhere to vent it.

After Ren Yaoqi returned to her room and changed clothes, she went to the main hall to find Nanny Zhou. She wanted to ask Nanny Zhou about families surnamed Qu in Yanzhou.

Although Nanny Zhou had come to Yanbei from the capital with her maternal grandfather’s family over ten years ago, after arriving in Yanbei, the people from Prince Xian’s mansion must have carefully investigated the situation of various prominent families in Yanbei. The more difficult life became, the more one needed to be cautious.

“The Qu family?” Nanny Zhou mentally filtered through all the prominent families in Yanbei that she knew of, but couldn’t seem to recall such a family for a moment.

Ren Yaoqi reminded her from the side: “Probably a prominent family in Yanzhou from forty or fifty years ago, who later might have encountered some disaster and fallen into ruin.”

Nanny Zhou thought more carefully, then shook her head: “This servant doesn’t remember such a family. But what this servant knows are mostly families that are still prominent in Yanbei now. This servant might not be clear about some families that have already fallen. You should know that forty or fifty years ago, Yanbei was exactly when the Liao bandits were rampant. Many prominent families who couldn’t escape back to the south in time suffered disasters, and quite a few were exterminated by the Liao people. The current families like the Yuns and Qius only migrated back after Old General Yanbei drove the Liao people out of Yanbei. For example, the Lei family that people have been talking about lately, who just moved from Muzhou to Yanzhou the Lei family was also a great family that was once as renowned as the Yun family, an old-established family with an even longer history than the Qiu family. But the Lei family hasn’t appeared for decades, and only recently was heard to be moving back. Many families were unwilling to leave back then – even their ancestral graves are gone now.”

The Lei family? Ren Yaoqi thought carefully but had no impression of them. Presumably, these old established families, after so many years of displacement and migration, were much diminished from before, which is why she had no impression of them.

Ren Yaoqi let it go, and after thinking, she asked quietly: “Nanny, do you know if the Ren family offended any families decades ago, or formed feuds with anyone?”

Nanny Zhou was startled upon hearing this and looked at Ren Yaoqi: “Fifth Miss, why do you suddenly ask about these things? Has something happened?”

Ren Yaoqi shook her head: “I just happened to hear about some matters concerning a family surnamed Qu. A descendant of the Qu family seemed to have said some unfavorable things about our Ren family, so I was curious and asked.”

Nanny Zhou was dismissive upon hearing this: “If we’re talking about families who harbor resentment toward the Ren family, there should be quite a few. The Ren family isn’t a charity hall, but made their fortune from mining. Every year quite a few people die in the Ren family coal mines. If these people’s families harbor some complaints against the Ren family, that wouldn’t be strange either.”

Ren Yaoqi felt that the Qu family matter shouldn’t be so simple. If Han Dongshan truly had a feud with the Ren family, it must be an irreconcilable blood feud. The Qu family tablets that Ren Yaoting mentioned made Ren Yaoqi very uneasy.

Seeing Ren Yaoqi’s thoughtful expression, Nanny Zhou knew she was still thinking about the Qu family matter, so she said: “This servant remembers there’s an old nanny in her seventies at the estate, who has been a bonded servant in the Ren family for many years. I heard she’s a native of Baihe Town and became a bonded servant because her family members were all killed by the Liao people. When this servant lived at the estate with Madam, I often heard her telling some young maids about events from decades ago. If the Qu family you mentioned existed, this old nanny might know about it.”

Ren Yaoqi’s eyes lit up upon hearing this: “How is the nanny’s health? Can she be invited to the residence?”

“She did rough work when she was young. Now that she’s older, although she only handles light duties, her health is still excellent. She can still eat five or six large white steamed buns in one meal. If Fifth Miss wants to invite her to the residence, it should be possible.”

Ren Yaoqi thought it over and said to Nanny Zhou, “Then please find a way to invite her here for me. I have some things I want to ask her.”

The Ren residence generally didn’t keep elderly women servants, and younger ones might not remember events from forty or fifty years ago.

Nanny Zhou nodded in agreement: “This servant will send someone to the estate tomorrow. Great Madam shouldn’t mind such small matters.”

“Thank you, Nanny.” Ren Yaoqi said happily.

Nanny Zhou quickly said she didn’t dare accept thanks.

As the two were talking, Li Shi’s head maid Xi’er hurriedly lifted the curtain and entered. Seeing Nanny Zhou and Ren Yaoqi there, she quickly walked over and said quietly: “Nanny, there’s trouble outside.”

Nanny Zhou frowned: “Speaking without context! What trouble?”

Xi’er glanced at Ren Yaoqi and lowered her voice even more: “It’s Fifth Master and Fifth Madam who are having trouble. Just now, a blue-curtained small sedan chair came from outside the residence, with a woman sitting inside. The old woman accompanying the sedan claimed to have come looking for Fifth Master, saying the woman in the sedan was Fifth Master’s… his kept woman.”