Su Shi didn’t stay long at the West Residence. A steward from the East Residence came to report matters, so Su Shi took her leave and returned.

Ren Yaoting didn’t want to go back with Su Shi so quickly, and since Old Madam Ren invited her to stay for dinner, she remained.

No matter how proud Ren Yaoting’s temperament was, teenage girls all liked liveliness, so Ren Yaoting enjoyed visiting the West Residence.

The four sisters chatted in Ronghua Garden, though Ren Yaohua mostly ignored Ren Yaoting. Usually, it was Ren Yaoting and Ren Yaoqi talking, with Ren Yaoyin occasionally interjecting a few words, or sometimes Ren Yaoyin would exchange a few words with Ren Yaohua. There was no awkward silence.

Ren Yaoting remembered the butterfly catching from her last visit to the West Residence and felt somewhat restless: “Why don’t we go catch butterflies for fun?”

Ren Yaoyin teased her: “Aren’t you afraid of the heat? Look at you – after just a few steps, you’re red-faced like Guan Gong. With the sun so bright outside, aren’t you afraid of getting sunburned?”

Ren Yaoting’s attitude toward Ren Yaoyin was fairly good. Hearing this, she laughed: “That’s why I don’t like going to my own family’s garden. The place where Fifth Sister and I caught butterflies last time was very shady.”

Ren Yaoyin shook her head: “I still won’t go. Yesterday I promised to help my sister-in-law draw flower patterns, and I said I’d give them to her today. Why don’t you go play first, and I’ll come find you later?”

Among the Ren family sisters, Ren Yaoyin was known to prefer quiet activities over active ones.

Ren Yaoting pouted: “Fourth Sister is just making excuses. By the time you come to find us, we’ll have long stopped playing.”

Ren Yaoyin didn’t argue, instead covering her mouth and laughing, as if admitting it was indeed an excuse. This made it impossible to be annoyed with her, and even the proud Ren Yaoting only glared at her.

Fourth Miss Ren Yaoyin was like this – she wasn’t particularly close to any specific sister, but from Ren Yaohua to Ren Yaoting to Ren Yaoyu, she never earned any sister’s dislike.

Though the Ren family sisters had various undercurrents between them, none of them ever affected her.

Ren Yaoting didn’t ask Ren Yaohua, only tugging at Ren Yaoqi’s hand: “Fourth Sister won’t go, so Fifth Sister will accompany me, right?”

Ren Yaoyin smiled at Ren Yaoqi. Regarding the sudden closeness between Ren Yaoting and Ren Yaoqi, she showed no great surprise, as if harmony and intimacy between sisters were the most natural thing.

Ren Yaoqi nodded and agreed, glancing at Ren Yaohua.

Ren Yaohua turned directly to Ren Yaoyin: “I was just thinking of embroidering a forehead band for Grandmother. Help me choose which pattern would be suitable?”

Actually, among the sisters, Ren Yaoqi’s embroidery was mediocre, but she drew the best patterns. Ren Yaoyin knew that Ren Yaohua didn’t want to go to the small garden with Ren Yaoting to catch butterflies, which was why she was saying she wanted to discuss patterns. Hearing this, she didn’t expose her and responded with a friendly smile.

Ren Yaoting pulled Ren Yaoqi out the door.

Once they left Ronghua Garden, Ren Yaoting began expressing her dissatisfaction with Ren Yaoyu to Ren Yaoqi: “Earlier, I didn’t argue with her because my mother was present, otherwise, I definitely would have had Great-grandmother teach her a proper lesson!”

Ren Yaoting wasn’t from the West Residence, so when she came to the West Residence, Old Madam Ren had always been more affectionate to her than to her granddaughters – this was human nature. Combined with the fact that she was the sole ruler in the East Residence, Ren Yaoting’s temperament was even more proud and precious than Ren Yaohua’s.

Ren Yaoqi listened to her complaints, offering appropriate comfort here and there, not joining in criticizing Ren Yaoyu, which Ren Yaoting didn’t mind.

When Ren Yaoqi came out, she had sent her maids back to fetch butterfly nets. The two went to the same small garden near Glazed Courtyard, where there were two large camphor trees and some flowering vines. The shaded area beneath the greenery was butterflies’ favorite resting place. The Ren family sisters liked coming here most when playing butterfly catching in summer.

Ren Yaoting wasn’t in a hurry to catch butterflies; instead, pulling Ren Yaoqi to talk in the nearby covered walkway.

Ren Yaoting and Ren Yaoqi chatted about going to Yunyang City for the Dragon Boat Festival. Ren Yaoting told Ren Yaoqi that she had sent word to Han You asking if she would go, but Han You hadn’t given a clear answer. Ren Yaoting then encouraged Ren Yaoqi to also send word to Han You. They both knew the Han family’s situation, and Ren Yaoting thought that with more people inviting Han You, perhaps the Han family would be willing to let her go.

This was actually Ren Yaoting’s purpose for calling Ren Yaoqi out here to catch butterflies today – with Han You present, she would have many more opportunities to interact with Han Yunqian.

Just as Ren Yaoqi was about to respond, she noticed voices in the garden.

Ren Yaoting was somewhat displeased at being interrupted, frowning as she looked over, then showing some surprise: “Eh? How did we encounter them again?”

Ren Yaoqi also looked in the direction of Ren Yaoting’s gaze. Whether by coincidence or not, the two people in a standoff in the garden were Ren Yaoyu and Concubine Kang. Just like the last time Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yaoting had encountered them, the atmosphere between these two was still tense.

Ren Yaoting listened to the commotion over there for a while, pursed her lips, and pulled Ren Yaoqi quietly: “Come on, let’s go watch. This Eighth Sister is becoming more and more outrageous.”

Ren Yaoqi was pulled along for two steps when she suddenly cried “Ouch!” and stopped, using her free hand to rub her eye. Her left eye blinked repeatedly, showing clear discomfort.

“What’s wrong?” Ren Yaoting stopped and turned to look at Ren Yaoqi suspiciously.

Ren Yaoqi took out her handkerchief to rub her eye while saying dejectedly: “It seems like the wind blew some small insect into my eye. It’s very uncomfortable.”

Ren Yaoting looked at her eye. Ren Yaoqi’s left eyelashes kept blinking, as if trying to blink out whatever was causing the discomfort, and her left eye was redder than her right.

Her maids quickly surrounded her. Pingguo said, “Miss, why don’t you sit in the walkway for a while? This servant will help blow it out?”

Ren Yaoqi nodded with red eyes and said to Ren Yaoting, “My eyes are uncomfortable. I’ll go sit over there first.”

However, Ren Yaoting still resented Ren Yaoyu from earlier and wanted to go watch the dispute between Ren Yaoyu and Concubine Kang, thinking she could later have something to tell Old Madam Ren against Ren Yaoyu.

“Then you go sit for a while, and I’ll go over there to look?” Ren Yaoting said.

Ren Yaoqi waved her hand, letting her two maids help her turn around and sit down in the walkway without another word.

Ren Yaoting took her maid and went through the flowers and willows toward the garden.

After Pingguo helped Ren Yaoqi sit down, she carefully blew air into Ren Yaoqi’s eye. Ren Yaoqi inconspicuously glanced toward Ren Yaoting’s retreating figure, well concealing the trace of deep thought in her eyes.

Because Ren Yaohua had already sent someone to secretly watch Concubine Kang, Ren Yaoqi knew that Concubine Kang came to Glazed Courtyard at this time every morning.

Although Old Madam Ren had already told Concubine Kang that she didn’t need to come pay respects to Fifth Madam Lin Shi to avoid adding to her troubles, Concubine Kang’s purpose for coming to Glazed Courtyard now was legitimate. She came to act as a mediator for the Fifth Master.

Fifth Master hadn’t returned to Glazed Courtyard for some time and was still having a cold war with Fifth Madam. It was said that after Concubine Kang tried several times unsuccessfully to persuade the Fifth Master, she felt very uneasy, so she came to the Glazed Courtyard daily. Besides reporting to the main wife about Fifth Master’s daily life, she also came to plead with Fifth Madam not to take her anger out on the innocent Fifth Master, saying she was willing to accept Fifth Madam’s blame herself.

In short, in the eyes of everyone in the Ren household, this newly arrived Concubine Kang was very kind-hearted and reasonable.

Hearing this, Ren Yaoqi only smiled.

Knowing that Concubine Kang would come at this time, and considering Ren Yaoyu’s state when leaving Ronghua Garden, Ren Yaoqi had come along with Ren Yaoting.

However, she didn’t come here wanting to get herself involved in this dispute, so when she heard that Concubine Kang had indeed “encountered” Ren Yaoyu again, she didn’t eagerly rush over.

Ren Yaoqi sat in the walkway for a while. Her left eye gradually improved and was no longer red, but she had no mood to go watch the excitement, only sitting quietly in place listening to the faint sounds of argument from over there.

After an unknown amount of time, there was suddenly a scream and a cry of alarm from that direction.