When Lei Ting turned around, he sensed someone’s gaze examining him, but only saw a carriage passing by in front of him. Judging by the decorations on the carriage, it should belong to female family members. He frowned slightly and looked away.
Liu Gui chased after him from behind, stopping one step away from him, and said in a low voice: “Master, the Liu family’s people have already passed Hejian Prefecture yesterday. Based on their pace, they’ll arrive tomorrow. Should we send someone ahead to receive them?”
Lei Ting’s cold, hard face showed no expression: “Did they send word asking us to receive them?”
Liu Gui glanced at his master and said carefully: “No.”
Lei Ting pulled at the corner of his mouth, but it conveyed no hint of a smile, making Liu Gui involuntarily lower his head.
“Since the guests didn’t greet us, even if you sent people to receive them, no one would appreciate it.” Lei Ting’s voice carried not a trace of emotion.
“Yes.” Liu Gui dared not say anything more, even regretting what he had just said.
While others didn’t know how the Grand Madam had died, as Lei Ting’s confidant, he knew very clearly.
The Liu family had been secretly instructed to send people to Yanbei, intending to publicly expose the Grand Madam’s identity. The Grand Madam’s public identity was that of a legitimate daughter from the Liu family, a great clan that had fallen into decline decades ago after being implicated in palace struggles and incurring the late emperor’s wrath.
Originally, they thought all the Liu family members had either died or fled, but unexpectedly, there were still some who had slipped through the net. Among those coming this time was reportedly a cousin from the Grand Madam’s generation.
Fortunately, the Lei family had received a warning and weren’t caught off guard, but the Grand Madam, to protect the Lei family, had…
The Grand Madam was decisive and resolute by nature. By the time Lei Ting realized something was wrong and rushed to stop her, it was already too late.
“Where is Pan’er now?” Lei Ting suddenly asked, his voice finally carrying some emotion.
Liu Gui quickly replied: “The young miss is in the Second Master’s courtyard. When Second Master isn’t in his courtyard, she’s cared for by the wet nurse and several senior maids from Second Master’s quarters. Please rest assured, Master.”
Lei Ting nodded.
Liu Gui glanced at Lei Ting and said carefully: “Master, Miss Yuegui has come to fetch the young miss several times, saying she wants to bring her to your courtyard to care for her, but the young miss refuses.”
Lei Ting frowned: “Yuegui? The senior maid who used to serve A Fu?”
“Yes, Master. After Madam passed away, Miss Yuegui has remained in the courtyard, usually responsible for managing the courtyard’s accounts.”
“Since she’s an old servant from Madam’s side, give her a generous dowry after the mourning period ends.” Lei Ting said casually.
Lei Ting never concerned himself with such inner courtyard matters, only mentioning it because she was an old servant from his deceased wife’s side.
Liu Gui glanced at Lei Ting and understood his meaning, saying nothing and simply bowing in acknowledgment.
Although the Grand Madam had previously suggested that the master take Yuegui as a concubine, clearly the master hadn’t taken it to heart. Now that the Grand Madam had passed and the master was in mourning, he would be even less likely to consider such matters.
Though Liu Gui felt that having a woman who could manage affairs in the master’s courtyard at this time would be better. With the Grand Madam gone, the Lei family didn’t even have someone to manage the inner courtyard, which was why he hadn’t exposed Yuegui’s intentions despite knowing them.
“If Pan’er likes staying in Second Brother’s courtyard, let her stay there. I don’t have time to look after her.” Lei Ting reached up to massage his temples.
Liu Gui quietly acknowledged again.
Lei Ting only had one daughter, Lei Pan’er, but the father and daughter weren’t particularly close in daily life. The Lei family head had too many matters to handle each day, and even if he weren’t busy, caring for a daughter wasn’t something he could do.
So compared to Lei Ting, her always-serious father, Lei Pan’er was closer to her second uncle Lei Zhen, who was willing to play with her.
And though Lei Zhen was cheerful by nature, he was a very thoughtful young man. After Grand Madam Lei’s death, he immediately took his niece over to care for her personally, proving far more competent than Lei Ting, her biological father.
When Ren Yaoqi’s carriage arrived at Tan’s Shop, it was exactly the si hour. Because she had suddenly received Ren Yaohua’s message, her departure time had been somewhat delayed.
Hongying, the maid beside Xiao Jinglin, had received instructions and was already waiting at the entrance. As soon as Ren Yaoqi’s carriage arrived, she guided the driver to take the carriage through the side alley into the restaurant’s back entrance.
Although Yanbei’s social customs weren’t as strict as the Capital’s, and it was common for inner courtyard women to enter restaurants and shops when going out, they would only use doors specially prepared for women, kept separate from the male guests in the front hall.
However, it was obvious that Tan’s Restaurant wasn’t receiving outside guests today. When Ren Yaoqi was led by Hongying to the private room on the second floor, she didn’t encounter a single person along the way. There weren’t even any waiters.
This private room was quite spacious, divided into a front hall and a back hall. When Ren Yaoqi entered, she thought such ostentatious arrangements didn’t seem like Xiao Jinglin’s style.
Sure enough, when she reached the inner back hall, Ren Yaoqi saw Xiao Jinglin and Xiao Jingxi, the brother and sister, sitting at an eight-immortals table in the center of the room playing chess.
Xiao Jingxi seemed to enjoy chess very much – every time she encountered him, there was invariably a chessboard present.
As for why Ren Yaoqi thought it was Xiao Jingxi who liked chess rather than Xiao Jinglin, that was because Xiao Jinglin was currently sitting there with deeply furrowed brows, her forehead practically able to crush a fly.
Sitting across from her, Xiao Jingxi had a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. Though he possessed an immortal-like temperament and appearance, Ren Yaoqi could somehow detect the malicious pleasure of a cat watching a mouse struggle under its paw.
Seeing Ren Yaoqi enter, Xiao Jinglin’s eyes lit up, then she expressionlessly and seemingly casually tossed the chess piece in her hand onto the board. The neat game with more black pieces than white was instantly reduced to chaos.
Xiao Jingxi’s temple twitched, but he still maintained his perfect smile as he nodded to greet Ren Yaoqi.
Ren Yaoqi suddenly felt that being an immortal must be quite exhausting.
Ren Yaoqi pretended not to have seen anything and stepped forward to pay respects to the siblings, then was pulled by Xiao Jinglin to sit beside her.
“The game isn’t finished yet.” Xiao Jingxi methodically reached out to restore the chessboard. Despite all the pieces being displaced, Second Young Master Xiao could return them to their exact positions without error.
Xiao Jinglin frowned and was silent for a moment, then without a word began grabbing chess pieces from the board regardless of color and stuffing them into the chess jar beside her. She then expressionlessly handed the entire jar to Hongying: “Bury them.”
Xiao Jingxi: “…”
Ren Yaoqi silently turned her head to admire the pair of beautiful vases by the wall.
In the end, the chess pieces were rescued because that set belonged to Second Young Master Xiao’s private collection.
Naturally, the chess game couldn’t continue. Xiao Jinglin lowered her head to drink tea, the teacup concealing her slightly upturned lips.
After a moment of silence, Xiao Jingxi was the first to speak.
“It’s still early. If you’re not hungry, shall we have the dishes served in half an hour?”
Xiao Jinglin had eaten some snacks outside before coming and wasn’t very hungry, so she looked at Ren Yaoqi. Ren Yaoqi nodded, having no objections. Her mind had been racing throughout the journey, leaving her with little appetite.
This was the fourth time Ren Yaoqi had met with the Xiao siblings together. She didn’t understand how she had come to have so many encounters with these two.
“Do you know about the Lei family’s affairs?” Xiao Jingxi suddenly asked Ren Yaoqi.
So it was indeed about the Lei family’s matters. However, her position had never been concealed. She wondered what Xiao Jingxi’s purpose was in discussing the Lei family with her at this time.
“Are you referring to Grand Madam Lei’s passing?” Ren Yaoqi replied conservatively.
Xiao Jingxi looked at Ren Yaoqi. The young woman’s expression carried a composure and gentleness inappropriate for her age, her dark, bright eyes meeting his gaze without flinching or blinking.
“The Liu family’s people are on the road. They set out before Grand Madam Lei’s sudden death.” Xiao Jingxi also didn’t look away, and when he said this, he even smiled slightly, as if somewhat curious about her reaction.
Ren Yaoqi was first stunned, then startled. In just a moment, she understood all the information contained in that sentence.
“She committed suicide?”
Xiao Jingxi didn’t speak, but it could be considered a tacit acknowledgment.
Although she had suspected this before, Ren Yaoqi still couldn’t help frowning.
“Old Master Lei’s first wife was indeed a legitimate daughter of the Liu family, but she had died of illness twenty years ago, and their only legitimate son also died of smallpox. This Grand Madam Lei in Yunyang City was originally just a courtesan who was kept by Old Master Lei as a concubine.” Xiao Jingxi sighed.
So as long as the Liu family people came forward to identify Grand Madam Lei as an impostor, the Lei family would be finished. Therefore, the old madam had committed suicide before the Liu family arrived in Yunyang City.
Wait…
“Did she commit suicide?” It was also possible that the Lei family had killed Grand Madam Lei to cover up this matter.
Whether Grand Madam Lei had committed suicide or been sacrificed by her relatives had no bearing on Ren Yaoqi’s plans. But remembering the Lei family head she had seen before, Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help asking.
Xiao Jingxi raised his eyebrows slightly but shook his head: “Although Lei Ting can’t be called a gentleman, he’s not someone of base character either.”
Hearing Xiao Jingxi’s assessment, Ren Yaoqi felt somewhat better. Although Lei Ting’s character would hardly influence her future decisions – after all, she was long past the age of acting on impulse – there was still a difference between helping a person versus helping a beast.