All along the way, the Lin family’s maids and servants seemed to be breathing much more cautiously, their footsteps as light as cats.
Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help but be surprised—had something happened in the Lin family during her absence?
This question was answered when Ren Yaoqi went to Ren Shijia’s courtyard and saw her.
Ren Shijia was very happy about Ren Yaoqi’s return to the manor today. She handed the child to a maid and pulled Ren Yaoqi to sit on the kang, asking after her health and well-being. Ren Yaoqi also gave the gift list from Madam Rong to Ren Shijia’s nanny.
“Did something happen in the manor?” Ren Yaoqi asked softly.
Ren Shijia looked to be in quite good spirits.
“Husband dealt with those people yesterday.”
Ren Yaoqi was startled: “Which people?”
Ren Shijia’s smile carried some sarcasm: “Which ones could it be? Those insolent slaves who dared to harm my Brother Cen, of course. Husband found that kind of medicine in a kitchen manager’s room and uncovered several nannies and maids involved. Those people have all been beaten with boards by their husbands and are about to be sold off.”
Ren Yaoqi was somewhat surprised—was Lin Kun already planning to tear off all pretense with the Lin family’s main branch?
Just then, there was a commotion outside, mixed with a woman’s crying.
Ren Shijia frowned slightly, her expression somewhat complex.
“Young Mistress, spare this servant, Young Mistress, this servant is wronged!” The woman’s voice grew louder, as if someone was trying to drag her away.
This cry of “Young Mistress” made Ren Yaoqi pause and look toward Ren Shijia.
Ren Shijia sighed and finally said, “Let her come in.”
Soon after, a woman stumbled in and fell to her knees before Ren Shijia with a thud: “Young Mistress, this servant is wronged!”
When she looked up with tears streaming down her face, Ren Yaoqi recognized her as Qingliu, the personal maid Old Madam Ren had prepared for the son-in-law.
Qingliu had some dirty tear stains on her face, and her hair was somewhat disheveled, but there were no injuries on her body. Seeing how nimbly she moved, she hadn’t been beaten with boards.
“Qingliu, it’s not that I don’t believe you. But the wet nurse’s food did go through your hands those few days, and people saw that kitchen manager slip you silver. Those few guilty maids were also close to you. When they confessed, they implicated you as well. Because you’re someone Mother gave me, Husband has shown you mercy and hasn’t had you tortured. But I can no longer keep you by my side. You should return to my mother.”
“Young Mistress, you said this servant belongs to Old Madam. This servant’s whole family is in Old Madam’s hands—how could this servant possibly betray you? This servant has been wronged.”
Ren Shijia hesitated upon hearing this.
Qingliu continued: “That group of people must have deliberately thrown dirty water on us, Ren family people, to confuse the masters’ vision. Young Mistress, you must seek justice for this servant!”
Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help but size up this maid who was usually low-key, gentle, and obedient. She hadn’t expected that at the crucial moment, her tongue would be quite sharp, and she even dared to drag the Ren family into it.
Elevating personal behavior to family behavior—it really would be difficult to touch her now.
Ren Shijia sighed: “Go down for now and stop making a scene. I’ll discuss it with my Husband before deciding.”
But Qingliu refused to leave, crying incessantly.
Chunlan, the senior maid by Ren Shijia’s side, scolded her sternly, and finally had people drag her away.
“She’s from my natal family, personally chosen by Mother for me. I really can’t deal with her easily—I can only send her back for Mother to handle.” Shijia sighed again.
At this moment, someone outside reported that the First Madam had arrived.
Ren Shijia frowned.
Soon, First Madam Lin entered, her expression maintaining its usual dignified and amiable appearance.
“Oh, the aunt and niece are having a private chat. Am I interrupting?” First Madam Lin’s words always made it impossible to dislike her.
Ren Shijia gathered her spirits to deal with her.
First Madam Lin exchanged pleasantries with Ren Shijia, then smiled at Ren Yaoqi: “Good child, I need to have some intimate words with your aunt. Could you do us a favor?” Her tone was somewhat teasing.
Ren Yaoqi took the opportunity to stand: “Then I’ll go back first.” She had no intention of participating in the Lin family’s struggles anyway.
Ren Shijia had originally wanted to keep Ren Yaoqi there, but since First Madam Lin had spoken thus, she couldn’t say much. Remembering what Lin Kun had instructed before leaving, she secretly encouraged herself.
After leaving Ren Shijia’s room, Ren Yaoqi returned to her room. Seeing no movement from Ren Yaoyin’s neighboring room, she couldn’t help asking: “Where is my Fourth Sister? Not in the manor?”
Xiangqin answered: “This servant inquired—Fourth Miss went to the Yun family.”
Ren Yaoqi raised an eyebrow: “She went alone?”
Xiangqin lowered her voice mysteriously: “I heard she sent a letter to the Yun family’s eldest miss, and then Miss Yun invited her over to discuss poetry.”
Hearing this, Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help but laugh. This Fourth Sister of hers had some ability.
“You also just returned to the manor—where did you hear all this?” Ren Yaoqi asked while having Pingguo help her change clothes.
Xiangqin smiled proudly: “This servant is the best maid among the young misses—otherwise Third Miss wouldn’t have lent this servant to you, Fifth Miss.”
Ren Yaoqi found this both funny and exasperating, waving her hand to dismiss her.
First Madam Lin and Ren Shijia discussed something unknown, but when Ren Yaoqi went to have lunch at Ren Shijia’s place, Shijia’s complexion wasn’t good. Ren Yaoqi didn’t ask many questions and returned after eating.
In the afternoon, Zhu Ruoju suddenly came with news of Old Woman Luo’s sudden death.
Upon hearing this news, Ren Yaoqi was stunned for a long time.
“Wasn’t she fine yesterday?”
Zhu Ruoju’s eyes were somewhat red: “She was fine originally, but this morning she looked very unwell, gasping for breath and unable to say a word. I went to fetch a physician, and he said that at her age, she had ignored many minor ailments that accumulated over the years into a serious illness. He also said she was troubled at heart and had a death wish. The physician told us to prepare for her funeral, but as soon as he left, she passed away. Mother originally wanted to call Shui’ai back to see her off, but unexpectedly, she couldn’t even see her one last time.”
Ren Yaoqi hadn’t brought Shui’ai back but had her stay temporarily at Baoping Alley for Chuchu to teach her proper manners. Being at the Lin family now, it wouldn’t be appropriate to suddenly bring back a maid. She planned to take her when she returned to White Crane Town.
Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help thinking—if she hadn’t forcibly brought Old Woman Luo from the estate, might she have lived longer?
Ren Yaoqi knew such thoughts shouldn’t be dwelt upon, as they could easily lead to mental demons. So she forced herself not to think about it.
She had Pingguo take out thirty taels of silver for Zhu Ruoju to arrange Old Woman Luo’s funeral and sent two nannies to help. She also had someone go to Baoping Alley to fetch Shui’ai back. After Zhu Ruoju left, Ren Yaoqi lay on the kang reading books for the entire afternoon.
The next day, shortly after Ren Yaoqi finished breakfast, Xiao Jinglin sent someone to fetch her to the manor.
Prince Yanbei’s Manor was located in the center of Yunyang City, facing south with north, east, west, south, and north main gates plus eight auxiliary gates. Occupying over 500 acres, all buildings were distributed along three axes—left, center, and right—looking extremely magnificent and imposing from afar.
Though Prince Yanbei’s Manor wasn’t as large as the imperial palace in the capital, it was built according to palace regulations, also divided into front and rear halls.
Ren Yaoqi rode in Prince Yanbei Manor’s carriage, so the journey was unobstructed. Unable to look around much in the carriage, she casually observed when alighting and found their destination near the manor’s western axis.
Prince Yanbei Manor’s buildings rarely used gold bricks, white marble, or glazed tiles, mostly using whole blocks of large bluestone. The colors were quite somber, not exactly magnificent, but exuding dominance and weathered history throughout.
Xiao Jinglin’s residence was located in Yanju Courtyard on the manor’s west side—a beautiful name, though the courtyard itself had nothing special about it. The courtyard was particularly large, with no flowers or plants, only two aged parasol trees.
When Ren Yaoqi entered, Xiao Jinglin was waiting in the courtyard, holding a long spear. Her expression was calm with no sweat on her face. Ren Yaoqi couldn’t tell if she had finished practicing or was about to begin.
Seeing Ren Yaoqi approach, Xiao Jinglin’s eyes flashed. Then, surprising everyone, she raised her spear and suddenly charged at Ren Yaoqi, the spear point aimed directly at her face.
Maid Pingguo, walking beside Ren Yaoqi, was startled and cried out, about to block in front of Ren Yaoqi, but Xiao Jinglin dodged and pushed, using skillful force to push her several steps away before continuing toward Ren Yaoqi with the spear.
Throughout this process, Ren Yaoqi watched Xiao Jinglin with a smiling expression. Even when the spear point stopped touching her nose tip, she didn’t blink once.
Xiao Jinglin hadn’t yet moved the spear away, but laughed first: “Good courage.”
Ren Yaoqi shook her head, watching as Xiao Jinglin moved the spear point away: “I was startled at first, but knowing I couldn’t dodge, I simply didn’t try.”
Xiao Jinglin tossed the spear to her maid and glanced at Pingguo, rarely praising: “Not a bad maid, just a bit slow.” This was a compliment.
Pingguo wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, bowed to Xiao Jinglin, and retreated behind Ren Yaoqi.
“I’ll take you to see Mother Consort.” Xiao Jinglin took Ren Yaoqi’s hand and headed out.
“Jinglin, won’t you change clothes?” Ren Yaoqi looked at her men’s clothing worn for martial arts practice.
Xiao Jinglin looked at herself, thought for a moment, then pulled Ren Yaoqi back toward her room: “Then I’ll change.” Her tone was truly reluctant.
Apart from the plaque reading “Virtuous, Moral, Gentle, and Harmonious” hanging in the center, Xiao Jinglin’s boudoir showed no signs of being a woman’s room. The furnishing was appallingly simple.
Xiao Jinglin quickly changed clothes and pulled Ren Yaoqi along: “The qin teacher is at Mother Consort’s place. Didn’t you bring a qin?” Seeing Ren Yaoqi’s maids empty-handed.
Ren Yaoqi shook her head: “My qin is at home. It’s fine, I’ll watch you practice.”
Xiao Jinglin frowned: “That won’t do. Hongying, quickly find a qin—go to Second Brother’s place, he has one.”
The Princess Consort’s residence wasn’t too far from Yanju Courtyard, located in Jiuyang Hall on the manor’s central axis—the traditional dwelling of successive princes and their primary consorts. Still not particularly ornate, but the hall had many trees that, contrasting with the somber bluestone, created a unique ancient elegance.
Princess Consort Yanbei was sitting in the hall, talking with someone. Before entering, Xiao Jinglin released Ren Yaoqi’s hand to avoid being seen holding hands.
Princess Consort Yanbei was very beautiful. When Ren Yaoqi first saw Yun Qiuchen, she thought Miss Yun truly had exceptional beauty, but compared to her aunt, Princess Consort Yanbei, Yun Qiuchen still fell short. Xiao Jingxi somewhat resembled Princess Consort Yanbei.
Ren Yaoqi stepped forward to pay respects to Princess Consort Yanbei, who smiled gently and told her to rise.
“So you’re Fifth Miss Ren? Jinglin often mentions you.”
In front of Princess Consort Yanbei, Xiao Jinglin seemed to restrain her nature somewhat, speaking in a lower voice: “I asked Yaoqi to accompany me in practicing qin.”
The Princess Consort nodded and pointed to the middle-aged woman she’d been speaking with: “Then study well with Teacher Zou.”
At this moment, a servant woman entered to report that the Old Princess Consort was calling for the Princess Consort. So she gave Xiao Jinglin a few instructions and went in to change clothes before leaving.
Teacher Zou, whom the Princess Consort mentioned, was a qin master with ordinary looks and some plumpness, but her reputation was quite renowned. Ren Yaoqi had heard of this person.
“Princess, Miss Ren, shall we begin?” Teacher Zou was rotund in appearance but spoke methodically—no wonder Xiao Jinglin found her boring.
Xiao Jinglin and Ren Yaoqi followed Teacher Zou to the adjacent side hall, where two qins were placed facing each other on a low table in the center.
Xiao Jinglin had another small table brought over, and the three sat in a “凹” shape. Soon, Hongying returned from borrowing the qin, indeed carrying one, which she carefully placed on Ren Yaoqi’s table.
“Eh? Why did you bring Second Brother’s ‘Great Sage’s Remaining Sound’?” Xiao Jinglin asked in surprise.
Hongying replied: “Second Young Master told me to take it.”
Xiao Jinglin looked at the qin and slowly blinked, then said nothing.
Having learned qin, Ren Yaoqi naturally knew of “Great Sage’s Remaining Sound” and couldn’t help but look at it several more times. She wondered if borrowing this valuable, famous qin to accompany Xiao Jinglin’s practice was inappropriate, but seeing both Xiao Jinglin and Teacher Zou seriously tuning their strings, she swallowed her words of refusal.
Teacher Zou first carefully explained some techniques, then had them practice.
It must be said that Xiao Jinglin’s qin music was truly… special.
She could make the serene “Wild Geese Landing on Sand” sound like the pipa piece “Ambush from Ten Sides,” so murderously intense that people couldn’t bear it. Ren Yaoqi’s fingers couldn’t help but slip.
At the end, Teacher Zou calmly praised: “Very good, only eight wrong notes today.”
Xiao Jinglin looked up at Ren Yaoqi with a smile, showing faint pride.
Ren Yaoqi: “…”
Ren Yaoqi felt that when Xiao Jinglin said this teacher was very strict, she had misunderstood the woman.