The Fifth Madam had lived a smooth and favorable life from birth until now. How could she swallow being outmaneuvered by a concubine she had never regarded highly?
She immediately stormed angrily to Ronghua Garden to complain to Old Madam Ren. At that time, Old Madam Ren was having lunch with Great Aunt Xiao.
The Fifth Madam didn’t care about any of that. After barging in, she began crying and making a scene, accusing Concubine Fang of harboring evil intentions and scheming against Ren Yaoyu to elevate her daughter. In the end, she even cursed at Great Aunt Xiao, who had been sitting quietly to the side.
Old Madam Ren’s face immediately darkened: “Outrageous! Who gave you permission to act so improperly and cause such a scene? You’ve completely disgraced the Ren family’s reputation! Get out of here!”
Lin Shi had never seen Old Madam Ren speak to her so harshly. After being stunned for a moment, she began to cry.
At this time, Eldest Madam received the news and hurried over, pulling Lin Shi aside to comfort her.
Great Aunt Xiao rose awkwardly to take her leave. Old Madam was extremely annoyed at Lin Shi’s lack of propriety and the loss of face in front of an outsider. After saying a few polite words to detain Great Aunt Xiao briefly, she gave Nanny Gui a meaningful look, signaling her to escort Great Aunt Xiao out.
Nanny Gui understood Old Madam’s meaning and quietly instructed the senior maid Jin Lian to fetch some silver, then accompanied Great Aunt Xiao out with an apologetic smile.
Once the guest had left, Old Madam Ren exploded: “I’ve been too indulgent with you in daily life, which has made you lose all sense of propriety! From today onwards, you will go to the ancestral hall with Yaoyu to reflect behind closed doors! When you’ve figured things out, then you can come out!”
Fifth Madam felt extremely wronged. The reason she dared to be so presumptuous before Old Madam Ren was that Old Madam usually treated her like a daughter. Even when she was willful occasionally, Old Madam would cover for her in front of her sisters-in-law and the younger generation.
Her mother, Madam Lin, had reminded her many times to be more careful, telling her that no matter how good a mother-in-law was, she could never be one’s birth mother, and advising her to act more cautiously in her husband’s family. She had never taken this seriously.
“Mother, if that wretch Fang Yaru hadn’t schemed against my Yaoyu, how would I have become so anxious?” Fifth Madam’s tone softened as she cried.
However, Old Madam Ren was so angry she slammed the table: “What wretch? Even if she hadn’t married into my Ren family, she would still be your cousin! You say Fang Shi framed Yaoyu—do you have witnesses or physical evidence? Yet Yaoyu has already admitted that the cloth doll came from her own hands!”
Fifth Madam was speechless—she indeed had no evidence.
But she had dealt with Fang Yaru for over twenty years and understood her character better than the elders did. If someone said Fang Yaru wasn’t involved in this incident, she would never believe it until death.
Why should everyone else suffer misfortune while only she benefited? This pattern had repeated countless times in Fang Yaru’s life—she climbed up by constantly stepping on others.
“Have someone clear the table—I won’t eat anymore!” Seeing her silence, Old Madam Ren assumed she was being unreasonable and became very angry.
Eldest Madam saw that the table of vegetarian dishes had barely been touched and carefully offered a few words of persuasion.
However, Fifth Madam was unwilling to give up: “Mother, I have no complaints about you confining me to the ancestral hall. But Yaoyu’s health is weak—could you let her return first? As for the evidence you mentioned, I… I can’t produce it right now, but I’ll have someone go to my natal family and ask my mother to send a capable matron over. I refuse to believe we can’t discover whether someone tampered with that cloth doll!”
A vein throbbed at Old Madam Ren’s temple: “Eldest daughter-in-law! Lock her in the ancestral hall! Anyone who dares leave the mansion without my permission, once discovered, shall be beaten to death!”
“Mother—”
Eldest Madam quickly stepped forward to restrain Lin Shi, saying quietly: “Fifth sister-in-law, how can you be so confused? Although you were once a daughter of the Lin family, you are now a wife of the Ren family. There’s a saying that family shame should not be made public—how can you let your natal family interfere in such matters? Isn’t this telling your natal family that you’ve been wronged in your husband’s family?”
Eldest Madam glanced at Old Madam, then continued: “Moreover, your natal family’s elders are naturally all wonderful, but… those matrons may not all be good. Do you still remember that Nanny Chen who used to serve you?”
Lin Shi was startled and seemed to remember something, her face turning pale.
As the most favored daughter of the Lin family, how could Lin Shi lack capable dowry matrons and maids when she married? This Nanny Chen was one her mother had carefully selected for her.
Nanny Chen was indeed capable, and much of what Lin Shi knew about Concubine Fang came from her.
However, a few years ago, this Nanny Chen was discovered to have been having an affair and had secretly brought men into the inner courtyard for trysts. This incident nearly ruined Lin Shi’s reputation as well. In the end, it was Old Madam Ren who used iron-fisted methods to help her handle the aftermath. Because of that incident, several of the matrons and maids around her either died or were sold.
The Lin family, being in the wrong due to this matter, dared not send anyone else over.
Fortunately, Old Madam Ren was very fond of her, and she hadn’t suffered any losses in the Ren family, so the Lin family was reassured.
Now, hearing Eldest Madam bring up this matter, Lin Shi naturally felt uncomfortable all over and dared not speak again about returning to her natal family for reinforcements.
“What are you still standing here for? Didn’t you hear what I said?” Old Madam Ren coldly drove them away.
“Yes, Mother. I’ll take the fifth sister-in-law out right now.” Eldest Madam replied obediently, then pulled the aggrieved Fifth Madam outside.
Just then, Nanny Gui hurried back, her face full of joy: “Old Madam, Third Master, and Fifth Master have returned! Their carriage has already reached the gate!”
Old Madam Ren’s expression improved considerably: “Third son and fifth son have returned? Didn’t they say they were blocked by heavy snow and would be delayed for several days?”
The Great Zhou Dynasty did not prohibit people of merchant background from participating in the imperial examinations. The second master of the Ren family had once wanted to achieve glory through the imperial examinations when he was young. Unfortunately, he repeatedly failed and only managed to pass the scholar level.
Fortunately, by his generation, the Ren family was not short of money. Old Master Ren spent considerable money to help his brother obtain an official position. Although he had no proper duties, he became the president of a large merchant association that Yan Bei had established in the capital.
The eldest son of the second branch master, Ren Shiyuan, ranked second in the Ren family, remained in Bahe Crane Town to serve his mother. The youngest son, Ren Shixu, ranked fourth, went to the capital with the second master. He married the legitimate daughter of a fifth-rank capital official and, with his father-in-law’s help, secured a position as a procurement officer in the Imperial Household Department.
Fifth Master Ren Shimao of the main branch spent several months each year in the capital with his uncle, learning about official social interactions.
Third Master Ren Shimin was something of an anomaly in the Ren family. He disliked both commerce and officialdom, being interested only in elegant pursuits like poetry, painting, music, and swordplay, comparing himself to the romantic scholars of the Wei and Jin dynasties. His trip to the capital this time was to participate in the capital’s quinquennial painting gathering, and he had been away from home for half a year.
Today, the two brothers had returned together.