Both Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yaohua were startled upon hearing this.
“Didn’t Pan’er just go back?” Ren Yaoqi frowned.
The wet nurse’s face had turned pale with anxiety: “The young lady asked us to catch crickets for her, and in a moment of inattention, she ran out.”
Yuegui interrupted her coldly: “What’s the point of saying so much nonsense! Hurry up and find the young lady! Usually, you rely on the young lady favoring you as her wet nurse, refusing to let others interfere with anything. Now look what’s happened! You can’t even watch a child! If anything happens to the young lady, don’t expect to keep your life!”
Though the wet nurse was anxious, she couldn’t help defending herself: “If Miss hadn’t called away Huamei, Huangli, and the other maids just then, we wouldn’t have been short-handed in watching the young lady.”
Yuegui sneered: “Oh, so now you’re blaming me? Usually, you don’t like letting the maids get close to the young lady, complaining they’re clumsy and wanting to handle everything personally. Now you’re blaming the maids for not watching her properly?”
Ren Yaohua had been listening for a while and, seeing them not hurrying to search but instead accusing each other and shirking responsibility, couldn’t help feeling sorry for that lively and adorable little girl. She immediately darkened her expression: “All of you, shut up!”
Ren Yaohua had been able to manage the third branch of the Ren family on behalf of her mother since childhood. None of the maids or servants in Ziwei Courtyard feared her, so naturally she possessed the dignity of a master. Now with her face cold and voice stern, the Ren family maids who knew her temperament and methods instinctively lowered their heads, somewhat intimidated into silence.
The Lei family’s wet nurse and Yuegui were also affected by the surrounding atmosphere and didn’t dare speak anymore.
Ren Yaohua still remembered they were from the Lei family, so seeing they had stopped arguing, she only gave them a cold glance, then instructed her maid: “Wujing, take some people and search around this area. She’s just a small child and shouldn’t have gone far.”
Yuegui finally remembered it was her own family’s young lady who was missing and hurriedly instructed the Lei family maids and servants to search. Then she forced a smile at Ren Yaohua: “Thank you, Miss Ren. When our master returns…”
Ren Yaohua didn’t even glance at her and called to the wet nurse who was about to search herself: “Don’t you have any master who can take charge of your estate?”
The wet nurse glanced at Yuegui, then shook her head: “Today, only the master brought the young lady here. The master had urgent business to attend to and hasn’t returned yet.”
Yuegui felt somewhat embarrassed but couldn’t vent her anger on Ren Yaohua. She clenched her fists and suppressed her anger, her face turning pale.
Ren Yaoqi looked around and asked: “Has anyone been sent to search inside the estate?”
The wet nurse was anxiously looking around and was startled by the question: “The young lady must have run out. How could she be inside the estate?” Lei Pan’er was mischievous and had already tried to sneak out several times before. It was precisely because of this that she had brought her out to play, so when they discovered Lei Pan’er was missing, their first reaction was that she had sneaked out again.
However, Ren Yaoqi felt that although Lei Pan’er was mischievous, she was also very clever. She was still a child. There was no one outside the estate, and she couldn’t play by herself if she ran out alone.
Moreover, the area around here had an open view with no place to hide. How could such a small child run far by herself in such a short time? Unless someone had taken her away or hidden her somewhere.
Ren Yaoqi always liked to think more deeply than ordinary people. She could see that because the Lei family lacked a proper female master, these maids and servants all had their little schemes.
For instance, this maid called Yuegui seemed to have some standing before her master, acting as if she could be the mistress of the inner quarters, yet she was always dissatisfied that Lei Pan’er was close to her wet nurse but not to her.
And Lei Pan’er’s wet nurse seemed genuinely devoted to Lei Pan’er, but she was also reluctant to let other maids and servants get close to Lei Pan’er, because Lei Pan’er’s closeness and trust were the foundation of her position in the Lei family’s inner quarters.
To put it bluntly, she felt the Lei family’s maids and servants were unreliable, and it would be perfectly normal for them to cause trouble for their benefit. After all, for a four or five-year-old little girl to disappear under the watch of a group of maids and servants was not an easy thing.
Thinking this, she couldn’t help but glance again at the maid called Yuegui, always feeling that this maid wasn’t very anxious about Lei Pan’er’s disappearance.
Ren Yaoqi was always gentle in front of others. She didn’t have Ren Yaohua’s imposing presence that could intimidate people, and even her enemies wouldn’t sense any aggression from her.
But when Yuegui felt her gaze, she somehow felt her heart go numb. For that instant, the feeling was like having secretly done something wrong without noticing that a pair of penetrating eyes had been watching her all along.
She looked at Ren Yaoqi with some trepidation, only to find that Ren Yaoqi had already turned to speak with the wet nurse: “You take some people to search inside the estate. Our people will help search outside.”
Upon hearing this, Yuegui felt that strange sensation again and refused without thinking: “How could we trouble Miss Ren like this? The wet nurse should search farther away. Our young lady has always been mischievous—perhaps she ran to the waterfall to play. The wet nurse knows the young lady’s habits best and would find her more easily. I’ll search inside the estate instead.”
The wet nurse became very anxious upon hearing this. If the young lady had gone to the waterfall, what if she had accidentally fallen into the pool? But she also didn’t dare contradict Ren Yaoqi’s words.
Ren Yaohua, being of one heart with Ren Yaoqi, sensed something was wrong when she heard Ren Yaoqi speak this way, and said coldly: “At a time like this, what’s there to worry about regarding trouble? When we find her, your master can thank us himself.” Ren Yaohua didn’t take this maid who kept wanting to thank people on behalf of her master seriously at all.
“If the wet nurse is worried, go check near the waterfall. We’ll take people to search the estate,” Ren Yaohua said, not wanting to waste more words and making the decision directly.
Ren Yaoqi glanced at Ren Yaohua. Although their interfering in the Lei family’s inner courtyard affairs was somewhat inappropriate, Lei Pan’er still hadn’t been found, and it would be too pitiful if such an adorable child were sacrificed to the servants’ power struggles, so she didn’t speak up in objection.
Upon hearing this, the wet nurse immediately responded and left, running urgently and quickly.
Yuegui’s face alternated between red and white with anxiety. She wanted to stop these meddlesome people, but was somewhat intimidated by Ren Yaohua.
Ren Yaohua glanced at a small maid the wet nurse had left behind: “What are you standing there for? Lead the way!”
The small maid looked at Yuegui, but ultimately couldn’t withstand the imposing presence emanating from Ren Yaohua and hurriedly went ahead to lead the way.
Yuegui watched their retreating figures, bit her teeth, and quickly followed, feeling both angry and anxious.
It must be said that Ren Yaoqi’s perception was extremely good. Ordinary people trying to play tricks in front of her basically had no chance.
Yuegui had been dissatisfied with Lei Pan’er’s wet nurse for a long time.
Since the death of Old Madam Lei, the Lei family’s inner quarters had lacked a proper female master. As a dowry maid of Lei Ting’s wife, Lady Qiao, she had always been in charge of affairs in Lei Ting’s courtyard, and the maids and servants in the Lei family’s inner courtyard all looked to her for guidance.
Originally, she had wanted to take the opportunity to assume responsibility for Lei Pan’er’s care and find an excuse to dismiss Lei Pan’er’s wet nurse. As long as she could control the Lei family’s only young lady, she could then find a way to have the master take her as a concubine. Even if the master married a new wife in the future, her position in the inner courtyard would be unshakeable.
Yuegui didn’t think she was daydreaming. When Old Madam Lei was alive, there had been plans for the master to take her as a concubine. She was the maid of Lei Pan’er’s birth mother, so when the master married a stepmother later, she could look after Lei Pan’er.
It was only because the master insisted on observing mourning for his wife that Old Madam Lei had temporarily postponed the matter. But unexpectedly, before she could achieve her wish, Old Madam Lei suddenly passed away.
Although Old Madam Lei was gone, Yuegui hadn’t forgotten that she was destined to become a concubine.
However, subsequent events hadn’t gone as smoothly as she had hoped.
Lei Pan’er’s wet nurse appeared honest and loyal on the surface, but was quite scheming. On the second day after Old Madam Lei’s death, she took advantage of Lei Pan’er not being very close to her father to coax Lei Pan’er into moving to Second Master’s courtyard, refusing to return to the main courtyard.
Lei Pan’er wasn’t very close to her biological father but had an excellent relationship with her uncle Lei Zhen.
Yuegui had originally thought Lei Pan’er would return after staying at Second Master’s place for a while, but after hinting several times, they showed no intention of moving back, and even the master didn’t seem to suggest having his daughter return.
This made Yuegui unable to remain calm.
She could manage Lei Ting’s courtyard, but there was no precedent for a sister-in-law’s dowry maid to manage her brother-in-law’s courtyard, so she couldn’t control the wet nurse who had moved to Second Master’s courtyard with Lei Pan’er.
The wet nurse took advantage of this period to make Lei Pan’er accustomed to only her service, reluctant to let others interfere. She might have even spoken ill of her to Lei Pan’er privately, so that now Lei Pan’er would hide whenever she saw her, unwilling to be close to her.
Yuegui could no longer endure it.
This time, she had finally managed to arrange for the master to bring the young lady alone to stay at the estate, giving both the master and herself a chance to spend time with the young lady and cultivate their relationship, so that after returning to the residence, the young lady could move back to the main courtyard.