Fang Yahui was the daughter of Concubine Fang’s birth mother. Although Ren Yaoqi had never met her, she had heard that this cousin had maintained very close relations with the Ren family when she was still an unmarried young lady, and had even stayed at the Ren residence several times.

Ren Yaohua waved her hand to dismiss the two women, but her expression was somewhat uncertain.

“What’s wrong?” Ren Yaoqi asked.

After some hesitation, Ren Yaohua said: “When I was living in Ronghua Garden before, I once heard several women talking about old events from over ten years ago.”

Ren Yaoqi smiled: “Oh? Related to this cousin?”

Ren Yaohua nodded and said quietly, “Grandmother once wanted Father to marry Fang Yahui, and the Fang family also had this intention. So Fang Yahui came to Yanbei to escape the summer heat several times back then, and Grandmother’s relationship with her was very intimate.”

Ren Yaohua’s gaze turned toward the direction of Fangfei Courtyard: “What is Concubine Fang doing, finding someone who looks like Fang Yahui? Could it be that back then Fang Yahui and Father…” She paused here.

Ren Yaoqi thought about it. Father’s attitude toward that Sun Eleventh Lady was indeed much better than toward ordinary servant women, but this could also be because Sun Eleventh Lady wasn’t a household servant of the Ren family and could help Ren Shimin restore paintings. As for whether there was any reason related to Sun Eleventh Lady’s resemblance to someone from his youth, Ren Yaoqi didn’t know.

At least in Ren Yaoqi’s memory, Ren Shimin had never shown any unusual fondness for any particular woman. He spent all his time writing and painting, and when he went out for social activities, it was to discuss literature and poetry with like-minded friends.

He was a scholar, but not a romantic.

However…

Thinking of this, Ren Yaoqi suddenly remembered that her father wasn’t completely without some romantic affairs.

In her previous life, there had once been a rumor that Third Master Ren was keeping a mistress outside. The reason Ren Yaoqi knew about this was because once when several of the Ren sisters went out visiting, they heard this rumor. Ren Yaoyu, who was at odds with Ren Yaohua, secretly ran to Ren Yaohua to use this matter to upset her.

At that time, Ren Yaohua had fallen somewhat out of favor with Old Madam Ren due to several of Concubine Fang’s schemes, but under the instigation of some people with ulterior motives, Ren Yaohua still took several women from Ziwei Courtyard and went out to smash up the residence that was supposedly where Ren Shimin kept his golden house and hidden beauty.

But later it was heard that the woman in that residence wasn’t their father’s mistress. Not only did that woman already have a husband, but she also had children. Because of Ren Yaohua’s indiscriminate smashing and destruction, that woman’s reputation was completely ruined. In the end, it was said she hanged herself.

After that incident, Ren Yaohua’s violent reputation spread completely, not just in Baijiu Town, but throughout all of Yanzhou – whenever anyone heard of Third Miss Ren, they would shake their heads. Ren Shimin was also greatly angered at the time and grew even more displeased with Ren Yaohua, and Li Shi also suffered the consequences.

Shortly after that incident, Ren Yaohua was also confined and rarely able to see Old Madam Ren anymore. Combined with Concubine Fang’s occasional instigation before the old madam, the grandmother-granddaughter relationship gradually grew distant. Old Madam Ren never lacked for the younger generation to fawn over her.

And without Ren Yaohua as opposition, Concubine Fang gradually took control of the third household’s affairs.

At that time, Ren Yaoqi was under house arrest for having offended Yun Wenfang. She heard about all these matters from the maids below.

Now thinking about it, although Ren Yaohua had a fiery temperament, she wasn’t brainless either. How could she so easily believe that the woman outside was Father’s mistress? What person or what matter influenced or guided her judgment?

And the timing of this incident involving Ren Yaohua wasn’t far from when Ren Shimin originally obtained those two beauty portraits by Jiang Yuanyi. Was there any connection between these events?

She remembered that later, when she mentioned the beauty portraits in front of Father, his expression was very unpleasant. She had thought at the time that those two paintings had been ruined by the restoration master, because later those two paintings were nowhere to be found in Ren Shimin’s study.

Was Sun Eleventh Lady the woman who hanged herself after being humiliated by Ren Yaohua in the previous life?

Ren Shimin hadn’t brought the paintings home to restore originally, perhaps because he found Sun Eleventh Lady at the calligraphy and painting shop, and that so-called golden house residence was very likely the place originally used for restoring paintings, which is why outsiders misunderstood that he was keeping a mistress.

Otherwise, given Ren Shimin’s nature, he wouldn’t get too close to a woman for romantic reasons.

Having thought so much, Ren Yaoqi increasingly felt that Ren Yaohua’s eventual marriage into the Zeng family in her previous life was not coincidental – the schemes targeting her had never stopped from beginning to end.

Because the enemy understood very clearly that as long as Ren Yaohua was destroyed, no one could prevent her from controlling the third household. If Ren Yaohua had a good reputation and married a suitable husband, given her nature, even if she were a married daughter like spilled water, she would still return to her natal family to back up Li Shi when needed.

But wouldn’t she still worry if Ren Yaohua married Zeng Kui? After all, Zeng Kui was the only son of the Ningxia Commander-in-Chief. Although he had some physical defects, he wasn’t someone the Ren family could afford to offend.

Could it be that Ren Yaohua’s death back then wasn’t an accident either, but someone had set up a deadly trap for her from the beginning?

But what was this trap? When did it start being set up? Had she ever considered that the situation might spiral out of control, leading to the Ren family’s destruction?

The more Ren Yaoqi thought about it, the more frightened she became.

She also had a premonition that perhaps the matter of Sun Eleventh Lady wasn’t as simple as she thought – there must be something she hadn’t thought of yet.

“What’s wrong with you?” Ren Yaohua noticed that Ren Yaoqi had stopped walking midway, and her complexion didn’t look good, so she asked in surprise.

Ren Yaoqi collected her troubled thoughts and shook her head: “Nothing, I was just thinking that since this Sun Eleventh Lady was found by Concubine Fang and resembles our cousin, we should thoroughly investigate her background.”

Ren Yaohua nodded: “Naturally. I’ll have someone investigate this matter and inform you when there are results.”

Ren Yaohua was very efficient. By evening, when they went together to Li Shi’s room to pay their respects, the news had already come back.

“Sun Eleventh Lady’s grandfather and father were both mounting craftsmen at a calligraphy and painting shop in Yunyang City. That shop also takes on some restoration work, and she learned the skills from childhood exposure. Concubine Fang’s two beauty portraits were bought through the help of that shop’s manager, and after learning that Sun Eleventh Lady was also a mounting expert, Concubine Fang brought her back to recommend her to Father. Sun Eleventh Lady’s husband was originally a pharmacy manager, but later, when collecting medicinal herbs from mountain folk, he accidentally fell from the mountain and broke both legs. The pharmacy gave him a sum of money and sent him home. Now he’s living with his and Sun Eleventh Lady’s daughter in their hometown of Liu Family Village in Jizhou, while Sun Eleventh Lady has no choice but to come out and take on work to support the family.” Ren Yaohua quietly told Ren Yaoqi the news she had gathered.

Married, with a daughter…

Ren Yaoqi was still wondering in her heart whether the Sun Eleventh Lady was that woman. In her previous life, Sun Eleventh Lady seemed not to have come to the Ren residence, or perhaps she had come once, and Ren Yaohua saw her, but she didn’t know. Back then, she was under house arrest and rarely went out; only Father would occasionally come to see her and teach her painting.

Could it be that because Sun Eleventh Lady happened to look like Fang Yahui, and Ren Yaohua knew about the past between Fang Yahui and their father, when she saw Fang Yahui in that residence, she concluded she was Father’s mistress?

“Concubine Fang treats Sun Eleventh Lady quite well, giving her double the usual wages, and has had her stay in the courtyard for tea twice and a meal once. Other than that, there’s nothing special.” Ren Yaohua had finished telling everything she had learned today.

Ren Yaoqi nodded thoughtfully, then instructed Ren Yaohua: “If anyone comes to you saying nonsensical things, you must not act rashly. You must first clarify the situation before doing anything.”

Ren Yaohua was somewhat puzzled: “Who would come to me saying nonsensical things? What situation needs to be clarified first?”

Ren Yaoqi smiled: “I just feel it’s better to be cautious in all things, to avoid falling into someone else’s trap.”

“Don’t worry, if anything happens, I’ll discuss it with you first.” Ren Yaohua was now also very cautious when dealing with matters concerning Concubine Fang. She liked to occasionally find small faults with Concubine Fang and give her some trouble, but that didn’t mean she welcomed Concubine Fang’s retaliation.

The next day, Ren Yaoqi went to Fangzhi Courtyard to find Ren Shimin as usual. This time, Ren Yaohua didn’t go with her.

But when Ren Yaoqi arrived, Ren Shimin and Sun Eleventh Lady weren’t restoring paintings. Sun Eleventh Lady was discussing with Ren Shimin about taking the paintings to Yunyang City for restoration. Ren Shimin didn’t mind – he just wanted the paintings restored properly, and it didn’t matter where it was done.

Just as Ren Shimin was about to agree, Ren Yaoqi walked over and asked Sun Eleventh Lady with a smile: “How much longer will it take to restore these two paintings?”

Sun Eleventh Lady replied: “If this humble woman works together with Third Master, it should take about one or two more months.”

Ren Yaoqi nodded. The time Sun Eleventh Lady estimated wasn’t long. She had once seen Master Pei spend nearly a year restoring an ancient painting. Restoring ancient paintings was meticulous work, especially for those who loved paintings – even the slightest deviation causing damage was something they couldn’t tolerate.

“Why go to Yunyang City? Can’t they be restored here at the Ren residence?” Ren Yaoqi asked.

Sun Eleventh Lady softly explained: “Third Master wants the paintings restored to look exactly like the originals, which requires finding paper, pigments, and so forth that match these two paintings exactly. Several of the pigments used in Jiang Yuanyi’s paintings have special compositions and contain some very rare spices. I need to find materials to slowly mix and test one by one, but these materials can’t be bought at the calligraphy and painting shops in Baijiu Town. If I have to travel back and forth between Yunyang City and Baijiu Town, I’m afraid it will waste a lot of time…”