When Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yaohua heard about this matter, the news had already spread among the Ren family servants.

Ren Yaoqi summoned Nanny Zhou: “Who is the maid they’re talking about?”

Nanny Zhou was also frazzled by this matter. Having assisted Li Shi in managing the third branch’s inner courtyard for over ten years, she knew all personnel matters like the back of her hand and immediately replied: “It should be a third-class maid from the courtyard before Third Miss and Madam went to the manor, called Meihong.”

Once Nanny Zhou mentioned it, Ren Yaohua also remembered, frowning: “Meihong? It’s her?”

Ren Yaoqi had no impression of this name at all. What seemed like two years ago to them had been over ten years ago for her, and it was just a third-class maid who had never served her personally. Ziwei Courtyard had four masters, and second and third-class maids combined numbered at least twenty or thirty. Every few years, several batches would be released.

“Third Sister remembers her?”

Ren Yaohua thought for a moment: “Originally, as a third-class maid who didn’t serve personally, she wouldn’t have concerned me. It’s just that she always liked to hover around me with or without reason. At first, I thought she was diligent and wanted to please me as her master, but once other maids in the courtyard saw her being attentive to Concubine Fang as well. When I heard this, I felt disgusted and found an excuse to have the steward sell her.”

Maids were divided into ranks and assigned specific duties. Normally, a third-class maid couldn’t get close to the masters without special circumstances. Meihong’s overly active behavior had already attracted Ren Yaohua’s attention, and when she later had contact with Concubine Fang, Ren Yaohua assumed she was Concubine Fang’s person.

Everyone knew that Third Miss Ren Yaohua’s most hated person was Concubine Fang, and anyone who dared associate with Concubine Fang would meet no good end with Ren Yaohua.

But Ren Yaoqi shook her head: “I think you acted rashly in this matter. Someone like Concubine Fang is extremely careful in her actions. If Meihong was her person, how could she let people see them having contact? And let several people witness it. I think this maid was indeed clever, but not necessarily trying to curry favor with Concubine Fang.”

Nanny Zhou sighed: “This old servant also advised Third Miss at the time. Meihong, as a third-class maid, was always trying to show herself before the masters, and successfully got Third Miss to notice her. This might have aroused jealousy among other third-class maids in the courtyard, and being framed wasn’t impossible. After all, everyone knew Third Miss most hated people who ate inside while crawling outside.”

Ren Yaohua now thought she had indeed acted somewhat rashly back then. She had just suffered setbacks before Concubine Fang and was constantly quarreling with Ren Yaoqi, so Meihong had happened to hit her at the wrong time.

“I thought then that it was better to kill wrongly than let one escape, treating it as killing the chicken to warn the monkeys. But is that woman Meihong? Nanny, do you know where Meihong was sold to back then?”

Nanny Zhou carefully recalled: “The maids sent away from the manor were all handed over to slave traders. Generally, they wouldn’t be sold to nearby prefectures and counties. As for specifically where she would be sold, we’d have to ask the slave trading house that sold her then. However, because Meihong hadn’t committed any serious errors, Madam feared Third Miss had wronged a good person and instructed me to tell the slave trader to try to sell her to a good family as a maid.”

So, where a maid would be sold after being expelled was also related to her previous master’s family. If the old master showed mercy with such instructions, the maid’s fate would be much better. Like Chun’er, who had previously spilled wine on Ren Yaoqi’s dress, didn’t have such good fortune. After Nanny Zhou learned the whole story, she was also angry with her and instructed the slave trader to sell her to harsh, cold lands to suffer.

Neither Ren Yaoqi nor Ren Yaohua were surprised to hear about Li Shi’s secret instructions. Li Shi wasn’t a vicious person; on the contrary, she was very kind-hearted.

Ren Yaohua sneered: “So, regardless of whether that woman is Meihong, this is specifically targeting me?”

Ren Yaoqi also thought this might be Concubine Fang’s follow-up move.

“However…” Ren Yaohua raised an eyebrow, “If this is a scheme targeting me, why didn’t she use Chun’er, who was just expelled from the Ren family by me, instead of Meihong, who left the Ren family so long ago? Wouldn’t using Chun’er be simpler? Quite a few people in the Ren family know Chun’er, but Meihong left over two years ago, and she was still young when she left the Ren family, so her appearance would have changed.”

Ren Yaoqi thought for a moment and said, “First, the Li family just made trouble recently. Using Chun’er would be too obvious and might implicate Concubine Fang. Moreover, even if you wanted to sell Chun’er to that kind of place, how could you sell her to Bailu Town right under your nose? Meihong has been gone for over two years, so being resold is possible. Second, Chun’er was previously the Ninth Sister’s maid. If she were sold to that kind of place, would Ninth Sister’s face look good?”

If Chun’er exposed some of Ren Yaoying’s private matters in such circumstances, would Ren Yaoying ever be able to marry in this lifetime?

Nanny Zhou said, “So what should we do now? We can’t just let these rumors continue spreading, can we?”

Ren Yaohua sneered: “Since she’s put so much effort into setting up this scheme, how could she possibly let me escape easily? Just watch – this matter has probably already spread outside. What’s there to fear? At worst, I’ll die of old age in the inner courtyard. But that mother and daughter pair had better be careful! Since I already have this ‘vicious’ reputation, what methods do I need to worry about when dealing with them?”

Hearing this, Nanny Zhou’s heart jumped: “Third Miss, this absolutely must not happen!” She also looked at Ren Yaoqi, “Fifth Miss…”

Ren Yaoqi smiled reassuringly at Nanny Zhou, but her expression toward Ren Yaohua was somewhat cold: “Third Sister, what is your status, and what is hers? Mutual destruction? Is she worthy? What did you tell me when you faced the Ninth Sister before? And this is all the capability you have?”

Ren Yaohua couldn’t help glaring at Ren Yaoqi, but Ren Yaoqi remained unmoved: “You’re admitting defeat right at the opening, and you won’t let people comment?”

“I’m not admitting defeat!” Ren Yaohua said angrily.

Ren Yaoqi shook her head and said unhurriedly: “In my eyes, a draw means you’ve lost! You’re the legitimate daughter, and she’s a concubine. Don’t tell me you think a general and a nameless soldier dying together is still profitable?”

Hearing this, Ren Yaohua was stunned, then couldn’t be bothered to be angry anymore. She was somewhat amused: “What kind of ridiculous analogy are you making?”

But Ren Yaoqi looked at Ren Yaohua seriously: “Third Sister, you must live well, and live better than her – only then will you have won! Once a person dies, there’s nothing left. What’s the point of talking about winning or losing?”

This wasn’t the first time Ren Yaoqi had heard words about “mutual destruction” when cornered by Ren Yaohua’s mouth. This wasn’t what she wanted to see.

Ren Yaohua looked at Ren Yaoqi, her lips trembling. She seemed to want to say something but didn’t speak, then turned her head away and snorted coldly, saying unpleasantly: “Do I need you to tell me that?”

Nanny Zhou watched this pair of sisters from the side and somehow felt her eyes getting teary. She couldn’t help turning aside and using her sleeve to wipe the corners of her eyes, but her heart was filled with deep joy.

Just then, Wujing came in to report that a little maid from Old Madam’s courtyard had come on Old Madam’s orders to ask Third Miss to visit Ronghua Garden.

Ren Yaohua nodded to Wujing, then said to Ren Yaoqi: “It’s probably that Old Madam knows about Meihong’s matter. Going over now, I’ll get a scolding.”

Ren Yaoqi wasn’t surprised that this matter would reach Old Madam’s ears. All the maids and women in the Ren family knew about it. If Old Madam Ren still didn’t know, she might as well not be the head of the Ren family’s inner courtyard.

Since Old Madam knew, the Ren family would take measures to stop the rumors. But if Ren Yaoqi could think of this, the person plotting behind the scenes couldn’t fail to consider it.

Or were the Ren family’s reactions and countermeasures also within her expectations and calculations?

Thinking this, Ren Yaoqi said to Ren Yaohua: “Calling you over at this time, I guess it’s also about this matter. I’ll go with you.”

Ren Yaohua frowned: “I’m going to get scolded. What are you going for?”

Ren Yaoqi shook her head: “You go get your scolding. I’m going to see how the Ren family plans to respond. The enemy thinks three steps ahead with each move. If you want to win, you can only go further than her, otherwise, you’ll always be passive.”

When Ren Yaohua heard the first part of Ren Yaoqi’s words, her mouth twitched. But hearing the latter part, she couldn’t help but become thoughtful.

When the two sisters arrived at Old Madam Ren’s courtyard in Ronghua Garden, they indeed saw Old Madam amid her fury.

Seeing Ren Yaohua enter, Old Madam Ren didn’t have a good expression this time either, pointing at her and scolding: “Look what trouble you’ve caused again!”

Seeing Ren Yaoqi also follow in, she couldn’t help frowning. However, she didn’t drive her away, but continued scolding Ren Yaohua: “I’ve told you long ago that you need to change that temper of yours! It’s just a maid. If she offended you and you wanted her to suffer, that’s not unreasonable. You could have just handed her over to the punishment nanny. But you had to make such a production of it! Now, what good have you gained? Even the Ren family’s face is going to be completely lost by you!”

After Old Madam finished scolding, Ren Yaohua said somewhat angrily, “Grandmother, back then, I just didn’t like that maid, so I had the slave trader sell her to another family. I didn’t have her sold to a bad place! If you don’t believe me, you can call the slave trader who took her away back then to ask!”

Old Madam Ren couldn’t help being half-convinced. But thinking it over, Yaohua wasn’t someone who liked to lie, and she had also asked around. Back then, Yaohua had only instructed to sell the person, not even giving her a beating. If that maid had committed some serious offense, given Yaohua’s temperament, she couldn’t possibly not make her suffer some physical punishment.

“Could it be mistaken identity?” Old Madam Ren’s expression was still somewhat unpleasant.

“Has grandmother found that woman who claimed to see Meihong to question her?” Ren Yaohua asked.

Old Madam Ren said irritably, “Naturally, I asked! More than one person saw her! Two women encountered her when they went out to buy needles and thread, and both insisted she looked exactly like the maid you expelled.”