Li Shi’s illness had completely recovered, yet she still disliked going out. Each day, apart from paying respects to the elders at Ronghua Garden, she basically never left her quarters.

On this day, both Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yaohua were in Li Shi’s main room doing needlework with Li Shi and Nanny Zhou.

Among the Ren family’s younger generation, the boys all studied in the outer courtyard with tutors hired to come to the mansion. The girls learned to read and write with their mothers. Fortunately, the Ren family’s womenfolk were all well-born, so writing and painting came naturally to them.

Or like Ren Yaoqi, who had fathers and brothers willing to teach her. Generally, such girls were either especially favored or truly talented.

As for other skills like embroidery and artistic accomplishments, the Ren family had specifically hired embroidery teachers and female instructors to come to the mansion. However, classes typically began in early spring and ended around the Mid-Autumn Festival. Daily attendance wasn’t strictly required—it all depended on personal interest. No one pursued those who attended sporadically.

If the Ren family didn’t value women’s education, why would they spend money hiring female instructors? It could only be said that this was fashionable among wealthy households at the time. When all other families hired female instructors, it would be unseemly if yours didn’t.

Ren Yaoqi had just told Li Shi and the others a joke, everyone was laughing heartily, and the atmosphere in the room was cheerful when suddenly Que’er, the maid standing by the door leading from the inner room to the lavatory, frowned and turned to call out sharply toward the lavatory: “Who’s out there!”

Everyone was startled, and Li Shi accidentally pricked her hand with her embroidery needle.

“What are you doing! Making such a commotion!” Nanny Zhou immediately stood up and walked over.

Que’er quickly apologized: “This servant just heard movement in the lavatory, as if someone accidentally kicked the wooden stool inside.”

The inner room of Li Shi’s main western chamber had a small lavatory. The lavatory had a north door that connected to the back courtyard for the convenience of bringing water from the rear courtyard.

Nanny Zhou hurried into the lavatory to investigate. She found no one there, but saw that a stool by the north door curtain had been knocked over, proving someone had indeed been inside. She deliberately lifted the north door curtain of the lavatory to look toward the back courtyard. Ziwei Courtyard’s back courtyard was very small—from the lavatory’s north door to the eaves of the furthest building was only seven or eight steps. Being winter, it was quiet outside with not a soul in sight. Since the courtyard snow was swept three times daily, especially the central walkway, only shallow footprints were visible, all leading toward the small kitchen in the back courtyard used for boiling water in winter. Nanny Zhou stared at those footprints for a while, then dropped the curtain and returned.

Ren Yaohua set down her embroidery frame and also got up to investigate, meeting Nanny Zhou returning from her inspection. Her expression slightly cold, she said: “The eavesdropper just now was someone from the back courtyard?”

Xi’er said angrily: “These people are truly lawless! Sneaking around to eavesdrop at night is one thing, but to be so brazen in broad daylight! How detestable!”

Ren Yaohua looked at Xi’er with shock and anger: “What! They’ve eavesdropped before? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Hearing this, Xi’er glanced at Li Shi and lowered her head in embarrassment.

Li Shi sighed, coming to the maid’s rescue: “I told them not to tell you. Since they didn’t overhear anything important anyway, let it go. I’ve heard that the people living in our courtyard’s back quarters all have their backgrounds—it wouldn’t be good to offend any of them.”

“Mother!” Ren Yaohua stamped her foot in frustration.

Nanny Zhou quickly said, “Madam was thinking it’s better to avoid trouble. Third Miss, don’t be angry with Madam.”

Ren Yaohua naturally wouldn’t be angry with Li Shi; she was just dissatisfied with Li Shi’s attitude of avoiding conflict. It was precisely because of Li Shi’s timid nature that those other people could ride roughshod over them.

“If you don’t show these people some consequences, they’ll keep pushing boundaries. Now they can even eavesdrop on their masters’ conversations—who knows what they’ll dare to do next! Mother, you’re tolerating and nurturing their audacity!”

At this point, Ren Yaohua turned to look at Ren Yaoqi, her sideways glance carrying three parts challenge: “Didn’t you say those people couldn’t be touched? Are we supposed to just endure them like this and do nothing?”

Ren Yaoqi was also somewhat displeased thinking about those people’s boldness, but upon hearing this, she shook her head: “I never said all those people couldn’t be touched—just that dealing with them can’t go through your hands, and we can’t act rashly.”

Ren Yaohua raised her chin and said coldly, “So you’re saying you’ll help? I don’t care what you plan to do, but if you can’t resolve their situation before the New Year, I’ll use my methods to drive them out! Just thinking about Mother and me living daily under those people’s sneaky surveillance makes me unable to swallow this injustice.”

“Why are you quarreling again when everything was fine?” Li Shi was anxious on the side, deeply afraid her two daughters would come to blows over a disagreement. The relationship between these two had only recently improved somewhat—if they fell out again, she’d have terrible headaches.

However, Ren Yaoqi didn’t get angry as everyone expected. After pondering briefly, she calmly nodded: “I understand. I’ll take responsibility for handling these people.” Then she added, “Before New Year.”

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, especially Li Shi, once again marveling at how her younger daughter had grown up.

Seeing Ren Yaoqi’s good attitude, and that this matter couldn’t be blamed on Ren Yaoqi, Ren Yaohua fell silent instead. She felt somewhat uncomfortable but was unwilling to lower herself to apologize for her previous tone. She just nodded and said coldly, “If you need help, send someone to find Wujing by my side. She’ll assist you.”

Ren Yaoqi smiled at her: “I understand.”

This smile once again left everyone stunned, and Ren Yaohua said nothing more.