“What are you thinking about?” Seeing that Ren Yaoqi hadn’t spoken for a long time, Rong Shi waved her hand in front of her eyes and asked.
Ren Yaoqi came back to her senses and smiled: “Nothing, I was just lost in thought for a moment.”
She wanted to ask Rong Shi whether she resented the Yanbei Prince’s Manor and Xiao Jingxi, but then she thought that this question wasn’t worth asking—one could tell from the Prince’s Manor’s current attitude.
The Prince’s Manor and the Yanbei Prince’s Manor were two political forces that could either cooperate or oppose each other, depending entirely on the rulers’ positions. The victors become kings and the defeated become bandits—judging things based on personal grievances and emotions would seem particularly ridiculous.
So even though the Yanbei Prince’s Manor had previously absorbed the Min family’s power, the Prince’s Manor was still willing to cooperate with Xiao Jingxi now. Even though Li Tianyou disliked Min Wenqing, he only made a few barbed comments and didn’t fight him or prevent him from entering.
Just now, Ren Yaoqi had pondered the role that the Yanbei Prince’s Manor played in the fate of the Ren family members in her previous life, based on Xiao Jingxi’s position then. Although Ren Yaoqi knew that while Xiao Jingxi wasn’t the mastermind behind the scenes, he couldn’t escape being accused of standing by idly and reaping the benefits, she still couldn’t bring herself to resent him.
Xiao Jingxi owed nothing to her or the Prince’s Manor. He wasn’t some great saint always ready to save people from dire straits—he was one of Yanbei’s rulers, and he had his political position.
She should even be grateful that in this life, Xiao Jingxi had chosen to cooperate with the Prince’s Manor rather than devour the Prince’s Manor’s power and then eliminate them.
“I heard the Zeng family proposed marriage to the Ren family?” Rong Shi didn’t pursue the matter further and instead asked about Ren Yaohua’s marriage.
Ren Yaoqi nodded and said with certainty, “Zeng Kui is not a good match. This marriage won’t happen.”
Upon hearing this, Rong Shi looked at Ren Yaoqi thoughtfully, then smiled: “If there’s anything you can’t handle yourself, you can come talk to me. Your maternal family still has people who can run errands.”
Ren Yaoqi nodded: “I understand, Grandmother.”
Ren Yaoqi knew that before the Prince’s Manor truly opened their hearts to the Yanbei Prince’s Manor, the Prince’s Manor could mobilize very little power on Yanbei’s territory. If it were within the Prince’s Manor’s capabilities, she wouldn’t be stubborn about asking for her maternal family’s help when necessary.
Near noon, Yihong came in to report that Min Wenqing had just left after meeting with Li Qian and hadn’t stayed for the meal.
Rong Shi nodded without saying anything.
Ren Yaoqi thought that the Min family was actually in a very awkward position within the Prince’s Manor’s territory. Regardless of what their initial position was, the fact that the Min family had betrayed Noble Consort Wan’s trust was an iron-clad reality. Even though the Prince’s Manor and Yanbei Prince’s Manor might now come together due to their cooperative relationship, people from the Prince’s Manor couldn’t treat Min Wenqing with their former attitude.
Ren Yaoqi didn’t leave until after she had finished lunch at her maternal grandmother’s house.
Just as the carriage turned out of the alley in front of the Prince’s Manor, Ren Yaoqi heard her uncle Li Tianyou’s voice.
“…I say, how can your face be so thick! Is it interesting to follow me all this way?”
Another voice said somewhat helplessly: “Brother Yiming, I just wanted to see if you were going home.”
Ren Yaoqi recognized this voice as Min Wenqing, who had left the Prince’s Manor earlier.
“Whether I go home or not is none of your damn business!” Li Tianyou, having been followed by someone he disliked, was very annoyed and couldn’t help but use crude language.
Min Wenqing said good-naturedly, “Brother Yiming, you’d better stay away from the Zeng family. That Zeng Kui’s purpose in wanting to bet on horse racing with you might not be simple.”
Ren Yaoqi was shocked to hear Zeng Kui’s name and quickly said, “Stop the carriage!”
The carriage stopped in front of Li Tianyou and Min Wenqing.
Ren Yaoqi lifted the carriage curtain and got out.
Min Wenqing was still dressed as before, holding his horse’s reins. When he saw Ren Yaoqi, he wasn’t surprised and nodded in greeting.
Li Tianyou scratched his hair, looked at Ren Yaoqi, and forced a smile: “Niece, heading back already?” He had been glaring fiercely at Min Wenqing just moments before, but now his expression changed quite quickly.
Ren Yaoqi curtsied, then asked: “Uncle, did you encounter Zeng Kui just now?”
“Ah! You know Zeng Kui too? Oh right, he seems to…” Li Tianyou paused here, glanced at Min Wenqing, and didn’t continue.
Ren Yaoqi frowned and asked: “He said he wanted to bet on horse racing with you?”
Li Tianyou glanced sideways at Min Wenqing, then waved his hand: “I know, I know, I won’t bet anymore! Stop lecturing me! Besides, that Zeng brat couldn’t even beat this Min kid just now, yet he wants to compete with me? Am I stupid enough to lower myself to his level?”
Ren Yaoqi frowned and looked at Qiusheng: “What happened?”
Qiusheng glanced at Li Tianyou, then quietly explained what had just occurred.
It turned out that after Li Tianyou left home today, he went to an opera house he usually frequented. He successfully gave away dozens of folding fans he had written, along with reward money. Later, the second young master of the Su family and Zeng Kui also arrived.
Zeng Kui, seeing Li Tianyou, was quite familiar and said he had long admired Master Li’s reputation and wanted to find an opportunity to bet on horse racing with him. The people around them cheered them on.
Li Tianyou was always a regular at such gambling events, so it wasn’t strange for others to invite him to gamble.
However, before Li Tianyou could agree to Zeng Kui’s bet, Min Wenqing and several of his subordinate soldiers also appeared at the opera house.
Seeing the lively scene, Min Wenqing said he also wanted to gamble a few rounds, and suggested that, rather than picking a day for horse racing, they might as well gamble on cards right there on the spot.
Li Tianyou ignored Min Wenqing, so Min Wenqing used the momentum from Zeng Kui’s earlier instigation to challenge Zeng Kui directly. Since Zeng Kui had been the most boisterous earlier, when Min Wenqing said he wanted to bet with him, he couldn’t refuse in public, so they set up a gambling table on the spot.
After just a few rounds, regardless of how they changed seats, Min Wenqing kept winning while Zeng Kui kept losing. Zeng Kui lost all five hundred taels of silver notes he had with him, and also lost the three hundred taels that the second young master Su had lent him.
Regardless of what Zeng Kui’s original purpose had been in stirring up the crowd to start a gambling match with Li Tianyou, his competitive spirit was now aroused. He said card games were boring and time-consuming, and suggested they simply gamble with dice instead.
Min Wenqing played with the cards in his hand and said with interest: “I don’t care what we gamble on, but since we’re changing the game, shouldn’t we change the stakes too?”
Li Tianyou, who had been watching the excitement without participating, now wickedly suggested from behind: “That’s right! Gambling money is boring and vulgar, not fitting for your status! Let’s play big—the loser has to strip! Whoever loses all their clothes has to run naked around Zhengyang Street!”
The people who usually gambled with Li Tianyou were all shameless types, and now they all joined in the commotion.
Min Wenqing’s expression didn’t change, still smiling: “I have no objection. What does Young Master Zeng say?”
Since Min Wenqing had agreed, and Zeng Kui was a lawless type who considered himself quite skilled at gambling, he didn’t believe his luck could be so bad today. He immediately agreed with a forced smile, but stipulated that they would take turns rolling the dice themselves rather than having others do it.
The result was that after several rounds, Zeng Kui was stripped down to just his last pair of pants.
Min Wenqing didn’t win every time—he lost twice, but only had to remove his belt and outer shirt.
Finally, the second young master Su, who had come with Zeng Kui, couldn’t stand it anymore. Feeling that if he didn’t stop things, the situation would become unmanageable, he made an excuse that family elders had sent someone to find them and wanted Zeng Kui to return with him.
Min Wenqing looked at Zeng Kui’s remaining pants and whistled: “Whether to continue gambling is up to Young Master Zeng. If you want to leave now, you can owe me these remaining pants and pay me back next time—I don’t mind.”
Zeng Kui squinted at Min Wenqing for a long while, then finally smiled and nodded, leaving with Young Master Su.
Qiusheng’s account was very detailed, and Ren Yaoqi’s eye twitched as she listened.
Min Wenqing smiled nearby: “Speaking of which, I learned my gambling skills from Brother Yiming when I was little.”
Li Tianyou sneered and ignored Min Wenqing’s attempt to get close: “I also taught you to climb trees naked, use your grandfather’s precious chess pieces to shoot birds, and pour tong oil into mouse holes. Why don’t I see you demonstrating those skills today?”
Min Wenqing sighed and didn’t respond. He bowed to Li Tianyou in farewell: “I’ll leave first.”
Li Tianyou rolled his eyes and turned his profile to him.
Min Wenqing nodded to Ren Yaoqi, then turned to mount his horse. As he was leaving, he paused and said: “Brother Yiming, stay away from the Zeng family in the future.”
Li Tianyou said, displeasedly: “I’ve eaten more salt than you’ve eaten rice. Do I need you to meddle? Get lost!”
Min Wenqing turned his horse around and left.
Li Tianyou opened his fan and fanned himself vigorously, frowning as if thinking about something. Finally realizing that Ren Yaoqi was still there, he smiled somewhat awkwardly and made small talk: “Well, those little brats and such were fun when we were kids, but they become annoying when they grow up.”
Seeing that Ren Yaoqi didn’t speak, Li Tianyou added unnecessarily: “Oh, I wasn’t talking about you!” He paused. “Well, not about your sisters either.”
Ren Yaoqi: “…”