“Oh? Then, have you found out who brought those six boxes of pearl peach blossom powder there?” Ren Shimin also realized the severity and maliciousness of this matter, and his expression became serious.

Both Lin Shi and Ren Yaoyu had nearly died from poisoning this time, which showed the viciousness of the person who administered the poison. If they could find out who did this, they absolutely could not tolerate such a person continuing to cause harm in the Ren family.

Ren Shimao sighed: “I asked before, but those four maids all shifted blame to each other and refused to admit they were the ones who did it.”

Ren Shimin frowned: “Then how should we handle this? Send them to the authorities?”

Ren Shimao clenched his fists and said coldly: “Send them to the authorities? That would be letting them off too easily!”

Seeing Ren Shimao’s appearance, Ren Shimin understood what was on his mind. Ren Shimao must have already made his decision, but because he was afraid the final result of this matter would implicate Concubine Fang, and worried that he might have reservations, he wanted to sound him out first.

“Go ahead and do what you need to do. If it’s finally proven that she has nothing to do with it, then so be it. But if she’s truly the one behind harming people, even if you don’t act, I won’t tolerate such a vicious woman any longer, giving her another chance to stir up trouble!” Ren Shimin said seriously.

However, upon hearing this, Ren Shimao showed no joy, and his expression became even more hesitant.

Ren Shimin was puzzled, thinking to himself, could Fifth Brother think that he would protect Concubine Fang?

But Ren Shimao shook his head: “I naturally trust you, Third Brother. I’m just afraid that when the time comes, Father and Mother will stop me from seeking justice for my wife and daughter.”

Ren Shimao’s expression was somewhat gloomy. “Third Brother should still remember what happened last time. The evidence that Fang Shi harmed Yu’er was already conclusive, yet Father still… If it hadn’t been for that, Huijun wouldn’t have lost her reason later and destroyed Fang Shi’s appearance in anger.”

When saying these words, Ren Shimao harbored resentment toward his father in his heart. If it hadn’t been for Old Master Ren’s unfair handling of that incident, how could so many subsequent troubles have arisen? How could Lin Shi and Ren Yaoyu have been retaliated against, with Ren Yaoyu still unconscious to this day?

But a son should not speak of his father’s faults. Old Master Ren was Ren Shimao’s father and the head of the Ren family. No matter how uncomfortable Ren Shimao felt in his heart, he couldn’t bring himself to openly criticize his father in front of his brother.

But this time, he didn’t want to follow his father’s decisions anymore.

“When Father asked me to go to the capital this time, he gave me many instructions. They were all targeted at those properties in Jiangnan. Only then did I understand that although Father agreed on the surface to divide the family with Second Uncle, the Ren family is still under his control.” Ren Shimao sighed. “Since Father can’t possibly give up those properties in Second Uncle’s hands, there will inevitably be places where he’ll need to rely on Fang Yacun in the future. So he definitely won’t allow us to truly break with the Fang family!”

After all, Ren Shimao was not Ren Shimin. He had been traveling between the capital and Yanbei for these years, and had also helped manage quite a few of the Ren family’s properties. After the last incident, how could Ren Shimao not understand why Old Master Ren frequently protected a mere concubine?

If it had been in the past, it might have been acceptable, but recently, the Ren family’s coal stations in Jiangnan had successfully turned from loss to profit, relying on the connections in Fang Yacun’s hands. With Old Master Ren’s great ambitions, how could he possibly give up his goals? Everyone in the Ren family understood that Old Master Ren’s goal was to establish the Ren family’s coal stations throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty, which was also the dying wish of the late Great Master to Old Master Ren.

Although Ren Shimin rarely involved himself in these matters, he was not a foolish person. He understood what Ren Shimao meant.

Ren Shimin felt that what Ren Shimao said made some sense. If Old Master Ren truly wanted to protect Concubine Fang again to maintain relations with Fang Yacun, could they, as sons, disobey?

Third Master Ren had rarely contradicted any of Old Master Ren’s decisions since childhood. On one hand, it was because filial duty was hard to defy, and on the other hand, it was because Old Master Ren didn’t care about these mundane matters, and he was happy to have someone arrange everything well without him having to worry about it himself.

So Ren Shimin couldn’t help but frown: “This is indeed a problem.”

Ren Shimao said, “So if it’s finally discovered that this is related to Fang Shi, I hope Third Brother can help me.”

“How can I help? Tell me.” Ren Shimin nodded.

Ren Shimao paused before continuing: “It’s not wrong that filial duty is hard to defy, and with Father’s abilities, it would be truly difficult for us to go against him. So I want to act before Father knows about this matter. When the time comes, Third Brother, you can find an excuse to bring Concubine Fang to Yunyang City.”

Now Ren Shimin understood: “Fifth Brother, you mean to strike first while keeping it from Father?”

Ren Shimao nodded very firmly: “Yes! If I easily let my enemy go again this time, then I would be unworthy of being a husband and unworthy of being a father! Third Brother, are you willing to help me?”

Ren Shimao also felt that his request was indeed somewhat excessive. He was risking offending his father to seek revenge for his wife and daughter, so why should he ask Ren Shimin to also defy their father for his sake? Moreover, Fang Shi was the birth mother of Ren Shimin’s pair of children. And Ren Shimin had rarely questioned any of Old Master Ren’s decisions since childhood.

Ren Shimao thought that if Ren Shimin refused him, he wouldn’t blame him.

Ren Shimin indeed hesitated for a moment, but in the end he still nodded, reaching out to pat Ren Shimao’s shoulder: “If it’s truly her, I’ll have her come to Yunyang City and let you handle her as you see fit!”

Concubine Fang was originally a person of his third branch, and Ren Shimin felt he still had the right to dispose of a concubine.

Upon hearing this, Ren Shimao said gratefully, “Third Brother, thank you. I know I’m asking too much of you.”

Ren Shimin sighed: “This is also my fault for poor household management. I’m ashamed.”

Both brothers felt somewhat melancholy.

After visiting Lin Shi and Ren Yaoyu, Ren Shimin returned home with his wife and children.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, although Ren Shimin and Lin Shi had brought Ren Yihong to the retreat house together, they hadn’t brought Ren Yaoying.

After returning home, Ren Yaoqi keenly sensed that her father seemed to have something on his mind. She had previously seen Ren Shimao ask Ren Shimin to speak privately aside, and thought it must be about Lin Shi and Ren Yaoyu’s poisoning incident.

Ren Yaoqi also very much wanted to know how Ren Shimao’s investigation of this matter was progressing. She had previously tried to probe Lin Shi, but Lin Shi had truly changed her nature and refused to mention being poisoned or Concubine Fang. Lin Shi said that after she woke up, she no longer inquired about it, and Fifth Master Ren hadn’t deliberately told her about it either. She now only hoped that Ren Yaoyu could wake up, and as long as Ren Yaoyu was well, she was willing to give up her grievances.

At this point, Ren Yaoqi finally truly believed that Lin Shi had been completely transformed after her brush with death at the gates of hell. Even Ren Yaohua believed in Lin Shi’s change and treated her with much more kindness.

Ren Yaoqi brought a bowl of tea to the study to find Ren Shimin. As soon as Ren Shimin saw Ren Yaoqi enter, he knew what she wanted to ask.

Ren Shimin was accustomed to speaking freely with Ren Yaoqi and didn’t feel there was anything inappropriate about discussing these matters in front of his daughter. He felt his younger daughter was intelligent and could often help him solve problems. So he told Ren Yaoqi everything that Ren Shimao had discussed with him earlier, word for word.

After hearing this, Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. After the incident with Concubine Kang last time, she had looked down on Fifth Master Ren somewhat. Ren Shimao indeed had no particular talents, and his abilities in both studying and business were mediocre. But this time, Fifth Master Ren’s performance was truly impressive.

Regardless of Ren Shimao’s abilities, at least he truly cared about his wife and daughter and was doing his best to protect them within his capabilities.

Lin Shi’s face was now quite far from beautiful, but Ren Shimao didn’t despise Lin Shi because of this. Although Ren Shimin was her father, Ren Yaoqi felt she had to say something fair: if it were her mother whose appearance was damaged, her father probably wouldn’t like staying with her mother.

Third Master Ren was a person who loved beauty and was extremely particular about appearances. Although he wouldn’t divorce his wife because of her damaged looks, he would certainly have some aversion in his heart.

At least after Concubine Fang’s appearance was ruined, Third Master Ren had never seen her again. Previously, Third Master Ren would spend several nights a month in Concubine Fang’s courtyard, as Concubine Fang’s skills in serving people were quite good.

Of course, it was also possible that Third Master Ren still somewhat despised Concubine Fang’s character. In Third Master Ren’s heart, both character and beauty were very important. To put it nicely, Third Master Ren appreciated women who were cultivated both inside and out.

After hearing Ren Shimao’s plan, Ren Yaoqi didn’t say anything.

But she knew things wouldn’t be this simple. If Concubine Fang were easy to deal with, so many incidents wouldn’t have occurred.

Ren Yaoqi felt that Concubine Fang or Fang Yacun must have some connections in their hands. For instance, Concubine Fang could find people like Great Aunt Xiao, Concubine Kang, and the poisoning maids to use for her purposes. After she learned about the relationship between Fang Yacun and Eunuch Lu and the entanglement with the court, Ren Yaoqi vaguely understood that when Fang Yacun came to Yanbei initially, how could he have come unprepared?

Xiao Jingxi had so many useful people in Jiangnan and the capital, and Eunuch Lu, who was sent to Yanbei by the Empress Dowager, might not be without them either.

As for how Concubine Fang obtained these connections from Fang Yacun, Ren Yaoqi didn’t know.

However, this time might not be without the opportunity to uproot all these things, Ren Yaoqi thought secretly.

After three days, news came from Ren Shimao’s side, asking Ren Shimin to come to the retreat house to talk.

When Ren Yaoqi learned of this, she thought there must be news from Ren Shimin’s side. Although Ren Yaoqi very much wanted to know the follow-up of the matter, she couldn’t very well follow Ren Shimin to the retreat house, since when Ren Shimao sent someone over, he had said he was asking Ren Shimin to come discuss important matters.