Rong Shi’s words made Ren Yaoqi alert as well.

If the Empress Dowager truly wanted to summon their sisters to the capital, even Prince Yanbei’s mansion wouldn’t be able to obstruct it, since nominally they were also subjects of the Great Zhou. However, women entering the palace must be unmarried. If they had marriage engagements, even the Empress Dowager couldn’t forcibly summon them to the capital.

“But we can’t just randomly marry off Third Sister because we’re afraid he’ll use underhanded tricks, right?” Ren Yaoqi frowned.

Upon hearing this, Rong Shi looked at Ren Yaoqi thoughtfully, “You’re only worried about your sister? What about yourself? What if the Empress Dowager summons you to the capital?”

Ren Yaoqi didn’t know how to answer Rong Shi’s question.

Rong Shi shook her head and sighed, “Prince Yanbei’s mansion might have the ability to protect you, but are you certain someone would be willing to offend the Empress Dowager for your sake? Most of the time, women are just sacrificial pawns in power struggles.”

Ren Yaoqi knew that Rong Shi had misunderstood the meaning of her silence, but she didn’t explain. She just smiled and said, “I understand, Grandmother.”

Knowing that she was clever, Rong Shi didn’t mention it further, only instructing Ren Yaoqi, “Go back and have your mother think it over carefully to see if there are any suitable candidates.”

Ren Yaoqi agreed. Not long after, the person Rong Shi had sent to follow Ren Yaohua returned, saying that after Ren Yaohua left, she took her carriage home. They saw Ren Yaohua safely enter the mansion and returned to report.

Ren Yaoqi finished lunch at Rong Shi’s place before returning home. When she arrived, Li Shi was taking her afternoon rest. Ren Yaoqi didn’t disturb Li Shi’s rest, thinking to relay Rong Shi’s words to her after Li Shi woke up in the afternoon.

However, Nanny Zhou pulled Ren Yaoqi aside and told her that after Li Shi returned, Ren Yaohua had another argument with Li Shi. Li Shi had been crying in her room just now and had only just been persuaded by Nanny Zhou to sleep.

Nanny Zhou asked Ren Yaoqi to go see Ren Yaohua and properly advise her.

Ren Yaoqi sighed helplessly. Ren Yaohua had always held prejudices against their maternal grandmother’s family. Ren Yaoqi had advised her more than once, but Ren Yaohua still couldn’t let it go.

After bidding farewell to Nanny Zhou and leaving the main house, Ren Yaoqi went to the east wing to find Ren Yaohua.

But to Ren Yaoqi’s surprise, Ren Yaohua wasn’t in the room. Instead, the head maid Wujing was sitting on the kang in the inner room with an embroidery frame, doing needlework.

Seeing Ren Yaoqi enter, Wujing quickly put down her work, got off the kang, and bowed in greeting.

Ren Yaoqi looked around and asked in surprise, “Where is Third Sister? She’s not in the room?”

Wujing was somewhat evasive at first, but seeing Ren Yaoqi frown and stare at her silently, she lowered her head and said, “Third Miss has gone out.”

Ren Yaoqi quickly asked, “Where did she go? When did she leave? Who did she take with her? Why doesn’t even Nanny Zhou know?”

Wujing said, “After Third Miss came out from Madam’s room, she shut herself in her room and drove both this servant and Pingguo out. Later, Miss Lei sent a message over. This servant went in to deliver the message to the Third Miss. After the Third Miss read the letter, she said she needed to go out for a while. But at that time, Madam was still angry, and Nanny Zhou was also consoling Madam. The Third Miss didn’t want to go to the main house to ask permission at that moment, so she instructed this servant to prepare the carriage for going out. The gatekeeper saw that it was Third Miss going out and thought Madam had given permission, so he didn’t stop her.”

Ren Yaohua was accustomed to being in charge in the third household, and the servants below were all afraid of her. Her orders had always been about the same as Li Shi’s orders. Seeing her go out, no one blocked her way, assuming that Madam already knew about it. No one would think that Ren Yaohua was going out privately.

Ren Yaoqi quickly asked, “Did Third Sister go to meet Pan’er’s appointment?”

Wujing nodded, “Yes, Fifth Miss. After Third Miss received Miss Lei’s letter, she said she needed to go out for a while. You also know that Third Miss usually doesn’t like going out much, only when meeting Miss Lei does she go out.”

Ren Yaoqi said, displeasedly, “She should have still informed Mother or Nanny Zhou. How come you all didn’t try to dissuade her? Even if you couldn’t dissuade her, you should have spoken up earlier. What if something happens?”

Wujing said uneasily, “Nothing will happen, right? Third Miss meeting, Miss Lei isn’t just once or twice. Doesn’t Madam allow it every time?” It was precisely because Ren Yaohua had met Lei Pan’er many times and Li Shi had always permitted it that they didn’t take it too seriously.

But Ren Yaoqi felt very uneasy, “Where is Pan’er’s letter? Bring it for me to see. Let me see where Third Sister went.”

Wujing quickly went to get the letter from earlier and handed it to Ren Yaoqi.

After Ren Yaoqi opened the letter, she felt half relieved. This letter was indeed written by Lei Pan’er. Lei Pan’er’s handwriting and tone of speech would not be easy for others to imitate.

In the letter, Lei Pan’er had arranged to meet Ren Yaohua at a teahouse where they often met before, located on Zhengyang Street. Ren Yaoqi had been there once before.

After reading the letter, Ren Yaoqi looked up and asked, “Third Sister took Pingguo with her? Who else did she take?”

Wujing quickly mentioned several names. Besides two second-class maids from the room and a few women servants, they were all the usual ones who frequently accompanied the carriage when going out. It indeed didn’t look like sneaking out secretly.

Ren Yaoqi instructed Wujing, “Go tell Nanny Zhou, then have Nanny Zhou send a few more people to check the teahouse. If Third Sister is there with Miss Lei, have someone wait outside until Third Sister comes out. If Third Sister isn’t there, come back quickly to report.”

Wujing knew that going to find Nanny Zhou would earn her a scolding, so she felt somewhat apprehensive, but she still said, “Fifth Miss, when Third Miss returns, could you please persuade Madam not to be angry with Third Miss? Earlier, when this servant went in to deliver the letter to Third Miss, I saw that Third Miss’s eyes were red. She’s sad inside.”

Ren Yaoqi knew Ren Yaohua’s temperament. She was tough on the outside, and even if she wanted to cry, she would drive everyone out and hide in her room to cry secretly, unwilling to let anyone see.

Thinking of this, Ren Yaoqi’s earlier anger about Ren Yaohua sneaking out without saying anything and making everyone worry mostly dissipated. Presumably, Ren Yaohua was in a bad mood because she had argued with her mother and made her mother angry, so she wanted to go out to get some fresh air.

No matter how tough Ren Yaohua usually appeared, she was still just a child who had recently come of age. At this age, she had the right to be occasionally willful.

Wujing went out to tell Nanny Zhou about Ren Yaohua going out. Nanny Zhou indeed gave Wujing a severe scolding and said that after Ren Yaohua returned, Wujing should bring Pingguo and the others to her to receive punishment.

After that, Nanny Zhou quickly sent several people to the teahouse that Wujing mentioned, where Ren Yaohua and Lei Pan’er had arranged to meet.

Ren Yaoqi returned to her own room to wait for Ren Yaohua to come back. She also needed to think carefully about how to persuade Ren Yaohua without causing her aversion and annoyance.

However, when the people Nanny Zhou sent to fetch Ren Yaohua returned, they said they hadn’t found Third Miss at that teahouse. Instead, they encountered Lei Pan’er, who had been waiting for Third Miss for a long time without her arrival and was about to be picked up by Second Master Lei.

Lei Pan’er said she had waited for Sister Yaohua for a long time, but didn’t see Sister Yaohua keep the appointment, thinking that Sister Yaohua wasn’t coming. The Lei family servants and the teahouse’s manager and waiters all said they hadn’t seen the Ren family’s carriage come by.

After Nanny Zhou learned this news, she was greatly shocked and immediately told Li Shi and Ren Yaoqi.

Li Shi became extremely anxious and immediately sent people to search for Ren Yaohua everywhere.

Ren Yaoqi was also startled by the news of Ren Yaohua’s inexplicable disappearance and quickly called over the people Nanny Zhou had sent out earlier to question them in detail. When the women servants returned, they had also tried to inquire about the whereabouts of Ren Yaohua’s carriage, but the people on Zhengyang Street all seemed not to have seen Ren Yaohua’s carriage. However, those women servants didn’t dare to ask too many questions, fearing it would spread and sound bad, so they hurriedly returned to report, while the remaining few continued searching along the route.

“Mother, quickly send someone to Grandmother’s house and have Grandmother’s people also help search,” Ren Yaoqi quickly said to Li Shi.

Prince Xian’s mansion had many skilled people who would be more efficient at finding someone than these ordinary women servants and maids from the Ren family.

“This servant will make the trip,” Nanny Zhou said.

Since Nanny Zhou came from Prince Xian’s mansion, she was more familiar than others. Ren Yaoqi nodded, “Then please hurry, Nanny.”

Nanny Zhou didn’t dare delay for a moment and immediately took a carriage to Prince Xian’s mansion to find Rong Shi.

After learning about this, Rong Shi quickly summoned Dongsheng and Qiusheng, having them lead people to search for Ren Yaohua. Now, Prince Xian’s mansion no longer needed to hide its strength under Prince Yanbei’s mansion’s watchful eyes, which made things much more convenient.

People from both the Ren family and Prince Xian’s mansion were searching for Ren Yaohua, but not long after Ren Yaohua left her home, she was being watched.

Ren Yaohua hadn’t intended to deliberately make Li Shi and the others worry. She had been feeling sad at the time, and when Lei Pan’er’s letter arrived asking her to go out, she didn’t want to see Li Shi at that moment, so she went out without saying anything. However, she left Wujing in the room, thinking that if Ren Yaoqi returned or Nanny Zhou came to inquire, they would certainly learn of her whereabouts from Wujing.

Ren Yaohua hadn’t indulged her willful nature for a long time. She also hadn’t expected that being willful this one rare time would lead to trouble.

When Ren Yaohua’s carriage was about to enter Zhengyang Street, it was blocked by someone on a small road.

A broken ox cart came racing across sideways, inserting itself between Ren Yaohua’s carriage and the following carriage, blocking the carriage carrying the maids and women servants behind. By the time the maids and women servants in the rear carriage came to their senses, Ren Yaohua’s carriage had already turned a corner and disappeared.