Ren Yaoqi frowned: “Oh? So he’s that terrible?”
Xiao Jinglin paused: “Not really…”
Xiao Jinglin was about to deny it, then suddenly thought of something. She looked up at Ren Yaoqi and indeed saw her looking back with a half-smile. Xiao Jinglin realized Ren Yaoqi was joking with her and couldn’t help but laugh too.
After thinking, she said seriously: “Even with his thousand faults, he’s still better than most people in this world.”
The reason Xiao Jinglin had turned a blind eye today and let Xiao Jingxi take Ren Yaoqi to the ninth floor of the Echo Tower might also have been due to the principle of “keeping the fertile water within one’s field.”
In Xiao Jinglin’s eyes, there wasn’t a single man in this world worthy of her Yaoqi—only Xiao Jingxi, whom she knew inside and out, was barely acceptable.
Even so, while Xiao Jingxi took Ren Yaoqi up to the tower top, as she sat outside waiting, she couldn’t help but feel irritated and want to pluck grass and tease Shaniu. For this reason, when she saw Xiao Jingxi, she found him disagreeable no matter how she looked, and always wanted to provoke him with a few words.
Hearing this, Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help but laugh. Every time these siblings got together, they would expose each other’s shortcomings and undermine one another, yet in Xiao Jinglin’s eyes, Xiao Jingxi was still “better than most people in this world.”
Throughout the journey, Xiao Jinglin didn’t discuss the Echo Tower incident with Ren Yaoqi, nor did Ren Yaoqi ask, though she kept wondering what exactly Xiao Jingxi had been reciting to her on the ninth floor. Since Xiao Jingxi had mentioned the Xiao family rules, it wouldn’t be appropriate for Ren Yaoqi to ask Xiao Jinglin too much, even though she knew Xiao Jinglin would tell her if she asked.
Before the carriage entered Yunyang City’s gates, both Xiao Jingxi’s and Xiao Jinglin’s carriages slowed down, traveling side by side. Suddenly, Ren Yaoqi heard the sound of someone knocking on the carriage wall outside. She immediately remembered how Xiao Jingxi had greeted her this way last time. She glanced at Xiao Jinglin and sat without moving.
The knocking came three more times—unhurried, unyielding, and persistent. Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help but blush, feeling somewhat annoyed in her heart.
Xiao Jinglin stood up and “swoosh” pulled open the carriage curtain, saying expressionlessly to the outside: “If you have something to say, say it! Stop being so effeminate!”
The sounds outside indeed stopped, and Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help but curve her lips.
Xiao Jingxi’s voice came after a while: “You go into the city first. I have some matters to attend to.”
“I’ll send Yaoqi back. You go do whatever you need to do,” Xiao Jinglin secretly rolled her eyes.
Xiao Jingxi paused over there, then said softly: “Thank you!”
Xiao Jinglin was stunned for a long while. It wasn’t until her carriage had traveled quite a distance that she reacted.
Thank you? She was sending Yaoqi home—what was Xiao Jingxi thanking her for?
Xiao Jinglin had spent the entire afternoon trying to embarrass Xiao Jingxi, yet in the end, Second Young Master Xiao had turned the tables with a light “thank you.” Princess Xiao’s mood instantly became gloomy.
Ren Yaoqi: “…”
Xiao Jinglin sent Ren Yaoqi home before leaving. When she returned to Prince Yanbei’s mansion and saw Xiao Jingxi’s carriage, she thought for a moment, then went to Xiao Jingxi’s Zhaoning Hall first.
After returning, Xiao Jingxi was reading official documents in his study. Seeing Xiao Jinglin push the door open, he smiled: “You’re back?”
Xiao Jinglin snorted coldly and stood before him without speaking.
Xiao Jingxi wasn’t in a hurry. He instructed Tonghe to bring tea for Xiao Jinglin, then finished handling the urgent documents in his hands. After he was done, Xiao Jinglin was still standing there, studying him with investigative eyes.
Xiao Jingxi wasn’t surprised. Without waiting for Xiao Jinglin to speak, he smiled and said, “I know what I’m doing. You don’t need to worry.” His tone carried a soothing meaning.
Xiao Jinglin’s expression indeed improved somewhat, but she said, “Because you took Yaoqi to that place, I didn’t stop you. You must understand better than I do what the ninth floor of the Echo Tower means to the Xiao family descendants. I hope you won’t disappoint me in the future.”
Hearing this, Xiao Jingxi couldn’t help but laugh, half-seriously teasing: “You protect her so much, I’d think you two were real sisters.”
Xiao Jinglin looked Xiao Jingxi up and down several times, saying with some disdain: “If I hadn’t watched you grow up and known you inside and out, do you think I’d give you the chance to get close to her?”
Sometimes Xiao Jinglin would think that if she were a man, she would make Xiao Jingxi step aside and take Yaoqi under her wing—at least she would never hurt her for any reason.
Hearing this, Xiao Jingxi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He was older than Xiao Jinglin—how had he become someone she “watched grow up”?
“I’m serious. If you can’t take responsibility for your actions and their consequences in the future, then you’d truly be worse than a woman. Yaoqi is my friend. If she becomes sad and upset because of you in the future, Xiao Jingxi, I won’t forgive you!” Xiao Jinglin looked at Xiao Jingxi, speaking word by word.
Hearing this, Xiao Jingxi sighed softly, stood up, walked to Xiao Jinglin’s side, looked at her for a while, then reached out to pat her head.
Xiao Jinglin felt somewhat awkward and slapped Xiao Jingxi’s hand away, glaring at him: “Don’t treat me like Shaniu!”
Hearing this, Xiao Jingxi smiled and sat back down.
Xiao Jinglin stood there stunned for a moment, then suddenly seemed to understand something and said to Xiao Jingxi with some annoyance: “Don’t use that routine on me in the future! You’re a grown man, not some enchanting beauty—what’s with flashing that enchanting smile for everyone to see!”
Xiao Jingxi: “…”
When Ren Yaoqi returned home, it was almost the hour of the Rooster. Li Shi and Ren Yaohua hadn’t returned yet.
Today, after Ren Yaoqi left, Yunyang Academy’s height-climbing gathering began. When Miss Liu and Miss Chen asked about Ren Yaoqi, Madam Xu indeed covered for her as Xiao Jinglin had said, so no one said anything about her mid-way departure.
Madam Xu’s health wasn’t good. Although she hadn’t had an episode for a long time after using Ren Yaoqi’s prescription, she still couldn’t overexert herself. So Li Shi and several other madams led everyone up the mountain together.
Tianqing Mountain had a gentle slope with stairs built in the steeper areas, making it easy even for ladies who usually never stepped outside their inner courtyards to climb.
Ren Yaohua had originally been walking with Lei Pan’er, while Li Shi walked with Madam Liu, Madam Chen, and others slightly ahead. Halfway up, Li Shi and the others ahead started laughing about something. Chen Zhiyi turned back and beckoned for Ren Yaohua to come over. Seeing Lei Pan’er was tired and being carried by her wet nurse, Ren Yaohua, she walked forward a few steps to chat with Chen Zhiyi and Liu Menghan.
After Ren Yaohua finished talking with them and turned back to check on Lei Pan’er, she discovered that Ren Yaoying, who had been walking behind, had somehow caught up. Ren Yaoying was standing beside Lei Pan’er, walking while leaning over to whisper in Lei Pan’er’s ear.
Ren Yaohua’s expression couldn’t help but turn cold. She greeted Chen Zhiyi and the others before walking back to Lei Pan’er’s side.
The moment Ren Yaohua turned around, Ren Yaoying saw her and smiled at her. Perhaps to outsiders, Ren Yaoying’s smile seemed soft, gentle, and somewhat ingratiating, but Ren Yaohua felt there was an indescribable malice in Ren Yaoying’s smile.
Ren Yaohua glanced at Ren Yaoying coldly: “Didn’t you say you were tired and couldn’t walk? You look quite energetic to me.”
Ren Yaoying smiled: “I just rested for a long time and finally gathered some strength. But now that Third Sister reminds me, I realize I can’t walk again.”
Ren Yaohua didn’t want to deal with her. She turned to look at Lei Pan’er, only to discover that the usually lively and bouncing Lei Pan’er was now lying listlessly on the wet nurse’s back. When she saw Ren Yaohua looking at her, she blinked and stared at Ren Yaohua for a long time without saying anything, just with red eyes, looking as if she had suffered some great grievance.
Ren Yaohua was alarmed and reached out to touch Lei Pan’er’s head: “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
Lei Pan’er shook her head, then silently turned away, slightly avoiding Ren Yaohua’s hand.
Ren Yaohua couldn’t help but be stunned. She frowned and looked at Ren Yaoying, but Ren Yaoying had already fallen back two steps to chat with several concubine daughters from the Tang family. Ren Yaohua held back and ultimately didn’t make a scene on the spot.
She stopped paying attention to Ren Yaoying and asked Lei Pan’er’s wet nurse in a low voice: “What happened to Pan’er?”
Since Lei Pan’er was being carried by the wet nurse, only now did the wet nurse notice something was wrong with Lei Pan’er. She quickly set her down and fussed over her with care.
But Lei Pan’er looked spiritless, pouting, and refusing to speak, no matter what the wet nurse or Ren Yaohua asked her.
Because Lei Pan’er was throwing a tantrum, Ren Yaohua also slowed down, and they gradually fell behind.
Ren Yaohua asked the wet nurse what had happened earlier and tactfully inquired about what Ren Yaoying had said to Lei Pan’er. Although Ren Yaoying had whispered in Lei Pan’er’s ear, since Lei Pan’er was being carried on the wet nurse’s back, the wet nurse must have heard some of it.
The wet nurse said that Ren Yaoying had only asked a few questions about Lei Pan’er’s usual preferences, praised her a few times, then jokingly asked if Lei Pan’er liked Ren Yaohua. These were all very ordinary things when playing with children and weren’t excessive.
But Ren Yaohua knew that Ren Yaoying must have had other intentions when saying those things—the wet nurse just hadn’t noticed. And although Lei Pan’er was just a child who was usually lively and adorable, she was a very smart and sensitive little girl.