After sitting for only a short while, Little Qiao Shi said to Lei Pan’er, “Pan’er, it’s getting late. The maids still need to pack things later. Shall we go back?”

Lei Pan’er pouted, clearly reluctant, but she didn’t openly contradict her aunt.

Ren Yaoqi asked with a smile, “Is Pan’er packing to go somewhere?”

Lei Pan’er glanced at Little Qiao Shi and told Ren Yaoqi, “Aunt says she wants me to move to her courtyard and live with her.”

Little Qiao Shi touched Lei Pan’er’s head and said gently, “Pan’er has always been living in her second uncle’s courtyard, which might not be very convenient. I also want someone to keep me company, and it’s much more convenient for me to take care of her than for her second uncle to do so.”

Lei Pan’er muttered quietly, “Second Uncle doesn’t find Pan’er troublesome at all. Second Uncle likes Pan’er the most.”

“So Pan’er doesn’t want to live with Aunt?” Little Qiao Shi deliberately put on a stern face. “But what did Pan’er promise Aunt before coming out?”

Lei Pan’er looked at Little Qiao Shi’s face, which was said to closely resemble her mother, and said pitifully, “Pan’er isn’t unwilling, it’s just…”

Little Qiao Shi smiled and interrupted her, “Since Pan’er isn’t unwilling, then this matter is settled?”

Ren Yaoqi looked at them and interjected with a smile, “I’ve heard that during autumn dryness, it’s not suitable for children to change beds. If they accidentally get sick, it would be serious. If you want to move, why not wait another month or two?”

Hearing this, Lei Pan’er blinked her big eyes at Ren Yaoqi, then looked at Little Qiao Shi.

Little Qiao Shi frowned, seeming somewhat displeased, “How come I’ve never heard of such a saying? Where did Miss Ren hear this from?”

Ren Yaoqi remained unperturbed and smiled lightly, “I heard it from my aunt. She only has my little male cousin as her precious child and treasures him dearly, fearing she might not take good care of him. But as a mother, she’s naturally anxious about her child and sometimes inevitably worries too much.”

Ren Yaoqi’s words seemed to suggest that Little Qiao Shi wasn’t anxious about the child because she wasn’t the birth mother. This immediately soured Little Qiao Shi’s expression, and her gaze toward Ren Yaoqi turned somewhat cold. “Miss Ren knows quite a lot for someone so young.”

Ren Yaoqi acted as if she couldn’t read Little Qiao Shi’s expression, “I have a good relationship with my aunt and often hear her talk about these things, so I learned them. But I see that Aunt Qiao also takes meticulous care of Pan’er. You must have taken care of children before, right?”

This remark completely changed Little Qiao Shi’s complexion. Her gaze toward Ren Yaoqi turned cold as knife-wind, and her face paled considerably.

Lei Pan’er innocently chimed in, “Aunt has no children.”

Little Qiao Shi took a deep breath, moved her hands from the table, and pressed her lips together in silence.

The atmosphere in the room became somewhat tense. Ren Yaoqi picked up her teacup and took a sip. Xiao Jinglin raised an eyebrow and glanced at Ren Yaoqi, seeming somewhat surprised.

Ren Yaoqi had always been a gentle person, but today in front of Little Qiao Shi, she was unusually sharp and spoke without much consideration. This really wasn’t like Ren Yaoqi’s usual manner.

Ren Yaoqi quietly winked at Xiao Jinglin but didn’t explain.

With the atmosphere becoming awkward, even Lei Pan’er, a child, felt uncomfortable continuing to sit there. So before long, when Little Qiao Shi again suggested taking Lei Pan’er away, Lei Pan’er didn’t refuse.

Ren Yaoqi didn’t try to keep them either. After saying goodbye to Lei Pan’er, she and Xiao Jinglin didn’t rush to leave the teahouse but instead instructed Hong Ying to bring in a fresh pot of hot tea.

“You deliberately provoked her just now?” Xiao Jinglin realized what had happened.

Ren Yaoqi seemed to be thinking about something. Hearing this, she looked up with a smile, “Yes.”

Xiao Jinglin looked at Ren Yaoqi and accused, “You’ve become bad!”

Hearing this, Ren Yaoqi burst into laughter and defended herself, “I just wanted to test her motives.”

Hong Ying brought over a pot of fresh tea. Xiao Jinglin took it and personally poured a cup for Ren Yaoqi. “So did you figure it out?”

Ren Yaoqi thought for a moment, lightly touching the rim of her teacup with her fingertip, “I originally thought she was targeting Lei Ting, but I didn’t expect she was targeting Pan’er.”

From Little Qiao Shi’s attire, Ren Yaoqi knew she had been thinking wrong earlier. If Little Qiao Shi truly intended to seduce Lei Ting using her resemblance to his deceased wife, she wouldn’t dress so plainly. However, when Ren Yaoqi deliberately mentioned children, her reaction was too strong.

Xiao Jinglin said, “She doesn’t seem to have very deep schemes.”

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been provoked to anger by just a few words from Ren Yaoqi.

Ren Yaoqi’s expression showed no relief. “Although Pan’er is young, she’s clever. Many women who previously tried to use her to enter the Lei family all failed, but her attitude toward Little Qiao Shi is very compliant. She didn’t even speak up when Little Qiao Shi dismissed her wet nurse.”

Xiao Jinglin asked, “Just because she resembles Lei Pan’er’s birth mother?”

Ren Yaoqi nodded. Little Qiao Shi might not be smart enough, but having that face was sufficient. Moreover, if she were too clever, the Lei family might not tolerate her.

Seeing Ren Yaoqi worrying about the Lei family’s affairs, Xiao Jinglin shook her head, “Ren Yaohua is your sister, not your daughter. Even if you want to be protective, you can’t handle everything for her. This matter is essentially the Lei family’s domestic affair that Ren Yaohua will ultimately have to resolve herself. Otherwise, can you protect her for life? If you truly can’t let go of her like this, you shouldn’t have let her marry into the Lei family.”

Hearing this, Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help but smile bitterly. She didn’t argue and nodded, “You’re right. I’ve been worrying too much.”

Ren Yaoqi also knew that Ren Yaohua had grown up and was about to become a married woman who didn’t need her to worry about everything like a protective mother. It’s just that over these years, protecting her family had become a habit.

Seeing that Ren Yaoqi accepted this, Xiao Jinglin instead began to comfort her, “This Little Qiao Shi dismissed Pan’er’s wet nurse as soon as she entered the Lei family, and now she wants Pan’er to live with her before Ren Yaohua enters the household. Once she develops feelings with Lei Pan’er, it will be difficult for Ren Yaohua to bring Lei Pan’er back to the main courtyard later. Though her calculation is good, she’s only Lei Pan’er’s aunt and is merely staying at the Lei family. No family would let a nameless, statusless aunt care for the legitimate daughter when there’s a female head of household. As long as Lei Ting has any brains, he won’t truly entrust Lei Pan’er to her.”

After listening to Xiao Jinglin’s rare long discourse, Ren Yaoqi looked at her with feigned surprise, “Haven’t you always disdained dealing with these inner courtyard matters?”

Xiao Jinglin took a sip of tea to moisten her throat, trying to hide the smugness on her face, “Disdaining doesn’t mean I don’t understand.”

Ren Yaoqi looked at her proud expression and nodded in agreement while suppressing laughter, “The Princess is wise!”

This earned a light snort from Princess Xiao’s nostrils.

Despite saying this, after leaving the teahouse, Ren Yaoqi still gave Lei Pan’er’s pouch to Pingguo, “Give this to Xueli and have her go to the Lei family’s estate to find Lei Pan’er’s wet nurse. Also, have her inquire about Little Qiao Shi’s background.”

Xueli had been living at Zhu Ruomei’s house for several years and had developed a deep affection with the Zhu family. Zhu Ruomei’s mother liked Xueli very much and had always wanted her as a daughter-in-law.

Ren Yaoqi had originally planned to have Xueli return after her coming-of-age ceremony, which was her previous promise to Xueli. However, last time Ren Yaoqi discovered that Zhu Ruomei and Xueli seemed to have developed mutual affection. After asking Xueli about her wishes, Ren Yaoqi dismissed the idea of bringing her back. Nevertheless, since Xueli had once been her maid and had suffered for her sake, and Zhu Ruomei had helped her greatly over the years, Ren Yaoqi planned to make proper arrangements for Xueli’s marriage shortly.

Pingguo acknowledged and left. Facing Xiao Jinglin’s disdainful gaze, Ren Yaoqi smiled and explained, “Know yourself and know your enemy, and you can fight a hundred battles without defeat. I’ll find out the details first, then let Third Sister handle it. She’s been very busy lately, and besides, after she marries, it’ll be difficult for me to help her even if I want to.”

Xiao Jinglin rolled her eyes internally, wondering why she still had the illusion that Ren Yaoqi was marrying off her daughter.

“It’s still early. Shall we take the carriage for a tour around the city?” Ren Yaoqi took Xiao Jinglin’s arm and asked with a smile.

Xiao Jinglin didn’t want to return so early either. She suddenly gripped Ren Yaoqi’s hand and pulled her toward the carriage with some excitement, “By the way, I know a place with really good braised meat. Come on, I’ll take you there!”

Ren Yaoqi was one of the few people who knew Princess Xiao’s foodie nature and followed her into the carriage without resistance. Xiao Jinglin said the place was in a side alley that was hard to find, so she had Hong Ying replace the coachman and sit in front to drive the carriage.

When the carriage was about to pass the South City Gate, it slowed down to avoid the traffic of vehicles entering and leaving the city. A somewhat hesitant voice called from outside the carriage, “Hong… Hong Ying?”

Xiao Jinglin raised an eyebrow and lifted the curtain. Ren Yaoqi turned to see the dark-faced guard commander they had encountered before standing to the right of the carriage, rubbing his hands nervously while talking to Hong Ying.

Since the Princess hadn’t ordered the carriage to stop, after the traffic at the gate passed, Hong Ying had the carriage continue moving. The dark-faced commander jogged alongside to maintain a certain distance from the carriage while greeting Xiao Jinglin.

Xiao Jinglin nodded and lowered the curtain again, paying no more attention to what was happening outside.

Hong Ying seemed to say something quietly to the dark-faced commander.

The commander’s honest voice, tinged with caution, faintly drifted in, “Hong Ying, my injuries have healed. When do you have time to come beat… oh no, I mean to come instruct me again.”