“What’s wrong? Is there a problem with this?” Ren Yaohua frowned as she asked. She knew that Ren Yaoqi wouldn’t bring up this question without reason, and with Ren Yaoqi’s wedding into the Yanbei Prince’s mansion scheduled for next month, Ren Yaohua couldn’t help but become sensitive about it.

Ren Yaoqi shook her head: “I just find it somewhat strange, so I’m asking you. Perhaps I’m overthinking it.”

Ren Yaohua’s expression became even more serious, and she tried hard to recall: “At that time, I was already quite exhausted, and I couldn’t remember clearly what happened outside. I only vaguely recall that many people were talking around me, and Wujing was standing at the bedside… Oh, right, Wujing was by my side the whole time, wiping my sweat. You can go ask her.”

Seeing the weary look on Ren Yaohua’s face, Ren Yaoqi thought she might be tired again, so she nodded: “Then I’ll go find Wujing to ask. Sister, you should rest. I’ll have someone wake you later to eat something.”

Ren Yaohua agreed and let Ren Yaoqi help her lie down. When Ren Yaoqi got up to leave, she worriedly reminded her: “By the way, please remember to thank that Granny Gong properly for me. When I’m feeling better, I’ll personally visit to express my gratitude. There’s nothing more to worry about here, so please persuade Mother to go back home first. You should go back too – with your wedding next month, there must be countless things to prepare at home…”

Seeing her talking more and more, Ren Yaoqi helplessly interrupted: “I understand. There’s nothing much happening at home – everything that needs to be prepared has already been prepared. Just let Mother stay here. Even if she went back, she wouldn’t be at ease and would come running here every day.”

With that, Ren Yaoqi didn’t wait for Ren Yaohua to say more and lifted the curtain to go out.

Li Shi’s decision to stay at the Lei mansion was truly unavoidable. Since Ren Yaohua couldn’t handle affairs now, and she had no elders above her, not even helpful sisters-in-law to assist her, if something went wrong during this period, people would again gossip about Ren Yaohua. So, having no mother-in-law above had both advantages and disadvantages in terms of the simplicity of in-law relationships.

In the outer room, Li Shi was chatting with Qi Shi about children’s matters. Ren Yijun sat nearby, drinking tea and eating pastries while pretending to be indifferent but listening intently with perked ears. He even ate a piece of mung bean cake that he disliked most without realizing it.

Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help but find this amusing, but fearing that laughing would make her awkward third brother turn hostile on the spot, she pretended not to notice and went to find Wujing to talk.

Wujing was leading several young maids in the west side room, organizing the small clothes and diapers that had been received for the child over the past few days. Seeing Ren Yaoqi enter, she hurried over: “Second Miss, is there something you need?”

Ren Yaoqi nodded, so Wujing put down her work and followed Ren Yaoqi outside.

“I heard that yesterday you were constantly watching over things in the delivery room. I want to ask if you remember who suggested going to fetch Granny Gong?”

Although Wujing found Ren Yaoqi’s question strange, she quickly answered: “This servant heard it was suggested by the midwife Tang, who was delivering our miss’s baby. She was the midwife whom Madam and Nanny Zhou found to assist with the delivery. At that time, both our miss and the child were in poor condition. Midwife Tang told Madam that the child was in breech position with the umbilical cord wrapped around the neck, and the water had broken early. She said that if we weren’t careful, not only would the child be lost, but the mother would also be in great danger. When Madam heard this, she was terrified and begged her to think of a solution. She then said she knew of someone who, if present, could save both mother and child. The person she mentioned was Granny Gong. So Madam sent someone back to find you.”

“This Midwife Tang – where is she from? Is she still at the mansion?” Ren Yaoqi knew that since they were using this Midwife Tang, not only would her mother have investigated her background, but Ren Yaohua would know about her too.

“She’s a local from our Yanzhou, from Yuhua Town next to Baihe Town. She has quite a reputation in Yanbei, otherwise, Madam wouldn’t have chosen her from among so many midwives. Early this morning, she went to Nanny Zhou to collect her payment and left, saying there was another job in Yuhua Town in the coming days and she needed to go back early to prepare.”

Ren Yaoqi nodded. After thinking about it, she had no other questions. This Midwife Tang seemed to have no obvious problems on the surface, but Ren Yaoqi’s suspicions hadn’t decreased. However, since this matter probably wasn’t targeting the Lei family or Ren Yaohua, Ren Yaoqi decided to investigate privately so Ren Yaohua wouldn’t have to worry.

When she returned to the main room, Li Shi had been chatting with Qi Yuegui about something that made both of them laugh, while Ren Yijun sat beside them looking somewhat embarrassed. Seeing Ren Yaoqi arrive, Ren Yijun hastily got up: “You’ve come at just the right time. I have something to say to you – I’ve been waiting for you for quite a while.”

Ren Yaoqi thought helplessly: I’ve been going in and out several times, and you’re only noticing me now, yet you have the nerve to say you’ve been waiting for me for a long time?

Ren Yijun had already gotten up and walked over, so Ren Yaoqi had no choice but to take him to the side room to talk.

Ren Yaoqi looked at Ren Yijun and teasingly asked: “What were they just saying to you?”

Ren Yijun was unusually bashful, but his tone was somewhat fierce: “What would a child like you understand? Don’t ask!”

Ren Yaoqi obligingly nodded: “Alright, I won’t ask.”

Hearing this, Ren Yijun snorted lightly, but still said awkwardly: “What else could it be? Just about children. Third Aunt wants us to… cough cough…”

Ren Yaoqi smiled: “Isn’t this a good thing? Look at Sister’s little daughter and Pан’er – they’re both very interesting.”

But Ren Yijun fell silent for a moment after hearing this: “It’s not that I don’t want children, but you know I’ve taken a lot of medicine over these years. I read in books that taking medicine for years can affect children, especially since some of the medicines I used contained ingredients harmful to ordinary people’s bodies. Although I’ve secretly stopped taking the medicine, now still isn’t a good time to have children…”

Generally speaking, brothers shouldn’t discuss such matters with unmarried sisters, but Ren Yijun was too embarrassed about his male pride to discuss this with Qi Shi, he wasn’t close with his other brothers, and he certainly couldn’t mention it to his elders. So he could only talk to Ren Yaoqi, otherwise keeping it bottled up was making him uncomfortable.

Ren Yaoqi asked: “Is it alright for you to stop the medicine? Have you consulted a physician?”

“It’s fine. Originally, they were just some useless warming and nourishing medicines – taking them was worse than not taking them. Look, isn’t my health much better now? I think what your third sister-in-law said makes some sense – my illness was mostly caused by taking too much medicine.”

Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help but laugh “puchi” at this. Her third sister-in-law’s way of speaking was always so amusing.

Ren Yijun also laughed, but after laughing for a while, his expression became serious again: “By the way, Second Young Master Xiao’s health is probably even worse than mine. He must have taken quite a lot of medicine over these years. After you marry into their family, you should be more careful about the matter of children. The Yanbei Prince’s mansion is different from small households like ours – if something goes wrong, there’s no use regretting it.”

Now it was Ren Yaoqi’s turn to feel embarrassed.

However, what Ren Yijun said wasn’t without reason. Moreover, Xiao Jingxi’s “illness” was different from others’ illnesses – he had been poisoned. Thinking of how he wasn’t even afraid of spider poison before, if Xiao Jingxi had been taking medicine all these years, it certainly wouldn’t lack the method of fighting poison with poison.

Although Ren Yaoqi didn’t voice it, she wasn’t without worry in her heart.

However, Ren Yaoqi also believed in the saying “what is meant to be will be, what is not meant to be shouldn’t be forced.” If Xiao Jingxi’s body wasn’t suitable for having children, she wouldn’t have any complaints. She had chosen this path herself and had no regrets even now. Her only concern was that Xiao Jingxi no longer had blood brothers, and if he couldn’t have heirs, the power struggles within the Yanbei Prince’s mansion would likely intensify over time.

But these weren’t things Ren Yaoqi should worry about at this time. She felt it was better not to think about such matters now – when the boat reaches the bridge, it will naturally straighten out, and there would always be solutions.

“By the way, do you know who that person was who wanted to buy the Ren family ancestral home a while ago?” Ren Yaoqi changed the subject.

Ren Yijun didn’t cling to the previous topic either. Hearing this, he thought for a moment: “I heard my father mention it. He said it was some outside merchant whose family deals in seafood, quite wealthy. When he came to the Ren family, he brought a hundred thousand taels in banknotes and said the price was negotiable.” Ren Yijun sneered, “I think he has too much money burning a hole in his pocket. Is that broken-down house worth a hundred thousand taels?”

Ren Yaoqi raised an eyebrow: “The Ren family didn’t agree?”

Ren Yijun curled his lips: “More than just not agreeing. At the time, the eldest brother said selling would be fine, but then the grandfather flew into a rage. Although the old man can’t speak now, when he glares, he still has quite the authority of a family head. My father gave my eldest brother a thorough scolding. We all think the eldest brother’s idea makes some sense. The Ren family isn’t what it used to be anymore. I heard even several mines are about to be lost. What’s the point of stubbornly holding onto that mansion? If it were truly a place where the Ren family had lived for hundreds of years, and we couldn’t bear to part with what our ancestors left behind, that would be understandable. But our Ren family has only lived there for a few decades – calling it an ancestral home is quite a stretch.”

But Ren Yaoqi knew that originally her great-grandfather had some ambitions, wanting the Ren family to squeeze into the ranks of Yanbei’s prestigious families. He had put considerable effort into this, and the ancestral home was also a matter of face. The more they bought it, the further they got from their goal.

Moreover, there was a great secret hidden within the Ren family’s ancestral home.