Nanny Zhou curled her lips with a dismissive expression: “The master said he wanted to send her back, and she just rammed into a pillar, breaking her head, saying she’d rather die than go back.”

Ren Yaoying had been unconscious for two full days after Nanny Zhou’s medication. When she woke up yesterday, Old Master Ren said he would send her back to the Ren family. At first, Ren Yaoying said nothing, but when people brought her out of the room, she took advantage of the maids and matrons being off guard and charged head-first toward a door pillar in the courtyard. Fortunately, the matrons were quick-eyed and swift-handed, pulling her back in time, so she only broke the skin a little.

Ren Yaoying cried and shouted in the courtyard, saying she was Old Master Ren’s daughter and asking why she should be driven out of the family home. This was her home, and she would rather die here than leave.

Ren Yaoqi had only been married for two days, and she was already making such a fuss seeking death and causing trouble for everyone. Even Li Shi, who had always been good-tempered, was angered by her. However, Li Shi didn’t want to cause any deaths or spread bad rumors at this time to add to Ren Yaoqi’s troubles, so she still had people send her back. But this time, Li Shi forbade Ren Yaoying from leaving her room, and following Nanny Zhou’s advice, found four strong and capable matrons to watch over her. Ren Yaoying had been quiet for one day, but unexpectedly, today, when Ren Yaoqi returned home, she stirred up trouble again. Li Shi now has a headache just hearing her name.

The Ren family wouldn’t come to collect her, so Li Shi couldn’t forcibly send her away. But keeping Ren Yaoying confined wasn’t proper either—those who didn’t know the situation might think she, the legitimate mother, was mistreating a concubine’s daughter. Yet if she let Ren Yaoying come out, Li Shi would be constantly worried, afraid she might cause more trouble.

Fortunately, Old Master Ren had always been indifferent to how Li Shi dealt with Ren Yaoying and wouldn’t be displeased if Li Shi confined her. In Old Master Ren’s mind, such inner courtyard matters should naturally be managed by Li Shi, as long as they didn’t trouble him.

Li Shi said to Ren Yaoqi, “You’d better not see her today either. Today is the day you and your son-in-law return home—don’t let anything untoward happen that would embarrass you in front of your son-in-law.”

Ren Yaoqi wasn’t afraid of losing face in front of Xiao Jingxi. Her family’s affairs were probably clearer to Xiao Jingxi than even to Li Shi. After thinking it over, she still said to Li Shi, “Have someone bring her over. We need to figure out what she wants to resolve this properly. You can’t keep her confined forever.”

Li Shi rarely contradicted her daughter’s words. Seeing that Ren Yaoqi wanted to meet with her, she didn’t insist otherwise and instructed Xi’er to bring Ren Yaoying over. At the end, she still uneasily reminded: “Send more people, don’t let her cause trouble.”

Xi’er took the order and left. Soon, she returned with Ren Yaoying.

When Ren Yaoying entered, there were indeed people following on her left and right, surrounding her tightly, not giving her any chance to cause mischief.

Ren Yaoying looked much thinner than when Ren Yaoqi had last seen her. She had originally resembled her concubine mother with a delicate, willow-like slender figure, but now her form appeared even more ethereal. However, because her features were beautiful and she had matured somewhat, she now had a particularly pitiable and endearing quality.

When Ren Yaoying entered, she glanced up at Ren Yaoqi once—that glance was somewhat complex.

Ren Yaoqi had also carefully dressed up for today’s homecoming. Since she was now a woman of the Xiao family, when she went out, she represented the face of the Yanbei Prince’s Manor. Her dress and accessories were naturally refined, especially the complete set of hair ornaments on her head, which was originally part of the dowry given by the Prince of Hezhong’s Manor—one could tell at a glance that it was extraordinary.

Ren Yaoqi sat on the heated bed platform without moving, watching Ren Yaoying walk over with her head lowered to pay respects to her and Li Shi.

Li Shi raised her hand to let her rise, then had someone bring over a chair for her to sit. Li Shi would never deliberately mistreat concubine daughters in such small details.

When Ren Yaoying sat down, she looked at Ren Yaoqi with a smile that carried some joy: “Fifth Sister, you look truly beautiful today, truly dignified.”

Facing her praise, Ren Yaoqi smiled: “How have you been getting along recently, Fifth Sister?”

Upon hearing this, Ren Yaoying’s eyes immediately reddened. She raised her hand to wipe her eyes and smiled bitterly: “What can I do? I’m just a lowly life, cannot compare to my two sisters’ good fortune, both marrying satisfactory husbands. Only I…”

Speaking to this point, Ren Yaoying looked at Ren Yaoqi with pleading in her eyes: “Fifth Sister, may I ask you for one favor? You are now a great noble person—please take pity on your sister…”

Ren Yaoqi remained composed: “How do you want me to help you?”

As Ren Yaoying spoke, tears flowed out again, presenting a pitiful and heart-wrenching appearance: “Sister has no other requests, it’s just… It’s just that I don’t want to marry into the He family. I heard that Master He is old enough to be my grandfather, I… I don’t want to marry him… Fifth Sister, please help me for the sake of our sisterhood.”

Looking at her, Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. This skill of crying on command while still looking beautiful wasn’t something just anyone could learn. From this aspect, Ren Yaoying could indeed be considered talented.

“You’re unwilling to marry into the He family? But I seem to remember that when Grandmother arranged this match for you, you agreed to it,” Ren Yaoqi said gently.

Hearing this, Ren Yaoying’s crying couldn’t help but pause, then she cried even more pitifully: “No, how could I agree? But you also know that in front of Grandfather and Grandmother, what say does a junior like me have? Even if I objected, it would be useless.”

“Then why do you think of resisting now?” When Ren Yaoqi asked this question, her tone carried obvious curiosity—she was genuinely curious about what Ren Yaoying was thinking.

Nanny Zhou at the side curled her lips in a cold laugh. She had seen plenty of people like Ren Yaoying, and Ren Yaoying’s character followed her concubine mother. Having dealt with Concubine Fang for so many years, Nanny Zhou naturally understood what such people were thinking.

Ren Yaoying’s motives were nothing more than seeing her two sisters marry well, and upon comparison, feeling that the He family match was unsuitable. When Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yaohua were still unmarried, Ren Yaoying hadn’t expressed such strong rejection of the He family match. Perhaps she had initially been dissatisfied with Master He’s age, but the He family was wealthy and powerful, and Master He had no legitimate sons, so she would be the mistress of the household after marrying in. Ren Yaoying had later reluctantly accepted this.

Ren Yaoqi’s question made Ren Yaoying sob softly, as if she were secretly considering how to answer this question appropriately.

Ren Yaoqi had wanted to settle her matter today. Ren Yaoqi thought that Father wasn’t satisfied with this match either. Although breaking off an engagement might cause gossip, it wasn’t impossible—finding another family for Ren Yaoying to marry into was also feasible.

But she also understood this concubine sister of hers. If the alternative candidates chosen for her weren’t to her liking, she would still prefer to marry Master He. Moreover, if she or Li Shi interfered with her marriage, then if anything went wrong in the future, Ren Yaoying would blame them without hesitation.

So many times it wasn’t that Ren Yaoqi didn’t want to do good deeds and be kind once—it was just that in front of some people, kind people weren’t easy to be. Just think of Mr. Dongguo’s fate to understand.

While everyone in the room was lost in their thoughts, suddenly Ren Yaoqi’s maid Chunlan requested an audience outside, and her voice sounded urgent.

Li Shi gave permission, and Chunlan entered.

As soon as Chunlan entered, she looked as if she was about to cry from urgency. After hurriedly paying respects, she said: “Miss, please go quickly and see—the son-in-law seems to have gotten into an argument with the master. We heard the master’s scolding voice outside, and the sound of things being thrown.”

When Xiao Jingxi came to the Ren family, he hadn’t brought any attendants. Just now, when he and Old Master Ren went to the study, Ren Yaoqi had her maids Chunlan and Chunyan go serve them. However, Old Master Ren didn’t like servants entering his study, so these maids only waited outside in the courtyard.

Hearing this, Ren Yaoqi was stunned. Li Shi, upon hearing it, anxiously stood up from the heated platform: “The master and son-in-law got into an argument? How is that possible? What happened?”

Li Shi understood Old Master Ren’s character. Although Old Master Ren’s temper wasn’t great, he wouldn’t easily lose his temper. For him to curse aloud and even throw things, something major must have happened.

Chunlan had been standing in the corridor and couldn’t hear clearly what the masters were specifically saying in the study. She thought for a moment, then replied tearfully: “This servant doesn’t know either. Everything was fine at first; there was no commotion in the study. The master only called for tea once and didn’t ask us servants to serve again. Later, after a long while, the master and son-in-law suddenly started arguing. The master seemed to scold the son-in-law a few times, the son-in-law said something unknown, and then the master seemed to throw something. We servants were anxious listening outside but couldn’t barge into the study, so we could only come report to the master.”

How could Li Shi not be anxious after hearing this? Just moments ago, she had been satisfied that her daughter had married into Yanbei Prince’s Manor, not only earning her husband’s respect but also winning the affection of her in-laws’ elders—this marriage couldn’t be more perfect! But in the blink of an eye, her own master had scolded the son-in-law and even laid hands on him. If the son-in-law suffered any harm, how would her daughter conduct herself in her in-laws’ family afterward?

For the first time, Li Shi felt some resentment toward her husband.

“Come, let’s hurry over and see.” Li Shi had just gotten down from the heated platform, her shoes not even properly on, when she hurried outside.

Nanny Zhou quickly called out to her, bending down to help her put on her shoes properly.

Li Shi said to Ren Yaoqi, “You come too. Your father listens to you most.”

Ren Yaoqi had been looking down, thinking about something. Hearing Li Shi’s words, she also stood up. Her expression wasn’t as anxious as Li Shi’s, but she followed behind Li Shi as they went out.

After Li Shi and Ren Yaoqi left, Ren Yaoying remained in place. The several matrons responsible for watching Ren Yaoying said, “We’ll escort Ninth Miss back to her room first.”

Ren Yaoying lowered her eyes to conceal the emotions within, assuming a docile posture as she said: “Mother didn’t tell me to leave, so I dare not go. I’ll wait here for Mother and Sister to return.”

Since she said this, the matrons couldn’t force her to return to her room.