Ren Yaoqi followed behind Li Shi toward the study in the west courtyard where Ren Shimin worked.

The study door was tightly closed, and the maids and matrons waiting outside all wore expressions of alarm and uncertainty. They seemed to want to listen to the commotion inside but dared not approach because Old Master Ren had given explicit orders that maids and matrons must wait under the eaves corridor and were not permitted to approach without orders, or they would be severely punished.

So, despite the recent disturbance in the study, no one dared barge in. They could only go to the main quarters to fetch Li Shi and Ren Yaoqi.

When Ren Yaoqi and Li Shi reached the study door, there were no longer sounds of arguing inside. Li Shi deliberately walked close to the door to listen carefully, then frowned and gently shook her head at Ren Yaoqi.

Ren Yaoqi thought for a moment, gesturing to Pingguo while walking over to knock directly on the door: “Father? Your daughter has brought hot tea for you. May I come in?”

After a moment, Old Master Ren’s voice came from within the study: “Come in.” No emotion could be discerned from his voice.

Almost as Old Master Ren finished speaking, Pingguo somehow produced a tea tray from nowhere, with two tea bowls on it that appeared to be steaming hot.

Ren Yaoqi took the tea tray from Pingguo and pushed open the study door. As soon as the door opened, she saw fragments of a broken azure porcelain brush washer on the floor. This brush washer had originally been placed on the desk in the study and matched the brush stand—it was one of Old Master Ren’s treasured possessions.

Ren Yaoqi’s eyelids couldn’t help but twitch.

Li Shi had originally heard that Old Master Ren’s voice sounded fine and wanted to leave after Ren Yaoqi went in, since Old Master Ren disliked irrelevant people entering his study. However, upon seeing the broken brush washer on the floor, Li Shi was startled and still followed Ren Yaoqi inside.

As soon as Ren Yaoqi stepped inside, Xiao Jingxi’s voice came from the inner room: “Be careful of the fragments on the floor, don’t get hurt.” Second Master Xiao’s voice was still so gentle and pleasant, completely unlike someone who had just quarreled with his father-in-law.

Ren Yaoqi and Li Shi exchanged glances, both somewhat puzzled.

From the sounds, Xiao Jingxi and Ren Shimin were in the side room on the right. Ren Yaoqi walked over without hesitation, but when she lifted the beaded curtain to see the scene inside, she was stunned.

Ren Shimin was sitting cross-legged beside a low table painting, while Xiao Jingxi sat beside him with his head tilted, watching. This scene looked nothing like what Chunlan had described happening in the same room.

Xiao Jingxi even looked up to smile at Ren Yaoqi and Li Shi, then stood up.

Ren Shimin also looked up briefly. Seeing that Li Shi had come as well, he couldn’t help but frown: “Why did you come too? Is there something?”

Li Shi carefully examined Ren Shimin’s face. Unable to see any trace of anger, she smiled somewhat awkwardly: “Oh, I just wanted to ask what wine you and your son-in-law would like to drink at lunch today. I remember you still have several jars of fine Daughter’s Red wine stored here.”

Li Shi’s words carried a probing intent. When Ren Yaoqi was young, Ren Shimin had jokingly said that the jars of Daughter’s Red he had buried would be opened to drink with his son-in-law after marrying off his youngest daughter. Old Master Ren’s “youngest daughter” naturally referred to Ren Yaoqi. However, when Xiao Jingxi came today, Ren Shimin hadn’t given Li Shi such instructions, possibly because he harbored some dissatisfaction with this son-in-law.

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Ren Shimin casually waved his hand at Li Shi: “It’s just a few jars of wine. You can have people dig them up—they’re buried under that tree in front of the study. You know where they are.”

Li Shi was stunned, then finally breathed a sigh of relief. Since Ren Shimin was willing to let his son-in-law drink his treasured Daughter’s Red that he had stored for over ten years and specially brought from Baihe Town to Yunyang City, it meant he didn’t have too much objection to Xiao Jingxi.

Moreover, seeing that both Old Master Ren and Xiao Jingxi’s clothes were neat, with no signs of either being injured, even though Li Shi was still curious about what had just happened here, she responded to Old Master Ren’s words while retreating. Even regarding the shattered brush washer on the floor, without receiving explicit orders from Old Master Ren, she didn’t presume to have someone clean it up.

Compared to her daughter, although Li Shi couldn’t be considered exceptionally brilliant, she was better than anyone at understanding Ren Shimin’s temperament. So over the years, despite suffering many grievances from the Ren family elders, Li Shi had never been harshly spoken to by Ren Shimin—even Concubine Fang had been scolded by Old Master Ren.

Ren Yaoqi placed the tea tray on a side table, personally holding a bowl to offer to Old Master Ren, then took another bowl to give to Xiao Jingxi.

After Old Master Ren drank a sip of tea and casually handed the bowl back to her, Ren Yaoqi asked with seemingly casual laughter: “The outer room seems somewhat messy. Shall I have someone come clean it up?”

Old Master Ren nodded indifferently: “Go ahead and clean it up.”

The brush washer was one of Old Master Ren’s cherished possessions. Seeing that he didn’t lose his temper when she mentioned it, Ren Yaoqi knew this matter was probably unrelated to Xiao Jingxi. She couldn’t help but smile: “I remember this brush washer and that brush stand were Father’s favorites—you even specially brought them from Baihe Town. How did they accidentally get broken today?” As she spoke, Ren Yaoqi inquiringly glanced at Xiao Jingxi.

Xiao Jingxi said with some apology: “This is my fault. If not for me, that brush washer wouldn’t have been broken. I remember I have one similar to this in my study. When I return, I’ll have someone send it to Father.”

Hearing this, Old Master Ren didn’t politely refuse but nodded: “That’s thoughtful of you. I was indeed quite fond of that brush washer—it’s a pity it broke.”

Ren Yaoqi blinked, looking at Old Master Ren, then at Xiao Jingxi, finally letting her gaze rest on Xiao Jingxi. She was quite surprised by Old Master Ren’s change in attitude—what had Xiao Jingxi just done?

While Old Master Ren was looking down at his painting, Xiao Jingxi quietly winked at Ren Yaoqi, his smile rarely carrying a trace of mischief. Ren Yaoqi silently looked away.

Just as she was about to inquire further about what had happened here, Old Master Ren examined his painting for a few moments, then set down his brush and asked Xiao Jingxi: “What do you think of this piece?”

Xiao Jingxi then seriously critiqued Old Master Ren’s painting. Although he wasn’t an expert painter, his eye and artistic cultivation were excellent, so facing his father-in-law, Xiao Jingxi, truly provided some meaningful evaluation. In other families, fathers-in-law definitely couldn’t tolerate sons-in-law pointing out and commenting on their artwork, but Old Master Ren was different—he enjoyed hearing others’ opinions on his works.

When Ren Yaoqi was unmarried, she had always fulfilled this role, which was why, when this daughter married out, Ren Shimin found Xiao Jingxi increasingly disagreeable. After all, Xiao Jingxi had taken away not only his most beloved daughter but also his art critic and confidant.

However, Old Master Ren appreciated truly talented people, so when he heard that Xiao Jingxi’s appreciation level was no lower than his daughter’s, Old Master Ren was quite pleased.

He pointed to the painting on the table, whose ink was still wet: “Then this painting is for you.”

Ren Yaoqi asked in bewilderment: “Father, why are you giving him a painting?” And a freshly painted one at that.

This treatment for Xiao Jingxi seemed too good—Ren Yaoqi could hardly believe it. Hadn’t her father shown some resistance to Xiao Jingxi earlier in the main quarters?

Unexpectedly, Old Master Ren said matter-of-factly: “I lost to Tingzhen at chess, and he wanted my painting, so I painted one for him. What’s strange about that?”

Only then did Ren Yaoqi understand what had happened. She glanced at Xiao Jingxi and deliberately complained: “How could you beat my father?”

Ren Shimin was displeased and reproached his daughter: “What? He’s not unable to win, but not allowed to win?”

Xiao Jingxi looked at her with a smile: “Father is an upright gentleman—he definitely wouldn’t be pleased if I resorted to deception.”