Ren Yaoying could never believe that her father wanted her to marry such a person – not only was his family poor, but he was also concubine-born.

To be fair, although Meng Shilin’s appearance was ordinary and his clothing quite plain, he possessed that peaceful, calm scholarly air that only learned men had, and his manner of dealing with people was very courteous and modest. In terms of talent alone, Meng Shilin was also somewhat renowned among the young scholars at the academy. For an ordinary person, he wouldn’t have caught Master Ren’s eye at all.

So Ren Yaoying had misunderstood her father. Although Master Ren didn’t like this daughter, he had still found what he considered a very good match for her within his capabilities. One should know that if Meng Shilin hadn’t been concubine-born, Master Ren might very well have initially married Ren Yaoqi to him.

Unfortunately, Ren Yaoying didn’t understand her father. In her view, the Ren family marrying her off to such a person was a tremendous insult to her – she’d rather marry into the He family.

When Meng Shilin saw Ren Yaoying, he was also momentarily stunned, then very properly bowed in greeting.

There had been a previous occasion when Master Ren called Meng Shilin before him and asked him a few questions. Being a clever person, Meng Shilin quickly detected from Master Ren’s inquiries that his teacher might be trying to arrange a marriage for him. Knowing his teacher meant well, Meng Shilin respectfully answered whatever he was asked. Sure enough, the next day, he heard that his teacher had sent someone to his clan.

Meng Shilin’s father and legitimate mother were both gone, and his concubine mother couldn’t make decisions about his marriage, which was why Ren Shimin went to find his clan members after sounding him out. However, Meng Shilin still didn’t know which family Master Ren was proposing for him.

Today, when Master Ren summoned him, Meng Shilin knew his teacher probably wanted to discuss the marriage matter with him.

When Meng Shilin first encountered Ren Yaoying, he didn’t think much of it. However, when he inadvertently caught sight of Ren Yaoying’s appraising and scrutinizing gaze, along with the deep disappointment and unwillingness in her eyes, someone as clever and perceptive as Meng Shilin immediately sensed something.

Could it be that the young lady Master Ren wanted to propose for him was this girl? But this young lady seemed to look down on him somewhat. Meng Shilin smiled bitterly and shook his head.

Only after Meng Shilin had walked quite far from Ren Yaoying did he ask the young gatekeeper leading him to see Master Ren: “Which young lady was that who just passed by?”

The gatekeeper had called her Ninth Miss when greeting that young lady just now. Meng Shilin only knew about the Ren family’s married First Miss and Second Miss, but didn’t know which family’s young lady the Ninth Miss was.

The gatekeeper thought for a moment, then smiled and replied: “That’s our master’s daughter.”

Only then did Meng Shilin remember that besides having two legitimate daughters, Master Ren also had a concubine-born daughter who was Ren Yihong’s younger sister. It was just that this concubine daughter had always been at the old residence in Baihezhen, so he had never seen her before. However, it was somewhat strange that the Ren family called the two legitimate young ladies First Miss and Second Miss, but called this concubine-born young lady Ninth Miss.

Thinking of that Ninth Miss Ren whose eyes had just shown disgust and disdain, then thinking of the First Miss and Second Miss of this household whom he had inadvertently seen before, Meng Shilin shook his head. No wonder people in the world preferred to marry legitimate daughters rather than concubine-born ones – there were indeed reasons for this.

So Ren Yaoying looked down on Meng Shilin, while the scholarly Meng Shilin, who valued inner qualities, might not necessarily think much of Ren Yaoying either.

However, when meeting with Ren Shimin, and Ren Shimin straightforwardly said he wanted to marry his concubine daughter to Meng Shilin, although Meng Shilin felt somewhat hesitant in his heart, out of respect for his teacher, he still didn’t immediately refuse the teacher who had shown him kindness and recognition.

Unfortunately, after Ren Yaoying met Meng Shilin once and learned that this Young Master Meng had come to see her father, she felt extremely uneasy. After considering for a long while, she still gritted her teeth and used a pair of her gold hairpins and a pair of jade bracelets to bribe two of Master Ren’s attendants. She secretly hid beneath the study window and eavesdropped on the conversation between Master Ren and Meng Shilin.

Ren Yaoying never suspected why, shortly after Ren Yaoqi’s return visit, her house arrest had been lifted, and she had even coincidentally made contact with people around Master Ren, or why there were now fewer people following her when she went out. Ren Yaoying thought it was because Master Ren had been persuaded by her, so he had Li Shi stop confining her and allow her to go out. After all, Ren Yaohua, who had always found her most displeasing, had already married out, Ren Yaoqi had also married out, and her legitimate mother, Li Shi, had no opinions of her own, always just listening to Master Ren in everything. To relax Li Shi’s vigilance, even though she could now go out, she hardly ever came out.

As for being able to easily sneak under her father’s study window, Ren Yaoying thought this was because Master Ren disliked having idle people serving in his study, so there were basically no guards outside the study.

Without Ren Yaohua in the Ren family, Ren Yaoying’s vigilance had relaxed considerably.

So in the end, Ren Yaoying still couldn’t restrain herself and once again sought out her father, Ren Shimin.

When Ren Yaoying intercepted him again, Ren Shimin was still somewhat displeased. This concubine’s daughter’s usual behavior made it impossible for him to like her.

“What is it this time?” Ren Shimin asked with a frown.

Ren Yaoying looked up at Ren Shimin and said timidly: “I, I heard that Father has already helped me break off the He family engagement?”

Ren Shimin said flatly, “The He family has already agreed to break it off. In a few days, they’ll return your birth chart. I’m just losing some money, but the one who made the effort was your sister Yaoqi. Remember to thank her when you see her.”

Ren Yaoying bit her lip and forced a smile: “Yes, Father, I understand.” She paused, then continued, “Since the He family engagement has been broken off, then… then please Father, send your daughter to a nunnery.”

Ren Shimin frowned: “Your mother and I have already chosen another match for you. Don’t mention the nunnery matter again.”

Although Ren Yaoying had already overheard the conversation between Ren Shimin and Meng Shilin, when she now heard Ren Shimin say it with his mouth, she still felt as if struck by lightning. She looked at Ren Shimin with a pale face: “The husband candidate Father has found for your daughter – could it be Young Master Meng?”

Ren Shimin looked at Ren Yaoying with surprise, then nodded: “Has your mother already told you? Yes, it’s him. He’s my student, and his character is not bad…”

Before Ren Shimin could finish speaking, Ren Yaoying looked at him and shook her head: “Why? Why…”

Ren Shimin was baffled: “Why?”

Ren Yaoying couldn’t help but start crying: “Does Father find me so displeasing? Making me marry such a pauper? If you don’t like having me as a daughter, I’ll just go back to Baihezhen. Why must you make a joke of your daughter’s future?”

Ren Yaoying didn’t understand her father, and likewise, Ren Shimin couldn’t comprehend Ren Yaoying.

Ren Shimin felt he had already been quite good to this concubine daughter. When his most beloved youngest daughter got married, he hadn’t even personally arranged her match, yet now, for Ren Yaoying’s marriage, he had not only sent people to the Meng family to sound them out, but had also personally summoned his student for inquiries.

Ren Shimin’s frown deepened: “What nonsense is this?” He was already somewhat displeased. Ren Shimin couldn’t stand women crying and making scenes in public – in his view, it showed a lack of cultivation.

Ren Yaoying’s emotions had become somewhat out of control from the shock and stimulation. All the grievances and injustices she had suffered during this period at the Ren family old residence and here came flooding up, and her envy and jealousy toward her two legitimate sisters Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yaohua gnawed at her heart like madness, making her feel aggrieved, oppressed, and painfully tormented.

“I don’t want to marry into the Meng family! I’d rather die than marry that pauper!”

Ren Shimin slowly realized what Ren Yaoying was saying, and his face became unusually dark and ugly as he said word by word: “Say that again!”

Ren Yaoying, red-eyed and heedless, cried and made a scene: “I said I don’t want to marry Meng Shilin! He’s just a pauper – what right does he have to marry me? I’d rather marry into the He family than marry him!”

Shock flashed in Ren Shimin’s eyes. He seemed unable to believe that Ren Yaoying would say such things.

She’d rather marry into the He family to that disgusting old man, even older than himself, than marry his prized student, Meng Shilin?

Ren Shimin felt that the one being humiliated wasn’t his student, but himself.

So Master Ren, who never resorted to violence, raised his hand and gave Ren Yaoying a hard slap.

Master Ren was a scholar who had always adhered to the principle that gentlemen use words, not fists, so this slap delivered in his fury wasn’t particularly heavy, but it was very loud.

Ren Shimin had never been this angry before – not even when he was expelled from the Ren clan had he been this furious. This was the first time in his life that he had directly resorted to violence to solve a problem, as if he couldn’t calm his anger without giving Ren Yaoying that slap.

Ren Yaoying covered her face and cried there.

But Ren Shimin gradually calmed down. When he thought about the cause and effect, he naturally understood that what Ren Yaoying had said to him before had ulterior motives.

Ren Shimin looked at Ren Yaoying coldly and said flatly: “Since that’s the case, then you can marry into the He family. Fortunately, the He family hasn’t formally broken off the engagement yet, so I haven’t had time to ruin this good marriage of yours.”