“How much do you know about Prince Yan Bei’s mansion?” Looking at the sky outside the window, Ren Yaoqi asked Dong Sheng.

In her previous life, she hadn’t known much about Prince Yan Bei’s mansion affairs, and in this life she hadn’t deliberately inquired about them. What she knew was only what everyone else knew.

However, Dong Sheng had been trained as Li Tianyou’s servant. His master was Zheng Guoliang, the capable attendant on his maternal grandfather’s side, who was also considered the Li family’s steward.

She had always felt that Steward Zheng’s voice was somewhat peculiar. Later she understood that Steward Zheng should have come from the palace—he was a eunuch.

Li Tianyou’s servant didn’t need to know too much about social interactions, but he had to know how to help his master seek benefits and avoid harm. So Dong Sheng should know the situations of various families in Yunyang City very clearly.

“The late Prince Yan Bei’s principal consort was the late Emperor’s second daughter, born to Noble Consort Zhang of that time. She was granted the title of Princess Changde at fifteen and married into Prince Yan Bei’s mansion. However, before being granted this marriage, the old Prince Yan Bei had been betrothed to the Yun family’s eldest legitimate daughter, Yun Yao. At that time, Prince Yan Bei’s grandfather, the fourth Prince Yan Bei Xiao Qishan, was still alive and had petitioned the late Emperor to reconsider.”

“After much consideration, to silence public opinion and appease Xiao Qishan, the late Emperor allowed Prince Yan Bei’s mansion to have Xiao Yan marry the Yun family’s eldest daughter, Yun Yao, as a concubine when the princess entered the household. He also promised that after Xiao Yan inherited the Prince Yan Bei title, if Yun Yao bore a son, she would be given the position of secondary consort. Thus, Xiao Yan’s principal consort Princess Changde and secondary consort Lady Yun entered the household on consecutive days.”

“However, after Princess Changde entered the Xiao family, she only gave birth to one daughter, Xiao Wei, and then had no more children. Meanwhile, Grand Madam Yun gave birth to the old Prince Yan Bei’s eldest son, Xiao Yan. Later, the princess arranged for the old prince to take a noble concubine from a branch of the Su family. The old prince’s second son, Xiao Heng, was born to this Concubine Su. Concubine Su was in poor health and died shortly after Xiao Heng’s birth, so Xiao Heng was raised by Princess Changde from childhood.”

Dong Sheng was indeed very familiar with these complicated relationships among noble families, recounting them in detail like treasured knowledge.

“The fourth Prince Yan Bei Xiao Qishan lived to about sixty, so when the old Prince Yan Bei inherited the title, he was already thirty-five. At that time, Prince Yan Bei’s mansion had quite a commotion over establishing the heir apparent.”

“Princess Changde wanted to establish the illegitimate son Xiao Heng, whom she had raised, while the old Prince Yan Bei favored his eldest son Xiao Yan more. It’s said that Princess Changde even secretly wrote a memorial to the capital asking the late Emperor to decide for her, without the old Prince Yan Bei’s knowledge.”

“Unfortunately, this coincided with the death of the Crown Prince, the late Emperor’s illness, and the fierce succession struggle between Prince Kang and Prince Rong. The princess’s secretly sent letter sank without a trace in the capital. Meanwhile, the old Prince Yan Bei personally went to the capital to petition for his eldest son’s investiture, citing Xiao Qishan’s dying wishes. At that time, the regent princes Kang and Rong were locked in fierce competition, and neither wanted to offend Prince Yan Bei’s mansion at such a time. Thus, Xiao Yan naturally became the heir apparent. Two years later, the late Emperor suddenly recovered, and Prince Kang and Prince Rong were successively executed for treason. Soon after, the old Prince Yan Bei also died suddenly, and Xiao Yan ascended as Prince Yan Bei, petitioning to invest his eldest legitimate son Xiao Jingkang as heir apparent.”

“Because of the ‘Rebellion of the Two Princes’ between Prince Kang and Prince Rong, the late Emperor initially had no energy to manage Yan Bei affairs after his recovery. So Xiao Yan’s succession and petition for his eldest son’s investiture went smoothly. However, the late Emperor required that Prince Yan Bei’s heir apparent study at the Imperial Academy in the capital, essentially serving as a hostage. So Prince Yan Bei’s heir apparent grew up in the capital from childhood and was betrothed to Zhao Ying’e, daughter of Princess Chang’an, by imperial decree. It’s said this heir apparent excels in literature and painting, though his archery and horsemanship are lacking.”

Ren Yaoqi listened silently throughout. Some of what Dong Sheng said she knew, some she didn’t.

She had imagined that Prince Yan Bei’s mansion had deep waters, but hearing Dong Sheng’s detailed account still made her heart race.

“The current Prince Yan Bei Xiao Yan’s principal consort is his birth mother, Grand Madam Yun’s niece, the eldest legitimate daughter of the current Yun family head, Yun Sheng, named Yun Chuxue. This princess consort bore two sons and one daughter: the heir apparent Xiao Jingkang in the capital, Second Young Master Xiao Jingxi, and Princess Xiao Jinglin. Prince Yan Bei’s younger brother, Xiao Heng, married Lady Su and had Third Young Master Xiao Jingyue and Second Miss Xiao Jingyuan, plus several illegitimate children. Princess Changde’s only daughter, Xiao Wei, married the current Ningxia Commander Wu Xiaohe and bore one daughter.”

Ren Yaoqi’s heart stirred: “What is the relationship between Prince Yan Bei Xiao Yan and his younger brother Xiao Heng?”

Dong Sheng thought for a moment and answered honestly: “Outsiders see them as brotherly and respectful, but… if you look at the relationship between their respective maternal families, the Yun and Su families, you’ll understand things aren’t as simple as they appear. The Yun and Su families have publicly reconciled since Xiao Qishan became Prince Yan Bei, appearing as close as one family, but privately, they still have constant disputes. The Su family controls several large horse farms in the northwest, and all horses for the Yan Bei Army cavalry come from the Su family’s northwestern horse farms. The Yun family is an established noble house whose foundation the Su family cannot match, but in business management, they cannot compare to the Su family. These past two years, both families have been competing for several large salt fields near Qingzhou, giving Prince Yan Bei quite a headache.”

Northwestern horse farms… Ningxia Commander… Tangut tribes competing with the Great Zhou for horse farms… the Yun and Xiao families, the old princess consort’s conflicts with Prince Yan Bei…

Ren Yaoqi felt a thread vaguely connecting what she knew from her previous life with what Dong Sheng had just said, creating a glimmer of dawn before her eyes…

In her previous life, when the court’s order to reduce the Yan Bei Army came down, conflicts over horse farms with the Tangut tribes erupted in the northwest. Then the Yan Bei Army was divided, with part placed under Ningxia Commander Wu Xiaohe to help him fight the Tangut tribes.

She had originally thought this was Prince Yan Bei’s strategy to preserve his strength.

But now it seemed that Wu Xiaohe was the old princess consort Princess Changde’s son-in-law. Could he be of one mind with Prince Yan Bei? Was Prince Yan Bei willing to give his troops to his brother-in-law? Probably not. It looked more like choosing the lesser of two evils.

Although later, with Prince Yan Bei’s Second Young Master Xiao Jingxi’s intervention, most of those Yan Bei Army troops were incorporated back and their strength wasn’t damaged, there were still losses.

Zeng Pu’s ability to quickly secure his position as Ningxia Commander that year was also related to his successful recruitment of a group of middle and lower-ranking officers from the Yan Bei Army who had been maintaining a wait-and-see attitude before Xiao Jingxi could incorporate them back. Those few people eventually became his capital for promotion.

So if she could find a way to prevent Prince Yan Bei’s mansion’s troops from entering Ningxia, she would cut off one of Zeng Pu’s paths to advancement.

Undeniably, Ren Yaoqi hated the Zeng family, hated Zeng Pu and Zeng Kui.

Even though those events hadn’t happened yet in this life, she still felt uncontrollable hatred whenever she thought of the Zeng family—a hatred carved into her bones and fused with her flesh and blood.

At this moment, several more people entered the courtyard. It was Xia Sheng, Xiangqin, and Sangshen leading Ren Yaohua’s maids inside.

Wujing and the others looked quite disheveled, with two maids still showing tear stains on their faces. They continued sobbing even after entering the courtyard, clearly having suffered hardships.

Upon seeing Ren Yaohua standing under the eaves, they all rushed over together, each voicing their grievances with complaints. The small courtyard immediately became noisy.

Finally, Wujing couldn’t stand it anymore and scolded them into silence.

Ren Yaoqi only heard Ren Yaohua’s cold voice ring out in the courtyard: “I will give you all an explanation!”

Li Tianyou, who had been watching the commotion from the side, rolled his eyes and entered the house with Xia Sheng, hands behind his back.

Ren Yaoqi’s calm voice sounded word by word in the room: “There is a way, but you need to take risks. Perhaps everyone will need to take risks. Are you willing to do it?”

Dong Sheng was startled and asked somewhat hesitantly: “Who does Miss Cousin mean by everyone? Do the masters also need to take risks?”

Ren Yaoqi looked at Dong Sheng with calm composure: “Do you think Uncle isn’t already implicated? Rather than waiting for disaster to strike, it’s better to strike back.”

Prince Xian Li Qian’s family’s situation in Yan Bei was inherently very awkward.

Li Qian’s birth mother, Noble Consort Wan, was the late Emperor’s favorite consort, a commoner woman the late Emperor had brought back from outside the palace. She entered the palace and gave birth to Li Qian within just six months.

So although the late Emperor acknowledged Li Qian as his son, after the late Emperor’s death, Li Qian’s birth became his stigma.

There were hidden rumors in the capital that Noble Consort Wan had actually been a singing courtesan before entering the palace and had already conceived with someone else. Though she later gained the late Emperor’s favor, she was not carrying the late Emperor’s child. It was just that Noble Consort Wan was skilled enough to make the late Emperor acknowledge this convenient son and enfeoff him as Prince Xian.

With the late Emperor dead, this rumor could not be verified. However, when discussing the establishment of a new emperor, most court officials chose to support the infant son of Consort Yan.

In desperation, Noble Consort Wan struck first, producing the late Emperor’s edict to first demote her own son Prince Xian to commoner status and exile him to Yan Bei, where the Yan clan could not interfere, commanding that he and his descendants be forever forbidden from entering the capital.

On the day Prince Xian’s family arrived in Yan Bei, Noble Consort Wan drank poison and died.

Actually, over these years, Prince Xian’s family had been under Prince Yan Bei mansion’s protection. Otherwise, he could never have lived safely until now. Though humiliated, he was still alive.

When Teacher Pei spoke to Ren Yaoqi about this palace intrigue, he had sighed that Noble Consort Wan was indeed a remarkable woman.

She was not only devastatingly beautiful and multi-talented but also flexible, decisive, ruthless, and able to accept defeat gracefully.

Unfortunately, beautiful women are often ill-fated.

Ren Yaoqi had never met this great-grandmother, but when she was in the capital, she had seen some portraits of Noble Consort Wan and poems written for her by the former king that were secretly circulated among scholars and talents.

Teacher Pei had once smiled, saying that he initially asked Lu Dexin for her because when he first saw her, he felt she resembled the woman in a painting he collected.

She had originally thought he was joking, but after seeing that painting later, she learned Teacher Pei was referring to her great-grandmother, Noble Consort Wan.

It was then that she understood why Teacher Pei only needed to say a few words to Lu Dexin before Lu Dexin gave her away.

Lu Dexin was the military supervisor the court sent to Ningxia. The Great Zhou Dynasty’s imperial family had always liked using close attendants as military supervisors. Lu Dexin was a eunuch, and all his favor came from his masters above.

His master Empress Dowager Yan was Noble Consort Wan’s mortal enemy, and Ren Yaoqi’s resemblance to Noble Consort Wan would bring him trouble.

At that time, she was extremely grateful for this face of hers.

Many eunuchs, due to their physical defects, had some obsessions regarding matters between men and women. Though they were incapable in bedroom matters, they still liked to marry wives and keep concubines. Ren Yaoqi was very unwilling to recall that unbearable period when she first fell into Lu Dexin’s hands.

Dong Sheng was subdued by Ren Yaoqi’s calm voice that seemed to see through worldly affairs.

All those who followed Prince Xian understood Prince Xian’s lineage’s precarious situation in Yan Bei. They not only had to constantly worry about whether the Yan clan in the capital would suddenly send people to assassinate them, but also whether Prince Yan Bei’s mansion would one day hand them over to the Yan clan for disposal or even quietly dispose of them on the Yan clan’s behalf.

As long as Empress Dowager Yan and her son remained in power, as long as the Yan clan still controlled the government, his masters would never have a moment of true peace.

“What should this subordinate do? Please instruct me, Miss Cousin.” Dong Sheng gritted his teeth and asked respectfully.

When Ren Yaohua sent someone to call Ren Yaoqi out, Ren Yaoqi had already finished instructing Dong Sheng.

Dong Sheng stood there motionless for a long while, his expression pale as paper, startling the maid who entered. She thought Fifth Miss had just severely scolded Dong Sheng.

Ren Yaoqi sighed softly and said before leaving, “Think it over carefully. You can also discuss it with Xia Sheng and the others. If anything happens, send someone to deliver a message to me.”

Seeing Ren Yaoqi emerge, Ren Yaohua frowned: “Why so long? It’s getting late, and everyone’s back. Let’s return.”

Having said what needed to be said, Ren Yaoqi nodded and agreed.

But Ren Yaohua didn’t move immediately, looking behind Ren Yaoqi as if waiting for Dong Sheng to come out.

Ren Yaoqi smiled: “I’ve already taught him a lesson. He won’t dare again. Besides, I’ve assigned him some tasks to do. Why don’t we let it go this time?”

Ren Yaohua was somewhat dissatisfied: “What tasks need him to do? Does the Ren family have no one?”

Ren Yaoqi had no choice but to plead softly: “Third Sister, consider it a favor I owe you? When I was scolding him just now, I already said I would plead with you on his behalf.”

At this moment, Dong Sheng emerged from the inner room. His complexion still looked very poor, and when Ren Yaohua glimpsed him, she somewhat believed Ren Yaoqi’s claim of having taught him a lesson.

Ren Yaoqi quickly added, “Besides, it’s not proper for us to bypass Grandfather, Grandmother, and Uncle in punishing Li family people. We are surnamed Ren after all. If others knew, they might gossip. As for your maids and servants today, give each one a tael of silver as compensation for their fright.”

Speaking further, Ren Yaoqi moved closer and said quietly, “Right now we’re still out with First Aunt. It’s not good to cause trouble. There will be plenty of opportunities to teach him a lesson later. No need to rush.”

Only then did Ren Yaohua snort lightly and turn to leave.

Ren Yaoqi glanced at Dong Sheng once more and slowly followed Ren Yaohua out the door.