Ren Yaoting's small face was still somewhat pale as she was carefully supported by the nanny walking outward. Seeing Ren Yaoqi arrive, she forced a smile and said, "Fifth Sister, that really scared me just now. I've never seen so much blood in my life."
Ren Yaoqi tugged at Ren Yaoting's sleeve and whispered in her ear, "Seventh Sister, did you really see Eighth Sister push Concubine Kang?"
Hearing this, Ren Yaoting was initially puzzled, but after thinking for a moment, her expression turned unpleasant. She shook off Ren Yaoqi's hand and said unhappily, "What do you mean by that, Fifth Sister? Are you suspecting that I'm talking nonsense and deliberately framing Eighth Sister?"
Ren Yaoyu had just clashed with Ren Yaoting earlier in Glory and Splendor Courtyard, and then Ren Yaoting witnessed Ren Yaoyu pushing Concubine Kang. When Ren Yaoting went to the garden earlier, she indeed went with the mindset of watching the commotion. Now that Ren Yaoqi asked this, she naturally thought Ren Yaoqi didn't believe her.
Ren Yaoqi wasn't angered and only smiled as she explained, "Seventh Sister, that's not what I meant. I was just thinking that besides you in the garden today, there were only Concubine Kang's two maids. Just now, Grandmother has already sent someone to find Eighth Sister... I'm afraid you'll still need to go to the West Mansion later."
Ren Yaoting was stunned upon hearing this, then frowned.
Besides Concubine Fang, Ren Yaoyu, Ren Yaoting, and a few maids, no one else was present at the scene today. Now that Old Madam Ren wanted to hold Ren Yaoyu accountable, given Ren Yaoyu's temperament after causing such a big disaster, she likely wouldn't admit it readily. Yet Ren Yaoting had just firmly insisted in front of Old Madam Ren that it was Ren Yaoyu who pushed Concubine Kang to the ground, causing her miscarriage.
If Ren Yaoyu argued later, it would be reasonable for the West Mansion to call Ren Yaoting over to testify. But since she had just had a conflict with Ren Yaoyu, it wasn't impossible for Ren Yaoyu to insist that Ren Yaoting was slandering her.
Thinking of this, Ren Yaoting couldn't help but feel some regret. Not to mention Ren Yaoyu's erratic temperament, Fifth Madam Lin was hardly someone who would take a loss lying down. Ren Yaoting felt her days ahead might not be very peaceful.
Only now did she somewhat regret going to stir up trouble out of curiosity today.
With these thoughts, Ren Yaoting looked at Ren Yaoqi somewhat gloomily and said, "I should have dragged you along with me, but you happened to get something in your eye at that time. Speaking of which, Fifth Sister was quite lucky today, not sharing in my misfortune." Ren Yaoting couldn't help but glance at Ren Yaoqi suspiciously, feeling this coincidence was too great.
Ren Yaoqi let her look, smiling calmly. "I also regret not holding Seventh Sister back at the time, but no one can foresee such things."
Ren Yaoting only entertained the thought briefly. What Ren Yaoqi said was true—she wasn't clairvoyant, so how could she have deliberately avoided it knowing something would happen? Ultimately, it was just her own bad luck today that she encountered such a bloody incident.
"Regardless, I really did see Eighth Sister push Concubine Kang, knocking her to the ground, and then Concubine Kang started bleeding." Although Ren Yaoting was somewhat intimidated by Ren Yaoyu's crazed behavior today, she had no fondness for Ren Yaoyu whatsoever and had no reason to cover for her. What she said was the complete truth.
Hearing this, Ren Yaoqi sighed softly and said nothing more.The nanny sent by Su Shi kept her head bowed, carefully supporting Ren Yaoting, and listened word for word to the conversation between Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yaoting without uttering a single word. Only when Ren Yaoqi stopped and said to Ren Yaoting, "Go back and rest well. I won’t see you off," did she glance up at Ren Yaoqi.
Ren Yaoqi remained unaware, watching them leave.
As Ren Yaoting’s figure disappeared through the gate of Glory and Splendor Courtyard, Ren Yaoqi slowly made her way out of the courtyard. Before she had even left the corridor, she saw Granny Gui approaching with Ren Yaoyu, followed by Fifth Madam Lin, who wore an uneasy expression but forced herself to appear composed.
As Ren Yaoqi drew closer, she overheard Madam Lin instructing Ren Yaoyu: "...You must tell Old Madam that you only gave her a light push to clear the way, and it was she herself who lost her balance and fell. Don’t admit to something you didn’t do!"
Madam Lin’s voice was not lowered; instead, she deliberately raised it, as if trying to convince others—or perhaps herself. Ren Yaoyu kept her head down, silent and lost in thought. Granny Gui and the maids and nannies accompanying them all kept their eyes fixed on the path ahead, offering no reaction.
Hearing footsteps, they looked up and saw Ren Yaoqi approaching. Granny Gui curtsied respectfully, observing proper etiquette. Madam Lin paused briefly, paying no mind to Ren Yaoqi, and continued her admonitions to Ren Yaoyu. Ren Yaoyu seemed lost in thought, not even glancing up as someone approached.
They passed each other without further interaction. Ren Yaoqi had no intention of returning to Glory and Splendor Courtyard to hear the news and instead made her way back to Purple Magnolia Courtyard.
Meanwhile, when Ren Yaoyu and Madam Lin arrived at Old Madam Ren’s quarters, before Old Madam Ren could even begin to question them, Madam Lin immediately started defending her daughter.
Watching Madam Lin’s incessantly moving lips, a faint trace of disgust flickered in Old Madam Ren’s eyes.
Before Madam Lin could finish, Old Madam Ren coldly interrupted, "Did I ask you to come along? Stand aside!"
Madam Lin fell silent. In the past, she would have teared up and felt wronged, but lately, she had grown accustomed to Old Madam Ren’s harsh treatment. If not for her daughter, she would not have subjected herself to such humiliation today.
"I’m not so old and muddled that I don’t know the truth. Even if she denies it, there were witnesses! How can she possibly deny it?" Old Madam Ren glared at Ren Yaoyu, her voice icy.
Madam Lin held back for a moment but still spoke up, "That depends on who you ask. After the incident, I questioned the maids around Yu’er, and they all said Concubine Kang deliberately blocked Yu’er’s path. Yu’er only meant to gently push her aside, but she lost her balance—or perhaps... In any case, she fell by her own carelessness. As for the maids around Madam Kang, who knows if they were instructed by someone to frame my daughter!"
Seeing Madam Lin still trying to twist the truth, Old Madam Ren snorted, "Ren Yaoting was also there and saw clearly that it was this wretched girl who pushed her!"
Madam Lin, no longer restrained in front of Old Madam Ren, retorted sharply, "How can Ren Yaoting’s words be trusted? She just had an argument with Yu’er—it’s entirely possible she’s deliberately lying to frame her!"So, Ren Yaoting's previous thoughts were not wrong; what kind of person Madam Lin was, everyone in the Ren Family knew well.
I apologize for the slower updates recently, as things have been quite busy at home.
I know this chapter is short. If I have time tomorrow, I will try to make up for it.
Please forgive me. (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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