Naturally, Ren Yaoying left with Madam Liu, who did not treat her poorly. In fact, Madam Liu intended to take her to visit several more households, allowing her to make an appearance and socialize with the daughters of officials and noble young ladies in Yunyang City. This was exactly what Concubine Fang and her daughter had been hoping for, so they spared no effort in assisting Madam Liu. It could be said that the interests of Concubine Fang and her daughter were tied to those of Fang Yacun and his wife—they were allies.
Shortly after Ren Yaoqi returned to her courtyard, Xiangqin came back.
"Why are you back so soon?" Ren Yaoqi had previously instructed Xiangqin to continue serving by Ren Yaohua’s side, but this girl had returned again.
Xiangqin hurriedly explained, "I was afraid the junior maids wouldn’t explain things clearly. I’ll go back as soon as I’ve delivered my message."
Ren Yaoqi nodded, knowing Xiangqin must have something to say. She dismissed the maids and matrons around her, keeping only Pingguo by her side.
"Miss, Third Miss said her fall was rather suspicious," Xiangqin said urgently once everyone had left, her face filled with indignation.
Ren Yaoqi’s expression remained unreadable. "Oh? In what way was it suspicious?"
Xiangqin spilled everything Wujing had told her.
It turned out that ever since Ren Yaohua and Ren Yaoying moved into the Ren Family Villa to live with Madam Liu, Ren Yaohua had been closely monitoring Madam Liu’s movements, even arranging people in her and Ren Yaoying’s courtyard.
Late last night, Madam Liu called Ren Yaoying over for a talk. Ren Yaohua sent someone to eavesdrop, but the maid she assigned was discovered by one of Madam Liu’s matrons while listening in. The frightened maid immediately crouched and fled.
Naturally, this alerted Madam Liu, but she did not immediately send anyone to chase the eavesdropper. She acted as if nothing had happened, gave Ren Yaoying a few instructions, and let her leave. The rest of the night passed without incident.
Ren Yaohua thought that perhaps, since Madam Liu was a guest at the Ren Family Villa, she was reluctant to offend the Ren Family so openly. After all, only Madam Liu and her son, along with Ren Yaohua and Ren Yaoying, were staying at the villa. Sending people to openly chase the eavesdropper would have been an obvious attempt to embarrass Ren Yaohua. Madam Liu couldn’t possibly suspect her own son or Ren Yaoying, who was speaking with her at the time.
Having reasoned this out, Ren Yaohua was no longer anxious. Fearless by nature, she didn’t mind if things came to a head with Madam Liu, as Madam Liu had no evidence anyway.
The night passed without further incident, and everyone assumed the matter was over.
Unexpectedly, the next morning, when Ren Yaohua got up early for breakfast, she slipped and fell under the corridor gate connecting the covered walkway. It turned out there was oil on the steps there, and because the corridor gate area was dimly lit, Ren Yaohua hadn’t noticed it. Although a maid walking behind her helped her up, she still sprained her ankle.
Later, Ren Yaohua had someone investigate who had spilled the oil there, and the trail led to the kitchen. It turned out that the walkway led to the kitchen, and oil had just been delivered from outside early that morning. However, the kitchen supervisor swore that the oil hadn’t been spilled by anyone from the kitchen, and the matrons carrying the oil barrels denied any negligence on their part. In the end, no matter how they investigated, they couldn’t find the culprit.Xiangqin said indignantly, "How could it be such a coincidence? There was oil nowhere else, only on those steps? Everyone knows our young lady always takes that shortcut when going for breakfast in the morning! When our young lady sent someone to investigate their side, who would have thought the old servant from Ninth Miss's side would come to complain right then, saying that last night a thief entered Madam Fang's courtyard, and perhaps some dishonest servant from another courtyard sneaked into the kitchen to steal oil. She even said they should send someone to White Crane Town to ask Old Madam Ren for more capable people, lest the household become unsettled."
Upon hearing this, Ren Yaoqi could only sigh softly. Ren Yaohua was still too inexperienced after all.
Xiangqin looked at Ren Yaoqi somewhat aggrievedly and said, "Fifth Miss, don't you think they're being too arrogant! Living in our Ren Family's place, yet daring to harm our young lady! We can't just let this go, can we?"
Ren Yaoqi glanced at Xiangqin. "What else can we do? Can you catch them red-handed?"
Xiangqin pouted and grumbled.
Ren Yaoqi shook her head. "They have caught your weak point, so they aren't afraid of whatever trouble you might stir up. In the end, Third Sister is at fault in this matter."
Xiangqin wanted to say something, opened her mouth, but ultimately didn't speak. Who could blame them for being less skilled than others? Xiangqin had already cursed that troublesome maid eight hundred times in her heart.
"I know about this matter now. You should go back first. Tell Third Sister to focus on recovering well for now, put aside matters concerning Madam Fang and Ninth Sister for the time being, and don't think about causing trouble for them."
Xiangqin was still unwilling to accept it and muttered, "So Third Miss's grievance is just going to be swallowed?"
Ren Yaoqi looked at her with a faint smile. "What's the point of fighting over such trivial matters? It's just child's play! If you really have ambition!"
Xiangqin had been somewhat listless, but upon hearing this, she suddenly perked up, her eyes brightening as she asked ingratiatingly, "Does Fifth Miss perhaps have a clever plan?"
Ren Yaoqi didn't speak immediately. She pondered thoughtfully, as if weighing something. After a long while, she sighed, turned her gaze, and beckoned to Xiangqin.
Xiangqin eagerly stepped forward, leaning close to Ren Yaoqi to listen to her Fifth Miss's clever plan. She nodded continuously as she listened, becoming more and more animated by the end.
"Go now. This time, don't let anyone catch your weak point," Ren Yaoqi waved her hand.
Xiangqin nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, Fifth Miss, don't worry. This time, with me and Sister Wujing personally overseeing things, there definitely won't be any mistakes. If anything goes wrong, Fifth Miss can punish me however you see fit." Xiangqin rubbed her hands together, looking ready for a big undertaking.
Ren Yaoqi found this both amusing and exasperating, and shooed her away.
Madam Liu, Madam Fang, was indeed a capable woman. Since arriving in Yunyang City, she hadn't been idle. The Fang Family had some wealth in the Jiangnan region, and Madam Liu was quite generous in her social interactions in Yunyang City. Coupled with her eloquence and social skills, many families were willing to associate with her.
In the days following their return from the Lin Family, Madam Liu took Ren Yaoying and her son around to various places, hoping to help her son and niece make more friends.
Young Master Fang Shuzhou of the Fang Family was extremely busy. Whether he wanted to attend those various tea parties with young masters and misses from other families or not, Madam Fang had his schedule packed full.One day, Second Young Master Su Yunchen of the Su family invited many young gentlemen from prestigious families to the Su residence for a poetry gathering. Whether these young masters could truly compose a few good poems remained uncertain, but the refined reputation that came with attending such gatherings was undeniably real. Thus, even those young masters who could scarcely recognize a single character were particularly fond of these events, which had spread from the capital and were considered quite fashionable.
Moreover, such gatherings often included the presence of young ladies from noble families, making them all the more appealing to the youthful gentlemen. Although men and women did not mingle directly during the poetry recitations, it was permissible to steal glances through curtains or exchange poems.
Madam Liu managed to secure an invitation from Second Young Master Su for Fang Shuzhou.
Fang Shuzhou was a decent scholar; while his poetry might not be exceptional, he was far from being completely inept. In fact, he was much better than some of the idle young nobles who attended merely for the sake of reputation.
When it was Fang Shuzhou’s turn, he silently wrote a poem on paper. The themes for such gatherings were typically commonplace—today it might be plum blossoms, tomorrow chrysanthemums, and the day after, snowflakes, always revolving around romantic or scenic subjects. Today’s theme was a peony named "Drunken Imperial Concubine."
Thus, Fang Shuzhou had some prepared material. Under his tutor’s guidance, he had composed many such poems before, and now he drew upon them effortlessly. As he finished writing, he accidentally bumped into the maid grinding ink beside him, causing her hand to tremble and splatter a few drops of ink onto his clothes.
The maid was startled and quickly apologized in a low voice. However, everyone present today was there to cultivate an air of refinement, and no one would engage in such a vulgar act as scolding or striking a maid. Although Fang Shuzhou was usually reserved, he was not entirely devoid of chivalry. After frowning slightly, he let the matter go.
The maid whispered, "Would the young master like to change his clothes?" Like the young ladies, gentlemen also carried spare clothing in their carriages for unexpected situations.
Fang Shuzhou looked down at the unsightly ink stains on his jade-colored silk robe and nodded, instructing his servant to fetch a change of clothes from the carriage. He then followed the maid as she led him away.
Minor revisions will be made later～************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
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