Upon hearing this, Madam Li grew even more surprised.
Unlike Ren Yaohua, Ren Yaoqi had never been favored by Old Madam Ren since childhood, so she disliked going to Glory and Splendor Courtyard the most.
Apart from the morning and evening greetings, she avoided going there whenever possible.
Ren Yaoqi knew what Madam Li was thinking: "I happen to be going to see Fourth Sister anyway, so I’ll just take a look while I’m there. Don’t worry, Mother."
Seeing her insistence, Madam Li could say no more, but she turned to Ren Yaohua and said, "Hua'er, why don’t you go along and take a look too?"
In the past, Madam Li would never have said such a thing, but recently, the relationship between Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yaohua had noticeably improved, something Madam Li and those close to her had witnessed.
"No need, I’ll be back soon. Let Third Sister stay and keep you company," Ren Yaoqi said as she headed out.
Preoccupied with her thoughts, she hurried along with her maids, keeping her head down. As she rounded the winding corridor and was about to pass through the garden, she heard the voices of several men drifting over with the wind. At the same time, she heard the crunching sound of several pairs of boots on the snow growing closer.
"Third Uncle, you brought us to the garden to personally collect snow from the plum blossoms for tea, didn’t you? There are a few plum trees in the mansion, but not a single branch is in bloom... cough..." a young man’s voice complained discontentedly.
"A miscalculation! A miscalculation! But Yi Jun, it’s not that Third Uncle is lecturing you—you really should get out more often. Staying cooped up in your room all the time, even a healthy person would fall ill from boredom," Ren Shimin said leisurely.
"Third Master, didn’t you see Third Young Master coughing again just now? Oh no, oh no, he must have caught a chill from the wind outside. When we go back, First Madam will surely skin me alive! Young Master, since there are no plum blossoms, why don’t we just go back? You must take care of your health!" a voice pleaded anxiously, on the verge of tears.
"Nonsense! Where I go is none of your business! How dare you... cough..." The young man’s angry retort was cut short by another coughing fit.
"Young Master..."
Hearing this, Ren Yaoqi realized it was her father and her third cousin in the garden.
Her third cousin, Ren Yijun, was the second son of Eldest Master and had suffered from a congenital weakness since birth. A fortune-teller had once predicted he wouldn’t live past the age of ten. Over the years, First Madam had searched far and wide for secret remedies to strengthen his body, brewing him tonic soups daily and serving him medicinal meals for every meal. It could be said that her cousin had been raised in a medicine pot.
Now, at sixteen, Ren Yijun still suffered from frequent minor illnesses but was otherwise alive and well.
Thinking that it was her father who had lured this rarely-outdoors cousin outside and exposed him to the cold wind in the snow, Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on. If Ren Yijun really caught a cold or fever because of this, First Madam would undoubtedly blame her father for it.
Due to his poor health, Ren Yijun was often confined to his own courtyard and rarely ventured out. Moreover, everyone in the family, from Old Madam Ren down to his siblings, indulged and yielded to him, fostering a somewhat peculiar and reclusive temperament. His relationships with his peers, including his own elder brother, were distant, but he had a special affinity for his third uncle, Ren Shimin.
Ren Yaoqi remembered that in her previous life, she hadn’t liked this gloomy and unsmiling third brother either.
It wasn’t until later, after her father’s death, when the Ren Family dared not bring his body back.Under the scorching June sun, she knelt in the courtyard of Glory and Splendor Courtyard, weeping and pleading with Old Master Ren and Old Madam Ren to retrieve her father’s body for burial. In the end, she nearly fainted from heatstroke, yet not a single movement came from within.
It was then that Ren Yijun, leaning on his cane with a grim expression, walked over, pulled her up, and led her away.
Dazed and stumbling, she was dragged by him to the Ren Family’s "Hall of Three Reflections," the ancestral hall where the tablets of past generations were enshrined.
"What use is your crying? Their hearts are cold, and their blood is cold too. You should do this…" With that, Ren Yijun raised his cane and swept a dozen tablets from the altar in one motion.
She was so terrified she froze, watching as he threw down his cane and stomped madly on the tablets scattered on the ground, cursing loudly: "You feast on our offerings yet let your descendants suffer, allowing the vile people of the Ren Family to trample us. Such a lineage might as well be cut off!"
Infected by his wild and unrestrained rage, she thought of her father’s death, and hatred surged within her. She scrambled up, picked up the tablets from the ground, and smashed them one by one against the wall.
By the time the rest of the Ren Family rushed to the scene, only splintered wood fragments remained on the ground. The ancestral tablets had been completely destroyed by them.
Old Master Ren was so enraged he nearly fainted. Eldest Master stepped forward and slapped Ren Yijun, knocking him to the ground, while First Madam collapsed in fright.
Yet Ren Yijun only sneered, scanning the crowd: "I did it all! Bring on the family punishments! After all, the lives of the Ren Family aren’t worth much!"
That was the first time she realized that this third brother, who had been treated like a porcelain doll since childhood, was not as fragile or vulnerable as they had imagined.
Ren Yaoqi turned and walked back, intending to persuade her father and Ren Yijun to return, when she heard an unfamiliar young voice.
"Without the rootless water from plum blossoms, spring water is also excellent for brewing tea. I happen to have a jar of freshly delivered Huiquan spring water. Why don’t I have someone fetch it now?"
Ren Yaoqi paused in her steps.
Through the leaves of several pittosporum bushes ahead, she looked into the garden and saw a youth of about fifteen or sixteen walking alongside Ren Shimin and Ren Yijun. She was not very close, and the trees partially obscured her view, so she couldn’t make out his features clearly. She could only tell that he was tall and slender, with a graceful bearing like a jade tree in the wind. Unlike Ren Shimin’s free-spirited and ethereal style with wide sleeves and loose robes, he possessed a rare composure and restraint for someone his age.
Ren Yaoqi could roughly guess his identity.
Just then, footsteps sounded behind her. Turning around, she saw Ren Yaohua walking along the corridor. Seeing her standing hesitantly at the garden entrance, Ren Yaohua frowned and looked over.
At that moment, Ren Shimin suggested going to the warm pavilion in the garden for tea and chess. Ren Yaoqi turned and began walking back.
"What are you standing there for?" Ren Yaohua glanced into the garden, having faintly heard voices as well.
Ren Yaoqi smiled at her. "Nothing, really. I thought I heard Father and Third Brother’s voices earlier. I was going to greet them, but I noticed they were with someone else. I decided not to go over."Ren Yaohua did not inquire further and led the way toward Glory and Splendor Courtyard. Ren Yaoqi glanced once more in the direction of the garden before following behind Ren Yaohua.
Inside Glory and Splendor Courtyard, Old Madam Ren’s main room was bustling with activity. When Ren Yaohua and Ren Yaoqi entered, they saw that besides Old Madam Ren, Ren Yaoyin, and Ren Yaoyu, there was also a woman in her thirties and a girl around eleven or twelve years old.
The woman had delicate features, but her face bore an unhealthy sallow complexion, as if she were ill.
The girl sitting beside her resembled her, except her eyes were not as large as the woman’s but rather slanted and single-lidded. Her skin was exceptionally fair and translucent, making her lips appear naturally red without any adornment.
It is often said that fair skin can hide many flaws, and since she was not unattractive to begin with, she looked particularly fresh and charming.
“Why have you come here?” Old Madam Ren asked, somewhat surprised to see Ren Yaohua and Ren Yaoqi enter.
“I came to find Fourth Sister,” Ren Yaohua replied with a smile as she walked over and bowed to Old Madam Ren.
Old Madam Ren did not press further, and as for why Ren Yaoqi had come, she cared even less.
“These are the two daughters of the third branch,” Old Madam Ren said to Madam Han, then instructed the sisters, “This is Madam Han and Miss Han. You haven’t met them before, so go and greet them properly.”
Ren Yaohua and Ren Yaoqi stepped forward to greet Madam Han and her daughter.
“I’ve heard Aunt Xiao mention that the young ladies of the Ren Family are all outstanding. Seeing you today, I can confirm it’s true,” Madam Han said with a smile, taking Ren Yaohua and Ren Yaoqi by the hand and looking them over.
Aunt Xiao, being someone with wide connections and a knack for handling affairs, always spoke well of her clients and never mentioned anything unfavorable.
Old Madam Ren smiled and said, “It is Miss Han who truly embodies the grace of a young lady from a distinguished family.”
Meinan’s completed work: [bookid=2288861,bookname=《The Scheming Noblewoman》]
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