It could be said that it was quite a coincidence that Old Madam Ren and First Madam Ren happened to be away from the residence today, attending a birthday banquet.
The Li family sent Li Siliang, the head of the household, his wife, Old Lady Li, and their married eldest daughter, Li née Ma.
The Ren Family was considered one of the most prominent households in White Crane Town, so it wasn’t easy for the Li family to gain entry. They were stopped at the gate by the gatekeeper, who didn’t even bother to announce their arrival.
The Li family members made a scene right at the entrance of the Ren residence. Old Lady Li and Li née Ma, true to their mother-daughter bond, raised such a loud commotion that the gatekeeper nearly stumbled in fright.
Li née Ma, hands on her hips and gesturing with a delicate finger, cried and cursed: "My parents saved every penny for years to arrange a marriage for my brother, but after you accepted the betrothal gifts, you turned your backs and sold my poor, unwed sister-in-law—and even sold her to a brothel down south! What kind of sin is this! My poor, unfortunate sister-in-law! Who will give our family justice?"
Li Siliang listened as his daughter wailed and sobbed, drawing the attention of several passersby who stopped to watch and gossip. Worried, he tugged at his wife’s sleeve and whispered, "Tell our daughter to tone it down. If this gets out of hand and embarrasses the host family, we might not only fail to get the money but also get beaten up by the servants."
Old Lady Li, who had been crying loudly while also observing the onlookers, thought for a moment and agreed with Li Siliang. She discreetly signaled her daughter.
However, Li née Ma was too caught up in her performance to notice her mother’s gesture: "...They said it was because she accidentally offended your family’s Third Miss, and in the end, she was beaten half to death and driven out. How could you be so heartless! Heavens above! What a sin! My poor sister-in-law!"
As the crowd grew larger and the gatekeeper stood frozen in shock, a maidservant realized something was amiss and hurried into the residence to report to the masters.
Old Lady Li, listening from the side, began to feel uneasy and stepped forward to tug at her daughter’s sleeve. Weren’t they here to demand money? Why was she dragging the young lady into this?
The Li family ran a cosmetics business, and after decades as the shopkeeper’s wife, Old Lady Li wasn’t entirely naive.
Li née Ma gave her mother a reassuring look and whispered into her ear, "Mother, these wealthy families fear losing face the most. By saying this, they’ll give us more money to keep us quiet. If my brother wants to marry a good wife, won’t he need more betrothal gifts? At worst, I’ll just cry out later and say it was all a misunderstanding."
Thinking of her son at home, Old Lady Li hesitated but eventually let go of her daughter’s hand.
Li née Ma, however, felt secretly pleased. She had persuaded her parents to come today because she had secretly accepted fifty taels of silver from someone else, who promised another fifty taels after the performance. One hundred taels was a substantial sum. Back when she got married, her parents had spent less than twenty taels on her dowry to save money for her brother’s wedding. She knew the family’s financial situation all too well and had long resented her parents for their blatant favoritism.So whether her parents could get money from the Ren Family today was of no concern to her; after all, that money had nothing to do with her. She just wanted to stir up trouble and tarnish the reputation of the Ren Family’s Third Miss.
Thinking of this, Li Ma-shi wailed even more vigorously, nearly shaking the Ren Family’s gate plaque off its hinges.
Ren Yaohua happened to be coming out of the garden at that moment, so she ran into the flustered gatekeeper woman who came rushing in to report. Ren Yaohua sneered, “I’d like to see what tricks they’re playing!” Then she headed straight for the main gate with her maids and servants.
When Concubine Fang heard the news, however, she frowned and called Ren Yaoying over.
“Did you bring the Li family people here?”
Ren Yaoying glanced at Concubine Fang. “Mother, if I don’t bring Ren Yaohua down, I simply can’t swallow this anger! I don’t want to see her strutting around in front of me anymore! If you won’t help me get revenge, I’ll do it myself. Let’s see how she’ll marry into the Qiu Family after gaining a reputation for being violent and cruel!”
Concubine Fang sighed. “Ying’er, why won’t you listen to me! I told you to be patient a little longer—I’ll always make plans for you. What you did today was too reckless! Although Ren Yaohua has an impulsive temper, she’s not stupid. If you’re not careful and she bites back, you’ll be the one who suffers.”
Ren Yaoying didn’t take this to heart. She stepped forward, took Concubine Fang’s hand, and shook it gently, pleading softly, “Mother, please help me. With you here, why should I fear her schemes?”
Concubine Fang’s face was full of helplessness.
When Ren Yaoqi heard the news, she was in Linxian Pavilion watching Ren Shimin restore a painting. Although it was still hard to judge Sun Shiyi Niang’s character, her mounting skills were exquisite. Ren Yaoqi came to watch every day. Sun Shiyi Niang was responsible for removing the painting core and patching the backing paper, while Ren Shimin handled the color restoration. The two cooperated quite harmoniously, and it was estimated that both paintings would be fully restored in less than a month.
When Pingguo came in to report that something had happened outside, Ren Yaoqi didn’t disturb Ren Shimin, who was concentrating on restoring the painting. She quietly left Linxian Pavilion.
“Has Third Sister already gone over?” Ren Yaoqi asked.
Sangshen nodded. “Old Madam Ren and First Madam went out today. Third Miss went over as soon as she heard the news.”
Ren Yaoqi nodded. “Go find the head steward of the inner courtyard, and also call Nanny Zhou over.”
Sangshen acknowledged and left. Ren Yaoqi headed outside with Pingguo and several other maids.
As soon as Ren Yaohua reached the gate, she heard Li Ma-shi’s wailing outside. She stood behind the screen wall and listened quietly for a while, her expression growing colder by the minute. However, she still had some sense of propriety and didn’t lower herself by rushing out to argue with that nonsensical shrew—otherwise, it would truly become a farce.
She beckoned Xiangqin over and whispered a few instructions in her ear.
Xiangqin, who had also been filled with righteous indignation and wished her mistress would let her out to bite that woman, nodded repeatedly at Ren Yaohua’s instructions. Then, with two servant women in tow, she strode out the gate with a bold and imposing air.
Ren Yaohua did not show herself, remaining behind the screen wall to listen.A moment later, Xiangqin's crisp and efficient voice rang out from outside: "Where did this senseless woman come from? How dare you make a scene at the entrance of the Ren Family? And you lot! When you see someone causing trouble unreasonably, can't you just drive them away? Has the Ren Family's front gate become a marketplace where anyone can make a fuss if they want?"
Li Ma-shi secretly sized up Xiangqin, noting that her attire was respectable. However, before her marriage, she had managed her family's rouge shop and knew that this was merely a somewhat influential maid. Thus, she wasn't intimidated and instead repeated the story of the Ren Family selling Chuner, demanding that the Ren Family hand her over.
Old Madam Li, relieved that someone had finally come out, adopted a much more polite attitude than her daughter: "Miss, we're only here today to seek an explanation. The Ren Family accepted our betrothal gifts but sold Chuner away—who will my son marry now?"
Xiangqin glared with authority: "Marry whoever you want! The Chuner you speak of is Ninth Miss's head maid, isn't she? She committed a grave offense and was punished by Nanny Zhou, who serves our Madam, before being sold off! Since when does the Ren Family need to explain to you when disciplining a misbehaving maid? If you want an explanation, go to the impartial officials at the magistrate's office!"
"We gave betrothal gifts..." Li Ma-shi immediately interjected.
But Xiangqin cut her off without hesitation: "What betrothal gifts? Did she accept your family's betrothal gifts? She's a maid, not even a free person—how could she decide her own marriage? If she truly accepted your family's betrothal gifts, I'll have someone report it to the authorities and have her arrested! No wonder she was expelled from the Ren residence—that girl was inherently untrustworthy!"
Old Madam Li hurriedly clarified: "No, no, it was after your family's master promised the marriage that she accepted the betrothal gifts. It wasn't a secret marriage without the master's knowledge."
"Oh?" Xiangqin glanced sideways at Madam Li. "Our Third Master and Third Madam never promised any marriage. Which master promised her in marriage?"
"It was Concubine Fang," Old Madam Li replied promptly.
Upon hearing this, Xiangqin chuckled: "Madam, are you here to amuse us? Although Concubine Fang is considered half a master, which family allows a concubine to arrange marriages?"
At these words, the onlookers began whispering among themselves. Concubines were not considered proper masters; even if they wanted to show favor to a maid, they had to obtain the consent of the principal wife.
Outsiders didn't know, but Concubine Fang's status in the Ren Family had always been somewhat special. In front of Old Madam Ren, she even had more face than the legitimate wife of the third branch. In minor matters, First Madam Wang Shi, who managed the household, would also give Concubine Fang some leeway. If Concubine Fang wanted to win people over by marrying off a maid or two, it wasn't an extraordinary matter.
Old Madam Li and Li Ma-shi exchanged glances.
Xiangqin continued: "Since our household was able to sell Chuner, her deed of sale is in our master's hands. Perhaps you should go back and check the laws of Great Zhou?"
The Great Zhou legal code, "Household Laws: Marriage," stipulated: "The marriage of servants and maids is entirely at the discretion of the master. Any marriage arranged without the master's knowledge shall be punished with one hundred lashes, and regardless of duration or whether children have been born, the marriage shall be annulled."
Here, "master" naturally referred to the one holding the servant's deed of sale.Xiangqin cited the Great Zhou Code to intimidate the Li family, but this was a law that even commoners were aware of and had grown accustomed to. As a fellow servant, she spoke of it without the slightest discomfort because, at the time, it was universally accepted.
Note: The "Great Zhou Code" is modeled after the "Great Qing Code."
Apologies for the late update. It takes the author a long time to write a chapter—it's not due to laziness but rather inefficiency. 〒_〒.
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