Ma Li argued defiantly, "Even so, you can't sell Chuner to a brothel! After all, Chuner served in your household for several years—if not for merit, then for hard work. Your Third Miss is truly too heartless!"
Ma Li repeatedly insisted that Chuner had been sold to a brothel and dragged Ren Yaohua into it, clearly harboring ill intentions.
Xiangqin blushed at the mention of such a filthy place in public, feeling even more furious inside.
"Where did you hear that Chuner was sold to... sold to that kind of place? That's utter nonsense! Chuner was handed over to a human trafficker by our household's stewardess."
Ma Li refused to back down: "I naturally made inquiries—Chuner was indeed sold to a brothel! You little girl are spouting lies to deceive us!"
Chuner had long been sold off to who-knows-where and certainly couldn't be retrieved now. Ma Li was well aware of this, which was why she adamantly claimed Chuner had been sold to a brothel. Her task was to tarnish Third Miss Ren's reputation, so she played the thief crying "stop thief," accusing Xiangqin of spreading falsehoods.
Xiangqin had never encountered such a shameless and unreasonable person before, nearly grinding her teeth in anger. She wanted to have the gatekeepers drive the Li family away but feared it would give them more grounds to accuse her of bullying with power.
At that moment, Ren Yaoqi arrived. Seeing Ren Yaohua standing cold-faced behind the screen wall without going out, she felt somewhat relieved. As she approached Ren Yaohua, she overheard Ma Li's unruly shouting outside.
Ren Yaohua glanced at Ren Yaoqi and sneered, "Is this Concubine Fang's tactic? Sending a shrew to tarnish my reputation? I must say, it's not very impressive!"
Ren Yaoqi thought for a moment and shook her head. "I actually don't think this is Concubine Fang's doing." Concubine Fang wouldn't confront Ren Yaohua so openly and boldly; she would only set traps in secret, leaving one defenseless.
Ren Yaohua frowned, then understood. "Then it must be that fool Ren Yaoying!"
Ren Yaoqi thought it inappropriate to let such a commotion continue at the main gate, making a spectacle for others. She was about to call over the inner gate steward who had already arrived when she saw Nanny Yu from Concubine Fang's side hurrying over from the corridor.
Nanny Yu arrived breathless and stepped forward to greet Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yaohua: "Third Miss, Fifth Miss. Our concubine heard that the Li family had come to cause trouble and was extremely anxious. She specifically sent me to dismiss them. The concubine said this matter was due to her lack of consideration, causing trouble for the household. After Old Madam Ren returns, she will go before her to apologize. You two young ladies, with your noble status, should avoid contact with such vulgar people. I will drive them away immediately and guarantee that such ignorant troublemakers will never come to cause a scene again."
Ren Yaohua sneered, "Oh? You're going to drive them away? I haven't done anything yet, and already someone accuses me of being heartless, pushing my sister's maid to a dead end. If you go out and 'explain' like this, I wonder if someone will immediately step forward to say I'm domineering and arrogant, even able to order around the concubine's nanny?"
Nanny Yu wiped the sweat from her forehead and forced a smile. "Third Miss, you jest."
Ren Yaohua snorted lightly.Ren Yaoqi smoothed things over, saying, "Letting them continue like this is hardly proper. Since Nanny Yu has arrived, I'll leave the people outside for you to deal with."
Nanny Yu quickly replied, "Yes, this servant will go at once." After speaking, she hurriedly bowed and went out, passing around the screen wall.
Once outside, Nanny Yu glanced at the members of the Li family, then walked directly up to Li Siliang and asked, "May I ask if you are Master Li?"
Li Siliang was a small businessman who had dealt with many people in his line of work. Seeing Nanny Yu dressed respectably and noticing that the sharp-tongued maid had fallen silent after her arrival, he assumed she was a steward of the Ren Family. Remembering that he had come today to collect money and shouldn’t offend anyone too harshly, he said, "My family merely makes a living from a small trade; I don’t deserve the title of 'Master.' Neighbors and fellow villagers all call me Li Si. Please address me the same way, Nanny."
Nanny Yu nodded and spoke in a clear, measured tone, "The match between your son and Chuner was originally arranged by Sister-in-law Liu from the courtyard. Our concubine saw that Sister-in-law Liu was reliable and heard that your son was a good man, so she considered giving Chuner a way out and said it could be considered, but only after informing First Madam of our household. However, before our concubine could report the matter, Sister-in-law Liu, being impatient, went ahead and announced the happy news to your family. I’ve just heard that Chuner even privately accepted your betrothal gifts? This is truly..."
Li Siliang thought to himself that the matchmaker had a relative who was his neighbor. It was through this neighbor bringing her to his shop to buy cosmetics a few times that they had made the connection. The woman indeed had them call her Sister-in-law Liu, and later, the engagement and betrothal gifts were handled through this Sister-in-law Liu.
"I wonder about this Sister-in-law Liu..."
Nanny Yu said, "Sister-in-law Liu didn’t take your silver for herself; she simply meant well but ended up causing trouble."
Hearing this, Li Siliang grew anxious, and Madam Li hurried over, trying to interject. However, Nanny Yu cut her off, saying, "But regardless, this matter was due to our concubine’s lack of careful consideration. Therefore, we will compensate you for the thirty taels of silver in betrothal gifts on Chuner’s behalf." As she spoke, Nanny Yu took out a dark blue money pouch from her sleeve and handed it to Li Siliang.
Li Siliang opened it and saw that it indeed contained thirty taels of silver.
Both Li Siliang and Madam Li were satisfied and were about to say a few polite words when Ma Li’s wife said first, "Even though the silver has been returned, what about Chuner?" That Third Miss..."
Nanny Yu sharply interrupted, "This sister-in-law, do not recklessly slander our young lady! Chuner was originally a maid serving Ninth Miss. She indeed committed a grave offense back then, which is why the Ren Family’s steward nanny called in a matchmaker to sell her off! If you don’t believe me, I can bring that matchmaker here to confront you!"
Ma Li’s wife broke free from her mother secretly tugging her hand, her eyes darting around as she said, "If Chuner was Ninth Miss’s maid, how could it be Third Miss’s place to decide her punishment?""
Nanny Yu replied calmly, "Our Ninth Miss and Third Miss both belong to the third branch. Third Miss is Ninth Miss’s own elder sister. When outside, it’s only natural for the elder sister to take charge of all matters; there’s nothing improper about that. Our Third Miss has always handled affairs with utmost fairness, and Ninth Miss respects her for it."Ren Yaohua was the legitimate elder sister, and Ren Yaoying was the younger concubine-born sister. It was reasonable for the younger sister, due to her young age, to ask her legitimate elder sister to help deal with a maid. Since even the old woman from Concubine Fang's side said so, it should not be a case of Third Miss Ren bullying her concubine-born sister.
Madam Li Ma was also at a loss for words.
Nanny Yu, however, sharpened her gaze and said to Madam Li Ma, "So from now on, please refrain from making such remarks. If others hear them, they might think there is discord between our Third Miss and Ninth Miss. If we hear such talk again in our household, we will have no choice but to report it to the authorities!"
Upon hearing Nanny Yu's threat to report the matter to the authorities, the Li family members were startled. Old Woman Li, without another word, stepped forward and dragged Madam Li Ma away, all the while smiling apologetically. "She merely heard some rumors. Since Nanny Yu has clarified that it was all a misunderstanding, we will certainly not speak carelessly again in the future. We’ll take our leave now! We’ll take our leave now!"
Li Siliang also immediately stepped forward, and together with Old Woman Li, they dragged Madam Li Ma away. Seeing that Madam Li Ma seemed to want to say something more, Old Woman Li hastily covered her mouth.
Just like that, the Li family was dismissed by Nanny Yu, and peace was restored in front of the Ren Family’s gate.
Inside, Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yaohua listened to the commotion outside without saying a word.
After Nanny Yu came in, she cautiously apologized and made amends to Ren Yaohua several times before returning to report to Concubine Fang.
Ren Yaohua narrowed her eyes slightly as she watched Nanny Yu’s retreating figure. "By showing up and offering this explanation, it’s now difficult for others to pin today’s farce on her. Even when Grandmother returns and hears about this, she won’t have much reason to blame her too harshly—at most, she’ll criticize her for mismatching people. Moreover, she even admitted to failing to manage her subordinates properly. Now even I have to acknowledge her favor. If I still insist on using this incident to trouble her, others will say I’m ungrateful. That woman is indeed a formidable character!"
Ren Yaoqi thought to herself that Ren Yaoying’s scheme must have been carried out without consulting Concubine Fang. Concubine Fang’s move not only helped Ren Yaohua out of a tight spot and cleared her own name but also cleaned up the mess Ren Yaoying had made.
The question was whether Concubine Fang would resort to more underhanded tactics later. After all, she was someone who couldn’t bear to see her children suffer even the slightest grievance.
In the afternoon, after Old Madam Ren returned, Concubine Fang indeed took the initiative to go to Glory and Splendor Courtyard to plead guilty.
Old Madam Ren was furious when she learned about the commotion at the gate earlier that day. She reprimanded Concubine Fang, but Concubine Fang did not offer a single word in her defense. Instead, she took full responsibility for everything. In the end, seeing Concubine Fang’s sincere and submissive attitude, and considering that she had promptly sent Nanny Yu to stop the farce and protect Ren Yaohua’s reputation, Old Madam Ren found it difficult to be too harsh on her. She only penalized her by withholding two months’ allowance.
On the other hand, when Ren Yaohua went to Glory and Splendor Courtyard that evening to pay her respects, she received a scolding from Old Madam Ren. The old matter of Ren Yaohua bypassing First Madam and Old Madam Ren in Yunyang City to send Chuner back to White Crane Town for punishment was brought up again. After all, Ren Yaohua also bore some responsibility for the Li family’s disturbance at the gate.
This further highlighted Concubine Fang’s cleverness.
If she had sat back and allowed the Li family to escalate the situation today, ruining Ren Yaohua’s reputation, Ren Yaohua might have suffered. However, once Old Madam Ren returned, she would undoubtedly investigate the matter in a rage. By then, Ren Yaoying might have been the one to suffer the most, and Concubine Fang would have found herself in deep trouble as well.Now that Concubine Fang had voluntarily stepped forward to spend money to resolve the disaster, turning a major issue into a minor one, and had even vigorously defended Ren Yaohua and the Ren Family's reputation in front of outsiders, others would surely say she was a kind-hearted concubine.
Fortunately, Old Madam Ren had always favored Ren Yaohua, so she only scolded her a few times and punished her to copy several volumes of scriptures before letting the matter rest.
Even so, Ren Yaohua still felt stifled and increasingly disgusted with Concubine Fang and her daughter.
Making up for yesterday's update.
It's late, apologies!
Meinan will work hard to write more this afternoon! Fists clenched!
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