"And then what?" Ren Yaohua asked.
"Then, of course, we find a way to turn the rumors into facts. Mei Hong is dead, and her body is missing—isn't that the best evidence?" Ren Yaoqi said calmly.
"What a vicious scheme! Isn’t she afraid of retribution?" Ren Yaohua gritted her teeth.
Recalling the fates of everyone in her past life, Ren Yaoqi sighed softly, "Perhaps she isn’t afraid of immediate karma."
Seeing that Ren Yaoqi didn’t seem particularly anxious, Ren Yaohua remembered her earlier words about thinking several steps ahead and couldn’t help but ask suspiciously, "What backup plan have you prepared?"
She had spent the entire day in Glory and Splendor Courtyard and had no idea what Ren Yaoqi had been doing in secret.
Ren Yaoqi blinked and said, "She’s put in so much effort—we’ll just go along with her plan!" She leaned close to Ren Yaohua’s ear and whispered a few words.
After listening, Ren Yaohua narrowed her eyes slightly, a faint, almost imperceptible smile appearing on her face. She glanced sideways at Ren Yaoqi and asked, "Are you sure she’ll fall for it?"
Ren Yaoqi smiled. "Some people, after succeeding too many times, become arrogant and think they can control everything. It’s time to wake her up."
The next day, when Old Master Ren returned to the inner courtyard, Old Madam Ren dismissed all the maids and servants and personally helped him change out of his outdoor clothes. "What happened to that girl?"
Old Master Ren said indifferently, "There will no longer be such a person in this world."
Old Madam Ren first breathed a sigh of relief, but after a moment of thought, she grew uneasy again. Seeing that Old Master Ren had already sat down, she hurried over and asked, "Was it done cleanly? Could there be any lingering trouble? Yaohua’s reputation must not be ruined by such a lowly servant!"
Old Master Ren snorted softly through his nostrils and glanced at Old Madam Ren. "She’s been spoiled by you!"
Old Madam Ren handed him the tea she had set aside earlier to cool. "I’ve already scolded Yaohua. She knows she was wrong, and such a thing will never happen again."
Old Master Ren disliked drinking hot tea in the summer, so he took only one sip before setting the cup down. "Again? Tell her that the Ren Family has plenty of daughters. Losing one wouldn’t matter much!"
Old Madam Ren glanced at Old Master Ren. Knowing his temper well, she dared not say anything more in Ren Yaohua’s defense and merely responded softly, "Yes."
"I’ve already instructed them to handle it cleanly. This afternoon, news came that the girl fell off a cliff while leaving the city. They saw the remains at the bottom of the cliff and returned to report."
Old Madam Ren was finally reassured. Now that Mei Hong was dead, Ren Yaohua’s reputation was secure. Even if there were some rumors circulating outside, they were nothing more than baseless gossip. In time, people would forget.
Ren Yaohua was Old Madam Ren’s favorite granddaughter, having been raised by her side since childhood, and she genuinely cared for her.
"What about Yaohua’s marriage?" Old Madam Ren asked, having resolved one matter only to begin worrying about another.
Old Master Ren said, "What marriage can we talk about now? What family would propose marriage while rumors are still swirling? Let’s wait and see. We’ll discuss it again after things have settled down."
Old Madam Ren thought for a moment and felt that Old Master Ren’s words made sense, so she said nothing more.Meihong vanished without a trace. The Ren Family thought the matter had settled, but unexpectedly, by the next day, rumors began spreading outside that a girl from Spring Breeze Pavilion had been secretly killed after being redeemed by the Ren Family.
Combined with the earlier rumor, the complete version went like this: Third Miss of the Ren Family had a violent temperament. Dissatisfied with her personal maid, she sold the maid to a brothel. By chance, the maid returned to White Crane Town and entered Spring Breeze Pavilion. As the true, cruel nature of Third Miss Ren was about to be exposed, to protect her reputation, Third Miss secretly had the maid redeemed from Spring Breeze Pavilion and then murdered her.
Although the Ren Family had not revealed their true identity when redeeming the girl from Spring Breeze Pavilion, the rumors outside were vivid and detailed, as if they had witnessed it firsthand.
Ren Yaohua had not left her courtyard since the previous day, nor had she even visited Glory and Splendor Courtyard. Listening to Xiangqin return every few hours to describe the latest developments outside, Ren Yaohua wished she could throw this chattering maid out.
Ren Yaoqi came to see Ren Yaohua and was surprised to find her leisurely hiding in the study practicing calligraphy. "You’re quite composed this time," she remarked.
Without looking up, Ren Yaohua replied, "If you came in and saw me jumping around, wouldn’t you have another chance to lecture me? I’ve heard that practicing calligraphy can calm the mind, and it seems there’s some truth to it. For example, I feel much more at ease now."
Ren Yaoqi walked over to the desk to see if Ren Yaohua’s calligraphy had improved. Looking down, she couldn’t help but chuckle. She teased Ren Yaohua, "No wonder you said you feel better—you’ve vented all your anger here."
Spread across the desk were over a dozen sheets of rice paper densely covered with Ren Yaohua’s writing. Each sheet was filled with the character "kill" in varying sizes, the strokes so forceful they nearly pierced through the paper, exuding a fierce aura.
Ren Yaohua tossed her brush into the brush washer and examined her morning’s work. "Why are you here? Is it time to close the net?"
Ren Yaoqi shook her head. "Wait a little longer. It’s not chaotic enough outside. I don’t believe she only has this much skill."
Ren Yaohua sneered, "True. She knows that if she doesn’t finish me off with one move, she’ll have a hard time later."
Just then, Xiangqin rushed in again, her face a mix of excitement and indignation. "Miss, those people outside are going too far! They’re saying the Ren Family couldn’t marry into the Qiu Family because the Qiu Family found out about your true temperament and used an excuse to break off the engagement."
Wujing, who followed her in, shot her a sharp glare. "Why are you reporting such upsetting things to Miss in such detail?"
Xiangqin replied matter-of-factly, "We have to remember clearly and firmly how others trample on us. Otherwise, how will we pay them back with interest if we forget?"
Wujing was left speechless.
Ren Yaohua looked at Xiangqin coldly. "Enough! Thanks to you, I remember it well enough already!"
Xiangqin stuck out her tongue and quickly hid behind Wujing.
"Miss, Nanny Zhou is here," a maid guarding the door announced from outside.Ren Yaohua glanced at Wujing, who hurried out to bring Nanny Zhou in. Seeing Ren Yaoqi also in Ren Yaohua’s room, Nanny Zhou was not surprised.
Ren Yaoqi asked, “How did it go?”
Without pausing for breath, Nanny Zhou replied, “Fifth Miss, we couldn’t find out how the news was leaked. Yesterday, when Old Master Ren returned, Old Madam Ren dismissed all the maids and servants, not even leaving anyone to serve tea. As you said, Old Master Ren was likely discussing the matter of Mei Hong with Old Madam Ren. Logically, the fact that Mei Hong is dead should not have been known to those below.”
Ren Yaohua frowned. “But the news of Mei Hong’s death still spread? Given her temperament, if she hadn’t confirmed that Mei Hong had been killed, she wouldn’t have risked making such a big move.”
Ren Yaoqi, however, was not surprised and simply asked, “What about Granny Gui?”
Nanny Zhou was taken aback. “Granny Gui? She should have been guarding the door when Old Madam Ren and Old Master Ren were talking, but no one can prove she overheard their conversation, nor did anyone see her sending a message to Concubine Fang.”
Ren Yaoqi said nonchalantly, “But no one can prove she didn’t hear Grandfather and Grandmother’s conversation either, right?”
Nanny Zhou was stunned by this. “Fifth Miss, what do you mean?”
Ren Yaoqi smiled. “If others can make baseless claims, why can’t we? Concubine Fang is usually too cautious, so this time I want her to lose because of her excessive caution. We can’t prove that Concubine Fang’s people leaked the news, but did the news grow legs and walk out on its own? Someone has to take the blame.”
Concubine Fang might not have learned about Mei Hong’s death from Old Madam Ren’s room—Ren Yaoqi believed she had the ability to find out—but Old Master Ren and Old Madam Ren would not believe that. So, she would help them point to a mole!
This mole’s task was to drag Concubine Fang into the mess.
Nanny Zhou hesitated. “Miss, are you sure Granny Gui is Concubine Fang’s person?”
Nanny Zhou was still surprised that Concubine Fang could have bribed Old Madam Ren’s most trusted old nanny. Although Granny Gui was not Old Madam Ren’s dowry maid, she had served by her side for at least thirty years. When Ren Yaoqi told her that Granny Gui might be Concubine Fang’s person, Nanny Zhou was still half-convinced and half-doubting.
Ren Yaoqi blinked and tilted her head. “Of course, not only am I sure, but I also have evidence!”
She wasn’t casually dragging an innocent person into this. The reason she chose to push Granny Gui out at this moment was because Granny Gui herself was not innocent.
After returning, Ren Yaoqi recalled the events of her past life and initially only had suspicions. Given Concubine Fang’s preference for controlling everything, there must be someone by Old Madam Ren’s side who reported to her; otherwise, many things wouldn’t make sense. After all, Concubine Fang wasn’t a deity who could predict everything.
Ren Yaoqi had observed all the maids and servants around Old Madam Ren. After eliminating the others one by one, she finally focused on Granny Gui. However, at the time, Ren Yaoqi was only suspicious and not entirely certain, as both Concubine Fang and Granny Gui were extremely cautious and rarely interacted openly.Speaking of this matter, she still needed to thank her former head maid, Xueli.
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