"Fifth Miss..."
Ren Yaoqi halted her steps and turned to look back.
Nanny Zhou stood at the doorway between the main room and the left inner chamber, softly calling out to her.
Glancing toward the inner chamber of the left wing, Ren Yaoqi gestured to Nanny Zhou, who understood and followed her quietly into the west inner chamber.
"Mother has always been a light sleeper. Once she wakes, it's hard for her to fall back asleep. Nanny, if you have something to say, you may speak here," Ren Yaoqi said.
Nanny Zhou looked at Ren Yaoqi with a sighing smile. "Fifth Miss, you... have truly changed a great deal. Madam is very pleased, and this servant is also very happy."
Ren Yaoqi smiled faintly. It seemed her childhood self had been quite a handful. Her memories of those early years were already hazy, burdened with too much pain, and she always avoided recalling them.
"Did Nanny have something you wanted to tell me?" Ren Yaohua had already left earlier, and Ren Yaoqi thought Nanny Zhou might have something she wished to say to her alone. This was an unprecedented occurrence.
Nanny Zhou thought for a moment and said, "Earlier, when this servant went to check the washroom, I noticed several sets of footprints in the snow outside."
"Can Nanny tell whose footprints they were? I recall Mother asked for hot water twice around noon," Ren Yaoqi inquired.
Nanny Zhou nodded. "Originally, it would have been difficult to distinguish. The Coarse-Working Matrons in the backyard wear thick-soled cotton shoes for warmth, and their sizes are relatively large. Most maids prefer style over practicality and dislike those clumsy thick-soled cotton shoes. Since they often serve indoors, they would rather endure a bit of cold and wear embroidered cotton shoes. But just now, among those footprints, this servant noticed the imprint of a pair of boots."
Ren Yaoqi listened with interest and smiled. "Nanny is quite observant. Do you know who the owner of those boots is?"
Nanny Zhou nodded with certainty. "The matron in charge of firewood, Guan Pozi, wore a pair of deerskin boots today. Because the boots were too small and didn't fit her feet properly, she walked somewhat awkwardly... The maids were secretly laughing at her, and this servant overheard them."
"Guan Pozi?" Ren Yaoqi tilted her head thoughtfully, vaguely recalling a tall and sturdy matron who usually had some dealings with Nanny Zhu from her own quarters.
"Her daughter is a second-rank maid in Ninth Miss's room," Nanny Zhou replied. After returning, with Ren Yaoqi's reminder, she had quickly familiarized herself with the backgrounds of everyone in the courtyard.
"Ninth Sister, is it?" Ren Yaoqi murmured thoughtfully.
She had already guessed that the person eavesdropping today must be connected to Concubine Fang's side, as people from other quarters wouldn't be interested in casual conversations between her and her mother. However, based on her understanding of Concubine Fang, she wouldn't likely send such a careless matron to blatantly eavesdrop. It was probably this matron acting on her own initiative to curry favor with that side.
"Why didn't Nanny mention this earlier?" Ren Yaoqi asked.
Nanny Zhou hesitated for a moment before sighing. "Fifth Miss, you know Third Miss's temper. If she found out who the eavesdropper was, she would surely make a scene. This servant... this servant was afraid she might fall into someone else's trap. So, I thought it best to keep quiet for now. Although you are young, Fifth Miss, you understand priorities. And since you just mentioned taking action to deal with those people, this servant thought it best to inform you, to make it easier for you to proceed in the future."Ren Yaoqi nodded, "I understand. Let's not speak of it for now." She then asked, "Nanny, do you know if this Old Woman Guan usually has conflicts with anyone?"
Nanny Zhou glanced at Ren Yaoqi with some surprise. Seeing her only smiling faintly, with no other discernible meaning, she didn’t rush to ask further. After a moment’s thought, she nodded and said, "There is one—Old Woman Liu, who manages the hot water in the backyard."
Ren Yaoqi had only asked casually, after all, Nanny Zhou had only returned with Madam Li a few days ago, and she might not know such details. However, it seemed she had underestimated Nanny Zhou.
"Is she the Old Woman Liu who manages the accounts for Madam Lin?"
"Yes, that’s her. The woman in charge of hot water can usually earn some extra money by exchanging hot water with generous maids. But the woman in charge of firewood and charcoal doesn’t get as many benefits because the mansion supplies ordinary firewood and charcoal abundantly, while high-quality silver-thread charcoal is strictly controlled. Moreover, open flames are forbidden in the servants’ quarters. Old Woman Guan is extremely dissatisfied that Old Woman Liu, who was transferred from the outer courtyard, got a better assignment than hers. She often makes things difficult for Old Woman Liu when she comes asking for firewood, and the two of them can’t stand each other. Although they’ve never had a major confrontation, everyone in the courtyard knows they don’t get along."
Ren Yaoqi pondered for a moment before nodding to Nanny Zhou, "I understand. Thank you for telling me this."
She had only "awakened" a short while ago. Although she had secretly inquired about the people in the courtyard, she couldn’t have gathered such detailed information as Nanny Zhou had.
Seeing Ren Yaoqi stand up as she spoke, Nanny Zhou couldn’t help but ask, "Fifth Miss, the end of the year is approaching. Have you thought of a plan? If we let Third Miss cause trouble then, I’m afraid our Purple Magnolia Courtyard will suffer greatly." Nanny Zhou still remembered Ren Yaoqi’s analysis from last time; otherwise, she wouldn’t have allowed those people to remain in Purple Magnolia Courtyard.
Ren Yaoqi smiled at Nanny Zhou, "Don’t worry, Nanny. Perhaps I’ll need your help soon."
Nanny Zhou quickly replied, "What are you saying, Miss? If there’s anything this servant can do, just give the order."
Ren Yaoqi left Madam Li’s main room and, passing by the western side courtyard, heard the sound of swordplay cutting through the air and rhythmic, soft shouts.
Her steps involuntarily paused. She stood outside the western side courtyard for a long time, only snapping back to reality when a maid behind her sneezed loudly from the cold.
"I’ll go see Father," she said softly, as if talking to herself.
As soon as she entered the western side courtyard, Ren Yaoqi saw Ren Shimin in the snowy courtyard, wielding a three-foot-long sword with movements as fierce as a dragon. His pure white wide-sleeved robe fluttered gracefully with his swordplay, and the blade occasionally reflected a dazzling gleam of snow. It all looked quite impressive.
Seeing Ren Yaoqi enter, Ren Shimin finished with a flourish and sheathed his sword, turning to her with pride. "Yao Yao, has Father’s swordsmanship improved again?"
In the past, Ren Yaoqi would have praised him as he wished.
But Ren Yaoqi merely looked expressionlessly at the sword in his hand and said softly, "It looks very impressive, but unfortunately, it’s all for show."Ren Shimin disagreed, "What does a child know? On this trip to the capital, even the armed escorts praised my swordsmanship after seeing it. They faced me in several matches and lost every time."
Ren Yaoqi looked at her father, closed her eyes for a moment, and said firmly, "Father, I'm not lying to you. Your swordsmanship is merely a flashy display. In front of someone who truly knows martial arts, it would be utterly defenseless."
Meinan's completed work: [bookid=2288861,bookname=《The Noble Family's Scheming》]·
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