Shanhu immediately recalled that this matron was the one who had escorted the Fourth Miss Ren Yaoyin back to the Ren Family Villa last time, and seemed to be surnamed Duan?
Sure enough, Shanhu heard Ren Yaoqi ask, "Granny Duan, may I ask when Her Highness the Princess Consort will have time to see me? I can come another day to pay my respects."
Granny Duan shook her head. "Her Highness has been very busy lately. Fifth Miss Ren, please return."
Ren Yaoqi glanced at Shanhu, hesitating over whether to leave or not.
Having served by Old Madam Ren's side for many years, Shanhu was quick-witted. She hurriedly stepped forward with an apologetic smile. "Granny Duan, how have you been lately? Before we came today, our Old Madam mentioned you, saying that the Fifth Miss has been under your care."
As she spoke, Shanhu took Granny Duan's hand and slipped a pouch containing ten taels of silver ingots into Granny Duan's sleeve. The pouch had been prepared by Old Madam Ren before Shanhu left, with five or six pouches of ten taels each, along with some smaller red envelopes, kept for unexpected needs.
Shanhu reminded Granny Duan of the generous reward Old Madam Ren had given her last time at the Ren Family Villa—a mutton-fat jade toad ornament. Granny Duan's expression softened considerably, and she nodded with a polite remark, "How has Old Madam Ren's health been lately?"
Seeing an opening, Shanhu felt a surge of joy, her smile growing even more obedient. "Our Old Madam is doing very well. Today, she specifically asked our Fifth Miss to come and pay respects to Her Highness the Princess Consort. Unfortunately, we happened to arrive when Her Highness is occupied. It seems we'll have to come another time?"
Granny Duan thought for a moment and nodded. "Her Highness truly does not wish to receive guests today."
Hearing Granny Duan say "does not wish" rather than "is unable to," Shanhu's heart sank. She tentatively asked, "Then, in your opinion, when would be a good time for me to come again?"
Granny Duan fell silent for a moment, sighed, but was unwilling to say more. She only replied, "Please return." With that, she turned and went back into the Yanbei Prince's Mansion, ignoring Shanhu calling after her.
With Granny Duan's departure, Shanhu felt even more uncertain. However, since the Princess Consort had explicitly stated she would not receive guests, they could not force their way in—this was, after all, the Yanbei Prince's Mansion.
Shanhu looked at Ren Yaoqi with some difficulty. "Fifth Miss, this..."
Ren Yaoqi shook her head. "If Her Highness refuses to see guests, there's nothing I can do."
Shanhu sighed. "Then we have no choice but to return and report to Old Master Ren and Old Madam Ren."
Thus, Ren Yaoqi took the carriage back to the Ren Family. After all this trouble, by the time Ren Yaoqi's carriage arrived at White Crane Town, the sky had already darkened.
The members of the various branches of the Ren Family were still gathered in the Glory and Splendor Courtyard and had not left. However, Old Master Ren and Master Ren the Elder were nowhere to be seen. Additionally, the old madam from the Eastern Mansion had grown restless and returned home earlier.
It turned out that after Ren Yaoqi left, more news had arrived from outside. The authorities had previously sealed three of the Ren Family's coal mines and taken over their coal depots in Yan Prefecture. Unexpectedly, today, many miners at the mines had rioted, jointly accusing the Ren Family of treating human life as worthless, routinely withholding wages, and abusing the miners.
Before one wave had settled, another arose. Immediately afterward, a mountain owner whose land bordered one of the Ren Family's coal mines seized the opportunity to accuse the Ren Family of secretly mining beyond their boundary, hollowing out the interior of his mountain.The incident of mining coal beyond the boundary was originally the mine owner taking advantage of the situation to kick someone when they were down. Previously, there had been an agreement between the two families, and the Ren Family had given him a sum of money every year. However, no one expected that this lawsuit would expose the Ren Family's secret hoarding of weapons in an abandoned mine.
Once this matter came to light, everyone was shocked.
Whether under the rule of the Li imperial dynasty in Great Zhou or under the jurisdiction of the Yanbei Prince's Mansion in Yanbei, privately storing large quantities of weapons was strictly prohibited. Yet, in the Ren Family's abandoned coal mine, hundreds of bows and arrows and about a hundred broadswords were discovered. Although the number of weapons was not particularly large, the consequences of this incident could range from minor to severe.
Not long after Ren Yaoqi left, Old Master Ren and Master Ren the Elder were summoned by the authorities because of this matter. With the backbone of the family gone, the Ren Family fell into chaos.
Old Madam Ren was also anxious but could only keep the members of each household at home, waiting for news from outside and discussing whether there were any good countermeasures.
As soon as Ren Yaoqi entered the room, everyone's gaze turned to her, as if hoping to see some glimmer of hope from her. Old Madam Ren even stood up immediately and asked urgently, "How did it go? Did the Princess Consort see you? What did she say?"
Ren Yaoqi shook her head. "The Princess Consort did not see me."
As soon as Ren Yaoqi finished speaking, the room fell silent. The members of the Ren Family looked at each other, their expressions growing increasingly somber.
Old Madam Ren frowned. "You didn't see the Princess Consort? What happened?"
Shanhu stepped forward and recounted the events of the day and what Granny Duan had said to Old Madam Ren. Old Madam Ren's expression changed, and she vented her anger on Ren Yaoqi, pointing at her and scolding, "Didn't the Princess Consort always have a good impression of you? She even sent you gifts several times. Why wouldn't she see you?"
Ren Yaoqi shook her head. Shanhu had already said everything that needed to be said, and she had nothing more to add. It was clear that Old Madam Ren was taking her frustration out on her.
Fifth Master Ren said, "Mother, if the Princess Consort said she wouldn't see Yaoqi, she couldn't force her way in. Now that Father and Eldest Brother have been summoned by the authorities, and we don't know when they'll return, please don't get angry. We should focus on finding a solution."
Old Madam Ren said angrily, "Then tell me, what should we do?"
Fifth Master Ren looked at Third Master Ren. "How about Third Brother and I go to the authorities to see if we can gather any information?"
Old Madam Ren initially wanted to nod, but then she thought about how Old Master Ren and her eldest son had been called to the authorities for over two hours without any news. What if her other two sons also ended up trapped there? She shook her head and said, "What use would you two going there be? It's better to send a few clever stewards to wait at the authorities so they can report back promptly if anything happens."
Fifth Master Ren had no choice but to send a few more stewards out.
Second Master Ren, who had been sitting quietly to the side, holding a string of prayer beads as if in deep meditation, seemed to have been called back to the mortal world. He twirled the beads and murmured, "Why did all these things happen at once? Is the Ren Family's luck bad this year?"
Old Madam Ren recalled the few words Old Master Ren had said before leaving and couldn't help but frown. "If it's just bad luck, we can spend money to resolve it. What I fear is that we've offended a villain!"Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but look toward Old Madam Ren.
Madam Lin, being impatient by nature, quickly pressed further, "Mother, what do you mean by 'villains'? Are you suggesting someone is deliberately trying to harm our Ren Family?"
Old Master Ren had also considered whether the Ren Family's intention to form a marriage alliance with the Zeng Family had angered the Yanbei Prince's Mansion, leading them to teach the Ren Family a lesson. That was why he had sent Ren Yaoqi to the Yanbei Prince's Mansion to test the Princess Consort's attitude.
Later, when the authorities came knocking, claiming that weapons had been discovered in an abandoned mine of the Ren Family, Old Master Ren was shocked and began to suspect whether this was the work of the Han Family seeking revenge. After all, if the Yanbei Prince's Mansion wanted to teach the Ren Family a lesson, there would be no need to go to such great lengths to frame them so meticulously.
From the conversation between Ren Shimiao and Ren Shimin, Ren Yaoqi had also learned about the discovery of weapons in the Ren Family's mine and that Old Master Ren and Master Ren the Elder had been taken away by the authorities. She, too, was pondering the matter.
Based on Ren Yaoqi's understanding of Xiao Jingxi, he truly would not stoop to such framing and deception just to teach a small family like the Ren Family a lesson. She also thought of the Han Family, which had been quiet for a long time.
However, whether the Han Family had caught wind of the situation so quickly and chose to step on the Ren Family at this critical moment because of some hint from the Yanbei Prince's Mansion was something Ren Yaoqi could not be sure of.
Having the Han Family take action against the Ren Family would indeed be a convenient solution.
Since Old Master Ren had not disclosed the feud between the Ren Family and the Han Family's old master to the younger generation, Old Madam Ren said only that much before falling silent.
The evening meal was served in the flower hall of the Glory and Splendor Courtyard, but before anyone had taken more than a few bites, the steward who had gone out to gather news returned, sweating profusely.
"Old Madam, something terrible has happened! Old Master Ren and Master Ren the Elder have been taken into custody by the authorities."
Old Madam Ren's hand trembled, and she dropped her chopsticks. As she stood up, she staggered and nearly fell. Her lips quivered as she asked, "What... what did you say? Taken into custody?"
First Madam quickly supported Old Madam Ren, her own face paling. "What exactly happened? Speak slowly!"
The steward gasped for breath. "Originally, the authorities said they were taking our Old Master Ren and Master Ren the Elder in for questioning, but they have been inside for most of the day and still haven't come out. As it was getting dark, I spent fifty taels of silver to seek out Master Yang for information. After waiting nearly an hour, Master Yang finally sent word, telling us not to wait any longer and to hurry back to discuss how to get our masters out. It turns out Old Master Ren and Master Ren the Elder have been taken into custody and imprisoned in the government jail over the matter of privately storing weapons."
The Ren Family had always maintained good relations with the authorities due to their generosity, often negotiating with the yamen to resolve difficult matters and even relying on the government to deal with troublesome servants. However, the masters of the Ren Family had never imagined they themselves would end up in a situation where they could not leave the yamen.
Even Old Master Ren and Master Ren the Elder had not considered the possibility of being detained when they left the Ren Family.
The women were all terrified by this news, and Old Madam Ren, in particular, fainted on the spot, her eyes rolling back.
First Madam, who was closest to Old Madam Ren, struggled to hold her up and nearly fell herself. She quickly called for help, "Someone, come quickly and support Old Madam! Fifth Sister-in-law, send someone to fetch a physician..."The entire Ren Family was thrown into disarray by the news of Old Master Ren and Master Ren the Elder being imprisoned, and Old Madam Ren fainting.
Second Madam Ren, however, remained calm in the crisis. She first helped First Madam Ren lead others in supporting Old Madam Ren to the inner chamber, then sent for a physician to come to the estate and examine Old Madam Ren.
Second Master Ren, Third Master Ren, and Fifth Master Ren were also caught off guard. After the physician examined Old Madam Ren and said she had only suffered a sudden surge of anger and was not in mortal danger, they hurried out to gather their stewards and devise a plan.
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