In the adjacent room, Concubine Fang said, "I've already told you everything I know. Can you let me go now? I'm just a woman of the inner household. When these people were under my control, I only used them for some private matters."
Min Wenqing found this rather amusing upon hearing it. "Private matters? Then you, as a woman of the inner household, are truly remarkably resourceful. No wonder with a concubine like you in the Ren Family, even the daughter of Prince Xian had to show you some deference."
Concubine Fang, however, felt a stir in her heart upon hearing this and asked suspiciously, "You know Prince Xian and Madam Li? Who exactly are you?"
Min Wenqing smiled faintly but did not answer her, only saying, "Didn't you say earlier that you had something important to discuss? If it's only these matters, I would have found out soon enough even if you hadn't told me."
Concubine Fang couldn't help but grit her teeth inwardly upon hearing this, thinking that this young man was truly a fox—difficult to deal with indeed.
But now she was under his roof and had no choice but to lower her head. What else could she do?
However, Concubine Fang had merely gained some manpower from Fang Yacun's hands. How could she possibly know any major secrets of the court? As a woman of the inner household, even if she had some tricks up her sleeve, those tricks were only useful within the inner household. She had little involvement in political affairs.
Now, Min Wenqing's implication was that what she had revealed was not weighty enough.
Concubine Fang seethed with resentment inwardly while her mind raced.
Just as Min Wenqing was about to rise and leave again, she suddenly spoke up, "Wait, there's one more thing."
Min Wenqing paused and raised an eyebrow.
Concubine Fang looked at Min Wenqing and said, "I do indeed have another important matter, but before I say it, I want to see someone."
Min Wenqing couldn't help but feel curious upon hearing this. "Oh? Who do you want to see?"
Concubine Fang stared into Min Wenqing's eyes and said word by word, "I just remembered why the skirt worn by the maid standing outside the door looked so familiar. Our Ren Family's Fifth Miss has an identical skirt!"
Min Wenqing shook his head with a smile. "Even people can look exactly alike, let alone a skirt. Are you trying to say that the person standing outside is your Ren Family's Fifth Miss?"
Concubine Fang, however, smiled and said, "Sir, you are not a woman, so naturally you wouldn't understand. Although I only glanced at it, I recognized that the fabric used for that pleated skirt was sent back by our eldest aunt two years ago for the young ladies. This kind of fabric isn't available in Yan Prefecture's silk shops. Our Fifth Miss used that bolt of emerald green to make a cloak and a pleated skirt, and Ninth Miss also made an identical set, only in apricot yellow."
Min Wenqing truly knew nothing about fabrics, but he was not someone easily fooled. Upon hearing this, he merely smiled noncommittally, then stepped out of the room, ignoring Concubine Fang's calls from behind.
Min Wenqing instructed the guards at the door to shut it tightly, preventing Concubine Fang from peeking again. After stepping out, he deliberately glanced at Pingguo, who was standing in the corner with her head bowed and eyes lowered—or more precisely, he carefully studied the skirt she was wearing for a while.
Pingguo stole a glance at him from the corner of her eye.
Min Wenqing put on a friendly smile and asked, "Little girl, the fabric of your skirt is quite nice. Where did it come from?"Pingguo shot him a fierce glare upon hearing this, then turned her back to him.
Min Wenqing: "..."
Min Wenqing felt somewhat awkward. Had he just been mistaken for a lecherous man harassing a maid? In truth, he had only wanted to know whether Madam Fang had been casually deceiving him earlier!
Seeing that the stern-faced little maid refused to turn back for a long while, Min Wenqing could only rub his nose and silently entered the middle room.
When Min Wenqing entered, Xiao Jingxi was leaning slightly toward Ren Yaoqi as he spoke to her.
Min Wenqing was momentarily stunned by the look in Xiao Jingxi’s eyes, then glanced at Ren Yaoqi again.
Noticing that both Xiao Jingxi and Ren Yaoqi were looking at him, he immediately averted his gaze and flashed a broad smile, greeting loudly, "Second Young Master, Fifth Miss Ren."
Ren Yaoqi was startled by him. Wasn’t Min Wenqing speaking so loudly clearly signaling to Concubine Fang that they were right next door? They had heard every word of his conversation with Concubine Fang just moments ago.
Meeting Ren Yaoqi’s gaze, Min Wenqing paused briefly, thought for a moment, and then understood. Recalling how Xiao Jingxi had been speaking softly to Ren Yaoqi when he entered, he couldn’t help but cast a strange look toward Xiao Jingxi.
Xiao Jingxi calmly lowered his head and took a sip of tea.
Ren Yaoqi looked at them with confusion, unsure what silent exchange was happening between these two grown men.
Min Wenqing cleared his throat lightly, trying hard to ignore the odd feeling in his heart, and said with a smile, "This concubine of the Ren Family is truly quite difficult to deal with."
Xiao Jingxi set down his teacup, gesturing for Min Wenqing to sit as he spoke, "That’s why I sent you to ask."
Min Wenqing sat down on a nearby chair and laughed heartily at this. "Is Second Young Master praising this subordinate?"
Xiao Jingxi also smiled. "I heard from Jinglin that your interrogation skills are quite impressive."
Min Wenqing’s interest was piqued. "Oh? What else did the esteemed Commandery Princess Xiao say about this subordinate? I’ll strive to do even better in the future."
Xiao Jingxi and Ren Yaoqi exchanged a glance, both recalling Xiao Jinglin’s previous evaluation of Min Wenqing, and couldn’t help but smile. Seeing this, Min Wenqing grew even more curious. "Did Commandery Princess Xiao really mention me?"
Ren Yaoqi merely smiled without speaking.
Xiao Jingxi nodded slightly and said with a faint smile, "She just mentioned it in passing."
"What did she say?" Min Wenqing was genuinely curious.
Commandery Princess Xiao usually looked at him expressionlessly. When he spoke to her, she would at most nod or utter an "mm," not even bothering to spare him an extra glance. He had thought Xiao Jinglin disliked him greatly, never expecting her to mention him in front of Xiao Jingxi and Fifth Miss Ren.
Xiao Jingxi looked at Min Wenqing a few times and smiled slightly. "Sesame bun."
"Huh?" Min Wenqing was dumbfounded. What kind of code was this? He didn’t understand at all. Wasn’t a sesame bun something to eat? Did Xiao Jinglin like eating these?
Ren Yaoqi turned her head away, suppressing a laugh.
Xiao Jingxi looked at the bewildered Min Wenqing but refused to say more, instead changing the subject. "Aren’t you heading to Wuzhou this afternoon?"
Was this a dismissal?
Min Wenqing wanted to joke and complain a bit, but with Ren Yaoqi present, he wasn’t entirely sure of Xiao Jingxi’s attitude, so he wisely went along with the topic. "I’ll be leaving now, just came to let you know."He glanced at Ren Yaoqi again and said, "It seems we won't get anything more from that Madam Fang. Whether she truly has something to say only after seeing the Fifth Miss Ren remains uncertain."
Xiao Jingxi nodded. "I understand. Thank you for today."
Min Wenqing gave a bright smile, bowed to Xiao Jingxi, then turned and left briskly, though his mind was still quietly pondering: What is the relationship between Prince Xian's granddaughter and Xiao Jingxi? And what exactly does "sesame bun" mean?
After Min Wenqing left, Ren Yaoqi suddenly surveyed the room a few times, then asked Xiao Jingxi with some suspicion, "We can hear the people next door speaking, but they can't hear us, right?"
She had noticed that Min Wenqing and Xiao Jingxi hadn't deliberately lowered their voices while speaking. Given Min Wenqing's shrewdness, he wouldn't have intentionally revealed her presence next door before knowing whether she wanted to see Concubine Fang.
Xiao Jingxi: "..."
Ren Yaoqi watched as Xiao Jingxi lowered his head again to drink tea without speaking, unsure whether to be angry or amused.
This person really...
Under Ren Yaoqi's gaze, Xiao Jingxi found it increasingly difficult to maintain his composed facade, and his face flushed slightly.
He had originally intended to remind Ren Yaoqi that their conversation here couldn't be heard next door. But seeing Ren Yaoqi lean in slightly to speak softly to avoid being overheard, the unique, elegant fragrance emanating from her made him quietly forget that reminder.
Now that Ren Yaoqi had pointed it out directly, even Second Young Master Xiao's thick skin couldn't withstand the strain and was on the verge of cracking.
Fortunately, Ren Yaoqi had never been one to press aggressively. Recognizing Xiao Jingxi's embarrassment, she could only suppress her emotions for the moment and change the subject. "I'll go see her."
Only then did Xiao Jingxi put down the teacup he had been using as a prop and say, "If you don't want to go, you don't have to. She's just a minor figure who can't stir up any real trouble."
Xiao Jingxi's words made Ren Yaoqi sigh inwardly.
Indeed, in Xiao Jingxi's eyes, no matter how cunning or vicious Concubine Fang might be, she was merely a minor figure who couldn't stir up any real trouble.
Ren Yaoqi felt that some things must ultimately be faced. She would go see Concubine Fang one last time, as a farewell to her former weak and powerless self.
Ren Yaoqi stood up and shook her head. "It's fine."
Xiao Jingxi nodded and said nothing more, but after Ren Yaoqi left, he also stood up and followed behind her.
When Ren Yaoqi reached the door of the neighboring room, the guards at the entrance did not stop her.
So she pushed the door open and walked in.
Concubine Fang was sitting on the bed in a daze. Hearing footsteps, she looked up and was stunned when she saw Ren Yaoqi.
"It's you? It's really you? How could it be you!"
When Concubine Fang had earlier told Min Wenqing she wanted to see Ren Yaoqi, she had truly been bluffing him. Although she had her suspicions, she couldn't be certain that Ren Yaoqi had actually been involved in this matter.In Concubine Fang's eyes, Ren Yaoqi had always been a gentle, simple-minded child who was easy to deceive. Even after Madam Li and Ren Yaohua were sent to the manor by her, and Ren Yaoqi fell seriously ill, causing her temperament to change—becoming closer to Madam Li and Ren Yaohua while distancing herself from Concubine Fang—Concubine Fang attributed it to the natural bond of family ties. She never considered Ren Yaoqi herself to be any kind of threat.
Thus, even if someone told her that her current predicament was orchestrated by Ren Yaohua, she wouldn't be as shocked as she was now.
It is said that starting from the 29th of this month, pink votes will be doubled~ If it's convenient, dear readers, please save your votes for "The Scheming of the Legitimate Daughter" and the author? o(∩_∩)o
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