Rong Shi's words made Ren Yaoqi become alert as well.
If the Empress Dowager truly intended to summon their sisters to the capital, even the Yanbei Prince's Mansion would find it difficult to obstruct, for nominally speaking, they were also subjects of Great Zhou. However, women entering the palace must be unmarried; if they were already betrothed, even the Empress Dowager could not forcibly summon them to the capital.
"But we can't just arrange a hasty marriage for Third Sister out of fear of his underhanded tactics, can we?" Ren Yaoqi frowned.
Upon hearing this, Rong Shi looked thoughtfully at Ren Yaoqi: "Are you only worried about your sister? What about yourself? What if the Empress Dowager summons you to the capital?"
Ren Yaoqi did not know how to respond to Rong Shi's words.
Rong Shi shook her head and sighed: "The Yanbei Prince's Mansion may have the ability to protect you, but are you certain someone would be willing to offend the Empress Dowager for your sake? Most of the time, women are merely casualties in the struggles for power."
Ren Yaoqi knew Rong Shi had misunderstood the meaning behind her silence, but she did not explain. Instead, she smiled and said, "I understand, Grandmother."
Knowing she was intelligent, Rong Shi did not press further, only advising Ren Yaoqi: "Go back and have your mother carefully consider whether there are any suitable candidates."
Ren Yaoqi agreed. Not long after, the people Rong Shi had sent to follow Ren Yaohua returned, reporting that after leaving, Ren Yaohua had taken her own carriage home. They had returned to report after seeing Ren Yaohua safely enter the mansion.
Ren Yaoqi stayed at Rong Shi's place for lunch before returning home. When she arrived, Madam Li was taking her afternoon rest. Not wanting to disturb her, Ren Yaoqi decided to relay Rong Shi's words to her after she woke up in the afternoon.
However, Nanny Zhou pulled Ren Yaoqi aside and told her that after Madam Li returned, Ren Yaohua had argued with her again. Madam Li had been weeping in her room and had only just been persuaded by Nanny Zhou to rest.
Nanny Zhou asked Ren Yaoqi to go see Ren Yaohua and try to persuade her.
Ren Yaoqi sighed helplessly. Ren Yaohua had always held prejudices against their maternal family, and despite Ren Yaoqi's repeated attempts to persuade her, Ren Yaohua remained unable to let go of her grievances.
After bidding farewell to Nanny Zhou and leaving the main room, Ren Yaoqi went to the east wing to look for Ren Yaohua.
To her surprise, Ren Yaohua was not in her room. Instead, her senior maid Wujing was sitting on the kang in the inner room, holding an embroidery hoop and sewing.
Seeing Ren Yaoqi enter, Wujing quickly set down her work, got off the kang, and bowed in greeting.
Ren Yaoqi glanced around the room in surprise and asked, "Where is Third Sister? Is she not here?"
Wujing hesitated at first, but seeing Ren Yaoqi frowning and staring at her without a word, she lowered her head and said, "Third Miss has gone out."
Ren Yaoqi quickly asked, "Where did she go? When did she leave? Who did she take with her? Why didn't even Nanny Zhou know?"
Wujing replied, "After leaving Madam's room, Third Miss shut herself in her room and drove both me and Pingguo out. Later, a message arrived from the Lei Family's young lady. When I entered to deliver it to Third Miss, she read it and said she needed to go out. However, Madam was still angry at the time, and Nanny Zhou was trying to console her. Third Miss did not want to go to the main room to ask for permission then, so she ordered me to prepare a carriage for her departure. The gatekeeper, seeing it was Third Miss leaving, assumed Madam had given permission and did not stop her."Ren Yaohua had long been accustomed to taking charge in the third household, and those under her were all afraid of her. Her commands were generally on par with those of Madam Li. Seeing her go out, no one stopped her, assuming that the madam already knew. No one would have thought that Ren Yaohua had left without permission.
Ren Yaoqi quickly asked, "Is Third Sister going to meet Pan'er?"
Wujing nodded, "Yes, Fifth Miss. After receiving the letter from the Lei Family's young lady, Third Miss said she needed to go out. You know, Third Miss usually doesn't like going out, only when meeting the Lei Family's young lady does she leave."
Ren Yaoqi said unhappily, "She should still have informed Mother or Nanny Zhou. Why didn't any of you try to persuade her? Even if you couldn't stop her, you should have spoken up earlier. What if something happens?"
Wujing replied uneasily, "Nothing will happen, right? Third Miss has met the Lei Family's young lady many times before, and Madam has never stopped her, has she?" It was precisely because Ren Yaohua had met Lei Pan'er so many times, and Madam Li had always allowed it, that they hadn't taken it too seriously.
Ren Yaoqi, however, was still uneasy. "Where is Pan'er's letter? Bring it for me to see. I want to know where Third Sister went."
Wujing hurriedly fetched the earlier letter and handed it to Ren Yaoqi.
After opening the letter, Ren Yaoqi felt somewhat relieved. The letter was indeed written by Lei Pan'er, as her handwriting and tone were difficult for others to imitate.
In the letter, Lei Pan'er invited Ren Yaohua to a teahouse on Zhengyang Street where they often met. Ren Yaoqi had been there once before.
After reading the letter, Ren Yaoqi looked up and asked, "Did Third Sister take Pingguo with her? Who else went along?"
Wujing quickly listed a few more names. Apart from two second-rank maids from the room and a few older women, they were all the usual attendants who often accompanied her on outings. It didn't seem like she had sneaked out.
Ren Yaoqi instructed Wujing, "Go and inform Nanny Zhou, then have her send a few more people to the teahouse to check. If Third Sister is really there with the Lei Family's young lady, have them wait outside until Third Sister comes out. If she's not there, come back and report immediately."
Wujing knew that going to Nanny Zhou would likely earn her a scolding, and she couldn't help feeling anxious. Still, she said, "Fifth Miss, when Third Sister returns, could you persuade Madam not to be angry with her? When I came in earlier to deliver the letter to Third Sister, I saw that her eyes were red. She's actually quite upset inside."
Ren Yaoqi knew Ren Yaohua's temperament—she was tough on the outside, and even if she wanted to cry, she would chase everyone out and hide in her room to weep in secret, unwilling to let anyone see.
Thinking of this, Ren Yaoqi's earlier anger over Ren Yaohua sneaking out without a word and causing worry dissipated almost entirely. Ren Yaohua was likely feeling very down after arguing with her mother and upsetting her, and she probably just wanted to go out for some fresh air.
No matter how tough Ren Yaohua appeared on the surface, she was still just a girl who had just come of age. At this age, she had the right to be a little willful from time to time.Wujing went out to inform Nanny Zhou about Ren Yaohua's departure. As expected, Nanny Zhou gave Wujing a severe scolding and said that once Ren Yaohua returned, Wujing would have to bring Pingguo and the others to her to receive punishment.
Afterward, Nanny Zhou quickly dispatched several people to the teahouse where Wujing said Ren Yaohua had arranged to meet Lei Pan'er.
Ren Yaoqi returned to her room to wait for Ren Yaohua's return. She also needed to think carefully about how to persuade Ren Yaohua without provoking her resentment or annoyance.
However, when the people Nanny Zhou had sent to fetch Ren Yaohua returned, they reported that they had not found Third Miss at the teahouse. Instead, they encountered Lei Pan'er, who had been waiting for Third Miss for a long time and was about to be picked up by the Second Master of the Lei Family.
Lei Pan'er said she had waited for Sister Yaohua for a long time, but Sister Yaohua never showed up, so she assumed Sister Yaohua wasn't coming. The Lei Family servants and the teahouse's manager and staff also said they had not seen any Ren Family carriage arrive.
Upon hearing this news, Nanny Zhou was greatly alarmed and immediately informed Madam Li and Ren Yaoqi.
Madam Li was frantic with worry and immediately sent people to search for Ren Yaohua everywhere.
Ren Yaoqi was also startled by the news of Ren Yaohua's unexplained disappearance and quickly summoned the people Nanny Zhou had sent out earlier to question them in detail. The maids who had been dispatched had also tried to inquire about the whereabouts of Ren Yaohua's carriage on their way back, but it seemed no one on Zhengyang Street had seen Ren Yaohua's carriage. However, those maids dared not ask too many questions, fearing it might cause unfavorable rumors, so they hurried back to report while the remaining few continued searching along the route.
"Mother, quickly send someone to Grandfather's house and ask the people there to help search as well," Ren Yaoqi urged Madam Li.
Xianwang Residence had many skilled individuals. Compared to the ordinary maids and servants of the Ren Family, they would be much quicker in finding someone.
"This servant will go," Nanny Zhou offered.
Nanny Zhou had come from Xianwang Residence and was more familiar with the place than others. Ren Yaoqi nodded and said, "Then please go quickly, Nanny."
Not daring to delay for a moment, Nanny Zhou immediately took a carriage to Xianwang Residence to find Rong Shi.
Upon learning of the situation, Rong Shi promptly summoned Dongsheng and Qiusheng, instructing them to take people to search for Ren Yaohua. Nowadays, Xianwang Residence no longer needed to conceal its strength under the watchful eyes of Yanbei Prince's Mansion, which made things much more convenient.
Both the Ren Family and Xianwang Residence were searching for Ren Yaohua, but shortly after Ren Yaohua left her home, she had already been targeted.
Ren Yaohua hadn't intended to deliberately worry Madam Li and the others. At that time, she was feeling upset, and when Lei Pan'er's letter arrived inviting her out, she didn't want to see Madam Li in that state, so she left without saying a word. However, she had left Wujing in the room, thinking that if Ren Yaoqi returned or Nanny Zhou came asking, they would surely learn her whereabouts from Wujing.
It had been a long time since Ren Yaohua had allowed herself to act on her own whims. She never expected that this rare act of willfulness would lead to trouble.
Just as Ren Yaohua's carriage was about to enter Zhengyang Street, it was blocked in a narrow alley.
A broken ox-cart suddenly dashed sideways, inserting itself between Ren Yaohua's carriage and the following carriage that carried her maids and servants, blocking the latter. By the time the maids and servants in the following carriage realized what had happened, Ren Yaohua's carriage had already turned a corner and disappeared from sight.The author is late again, please bear with me~(┬＿┬).
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