Seeing it was Wujing, Ren Yaoqi asked, "Has something happened?"
Wujing nodded, guiding Ren Yaoqi to find Ren Yaohua and the others while leaning close to her ear and whispering, "Just now, the eldest daughter of the Guo family fell into the water."
"The eldest daughter of the Guo family?" Ren Yaoqi was somewhat surprised.
Wujing immediately explained, "It's the eldest daughter of the Guo family from Weizhou. You even met her at the Thousand Gold Banquet. Not long after you left, Fifth Miss, the two Jiang sisters and the Guo family's eldest daughter arrived. Later, for some reason, they decided to go boating on the lake, and then the incident with the Guo family's eldest daughter falling into the water occurred."
Ren Yaoqi nodded, thought for a moment, and then asked, "Was Second Young Master Yun also present?"
She recalled that Yun Wenfang had earlier said he didn’t want her to get involved in messy affairs. This "messy affair" likely referred to Guo Yujiao falling into the water.
Upon hearing this, Wujing hesitated for a while before replying, "Fifth Miss, actually, earlier Second Young Master Yun stopped Third Miss to ask about your whereabouts. Third Miss was quite annoyed by his questioning and lied to him, saying you had gone to the lakeside. When we heard someone had fallen into the water, Third Miss was startled and worried that something might have happened to you, so she sent me, Xiangqin, and the others to look for you."
Ren Yaoqi nodded. It wasn’t the time to ask for details, so she followed Wujing quickly to find Ren Yaohua and reassure her.
When Ren Yaohua saw that Ren Yaoqi was safe, her first question was whether she had encountered Yun Wenfang.
Seeing the anger and concern in Ren Yaohua’s eyes, Ren Yaoqi recounted how she had run into Yun Wenfang on her way back.
Ren Yaohua frowned for a long while, then instructed her to stay as far away from Yun Wenfang as possible in the future. Since Yun Wenfang’s return, she had seen him twice, and each time he had asked about Ren Yaoqi’s whereabouts, which made Ren Yaohua wary. Although she wasn’t particularly familiar with Yun Wenfang, she could sense that he was a very dangerous person, especially after his return from the border.
Ren Yaoqi naturally agreed obediently.
While Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yaohua were whispering to each other, the other young ladies were discussing the incident of Guo Yujiao falling into the water.
Lady Xu’s warming party mostly invited the female relatives of Yunyang Academy. Since the Jiang family also ran an academy and had frequent interactions with the Xu family, the Jiang sisters happened to be in Yunyang City and were also invited. In addition, some well-regarded young ladies from prominent families received invitations, such as Guo Yujiao, who had made a small splash at the Thousand Gold Banquet and happened to be in Yunyang City, so she was also invited.
Later, the Jiang sisters and Guo Yujiao went boating on the lake, but no one expected such an incident to occur. After the incident, Lady Xu rushed to handle the situation. The guests attending the party felt it inappropriate to leave at such a moment, so they remained.
Someone whispered, "How could she fall into the water for no reason? Weren’t there maids and servants accompanying them? Did no one see what happened?"
"I heard there was no one around when Miss Guo fell into the water."
"Miss Guo and Miss Jiang, the Eighth Miss, were arguing at the time..."Ren Yaoqi was silently listening to their discussion when Shijin, Lady Xu's chief maid, hurried in. She first glanced around the warm chamber, then walked directly to Ren Yaoqi, curtsied, and said, "Fifth Miss Ren, our lady asks you to come."
Though somewhat surprised that Lady Xu would summon her at this moment, Ren Yaoqi nodded without hesitation. After informing Ren Yaohua, she followed Shijin.
Shijin led Ren Yaoqi to a courtyard close to the lakeside. The courtyard had no side rooms, only three large chambers in a row, resembling a study.
From a distance, Ren Yaoqi saw many people moving about outside, creating a lively scene.
Maids hurried in carrying hot water, copper basins, and charcoal braziers, while an elderly woman held a thick quilt. Listening carefully, faint sobbing could be heard from inside.
Shijin directly led Ren Yaoqi into the room. Upon entering, Ren Yaoqi confirmed it was indeed a study—a large black lacquer desk was visible at first glance. Lady Xu's voice came from the room on the right. Following Shijin, Ren Yaoqi found four charcoal braziers already placed inside, though they had not been brought in long enough to make the room as warm as the previous warm chamber.
By the window was a daybed, surrounded by a busy crowd of maids and elderly women. Ren Yaoqi could only see a section of damp hair peeking out from under the thick quilt and an unnaturally pale neck. Lady Xu stood beside the daybed, frowning and giving instructions in a low voice.
As Ren Yaoqi approached, she saw half the face of the person lying on the bed—it was Guo Yujiao, who had fallen into the water. Only then did she notice Guo Yujiao's body trembling beneath the thick quilt and hear the chattering of her teeth.
Seeing Ren Yaoqi enter, Lady Xu beckoned her over, then asked the maids without turning her head, "Why hasn't the ginger soup been brought yet? Has the doctor arrived?"
Ren Yaoqi approached and seized a moment to ask, "Is Miss Guo alright?"
Lady Xu sighed. "Fortunately, she was rescued in time and didn't swallow much water. But the lake water was too cold—I'm afraid she's badly chilled."
Seeing Lady Xu's expression, Ren Yaoqi understood that Guo Yujiao was likely not in serious danger and also felt relieved.
"There's something I need you to do," Lady Xu said to Ren Yaoqi once arrangements were mostly settled. "The situation was urgent earlier, so I rushed over and couldn't attend to everything else. I've left the ladies and madams to your mother and Lady Liu, and I entrust the young ladies to you."
Lady Xu quietly gave Ren Yaoqi detailed instructions: to inform the young ladies that Guo Yujiao was out of danger, and to quell any unfavorable rumors as much as possible to prevent damaging gossip that might harm the reputations of the young ladies.
"As the hostess today, it falls to me to handle such matters. But I have no daughter or daughter-in-law, and everyone knows you're my little apprentice, so I'm entrusting this to you," Lady Xu said, patting Ren Yaoqi's hand.
Hearing this, Ren Yaoqi understood: Lady Xu was currently overwhelmed and, by convention, should delegate follow-up matters to a daughter-in-law or daughter for assistance. Unfortunately, Lady Xu had neither, so she could only turn to Ren Yaoqi, whom everyone saw as her apprentice.Ren Yaoqi knew that given Lady Xu's status among the noblewomen of Yanbei, entrusting her with these tasks was essentially a gesture of trust and a way to elevate her in front of everyone, so she immediately accepted.
To be honest, Ren Yaoqi was deeply grateful for the repeated ways Lady Xu had elevated her.
The short chapter has appeared again, and the long one isn't far away...╯﹏╰.
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