Not long after they had sat down, Madam Xiao Qiao softly said to Lei Pan'er, "Pan'er, it's getting late. The maids will need to pack things up later. Shall we go back?"
Lei Pan'er pouted, clearly not very willing, though she did not openly contradict Madam Xiao Qiao.
Ren Yaoqi, hearing this, smiled and asked, "Is Pan'er packing to go somewhere?"
Lei Pan'er glanced at Madam Xiao Qiao and replied to Ren Yaoqi, "Auntie says I should move into her courtyard to live with her."
Madam Xiao Qiao patted Lei Pan'er's head and said gently, "Pan'er has been staying in her second uncle's courtyard all along, which might not be very convenient. It so happens that I also want someone to keep me company, and I can take care of her much more easily than her second uncle, a man, could."
Lei Pan'er pouted and muttered softly, "Second Uncle doesn't mind Pan'er being troublesome. Second Uncle likes Pan'er the most."
"Then does Pan'er not want to live with Auntie?" Madam Xiao Qiao deliberately put on a stern face. "But what did Pan'er promise Auntie before we came out?"
Lei Pan'er looked at Madam Xiao Qiao's face, which was said to closely resemble her own mother's, and said somewhat aggrievedly, "Pan'er isn't unwilling to live with Auntie. Pan'er just..."
Madam Xiao Qiao smiled and interrupted her, "Since Pan'er isn't unwilling, then it's settled?"
Ren Yaoqi looked at them and suddenly interjected with a smile, "I've heard that this time of year is prone to autumn dryness, and it's not suitable for children to move beds casually. If they accidentally fall ill, it could be a serious matter. If you must move, perhaps it would be better to wait another month or two."
Hearing this, Lei Pan'er blinked her big eyes and looked at Ren Yaoqi, then turned to Madam Xiao Qiao.
Madam Xiao Qiao frowned, seemingly displeased. "I've never heard of such a saying. Where did Miss Ren hear this?"
Ren Yaoqi was unfazed and replied with a light smile, "I heard it from my aunt. She only has my little cousin, her only child, and treasures him dearly, always afraid of not taking good care of him. But as a mother, she naturally worries about her child, sometimes perhaps overly so."
Ren Yaoqi's words seemed to imply that Madam Xiao Qiao was not as concerned about Lei Pan'er because she was not her birth mother, which immediately soured Madam Xiao Qiao's expression. She looked at Ren Yaoqi with a hint of mockery. "Miss Ren is quite knowledgeable for her young age."
Ren Yaoqi, however, acted as if she didn't notice Madam Xiao Qiao's expression. "I have a good relationship with my aunt and often visit her, so I frequently hear her talk about such things, which is how I learned them. But I see that Auntie Qiao takes meticulous care of Pan'er. You must have taken care of children before, right?"
This statement completely changed Madam Xiao Qiao's expression. Her gaze toward Ren Yaoqi turned as cold as a cutting wind, and her face paled slightly.
Meanwhile, Lei Pan'er, still naive, chimed in, "Auntie doesn't have any children."
Madam Xiao Qiao took a deep breath, placed her hands on the table, and pursed her lips without speaking.
The atmosphere in the room grew somewhat tense. Ren Yaoqi seemed unaware, slowly taking a sip from her teacup.
Xiao Jinglin, however, raised an eyebrow and glanced at Ren Yaoqi in surprise.
Ren Yaoqi had always been a gentle person, but today, in front of Madam Xiao Qiao, she was unusually sharp and spoke without much restraint, which was quite unlike her usual demeanor.
Noticing Xiao Jinglin's gaze, Ren Yaoqi subtly winked at her but offered no explanation.However, the atmosphere had already turned awkward, and even the child Lei Pan'er felt it was no longer appropriate to stay.
Thus, before long, when Madam Xiao Qiao once again proposed taking Lei Pan'er away, Pan'er did not refuse this time.
Ren Yaoqi did not try to persuade them to stay either. After bidding farewell to Lei Pan'er, she and Xiao Jinglin were in no hurry to leave the teahouse. Instead, she instructed Hongying to bring in a fresh pot of hot tea.
"Were you deliberately trying to provoke her just now?" Xiao Jinglin had now realized.
Ren Yaoqi seemed to be lost in thought. Hearing this, she looked up with a smile and admitted candidly, "Yes."
Xiao Jinglin glanced at Ren Yaoqi and chided, "You've become bad!"
Ren Yaoqi couldn't help but laugh at this and defended herself, "I just wanted to test her intentions."
Hongying brought over a new pot of tea, and Xiao Jinglin took it, personally pouring a cup for Ren Yaoqi. "So, did you figure it out?"
Ren Yaoqi thought for a moment, gently touching the rim of the teacup with her fingertip. "I originally thought she was targeting Lei Ting, but it turns out she was targeting Pan'er."
From Madam Xiao Qiao's attire, Ren Yaoqi realized she had been mistaken earlier. If Madam Xiao Qiao truly intended to use her resemblance to Lei Ting's late wife to win him over, she wouldn't have dressed like that. Instead, it was when Ren Yaoqi deliberately brought up the child that her reaction became too strong.
Xiao Jinglin remarked, "She doesn't seem like someone with particularly deep schemes."
Otherwise, she wouldn't have been provoked into losing her temper by just a few words from Ren Yaoqi.
However, Ren Yaoqi's expression remained serious. She frowned and said, "Although Pan'er is young, she is clever. In the past, many women tried to use her to enter the Lei Family, but they all failed in the end. Yet, her attitude toward Madam Xiao Qiao is very obedient. She didn't even speak up when Madam Xiao Qiao dismissed her wet nurse."
Xiao Jinglin raised an eyebrow. "Is it because she resembles Lei Pan'er's birth mother?"
Ren Yaoqi nodded. Madam Xiao Qiao might not be particularly clever, but having that face was enough. Moreover, if she were too clever, the Lei Family might not tolerate her.
Xiao Jinglin watched Ren Yaoqi worrying about the Lei Family's affairs and shook her head. "Ren Yaohua is your sister, not your daughter. Even if you want to protect her like a mother hen, you can't smooth out everything for her. In the end, this is the Lei Family's internal matter, and it must be resolved by Ren Yaohua herself. Otherwise, can you protect her for a lifetime? If you're truly this concerned about her, you shouldn't have let her marry into the Lei Family."
Hearing this, Ren Yaoqi couldn't help but smile bitterly. She didn't argue and nodded in agreement. "You're right. I'm worrying too much."
Ren Yaoqi also knew that Ren Yaohua had grown up and was about to become a married woman. She didn't need Ren Yaoqi hovering over her like a mother hen, worrying about every little thing. However, over the years, protecting her family had become a habit, and she couldn't change it overnight.Seeing Ren Yaoqi acknowledge it, Xiao Jinglin instead comforted her: "This Madam Xiao Qiao drove away Pan'er's wet nurse as soon as she entered the Lei Family, and now she wants Pan'er to live with her before Ren Yaohua enters the household. Once she develops a bond with Lei Pan'er, it will be difficult for Ren Yaohua to bring Lei Pan'er back to the main courtyard later. Her plan is clever, but after all, she is only Lei Pan'er's aunt, merely staying with the Lei Family as a guest. No family would let an aunt without status or position take care of the legitimate daughter when there is a mistress in the house. As long as Lei Ting has any sense, he won't actually hand Lei Pan'er over to her."
After listening to Xiao Jinglin's unusually lengthy speech, Ren Yaoqi deliberately looked at her with surprise: "Weren't you always disdainful of these inner household matters?"
Xiao Jinglin took a sip of tea to moisten her throat, trying hard to conceal the smugness on her face: "Disdain doesn't mean I don't understand."
Ren Yaoqi, seeing her proud expression, suppressed a laugh and nodded in agreement: "Commandery Princess is wise!" This earned her a light snort from Princess Xiao.
Even so, after leaving the teahouse, Ren Yaoqi still gave the pouch Lei Pan'er had given her to Pingguo: "Give this to Xueli and have her go to the Lei Family's estate to find Lei Pan'er's wet nurse, and incidentally inquire about Madam Xiao Qiao's details."
Xueli had been living in Zhu Ruomei's home these past few years, and over time, she had developed a deep bond with the Zhu family. Zhu Ruomei's mother liked Xueli very much and had long wanted her to become her daughter-in-law.
Ren Yaoqi had originally planned to have Xueli return after her coming-of-age ceremony, as she had promised Xueli earlier. However, the last time Ren Yaoqi noticed that Zhu Ruomei and Xueli seemed to have developed mutual affection, so after asking Xueli for her opinion, Ren Yaoqi abandoned the idea of bringing her back. Nevertheless, since Xueli had once been her maid and had suffered some hardships for her, and Zhu Ruomei had helped her greatly over the years, Ren Yaoqi intended to properly plan for Xueli in the coming days before letting her marry.
Pingguo acknowledged and left. Ren Yaoqi met Xiao Jinglin's disdainful gaze and explained with a smile: "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. I'll gather information first before letting Third Sister handle it. She's been very busy lately, and besides, once she's married, it will be difficult for me to help her."
Xiao Jinglin rolled her eyes inwardly, wondering why she still felt as if Ren Yaoqi was marrying off a daughter.
"It's still early. Shall we take a carriage ride around the city?" Ren Yaoqi linked arms with Xiao Jinglin and asked with a smile.
Xiao Jinglin also didn't want to return so early. Suddenly, she grasped Ren Yaoqi's hand and pulled her toward the carriage with enthusiasm: "Right, I know a place that serves delicious stewed meat. Come, I'll take you there!"
Ren Yaoqi was one of the few people who knew of Princess Xiao's foodie nature and followed her into the carriage without resistance. Xiao Jinglin said the place was in a remote alley and hard to find, so she had Hongying replace the coachman and sit in front to drive.
As the carriage neared the southern city gate, it slowed down to make way for vehicles and horses exiting the city. A hesitant voice called out from outside the carriage: "Hong... Hongying?"
Xiao Jinglin raised an eyebrow and lifted the carriage curtain. Ren Yaoqi turned her head and saw the dark-faced city guard they had encountered last time standing to the right of the carriage, rubbing his hands nervously as he spoke to Hongying.Since the Commandery Princess did not order the carriage to stop, after the city gate carriage had passed, Hongying signaled for their own carriage to continue moving. The dark-faced officer jogged to maintain a certain distance alongside the carriage while simultaneously greeting Xiao Jinglin.
Xiao Jinglin nodded slightly before lowering the carriage curtain once more, paying no further attention to the outside.
Hongying seemed to whisper something to the dark-faced officer.
The officer's earnest yet cautious voice faintly drifted in: "Hongying, my injuries have already healed. When will you have time to come and beat... oh, I mean, to come and instruct me again?"
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