Early the next morning, Master Ren the Elder made another trip to Yunyang City, this time going alone.
Although the guards of Yanbei Prince's Mansion had forbidden anyone from the Ren residence to come and go, they turned a blind eye to people inside speaking with visitors through the main gate. This was somewhat unusual, but no one seemed to notice.
When the gatekeeper came to report that Master Ren the Elder had come again, Ren Yaoqi was accompanying Third Master Ren in the study as he painted. Painting had always been Ren Shimin's remedy for dispelling worries.
"Don't see him," Third Master Ren said coldly without turning his head, displeased at being interrupted.
Ren Yaoqi thought for a moment and asked the gatekeeper, "Did Master Ren the Elder come alone? Did he say why he wanted to see Father?"
"Master Ren the Elder only brought one attendant today. He only said he had important matters to discuss with our master and insisted that the master must see him," the gatekeeper replied carefully from outside the door, not daring to enter the study without permission. Everyone in the Ren Family knew that when Third Master Ren lost his temper, his anger was fiercer than anyone else's.
Hearing this, Ren Shimin frowned and was about to erupt in anger when Ren Yaoqi stopped him.
"Father, you should still go see Eldest Uncle. You usually have a good relationship with him, and besides, the decision to expel you from the clan wasn't something he could make alone. He might truly have important matters to discuss by coming to see you privately this time."
Ren Shimin thought for a moment, sighed, and set down his brush. "Then I'll go see him."
After washing his hands, Ren Shimin went out. Ren Yaoqi tidied up the brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone on the desk and also left the study. As soon as she stepped out, she saw Nanny Zhou standing outside the study with a worried expression.
"Miss, has Master Ren the Elder come again?" Nanny Zhou asked as soon as she saw Ren Yaoqi.
Ren Yaoqi nodded. "Father just went out to see Eldest Uncle."
Nanny Zhou glanced around, and seeing no one else nearby, she leaned in and whispered, "Miss, with Master Ren the Elder coming to see the master again, could it be that the Ren Family has changed their mind?" Nanny Zhou hoped more than anyone to break free from the Ren Family. As long as Old Madam Ren wasn't there to meddle, Madam Li would have the final say in Third Master Ren's household. In the past, she wouldn't have dared to think this way, but now that Third Master Ren held an official position and could establish his own household, it was naturally better to stay as far away from those people as possible to avoid them causing trouble later.
Regarding Nanny Zhou's concern, Ren Yaoqi only smiled and said with certainty, "They won't." The elders of the Ren Family had always been opportunistic, so why would they change their minds so easily?
"Then why has Master Ren the Elder come?" Nanny Zhou frowned.
Ren Yaoqi smiled. "Who did you send to follow them just now, Nanny? Xier or Que'er?"
Nanny Zhou looked somewhat embarrassed. "It was a second-rank maid from the courtyard. I asked her to keep an eye out so she could report back promptly if anything happened."
Ren Yaoqi didn't mind. "Then we'll find out soon enough."
Unexpectedly, Ren Shimin returned in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, and he was visibly furious. Seeing Nanny Zhou standing in the courtyard, Ren Shimin said to her, "Give the order: from now on, if anyone from the Ren Family in White Crane Town comes again, no matter who it is, drive them out with a beating!" After saying this, he went straight to the study and didn't emerge until evening.
Nanny Zhou was stunned for a moment, then immediately bowed her head and respectfully replied, "Yes."After Ren Shimin entered his study, Nanny Zhou called the young maid who had been sent earlier to gather information to come before Ren Yaoqi for questioning.
The maid said, "Eldest Master spoke softly, so this servant couldn't hear clearly. Later, our master suddenly lost his temper and said to Eldest Master, 'Even if I am incompetent, I am not shameless enough to divorce my wife to avoid disaster. A grown man of seven feet, when encountering trouble, thinks of pushing women and children out to bear the calamity—how preposterous! From now on, you need not trouble yourselves with my family affairs. Goodbye, I won’t see you out!' Then our master returned."
Upon hearing this, Nanny Zhou gritted her teeth in anger. After instructing the maid not to spread the story and dismissing her, she said to Ren Yaoqi, "So Eldest Master came to incite our master to divorce his wife. Fortunately, our master didn’t listen to them." Only then did Nanny Zhou truly recognize Ren Shimin’s virtues.
Third Master Ren might be lacking in many ways, but in terms of character, there was no fault to be found.
After that day, Eldest Master Ren came once more, but Ren Shimin did not go out to see him. After that, Ren Shizhong stopped coming, and the Ren Family did not send anyone else to persuade him. Seeing that Ren Shimin and his family had been confined for six or seven days with no sign of the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion intending to release them, and with the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion maintaining an enigmatic stance, rumors spread outside that the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion would wait until after the Old Princess Consort’s birthday banquet and the arrival of imperial envoys before dealing with the matter of the Xianwang Residence. Due to the death of the heir, the Old Princess Consort’s birthday banquet could no longer be held, but according to custom, the court would still send people to bestow some rewards.
As the Old Princess Consort’s birthday banquet drew nearer day by day, the Ren Family finally gritted their teeth and opened the ancestral hall, formally expelling Ren Shimin from the Ren Family. From then on, whether by law or by clan rules, Ren Shimin was no longer considered a member of the Ren Family of White Crane Town.
Fifth Master Ren and Ren Shijia and her husband did come to inquire about the situation and sent them supplies, and Ren Yijun also sent a letter in to Ren Shimin. Although they couldn’t offer much substantial help, their intentions were sincere.
During this period, something also happened in the Lei Family. The Lei Family suddenly became haunted.
A night-watching old woman passing by the Lei Family’s ancestral hall at night saw a woman in white sitting on the wall of the hall, her face deathly pale as she smiled at her. The old woman fainted on the spot. Later, on two more occasions, people saw this "female ghost" on the swing in the garden and not far from the study.
The entire Lei Family was thrown into panic. No one dared to go out after nightfall, and those on night duty would gather three companions for courage.
Later, rumors spread that it was the deceased Lady Qiao who had returned, as the two places she later appeared were where Lei Pan'er usually played and studied, suggesting that Lady Qiao was uneasy about entrusting her daughter to the new wife and had come to keep an eye on Ren Yaohua.
If any other woman heard such detailed rumors with eyewitness accounts, even if she wasn’t scared into bedridden illness, she would be trembling with fear and suspicion. However, when Ren Yaohua heard this, she felt only anger.
Ren Yaohua did not believe in ghosts; she only believed that someone was pretending to be one. Besides, she had done nothing wrong, so even if there were ghosts, she would not fear them. Regardless of the purpose behind such actions, using the deceased to stir up trouble was utterly despicable and shameless.Lei Ting wanted to step in to investigate this matter, but Ren Yaohua stopped him. Matters of the inner courtyard should be resolved within the inner courtyard. Besides, Lei Ting was busy every day, and Ren Yaohua couldn’t rely on him to stand up for her in everything. Moreover, Ren Yaohua knew that this incident was targeting her. Lei Ting then ordered the steward, Liu Gui, to follow Ren Yaohua’s instructions.
The next day, Ren Yaohua summoned all the servants of the Lei Family to the assembly hall and strictly forbade them from mentioning the matter again. Anyone caught gossiping would be beaten with a rod and expelled. This was the first time Ren Yaohua had treated the Lei Family’s servants with such severity since marrying into the family.
After disciplining the household servants, Ren Yaohua herself rarely went out, especially after nightfall, when she no longer stepped beyond her courtyard. Previously, she would accompany Lei Pan’er when she went to the study to practice calligraphy or to the garden to play on the swing. Now, however, she had Lei Pan’er change the calligraphy practice location to the small study in the main house and forbade her from playing in the garden.
Lei Pan’er was very obedient and did not complain, but outsiders saw this as evidence that Ren Yaohua was guilty and afraid. Not long after, Ren Yaohua fell ill and became even more confined to her quarters.
A few days later, the "female ghost," which had not appeared for some time, reappeared in the corridor not far from the main house where Ren Yaohua resided.
This time, however, the "female ghost" was caught red-handed by several guards who had been lying in ambush in the shadows.
The outer courtyard steward shone a lantern on the motionless female ghost, only to discover it was merely a paper figure. The paper figure wore a hood and clothing, with a snow-white face and only its mouth painted bright red with cinnabar. From a distance in the dark of night, it looked genuinely eerie.
Liu Gui brought the paper figure to report to Lei Ting and Ren Yaohua.
"Did you find any suspicious people nearby?" Lei Ting glanced at the paper figure on the ground and asked calmly.
"The person tied this paper figure to a pillar in the corridor and hid. By the time we searched the area, they had already fled upon realizing their scheme was exposed."
Ren Yaohua’s gaze remained fixed on the paper figure. She stood up and walked over to examine the clothing on it closely.
Seeing that Ren Yaohua seemed about to remove the clothing from the paper figure, Liu Gui quickly stopped her, saying, "Madam, please don’t touch it. It’s inauspicious."
Although Ren Yaohua was not afraid, she refrained from touching it with her hands.
"Did you find something?" Lei Ting also stood up and walked over, standing beside Ren Yaohua.
Ren Yaohua paused for a moment before saying, "This fabric… is Yun Jin cloth."
Lei Ting glanced at Liu Gui, who carefully rubbed a piece of the sleeve and nodded, confirming, "It is indeed Yun Jin cloth."
Although Yun Jin cloth did not look significantly different from ordinary fine cloth on the market, it was dozens of times more expensive. Wealthy families typically used it for undergarments, as it was comfortable and absorbent, aligning well with the "understated luxury" mentality of prestigious families.
"Yun Jin cloth is valuable, so it definitely wouldn’t belong to the servants in the household. Moreover, I recall that none of the masters in our household prefer using this fabric for clothing, so I never had the procurement office purchase it. However…" At this point, Liu Gui glanced at Ren Yaohua. Seeing no reaction from her, he continued, "However, after Madam arrived, I specifically had the procurement office seek out several bolts of it."Back when the Lei Family had no mistress, Liu Gui had to manage both external and internal affairs.
Ren Yaohua nodded: "I don't care for this either. I only gave two bolts away to someone, and two more remain untouched in the storeroom."
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