Three years ago, when Mr. Pei had just been demoted by the court to Wuzhou, she accompanied him as an attendant.
Mr. Pei had the habit of reading court gazettes every day, though by the time they reached his hands, they were often several days old.
The first time she saw the name Zhu Ruomei was in several court gazettes that had already been delayed for days.
That year, during the Empress Dowager’s birthday celebration, Xiao Jingxi, the second son of the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion, represented the mansion in the capital to offer birthday congratulations to the Empress Dowager.
It was said that this second son of the Prince of Yanbei was not only as beautiful as a painting but also exceptionally intelligent.
Mr. Pei, who had once met this second son of the Xiao Family, described him with eight words: "Endowed with spiritual brilliance, a talent that astonishes the world."
Hearing such high praise from the highly self-regarding Mr. Pei for someone else left Ren Yaoqi utterly amazed. After all, having lived in Yanbei for sixteen years, she knew very little about this Second Young Master Xiao. She had heard her father mention his elder brother, the Prince of Yanbei’s heir who was held as a hostage in the capital, a few times, mainly because the heir was skilled at painting.
Unfortunately, Second Young Master Xiao suffered from a severe illness. It was said that even walking a few extra steps would cause him to cough up blood, and his health was even worse than that of her frail third brother, Ren Yijun. Truly, it seemed heaven envied his talent.
Everyone was deeply concerned about Second Young Master Xiao’s journey south, fearing that a single bump in the carriage might send him to meet the King of Hell. Fortunately, in the end, Second Young Master Xiao arrived safely in the capital.
Empress Dowager Yan was very fond of Xiao Jingxi. Her own niece, Miss Yan, fell in love with him at first sight and vowed to marry no one else. Eventually, the Empress Dowager issued an edict betrothing Miss Yan to Second Young Master Xiao, who had remained unmarried due to his poor health.
Originally, this would have been a beautiful match, but fate had other plans.
At this time, Xiao Jingkang, the Prince of Yanbei’s heir, suddenly died. Simultaneously, large-scale rebellions by fierce bandits broke out in Xingzhou, Xiangzhou, and Xuzhou, shocking the court.
The name "Zhu Ruomei" began to appear frequently in court gazettes from various prefectures and counties at this time—he was the leader of these fierce bandit rebellions.
Just as the court had barely suppressed the rebellion and was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Second Young Master Xiao, who was supposed to remain in the capital in place of the deceased heir and marry Miss Yan, suddenly disappeared from the capital.
Rumors spread that Second Young Master Xiao, fearing he would meet the same fate as the Xiao heir, had secretly returned to Yanbei amid the chaos.
Others claimed that the bandit "Zhu Ruomei" was originally a miner from Yanbei’s coal mines. Recognized for his talent by the discerning Second Young Master Xiao, he had become a fierce general under the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion. According to this rumor, the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion had long harbored rebellious intentions, and the Xiao Family deserved punishment.
In any case, after Xiao Jingxi made his escape, Zhu Ruomei also vanished without a trace.
Later, Miss Yan, with her dowry in tow, made a grand departure from the capital to Yanbei in search of her husband. As for the outcome, there were too many rumors, making it difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood.
Ren Yaoqi had little interest in inquiring about such matters, for what she saw was not a tragic and moving love story but a clear-cut tale of political intrigue and deception.
The Yanbei Prince’s Mansion and the court had a long-standing, unresolved feud. Before Ren Yaoqi woke up and returned to the Ren Family, this feud remained unsettled.
However, she remembered the name Zhu Ruomei.
Whether this Zhu Ruomei was the same Zhu Ruomei, Ren Yaoqi had no way to verify. Still, she had once discussed the rumors of that time with Mr. Pei. While many of them were indeed false, not all were mere fabrications.When she returned to the warm pavilion, the competition outside was at its liveliest. Even the usually gentle and refined young ladies couldn't help but clench their fists in excitement, cheering and shouting.
Ren Yaoqi sent Xueli to take some silver to the maids who were carrying baskets back and forth collecting rewards, then dismissed the other matrons around her to enjoy themselves, keeping only one of her mother Madam Li's trusted matrons.
"Fifth Young Miss, what are your instructions?" the matron asked respectfully.
Only Ren Yaoqi remained sitting in the corner of the warm pavilion. Everyone else was focused on the competition outside and didn't pay attention to her. Ren Yaoqi took out a hundred-tael silver note from the purse at her waist—previously given to her by Ren Shimin—and handed it to the matron.
"Before we left, Father asked me to give rewards on his behalf. Take this to that miner named 'Zhu Ruomei' we encountered earlier. Tell him his skills are impressive and this is Third Master's reward."
The matron glanced at the silver note and looked surprised: "Fifth Young Miss, this... isn't it too much?"
Ren Yaoqi wore a helpless expression: "I thought so too, but this is Father's intention. He told me to find someone with genuine skill to reward. How could I secretly keep the reward money he gave me?"
Hearing this, the matron immediately fell silent. Third Master had always been unconventional, and they certainly didn't dare to disobey him.
"By the way, deliver it quietly. Tell Zhu Ruomei not to make it public, otherwise he'll have to hand over most of this silver."
The matron had overheard Zhu Ruomei's conversation with Yuan Dayong earlier and immediately replied, "Fifth Young Miss, please rest assured. This servant understands."
Ren Yaoqi nodded, and the matron bowed before withdrawing.
The matron returned before the ice hockey match outside ended.
"Young Miss, he accepted your silver and was extremely grateful. He said he wants to set up longevity tablets for you and Third Master." Everyone enjoys doing good deeds, and the matron delivered this news with great delight.
Ren Yaoqi was taken aback and said with a bitter smile, "Why would I want him to set up tablets for me? How absurd!"
The matron covered her mouth with a smile: "There's such a custom in the countryside—setting up longevity tablets for great benefactors who save lives. But this servant also thought it inappropriate, especially since you're still an unmarried young lady, and our family doesn't follow such practices, so I declined on your behalf. He then insisted on kneeling and kowtowing several times to you and the master. That man is truly sincere—he even performed 'audible kowtows.' However... however, that Yuan Dayong seemed to have overheard my conversation with Zhu Ruomei." The matron looked at Ren Yaoqi with some unease.
Ren Yaoqi thought for a moment and shook her head: "It's fine. Do you know who this Yuan Dayong is? It sounded like his father is a steward in our mansion?"
The matron quickly replied, "This servant just went to inquire. Yuan Dayong is the son of a steward in the outer courtyard of our Ren residence. Steward Yuan mainly handles social interactions in the outer courtyard. Since Steward Yuan is literate, Yuan Dayong also learned to read and write from his father. He now works as an accountant at a coal depot in Yunyang City."
Indeed, she was one of Madam Li's capable matrons—she had investigated the situation without needing to be told. Ren Yaoqi smiled and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Matron."
The matron hurriedly expressed her humility.
At that moment, cheers erupted thunderously outside, and Ren Yaoqi couldn't help but look toward the entrance.
Ren Yaoyu was so overjoyed she forgot herself, clapping her hands and exclaiming, "We won, we won, we won!"Ren Yaoying chuckled softly, "Eighth Sister, who do you mean by 'you all'? We didn’t see you competing in the match."
Ren Yaoyu, noticing the disdainful and barely suppressed smirks directed her way, flushed red and gritted her teeth, lowering her voice. "Ren Yaoying, didn’t you bet on the Green Team too? Hmph! Just a lowborn bastard, utterly delusional!"
Ren Yaoying, stunned by these words, turned to Ren Yaoyu with tears welling in her eyes, then looked toward Ren Yaohua. "Third Sister! What is Eighth Sister saying? She insulted me, called me..."
Ren Yaohua’s expression darkened with disgust as she cut in sharply, "Both of you, be quiet! Do you want to make a spectacle of yourselves?"
Eldest Young Madam, sensing the tension, stepped in to mediate.
Fortunately, the loud cheers from outside drowned out their relatively subdued quarrel. Moreover, aside from a few masters and their personal attendants nearby, no one else paid them any attention.
Thank you to angeljiang_s, Seventh Kill Lord, and Right Grass Robe for the rewards~ ^^
Di Mou will be released next Monday~
Completed works by Mei Nan:
[bookid=2288861,bookname=Mingmen Guisha]
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