Ever since Ren Yaoyu was punished with house arrest last time and Ren Yaoying took her place in Glory and Splendor Courtyard, Ren Yaoyu had regarded Ren Yaoying as her number one enemy. Even Ren Yaohua, who had originally been at odds with her, now seemed less detestable in Ren Yaoyu's eyes.
Over these past days, Ren Yaoyu had frequently set traps for Ren Yaoying, but Ren Yaoying never fell for them. Instead, she secretly caused Ren Yaoyu to suffer several hidden losses, leaving Ren Yaoyu grinding her teeth in frustration.
The quarrels between the two had finally come to a temporary halt. Ren Yaoyu’s gaze shifted, and her face suddenly lit up with joy as she called out, "Father, Mother, over here!"
Everyone turned to look and saw Fifth Master Ren Shimiao and Fifth Madam Lin, who had been absent until now, walking toward them.
Just then, several young masters were also approaching, chatting and laughing. Madam Lin tugged at Ren Shimiao’s sleeve and pointed toward their son, who was walking off the field sweating profusely and looking sullen. The two then turned and headed toward Ren Yijian and the others.
Seeing this, Ren Yaoyu shot a glare at Ren Yaoying before calling out "Father, Mother!" and quickly rushing out to meet them.
A faintly mocking smile curled at the corner of Ren Yaoying’s lips. She turned her head away and began speaking with Han You, who was happily chatting with Ren Yaoting from the East Mansion.
Outside, the biting cold wind was harsh. Earlier, when there had been something lively to watch, everyone had been caught up in the atmosphere and held small hand warmers, so they hadn’t felt the cold. Now that the event had come to an end, these pampered young ladies could no longer bear the chill and returned to the warm pavilions one after another.
Ren Yaoqi saw Ren Yaoying, Ren Yaoting, and Han You walking over together, seemingly getting along quite harmoniously. Meanwhile, Ren Yaoyin, who had originally gone out with Han You, was now walking and talking with Ren Yaohua.
"...What do you usually do for fun? I’ve heard about you for a long time but never had the chance to meet you. Seeing you today feels like meeting a sister I’ve always been close to," Ren Yaoting said intimately, linking arms with Han You.
"Oh? Seventh Sister, where did you hear about You Jie'er? I only met her once when she visited our West Mansion last time," Ren Yaoying asked with a hint of curiosity.
Ren Yaoting glanced at Ren Yaoying. "I heard about her from my eldest cousin when I went to my maternal grandfather’s house to celebrate his birthday this spring. I suppose my eldest cousin must have heard about You Jie'er from Young Master Han. I remember Young Master Han also attended my maternal grandfather’s birthday celebration, and he was a classmate of my second cousin."
Ren Yaoting’s mother, Su Shi, was the eldest legitimate daughter of the current head of the Su family.
Han You nodded happily. "My brother visited the Su family several times when he was in Yunyang City."
Ren Yaoying nodded as if she had just realized something. "No wonder you and You Jie'er both rewarded the little maid with the yellow belt earlier. So that’s the reason."
Ren Yaoting gave a soft "Mm" and then continued speaking quietly with Han You.
Ren Yaoying, however, showed no sign of displeasure at being ignored. Instead, she left the two of them and walked over with a smile, taking a seat two places away from Ren Yaoqi.
Several young masters were also ushered in, surrounded by others. Ren Yaoyu was pestering Ren Yijian with all sorts of questions, occasionally letting out a silvery laugh. Ren Yijian, however, was growing increasingly annoyed by the questions. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he snapped, "Ren Yaoyu! If you can’t even tell east from west and have to ask me, I suppose you don’t even know that the sun rises in the east? In that case, why don’t you just look up at the sky!"Ren Yaoyu's smile froze on her face, her complexion flushed crimson with suppressed anger. Enduring the sidelong glances from Yun Wenfang and Qiu Yun up ahead, tears welled up in her eyes. Finally, she shot her brother a fierce glare and ran away in shame and indignation.
Madam Lin secretly glared at her son, then smiled as she smoothed things over for her daughter: "These siblings have always been close, used to bickering playfully. Now they're even carrying on like this in public."
Ren Yijian stuck out his tongue and made a playful face behind the scenes.
As the young masters went to change their clothes, Ren Yaoqi and the others saw Fifth Master and his wife approaching and quickly rose to greet them.
Eldest Young Madam said, "Fifth Uncle, Fifth Aunt, you've finally arrived. My husband wanted to wait for you before starting, but seeing that Yijian and the others had already changed into lighter clothes, he decided to begin the competition first."
Ren Shimiao laughed heartily: "Our carriage ran into some trouble on the way, so we were delayed."
Carriage trouble that lasted all morning? Couldn't they have sent someone back to the Ren Family to fetch another carriage? Everyone was somewhat puzzled.
Madam Lin chimed in: "Oh, and we happened to run into the convoy from the Yanbei Prince's Mansion along the way. They were just taking a short rest at White Crane Town before heading back to Yunyang City. My maiden family has some connections with the Yanbei Prince's Mansion, so since we encountered them, we went over to say hello and arranged for someone to entertain them."
"Oh? Who from the Yanbei Prince's Mansion is returning at this time? With the New Year just a few days away, could it be that the heir has returned from the capital?" The people of Yanbei always held a certain reverence for the Yanbei Prince's Mansion, and since the mansion usually kept a very low profile, everyone was all the more curious about its affairs.
Madam Lin smiled faintly: "How many years has it been since the heir went to the capital? If he were returning today, how could we not have heard any commotion? It's the Second Young Master who has returned."
As soon as Madam Lin said this, surprised exclamations rippled through the crowd. Madam Lin seemed quite pleased with the reaction.
"The Second Young Master has returned? Didn't he go overseas to the Southern Seas in search of immortals and medicine? How did he suddenly return today? Has his illness been cured?"
"Mother, did you get to see the Second Young Master's true appearance? Is he really as handsome as Pan An, flawless like fine jade, as the rumors say?" Even Ren Yaoyu, who had been angry earlier, was drawn in by the topic and gently tugged at Madam Lin's sleeve as she asked.
Hearing this, Madam Lin sighed: "It seems the Second Young Master didn't find any immortals on this long journey. According to his guards, he did find some medicine. I saw he brought back several cartloads of branches and herbs—you could smell the strong medicinal scent from afar. If he were well, he would certainly have met with me and your father. But given his current condition... ah!"
Ren Yaoqi, listening nearby, smiled faintly.
Madam Lin claimed her maiden family had connections with the Yanbei Prince's Mansion, making it sound as though she were intimately familiar with everyone there. In reality, in her previous life, Madam Lin had constantly urged Fifth Master to curry favor with the Yanbei Prince's Mansion, but unfortunately, it never came to fruition.
Second Young Master Xiao probably didn't even know who they were.
Fifth Master and Fifth Madam had left the group early in the morning, likely because they had received news beforehand of Second Young Master Xiao's return and had specifically gone to try to meet him. Unfortunately, the legendary Second Young Master was not so easily accessible, and naturally, they failed to get their wish.
As for that sickly Second Young Master, it seemed he had indeed brought back some good medicine this time.Two years ago when he left Yanbei, it was said he was gravely ill and near death. To comfort his mother and grandmother, he lied about going to the South Seas to seek immortals and doctors, but in truth, he didn’t want them to witness a younger generation passing before the elders.
Presumably, he had some unusual encounters this time, as afterward, although he remained sickly, his condition improved considerably. At least when she left in her previous life, he was still alive and well.
The young ladies here were enthusiastically discussing Second Young Master Xiao’s affairs. When it came to handsome men, women always enjoyed gossiping.
Over there, the young masters who had earlier taken to the field changed their clothes and came out.
Madam Lin smiled and said to Yun Wenfang, who was walking ahead alongside Qiu Yun, “Zishu, I heard you won several rounds in a row and received many prizes. You’ll probably have to host a gathering to treat everyone.”
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Yun Wenfang and laughed, with Qiu Yun even deliberately nudging him with an elbow.
Madam Lin was merely taking advantage of her acquaintance with Yun Wenfang to tease him. The prizes Yun Wenfang won were certainly not for himself; he had already rewarded them to his team members.
Yun Wenfang, however, replied earnestly, “Indeed, I received quite a few rewards from the young ladies. If you hadn’t suggested I host a gathering, I would have felt uneasy.”
This amused everyone greatly.
The young ladies had been here all morning and had consumed quite a bit of tea, so they all asked the matrons to take them to freshen up. Due to limited space, Madam Lin took Ren Yaoyu, Ren Yaoting, and Eldest Young Madam Zhao Shi first.
After a while, a matron came from outside to invite Ren Yaohua, Ren Yaoying, Ren Yaoyin, and Han You to go over. Presumably, the others had already finished.
Ren Yaoqi had already gone earlier, so she stayed behind, waiting for Madam Lin and the others to return.
Over there, the young masters of the Ren Family were chatting with Qiu Yun, Yun Wenfang, and Han Yunqian.
Somehow, the conversation led to Third Young Master Ren Yijun suddenly sneering and saying, “Wait until he beats Fifth Sister, then you can crown him the champion!”
Their gazes immediately turned toward Ren Yaoqi, who was sitting there.
I owe an update and will make up for it tomorrow～^^
Well, I’ll be diligent with updates from now on… please keep me accountable…
Completed works by Meinan:
[bookid=2288861,bookname=《名门闺杀》]
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