Madam Li knew that Rome wasn't built in a day, so she didn't rush to defend her younger brother. Instead, she echoed, "He was indeed a bit wild in his youth."
Ren Shimin counted the banknotes and, for once, displayed rare shrewdness: "Even with your savings and what Li Tianyou repaid, it shouldn't add up to this much, right?"
Only then did Madam Li glance at Master Ren's expression and admit, "As expected, nothing escapes you, Master. Actually, some of it was sent back by Yaoqi..."
Upon hearing this, Ren Shimin indeed frowned: "Didn't I say she shouldn't get involved in these matters?"
Master Ren felt that, as the head of the family, being expelled from the clan was already a great loss of face. Now, having to rely on his married daughter to repay the Ren Family's debts made him feel even more embarrassed.
Remembering Ren Yaoqi's instructions, Madam Li quickly added, "Actually... actually, Yaoqi said this money isn't a gift. She... she has her eye on those paintings by Tang Miao and Jiang Yuanyi in your collection..."
As Ren Shimin's eyes widened in surprise, Madam Li's voice grew softer and softer.
Ren Shimin was stunned for a moment before suddenly laughing and scolding, "That girl! Didn't I give her two as part of her dowry when she married? And she's still eyeing my treasures?"
Seeing that Ren Shimin didn't seem angry, Madam Li finally breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Yaoqi said it's better to sell them to her than to let others ruin them. Besides, she'll buy them and still keep them in your study for you to look after until... ahem... until you pass them on to her."
Such irreverent words would have infuriated any other elder, but Ren Shimin burst into laughter instead. He then cheerfully accepted the box: "Fine! I won't let her lose out either. From now on, everything in my study will be left to her. For now, I'll just keep them safe."
Master Ren was overjoyed that his treasures wouldn't fall into the hands of others. As for ownership, he had no particular ambition—he was content as long as he could admire them from time to time. After all, you can't take them with you when you die, so why fuss over them?
Nanny Zhou, however, couldn't help but glance at Ren Shimin, thinking to herself: All the valuable things you own are kept in that small study of yours. Could you be any more biased?
Still, it was better to leave them to her own young mistress than to Ren Yihong, that son of a concubine. Nanny Zhou was quite satisfied with this outcome.
After clarifying the source of the large sum of money, Master Ren took the box and left without giving it much further thought.
After Ren Shimin left, Nanny Zhou expressed her concern to Madam Li: "Commandery Princess, most of that silver was given to you by the Princess Consort and the Prince as compensation for your dowry. If you give it all to the Master now, what if something happens in the future..."
Madam Li waved her hand to stop Nanny Zhou's words, her tone resolute: "There is no 'what if'! Even if he falls into poverty, I will stay by his side."
Picking up the outer garment Ren Shimin had just taken off, Madam Li said gently, "Besides, in the end, his break with the family was because of me. How could I stand by and watch him struggle over such worldly possessions? I only want to see him happy and content every day, even if what brings him joy are just those lifeless objects in his study." And not me.
Nanny Zhou looked at Madam Li, shook her head, sighed softly, and said nothing more.Ren Shimin wanted to repay the Ren Family in one lump sum after receiving the silver, but Ren Yaoqi stopped him. She persuaded him to pay in several installments, completing the repayment within a year. Ren Yaoqi feared that if they paid too quickly, Old Madam Ren might stir up trouble again.
Ren Shimin didn’t mind these minor details. Following Ren Yaoqi’s advice, he first sent eighty thousand taels to the Ren Family, with the remainder to be paid in several installments. Whether it was due to the effect of Ren Yaoqi’s earlier conversation with First Madam or the Ren Family’s genuine need for silver, they ultimately accepted the money Ren Shimin sent.
Meanwhile, some changes had occurred in the inner courtyard of the Ren Family since Old Master Ren’s funeral.
Old Madam Ren’s courtyard first released a group of maidservants. The senior maids who had previously served her, such as Shanhu and Jinlian, were married off to several young stewards outside the family. They happily left Glory and Splendor Courtyard with the generous dowries provided by First Madam.
Afterward, First Madam sent a new batch of maids to serve Old Madam Ren. Initially, Old Madam Ren was somewhat displeased, but these new maids were not only attractive but also clever and sensible. They were even more familiar with her habits than the previous senior maids had been, and she gradually grew accustomed to them.
The daily affairs of the Ren Family’s inner courtyard had always been managed by First Madam, though she reported to Old Madam Ren every day. First Madam continued this practice, still consulting Old Madam Ren on major matters before making decisions. Old Madam Ren noticed no difference from before.
Since marrying into the Ren Family in her youth, Old Madam Ren had been the authoritative mistress of the inner courtyard. Even after her son married and she handed household management to her eldest daughter-in-law, First Madam had always obeyed her. Over the years, Old Madam Ren had let her guard down.
Unbeknownst to her, some servants who had previously answered only to her had been quietly replaced by First Madam. A few tried to secretly seek Old Madam Ren’s intervention, but they were intercepted before reaching Glory and Splendor Courtyard.
After Old Master Ren’s death, the financial authority of the Ren Family fell entirely into the hands of Master Ren the Elder. With First Madam replacing Old Madam Ren’s trusted aides with her own confidants, everyone in the inner courtyard understood where their loyalties should lie.
The inner courtyard of the Ren Family was undergoing a silent transformation, yet Old Madam Ren, the very person involved, remained completely unaware. She continued to live in the atmosphere First Madam had carefully crafted for her—one of supreme authority where no one dared defy her.
One day, Old Madam Ren realized that Ren Yaoyin, who used to pay her respects daily, had not visited Glory and Splendor Courtyard for a long time. According to First Madam, who came daily to inquire after her health, Ren Yaoyin was seriously ill and unable to leave her room due to her condition. Old Madam Ren’s plan to arrange Ren Yaoyin’s marriage into the Yun Family had to be temporarily set aside, and she instructed First Madam to ensure Ren Yaoyin was well cared for.
First Madam agreed readily in front of Old Madam Ren, but behind her back, she had been in contact with the Yang family she had previously favored. Although the mourning period for Old Master Ren prevented the formal arrangement of a marriage, both sides expressed interest in forming an alliance.As for Ren Yaoyin, shortly after Old Master Ren's funeral, she was placed under strict confinement by First Madam. All the maids and elderly servants who had previously attended her were replaced, and the guards at her room and courtyard gates were swapped out for strong, sturdy women, preventing her from taking even half a step outside her room. First Madam publicly claimed that Ren Yaoyin had fallen ill from exhaustion after tirelessly caring for Old Madam during the mourning period for the old master and needed quiet rest for some time.
Although Ren Yaoqi had agreed to the Ren Family's request to contact the Yu Family, in reality, she never intended to actually meet with this so-called Yu Family. She knew that the Yu Family was merely a front, and it was the Han Family behind them that was truly orchestrating the matter.
However, Ren Yaoqi was in no hurry to meet with the Han Family either, as doing so would make her appear passive. She was waiting for the Han Family to come to her.
Old Master Han had been quite content and pleased recently, as his enemy's family was steadily declining according to his design—a process he thoroughly enjoyed. The only regret was that the old man of the Ren Family was too fragile, dying too quickly. It was a pity, as Old Master Han had originally arranged an elaborate finale for him.
Compared to the declining Ren Family, the Han Family was thriving more and more.
Although the Han Family's roots in Yanbei were still shallow, over the years they had gradually established a foothold among the prominent families of Yanbei. Moreover, the Han Family's eldest young master, whom Old Master Han had designated as the next successor, had become a standout among the younger generation in Yanbei. He was increasingly compared to the Yun Family's eldest young master and had even gained the favor of Yanbei's renowned official, Sheng Shi Hong, becoming his final disciple. His future was boundless. Now, the Han Family was also about to form a marriage alliance with the Yun Family.
However, in Old Master Han's heart, all this was still far from enough. He intended to make the Ren Family pay tenfold for everything the Zhai Family had suffered. Not only did he want to reclaim everything that originally belonged to the Han Family, but he also wanted to see every member of the Ren Family fall into poverty and meet a miserable end. Only then could he appease the spirits of his Zhai Family ancestors in heaven.
Originally, everything was proceeding according to Old Master Han's wishes, and it seemed that his long-held ambition was about to be realized.
Unfortunately, not long after Old Master Ren's death, things began to change. It was as if the Han Family had offended some god of misfortune, and they too began to encounter bad luck.
First, they competed with a suddenly emerging Gao Family for the grain and oil business in Shunzhou, and in the end, the Han Family inexplicably lost. Later, Old Master Han learned that this Gao Family was actually related to the Lei Family's chief steward—in essence, the Gao Family was nothing more than a lackey of the Lei Family, hardly notable in Yanbei. Meanwhile, the wife of the Han Family's master, Madam Jiang, was from Shunzhou, and the Jiang Family had both prestige and connections there. Yet, despite this, the Han Family still lost to the Jiang Family.
Initially, the Han Family thought it was merely a coincidence, a result of underestimating their opponent.
But then, the newly opened salt wells jointly operated by the Han and Yun Families in the northwestern region also began to encounter problems.Originally, given the Yun Family's status in Yanbei and their connections, making a profit from operating salt wells was almost a sure thing. This was precisely why the Han Family had chosen to collaborate with the Yun Family in the first place. However, now that trouble had arisen, even the Yun Family had no idea where the problem lay. All they knew was that after the salt was extracted from the wells, the subsequent steps were cut off, and there was no market for it—something that had never happened before.
By this point, not only the Han Family but even the Yun Family had begun to sense that something was amiss.
The first to realize this were the two young men, Han Yunqian and Yun Wenting.
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