After Jiang Qianniang left, Madam Jiang's status in the Han Family indeed underwent some changes.
The inner courtyard of the Han Family was originally managed by Old Madam Han and a few senior stewards. At Han Yunqian's suggestion, Madam Jiang began to involve herself in the household affairs of the Han Family. The Han Family was a typical patriarchal clan; when Old Master Han was away, everyone in the household, including Old Madam Han, deferred to Han Yunqian without any objections.
Fortunately, Madam Jiang was naturally intelligent and had learned household management while in the Jiang Family, so these tasks were not difficult for her. She was more than happy to keep herself busy.
The women of the Han Family originally had little interaction with the outside world, rarely even attending ordinary social gatherings. When Madam Jiang first married into the family, she found this strange because, in her experience, although women from prominent families did not appear in public, socializing and engagements among women were unavoidable. They would typically go out several times a month. However, Old Madam Han and the young ladies of the Han Family truly never stepped beyond the main gate or the Inner Gate. When Madam Jiang needed to meet someone or attend a banquet, she had to report in detail to Old Madam Han.
Now, with the feared Old Master Han away from home and Madam Jiang having some authority over the household, she began to socialize with the women from neighboring families and occasionally attended their gatherings.
Old Madam Han was initially displeased, feeling that Madam Jiang was breaking the rules set by Old Master Han. However, since Han Yunqian did not object, Old Madam Han let her be, though she herself withdrew further, spending her days in her own courtyard to avoid seeing what she disapproved of.
Han Yunqian did not stop Madam Jiang from socializing with women from other families. Instead, he instructed the steward to allocate her a monthly allowance for carriage and travel expenses, which greatly endeared him to Madam Jiang. In return, Han Yunqian earnestly requested that Madam Jiang take Han You along when appropriate and teach her the ways of the world.
Han Yunqian's earnest request was not taken lightly by Madam Jiang. Whenever she went out, she would bring Han You along. Perhaps out of consideration for her future position in the Han Family, Madam Jiang taught Han You with great dedication, much like a matriarch instructing a daughter about to be married on social etiquette. This brought Han You closer to Madam Jiang, and she grew fond of accompanying her on outings.
Han Yunqian was grateful for Madam Jiang's guidance of Han You, expressing his thanks on several occasions and being generous to her materially. In this way, everyone was satisfied.
At the same time, Han Yunqian was also dealing with matters concerning the Ren Family.
The Gao Family agreed to give the Ren Family three years to repay the debt. However, if the Ren Family failed to repay within three years, their entire estate would be forfeited to the Gao Family. After careful consideration, the head of the Ren Family agreed, though he kept this decision from Old Madam Ren.
Master Ren the Elder, the head of the Ren Family, had thought it through clearly. The only way for the Ren Family to escape their predicament was to find the treasure left behind by the previous owner of the estate. If they could not uncover it within three years, the chances of finding it later would be slim, or perhaps there was no such treasure at all.
Thus, the Ren Family began extensive construction work on their estate.To the outside world, they claimed they wanted to dig a few wells in the estate to improve the feng shui. In reality, these wells were also connected underground. The Ren Family seemed determined to dig three feet into the ground to find those things.
Ren Yaoqi also heard about the Ren Family digging and filling holes all over the estate. Naturally, she understood better than anyone what they were looking for. She sighed and could only shake her head with a wry smile.
The Han Family, however, remained remarkably composed. Despite all the commotion the Ren Family was causing, Han Yunqian hadn’t mentioned a single word about it to Ren Yaoqi, as if he was certain that even if the Ren Family dug three feet into the ground, they wouldn’t find anything. As for Old Master Han, he seemed to be tied up with matters in the northwest and hadn’t returned.
What surprised Ren Yaoqi was that shortly after the Ren Family started digging wells everywhere, Ren Yijun and Madam Qi came to Yunyang City to see her.
If it had been any other member of the Ren Family, Ren Yaoqi likely wouldn’t have agreed to meet them. However, she couldn’t refuse Ren Yijun and his wife. Ren Yaoqi originally planned to receive them at Yingya Pavilion, but Xiao Jingxi suggested she invite Ren Yijun and Madam Qi to Zhaoning Hall instead. Ren Yaoqi had always been close to Ren Yijun and his wife, so she had them escorted to the residence she shared with Xiao Jingxi.
This was Ren Yijun and Madam Qi’s first visit to the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion. Madam Qi was so curious and excited along the way that she kept looking around, earning herself several low scoldings from Ren Yijun before she finally settled down.
Xiao Jingxi also stayed in Zhaoning Hall to wait for Ren Yijun and his wife. When Madam Qi caught sight of Xiao Jingxi for the first time, she was utterly stunned, staring wide-eyed and unable to move. Ren Yijun pinched her several times in secret, his face flushed with anger.
The attendants in the hall couldn’t help but chuckle quietly, finding the Ren Family’s Third Young Madam quite amusing. Even Ren Yaoqi and Xiao Jingxi couldn’t hold back their laughter.
Before Ren Yijun could become completely furious, Ren Yaoqi stood up, took Madam Qi’s hand, and led her to sit by the southern kang. “Third Sister-in-law, come sit here.”
Ren Yijun felt that Madam Qi’s behavior was utterly foolish and had greatly embarrassed him. His expression remained sour, and he even treated Xiao Jingxi with a bit of indifference.
After exchanging a few words, Xiao Jingxi tactfully excused himself to his study to attend to official matters.
Only after Xiao Jingxi left did Ren Yijun’s expression soften slightly.
Ren Yaoqi asked with a smile, “What brings you both to visit me so suddenly today?”
Ren Yijun glanced at Ren Yaoqi, not bothering with any pretense. “Recently, the family has been digging wells everywhere, even right in front of my courtyard. It’s so noisy I can’t sleep at night. I went to ask Father about it, and he told me it was for the Ren Family’s feng shui.” Ren Yijun scoffed, “As if anyone would believe that!”
Then, he narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Ren Yaoqi. “I came to ask you if you know something about this.”
Ren Yaoqi replied calmly with a smile, “I’ve been in Yunyang City all this time. What do you think I could possibly know?”
Madam Qi covered her mouth with a light laugh. “Some people can know everything under the sun without ever leaving their homes. Your Third Brother firmly believes you’re one of those people. No matter how much I tried to dissuade him, he insisted on coming to ask you.”
Ren Yijun gave a soft snort but continued to stare intently at Ren Yaoqi.
After hesitating and pondering for a long while in her heart, Ren Yaoqi finally let out a soft sigh. She dismissed all the maidservants attending nearby, not even keeping her most trusted senior maids."Since Third Brother asked me, I'll tell you a story. It's quite long and may be uncomfortable to hear. Are you sure you want to listen?"
Ren Yijun frowned but still nodded. "Go ahead."
Madam Qi glanced at Ren Yijun, then at Ren Yaoqi, blinking. "Maybe I should excuse myself first." She anticipated that what Ren Yaoqi was about to say wouldn't be pleasant and wasn't sure if she should be present.
Ren Yaoqi smiled at her. "It's fine. Whatever Third Brother can hear, Third Sister-in-law can naturally hear too."
Ren Yijun looked at Madam Qi and tacitly agreed.
So Madam Qi obediently sat back down. To be honest, she wasn't very interested in these family secrets! She believed that in a large family, the more secrets you knew, the faster you'd die. But her husband just didn't understand this principle—no matter how much she advised him, he wouldn't listen and insisted on getting to the bottom of things. She felt utterly helpless!
Then, Ren Yaoqi told Ren Yijun and Madam Qi a very long story, involving decades of grudges between two families.
If such a twisting, dramatic, and thrilling story were heard in a tavern or teahouse, listeners would surely order another pot of tea and cheer. But Ren Yijun grew more and more alarmed as he listened, his face gradually turning pale. Even the usually lively, cheerful, and optimistic Madam Qi remained unusually silent, quietly listening to Ren Yaoqi's story until the end.
Only after Ren Yaoqi finished speaking did Ren Yijun remain silent for a long time before hoarsely asking, "In your story, the one seeking revenge is the Han Family?"
Without waiting for Ren Yaoqi to answer, Ren Yijun continued, "And the beast who committed every evil deed and deserves to be struck by lightning is the ancestor of the Ren Family?"
Madam Qi had, at some point, gotten up and moved to sit in the seat next to Ren Yijun. She secretly reached for his hand, only to find it icy cold.
"The Ren Family's current residence originally belonged to the Han Family? And what they've been desperately searching for is the wealth left behind by the Han Family ancestors?"
Ren Yaoqi didn't speak, her gaze gentle and reassuring as she looked at Ren Yijun. But Ren Yijun already knew the answers to the questions he had just asked were all affirmative.
"Heh..." Ren Yijun covered his face and laughed, the sound dripping with sarcasm.
Madam Qi was worried, holding his hand tightly, but she didn't say anything to comfort him.
After laughing enough, Ren Yijun slowly straightened up and said coldly, "I never imagined that the blood flowing in my veins could be so filthy. No wonder none of you wanted to stay in the Ren Family. So that's how it is... So that's how it is..."
Ren Yaoqi said gently, "Third Brother, I'm telling you this today not to make you despise yourself. No matter what our great-grandfather did back then, once the debts are repaid, we owe nothing."
Ren Yijun smiled bitterly. "The lives of the entire Zhai Family... Are we to repay them with our own lives?"Madam Qi said earnestly, "Every grievance has its source, every debt its debtor. Of course, whoever owes a life must repay it with their own! You haven't done anything wrong, so what does it have to do with you? All you can do now is return everything belonging to the Zhai Family exactly as it was! As for what Ren Baoming did, once he enters the underworld, the Zhai Family will naturally appeal to the officials there. Knife mountains, boiling oil cauldrons, the tongue-pulling hell—whatever punishment he deserves, he won't escape it!"
Ren Yijun frowned. "Knife mountains, boiling oil cauldrons, the tongue-pulling hell? Didn't you used to say you didn't believe in ghosts and gods?"
Madam Qi remained unperturbed. "When it's time to believe, you believe! Anyway, I believe it now!"
With Madam Qi's interruption, Ren Yijun's expression softened somewhat.
I was busy with some matters after returning today, but the owed updates will be cleared this month～o(∩_∩)o.
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