After completing her postpartum confinement, Ren Yaoqi resumed her social engagements. The Princess Consort gradually handed over most of the internal affairs of the mansion to her, while she herself began enjoying a leisurely life, delighting in the company of her grandchild. Fortunately, Ren Yaoqi was intelligent and had the Princess Consort’s guidance, so she managed the household with ease.
Xiao Jinglin had previously mentioned taking her little nephew as her disciple, so she visited daily to foster a bond with her future apprentice. Little Azhuo adored Xiao Jinglin and would stop crying and fussing whenever she held him. Princess Xiao was quite pleased with this. If not for the Princess Consort’s strict prohibition, she might have started teaching the few-month-old Azhuo how to squat in a horse stance.
One day, Xiao Jinglin came again to bid farewell to Ren Yaoqi and Azhuo.
“Where are you off to this time?” Ren Yaoqi asked, looking at Xiao Jinglin, who was dressed in military attire and exuding a heroic aura.
Xiao Jinglin caught Azhuo’s chubby little hand as he tried to pick at the soft armor on her chest. “The Zeng father and son have fled into Tangut territory. I’m going this time to root them out completely.”
Ren Yaoqi looked at Xiao Jinglin with suspicion. “Is it really necessary for you to go personally?”
The Zeng father and son were now nothing more than stray dogs, incapable of causing any trouble. Even if the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion wanted to eliminate them completely, there was no need for Xiao Jinglin to take charge.
Xiao Jinglin pursed her lips and lowered her head to play with Azhuo, pretending not to hear.
Ren Yaoqi narrowed her eyes and studied her for a moment before suddenly having a realization. “Could it be to avoid someone?”
Xiao Jinglin’s hand, which was holding Azhuo’s little paw, paused, and Ren Yaoqi understood most of it.
Previously, after Yun Wenting returned with Xiao Jinglin from Jiajing Pass, he had gone back to the Yun Family first because Yun Wenfang was severely injured and Xiao Jinglin had many matters to attend to. Now, Yun Wenfang’s injuries were gradually improving, and, to everyone’s surprise, he had begun taking over the affairs of the Yun Family. Yun Wenting, the eldest grandson designated as the next successor of the Yun Family, was instead left with little to do. As a result, Eldest Master Yun had been appearing at the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion frequently lately.
Eldest Master Yun wasn’t there to see Xiao Jinglin; he came to pay his respects to the Old Princess Consort and the Princess Consort. The Old Princess Consort had always been fond of this grandnephew from her maternal family. Although the Princess Consort’s attitude toward Yun Wenting was somewhat inscrutable, she didn’t dislike him either. After all, across all of Yanbei, it was hard to find anyone more outstanding than Eldest Master Yun.
So lately, Xiao Jinglin had been seeing Yun Wenting quite often. When she was busy with matters before, Yun Wenting would follow her around, helping her review documents and tidy up loose ends, and Xiao Jinglin hadn’t found him particularly bothersome. But now that things were gradually calming down, with Yun Wenting constantly hovering around her, Xiao Jinglin was starting to feel restless.
Seeing Xiao Jinglin like this, Ren Yaoqi could only sigh and had no intention of persuading her.
Matters of the heart were something others couldn’t help with; one had to figure them out on their own.
However, what Xiao Jinglin didn’t know was that the Princess Consort had privately discussed Yun Wenting and Xiao Jinglin’s situation with Ren Yaoqi. The Princess Consort was open-minded. Although the affairs of the Yun Family were somewhat complicated, she held no prejudice against Yun Wenting as a junior. If Xiao Jinglin agreed herself, the Princess Consort wouldn’t stand in the way.
As for the Prince of Yanbei’s opinion… the Princess Consort calmly stated that it wasn’t an issue.Later, when Xiao Jingxi arrived and heard his mother and wife discussing the Yun family's eldest young master, he unexpectedly offered his opinion: "Yun Wenting doesn't have any major flaws, but he lacks a certain sharpness—his temperament is too soft."
Upon hearing this, the Princess Consort smiled. "This is about choosing a son-in-law, not a military commander. What use is sharpness? Two tigers cannot share one mountain, even if they are male and female. For a couple to last long, one firm and one gentle is the most compatible match. If both have strong personalities, clashes are inevitable over time."
At this point, the Princess Consort sighed. "Jinglin has her heart set on guarding the border. If her wish comes true, someone with Yun Wenting's temperament would actually suit her best."
Xiao Jingxi and Ren Yaoqi exchanged a glance, then both lowered their heads in acknowledgment of the lesson.
After bidding farewell to Ren Yaoqi and Azhuo, Xiao Jinglin left Yunyang City with her personal guards and headed for Ningxia. Less than half a day after Xiao Jinglin's departure, Yun Wenting also left Yunyang City.
Xiao Jinglin and Yun Wenting would be gone for nearly a year.
During this time, something also happened in the Ren Family. Ren Yaoying's marriage to the He family's master ultimately fell through. Ren Yaoying broke off the engagement and fled the Ren Family one month before the wedding.
The Ren Family was no longer what it used to be. Many servants had been dismissed, and security was naturally not as tight as in a deep mansion. Ren Yaoying bribed a few people, disguised herself as a young maid, and escaped through the back gate. Before fleeing, she also stole First Madam's jewelry box.
Upon discovering this, First Madam immediately sent people to pursue her, thinking that a teenage girl couldn't have gone far. However, after three days of searching, Ren Yaoying was nowhere to be found—she had mysteriously disappeared.
Somehow, the He family found out and came knocking. Unable to produce Ren Yaoying, the Ren Family returned the betrothal gifts and compensated the He family with five hundred taels of silver. Though displeased, the He family had no choice but to accept their misfortune.
Ren Shimin and Madam Li also learned of this matter. Although Ren Shimin had severed ties with Ren Yaoying, he was still her biological father, so the Ren Family informed him and Madam Li of Ren Yaoying's disappearance.
Ren Shimin no longer acknowledged Ren Yaoying as his daughter. Upon hearing of her escape, he did not fly into a rage but coldly ordered someone to report the matter to the authorities. He then instructed Madam Li to prepare five hundred taels in silver notes to send to the Ren Family and compensated First Madam for the lost jewelry by converting its value into silver.
As Ren Yaoqi had taken on most of the affairs of the Yanbei Prince's Mansion and was particularly busy with the approaching year-end, she did not dwell much on Ren Yaoying's situation, though Madam Li had sent someone to inform her.
Although Ren Yaoqi did not intervene, Ren Shimin had reported the matter to the authorities, who naturally dared not neglect it. Thus, on the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, ten days after Ren Yaoying's disappearance, Madam Li sent someone to inform Ren Yaoqi that Ren Yaoying had been found.
It turned out that after fleeing the Ren Family, Ren Yaoying had not left Yan Prefecture. She had come to Yunyang City and was living in a two-courtyard house in an alley called Jixiang Alley in the western part of the city.
After locating her, the authorities did not rashly arrest her but first sent someone to report to Ren Shimin. Coincidentally, Ren Shimin was out visiting friends. Uncertain of what to do, Madam Li sent someone to the Yanbei Prince's Mansion to consult Ren Yaoqi.Ren Yaoqi was rather curious about what Ren Yaoying was up to, but she didn’t want Ren Yaoying, that one bad apple, to ruin the reputation of the entire Ren Family. So she instructed the authorities not to make a fuss and sent a few people to keep an eye on Ren Yaoying in Jixiang Alley, where she was staying.
On the first day, there was no movement from Ren Yaoying’s side. Apart from a newly purchased young maid who attended to her daily needs, there was an elderly couple in charge of the gate and the kitchen. Except for the old woman going out to buy groceries early in the morning, the gate of the residence remained closed all day.
On the evening of the second day, those responsible for watching Ren Yaoying finally had news: a man had entered the residence where Ren Yaoying lived. The man stayed until the next morning before leaving.
The man’s identity was quickly uncovered. When Ren Yaoqi heard the name reported by her subordinates, she wasn’t too surprised. The man was an old acquaintance—none other than Young Master Zhou Wen, who had been entangled with Ren Yaoying in the past.
Zhou Wen was now living a smooth and successful life. He truly had some genuine talent in academics. Although he had been disheartened for a while after failing the imperial examination, his luck had turned around after getting married. This year’s provincial examination had gone well for him. His father-in-law, a minor local official in Zhuozhou, had pulled strings to secure him a lucrative position in Yizhou, making his future seem bright and promising.
Although Zhou Wen already had a lovely wife who had given birth to a son last year and had even allowed him to take one of her beautiful maids as a concubine, Zhou Wen was by nature a philanderer. Somehow, he had rekindled his affair with Ren Yaoying. Truly, the wife was not as enticing as the concubine, and the concubine was not as thrilling as the illicit lover.
Ren Yaoying compared the now dashing and successful Zhou Wen with the wrinkled Old Master He, who could have been her grandfather, and the difference was stark. Thus, she was unwilling to marry into the He family. Somehow, she managed to persuade Zhou Wen to rent a residence for her in Yunyang City, where she could stay temporarily. Once the He family called off the engagement and the Ren Family stopped looking for her, she could follow Zhou Wen to his post in Yizhou.
The Zhou family had only one son, Zhou Wen, so his wife had to stay in Yunyang City to serve his parents. Ren Yaoying’s plan was clever: once she followed Zhou Wen to his post, he would rarely return to Yunyang City, and his relationship with his wife would naturally pale in comparison to hers as the one by his side. In three to five years, once Zhou Wen had established himself and no longer needed his in-laws’ support, he could divorce his wife. Then, after Ren Yaoying restored her identity as a young lady of the Ren Family, Zhou Wen could marry her, and she would become a proper official’s wife.
Ren Yaoying’s plan was indeed clever. Unfortunately, she had her concubine mother’s ambition but not her brains.
After uncovering these details, Ren Yaoqi sent someone to inform Madam Li, telling her to wait for Ren Shimin to handle the matter upon his return. Meanwhile, Ren Yaoqi continued to busy herself with this year’s New Year gifts.
After Ren Shimin returned from visiting friends and heard about Ren Yaoying from Madam Li, he said nothing at the time. The next day, he sent someone with his name card to the authorities.
At noon, while having lunch with Madam Li, Ren Shimin remarked casually, “Send someone to White Crane Town to gather a few of her old belongings. Since she bore the Ren surname for over a decade, find a spot near the Ren Family ancestral graves to bury her. She was unmarried in life, so find a simple coffin and keep everything modest.”Upon hearing this, Madam Li was stunned for a long moment: "Master, you mean..."
Ren Shimin picked up his chopsticks: "From now on, there is no such person as Ren Yaoying."
Master Ren swiftly and decisively removed Ren Yaoying from the household register, turning her into a person officially recorded as deceased. The cause of death documented in the government records was: encountered bandits and died by suicide.
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