Ying'er and Zhu'er were assigned to two young servants in the outer courtyard, becoming ordinary maidservants there.
The boundary between the outer and inner courtyards of the Ren Family was clearly defined. Some people, even after serving the Ren Family their entire lives, found it extremely difficult to step through that hanging lotus pillar gate with its overhanging eaves.
"Nanny, you should say that times have changed! Now that we've returned, does she still think she can extend her reach so far?" Ren Yaohua's eyes were icy as she spoke coldly, "Tomorrow, I'll drive out all those she arranged here, along with the servants in this courtyard who sway with the wind like grass on a wall."
Nanny Zhou advised, "Third Miss, we've only just returned. Shouldn't we let this matter rest for now? The people we brought back are few in number, and Purple Magnolia Courtyard still needs servants to handle duties. Even if we want to select new people or purchase additional ones, we must first report to Old Madam Ren and First Madam. Moreover, to dismiss people, we need a reason. We cannot simply drive out the courtyard's servants without cause. Doing so would not only chill the hearts of those below but also make it difficult to explain to Old Madam Ren."
Ren Yaohua already harbored deep hatred for Concubine Fang. Hearing Nanny Zhou's words, she raised her eyebrows and said, "I'll handle Grandmother's side. As for reasons? Isn't that simple? Laziness, gossip, theft, disrespect toward masters... If the master convicts them, can they refute it?"
"Third Miss..."
"Does Third Sister intend to offend everyone in the Ren Family before she's satisfied?" Ren Yaoqi suddenly spoke up.
Ren Yaohua turned a cold face and icy gaze toward Ren Yaoqi. Ren Yaoqi ignored her anger and said calmly, "Concubine Fang did reassign many people to Purple Magnolia Courtyard, but aside from Nanny Zhu by my side and two personal maids, most of them were not originally her own people."
"Not her people?" Nanny Zhou thought for a moment, then murmured, "Logically speaking, in just over a year, she indeed wouldn't have such capability..."
Building connections requires cultivation. Nanny Zhou had helped Madam Li manage affairs for over a decade and had only gained a dozen or so truly trusted confidants among those serving her—and even two of those had been dismissed.
The other madams of the Ren Family were no pushovers either. How could they allow Concubine Fang to grow too powerful and rise above them?
Ren Yaoqi nodded. "Most of the maids and matrons in Purple Magnolia Courtyard now were newly selected from various estates a year ago."
Ren Yaohua, however, glanced sidelong at Ren Yaoqi with a cold smile. "This courtyard is managed by Concubine Fang. Wouldn't selecting people still go through her hands? Even if these people had no prior connection with her, wouldn't taking her path make them her people?"
Though Ren Yaohua had a fiery temperament, she was not foolish. Despite her young age, she had developed her own judgment from an early age by helping the weak-willed Madam Li make decisions.
Hearing Ren Yaohua's words, Ren Yaoqi did not deny them. Instead, she nodded in agreement. "Third Sister is right. These people took Concubine Fang's path and gained such leisurely positions, so they are all grateful to her. Over this past year, her reputation among the Ren Family's servants has grown even better."
With Madam Li and Ren Yaohua away at the estate, Purple Magnolia Courtyard had fewer masters, but its allowances remained unchanged. Concubine Fang never deducted from them, so duties in Purple Magnolia Courtyard became widely recognized among the Ren Family's servants as well-paid and leisurely positions.
This time, though Ren Yaohua's expression grew even more unpleasant, she did not immediately speak out.The senior maid Xier couldn't help but ask in confusion, "But didn't Fifth Miss say earlier that these people weren't Concubine Fang's? Now she's saying they are her people... so are they hers or not?"
Ren Yaoqi thought for a moment and said softly, "Although these people were all newly selected household servants from the estate by Concubine Fang, they all have some familial connections with capable maids and old women from Old Madam Ren's, First Madam's, Second Madam's, and Madam Lin's courtyards. For example, Wife Niu, who manages our courtyard gate keys—her younger sister-in-law is the eldest daughter-in-law of Granny Gui in Old Madam Ren's courtyard. Liu'er, who manages tea for guests in our courtyard, is the biological younger sister of Qiufen, the first-rank senior maid by First Madam's side. Old Woman Liu, responsible for hot water in the backyard, was originally a gatekeeper woman in the Ren Family's outer courtyard, but her niece now manages accounts in Madam Lin's courtyard..."
Nanny Zhou, having experienced her share of struggles in the inner courtyards, grasped the intricate relationships after hearing just these few words, and her heart was stirred by tumultuous waves.
The maid Que'er also exclaimed in shock and anger, "She actually used positions in our Purple Magnolia Courtyard to curry favor and please the other masters of the Ren Family!"
Ren Yaoqi shook her head and glanced at Ren Yaohua.
Ren Yaohua's lips were tightly pressed, adding a touch of stubbornness to her cold expression, but her eyes blazed with fury.
"While doing this certainly pleases those around Old Madam Ren and First Madam, that isn't her main goal."
Hearing this, everyone turned their gaze to Ren Yaoqi.
Ren Yaoqi, however, looked at Ren Yaohua. "Her target is Third Sister and Mother."
Ignoring the astonished looks from the others, Ren Yaoqi continued calmly, "She has calculated Third Sister's temperament accurately, knowing you would never tolerate the people she arranged staying in Purple Magnolia Courtyard and would start cleaning up the inner courtyard as soon as you returned. In truth, these people have no real connection to her; wherever they are sent, it doesn't affect her. She still collects the favors she gave out, but you end up offending the people of Old Madam Ren, First Madam, Second Madam, and Madam Lin."
After all, Ren Yaohua was a daughter of the Ren Family, and Old Madam Ren always held some affection for her, so she would eventually return to the Ren Family. Concubine Fang understood this from the beginning, so she never intended to drive Ren Yaohua and Madam Li out of the Ren Family completely.
As a concubine, even after bearing a son, she could not be elevated to the status of a wife. What she wanted was control over the Third Household's inner courtyard.
She wanted to ensure that even if Madam Li and Ren Yaohua returned to the Ren Family, they could never shake her position.
"That despicable, shameless, venomous woman!" Xier gritted her teeth and cursed.
Ren Yaohua, however, gradually calmed down from extreme anger, speaking coldly and deliberately, "Just let her wait and see. I will make sure she pays!"
Ren Yaoqi asked calmly, "How will you make her pay? By having her come to enforce rules for Mother and then taking the opportunity to discipline her?"
Ren Yaohua looked up, her face dark as she stared at Ren Yaoqi.
Nanny Zhou, afraid the sisters would argue again, quickly mediated, "Third Miss is also thinking that since we've been away for a year, the people in the Ren Family only know of Concubine Fang and not of Madam as the rightful mistress. She wants to use the opportunity of enforcing rules for Concubine Fang to establish Madam's authority."
Ren Yaoqi didn't want to argue with Ren Yaohua either, so she nodded. "The idea isn't wrong, but the timing is off."
"Oh? How is it off?" Ren Yaohua raised an eyebrow and said coldly.Ren Yaoqi said earnestly, "Didn't I ask Third Sister earlier how to make Concubine Fang suffer? Before you left the mansion, I did make her suffer several times, but have you ever considered why you could make her suffer, leaving her with no place to seek justice even after being wronged?"
Ren Yaohua remained silent, but Xier spoke up, "Of course, it's because our Third Miss is more favored by Old Madam Ren than Concubine Fang! With Old Madam Ren backing her, Concubine Fang naturally wouldn't dare act recklessly in front of Third Miss."
Old Madam Ren disliked Madam Li, but she was quite fond of her granddaughter Ren Yaohua.
Back when Ren Yaohua pushed Ren Yihong into the water, Old Madam Ren believed she was young and impulsive, and that it was an accident rather than a deliberate attempt to harm her half-brother. She even spoke up for her in front of Old Master Ren.
"Concubine Fang knows this too. So, what if one day Old Madam Ren no longer stands on Third Sister's side?"
"How could that be? Old Madam Ren has always doted on Third Miss. Even when we were at the estate, she sent people to deliver food to Third Miss," Que'er quickly shook her head.
Ren Yaohua and Nanny Zhou, however, remained silent.
Old Madam Ren was never short of younger generations vying for her favor. In the Ren Family now, the most favored were Fourth Miss Ren Yaoyin, the legitimate daughter of First Madam, and Ren Yaoyu, the legitimate daughter of Madam Lin. They were often invited to stay overnight in the east warm chamber of Glory and Splendor Courtyard.
Today, when Ren Yaohua and Madam Li went to pay their respects to Old Madam Ren, although Old Madam Ren was delighted to see Ren Yaohua, she sternly reprimanded her when Ren Yaohua pleaded for Madam Li.
In the past, Old Madam Ren would never speak a harsh word to Ren Yaohua. Whenever Old Madam Ren made things difficult for Madam Li, Ren Yaohua would smooth things over, and Old Madam Ren would give her granddaughter some face.
"So, what Third Sister needs most right now is not to find ways to cause trouble for Concubine Fang, allowing her reputation for being harsh and domineering to be deliberately spread far and wide until everyone knows about it. Instead, she should work hard to solidify her position in front of Old Madam Ren. As long as you remain Old Madam Ren's most favored granddaughter, you'll have plenty of opportunities to teach Concubine Fang a lesson in the future," Ren Yaoqi pointed out calmly and objectively.
No one noticed the indifference toward Old Madam Ren revealed in her calmness. It seemed that in her heart, Old Madam Ren was merely a tool to establish a foothold in the inner household—something to be used for its value, not her own biological grandmother.
"Third Miss, Fifth Miss makes a valid point," Nanny Zhou pondered Ren Yaoqi's words, growing more alarmed the more she thought about it.
Concubine Fang first removed the old servants Madam Li had left in Purple Magnolia Courtyard. First, this severed Madam Li's connection to the main residence of the Ren Family, deepening the rift between Ren Yaoqi, Madam Li, and Ren Yaohua. Second, it cleared space for the people she planned to bring into Purple Magnolia Courtyard.
By doing this, she knew Ren Yaohua would be furious upon returning to the mansion, and that's when her next move would come.
Her ultimate goal was to make Ren Yaohua completely lose Old Madam Ren's favor and offend all the masters and servants of the Ren Family, leaving her isolated.
Ren Yaohua now understood this and couldn't help but feel stifled. She wanted to sarcastically retort to Ren Yaoqi, "Wouldn't me losing Grandmother's favor be exactly what you want?"
But when she met Ren Yaoqi's calm gaze, she swallowed her words.Although Ren Yaohua did not express agreement, Nanny Zhou, who knew her well, understood that she had taken the words to heart. She then smiled warmly at Ren Yaoqi and said, "Fifth Miss truly has grown up. Even Madam and this old servant had never considered such matters."
Ren Yaoqi lowered her gaze without speaking. In her previous life, she had studied under Pei Zhiyan, who had once served as the emperor's tutor. To her now, the intricate schemes of the inner household were like lifting the curtain and control panel of a shadow puppet show—the dense network of strings that manipulated every movement of the puppets was laid bare before her eyes.
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