Ren Yaoqi heard Ren Yaoting's words from inside the carriage and thought to herself that Ren Yaoting likely wanted to discuss the matter of the salt field with her.
Madam Li also hoped Ren Yaoqi could get closer to the sisters of the Ren Family, so she said to Ren Yaoqi, "Go and ride in the same carriage as your Seventh Sister."
Ren Yaoqi readily agreed and stepped down from the carriage.
Ren Yaoting had been waiting outside and hurried over as soon as she saw Ren Yaoqi alight. She took Ren Yaoqi's hand with a warm, friendly smile. "Fifth Sister, the journey has been so dull in the carriage. I'm glad I ran into you. Let's sit together and have a good chat."
Originally, for convenience while traveling in Yunyang City, Ren Yaoting had her own carriage. However, she preferred riding with Su Shi, so her own carriage was left empty. Ren Yaoqi followed Ren Yaoting into her carriage.
As soon as they boarded, Ren Yaoting sent all the maids to sit outside, leaving only herself and Ren Yaoqi inside the compartment.
"Seventh Sister, I overheard the maids and servants gossiping about how lively the Su family's wedding ceremony was," Ren Yaoqi said with a smile.
Hearing this, Ren Yaoting gave a proud smile. "My eldest cousin is the Su family's legitimate eldest grandson, so his wedding is naturally more lively than most. But..."
Ren Yaoqi asked curiously, "But what?"
Ren Yaoting glanced at Ren Yaoqi. Normally, she wouldn't discuss such matters with her, but now she found Ren Yaoqi much more agreeable. She lowered her voice and said, "But my eldest cousin's wife's dowry was quite shabby. Although it looked like thirty-two chests, I heard from the nanny by my mother's side that only the top layer of those dowry chests contained slightly valuable items, while the rest were filled with worthless things meant to pad the count. Even the few decent bolts of fabric were last year's fashionable patterns from the capital. So, the servants in my second and third aunts' courtyards haven't held back on making sarcastic remarks." Ren Yaoting pursed her lips.
Su Keqin, the Eldest Master of the Su family, and Ren Yaoting's mother, Su Yi, were born to the original wife of the Su family's old master. The Second Master, Su Kejian, and the Third Master, Su Keji, were born to the stepmother.
Ren Yaoqi knew that in her previous life, when Lady Zeng married into the Su family, it had caused quite a stir. At this time, Zeng Pu was merely a nominal sixth-rank Zhongxian Commandant, and his niece, who had lost both parents at a young age, had been raised in his household.
People speculated that the Su family's old master's stepmother had schemed to arrange the marriage for the legitimate eldest grandson of the original wife, and that the Su family's eldest young master had been tricked into such a match.
It wasn't until later, when Zeng Pu rose to prominence in Yanbei, that everyone realized the Su family's old master had been uniquely insightful.
Ren Yaoqi couldn't help but sneer. What unique insight? The Su family must have long been secretly collaborating with the Zeng family.
Whether Lady Zeng truly lacked a family fortune or not, her dowry was merely a smokescreen to lull others into underestimating the Zeng family.
"...But my eldest cousin's wife is an excellent person—beautiful, well-mannered, and educated." As she spoke, Ren Yaoting untied a small pouch from her waist and handed it to Ren Yaoqi. "This is the gift she gave me when we met. I heard she embroidered the pattern herself. What do you think of the embroidery?"
Ren Yaoqi took it and glanced at it. On the pink pouch were embroidered two girls playing shuttlecock, the scene vivid and lifelike.
Ren Yaoqi handed the pouch back and nodded with a smile. "Yes, the embroidery is quite exquisite."Ren Yaoting pursed her lips into a smile. It seemed she liked this pouch very much and was quite satisfied with her elder cousin's wife.
Given Ren Yaoting's proud nature, she should have looked down upon Lady Zeng, who came with a meager dowry. Yet after just a few days of interaction, she had grown fond of Lady Zeng, which showed that this Lady Zeng was no ordinary woman.
"Alright, I'll tell you more about my elder cousin's wife later. The reason I called you over is actually to talk about that matter we discussed last time," Ren Yaoting lowered her voice.
Ren Yaoqi pretended not to understand, "Which matter are you referring to, Seventh Sister?"
"The Han Family's salt field..." Ren Yaoting whispered as a reminder.
"Oh, so it's about that. Seventh Sister, did you actually bring it up with the elders?" Ren Yaoqi widened her eyes.
Ren Yaoting covered her mouth with a laugh, "Did you think I was just joking?"
"What was the outcome?" Ren Yaoqi asked with a smile.
Ren Yaoting moved closer to Ren Yaoqi, "I originally intended to mention it to my mother, but I was afraid she might notice something. Coincidentally, because of my elder cousin's wedding, my mother was taking me to Yunyang City, so I thought it would be better to speak directly with my maternal grandfather's family. So I found an opportunity to stop my elder cousin and asked him to speak with my uncle. Unexpectedly, my aunt happened to see us. My aunt asked me many questions, including where I had heard about these things. I told her some were my own thoughts, and some I had overheard from a few stewards chatting when I visited the West Mansion. To my surprise, my aunt directly reported this matter to my grandfather and uncle."
At this point, Ren Yaoting paused and looked at Ren Yaoqi with a smile, "Guess what happened?"
"Did your grandfather and uncle think it was feasible?" Ren Yaoqi asked with a smile.
Ren Yaoting shook her head, looking profound, "This matter isn't that simple. However, my maternal grandfather has already sent my uncle to dispatch people to Xining, saying they need to investigate the situation before making any decisions."
Business-minded people naturally don't believe in baseless rumors. When the Ren Family decided to cooperate with the Han Family, they also sent people to Xining to conduct on-site investigations, so Ren Yaoqi wasn't surprised. The fact that the Su Family was willing to send people to gather information indicated their interest in the matter.
Ren Yaoqi had initially thought that the salt field mentioned by the Han Family was merely a facade to lure the Ren Family in, as it would be extremely difficult for the Han Family, given their current capabilities, to acquire high-quality salt wells.
But later, she realized that with the Ren Family's caution, if it were truly a baseless rumor, Old Master Ren wouldn't have been unable to uncover anything at all.
Now that she knew the Han Family had connections with the Yanbei Prince's Mansion, the matter of the salt wells was likely true. She just didn't know how the salt wells in the Han Family's possession were related to the Yanbei Prince's Mansion's use of the Han Family.
If the Su Family could be used to test the waters, it might not be a bad approach.
"What are you thinking about? Are you even listening to me?" Ren Yaoting exclaimed, seeing that Ren Yaoqi seemed lost in thought.
Ren Yaoqi turned to Ren Yaoting with a slight smile, "Yes, I'm listening. I was just thinking that it would take some time to gather information from Yunyang City to Xining."
Ren Yaoting's annoyance turned to delight, "Of course. But my maternal grandfather's family has always stationed people in Xining, so it should be much more convenient."
Ren Yaoqi nodded, "That does make it much easier."The two chatted along the way. Ren Yaoqi noticed that Ren Yaoting was particularly talkative today, likely because she felt she was one step closer to her goal and was happy. It was worth noting that Ren Yaoting usually only talked a lot with people she liked, and she had rarely paid attention to the former Ren Yaoqi.
For most of the journey, Ren Yaoqi simply listened, occasionally nodding or making a sound of agreement.
With someone talking, time passed more quickly. Soon, the Ren Family's carriage entered White Crane Town.
The carriages from the East Mansion and the West Mansion entered through different gates, so the carriage stopped at the street corner. The servant woman sent by Madam Li spoke from outside the carriage curtain, "Fifth Young Miss, we've arrived at the mansion gate. The Madam asks you to come down."
Ren Yaoqi had already learned everything she wanted to know from Ren Yaoting, so she bid farewell readily.
Ren Yaoting blinked and said, "I'll tell you as soon as there's news from over there." The joy of success naturally needed to be shared, and Ren Yaoting felt that, so far, Ren Yaoqi was the most suitable person to discuss this matter with.
Ren Yaoqi nodded, "Alright, then I wish Seventh Sister success in achieving her heart's desire."
Ren Yaoting blushed, thinking that Ren Yaoqi might have just said it casually and that the meaning wasn't what she had in mind, so she calmed her racing heart. By then, Ren Yaoqi had already gotten off the carriage.
Meanwhile, one of the senior maidservants attending Ren Yaoting was called over by the matron beside Su Shi.
In front of Su Shi, the matron asked Ren Yaoting's maidservant, "What did the Young Miss and the Fifth Young Miss from the West Mansion talk about?"
The maidservant thought for a moment and replied truthfully, "At first, they talked about Young Master Su's marriage and the Eldest Young Madam of the Su Family. Later, the Young Miss lowered her voice, and I couldn't hear clearly."
The matron asked a few more questions before dismissing the maidservant.
"Madam, do you think what the Young Miss said to the Master's brother the other day is related to the Fifth Young Miss from the West Mansion?" the matron asked softly.
Su Shi, who had been leaning back with her eyes closed, slowly opened them. "I just don't believe Ting'er could have thought of those things herself. As for who told her... I'm not sure."
Su Shi's eyes were as calm as an ancient well. "Ren Yaoqi from the Third Branch... If she had such intelligence, she wouldn't have been outsmarted by a concubine before. It's highly possible she knew about it."
"Then, Madam, do you think it could be that Concubine Fang, who oversteps her bounds?" the matron asked, seeing that Su Shi didn't believe it was Ren Yaoqi.
This time, Su Shi remained silent for a long while before saying calmly, "It's not impossible. If she really used Ren Yaoqi's mouth to tell Ting'er about this, her goal must be to prevent Ren Yaohua from marrying into the Han Family."
Hearing this, the matron curled her lip disdainfully. "She's just a concubine. What good could this possibly do for her?"
Su Shi, however, smiled faintly. "Although she's a concubine, she is quite capable. Haven't you noticed that even Sister-in-Law never provokes her? Those with nothing to lose fear nothing. She dares to do things others might not. As for the benefits... If Madam Li's daughter gains a powerful in-law family, then Concubine Fang will have even less chance of taking over the authority of the Third Branch's inner household from Madam Li. Given my uncle's temperament, as long as there is a marriage agreement between the Ren Family and the Han Family, he will show Madam Li some respect."*************************************************************(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please come to Qidian () to cast your recommendation votes and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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