The previous chapter title was incorrect; it should have been "The Han Family's Secret" (￣◇￣;)
Sorry...
Ren Yaoqi, perhaps because she still harbored some wariness toward the Han Family, couldn't help but feel that Old Madam Han's words carried a hint of warning.
Could it be that the Han Family had some unspeakable secret they didn't want others to stumble upon? Ren Yaoqi pondered silently.
Han You, rarely playing the role of hostess, was quite delighted. She didn't pay much attention to Old Madam Han's words, simply nodding in acknowledgment.
Old Madam Han turned and instructed her two maidservants to stay behind to look after the young ladies, then led First Madam Ren to the flower hall.
Han You led the group toward the small garden in the inner courtyard. Just as the Ren sisters had introduced the Ren residence to her during her previous visit, she now shared some anecdotes about the courtyards.
However, since the Han Family had only recently moved to White Crane Town, Han You racked her brains but could only come up with a few dry remarks, making her feel somewhat embarrassed.
The Han Family's garden was indeed not as exquisite as the Ren Family's, but it was quite spacious, with no shortage of rare flowers and unusual plants.
Having grown accustomed to the Ren Family's garden, the Ren sisters initially felt a bit of novelty and curiosity upon entering the Han Family's garden. However, after seeing that aside from flowers and trees, there were only rocks and stones—far less refined than the Ren Family's—they quickly lost interest.
Nevertheless, since Han You enthusiastically introduced the garden's flora as if recounting treasures, they had no choice but to muster their spirits.
Ren Yaoting, however, genuinely appeared quite interested.
"Oh, your residence actually grows 'Xiao Wu Bao'?" Ren Yaoyin pointed at a camellia not far away, asking in surprise.
"Xiao Wu Bao" was a precious variety of camellia, also known as "Eighteen Scholars."
Han You glanced over and smiled softly, "Yes, but it hasn't bloomed yet."
Ren Yaoyin walked over for a closer look, shaking her head regretfully, "It's already quite an achievement just to keep it alive. It likely won't bloom. Our region is extremely cold and not suitable for this type of flower. I once tried cultivating it myself and even asked my mother to hire an experienced gardener to tend to it, but unfortunately, it still didn't survive."
Han You replied with a smile, "I also said it wouldn't survive, but my brother insisted on trying. My mother loves camellias dearly. Once, she dreamed of a courtyard filled with 'Eighteen Scholars,' so my brother had someone find a few plants. In the end, only this one survived, though it hasn't bloomed. My brother says it must bloom next year, but I'm not sure if it's possible."
"Of course it's possible," Ren Yaoting chimed in before Han You had even finished speaking, her tone full of conviction.
The others gave her a somewhat odd look, but Ren Yaoting had already bent down to examine the camellia closely.
Ren Yaoyin cleared her throat lightly, changing the subject, "This shows that Young Master Han is truly a rare filial son."
After strolling around the garden, as they approached the northwest corner, one of the maidservants sent earlier by Old Madam Han hurried forward and said to Han You, "Miss, the young ladies from the Ren Family must be tired after walking for so long. Why not go sit in the pavilion inside? This servant will have someone prepare some tea and snacks. Wouldn't it be more comfortable for the mistresses to sit in the pavilion and enjoy the flowers?"
The maidservant pointed in the direction from which they had come. Earlier, while walking along a flower-lined path, they had indeed glimpsed the protruding eaves of a small pavilion.Han You glanced ahead at the path upon hearing this, then looked hesitantly at Ren Yaoting and the others.
The Ren sisters were also growing a bit tired from walking, but Ren Yaoting actually still wanted to explore the Han Family estate further.
Ren Yaoyu casually asked, "What's that place up ahead?"
Everyone seemed to catch a glimpse of a red wooden door at the corner, as if leading to a small courtyard or building.
The maid who had spoken earlier quickly replied, "That's an abandoned courtyard in our estate. I heard it used to be a library. But after the old master built a new study in the inner courtyard, this place was abandoned and left unused. It hasn't been cleaned for a long time. The other day, an old woman who tends the garden flowers said she saw a rat this big..."
The maid gestured with her hands—it was as big as a house cat.
The young ladies were startled and quickly took a few steps back.
Ren Yaoyin, however, asked suspiciously, "I remember the Han Family only moved here last year, right? How could a new study be built so quickly?"
Han You seemed somewhat displeased and shot the maid a subtle glare before speaking ahead of her, "Although our family only moved here recently, my grandfather actually bought this estate long ago and even sent people specially to take care of it. So before we moved in, the estate had already been renovated."
"No wonder the paint on that covered walkway earlier looked so fresh," Ren Yaoyin nodded in understanding and smiled.
Seeing that the young ladies neither suggested continuing forward nor heading to the pavilion, the two maids exchanged glances. Just as the maid who had spoken earlier was about to say something more, Ren Yaoyu declared, "Let's go rest in the pavilion instead. It wouldn't be good if we really ran into some big rat."
Ren Yaoyin had no objections and nodded, "Resting is fine too. My mother might send someone to call us back soon."
Ren Yaoqi glanced toward the corner ahead. Although she vaguely felt something was off, she didn’t voice her thoughts to avoid drawing attention.
Seeing that everyone else preferred to rest in the pavilion, Ren Yaoting didn’t press further.
The two maids secretly breathed a sigh of relief and enthusiastically led the group toward the pavilion.
Before they could reach the pavilion, however, Ren Yaoting suddenly pointed at a tree in the distance with large, bowl-sized white flowers and exclaimed, "What kind of tree is that? I’ve never seen it before."
Han You followed Ren Yaoting’s gaze and smiled, "That’s a dove tree. Although the flowers are big and beautiful, they have no fragrance."
Seeing Ren Yaoting’s lingering gaze, Han You thought for a moment and said, "Shall I accompany you to take a closer look?" Without waiting for the maids to speak, she turned to Ren Yaoqi and the others, "I’ll take Sister Ting to see the dove tree. If you’re tired, sisters, you can go ahead and rest. We’ll join you shortly."
The dove tree Ren Yaoting had spotted was in the northeast direction, still some distance from the supposedly abandoned library they had seen earlier, so the two maids didn’t object.
The Ren sisters weren’t particularly interested in looking at flowers and didn’t join them. Han You thus only took Ren Yaoting with her.The two maids sent by Old Madam Han smiled, and one of them said, "I just remembered there are a few locust trees planted over there. I should go remind my young lady not to get scratched. Xiao Qin, you accompany the young ladies of the Ren Family to the pavilion to rest. I'll be back soon."
The latter part was addressed to the other maid. The maid named Qin'er nodded and said, "Sister Shan'er, you go ahead. I'll take good care of the young ladies."
Shan'er hurried after Han You and Ren Yaoting.
Qin'er led the Ren sisters to the pavilion and instructed a young maid to prepare tea and pastries. Before long, the young maids arrived with tea and snacks. Although it was just a brief rest, the small plates of pastries filled the entire table.
Suddenly, a startled cry seemed to come from the northeast direction of the garden, likely from the maid named Shan'er who had left earlier.
Qin'er, who was handing out chopsticks to the Ren young ladies with the help of a young maid, paused. The Ren sisters also turned in surprise to look back.
Qin'er quickly smiled and explained, "It must be Sister Shan'er getting her hair caught on that locust tree again. She always accidentally brushes against it when passing by, which is why she was so eager to remind our young lady earlier."
No further strange sounds came from that direction, so everyone believed Qin'er's explanation and chuckled, teasing the situation lightly.
Qin'er then handed the chopsticks to a young maid from the Han Family and said, "I'll go check on Sister Shan'er. If her hair gets messy, she might not find a place to fix it right away, and if the older servants in the mansion see her, it could cause unnecessary trouble."
With that, she bowed and left as well.
Only the Ren sisters and a few young maids from the Han Family remained in the pavilion.
If the elders of the Han Family had seen this, they might have scolded Han You for being impolite. However, Han You had a gentle nature, and the Ren sisters all had a favorable impression of her, so no one deliberately criticized her for it.
Ren Yaoqi quietly asked the young maid from the Han Family serving behind her, "Is there a washroom nearby? I’d like to freshen up."
The young maid from the Han Family nodded eagerly. "There’s a washroom to the east of the garden. I’ll accompany you, young lady."
Ren Yaoqi naturally had no intention of trying to slip away from the Han Family’s watchful eyes to do anything underhanded—that would be unrealistic. As a guest visiting for the first time, she was bound to be accompanied by someone from the host family.
So she nodded with a smile and said, "Thank you."
Ren Yaoqi bid farewell to Ren Yaohua and the others, then left the pavilion with her own maid, Pingguo, and the young maid from the Han Family.
"What’s your name?" Ren Yaoqi asked the maid along the way.
The young maid, flattered by Ren Yaoqi’s gentle demeanor, replied, "This servant is Hua'er."
"Hua'er? You look quite young. How long have you been in the mansion?" Ren Yaoqi continued making small talk with the maid.
The young maid carefully counted on her fingers before answering, "I’ve been with the Han Family for eight months now."
"So you didn’t come from Jizhou with the family?"
"No, I was sold to the mansion by a broker a few months ago."
Ren Yaoqi nodded, hesitating slightly before asking, "Are there really mice in that small courtyard to the northwest?"
To her surprise, the young maid looked puzzled and said, "Mice? How could there be mice? Doesn’t Mute Granny clean there every day?"
It turned out this young maid hadn’t heard Shan'er’s earlier remarks—she had been sent by the steward when delivering the tea.Ren Yaoqi remained composed. "Oh, perhaps I misheard. Who is Mute Granny? I haven’t seen her since entering the garden."
The little maid replied, "Mute Granny is a mute who specifically looks after that small courtyard." Then she added with some uncertainty, "But it’s not impossible that there were mice, as only Mute Granny tends to that place. Other maids and servants are not allowed inside."
Hearing this, Ren Yaoqi’s interest was piqued. "Not allowed inside? Have you never entered?"
The maid quickly shook her head. "I’m just a lowly maid—how would I dare? Even Qin’er and Shan’er, who serve Old Madam Ren, dare not go in."
Meinan’s grandfather was suddenly hospitalized due to a cerebral hemorrhage, so some recent updates were typed by others on my behalf, and there haven’t been many.
Please forgive me, dear readers.
(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to Qidian to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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