“Go, have someone set up another table and put it in the adjacent room. Eldest son, bring the men back and as for Eldest daughter-in-law, Fifth daughter-in-law and the rest of you sisters will remain here for now.”

Inviting them to have a meal together was Old Madam’s show of goodwill.

Old Master Ren almost never interfered in such trivial matters. Therefore, following Old Madam’s instructions, Eldest Master Ren Shizhong took his sons and nephews away while Eldest Madam bowed in compliance and went to instruct the maids on their table arrangements.

But Lin-shi hastily stopped Eldest Madam and spoke with a smile, “Sister-in-law, don’t be in such a rush. Let me be the one to do it.”

Eldest Madam glanced at Old Madam and when she saw that she had nothing to express about it, she then nodded and smiled at Lin-shi, “Then I’ll be troubling you, Fifth sister-in-law.”

Lin-shi glanced at Eldest Madam, and said reproachfully, “Sister-in-law, what kind of words are these? I have been so diligent but you thanking me makes it seems as if I don’t usually lift a finger. You’re mocking me in front of the younger generation, aren’t you?

She spoke eloquently,1?with a crisp voice, and while the meaning behind these words sounded a bit prickly, her way of expressing it made it seem like a shared and intimate joke.

“Don’t lower yourself to argue with this insolent monkey. She always turns white to black and black to white.2?Let her take care of it.” said Old Madam.

Eldest Madam smiled and moved to stand behind Old Madam once again.

Lin-shi heard those words and seemingly took them like high-praise. She covered the smile on her face and turned to leave, swinging her hips all the while.

Ren Yaoqi, together with the sisters, followed Lin-shi to the next room. Eldest Madam joined them only when Old Master Ren and Old Madam, whom she had been waiting on, finished their morning meal.

Eighth Miss Ren Yaoyu was eating somewhat dispiritedly3?and kept fiddling with her chopsticks, picking a crystal steamed dumpling but not adding it to her dish, all the while sneaking multiple glances towards Fifth Madam’s table.

In contrast, Fifth Madam was eating in a relaxed manner, and praising the rare and delicate plate of fresh winter bamboo shoots4?for its exquisite taste alongside Eldest Madam.

In the Ren Family, if Ren Yaohua and Ren Yaoyin were considered to be the most favored granddaughters, then it’s Fifth Madam Lin-shi who held the position of most beloved daughter-in-law in Old Madam’s eyes. Even Eldest Madam, on that point, had to stand aside.

This differential treatment was not only on account of Lin-shi marrying Old Madam’s youngest son, but also because Lin-shi’s biological paternal grandmother5?was actually Old Madam Ren’s paternal aunt.6

Old Madam’s aunt was married off to the Lin family, the largest grain merchant in Yanbei. And after the passing of Lord Lin, it was this aunt’s eldest son, Lin-shi’s biological father, who became the head of the Lin Family.

Lin-shi and Ren Shimao, the Fifth Master of the Ren family, were childhood sweethearts.7?They were married for more than ten years and had two children together, a son and a daughter. And despite the Fifth Master leaving each year to spend three or four months in the capital with Second Lord Ren, their relationship as husband and wife never wavered.

It’s just that although Lin-shi was well-regarded8, Old Madam Ren’s attitude towards Lin-shi’s daughter, Ren Yaoyu, was rather lukewarm. Ren Yaoyu was not nearly as well liked as Ren Yaohua and Ren Yaoyin whom Old Madam Ren clearly favored.

As a matter of fact, before Ren Yaohua was sent to the Manor, the Ronghua Courtyard’s east wing9?was considered Ren Yaohua’s boudoir alone. Even Eldest Madam’s daughter, Fourth Miss Ren Yaoyin, did not reside there.

It’s only after her departure that Ren Yaoyin and Ren Yaoyu managed to, one after the other, move in the east wing and take over Ren Yaohua’s position in Old Madam’s eyes.

Ren Yaoqi vaguely remembered that soon after Ren Yaohua’s return, Ren Yaoyu was driven out of Ronghua Courtyard by her scheme, but Ren Yaohua herself did not seem to gain any advantage from it. In the end, it was their Ninth Sister, Ren Yaoying, who moved in to replace Ren Yaoyu.

Unfortunately though, because of this incident, Ren Yaohua thoroughly offended Fifth Madam Lin-shi. This led Lin-shi, who originally had only been a bit distant from their mother Li-shi, to now look upon this mother-daughter pair with barely suppressed ire. As a result, Ren Yaohua completely fell out of favor with Old Madam later on, and finally, in the end, was granted an ill-fated marriage.

Were it not for Lin-shi’s hand in further fanning the flames10, Ren Yaohua’s ending might not have been so terrible.

The only problem was that in her previous life, Ren Yaoqi was still ill at that time and didn’t witness how exactly Ren Yaohua managed to plot against Ren Yaoyu.

Ren Yaoqi thought of Ren Yaoyu’s two maids presently kneeling outside..?Could today be the day that the incident took place?

Having thought this, Ren Yaoqi glanced at Ren Yaohua.

Ren Yaohua with an upright posture, was holding up an exquisite rose colored Fushan Shouhai bow11?and taking small sips of her lotus seed and longan congee. Because the two were sitting opposite each other, when Ren Yaoqi looked over for a moment, Ren Yaohua, who had just raised her head caught sight of her.

Seeing Ren Yaoqi unexpectedly looking at her with a complicated expression, Ren Yaohua frowned and stared back.

Ren Yaoyin who was sitting next to Ren Yaoqi noticed Ren Yaohua’s gaze and couldn’t help but turn her head and also glance at Ren Yaoqi.

After a moment, Ren Yaoqi looked aside and bowed her head to eat. Ren Yaoyin knew these two sisters had never seen eye to eye, and thought they were once again having a disagreement, so she simply smiled and cast it out of her mind.

When Eldest Madam then Fifth Madam were done eating, they put down their chopsticks. Everyone else followed and put down theirs as well.

At that moment, Jin Lian, a maid beside Old Madam, came over and relayed Old Madam’s instruction. The madams and young misses were to come to Ming Hall after they’d finished their meal.

No one dared to delay their departure. The maids attended to everyone while they rinsed their mouths and cleaned their hands. They then went to Ming Hall where Old Madam awaited.

Ming Hall, the main house12?of Ronghua Courtyard, was very spacious. Here was Old Madam Ren, sitting upright while drinking tea on the carved sandalwood Luohan bed situated at the northern side13?of the room. Old Master Ren’s figure was nowhere in sight, he had probably already gone out.

Because the Ren clan was now of the Aristocracy, to be the head of such a family was naturally a heavy burden to bear.

Everyone saluted and, one by one and in order of seniority, took their seats.

Old Madam Ren set down her teacup, and her gaze then swept across the crowd to ultimately settle on Ren Yaoyu, “Yu’er, come here.”

Ren Yaoyu considered raising her eyes to look at Old Madam, but after getting a glimpse of her face which always appeared to be smiling even when she was not, she was unable to. She slowly stood up and aimed a few looks at Lin-shi who was seated on the opposite side.

Although Lin-shi was still talking to Old Madam in a low voice, she immediately caught on to her daughter’s unspoken plea for help and surreptitiously gave her a meaningful glance, indicating for her not to be afraid and to go over quickly.

Ren Yaoyu relaxed a little and very slowly took a few steps forward then stopped in front of Old Madam.

Old Madam Ren’s voice was still gentle, “The two maids who are kneeling outside, are they in your service?”

Ren Yaoyu glanced at her mother then nodded.

“Do you know why they are being forced to kneel in punishment?”

Ren Yaoyu subconsciously wanted to look at Lin-shi again. Suddenly, Old Madam heavily struck the sandalwood small table on the Luohan bed and raised her voice, “I’m the one asking here! Where are you looking?”

The little girl was nearly frightened to tears. She usually had a lively temperament but whenever she saw her grandfather14?and grandmother,15?it inexplicably made her feel like a mouse encountering a cat16?and made her dread speaking to Old Madam. Her mother, Lin-shi, had already lectured her about it but she still couldn’t fix this shortcoming.

Lin-shi felt distressed for her daughter and rushed in to smooth things over, “Mother, it’s because Yu’er didn’t know what those two maids had done to be punished to kneel that caused her to sneak back to Jianjia Courtyard in fear. She has always been a timid one so don’t be angry with yourself for her unseemly fault.”

Old Madam Ren’s expression sank slightly, “It’s because you’ve been spoiling her too much!”

Lin-shi herself unlike her daughter was not afraid of being scolded, so she hurriedly replied with an apologetic smile, “Daughter-in-law knows she is in the wrong. As a matter of fact, was she not sent here in order for Old Madam to lend a hand and discipline this unbridled one? Old madam teaches her children well. Nowadays, who in Yunyang City has not heard of my baomei17?Ren Shijia? Each time this daughter-in-law goes back to her parental home, grandmother and mother would preach and compare this daughter-in-law to baomei .” At the end, Lin-shi even seemed a bit aggrieved.

The baomei Lin-shi spoke of was Old Madam’s youngest daughter, Ren Shijia, who married her paternal cousin, the only son of Lin Family’s first branch.

Old Madam Ren’s face slowly became less tense, “Since this is the case, don’t feel distressed when I teach her a lesson.”

Lin-shi hurriedly said, “How can your daughter-in-law feel sorry for this little girl? It’s you, mother, for whom this daughter-in-law feels heartache.”

Old Madam snorted and turned her head to look at Ren Yaoyu, “Early this morning, someone saw your two maids sneaking a bundle of things out of the courtyard.”

Ren Yaoyu wanted to look at Lin-shi again but bore with it, stammering honestly, “Grandmother, I..I didn’t know..” She had completely forgotten what her mother had taught her to say beforehand.

Lin-shi gave Ren Yaoyu a frustrated glance, and had no choice but to intervene again and said, “Mother, who witnessed this? Can you call them in to confirm this matter? On this pitch-black early winter morning, it’s easy to make these kinds of mistakes. Could these two maids possibly have just been taking Yu’er’s clothes out to wash?

Ren Yaoqi, who had been listening silently, suddenly remembered. After she recovered from her illness, no one in Ronghua Courtyard or even in the entire Ren family dared speak about Ren Yaoyu’s expulsion from the Ronghua Courtyard. She only heard something from Momo Zhu. From the bits she had gathered, this incident should be the source of Old Madam’s disgust towards Ren Yaoyu.

Winter bamboo shoots:

Structure of Old Madam’s main house

Fushan Shouhai/Fukuyama Shuhai bowl:

Structure of a courtyard:

Luohan bed: