Chapter 40: Travel

Ren Yaoqi didn’t worry too much about going to the ice play competition.

These days, she just used the excuse that the weather was cold and she seldom went out of the Ziwei courtyard, so Qiu Yun mentioned her in front of everyone. If she deliberately avoided Yun Wenfang and Qiu Yun, it would attract attention.

Bingxi is an activity that Yanbei people often play in winter. Although Ren Yaoqi has never played it himself, she has seen it a few times.

The women were just sitting on the shore in a makeshift heated hut watching. The men were divided into teams wearing ice skates to compete on the river with a foot-thick layer of ice.

Of course, the spectators also have their own bets on which team wins or loses, but the bets are all small coins, and even if the bets are correct, the coins are used to reward the servants who play, there is no real way to rely on this gambling. Otherwise, it is not elegant.

Before going out this day, Ren Yaoqi went to Li’s place first, originally thinking to wait with Ren Yaohua to ask for peace and then go to the carriage, but did not want Ren Yaohua has gone to the Ronghua courtyard first.

Li asked Nanny Zhou to bring out an embroidered money bag and handed it to Ren Yaoqi, saying, “This is some silver for you to use as a prize and reward.”

Ren Yaoqi took it in her hand, looked up and smiled at Li and said, “I know, mother.”

When she came out, Ren Yaoqi gave the money bag to Nanny Zhou: “My monthly silver has not been touched in the box, plus the reward I received at the New Year, there are at least two hundred taels. A few days ago, father gave me two silver cheques of one hundred taels to buy my favorite books and pens and ink. It is better for Nanny to keep this silver.”

Nanny Zhou said, “This is what the madam asked the servant girl to prepare for the young lady, and the Third Young Lady also has it, so you should take it.”

Ren Yaoqi handed the bag back and said gently, “I know that mother doesn’t want to condemn me and Third Sister, and I don’t want to disappoint her, so I took it in front of her before. But Nanny, you have been managing the accounts for Mother, and you know the shape of Ziwei courtyard better than I do. Mother still has a lot of money to spend.”

When Li married into the Ren family, there was hardly any dowry, and every month she only received 30 taels of the Ren family’s monthly allowance.

The good thing is that the thirty taels of monthly silver was sent to Li after she returned to the house, and Ren Shimin did not care about this silver, he never asked Li for this money.

The Ren family is not short of money, several masters of the Ren family can draw up to two thousand silver from the outer courtyard’s accounts every year as entertainment expenses. The Eldest Young Master, Ren Yiyin, who is already married, can also draw 1,000 taels per year.

Only if it exceeds 2,000 taels, you need to get an approval note with his seal from Old Master Ren. Except for the second branch and fourth master in the capital, there are few times when the other masters need the approval of Old Master Ren, after all, 2,000 taels of silver is not a small amount.

Li’s sixty taels of silver per month, in addition to rewarding her servants, she also needs to subsidize her mother’s family from time to time, which is often stretched.

‘Fifth Miss.’ Nanny Zhou stared blankly at Ren Yaoqi, her eyes turned slightly red.

After coming back this time, Ren Yaoqi’s performance was beyond her expectation. Ren Yaoqi smiled, turned and left.

After coming out of the main room, Ren Yaoqi thought about it and went to the study when passing by the west courtyard.

Ren Shimin was sitting behind his big desk, drinking tea and appreciating several inkstones he bought newly.

Seeing Ren Yaoqi open the door and come in, he put down his teacup and waved with a smile: ‘Yaoyao, come and have a look, these Fang Chengni inkstones are newly acquired by Daddy, and they are all made by famous masters.’

Ren Shimin’s smile carried the pure joy of a child. Every time he got something good, he would always be so unconcealed in his joy.

In the past, Ren Yaoqi would secretly slander her as a father who was too carefree and indifferent, not understanding common people, but now she will not be like this.

Ren Yaoqi went up to enjoy the inkstone with Ren Shimin and asked, ‘Today there is an ice play competition in our house, won’t daddy go?’

Ren Shimin lacked interest: ‘What’s so interesting about Bingxi? A group of rough men pushing and bumping around! Rustic and ungentlemen! Are you going?’

Ren Yaoqi nodded: ‘I haven’t gone out for a long time, all the sisters are going.’

Ren Shimin dug out a sandalwood box from the drawer under the desk, took out two 100 taels of silver bills and handed them to Ren Yaoqi: ‘Go to your mother and exchange them for silver as a lottery. Just help dad choose a team.’

Ren Yaoqi accepted it with a smile, and put it in her purse: ‘Then how about I bet on the team with the red belt?’

Ren Shimin tilted his head and thought about it seriously: ‘Red is so tacky, let’s choose the white team.’

Ren Yaoqi said contemptuously: ‘It’s almost Chinese New Year, who wears a white belt? It’s not too bad luck!’

‘Then the blue team?’

Ren Yaoqi made a grimace: ‘I want to bet on the red team! I just like red!’ After finishing speaking, she got up and left proudly.

‘Children are capricious. They cry when they lose.’ Ren Shimin shook his head and sighed helplessly.

When going out, Ren Yaoqi and Fourth Miss Ren Yaoyin rode in a carriage together.

Several ladies from the Ren family were sitting in the carriages before and after, and Ren Yaoqi could still hear Ren Yaoyu’s chattering voice faintly from the carriage behind, as well as the voice of the nanny trying to persuade her to lower the curtain in a low voice.

In contrast, Ren Yaoqi’s carriage was much quieter.

Ren Yaoyin was sitting in the carriage on the little table making tea, her movements were skillful and elegant, her smile was calm, and the rickety carriage did not make her hands unsteady in the slightest.

Ren Yaoqi propped her chin and sat opposite her, admiring her movements.

‘Before, my cousin specifically asked if my Fifth Sister would go.’ Ren Yaoyin poured a small cup of tea from a purple sand cup and handed it to Ren Yaoqi, smiling.

Ren Yaoqi took it steadily, and thanked her with a smile.

Ren Yaoyin’s expression was as gentle as usual, and Ren Yaoqi couldn’t feel any displeasure in her words.

Ren Yaoqi didn’t know if Ren Yaoyin knew that the Ren family had selected her as a candidate for marriage with the Qiu family, nor did she know her attitude towards this matter.

In her previous life, she didn’t have close contacts with the sisters in her family. Compared with the other sisters in the Ren family, Ren Yaoyin was much easier to get along with. They all have a good temper, so Ren Yaoqi is relatively close to her.

However, because of this, Ren Yaoyin does not have any particularly close sisters in the Ren family.

‘Oh? This is rare, and I’m flattered.’ Ren Yaoqi blinked at Ren Yaoyin and joked.

Ren Yaoyin let out a puff and said with a smile, “You love to be naughty. Cousin must have rarely seen you out, so he thought you were not feeling well and asked on purpose. He is also out of concern, so when you see him later, you should say thank you.”

Ren Yaoqi flattened her mouth, “I know.”

Ren Yaoyin shook her head and said in a low voice, “Fifth Sister, not to mention the third cousin’s status in the Qiu family, even in our Ren family, he is highly valued by the elders, and grandmother even treats him like her own grandson. If you are good to him and he treats you friendly, if something happens in the future, one good word from him in front of your grandmother is worth ten from others.”

Ren Yaoqi smiled with embarrassment, “Thanks for the advice, I know.”

Ren Yaoyin smiled and nodded, took the cup of tea in front of Ren Yaoyaoqi back, poured the warm water inside into a small urn, and put a cup of hot water back.

Ren Yaoyan picked up the cup of tea and took a sip, but in her heart she was thinking about what Ren Yaoyan meant when she said this to her.

Is this Ren Yaoyin’s way of encouraging her to have more contact with Qiu Yun to get the attention of the Old Madam Ren or the Ren family?

In her previous life, when she was this old, she had indeed been thinking daily about how to make Old Madam Ren like her as a granddaughter and wanted to get along with Qiu Yun just as much as the rest of the Ren family.

Ren Yaoyin’s words scratched the itch.

But Ren Yaoyin was saying these things to her at this time..

Is it because she really cares about her sister, or does she have something else in mind?