Scheme of the Official Descendant

As smart as Aunt Fang, she is a little confused at the moment.

She never felt that what she had done these years could be hidden from some smart people in the Ren family, and everyone was in peace, so she didn't know why Dongfu would intervene at this time.

The Ren family had such a scandal, and the one who was most angry was Mrs. Ren. After the Kang family and the Liu family were settled, Mrs. Ren scolded Mrs. Ren severely. He just cared about Mrs. Ren's face in front of the younger generation, so Mrs. Ren closed the door to teach him a lesson.

Mrs. Ren has been in harmony with Mrs. Ren since she married into the Ren family, and they are very harmonious in front of outsiders. They have cooperated for decades and rarely blush. Occasionally, Mrs. Ren made a small fuss, and Mrs. Ren turned a blind eye to it, but this time the embarrassment was really embarrassing.

Old Madam Ren also understood that she had done something wrong, and even though she was scolded, she couldn't keep her mouth shut. Although she was very depressed, she still released Ren Yaoyu and released Fifth Wife Lin after a few days. Grounded.

After all, Ren Yaoyu is only a teenage girl, and this incident has dealt a great blow to her. She lost a lot of weight in just a few days, and she was listless when she was released, without the spirit of a young girl.

On the other hand, it was the fifth wife, Mrs. Lin, whose face was flushed when she came out, and when she looked at people, she seemed to be more than ten years younger.

After this incident, the fifth master got the acceptance of the fifth wife again because of a blessing in disguise. The two of them are now like a newlywed couple.

As for the insignificant Aunt Kang and her like, they have long been forgotten by the two of them.

If anyone stands in front of Fifth Master Ren Shimao and points to him and asks, "What about the vow you made to Aunt Kang back then? What about the promise of taking care of you?" Fifth Master will definitely give you a supercilious look, and also give you a beautiful back view.

The first day of May is the birthday of Liao Shi, the old lady of Dongfu.

Liao's 50th birthday the year before last, at that time Su's also made arrangements for her wantonly. The second old master and the fourth master of Dongfu who were far away in the capital all went back to Baihe Town. Liao's fiftieth birthday also had a glorious time.

This year was just a birthday celebration, the second old man didn't come back, and the fourth old man didn't come back because he was busy with other things, but the birthday gift was delivered half a month in advance, and he generously pulled two carts with everything from clothing to food.

Originally this year, Mrs. Su also wanted to invite a dozen or twenty tables for Mrs. Liao, and then called a troupe to come to the house to be lively. I didn't want Mrs. Liao to let an old nun who came to beg for alms last time forget it, saying that it was not the beginning of this year. It's better not to be extravagant, it will shorten your life.

So in the end, the Su family only invited people from the West Mansion, it was considered a lively and lively family, and no one from outside was invited.

The East Mansion and the West Mansion are only separated by a half wall, so there is no need to travel between the two sides.

The Liao family no longer likes to interact with people from the West Mansion. After all, the East Mansion and the West Mansion have no real separation, so this kind of face and affection is still necessary.

Ren Yaoqi and the juniors followed Mrs. Ren to the East Mansion. Aunt Fang is a special existence of the Ren family, and as in previous years, the old lady Ren also allowed her to come forward.

In addition to respectfully following the local aunt behind Mrs. Li, Ren Yaoqi also saw Ren Yaoying who hadn't appeared in front of everyone for a long time.

Since Ren Yaoying lost face in front of everyone a year ago, she hasn't shown up for more than half a year. Seeing her again this time, Ren Yaoqi felt that Ren Yaoying was different from before.

When she came to greet Mrs. Li, Ren Yaoying kept her eyebrows down, her voice was much lower than before, and she looked much quieter. Apart from growing a little taller, her face hasn't changed much, it's still fair and delicate.

If it was in the past, her deadly rival Ren Yaoyu would definitely have ridiculed her when she saw her. But recently, Ren Yaoyu is also a bit of a backer, and she looks sluggish wherever she goes, and she doesn't look as good as Ren Yaoying. In addition, Mrs. Ren's temper has not been very good in the past few days, and no one dared to provoke right and wrong at this time, so Ren Yaoying's reappearance did not cause much commotion.

The elders were playing leaf cards in the flower hall of Dongfu, while Ren Yaoqi and the sisters of the Ren family were drinking tea and chatting in the side hall.

It was rare for the sisters of the Ren family to gather together again today, but the scene was not very lively.

Ren Yaoyu and Ren Yaoying sat away from each other far away, neither paying attention to the other nor making a sound. Ren Yaohua has a cold temper and rarely speaks. So only Ren Yaoting, Ren Yaoyin and Ren Yaoqi occasionally said a few words.

Ren Yaoting couldn't hold back at first, and said to Ren Yaoqi: "Fifth sister, do you want to come with me to change clothes?" On the other hand, she secretly winked at Ren Yaoqi.

Ren Yaoqi nodded, and the two walked out of the side hall hand in hand.

When passing by the flower hall, Ren Yaoqi took a look inside. The two old ladies of the Ren family, plus the eldest wife and the second wife, were playing leaf cards at a table. . The eldest young mistress sat behind the eldest wife to observe, the fifth wife, Mrs. Lin, was not in the flower hall, and only the third wife sat drinking tea by herself.

Ren Yaoqi is used to this kind of situation. Her mother has never really integrated into the life circle of the Ren family all these years after she married into the Ren family.

When Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yaoting came out after changing their clothes, they saw Ren Yaoying also coming.

Ren Yaoying saw that the two of them were a little unnatural, so she nodded and walked away quickly.

When Ren Yaoying's figure entered the dressing room, Ren Yaoting let out a "puchi" laugh, and leaned into Ren Yaoqi's ear and whispered: "I guess Ninth Sister feels uncomfortable when she hears the word "changing clothes." She didn't come when we came out, so I had to sneak around by myself."

Ren Yaoqi just smiled and changed the subject. It's just that she noticed that besides her own maidservants, Aunt Fang's eldest maid, Kumquat, was beside Ren Yaoying. What happened last time still had lingering fears for Ren Yaoying.

When the two of them were about to walk down the corridor next to the flower hall, Ren Yaoqi stopped Ren Yaoting: "It's a bit stuffy inside, let's sit here for a while."

The east and west sides of the large flower hall used for banquets in the east courtyard are not wing rooms, but a section of corridor that is neither long nor short. The front is a square courtyard, and the back is surrounded by shrubs with dense green shade. If the Dilonghua Hall is not burned in winter, it will be very cold, but it is very cool in summer.

Ren Yaoting said with a smile: "I don't like to go in and watch them stare. I see it's too early to leave the banquet, so just sit for a while."

Speaking of which, Ren Yaoting sat down on the green painted railing in the corridor first, and Ren Yaoqi sat beside her.

The environment here is quiet and you can occasionally hear the chirping of birds and insects, but it is more elegant than the big flower hall in Xifu.

The two chatted one after another. Ren Yaoting asked Ren Yaoqi about the follow-up of Aunt Kang's miscarriage last time. She has been honestly staying in the East Mansion for a while and has not visited the West Mansion. The Su family has recently treated her a little harshly. , because she had been having nightmares for several days since she came back from the West Mansion last time, and the last old nun gave her a bowl of talisman water before she recovered.

Although he was quite frightened, he was still curious, and when he saw Ren Yaoqi, he started to inquire. He even sent his maids away with a guilty conscience.

Ren Yaoqi was talking about irrelevant things, but suddenly changed the subject without a trace: "The mansion today is not as lively as the year before last. I remember that the guests in Yunyang City were early in the morning when my uncle and grandma had their 50th birthday. Come here, there is no room in the flower hall here, and the Rongjin Hall in the West Mansion is also open."

Ren Yaoting curled her lips: "Originally my mother said that she would invite the Dexin Troupe from Yunyang City to sing a big play, and it was scheduled a month earlier. A few days ago, an old nun came, talking about everything, my grandmother Let’s just say that this year there will be no invitations and no performances.”

"However, I heard from the mother-in-law below that there are quite a few people who have come to the house to give gifts in the past few days."

Ren Yaoting said disapprovingly: "Except for the two carts of presents sent by the fourth uncle in the capital, it is also the filial piety of the stewards from all over the place." After thinking about it, Ren Yaoting said again, "The Su family and the Lin family in Yunyang City also sent stewards."

Ren Yaoting has also learned some housework from Su Shi's side for a while, so she also knows a little about these courtesies.

"The birthday gift from the Lin family this time is thicker than the previous year." Ren Yaoting said casually.

Ren Yaoqi smiled at her and said, "You have such a good memory? Do you still remember what gifts each family gave you the year before last?"

Ren Yaoting glared at Ren Yaoqi: "You don't know, just now my mother just gave me all the gift lists from the mansion in the past few years, and said that she wanted me to learn these reciprocal gifts. I remember the last time the Lin family gave me The big one is a red coral statue, and this time it is a white jade Guanyin statue. When my son went to my mother's main room, I happened to meet the lady from the Lin family who came to give gifts, and she gave it He gave me a purse, which contained two golden pearls the size of longan, and said that Mrs. Lin shocked me."

Ren Yaoting touched Ren Yaoqi with his elbow, and winked: "No wonder Fifth Aunt and Eighth Sister don't take you seriously. The Lin family is so rich when they make a move, which shows that the family has a solid foundation."

Ren Yaoqi thought for a while and said, "Isn't the Lin family close to our family? Do you have any objections to your generosity?"

Ren Yaoting smiled proudly: "Of course I don't have any objections. I was flattered, okay? My mother put away the beads and said they would be used for my face in the future. But I've never seen the Lin family so generous before. My aunt and my eighth younger sister didn’t see pearls of that fineness either.”

"Could that be the reason why the Lin family and your maternal ancestor's family are on good terms?" Ren Yaoqi asked suspiciously.

Ren Yaoting turned her head and thought about it, a little uncertain: "My mother didn't tell me about this, but last time when I was in Yunyang City, I followed my aunt to the Lin family as a guest, and my aunt went with the wives of the Lin family. closer."

Ren Yaoqi nodded, and seemed to understand something: "No wonder Mrs. Lin mentioned Mrs. Su and Mrs. Lin when Mrs. Lin went to our West Mansion last time. It seems that the two have a good relationship in private."

Ren Yaoting didn't care about this matter, and didn't take it to heart after hearing what Ren Yaoqi said.

There is not much difference between Mrs. Lin and Mrs. Lin in her mind, and she doesn't understand these, so her attention was quickly shifted to other places.

What Ren Yaoqi saw out of the corner of her eye was someone not far away who turned around and retreated from the path. Not long after, Ren Yaoying came out from the path with a few maidservants.

When several people walked past Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yaoting, Ren Yaoqi glanced at the skirt of Aunt Fang's maid Kumquat and turned away.

When she was talking to Ren Yaoting before, someone was standing behind the bushes and eavesdropping. Ren Yaoqi had seen it early in the morning, but she didn't make a sound.

Presumably that person saw that Ren Yaoting sent away the people around him, thinking they were talking about something private.

Ren Yaoqi had deliberately mentioned Mrs. Lin's family just now.

The well-known families in Yanbei intermarried with each other. The more entrenched the Ren family was over the generations, the more complicated the relationship was. There was always some relationship between each family.

The fact that Aunt Fang's natal sister-in-law is coming to Yanbei finally reminded Ren Yaoqi of one thing.

Fang Yacun is going to Yanbei to be an official, his wife's coming to Yanbei this time is not just to attend the full moon banquet of Ren Shijia's son, she is here to play the vanguard for her husband. Yunyang City, as the seat of Yanbei Prince's Mansion, is essentially the hub of all parties in Yanbei, so it is natural to open up the joints first.

Fang Yacun wanted to fight for the official position in Yanbei, and the vacancy in Yanzhou was the best. However, Ren Yaoqi remembered that Fang Yacun failed to stay in Yanzhou in the previous life, but a relative of the Su family and Fang Yacun were the same group of local officials sent to Yanbei by the imperial court to stay in Yanzhou.

Ren Yaoqi had already inquired about it before, and that person was the eldest wife of the Su family's natal brother, but he was born as a Jinshi, and wanted to use the Su family's relationship to come to Yanbei as a small magistrate. The uncle of Mrs. Lin's third wife is a powerful official in charge of dispatching officials in Yanbei, which is equivalent to an official of the imperial court's official department.

Although the imperial court has the right to dispatch officials to Yanbei, the final arrangement of these officials is still at the discretion of the Yanbei Palace.

As for the maid Jinju who eavesdropped on the conversation between the two, as soon as she returned home, she relayed what she had heard to Aunt Fang.

"Ms. Lin San?" Aunt Fang lowered her eyes and thought carefully. The pair of jasper butterfly earrings dangling in her ears cast a light shadow under the lamp. She always likes to wear this kind of small tassel earrings. It seems that there is a kind of gentleness of Jiangnan women.

After a while, Aunt Fang frowned slightly, and raised her head in astonishment, "I see."

RS