"Auntie, what's wrong with Mrs. Lin San?" Kumquat asked curiously.
Aunt Fang came back to her senses and smiled softly as if to reassure her: "It's nothing, I just remembered one thing."
Aunt Fang is very good, she never loses her temper with the people around her.
At any time, she is a kind and considerate woman, as gentle as water, so the maids and women around Fang Auntie are very dedicated to her.
"Wait for the pen and ink, I have a letter to write." Aunt Fang sat for a while, and finally got up and walked to the study.
Kumquat advised: "Auntie, it's already very late, but pay attention to your eyes."
Aunt Fang shook her head: "It's okay."
Aunt Fang knew that her younger brother would be promoted soon, and she also hoped that Fang Yacun could come to Yanbei, so that her position in the Ren family would be more stable in the future.
Fang Yacun had written a few words to her about matters in the officialdom. This time her sister-in-law came to Yanbei for the residences and preferences of various officials she had inquired about in advance. This time, there are five or six vacancies in several fertile counties in Yanbei, but not only five or six people are vying for these seats. Fang Yacun mentioned to her in the last letter that an in-law of the Su family also intends to come to Yanbei.
Aunt Fang is a smart person who knows everything. The second wife, Mrs. Su, helped Mrs. Lin for no reason. There must be a reason. Now it seems that the biggest and most likely reason is that the Su family wants to connect with the third wife of the Lin family for her eldest sister-in-law.
Aunt Fang is very fortunate to have learned about this now, so that there is still room for things to turn around. She needs to tell her brother the intention of the Su family as soon as possible, so that he can prepare earlier.
Things are finally developing in the direction Ren Yaoqi hoped, this is just the beginning, and as long as everything has a beginning, everything will be easy.
The Ren family decided to set off for Yunyang City on the day of the Duanyang Festival. Horizontal and vertical is a journey of more than an hour, which is not too far.
Ren Shijia returned to Yunyang City with the Ren family this time. She just finished confinement, and it was not like hiding at her parents' house. When I go back this time, I can catch up with the full moon banquet that the Lin family prepared for Xiao Ceng'er. So this time old lady Ren will stay at the Lin family for a few more days.
This time, Mrs. Ren stayed at home, and Mrs. Ren brought her grandchildren there. Originally, the old lady Ren planned to keep the fifth lady cold and not take her and Ren Yaoyu, but she changed her mind for some reason. As for the third wife, Mrs. Li, Mrs. Ren has always refused to take her out.
"My grandmother said today that Aunt Fang and Ren Yaoying will also go together." Ren Yaohua said to Ren Yaoqi when she was asking for permission for Mrs. Li in the evening.
"Because that Mrs. Fang is coming?" Ren Yaoqi raised his eyebrows slightly, not surprised.
"Well." Ren Yaohua was not in a good mood, and his face was cold.
When they were about to part, Ren Yaoqi heard her forbearance and unwillingness to say: "Who is the concubine in these three rooms, and who is the serious wife! This is the so-called rule of our Ren family? It's ridiculous!"
Ren Yaohua didn't want to hear the answer from anyone when she said this. After speaking, she walked away with a stiff back. Ren Yaoqi stood in the courtyard and watched her figure gradually disappear into the shadows under the porch. Only the dark red skirt appeared and disappeared under the light of the lantern in the hand of the maid, and disappeared at the corner door in front of her after a while. .
The second day is the Duanyang Festival, and everyone in the family is preparing to travel.
Although Mrs. Li didn't go, she was busy packing things up for sisters Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yaohua.
The daughter scolded Li, but Li was used to it and didn't mind that she was left at home, but she seemed to be in a good mood.
Seeing that Ren Yaohua has been sullen and unhappy these days, it seems that she can explode if she messes up with a little thing.
Ren Yaoqi was worried that she would not be able to control her temper, so she finally pulled her aside and persuaded her with a smile: "Third sister, what are you vomiting here? It's time to stop vomiting for a few days. Now. As long as the mother is happy, isn't it?"
Ren Yaohua became angry when she heard it: "As long as my mother is happy! I don't believe she is really happy! I went to beg my grandmother yesterday, but my grandmother diverted the topic as soon as I spoke."
Although Ren Yaohua looked very angry, there was grievance in his voice.
Ren Yaoqi knew her temper and didn't get angry when she saw her getting mad at him. Instead, he smiled and said, "I don't think my mother is trying to force a smile, because... Isn't my father not going this time?"
Ren Yaohua was stunned for a moment, and his furious appearance changed to stunned.
"So I think it's okay for mother not to go this time. You know father's temperament. As soon as he draws and eats, he can forget to the horizon. Even if mother goes to Yunyang City with us, she I will also miss my father." Saying that, Ren Yaoqi winked at Ren Yaohua with a teasing look, "Third sister, you are so old and can't be separated from your mother, don't be ashamed!"
"I, I'm not..." Ren Yaohua was about to defend subconsciously, and when he saw Ren Yaoqi's smirk, he realized that he was being teased by his sister.
"You can talk nonsense!" Ren Yaohua fluttered her sleeves and put on the stance of the eldest sister. After thinking about it, she asked uncertainly, "Is father really not going?"
Ren Yaoqi nodded: "Of course, I have asked. Otherwise, why don't you ask your mother?"
Seeing that Ren Yaohua's face finally looked better, Ren Yaoqi couldn't help but pursed his lips and smiled.
Whether or not to go to Yunyang City is actually not that important to the Li family. Could it be that if Mrs. Li went, she would be able to show her identity in front of Concubine Fang? Even if Li was wronged, it was only for Ren Shimin.
So when Ren Yaohua was very angry about this matter, Ren Yaoqi secretly asked Yuan Dayong to help her buy an old painting from the previous dynasty from a down-and-out scholar.
Ren Yaoqi knew the source of every piece of his beloved painting in Ren Shimin's hands in the last life. Originally, this painting was to be bought back by one of Ren Shimin's stewards this fall to give him filial piety. Ren Yaoqi bought the painting in advance. return.
Because Ren Shimin has a hobby, every time he gets a good painting, he will spend half a month scrutinizing it carefully, and then copy it himself.
Sure enough, Ren Shimin couldn't move his feet as soon as he saw the painting. What about the Dragon Boat Race at the Duanyang Festival was a cloud of smoke in the mind of the third master. He wouldn't let his heart down for Yanyun's sake. So the third master waved his hand, Yunyang Chengye didn't go, he wanted to retreat at home and paint.
In this way, Mrs. Li was happy, and Auntie Fang was depressed.
If Aunt Fang and Ren Shimin went to Yunyang City to watch the dragon boat race, the main family, Mrs. Li, would be left at home. There would naturally be speculations about the status of the third wife and concubines of the Ren family, and Mrs. Li would inevitably be looked down upon. And Concubine Fang, with the treatment of the main room, is also more convenient to visit in Yunyang City.
Now that Ren Shimin can't go, it's not so convenient for Aunt Fang to do things.
In the afternoon, Mrs. Ren also specially sent someone to look for Ren Shimin, and wanted him to go with him to Yunyang City. After all, this is an annual event, and people with great faces in Yanzhou will go there, and men can also go to each other. Share family friendships.
But who is the third master? If the third master says he won't go, he won't go, the cows will not go, and no one can force him. In the end, he just lies in the main room and pretends to be sick. The old lady Ren was so angry, but she couldn't do anything about him.
Li cooperated and waited in front of the third master's bed, serving water when he was thirsty, and food when he was hungry, doing his best.
This time, even Ren Yaohua was happy, her face that had been stinking for a few days finally cleared up, and she bent her mouth to watch the maids pack their things.
Ren Yaoqi was also in the room watching the maids packing things, saying that she was watching, but in fact it was Xu mama directing the maidservants, and she read a book on the kang.
Just at this moment, Mother Zhou came over.
Seeing Mammy Zhou coming here, Ren Yaoqi thought that something had happened to Ren Shimin and Mrs. Li in the main room, so she couldn't help putting down the book in her hand and sat up from the kang.
Mother Zhou came forward and bowed, but whispered, "Miss Fifth, Mrs. Luo is here."
Ren Yaoqi didn't react for a while when he heard the name: "Mr. Luo?"
"It's the old woman in Zhuangzi that you said you wanted to see a while ago." Zhou Ma explained in a low voice.
Ren Yaoqi immediately remembered.
It's the old woman who lives in Zhuangzi. The last time Ren Yaoqi asked about Mammy Zhou's family, Mammy Zhou said that there was an elderly woman living in Zhuangzi and knew everything about Baihe Town very well. .
It should have been invited long ago. I didn't want this old woman surnamed Luo to be bitten by a wild dog outside Zhuangzi a while ago, so she was delayed. Ren Yaoqi also temporarily put this matter on hold because of these messy things in the Ren family.
"Where are the people?" Ren Yaoqi asked.
"The house is busy at the moment. I asked the little maid to take her to eat and rest. After all, she is old and I am afraid that something will go wrong. Do you want to see her now?"
Ren Yaoqi thought for a while: "Let her rest first, and bring her to see me later."
"The servant originally instructed the people in Zhuangzi to wait for her to be healed before sending her over. I thought it would take a while, but I didn't want to catch up with your request for Yunyang City, because the servant was not well-arranged." Mother Zhou pleaded guilty.
Ren Yaoqi waved his hand and comforted: "It's okay, I just want to ask her something. It's the same if you come early or late."
Mother Zhou went down to make arrangements. After dinner, Ren Yaoqi asked her to bring the old woman surnamed Luo over.
Mrs. Luo was in her seventies and had been working on Zhuangzi. Her hair was gray, her complexion was tawny, her face was full of folds, and she was limping when she walked, but she seemed in good spirits.
Supporting her was a **-year-old little girl. She looked pretty but her complexion was too dark. She wore a double bun and braided to the sky. She wore a red coarse cloth shirt, and her eyes were bright.
Seeing that Ren Yaoqi's eyes were fixed on the little girl, Zhou Ma said hurriedly: "This is the granddaughter of Mrs. Luo. Grandfather and grandson depend on each other for life. Mrs. Luo did not worry about leaving her on Zhuangzi and brought her here together."
Although it was a little strange that Mrs. Luo was so old and her granddaughter was so young, Ren Yaoqi didn't ask any more questions. He nodded with a smile, excused Mrs. Luo from the ceremony, and asked Sang Ling to get a stool for Mrs. Luo to sit on.
Mrs. Luo confessed her sins and carefully sat down next to half of the stool, trembling before she dared to speak first. The little girl who followed her was a little curious about the things in the room. Seeing that her grandmother was restrained, she didn't dare to be presumptuous.
Ren Yaoqi said gently to the little girl, "Would you like to go with this mulberry sister to eat snacks first?"
Out of the corner of her eye, the little girl glanced at the red lacquer inlaid luotian eight-edged food box on the table, which contained all kinds of desserts, such as minced nuts, candy ears, bean cakes, honey twisted flowers, candy lotus seeds, and sunflower seeds, and swallowed. Then he glanced at his grandmother and didn't move.
Mrs. Luo patted her hand lightly: "Listen to the words of the master, go."
Mulberry picked up the red lacquer inlaid luodian eight-edged food box and waved at the little girl, and led her outside.
Mrs. Luo watched her granddaughter turn back one step at a time, shook her head, and said to Ren Yaoqi, "Don't be surprised, Miss, the child grew up in the countryside and has never seen anything in the world."
Ren Yaoqi smiled slightly: "I look good, and her body is strong. Does she work with you on weekdays?"
Madam Luo smiled deeply: "This child has a good heart. When he just learned to walk, he wanted to help me with my work. She would follow me and help me with whatever I did on weekdays. I have no children in my life. Girl, when you get old and pick up a treasure, this life is worth it."
Ren Yaoqi was stunned, it turned out that the little girl was not the granddaughter of Mrs. Luo.
Mrs. Luo seemed to know what others were thinking, and said, "I found this child on Tian Kan'er seven years ago. At that time, he was only six or seven months old."
Mammy Zhou was a little surprised: "So she's only seven years old? I thought she was nine years old."
The little girl has a strong body, a tall stature, and looks very smart, about the same as a **-year-old child.
"No, she eats a lot! Fortunately, she can work herself, otherwise I wouldn't be able to support her." Mrs. Luo shook her head and smiled.
Ren Yaoqi looked at the old woman, she was very old, and her appearance was no different from that of ordinary peasant women who worked in the fields all year round, but Ren Yaoqi felt that her words and actions were not as vulgar as those peasant women outside. Even her adopted granddaughter knew what to do.
"Have Mother Luo always been in our village? Where is the family?" Ren Yaoqi asked.
Mrs. Luo squinted her eyes and thought about it before she said, "The slaves are from the suburbs of Baihe Town. Their parents starved to death during the disaster year, so they worked in Zhuangzi since childhood, but the Zhuangzi was not originally from the Ren family."
"Oh? Which family did Zhuangzi originally belong to?" Ren Yaoqi asked.
Several large houses in the Ren family were bought when the former head of the family, Bao Ming, was there, and they were bought at the same time as the house of the Ren family.
"Before the Ren family, that Zhuangzi belonged to a Tang family," said Mrs. Luo.
Ren Yaoqi remembered that this house seemed to have been bought from a family surnamed Tang. It may be that when this family bought the ancestral house, they also bought the Zhuangzi under their name to the Ren family. This is very common. matter.
Mother Zhou saw that Ren Yaoqi was asking Mrs. Luo, and after thinking about it, she called all the maids in the house out, but she herself stayed in the house to guard.
"I don't know if Mother Luo remembers a family with the surname Qu? It should be a wealthy family in Baihe Town decades ago. Later, for some reason, the family fell." Ren Yaoqi looked at Mrs. Luo and asked softly. road.
Mrs. Luo squinted her eyes and thought about it again, which seemed to be her usual expression when she was thinking about things: "I have never heard of such a wealthy family."
Ren Yaoqi couldn't help frowning: "Really not? Think about it again?"
Mrs. Luo really thought about it again, but still shook her head: "No. Are you sure Miss is near our Baihe Town? Could it be somewhere else?"
Ren Yaoqi couldn't help being a little disappointed and nodded: "Maybe I remembered it wrong." After thinking about it, she asked again, "In my grandfather's generation, did the Ren family ever get along with any other family?"
Mrs. Luo glanced at Ren Yaoqi when she heard the words, and said with a smile: "Miss, what are you talking about, the Ren family has always been friendly and neighborly..."
Mammy Zhou stood beside Ren Yaoqi and interrupted coldly: "Mother Luo, our fifth young lady came so far to find you, not to listen to your nonsense. You can answer whatever you ask. Answered, Miss will reward you with silver, and then take you and your granddaughter back."
Mrs. Luo paused, looked at Zhou Mama and then at Ren Yaoqi, who was smiling and said nothing. After thinking for a long time, she thought about it and said, "If it doesn't agree with you... It's not impossible. Back then, the Ren family bought a few from Xishan. A coal kiln was built on the top of the mountain, and there was a lawsuit with a nearby mountain owner, because the mountain owner wrote a letter and went to the county master to sue the Ren family for digging the coal kiln into the ground of his mountain top, but later the Ren family spent a high price on the mountain owner. The top of the mountain was also bought, and the two families reconciled. In addition, a coal kiln collapsed one year, and many people were buried. One family's son took the lead in making trouble, and was finally arrested by the government, but I heard that the man was there He ran away on the way to escort, and before leaving, he said that he would fight against the Ren family, but after so many years, no one has appeared, and it is estimated that it has become a pile of loess."
Ren Yaoqi listened quietly, making judgments mentally.
Mrs. Luo then went on to talk about a few families, all of whom had a big or small festival with the Ren family decades ago. In the end, Mrs. Luo racked her brains and couldn't think of anything. She looked at Ren Yaoqi and said with an apologetic smile: "Miss, this slave only remembers so much."
Ren Yaoqi looked out the window, it was past the time to hold the lantern, lanterns were lit outside the yard, and candles were also lit in the house.
"Let's go here first today, you go back and rest first." Ren Yaoqi smiled and served tea, indicating that Mammy Zhou should send the people out first.
Madam Zhou sent Madam Luo out and handed it over to the maid, and asked the maid to take the person to the outer courtyard to rest, then turned around and came back.
"Miss, does this old woman still want to stay in the house?"
Ren Yaoqi was leaning on the kang and thinking about something, when he heard the words, he raised his head: "Well, let her stay in the mansion for now, and then make plans when I come back from Yunyang City."
She always felt that there was something else she could ask from Mrs. Luo, but she had to leave for Yunyang City early tomorrow morning, so Ren Yaoqi didn't have time to ask questions in detail today.
"Then slaves first arranged for their grandparents to live in the outer courtyard. Miss rest early today, and she will leave tomorrow at nine o'clock." Zhou maiden ordered and left, and told the maids to come in and serve Ren Yaoqi. wash.