CH 49

Chapter 49: Lantern Festival

Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yaohua took a carriage.

When they left the house, in addition to a few carriage of maids, there was also a middle-aged woman who looked fresh. She was better dressed than ordinary women, and her facial features were also very delicate.

Ren Yaohua looked at her more: “Where are you on duty? How come I haven’t seen you before?”

A carriage attendant sent out by the Ren family was busy smiling and said, “This is Mrs. Yuan, a steward in charge of food at our Ren family’s Xishan coal mine. Today, she came into the house to do something for the master, and came out to meet young miss who were going out, so she waited here to pay her respects.”

“Mrs. Yuan?” Ren Yaoqi’s steps gave a beat, turned her head and gave the woman a glance, smiling and saying, “Is it Steward Yuan from the Events Department of the Outer Courtyard?”

The woman bowed her head and respectfully replied, “It is precisely this servant.”

Ren Yaoqi nodded and said to her, “Are you the one who usually manages the coal mines in Xishan?”

“Back to Fifth Miss, exactly.”

“I am most tired of riding in the carriage, the journey is tedious. You come up and talk to me about the Xishan coal mine to relieve the boredom.” Ren Yaoqi smiled and waved at her, and after finishing speaking, she remembered that she was going to ride with Ren Yaohua , he turned his head and smiled flatteringly, “Third Sister, our carriage is very spacious anyway, so one more person doesn’t matter, right?”

Ren Yaohua glanced at Mrs. Yuan and saw that she was neatly dressed and her hands and face were clean, so she didn’t say anything.

Ren Yaoqi smiled and said, “What is Third Sister looking at? Were you thought that those who are in charge of the coal kiln are all dirty?”

Ren Yaohua glared at Ren Yaoqi and turned around to get on the carriage.

Ren Yaoqi gestured at Mrs. Yuan and got into the carriage after Ren Yaohua.

Mrs. Yuan looked at Ren Yaohua and then looked at Ren Yaoqi, “What does Fifth Miss want to hear?”

Ren Yaoqi made a gesture to think, and only when the carriage was moving did she smile and said, “Mrs. Yuan can say whatever she wants, are you deliberately waiting for me at the second gate?”

When Ren Yaohua heard this she looked over, her eyes sizing up Mrs. Yuan with scrutiny.

“This… servant..,” Mrs. Yuan felt a little uncomfortable being stared at by Ren Yaohua.

Ren Yaoqi laughed: “It’s okay, she is my Third Sister, if you have something to say, just say it.”

Ren Yaohua smiled and glanced at Ren Yaoqi and turned her head away.

Only then did Mrs. Yuan try to say, “I wonder if Fifth Miss still remembers Mr. Zhu.”

Ren Yaoqi nodded: “Yes, does Zhu Ruomei live in your Xishan coal mine? Has his mother recovered from her illness?”

Mrs. Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and spoke a little more freely: “Thank you for remembering, with the reward money you gave for medical treatment and medicine, Mrs. Zhu is now well and with her daughter at her side, she is better than before.”

It seems that this Mrs. Yuan also knew about the silver she gave to Zhu Ruomei.

“That’s good. Did you come today because you don’t have enough money to see the doctor?”

“No, no, no, there’s enough money. It’s just that…”

“If Mrs. Yuan has something to say, there is no harm in saying it.” Ren Yaoqi said gently.

“The prescription prescribed by the doctor in the town to Mrs. Zhu is still a temporary solution but not the root cause. Ruomei and Dayong found out that there is a doctor in Yunyang City who is very good at diagnosing and treating Mrs. Zhu illness, so I want to take mother to Yunyang city for medical treatment.”

“Yunyang City,” Ren Yaoqi said, inclining her head in thought.

“Yes, the doctor is in Yunyang City. Dayong once went to him once and told him about Mrs. Zhu’s illness. He said he was sure he could cure it, but the patient need to be watched by doctor every day. Only the doctor said he can’t go back and forth between Baihe Town and Yunyang City every day, so Ruomei has to take his mother to Yunyang City. Ruomei has a younger sister who can take care of their mother, but the child is only ten years old. Ruomei is worried so he wants to go to take care of them. It’s just that he signed a death contract on the mine to raise money for his mother’s medical treatment, and he can’t leave the coal mine at will without the owner’s permission.”

Ren Yaoqi mused, “Zhu Ruomei wants to leave the coal mine?”

“No, no, he just wants to cure his mother’s illness first, and then he will come back. But he will have to take leave for at least several months, and he is afraid that the chief steward of coal mines won’t wait and find someone else to replace him, and he doesn’t want to be punished. We have no choice but to beg to you.”

“What can she do? Why don’t you go and beg our grandmother or Eldest Aunt?” Ren Yaohua said with a frown.

“This servant is just a small steward in the coal mine outside, the Old Madam and the Eldest Madam are not someone this servant can just see.” Mrs. Yuan said with a bitter smile.

After thinking about it, Ren Yaoqi said to Mrs. Yuan, “How about this, you go back first and come back to me in a couple of days, then tell the gatekeeper that you are looking for… for Xiang Qin.” Ren Yaoqi pointed her finger towards Xiang Qin who was waiting at the side, “I will give you an answer then.”

Ren Yaohua’s first maid Xiang Qin, who just called, looked at her real master and silently spat in her mind: just getting one salary for serving two people, the job of a maid is really not good.

As soon as Mrs. Yuan heard that Ren Yaoqi was really willing to help, she hurriedly responded with joy on her face: “On behalf of Mrs. Zhu, Ruomei and Ruoju, this servant would like to thank Fifth Miss.”

Ren Yaoqi looked at the sincere joy on Mrs. Yuan’s face and said with a smile, “You are not related to them, but you are willing to go to such lengths for them, they should also thank you properly.”

Mrs. Yuan sighed: “Both children are good children, and Ruomei often helps me with my work… We also try our best to help as much as we can.”

The carriage stopped, and Mrs. Yuan saluted then retreated.

As soon as she left, Ren Yaohua glared at her and said, “Do you really want to care about this?”

Ren Yaoqi thought about it and said seriously, “Don’t they say that good people get good karma? I want to accumulate blessings for myself and my loved ones.”

“Whatever you want, just don’t let people rejoice in vain when the time comes.” said Ren Yaohua after silent for a while then turned his head away.

Ren Yaoqi but smiled and did not say anything.

The temple fair in Baihe Town was held near the Guan Gong Temple in the west of the town. When the carriage drove there, the whole street was already brightly lit.

All kinds of lights are hung on both sides of the street. Many young men and women are visiting the temple fair in groups, and laughter is everywhere. The lantern festival of the Lantern Festival is a rare moment when you can go out of the house without having to abide by the rules.

The ladies of the Ren family and Han You also got out of the carriage. Ren Yaoting and Han You had long been together, pointing to various small stalls on the street and talking non-stop.

It seems that Han You has never been to a temple fair before, and everything he sees is novel. He throws away his usual restraint and quietness, and his face is full of excitement.

“Yaoting, I really want to thank you. If you hadn’t gone to my house to beg my grandmother, I definitely wouldn’t be able to come out. Ah——what is that? Such a long lamp!”

“Pfft – that’s juggling, fire-breathing snakes, it’s not a lamp! You haven’t even seen this before, huh?” Ren Yaoyu laughed.

Han You was a little embarrassed, Ren Yaoting shook her hand and said to Ren Yaoyu, “Do you think everyone is like you, who has no rules of a lady and likes to run around and be crazy? I’ve never seen more juggling!”

Ren Yaoyu smiled a little unpleasantly, but Han You said, “Actually, I am ignorant, I really seldom go out.”

Surrounded by their maids, several people walked to a place where lanterns and palace lanterns were sold. Seeing that Han You liked a lantern with the story of Chang’e flying to the moon, Ren Yaoting bought it and gave it to her.

Han You thanked Ren Yaoting, carefully examined the lamp in his hand, and said to the crowd with a smile, “I just think this story is interesting to draw, in fact, the drawing skill is really not good. My brother’s drawing is much better.” Here, she said to Ren Yaoting with some embarrassment, “I’m not saying the lamp is not good, I just…”

Ren Yaoting smiled and said, “I know, the person who painted the lamp is just a painter, how can he compare with… with them? It’s just a hilarious sight.”

Han You nodded and turned to Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yaohua and said, “Third Uncle Ren’s paintings are much better than my brother’s. I once saw one in my brother’s study.”

Ren Yaoqi remembered that Ren Shimin once gave a painting of his own to Han Yunqian as a thank-you gift, so she could not help but smile and said, “My father likes to paint all day long.”

Han You nodded: “I heard my brother say that my uncle has a lot of his own paintings, and the one he gave to my brother is an autumn painting”

The smile on Ren Yaoqi’s face suddenly stopped and he looked at Han You and said, “Father gave your brother a pair of ‘Autumn Jú pictures’?”

Han You saw that Ren Yaoqi’s expression was a bit strange and said in a puzzled manner, “Yes, it is the ‘Autumn Jú picture’. It is said that the painting is about the Jú Flower Festival near the Yi River in capital city in the evening. The Third Uncle’s use of color is very bold, The entire river is painted in red, but it is so natural and not at all obtrusive.”

Ren Yaoqi listened to Han You’s words, but her heart gradually sank, and all the smiles on her face disappeared. Ren Yaoqi, who didn’t smile, made people look indescribably cold.