CH 59

Chapter 59: Promises

“Don’t you like all these treats?” Ren Shijia and Ren Yaoqi sat opposite each other on the bed. Seeing that Ren Yaoqi had only tasted one pine nut candy and stopped, Ren Shijia asked with a smile.

Ren Yaoqi shook her head, “I’ve just used to eat it in my own room, afraid I’ve eaten too much of it.”

Ren Shijia was about to say something when a maid led a nanny in at the door, so Ren Shijia stopped talking for a moment.

“Madam, it’s time to drink the medicine.” The maid came forward and said.

The nanny behind her brought over the small food box in her hand.

Ren Shijia frowned and scolded lightly, “There are still guests here, and you are letting the medicine be served?”

Ren Yaoqi said, “Auntie, I am not a guest.”

The woman holding the food box smiled and said, “Yes, Madam. This is your mother’s house, and Fifth Miss is your niece, so why should you be a stranger? You have to drink this medicine on time.”

So Ren Shijia stopped insisting and instructed the nanny to bring the medicine.

While Ren Shijia was drinking the medicine, Ren Yaoqi turned her attention to the short nanny, “Sister speaks with a Jiangnan accent, she doesn’t look like a Yanbei native.”

The nanny looked smart and smiled, “Fifth Miss has a good eye, this servant is from Jiangning.”

“Jiangning? That’s a good place.” Ren Yaoqi smiled and said, “My grandaunt is in Jiangning.”

Ren Shijia closed her eyes and drank all the medicine in one gulp, took the tea compote handed over by the maid and rinsed her mouth, then sniffed and said, “She is the lady your grandaunt found for me, she is good at making medicinal food.”

“Oh?” Ren Yaoqi gave the nanny another look, “No wonder Nanny looked very capable.”

Ren Shijia was very tolerant of children and said to Ren Yaoqi in a good-natured manner, “She is indeed a capable person, not only can she make medicinal meals, but she can also do some medical skills, very accurate in taking pulses and reading illnesses. If you want to eat Jiangnan-style dim sum, just come and talk to me.”

Ren Yaoqi thanked her.

The woman packed up the medicine bowls, bowed and withdrew.

Ren Yaoqi picked out a candied fruit for Ren Shijia and said, “I originally wanted to ask my Eighth Sister to come with me today, she used to love coming to your courtyard to play. But today, her mother said she wasn’t feeling well, so I came alone.”

Ren Shijia didn’t know what to say when she heard that.

She had the best relationship with her Fifth Brother, Ren Shimao, and Lin, so of the several nieces, Ren Yaoyu was the most familiar with her. But yesterday the Old Madam had lectured Lin in front of everyone over her matter. Afterwards she had heard that Lin had said a lot of bad words to Ren Shimao who had gone after her, and had made a fuss about going back to her mother’s house. In the end, somehow, the couple even got into a fight and Ren Shimao’s neck was scratched by Lin and left the house in anger.

She didn’t know what to say, after all, what the Lin Family had done to her was too much, and even her relationship with Lin had changed a little. Thinking of this, Ren Shijia could not help but feel a little disappointed.

Ren Yaoqi had been paying attention to Ren Shijia’s expression.

The incident of Lin being poured hot tea by Old Madam Ren in public was not simple, she thought. This time, the Old Madam had actually not given the Lin Family the least amount of face, even in the presence of the Lin Family’s Madam.

What was the matter that had suddenly intensified the conflict between the Ren Family and the Lin Family? Ren Yaoqi felt that the answer should be found in Ren Shijia, who had suddenly returned to the house.

Ren Yaoqi was about to say something else when a maid hurried in: “Miss, Master is here.”

From this title, she should be Shijia’s dowry maid.

The maid rushed forward to help her, “Miss, be careful, Master has been called by the Old Master for questioning.”

Only then did Ren Shijia slow down her movements, and could not help but look out of the window again, and then instructed the maid, “Go and order the kitchen to prepare some hot food, your lord must not have had a proper breakfast since he is here now.”

The maid answered and called another maid to come and serve her, and rushed off to the kitchen herself.

As Ren Yaoqi watched, she became more and more certain that Ren Shijia had not come back to her mother’s house because of the rumours that she had a conflict with Lin Kun. Looking at Ren Shijia’s demeanour, she did not show any resentment towards Lin Kun.

Ren Yaoqi could not stay any longer: “Since Uncle is here, Yaoqi will come back to bother Aunt next time.” Saying this, Ren Yaoqi tugged at Ren Shijia’s sleeve, “Is Uncle here to take Aunt back to Yunyang City? Yaoqi still wants to try Auntie’s Jiangnan snacks.”

Ren Shijia was happy and stroked Ren Yaoqi’s head, “You can come as you like, Auntie will stay here for many months and will not return to Yunyang City. Auntie doesn’t like the emptiness of this place, so she would like you to come and sit here as often as possible.”

Ren Yaoqi was curious, “But Uncle has come to pick you up himself, won’t he be angry if you don’t go back with him?”

Ren Shijia smiled and said with certainty, “Of course not, your uncle has the best temper.” Probably because she was not too defensive in front of her young niece, Ren Shijia’s tone was full of trust and attachment to her husband.

Ren Yaoqi had got the answer she wanted and got up to say goodbye.

When she was about to leave the courtyard, Ren Yaoqi met the nanny who had brought medicine to Ren Shijia before. Ren Yaoqi stopped and said with a smile, “I heard that you can make Gancao plums. My concubine-mother can also make it very good. Oh, my concubine-mother’s name is Fang, and she comes from the Fang Family in Jiangning. Since you are also from the Fang Family, did my concubine-mother learn this craft from you? She said she learned it from a cook before she left the house.”

The servant was a bit stunned that Ren Yaoqi could associate her with Concubine Fang, so she said as if to clear the air: “This servant have never worked for the Fang Family, so I don’t know the concubine from the Fang Family Young Miss are talking about. In my early years, I worked for a large family named Yang. Later on, the Old Madam of the Fang Family wanted to find a cook who knew how to cook medicinal food for Madam Lin, so the Madam of the Yang Family recommended this servant.”

Ren Yaoqi frowned and said, “Is that so? That’s a pity, I had originally thought to invite you to sit in concubine-mother’s courtyard often and talk to her about the Fang Family.”

The servant only smiled at the side and said nothing.

Ren Yaoqi smiled faintly and walked past her.

When she went out the door, she happened to bump into a man of about thirty years old.

This man was of medium build, with a decent appearance and a very square jaw. He was wearing a thin coat of navy blue satin and was walking with a steady gait.

Ren Yaoqi was slightly stunned when she realised that this man was her aunt Ren Shijia’s husband, Lin Kun from the Second Branch of the Lin Family.

Ren Yaoqi curtsied and greeted her uncle.

Lin Kun gave a quick step, took a look at Ren Yaoqi and smiled gently, “You are the daughter of the Third Brother-in-law’s family, called Yaoqi, right? I heard from your aunt that you are extremely good at painting.”

Ren Yaoqi was slightly surprised in her heart.

In her previous life, she did not remember much about this uncle, but everyone in the Ren Family said that he was a soft-hearted person who got along with people extremely well. To put it bluntly, he was someone who had no big ambitions and was a man with mind on the clouds.

But he knew from just one glance that she was Ren Yaoqi from the Third Branch of the Ren Family, and he also knew that she was good at painting. There were many girls in the Ren Family with very similar names, and Ren Yaoqi could definitely count the number of times she had met him on five fingers. Even her aunt said when they met after had not seen her for a year that she had almost grown unrecognisable, but he was able to conclude her identity at a glance.

This man had a very keen ability to observe and was very attentive, although he was cautious, careful observation should have become a habit for him.

Ren Yaoqi did not quite believe that he was a soft-spoken person with no ambition, as everyone said.

Lin Kun did not know that the young girl in front of him had already puzzled over him from head to toe, smiled and nodded at Ren Yaoqi, said goodbye to her, and headed for the Nuan Pavilion again.

Ren Yaoqi turned her head to glance at his back, a touch of doubtful thought in her eyes.

The waters of the Lin Family were deeper than she had imagined.

Originally, she had designed the match between Concubine Fang and Lin, but now there were more people involved than she had previously imagined.

Her side was already at a disadvantage in the Ren Family, and it was only by muddying the waters that she could use her strength to reduce her disadvantage.

Now, it was time to think carefully about her future plans.

How can she be on the winning side, even whether the east wind overwhelms the west wind or the west wind overwhelms the east wind?

Over there, Lin Kun finally were meeting Ren Shijia.

Ren Shijia had retreated to her left and held in Lin Kun’s arms on the right.

After the sweet warmth, Ren Shijia raised her head and looked nervously at Lin Kun, “Husband, what did Father ask you to do?”

Lin Kun helped his wife sit on the bed and sat beside her, placing his hand on her belly and saying in a warm voice, “It’s nothing, he just asked some questions.”

Ren Shijia lowered her head, took Lin Kun’s hand, and said a little sourly, “My Lord, I… I’ll take on two concubines for you.”

Lin Kun lost his smile and looked down at Ren Shijia, “What’s wrong with you again? Didn’t I promise you? It’s just us and our children, no one else.”

Hearing this, Ren Shijia was feeling both sweet and sad, and with red eyes she bowed her head and said, “I know what you want. But my father and mother are right to think this, and I cannot be so selfish. You are the only one left in the Lin Family’s Second Branch, and my belly is not in good shape. If… if… if… how can I face my in-laws under the earth in the future.”

Lin Kun’s eyes flashed and he hugged Ren Shijia without saying anything.

Ren Shijia tried to convince Lin Kun again, “Even if I were to give birth to a son, he alone would not be able to support the second family. My mother said that she would send the concubines out when they have a child, and when the time comes, it will still be just us and our children.” After a pause, she added, “Your children are my children, and I will raise them well and make them successful.”

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For anyone confused whom is related to whom, I made a family tree of all the characters in Table of Contents under, up to the latest chapter (which, really, hopefully it actually helps and not confuses you even more lol)