CH 77

Chapter 77: Succor

Seeing that Matron Zhou was also about to go out, Ren Yaoqi hurriedly stopped her, “Matron, please stay too.”

Matron Zhou replied and stood at the side of the end of the bed with her hands tied.

Only then did Ren Yaoqi say to Li, “Mother, I just saw Grandfather and Old Master Han in the courtyard.”

Li sniffed and looked at Matron Zhou, sitting up slightly straighter: “Yunqian’s grandfather is here too?”

Presumably, Mrs. Li is really satisfied with Han Yunqian, even her way of calling him had changed at this moment.

“This shows that the Han Family also attaches great importance to this matter,” Li said joyfully to Matron Zhou.

“The Han Family only has one son which is Young Master Han, so naturally they attach importance to it.” Matron Zhou also smiled and nodded her head in agreement.

Ren Yaoqi looked at their expressions and continued, “Just now Father said that Grandfather has already settled on the Third Sister.”

Li glared at Ren Yaoqi, “How can you pry into such matters? What are you worrying about at such a young age!” She didn’t seem too much surprised by Ren Yaoqi’s words, so she must have already heard something from the Old Madam’s lips. However, the joy on her face was undisguised.

Han Yunqian was good-looking, modest, intelligent, well-educated, and the only son of the Han Family. Anyone looking for marriage would say yes.

Li was not wrong to be a mother who had her daughter’s best interests at heart.

Even Ren Yaoqi could not find anything wrong with this marriage if she did not know the end.

“Mother, I heard that a maid serves to Sister You was quietly inquiring about Third Sister’s temperament.” Ren Yaoqi bowed her head and said.

Li was stunned and frowned slightly, “What have they been prying about?”

Ren Yaoqi thought for a moment, “Her temperament, how she handles herself, and why she was sent to the village the year before last.”

“Who did she ask? What did they say?” Li said, a little nervously.

“It was to one of the little maids by my side, Mother. don’t worry, she didn’t speak nonsense.” Ren Yaoqi said comfortingly.

Li couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, “That’s good, that’s good.” She was also worried that her daughter’s bad temper would be fueled by someone telling the Han Family about her.

“Mother, Sister You’er doesn’t look like someone who pokes around, and she wouldn’t ask about this. It must be the Old Madam or the Madam of the Han Family who sent that maid to pry.”

Matron Zhou nodded her head in agreement, “That is certainly true.”

Ren Yaoqi looked to Li at the side, “Mother. The Han Family is looking for a good daughter, and the Ren Family is looking for a good family for their daughter. The Han Family have come to probe our Ren Family at this juncture, shouldn’t we send someone to probe the Han Family as well?”

“This…” Li frowned at Matron Zhou.

Ren Yaoqi added, “Mother, I heard that this lineage is very important to the Han Family. There is only one son in the Han Family, Han Yunqian, and his wife will have to carry a lot of the burden in the future. According to Third Sister’s nature, do you think she would have been able to cope if she hadn’t been prepared? Will she be able to handle it?”

This time Matron Zhou also nodded: “Fifth Miss has a point. This trivial matter in their family makes it the easiest to be exploited. It would be good for Third Miss to prepare early so that she will not be belittled later.”

Li said hesitantly, “But the Han Family is extremely strict, so how can we send someone over to inquire and have the Han Family find out?”

Ren Yaoqi smiled and said, “Mother, how long has it been since the Han Family moved to Baihe Town? Even if you send someone to the Han Family to ask about the situation, what can you find out? It will be just like our maids who are always picking out the good things to say to the Han Family. But it’s not like that in Jizhou. The Han Family has lived in Jizhou for so many years, their relatives, friends, and neighbors all know each other by heart. It would be good if we could send someone to Jizhou to ask around.”

“To Jizhou?” Li looked at Ren Yaoqi and then at Matron Zhou, “Wouldn’t that be too cautious? I think the Han Family has a simple population. Everyone from top to bottom is harmonious, so there shouldn’t be anything to pry into.”

Ren Yaoqi said disapprovingly, “Mother, is the Han Family simple? That’s because you only see the Han Family in Baihe Town, how much do you know about the Han Family?”

“This…” Li said.

Ren Yaoqi continued again, “Just because we don’t know, doesn’t mean there’s no problem. For example, their family is obviously of great importance in the Han clan, but how much do you know about why they left Jizhou and moved to Yanzhou? The Han Family is so strict with women, so the person in charge must be a serious person, but the Old Master I saw today seemed like a person with a bright and cheerful nature. He was also very affectionate. So who is the real head of the Han Family now? Or is Old Master Han’s true nature different from what he appears to be? If that’s the case, won’t it be difficult for Third Sister to walk in the future if we don’t find out more so that we can make preparations early?”

Li was asked a series of questions by Ren Yaoqi. Li couldn’t help but blush a little.

She hadn’t thought about these things at all.

Thinking about how she wouldn’t have been able to sit here all these years without Matron Zhou looking after her, Li felt that she had indeed considered too little.

“But who are we going to send to Jizhou?” Li sighed in relief and thought for a moment. “Should we discuss it with the Old Master, or ask Old Master and Old Madam to send someone to go there?”

“I just checked on Father’s side, he shouldn’t have a problem with it. As for the grandparents’ side… I think we should send someone ourselves. We won’t bother the two elders for now. Otherwise, if the Ren Family does find out that there is something wrong with the Han Family, we won’t know anything about it.”

As long as it was helpful to the Ren Family, even if the Han Family was unbearable, the Ren Family would still let Ren Yaohua marry.

Li was silent for a moment and didn’t refute anymore, only saying, “Then who would be better to send?”

Ren Yaoqi smiled and winked, “Mother, has it been a long time since you wrote to Grandmother?”

Li was stunned, then her eyes lit up, “Right, we can ask Mother for help. The Li Family has never had any dealings with the Han Family, so even if the Han Family finds out later, they can still shrug it off.”

Matron Zhou smiled and said, “Then why don’t Madam go and write a letter now? This slave can have it sent to Yunyang City as soon as possible. It is better to do this sooner rather than later.”

Li nodded and was about to get up, but Ren Yaoqi hurriedly pressed her down, “I will go and prepare the pen and ink, Mother, I will write it for you.”

Seeing her like this, Li couldn’t help but laugh: “Go on then.”

Ren Yaoqi then went out to summon the maid.

Li looked at her back and said with a satisfied smile, “I am relieved that the two sisters are like this.”

Matron Zhou also smiled, “After all, they are sisters by birth, what do you need to worry about, Madam? In previous years, it was just that the two young ladies were young and had screwy natures.”

Not long afterwards, Ren Yaoqi came in with a maid carrying a pen, ink, paper, and ink stone.

Ren Yaoqi sat down at the table, picked up a pen and filled it with ink, and asked Li with a smile, “Mother, tell me what I should write.”

Li told her mother about her request for help in investigating the Han Family, and Ren Yaoqi sat down at the table and wrote steadily. Only in addition to what Li said, she added some words of her own to the top.

After all, the focus of Li’s investigation was different from hers.

When she had finished writing, Ren Yaoqi read it over herself and asked Li to take a look at it to see if there was anything else she needed to add. Li nodded straight after reading it, “That’s good, that’s good.”

Ren Yaoqi then blew the ink dry, sealed it, and handed it to Matron Zhou: “Matron, have someone send it to Grandfather’s house.”

Matron Zhou did not dare to delay, so she answered and went to borrow the letter.

Ren Yaoqi suddenly felt like she had let go of a big stone in her heart and was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

What she wanted to find out most was the details of Han Dongshan.

The Han Family had been landlords in Jizhou for generations, and their wealth was limited to that. The emergence of Han Dongshan was a change for the Han Family.

After the grandparents of the Han Family returned from the Ren Family, there was also a conversation between the two people.

In the Han Family’s study, Han Dongshan sat behind his desk and expressionlessly surveyed his grandson standing in front of him. He slowly spins a pair of white jade orbs the size of a toddler’s fist in his hands.

Han Yunqian bowed his head slightly as if looking at the square inch in front of him, but also looking at nothing at all. Although his head was bowed and his posture was respectful, his back was straight.

“The Ren Family has agreed to tie the knot with us.” Han Dongshan said indifferently, the corners of his mouth raised slightly, looking completely mocking.

Han Yunqian acted as if he hadn’t heard, and as if this matter had nothing to do with him, he didn’t even raise his eyes.

“Is that Miss Ren the one who took the painting back from you last time?” Han Dongshan said unexpectedly.

“Yes, Grandfather.” Han Yunqian answered in a low voice.

The two jade balls in Han Dongshan’s hands turned a little faster, as he was pondering, “The Ren Family’s intention is for you to be betrothed to Third Miss Ren. But I see that you and the Fifth Young Lady seem to be more compatible. Now that the marriage is not yet finalized, how about I ask for your hand in marriage to the Fifth Miss of the Ren Family?”

Han Yunqian’s complexion changed. He immediately raised his head, then met Han Dongshan’s cold eyes with a hint of light.

Han Yunqian secretly took a deep breath to calm himself down. He heard his calm voice slowly say, “The result will be the same for whoever is decided, so why make the extra effort to upset Ren Family at this time.”

Han Dongshan looked at Han Yunqian for a long time. Then he leaned back and rested his head in the heathered chair behind him, his tone was softer, again looking like a reasonable elder: “It’s good that you know what’s in your heart.”

Han Yunqian bowed, “This grandson will retire first.”

“Hmm. Call your father in, I have something to explain to him.” Han Dongshan said in a light voice.

Han Yunqian answered and retreated.

The spring afternoon sun was less lazy than it had been in winter, working diligently to glaze everything with an even layer of golden silk. Han Yunqian walked out from the corridor slowly to the courtyard full of sunshine, making him look warm and amiable.

In the eyes of the servants who came and went, the young master was still gentle and calm, aloof and exalted.

But all that echoed in Han Yunqian’s mind now was his grandfather’s earlier words, “How about I just ask for you to marry the Fifth Miss of the Ren Family?”

He didn’t feel any joy, delight, cheerfulness, or other emotions, he just inexplicably sweated down the back of his clothes.