CH 120

Chapter 120: An Argument

Su didn’t linger long at the West Mansion. A steward from East Mansion came looking for her, so she bid her farewell and went back.

Ren Yaoting, on the other hand, didn’t want to leave so quickly, and Old Madam Ren invited her to eat together, so she stayed.

No matter how proud Ren Yaoting’s nature was, teenage girls like to be lively, so Ren Yaoting loved to come to the West Mansion.

The four sisters chatted together in the Ronghua Courtyard. Ren Yaohua still ignored Ren Yaoting however. Usually, it was Ren Yaoting and Ren Yaoqi talking, with Ren Yaoyin occasionally interjecting a few sentences, or Ren Yaoyin and Ren Yaohua would speak a few sentences. There was no awkwardness.

Ren Yaoting remembered the last time she came to the West Mansion to catch butterflies, and her heart was a little tickled, “Why don’t we go and play catch butterflies?”

Ren Yaoyin laughed at her, “Aren’t you afraid of the heat? Look at you, you’re like a red-faced Guan Gong after just a few steps. Are you not afraid of getting sunburnt when it’s so sunny outside?”

>> Guan Gong

Ren Yaoting’s attitude towards Ren Yaoyin was quite good, so she replied with a smile, “That’s why I don’t like to go to my family’s garden. The place where the Fifth Sister and I caught butterflies last time was in the shade.”

Ren Yaoyin shook her head, “Regretfully I have to decline. I had promised yesterday to help Sister-in-law trace some flower patterns and give them to her today. Why don’t you guys go and play first, and I will find you guys later?”

Among the sisters in the Ren family, Ren Yaoyin was the most quiet and decorous. Everyone knew that.

Ren Yaoting pursed her lips and said, “Fourth Sister is lying again, by the time you find us, we have stopped playing.”

Ren Yaoyin didn’t argue. She covered her mouth and smiled instead, as if admitting that it was just an excuse. This in turn made it impossible for people to get annoyed, even the proud-natured Ren Yaoting only glared at her.

Ren Forth Miss, Ren Yaoyin was like this. She didn’t close with any of her sisters, but from Ren Yaohua to Ren Yaoting to Ren Yaoyu, no one ever bothered by her.

The Ren Family sisters had each of their undercurrents, but no one could catch Ren Yaoyin’s handle.

Ren Yaoting didn’t invite Ren Yaohua either, she only pulled Ren Yaoqi’s hand, “If Fourth Sister won’t go, why don’t Fifth Sister accompany me?”

Ren Yaoyin gazed at Ren Yaoqi with a smile. She was not surprised that Ren Yaoting and Ren Yaoqi suddenly became intimate, as if it was normal for sisters to be close to each other.

Ren Yaoqi nodded and agreed, glancing at Ren Yaohua.

Ren Yaohua turned her head and talked to Ren Yaoyin, “I want to embroider a headband for Grandmother, can you help me choose the suitable pattern?”

>> headband

In truth, albeit Ren Yaoqi’s embroidery was only average, she was the most skilled in pattern design. Ren Yaoyin was aware that Ren Yaohua didn’t want to go to the small garden with Ren Yaoting to catch butterflies, so Ren Yaohua asked her for design advice. However, she didn’t expose Ren Yaohua’s excuse. She merely smiled and abided.

Ren Yaoting pulled Ren Yaohua out of the door.

As soon as she left the Ronghua Courtyard, Ren Yaoting started to express her dissatisfaction towards Ren Yaoyu to Ren Yaoqi, “I didn’t bother with her because my mother was there, or else I would have asked Grandaunt to teach her a good lesson!”

Ren Yaoting was not from the West Mansion, so when she came to visit, Old Madam Ren was always kinder to her than her own granddaughter, which is human nature. In addition, she was the only daughter in the East Mansion, so Ren Yaoting’s temperament was more proud and reserved than Ren Yaohua’s.

Ren Yaoqi listened to her complaints, then offered a word or two of appeasing at the right time. She didn’t exactly say that Ren Yaoyu was wrong, but Ren Yaoting didn’t care.

When Ren Yaoqi came out, she sent her maid back to get the net, and the two of them went to the small garden near the Liuli Courtyard again. There stood a big camphor tree as thick as two people and some potato vines. The land under this greenery was the favorite habitat of butterflies. The sisters of the Ren Family loved to come here when they played with butterflies in the summer.

Ren Yaoting was not in a hurry to go to the butterfly. Instead, she pulled Ren Yaoqi to talk on the veranda.

Ren Yaoting and Ren Yaoqi chatted about the Dragon Boat Festival in Yunyang City.  Ren Yaoting told Ren Yaoqi that she had sent a message to Han You, and asked her if she would go. Han You didn’t give a clear answer, so Ren Yaoting urged Ren Yaoqi to send a message to Han You as well. They all know the situation in the Han Family, so Ren Yaoting thought that if more people invited Han You, maybe the Han family would be willing to let her go.

This is the actual purpose of Ren Yaoting asking Ren Yaoqi to come out here today to catch butterflies. With Han You there, her chances of getting in touch with Han Yunqian will be much greater.

Ren Yaoqi was about to reply to her, but she heard someone talking in the garden.

Ren Yaoting was a little displeased at being interrupted, looked over with a frown, and then was a little surprised: “Huh? Why did we meet them again?”

Ren Yaoqi also looked over along Ren Yaoting’s gaze. Unclear whether it was a coincidence or not, the two people in the garden who were at a standstill were none other than Ren Yaoyu and Concubine Kang. Just like the last time Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yaoting met them, the atmosphere between the two is still tense.

Ren Yaoting paused for a while and curled her lips. Then she pulled Ren Yaoqi and whispered, “Let’s go, let’s take a look. Seventh Sister is getting more and more outrageous.”

Ren Yaoqi was dragged for two steps before suddenly she yelped and stopped. Then she rubbed her eyes with the hand that wasn’t held by Ren Yaoting. Her left eye blinked rapidly, looked very uncomfortable.

“What’s wrong?” Ren Yaoting paused her walking and turned to look at Ren Yaoqi suspiciously.

Ren Yaoqi took out a handkerchief to rub her eyes while saying in frustration, “It seems like the wind blew some small bugs to my eyes, it’s painful.”

Ren Yaoting checked her eyes. Ren Yaoqi’s left eye was still blinking non-stop, seemingly trying to blink out the thing that caused her eyes to feel uncomfortable. Her left eye was also a bit redder than her right eye.

The maids behind her frantically surrounded her. Pingguo advised, “Miss, why don’t you go and sit on the porch for a while, and this servant will help you blow it out?”

Ren Yaoqi nodded with red eyes and said to Ren Yaoting, “My eyes are hurting, go sit over there first.”

However, because of Ren Yaoting’s hatred toward Ren Yaoyu, she wanted to go and watch the dispute between Ren Yaoyu and Concubine Kang. She intended to tattle Ren Yaoyu in front of Old Madam Ren later.

“Then how about you go and sit for a while, and I’ll go over there to take a look?” Ren Yaoting said.

Ren Yaoqi waved her hand without saying anything, and let her two maids help her turn back to the porch and sit down.

Ren Yaoting took her maid, Fen Hua and Fu Liu, to the garden.

After Pingguo helped Ren Yaoqi to rest, she meticulously blew air into Ren Yaoqi’s eyes. Ren Yaoqi stared at Ren Yaoting’s back silently, her eyes hiding deep thoughts.

Because Ren Yaohua had already sent someone to secretly keep an eye on Concubine Kang, now Ren Yaoqi knew that Concubine Kang would come to Liuli Courtyard at this time every morning.

Old Madam Ren had told Concubine Kang not to come to greet the Fifth Madam Lin to avoid any more trouble. But now, Concubine Kang’s purpose for coming to Liuli Courtyard was very grand. She came to be a lobbyist for the Fifth Master.

The Fifth Master hadn’t returned to the Liuli Courtyard in the past few days and was still in a cold war with the Fifth Madam. People talked that Kang had persuaded the Fifth Master several times to no avail, so her heart was very uneasy and she would come to the Liuli Courtyard every day. Apart from reporting to the Madam about the Fifth Master’s daily life, she also begged the Fifth Madam not to vent her anger on the innocent Fifth Master. Fifth Madam should blame her instead.

In short, in the eyes of the entire Ren Family, this new Concubine Kang was very kind and reasonable.

When Ren Yaoqi heard this, she merely smiled.

Ren Yaoqi came along with Ren Yaoting this time because she knew  that Kang would go through this way. Ren Yaoyu’s situation in the Ronghua Courtyard still stayed in her mind.

However, she didn’t come here to involve herself in this dispute, so when she heard that Concubine Kang really met Ren Yaoyu again, she didn’t rush to get involved.

Ren Yaoqi sat in the corridor for a while. Her left eye gradually got better and was no longer red, but she didn’t have the mood to go over to watch the fun, so she only sat in the same place and quietly listened to the faint sound of the argument coming from over there.

After some period of time, suddenly a scream followed by a cry of alarm was heard.