CH 123

Chapter 123: The Tendency of Smart People 

It was regrettable that Lin didn’t know that when people look at you favorably, anything you do is worthy of forgiveness. On the contrary, when people look at you poorly, your defense will only make them more and more disgusted.

In addition, Old Madam Ren had already decided that her granddaughter, Ren Yaoyu had a wicked heart and was sinister and vicious, so Lin’s defense of her daughter could only have the opposite effect.

Old Madam Ren couldn’t stand it any longer and became furious. She ordered that Ren Yaoyu to be tied down and punished in the Ancestral Hall in accordance with family rules.

>> family rules

(please read this on sleepyautumn.link)

Any family with a deep family history has family rules, and if there are family rules, there will inevitably be disciplinary stick. Although the Ren Family’s history was not very extensive, they had made a great pretense of something that had never been there since the previous head of the family, Baoming, was still alive.

The disciplinary stick of the Ren Family is the same as the punishment stick of other big families in Yanbei. It is an ironwood stick as thick as an adult’s wrist, flat and round, about four feet long, and shiny even without paint. This stick was enshrined in the ancestral hall for years and years along with the ancestral tablets, and in general its used more for deterrence than its actual purpose. Its existence made the children of all families terrified when they hear about it, and had already surpassed the horrific significance of an ordinary wooden stick to a child.

>> disciplinary stick

So when Ren Yaoyu heard that the legendary disciplinary stick was to be used, she was so scared that her legs went limp on the spot. When she saw her grandmother’s stern attitude, she even thought that she was going to lose her life.

Lin’s fear of the disciplinary stick was of course different from her daughter’s, but she also knew the seriousness of the usage of the stick. After all, ever since the former head of the family set the family law, that one wooden stick had actually never been used, and she didn’t want her daughter to be the first one in the Ren family to ever try it.

So the Ronghua Courtyard started to cause trouble again. Lin Fifth Master Ren Shimao got the news and begged Eldest Master Ren to go and invite Old Master Ren back.

People are prejudiced creatures. It is a lie to say that Ren Shimao didn’t feel sad about Concubine Kang’s miscarriage. But no matter how much Ren Shimao promised Concubine Kang that he would treat her and the child in her womb with tenderness and affection, when it came to a critical moment, those closer and further in the heart were still immediately distinguishable.

(please read this on sleepyautumn.link)

Compared to the unborn child in Concubine Kang’s womb, Fifth Master Ren was more worried about his eldest daughter. Even though everyone said that Ren Yaoyu was the culprit who caused Concubine Kang’s miscarriage, Ren Shimao was not willing to speculate on his and Lin’s beloved daughter with malicious intent, and he unconditionally believed Lin’s words. Ren Yaoyu had hit Concubine Kang by mistake.

As for Old Master Ren, after knowing about this matter, he thought about it and went back to the inner courtyard. Recently Old Madam Ren had been very dissatisfied with the Lin Family because of Ren Shijia, thus taking her anger out on Lin. Old Master Ren kept turning a blind eye to it for some unknown reason. But the attitude of the Ren Family, which he himself represented, towards the Lin Family, had not changed in any way.

Recently, the various aristocratic families in Yanbei looked calm and peaceful. However, many people feel that this calmness is like a river frozen in winter. The surface may have no waves and no ripples, but under the ice layer, there are deep currents and turbulent currents. When the spring is warm and the flowers bloom, the flood season will come as soon as the ice layer breaks.

In this period of unpredictable situations, Old Master Ren didn’t want to really get into a fight with the Lin Family.

However, Old Master Ren had never asked about the affairs of the inner courtyard. It is not good to overrule the decision that Old Madam Ren had made and embarrassed her. So after returning to the inner courtyard, he went straight to the study of Ronghua Courtyard. No matter how much Ren Shimao begged him, he didn’t show up.

(please read this on sleepyautumn.link)

When Old Madam Ren received the news that Old Master Ren was back, Ren Shijia was sending her matron to intercede for Ren Yaoyu and Lin. She was still in confinement and it was inconvenient to go out, but she still showed her concern for mother and daughter Lin.

Old Madam Ren didn’t want to respond to her daughter’s plea at first. However, after learning that the Old Master Ren was back, she considered it for a while before changing her decision, ordering people to just temporarily lock Ren Yaoyu in the ancestral hall without any visit. She would decide the punishment after today’s matter was clarified.

Lin’s feet were restricted momentarily in her Liuli Courtyard. She was implicated because there is a possibility that the calamity Ren Yaoyu had made was based on her order. Nonetheless, the mother and daughter Lin would be relieved for a while. The two words ‘disciplinary stick’ were rarely heard, which made it even more frightening.

On the surface, Old Madam Ren had sold her daughter a favor. Lin became grateful to Ren Shijia, her sister-in-law. However, in reality, it was a tacit agreement between Old Madam Ren and Old Master Ren. She knew that Old Master Ren wouldn’t come back for no reason, and since he was invited back by his son, even though he didn’t come to the main house to interfere in the matter, it was a hint of what he meant.

It must be said that Old Madam Ren was actually a smart person. She immediately abandoned her own likes and dislikes and firmly followed Old Master Ren’s will, and so that other people could not easily detect what it means, plus she also gave her daughter a big face.

However, Fifth Master Ren’s decision at a vital juncture caused Lin’s previously hostile attitude to soften. When Fifth Master Ren insisted on sending her back to the Ziwei Courtyard, Lin didn’t refuse as firmly as she had in the past. Later on, some of the maids of the Liuli Courtyard softly chatting about Fifth Master Ren accompanied the Fifth Madam to the main room where she was grounded, and was not kicked out by her. There were even some people who heard the Fifth Madam crying in the house as well as Fifth Master Ren’s careful comforting voice.

This foot restraint punishment unexpectedly restrained the feet of both the husband and wife, but one was forced and the other was voluntary.

Currently Concubine Kang was still lying in the west wing of the Liuli Courtyard, almost losing half her life. But now both the Fifth Master and the Fifth Madam had selectively ignored this matter.

(please read this on sleepyautumn.link)

No one knows what kind of mood Concubine Kang is holding at this time, lying in the pearwood frame bed at the west wing of the Liuli Courtyard. She had calculated everything, but ultimately she did not have the ability to calculate the man’s heart.

At the East Mansion side, Ren Yaoting went to her mother’s place first the second she went back.

Her eyes reddened as soon as she saw Su, and she stepped forward to hug Su with no intention to let go. She was really frightened today and only managed to look calm down because she wanted to save face. After seeing her mother, she felt even more aggrieved.

Strictly speaking, Su was a cold person. Her nature prevented her from being a caring mother. However, Su still loved her only daughter from the bottom of her heart.

So seeing Ren Yaoting like this made Su distressed. She did not immediately ask her daughter what happened. She just patiently hugged Ren Yaoting for a long time, asked someone to serve the calming tea that she had prepared before, and personally fed Ren Yaoting to drink. In the end, she coaxed Ren Yaoting to rest on the soft couch in her main room.

After comforting her daughter, Su instructed her personal matron, Yang, to bring the two senior maids who were serving by Ren Yaoting’s side to go to the next room.

Su listened quietly as the two maids discussed the happenings of the day. Her brows were slightly furrowed, and she had a chilly, harsh expression on her face. Her appearance was very ordinary, but this expression gave her a unique charm, which was different from ordinary boudoir ladies. It’s just that Su’s expression is rarely shown in front of outsiders, so it can be seen that everyone present is her confidant.

“Kang will pass by that garden at that time every day?” Su’s tone was flat, and his face had returned to the usual calmness.

Matron Yang bowed her head and said, “This servant has inquired about it, and it is indeed so. Not only that, but Eighth Miss also often came back from strolling around the garden at that hour, so the two of them have bumped into each other there several times, and quarrels become a common occurrence. Usually, Eight Miss was in a bad mood and deliberately humiliated Aunt Kang.”

Su thought for a moment, then cast her eyes towards the two maids who stood aside with their hands tied, and said in a soft voice, “Ting’er also knows that Ren Yaoyu often appears in the garden at that time?”

(please read this on sleepyautumn.link)

The two maids glanced at each other, the slightly older one stepped forward and said carefully, “Miss did not know at first. When she went to the garden outside Liuli Courtyard with Fifth Miss to catch butterflies, she just happened to see Kang and Eighth Miss arguing and kept it in her mind. Miss asked around and found out that it is not the first time Kang and Eighth Miss had a quarrel. However, this servant saw that Miss just asked a few questions casually out of curiosity, and didn’t mention it anymore afterward.”

Su’s eyebrows were slightly raised, “Ting’er was angry with Ren Yaoyu in the Ronghua Courtyard today, so did she choose that time to go to the Liuli Courtyard to catch butterflies on purpose?”

“This…” the maid raised her eyes at Su’s question and hesitantly said, “This servant saw that Miss was indeed a little happy when she heard the sound of the quarrel between the Eighth Miss and Concubine Kang coming from the garden.”

In fact, the words that Ren Yaoting said in front of Ren Yaoyu and Concubine Kang at that time were intended to pour fuel to the fire and add excitement. But she didn’t say anything about it in front of Old Madam Ren. She only said that she was just trying to quell the fight.

Ren Yaoting had rarely suffered in the Ren Family, so when she was upset with the things Ren Yaoyu had done to her today, she realized that if the conflict between Ren Yaoyu and Concubine Kang became a big deal, Ren Yaoyu would be punished.

It is not that Ren Yaoting had malicious intent. She just made some childish calculations to watch Ren Yaoyu being chastised by the elders. She didn’t expect Ren Yaoyu would dare to do anything to Concubine Kang.

(please read this on sleepyautumn.link)

Ren Yaoting was terrified it was her fault for what had happened.

Su asked this question for this reason. It’s difficult for the maids to speak directly, but they hinted at it when they explained the situation to Su.

Su understood her daughter, which is why she asked the maids rather than Ren Yaoting directly. This will help her make a correct judgment.

After a long period of silence, Su said in a low voice, “I’m afraid this matter is not that simple.”

Smart individuals are tend to think a lot.

.

There are a lot of smart woman in Ren Family, they could scheme and trip people with their plots, but for some reason neither of them could get their husband’s heart. Yes, I talked about the same fate shared between Concubine Fang, Concubine Kang, and Second Madam Su.

Humans are interesting creatures huh