CH 125

Chapter 125: A Trusted Aide

In the afternoon when Ren Yaoqi had just taken a nap, Matron Zhou personally came to the west wing where Ren Yaoqi lived.

“The Eighth Miss has indeed been taking medication for some time. The Fifth Madam felt that Eighth Miss is a bit fat, so she had asked her sister-in-law for a prescription for Eighth Miss when she went back to her natal family, and Eighth Miss had been eating it for a while. Because the Eighth Miss is easily embarrassed, she never let any of their servants talk about it.”

Among the several sisters of the Ren Family, Ren Yaoyu was the most round and shortest. It made the Fifth Madam, who liked to compare herself with others, very dissatisfied. She was afraid that Ren Yaoyu’s appearance wouldn’t change as she grown older.

Elders liked to choose a daughter-in-law who looked rich for their children and grandchildren, because it was a sign of women who are good for birthing children. But Fifth Madam Lin scoffed at this standard. She knew that what the elders liked might not be what a husband liked. So even though Ren Yaoyu was still young, she had started to think about Ren Yaoyu’s figure.

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When Ren Yaoqi heard this, she raised her brows. Lin had covertly obtained some prescription for Ren Yaoyu in her previous life, suggesting that taking it would make a lady thinner. Although Ren Yaoyu looked to have shed a lot of weight in the end, Ren Yaoqi was aware that this type of medication was typically cold in nature, and that taking more of it was harmful to women.

Ren Yaoqi didn’t think it was weird that Ren Yaoyu was using medication. The prescription came from the Lin family, and nothing occurred to Ren Yaoyu after that in the previous life, therefore someone must be tampering with it and adding something that shouldn’t be included.

“Did you find the dregs of the medicine?” Ren Yaoyu asked in contemplation.

Matron Zhou shook her head with regret on her face, “Yesterday when Eighth Miss was punished to go to the ancestral hall, she hadn’t consumed any medicine. The dregs of it have already been poured out yesterday and cannot be retrieved.”

Ren Yaoqi only wanted to verify her theories, so when she heard Matron Zhou say this, although she was a bit regretful that there was no evidence left, she wasn’t too disappointed.

Seeing that Matron Zhou seemed to be blaming herself for not completing the task, Ren Yaoqi was about to say a few words to comfort her, when there was a sudden noise outside.

“Who is there?” Ren Yaoqi frowned. Without saying a word, Matron Zhou quickly stepped forward to pick up the curtain.

Ren Yaoqi had just got up from her nap earlier. When she saw Matron Zhou coming, she directly dismissed the people waiting for her and let Matron Zhou in. The two of them were now talking alone in the living room on the right wing.

Ren Yaoqi sat on the kang by the window. She lowered her eyes, her thoughts deeply hidden. She didn’t follow Matron Zhou to check who it was.

“It’s you?” Matron Zhou’s voice was somewhat surprised and seemed to be relieved, then turned her head to look at Ren Yaoqi, “Miss, it’s…”

Without waiting for Matron Zhou to finish her sentence, the person outside had already appeared by the curtain, holding a red lacquered tea tray in her hand. With her head lowered, she stood in an orderly manner, looking very respectful and calm, but the hands on the edge of the tea tray were tense.

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Matron Zhou stopped talking the second she came in. Ren Yaoqi was still sitting on the kang, didn’t move, and didn’t speak.  Only a pair of crystal clear eyes stared intensely at the person coming.

Ren Yaoqi’s eyes were very pretty. If she smiled they would curve into a crescent moon, soft and beautiful. It made people lower their guard. At this moment, Ren Yaoqi didn’t smile, nor did her expression change. She just looked indifferent, like what in front of her was only a normal scene.

The atmosphere in the room instantly choked.

“Matron Xu?” Ren Yaoqi smiled faintly and gently called.

Only then did Matron Xu bow her head and step forward. She silently placed the tea tray in her hands onto the table, then knelt in front of Ren Yaoqi, bowing her head, and saying, “This servant deserved to die.”

“Die?” Ren Yaoqi looked at the person who respectfully knelt in front of him. There was a bit of teasing in her smile, “Our Ren Family is not such an unreasonable family, is it? Letting people die casually? Are you trying to scare me, Matron Xu?”

Matron Xu didn’t expect the always gentle and well-spoken Ren Yaoqi to suddenly grab onto such a common phrase from her, and she couldn’t help being stunned. The phrase ‘this servant deserves to die’ was what subordinates usually used when they did something wrong and begged for forgiveness from their masters, but no one really wanted to die. Otherwise, one should say, ‘Master, spare my life.’

Although Matron Xu was a little anxious she quickly calmed down, “This servant is here to bring almond milk, this servant didn’t mean anything more.”

Ren Yaoqi stared at her. Patiently listening to her explanation, but did not let her get up. Matron Xu seemed to feel that what she said was like an excuse, so she sighed in frustration, and then continued, “This servant made a mistake, this servant is asking for Miss’ punishment.”

Ren Yaoqi kept her eyes on Matron Xu and didn’t answer immediately, as if she really wanted to punish her.

On the contrary, it was Matron Zhou who looked at Ren Yaoqi and then at Matron Xu, and couldn’t help but open her mouth, “Miss, it was this servant who instructed Matron Xu to bring the almond milk that Madam had prepared for you. This also can be seen as this servants’ negligence.”

These days Matron Zhou was also secretly observing Matron Xu. After all, Matron Xu and Matron Gao were the ones she had chosen to give to the two sisters, Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yaohua. If their performance was not good, she could replace them early.

However, after observing them over the past few days, Matron Zhou was very satisfied with both Matron Xu and Matron Gao. Matron Gao was warm-hearted and generous, complementing Ren Yaohua’s stern and arrogant nature, and the two were surprisingly harmonious. Ren Yaoqi’s housekeeper, Matron Xu, was calm and rigorous, a steady person suitable for big responsibilities.

(please read this on sleepyautumn.link)

Li and Zhou originally wanted to choose an assistant and a helper for the two sisters, but Zhou felt that Ren Yaoqi’s attitude towards Matron Xu was a bit puzzling. Although she had left everything in her room to Matron Xu, and Matron Xu had done a good job, Matron Zhou still felt that she didn’t trust Matron Xu, and even rejected Matron Xu.

Matron Zhou had always wanted to ask Ren Yaoqi what was on her mind but had never found the opportunity to do so. In her opinion, Matron Xu was a rare good aide. If Ren Yaoqi could accept Matron Xu, Matron Xu would be very helpful in the future. She felt that Matron Xu could be trusted.

Ren Yaoqi had also been paying attention to Matron Xu for a while. It must be said that this Matron Xu was indeed a capable person. If it was not for Ren Yaoqi’s experience in her last life, she would try her best to win over a talent like Matron Xu.

Ren Yaoqi had never found anything wrong with Matron Xu. She had secretly asked Yuan Dayong to check on Matron Xu and learned that she really only has an only son and her background is clean. The daughter who appeared out of nowhere in her previous life seemed to have never existed at all.

On the contrary, Matron Xu had always been diligent and conscientious in doing things. With the maids in the house, she was strict when she should be strict, and tolerant when she should be tolerant. The last time she reminded Ren Yaoqi that the maid Qingmei sent by Aunt Fang could not stay with her, Ren Yaoqi left her to deal with it. Not long after, she found a good excuse to transfer Qingmei out of Ren Yaoqi’s room, without involving Ren Yaoqi at all. Qingmei even felt that she had a better future after leaving Ziwei Courtyard. When she left, she was very grateful to Matron Xu and even Ren Yaoqi.

For the maid named Xueli, because Ren Yaoqi said she could be used, Matron Xu didn’t mention it to Ren Yaoqi anymore and treated Xueli no differently than the rest of the maids.

It was no wonder that even Matron Zhou was impressed with Matron Xu, and was thinking of pleading for her at this moment.

Ren Yaoqi had a strange feeling, it seemed that this Matron Xu was still fine now.

After considering it, Ren Yaoqi slightly bent down and personally helped Matron Xu, her tone was very gentle, “Get up, I was joking before.”

Matron Xu breathed a sigh of relief and said a thank you before getting up from the ground.

Ren Yaoqi did not ask when Matron Xu came and how much she had heard, seemingly forgetting that she had just been discussing some secret matter with Matron Zhou. She just picked up the bowl of slightly cool almond milk and drank it in small sips.

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On the other side, Matron Xu saw that Matron Zhou gave her a wink and signaled her to leave, so she bowed and walked out without saying a word.

As soon as Matron Xu left, Matron Zhou said, ”Miss, both this servant and Madam think that this Matron Xu is a good person who can be used. You can try her out again, and if you don’t see any problems, you can order her to do anything later on. From the last incident with the maid Qingmei, we can see that she is a tactful person. With her assisting you, it will be a lot easier for you to do things in the future.”

Ren Yaoqi knew that Matron Zhou was genuinely looking out for her, so she didn’t refute her, instead nodded and said with a smile, “I’m just not used to her yet. I will use her after a while, don’t worry about me, Matron.”

Matron Zhou is now more at ease with Ren Yaoqi than she is with Ren Yaohua. Hearing her agreement, she put the matter aside and never mentioned it again, and then talked to Ren Yaoqi with Ren Yaoyu.

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Afterward, from the main room Li sent Xi’er to bring Matron Zhou, then Ren Yaoqi let Matron Zhou go back after exchanging a few more words.

Ren Yaoqi had not decided on the matter of Matron Xu. She was going to wait until after she get all the other things out of the way.

According to the trajectory of the previous life, even if this Madam Xu has malicious intentions, it would still be in a few years anyway. When she was in the Ren Family, it was impossible to pick up Matron Xu’s faults. Or else with Matron Zhou’s power, it would be impossible for her to follow Ren Yaohua to the Zeng family.

But Ren Yaoqi didn’t expect that by the time she woke up from a nap on the next day, Matron Xu took the initiative to find her with a bag in her arms.

It was half-dried medicinal dregs that were wrapped up in a piece of indigo blue cloth and spread out on the kang table, emitting an unpleasant medicinal odour. After she saw what it was, Ren Yaoqi gently dropped her gaze to conceal the erratic in her eyes.