The Plot of a Concubine's Revenge

Chapter 5: An Opportunity to Clear the Ice

In this family storm, every character was like a pawn on a chessboard, at the mercy of others, and Ren Yaohua seemed to have discovered a break in the game.

Ren Yaohua's voice was like an ice blade in the winter, cutting through the tranquility of the east secondary room: ''I am your first sister, your aunt's master! What do you call me? I haven't seen you in a year, what manners have you learned been fed to the dogs? Aunt Fang, is this the result of your upbringing?” Her words were filled with disdain and anger.

Auntie Fang's voice was low and soft, almost blending into the air, “Third Miss forgive me, it is the servant girl's failure to teach and supervise.” Her posture was placed extremely low, as if she wanted to blend into the dust, “Ninth Miss, quickly go to Third Miss to make amends?”

Ren Yaoying's reaction was like that of an offended young beast, she jumped up, “I'm not going to accompany this kind of evil person, she's going to get Sixth Brother killed, and she's also beating and scolding us. Auntie, let's go!” Her words were filled with defiance and anger.

“Ren Yaoying, repeat what you just said.” Ren Yaohua coldly said, her voice revealing unquestionable authority.

“Just say it, you ......**************” Ren Yaoying's words were eagerly muffled by Auntie Fang, her voice was suppressed, leaving only a whimper.

“Third Miss, please spare Ninth Miss's blabbering, she's still young and unintelligent, everything is the fault of the servant girl, the servant girl kneels down for you.” Aunt Fang pleaded sharply, while covering Ren Yaoying's mouth to prevent her from provoking Ren Yaohua again.

“Auntie-” Ren Yaoying cried out, sounding a bit miserable in the scene.

Ren Yaoying's gaze pierced through the curtain and landed outside the door, she knew that the maids and grannies that Auntie Fang had brought with her should still be standing outside, her brows furrowed slightly.

She took a deep breath and decided to intervene in the strife. She lifted the curtain and stepped into the middle of this family storm.

In the east second room, Aunt Fang hung her head low and knelt straight in front of Ren Yaohua, Ren Yaoying was at the side desperately trying to pull Aunt Fang up, but she was shrugged off by Aunt Fang. Ren Yaohua stood in front of the kang, coldly watching this scene, Sister Zhou looked at Auntie Fang and then at Ren Yaohua, somewhat wanting to speak.

Sixth young master Ren Yihong stood beside the curtain with a frown on his face, seemingly wanting to go forward but unsure of what he could do, somewhat in a difficult position.

Several people over there also noticed Ren Yaohua coming in.

“Fifth Miss, your face--” Aunt Fang saw the injury on Ren Yaoyi's face at a glance and couldn't help but cry out in shock.

Ren Yaoying also stared in surprise at the five fingerprints on the left side of Ren Yaoyi's face, then swept a glance at Ren Yaohua and said to Auntie Fang, “Fifth sister must have been beaten by third sister!” There was a hint of gloating in her tone.

“What are you doing here?” Ren Yaohua said with a cold face.

Ren Yaohua glanced at Ren Yaohua and walked over to help Auntie Fang get up, “Mother asked me to come over and say to Auntie Fang that she just drank medicine and her spirit is not good enough to see you all, and that she already knows and appreciates the filial piety of Sixth Brother and Ninth Sister. Today the snow and wind is cold, the road is slippery, but also please auntie early to bring sixth brother and ninth sister back to rest, otherwise if the result of the cold auntie does not heartache, she this mother is to be heartbroken.”

Auntie Fang's body stiffened, she quickly glanced at Ren Yaoyi and then looked at Ren Yaohua.

Ren Yaoqi also followed Auntie Fang's gaze to Ren Yaohua, seeing that Ren Yaohua only stood there with a cold smile, then continued, “I don't want Auntie to be so sincere, and even kneeled down and kowtowed to mother here, I will definitely go and convey this to mother.”

Ren Yaoying yelled, “My aunt kneeling is not ......”

Ren Yaoying quickly cut off her words, “Who else could it be if auntie is not kneeling to mother? There are only Third Sister, Sixth Brother, Ninth Sister and Sister Zhou here. Third sister, sixth brother, ninth sister, although you are nominally the aunt's master, but Auntie Fang is after all the father's serious raised into the house of concubines, but also the birth of the heir of merit, is considered to be half of the elders, kneeling which one of you are not reasonable and unreasonable. If outsiders knew about this, wouldn't they say that you are crazy?”

The faces of all those present changed.

Aunt Fang seemed to want to speak, but Ren Yaoqi didn't give her a chance: “Besides, even if we are all children and don't understand this reasoning, Auntie has always been praised by her grandmother for her knowledge of books and reasoning, and her blue heart, could it be that she doesn't understand this reasoning as well? If she was kneeling with you, wouldn't she be deliberately setting you up for injustice? I don't believe Auntie would do such a thing, right Auntie?”

Ren Yaoqi let go of the hand that went to support Aunt Fang and stood up, inclining her head towards her and smiling, with an appearance of great trust in her.

Auntie Fang lowered her head, slowly moved her knees and turned around, facing the direction of Li's bedroom in the west second room and respectfully kowtowed three times.

After kowtowing Auntie Fang got up by herself and gently swept the dust on her tender yellow satin leather skirt before looking up at Ren Yaoqi and softly said, “Fifth Miss is right, the servant girl is kneeling for Mrs. Li, not someone else.”

Auntie Fang hid the probing color in her eyes towards Ren Yaoyi very well, Ren Yaoyi also pretended not to see it, still with a familiar look she said briskly, “If that's the case, Auntie will go back with Sixth Brother and Ninth Sister. Sister Zhou, you quickly send a few grannies to give Auntie Fang and the others lamps, the road outside is slippery, so you need them to hold them carefully.”

Sister Zhou froze, glanced at Ren Yaohua who was cold and didn't say a word, but finally bowed her head and answered yes, and bowed to Auntie Fang, “Auntie, Sixth Young Master, Ninth Sister, please, the slave girl will have someone send you back.”

Auntie Fang nodded towards Sister Zhou and said to Ren Yaohua, “Third Miss, the servant girl will come over to serve Mistress first thing in the morning.” After saying that, she left with a pair of children without any delay.

Sister Zhou also followed her out.

Ren Yaohua watched Auntie Fang's soft but straight back walk out of the main room, her dotted black eyes, though still smiling, were as calm as the surface of a winter lake, deep and without waves.

Ren Yaohua's gaze, on the other hand, had been fixed on Ren Yaohui's face since just now, as if she wanted to see a flower from her face.

“Ren Yaoyi, what do you mean?”

Ren Yaoyi thought for a moment and looked at Ren Yaohua and said seriously, “Third sister, what do you think I can mean? Just now, if I had let Auntie Fang kneel down and let the seventh sister make a scene and alarmed the rest of the residence, who do you think would have suffered?”

Ren Yaohua's eyes stared at Ren Yaoqi for half a second, but pulled the corner of her mouth, smiling somewhat sarcastically, “I thought you were closely involved with Aunt Fang, and were very fond of Sixth Brother, so you couldn't see them being wronged in my place. It's hard for you to forget, who was in front of grandparents face biting is I pushed the sixth brother into the water.”

Ren Yaohua hung her eyes and said nothing, this is the dead knot between her and Ren Yaohua, explaining is useless.

Besides, three feet of ice is not cold in a day, she did not expect that today would change the relationship between the two.

“Let's just say I don't want mother to be implicated again.”

At this time, Sister Zhou walked in with four maids holding copper pots, copper basins, facecloths, and medicine chests, bowing to the two of them and saying back, “Third Miss, Fifth Miss, the slave girl has already condemned four grannies to send Aunt Fang back to Fang Fei Courtyard.”

Although Auntie Fang was their father's aunt, she did not live in the Purple Violet Courtyard, but with a pair of sons and daughters lived alone in a compound, although it was only a small one-entry courtyard, it was still considered to be a great honor.

Ren Yaoyi nodded, Sister Zhou commanded the maids to put the copper pot, copper basin and other things on the side of the plum blossom small table, the two small maids saluted and retreated out leaving only Li's two big maids in the house: “Fifth Miss, slave girl give you a compress for your face, otherwise later go out and blow the wind at night will be uncomfortable.”

Ren Yaoqi nodded and walked back to sit on the kang.

Big maid Xi'er wetted and wrung out the face towel, Sister Zhou took it and gently put it on Ren Yaoyi's face, the hotness of the towel made Ren Yaoyi couldn't help but incline her head, Sister Zhou busily said, “Fifth young lady, just put it on for a while, you don't move.”

Ren Yaoyi sat still, after all, she was no longer a willful ten year old, she could endure a little pain and get over it.

The two big maids, Joy and Magpie, looked at each other and hung their heads again, one holding the medicine bottle and waiting, one re-wringing another face towel waiting for Sister Zhou to change it.

Ren Yaohua didn't leave either, sitting on the other side of the kang and talking in a low voice with Sister Zhou about Li's illness.

Ren Yaohua listened in silence, only to learn that Li contracted a wind chill on the way back, and then knelt for a long time outside Old Madam Ren's courtyard.