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Chapter 15: Layout
October 25, 2022
Wujing’s words made Ren Yaohua look slightly cold.
“Who is it?”
“Old wife Liu An came from the village not long ago. She and Mrs. Xu, who is on duty in the outer courtyard, are sisters-in-law.”
“Mrs. Xu from the gatehouse?” Ren Yaohua was stunned for a moment, then said in surprise, “Mother-in-law of Ying’er?”
Wujing nodded: “It’s her. The dog brought in by the old wife Liu An today was borrowed from Mrs. Xu.”
When Ren Yaohua heard the words, her face was unpredictable, and suddenly she turned her head and glared at Ren Yaoqi: “You really guessed it right! As a result, it wouldn’t be difficult for Fifth Aunt to doubt me.”
“Fifth Aunt will soon find out about this relationship.” Ren Yaoqi smiled and looked at Ren Yaohua.
Ren Yaohua’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he took a few steps around the room.
“What’s the relationship between Ying’er and her mother-in-law?” Ren Yaoqi was not as anxious as Ren Yaohua, but instead inquired about unrelated things.
Wujing hurriedly said: “This slave heard that sister Zhu’er said that sister Ying’er had good luck. Her in-laws valued her very much, and her family’s man is also an honest man. Sister Ying’er has always been arbitrary at home.”
“Arbitrary?” Ren Yaoqi raised his eyebrows slightly, chewing these words carefully.
“Heh!” Ren Yaohua sneered, “It’s good to be arbitrary!”
Ren Yaoqi glanced at Ren Yaohua and said with a smile, “If it wasn’t like this, how would this loot be planted on you? You must have secretly instructed your former maid to mobilize her family to help you out.”
“What now? You can’t just let that slut succeed and hide in the shadows, right?” Ren Yaohua gritted his teeth.
“Is there a way
 of course there is.” Ren Yaoqi thought for a while and said slowly.
Ren Yaohua glared over.
After Ren Yaoqi came out of the main room, he called Momo Zhu over.
(Momo = Old woman, wet nurse)
When née Li and Ren Yaohua went to the village, the biggest steward in the Ziwei Courtyard was Momo Zhu, which made her look good for a while.
But since Ren Yaohua came back, she couldn’t get involved with the matters in Ziwei Courtyard. Therefore, in the past few days, Momo Zhu’s life has been extremely difficult, and she even thought about going to ask Concubine Fang.
It’s just that Concubine Fang hasn’t seen anyone for the past few days, she heard that she has contracted a cold and is not feeling well.
“Why is Momo so listless?” Ren Yaoqi looked at Momo Zhu and frowned.
Momo Zhu looked to the left and right, leaned beside Ren Yaoqi, sniffed her nose, and cried: “Oh! Young Lady, you don’t know! The past few days are not easy for this slave! That Third Young Lady doesn’t take a good look at you, so how can she have a good face when she treats us, your servants? Let’s just say that yesterday, the steward moved a few plum bottles from the warehouse, and this slave looked at one of the blue and misty ones that you once wanted to take and display in the hall, and use them to plant plum branches in winter. But the steward said that this plum bottle was found for the Third Young Lady. This slave begged a few times, but in the end, she was humiliated by a few tricky maids around the Third Young Lady. The old face of this slave
”
(Face = Not literally, but one's reputation, dignity, respect, or honor)
Ren Yaoqi was furious: “That’s unreasonable! Ren Yaohua is really bullying people too much!”
Momo Zhu secretly glanced at Ren Yaoqi and was relieved when she saw that her face was full of anger.
She heard from the maids in the yard that the relationship between the Third Young Lady and the Fifth Young Lady was not as tense as before. But she is most aware of Ren Yaoqi’s temperament, especially when she was slapped by Ren Yaohua, it is impossible to swallow this breath.
(Swallow this breath = Endure)
“That’s right! Young Lady, you are also a legitimate descendant of the Madam, but when it comes to the Third Young Lady, you are not even as good as your concubine sister!”
(Legitimate descendant = Children born from the legitimate wife, and not from the concubines)
Ren Yaoqi thought for a while, then suddenly smiled.
Momo Zhu was stunned for a moment, a little inexplicable: “Young Lady?”
Ren Yaoqi waved at Momo Zhu, and so Momo Zhu brought her ear closer.
“Momo, don’t worry, I’ll help you out! Originally, I wanted to see my mother so I put up with her for a while, I didn’t think Ren Yaohua would be so arrogant when she only came back a few days ago. She also beats and scolds me if she wants to. I don’t want to put up with her anymore, I have to get her to the village to relieve my hatred!”
Momo Zhu had a look of joy on her face and immediately said, “Then Young Lady, do you have any solution?” No wonder there hasn’t been a commotion these days. It turns out that Fifth Young Lady is looking for an opportunity.
Ren Yaoqi nodded: “Naturally, I discovered Ren Yaohua’s secret today!”
“What secret?” Momo Zhu was taken aback.
Ren Yaoqi smiled: “Do you know what happened in Grandmother’s courtyard today? Eighth Sister was grounded.”
Momo Zhu thought for a while, and said carefully: “I heard that the two maids next to Eighth Young Lady brought unclean things into the inner courtyard?”
“Actually, it has nothing to do with Eighth Sister at all, it’s Ren Yaohua who is playing tricks behind the scenes!” Ren Yaoqi insisted.
Momo Zhu turned her eyes around: “Young Lady, is this true?”
Ren Yaoqi squinted at Momo Zhu: “Of course it’s true, I heard that the woman who slandered Eighth Sister this morning was Ren Yaohua’s. As long as I go and tell Fifth Aunt about this, do you think Fifth Aunt will spare her? She just came back and did this kind of thing to frame her sister, Grandmother will definitely send her to the village again! If she wants to go back this time, it will not be so easy.”
Momo Zhu pondered for a while, thinking that with the temperament of the Fifth Madam, Ren Yaohua would not be better off.
“Young Lady is right, as long as the Third Young Lady is gone, you’ll be the greatest in this courtyard!”
So, Ren Yaoqi took Momo Zhu to the Fifth Madam’s courtyard.
The Fifth Madam had just come back from the ancestral hall to secretly watch Ren Yaoyu and was worrying about how to get her daughter out. It was a little strange to hear that Ren Yaoqi came over.
After Ren Yaoqi finished the ceremony, the Fifth Madam also greeted her lazily, and said directly: “You are a rare visitor.”
Ren Yaoqi knew that the Fifth Madam didn’t like her, so straight to the point, she repeated what she said to Momo Zhu before.
Sure enough, the Fifth Madam was stunned, she gritted her teeth with hatred: “Ren Yaohua! How dare she!”
Ren Yaoqi and the Fifth Madam share the same hatred: “Why wouldn’t she dare? You don’t know, since she came back, I have been bullied by her! She slapped me for no reason, and called me over again to teach me a lesson! I, Ren Yaoqi, am irreconcilable with her!”
Seeing that she was more excited than herself, Fifth Madam calmed down a bit. She glanced at her and said, “But why did Ren Yaohua do this?”
“Naturally, it is to drive Eighth Sister out of the Ronghua Courtyard, so she can live in it herself!”
The Fifth Madam frowned, touched the teacup, and pondered for a moment: “Where did you know this?”
Ren Yaoqi seemed a little hesitant when she heard the words, and quietly glanced at Momo Zhu, who winked at her in encouragement, Ren Yaoqi coughed lightly: “Oh, This
 this is what I heard from Ren Yaohua’s maid.”
In the eyes of the Fifth Madam, the interaction between the master and servant made her have other opinions.
The Fifth Madam thought, could it be that Ren Yaoqi actually heard this from Momo Zhu?
“Is this Momo Zhu next to you?” Fifth Madam’s eyes looked a few times around Momo Zhu.
Momo Zhu hurriedly bowed her head in a gesture of respect.
Ren Yaoqi nodded, a little viciously: “If Fifth Aunt has anything to say, just say it. Momo Zhu is my confidant and helps me a lot on weekdays.”
The Fifth Madam smiled when she heard the words, lowered her head, and took a sip of tea, noncommittal. Ren Yaoqi doesn’t know whose Momo Zhu is, but she does.
“Fifth Aunt? When are you going to expose Ren Yaohua in front of Grandmother?” Ren Yaoqi asked eagerly.
“Oh, this
 don’t worry, I have to go check it out.” Fifth Madam perfunctory said.
Ren Yaoqi glanced at Momo Zhu again, and then said, “Yes, yes, this matter is important, it’s really better to check it out yourself. Old wife Liu An is Ying’er’s uncle’s wife, and Ying’er is my mother’s person. She’s the person who used to listen to Ren Yaohua the most when she was in Ziwei Courtyard, you can find out if you ask about it!”
The Fifth Madam sounded a little inattentive, and asked about something else: “I haven’t seen your concubine aunt for a long time. What is she busy with recently?”
Ren Yaoqi said, “Aunt, she has been sick for the past few days and has not been out of the house.”
The Fifth Madam smiled, and said meaningfully: “Oh
Is it sick again? This is very like her temperament.”