Chapter 18: Returning

October 31, 2022

Since the Fifth Madam was born, it has been smooth sailing. Now that she was pushed aside by a concubine she had never liked, how could she swallow this breath?

Sheimmediately ran furiously to the Ronghua Courtyard to complain to Old Madam Ren. At that time, Old Madam Ren was having lunch with Aunt Xiao.

TheFifth Madamdidnt care so much, she started crying after she broke in, accusing Concubine Fang of hiding evil intentions and designing Ren Yaoyu in order to make her daughter stand out. In the end, Auntie Xiao, who was sitting quietly, was also scolded by her.

Old MadamRens face sank immediately: Presumptuous! Who allowed you to be rude without any regard for the old or young? The Ren familys face has been lost by you! Scram for me!

Ne Lin had never seenOld MadamRen speak so harshly to her, and she started to cry after being stunned.

At this time, the Eldest Madam got the news and rushed over, pulling ne Lin to the side to comfort her.

Auntie Xiao embarrassedly got up and said goodbye. TheOld Madamwas infuriated by ne Lins ignorance which made her lose face in front of outsiders.After saying a few sentences to Auntie Xiao, she gave a meaningful glance at Momo Gui to send Auntie Xiao out.

Momo Gui understood what theOld Madammeant, and whispered to the maid, Jinlian, to get silver, and then accompanied Auntie Xiao out with a smiling face.

As soon as the people left,Old MadamRen had an outburst: Its me who let you go too far on weekdays to make you so excessive! From today, you go to the ancestral hall to think with Yuer behind closed doors! When you figure it out is when you will come out!

TheFifth Madamis wronged. The reason why she is so presumptuous in front ofOld MadamRen is thatOld MadamRen usually treats her like her own daughter. Occasionally, she will be willful a few times, andOld MadamRen will cover up for her in front of her sisters-in-law and the younger generations.

Her mother, Madam Lin, had reminded her multiple times that she have wisdom and eyesight. No matter how good her mother-in-law was, she could never be her real mother. She had always been disapproving of being asked to act more cautiously at her husbands house.

Mother, if it wasnt for that slut Fang Yaru who designed my Yuer, why would I be anxious? TheFifth Madamsoftened and cried.

ButOld MadamRen slapped the table angrily and said, What slut? Even if she didnt marry into my Ren family, she would still be your cousin! You said ne Fang framed Yuer, but is there any proof or physical evidence? Yuer already admitted that the puppet was made by her!

TheFifth Madamwas at a loss for words, and she really couldnt come up with any evidence.

But she has been dealing with Fang Yaru for more than 20 years, and she knows Fang Yaru better than her elders. If Fang Yaru didnt get involved in this incident, she wouldnt believe it.

Why does everyone else get bad luck, and she gets the advantage? This kind of plot has been repeated countless times in Fang Yarus life, and she rose to the top by constantly stepping on others.

Let the table be withdrawn, I wont eat it! Seeing that she didnt speak,Old Madambelieved that she was making trouble unreasonably, and was furious.

Seeing that the table of vegetarian dishes was basically untouched, theEldest Madamcarefully persuaded her.

TheFifth Madamover there was unwilling and said: Mother, I have no complaints about you locking me upin the ancestral hall. But Yuer is weak, can you let her come back first? As for the evidence you said, I I cant get it for the time being. But I will send someone to my mothers house and let my mother send a competent woman over here. I dont believe I cannot find whether the puppet has been manipulated or not.

The blue veins on the forehead ofOld MadamRen jumped: Eldest Daughter-in-law! Put her in the ancestral hall for me! Anyone who dares to leave the estate without my permission will be beaten to death if they are found out!

Mother

TheEldest Madamhurriedly stepped forward to grab ne Lin, and whispered: Fifth Sister, why are you so muddled? Although you used to be the daughter of the Lin family, but now you are a madam of the Ren family. There is a saying that a familys ugliness cannot be made public, such thing, how can you let your maiden family interfere? Isnt this telling your maiden family that you were wronged by your in-laws family?

TheEldest Madamglanced at theOld Madamand said, Besides, the elders of your maiden family are naturally good, but those women are not necessarily all good. Do you still remember the momo beside you?

Ne Lin was stunned for a moment, as if remembering something, her face turned pale.

As the most favored daughter of the Lin family, how could there be so few dowry momos and maids by her side when she got married? Momo Chen was picked out by her mother for her.

Momo Chen is also really capable. Everything she knew about Concubine Fang was also heard from Momo Chen.

But a few years ago, Momo Chen was found to be having an affair, and she even quietly let the man into the inner courtyard tosteal joy. This incident almost affected her and ruined her reputation. In the end, it wasOld MadamRen who used forceful methods to help her. It was also because of that time that the momos and maids around her either died or were sold.

(Steal joy = Not something for minors, if you know you know)

The Lin family was also at a loss because of this matter and did not dare to send more people over.

Fortunately,Old MadamRen loves her very much, and she has never suffered any loss in the Ren family, so the Lin family is relieved.

Now that theEldest Madammentioned this matter, ne Lin was naturally uneasy and did not dare to say that she was going to go back to her maiden house to let reinforcements come.

What are you still doing here? Didnt you hear what I said?Old MadamRen drove people away with a cold face.

Yes, Mother. Ill take Fifth Sister out. TheEldest Madamsaid respectfully and then dragged the aggrievedFifth Madamout.

At this moment,MomoGui ran back in a hurry, and said happily: Old Madam, the Third and Fifth Masters are back! The carriage has arrived at the door!

Old MadamRens face looked much better: The Third and Fifth are back? Didnt you say that the road was blocked by heavy snow, and it will be delayed for a few days?

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, merchants were not allowed to participate in the imperial examinations. When the Second Old Master was young, he once thought of taking the imperial examination to be an official and make the family shine. Its a pity that after repeated trials and failures, in the end, he was merely aXiu Cai.

(Xiu Cai =the lowest of the literati class,everyone who participated in the imperial examination can be called a Xiu Cai, regardless if they pass the exam)

Fortunately, in his generation, the Ren family was not short of money, soOld MasterRen spent a lot of money to let his younger brother get an official position. Although he has no serious errands, he became thechairman of a large chamber of commerce in the capital of Yanbei.

Ren Shiyuan, the eldest son of the Second Old Master and wasranked secondin the Ren family and stayed in Baihe Town to serve his mother. The fourth son, Ren Shixu, was in the capital with the Second Old Master. He married the legitimate daughter of a fifth-grade capital official. With the help of the Yue family, he got a job at the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

(Ranked second = Hes the eldest son of the Second Old Master but not the eldest child of the whole Ren family)

The Fifth Master of theEldest House, Ren Shimao, followed his uncle in the capital for several months every year to learn some official dealings.

(Eldest House = In a family, after the eldest son took over the family, his house would automatically become the eldest house. His younger brothers house would follow as the second house, the third house, etc.)

The Third Master, Ren Shimin, is an anomaly in the Ren family. He neither likes to do business nor to be an official, but he is only interested in elegant things such as reciting poetry, painting, playing the piano, and dancing with swords. He went to the capital this time to attend the quinquennial art fair in the capital, and he has been away from home for half a year.

The two brothers returned together today.