Reborn of the Rightful - Chapter 248
Chapter 248 - Peace is Hard to Come By
In truth, peace was hardly reigning within the Qiu household either.
Although Qiu Yun's father, Qiu Hongfeng, was the legitimate eldest son of the Qiu family patriarch, there were still two grandsons in the generation above Qiu Yun. One was Qiu Xiang, the eldest young master born to Qiu Xinmin's secondary concubine, and the other was Qiu Lin, the second young master born to Qiu Xinmin's other legal wife.
The eldest young master, Qiu Xiang, was already married. Though his father was a concubine-born son, his mother's family belonged to one of the most prominent prestigious clans in Mozhou. Even though his mother had also been born to a concubine, she had been immensely favored in her maiden home and ultimately managed to secure a bride for her son from the direct line of her own maternal brothers. Although that young lady had suffered a leg injury in her childhood, resulting in a slight limp, her prestigious background more than made up for it.
The second young master, Qiu Lin, was likewise a direct blood grandson of the Qiu family's elder madame. Earlier, the elder madame had already arranged a match for him with a young lady from a distinguished family whose lineage was by no means inferior to the eldest young master's wife, with their wedding scheduled to take place in two years.
When it came to Qiu Yun, the third young master of the Qiu family, the eldest madame naturally could not reconcile herself to letting him marry a woman whose social standing fell short of the first and second young mistresses. Meanwhile, the elder madame hoped that Qiu Yun's primary wife would possess an even more impressive background than the wife of the concubine-born eldest young master.
Consequently, the Qiu family's elder madame had set her sights on the eldest granddaughter of her bosom friend—the eldest miss of the Guo family from Weizhou. On the other hand, the Qiu family's eldest madame was single-mindedly determined to have Qiu Yun marry her own maternal niece. Eldest Madame Wei herself hailed from a high-ranking noble clan in Jizhou; her niece was the daughter of her own blood-related elder brother, whom she had raised and cherished since childhood like a daughter, and who frequently visited the Qiu estate as a guest.
On the single issue of refusing to marry the Ren family's daughter, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law within the Qiu family stood firmly united, successfully employing feminine cleverness to veto Elder Master Qiu's opinion. However, when it came to deciding upon the final candidate, harmony between the elder madame and the eldest madame swiftly dissolved.
It wasn't that the elder madame looked down upon the eldest madame's maternal niece—the young lady's family background was respectable, her appearance was bright and charming, and her temperament was gentle and pleasing. Rather, the elder madame felt that her relationship with the eldest madame was far too close. Since they were already as close as mother and daughter now, once the girl crossed the threshold, wouldn't she be expected to obey her mother-in-law in all things? And she, the grandmother, was still alive and well!
Therefore, the elder madame believed it was far better for her to personally select the wife for the grandson she doted on most. Not only was the grandmother of the Guo family eldest miss her lifelong bosom friend, but the Guo family's social standing also surpassed that of the eldest madame's maiden family. This would allow her to stand taller and prouder whenever she faced the limping eldest young mistress of the Qiu household.
Thus, a fierce internal struggle commenced between the elder madame and the eldest madame, leaving the members of the various other branches eagerly lingering on the sidelines to watch the spectacle.
Perhaps due to his background and personal experiences, Elder Master Qiu genuinely lacked assertiveness and capability. Whenever he attempted to intervene in the inner courtyard affairs, he inevitably found himself powerless to change the outcome. On the surface, the elder madame appeared to follow his lead, but in reality, Elder Master Qiu was always led around by the nose when it came to domestic matters within the Qiu household.
Take, for instance, the recent proposed marriage alliance between the Qiu and Ren families. Although Elder Master Qiu had initially slammed his fist down and laid down absolute pronouncements, the matter had ultimately fizzled out into nothingness. Growing thoroughly disillusioned, Elder Master Qiu simply washed his hands of the entire affair, retreating day after day to the courtyards of his concubines and leaving the outside world to do as it pleased.
It was precisely during this period that Qiu Yun made a trip back to the Qiu estate. Despite his usual carefree, boisterous demeanor where he lacked any proper seriousness, the third young master engaged in lighthearted banter with both his grandmother and his mother upon his return. After listening to the tearful, grievance-laden complaints of the two older women—without even needing to take any dramatic actions—he somehow managed to smooth over the strained relationship between the elder madame and the eldest madame.
By the time Qiu Yun departed from the Qiu residence, he had successfully persuaded his mother to make maximum concessions toward the grandmother.
The third young master was exceedingly clever. He had spoken directly to his mother, saying, "You have only me as a son, but Grandmother has more than one blood grandson; Second Elder Brother is also a direct grandson and ranks ahead of me. Mother, the Qiu family does not necessarily need me above all others. I know Mother plans everything for my sake, and your insistence on bringing my cousin into the family stemmed from seeing us grow up together with compatible dispositions, fearing that the Guo family eldest miss might be strong-willed and difficult to get along with. This time, it truly was your son who wronged you and caused you to suffer grievances. Once your son takes a wife, regardless of who she is, if she ever dares treat you poorly, your son will divorce her on the spot."
Those few sentences left Eldest Madame Wei with tear-filled eyes. Although she knew Qiu Yun's threats of divorce were merely meant to comfort and humor her, wasn't it touching that her son was willing to expend such effort to appease her? Moreover, her son truly understood her maternal intentions. Most importantly, Qiu Yun's declaration that "the Qiu family does not necessarily need me" caused Eldest Madame Wei to experience a sudden, sobering awakening. Though lingering resentment still tugged at her heart, she no longer dared to openly clash with the elder madame.
As for the elder madame, Qiu Yun resorted entirely to soft, sweet coaxing. "Your grandson just told my mother that I don't care for my cousin, which left her terribly upset, and I still feel quite guilty about it. Grandmother, your grandson must return to the academy tomorrow, but seeing you and Mother so distressed over my affairs makes it impossible for me to even focus on my books. However, I declared long ago in my childhood that my future wife must, above all else, be someone who meets with Grandmother's approval. I trust Grandmother's judgment implicitly. If Grandmother dislikes her, I wouldn't marry her even if she were a heavenly immortal. As for my mother, please spare her hard feelings for my sake—I will listen to whatever Grandmother says."
The elder madame was utterly overjoyed, and the lingering frustration she had felt toward her daughter-in-law instantly vanished into thin air. By evening, when the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law crossed paths once again, their relationship had already reverted to absolute harmony.
When the onlookers in the Qiu household, who had been eagerly waiting for a good show, witnessed this outcome, their respect and wariness regarding the third young master's formidable capabilities grew even deeper.
While the inner courtyard of the Qiu family transitioned from chaos to calm, the Ren household remained a whirlwind of constant activity.
After Elder Madame Ren dispatched several letters to Elder Master Qiu inquiring about the marriage status without receiving a single reply, the Ren family finally understood that the matrimonial alliance between the Qiu and Ren families was effectively dead.
Finally, a welcoming entourage arrived from the husband's family of Ren Yaochi—the Gu family—to escort Ren Yaoyin away.
As the legitimate eldest daughter of the Ren family's primary branch, when the Ren family had sought a husband for her years prior, they had truly searched far and wide with a lantern in hand. The Gu family, overseers of the Imperial Textile Manufacture in Jiangning, stood as one of the preeminent noble houses in the south, wielding both substantial political clout and immense wealth. Although Ren Yaochi had not married the primary heir of the direct lineage, her husband was among the most capable and industrious of the younger generation within the Gu family. The administrative postings arranged for him by the clan were exceptionally promising, and in recent years, the coal yards established by the Ren family in Jiangning had relied extensively on the favorable support and patronage of this son-in-law and his influential clan.
Ren Yaochi was eight years older than Ren Yaoyin; when she was married off, Ren Yaoyin was still a young child. Yet, as sisters born of the same mother, Ren Yaochi still attached great importance to Ren Yaoyin's affairs. She had specially dispatched senior matrons and personal maidservants whom she had brought from her maternal home to retrieve her, while also sending along a generous gift of five full carriages laden with goods—ensuring every corner of the Ren household received a share.
Ren Yaoqi received four bolts of Jiangning-produced feather satin, four bolts of patterned brocade, a box of gorgeous silk flowers adorned with pearls and various precious stones in the latest Jiangning styles, alongside a complete set of pure gold hair ornaments inlaid with precious jewels.
Ren Yaoqi felt the gifts bestowed upon her were somewhat excessive. While she had received customary annual gifts from this eldest sister in the past, this batch was by far the most valuable.
Upon consulting Ren Yaohua, she discovered that Ren Yaohua's share was virtually identical, save for minor stylistic differences in the set of gold hair ornaments.
However, she later learned that the gifts received by Ren Yaoyu, Ren Yaoyin, and the others fell far short of the opulence granted to the two older sisters—amounting to merely two bolts of patterned brocade, two bolts of feather satin, and a box of novel yet inexpensive silk flowers, completely omitting any accompanying gold headwear.
This made Ren Yaoqi understand that Ren Yaochi was offering a silent gesture of apology regarding the whole fiasco surrounding Ren Yaoyin, while simultaneously staking a clear position: Ren Yaoyin was her blood sister, and she intended to back her up.
The Gu family's matrons and maids did not linger long within the Ren estate; having arrived in Baihe Town that very afternoon, they departed at the break of dawn the following morning, with Ren Yaoyin naturally accompanying them out of Baihe Town.
Since Ren Yaochi had made her stance clear, Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yaohua naturally followed suit, courteously seeing Ren Yaoyin off. They did not actually meet Ren Yaoyin face-to-face—in truth, ever since returning from Yunyang City, aside from the Elder Madame and Eldest Madame, no one else within the estate had laid eyes on Ren Yaoyin.
Ren Yaoqi's presence was merely a formality; she had never truly intended to see Ren Yaoyin anyway.
Now that Ren Yaoyin had finally departed, she felt a genuine wave of relief.
Living a life sandwiched between wolves ahead and tigers behind was no pleasant matter, but at last, one of them had left the stage. She could only hope the days ahead in the Ren household would be a little more peaceful.
Unfortunately, Ren Yaoqi's hopes were not immediately fulfilled, for the Ren household did not achieve true tranquility simply due to Ren Yaoyin's departure.
On this particular day, a matron who had gone out to the market to purchase sewing needles returned with startling gossip: she claimed to have spotted a former maidservant who used to serve in the Ren household.
That maid had originally worked in the third branch's Crape Myrtle Courtyard. Two years prior, she—much like Chun'er—had committed a serious infraction that offended Ren Yaohua, prompting Ren Yaohua to order her publicly sold off.
In ordinary circumstances, this would have been a trivial matter.
Servants sold off were typically purchased by other master households. Though local families were generally reluctant to buy servants discarded for disciplinary reasons, outsiders who were unaware of the backstory and tempted by a cheap price occasionally purchased individuals locally before taking them away.
However, according to the matron who went out for needles, the way that former maid was dressed and painted up did not resemble that of an upright, respectable person. Out of sheer curiosity, the matron had trailed her for a short distance, only to discover that she ultimately slipped into the notorious pleasure quarter of Baihe Town.
Once this news leaked, it sent shockwaves through the community of maids and matrons within the Ren estate, causing the glances they cast toward Ren Yaohua to grow even more awestruck and fearful.
Previously, when the Li family came claiming that Chun'er had been sold into a house of ill repute, the majority of the household servants had privately remained skeptical. But now, someone had actually witnessed a former maid, driven out because she offended the Third Young Miss, working as a pleasure girl. Even if that maid wasn't Chun'er, it inevitably stirred deeply unsettling associations in people's minds.
Could that maid truly have been sold to a brothel on the Third Young Miss's orders? If so, Chun'er's current fate must be equally grim!