However, no matter how resentful Ren Yongxiang felt, he still swallowed his pride and took over the coal warehouses that Old Master Ren had entrusted to him. The Ren family's second branch was no longer the same as it once was. Although his second son, Ren Shixu, still planned to leverage his Yue family's influence to make a comeback, he didn't return with him this time. However, he also understood that this was not the time to fall out with the first branch.
However, after the first month of the lunar year, Ren Yongxiang handed over the management of the coal warehouse to his subordinates and began to indulge in drinking and watching opera with old friends. Old Master Ren had originally had little hope for him, and since he didn't make a fuss about demanding another share of the Ren family's wealth, he let him go and didn't reduce his annual monthly allowance by a single cent.
In mid-February, a wedding was held at the Prince Xian's Palace, and the deposed Prince Xian's son, Li Tianyou, got married.
The Xian Prince's palace didn't hold a grand wedding banquet; they simply sent invitations to a few families they had interacted with in recent years. Compared to the wealthy families of Yanbei, it was much more low-key. The invitations stated that Li Tianyou's fiancée was "Ji." Most people in Yanbei didn't know who this "Ji" was, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. However, those who knew about that period of history, thinking of Li Tianyou's previous engagement, had some guesses.
No matter how outsiders viewed Li Tianyou's marriage, Li was extremely happy that her brother finally got married. She even went back to her parents' home several times to help Li with the arrangements.
On the day of Li Tianyou's wedding, Li brought Ren Yaoqi and Ren Yaohua back to watch the ceremony. It was naturally not easy for Master Ren San to be absent at such a moment, so he finally stepped into his father-in-law's house.
Because Ji Fuying no longer had a natal family, Rong arranged a house outside and asked Ji Fuying to move in a few days in advance so that Li Tianyou could go to pick her up on that day.
Ren Yaoqi and Li stayed with Rong all the time. When someone came to report that the bride's sedan chair had entered the alley, Ren Yaoqi saw that Rong's eyes were red.
Although Li Tianyou's wedding was a low-key affair, prominent families from the Yanbei Prince's Palace to the Yun, Su, and Lei families, among others, all sent generous congratulatory gifts. Patriarch Lei Ting personally attended, and representatives from the Su and Yun families also attended. Compared to the low attendance in previous years, this was both surprising and lamentable. Some speculated that the Xian Prince's Palace was not far from a resurgence.
Ren Yaoqi stayed by Rong's side, accompanying her to greet the female family members, while Ren Yaohua stayed with Li. Li and her daughter were considered half-guests, but with only a few masters in the Xian Palace, no one would bother to argue. Third Master Ren, accompanied by his father-in-law, greeted the male guests outside.
The banquet had just begun when someone came in to report that the Princess and the Princess of Yanbei had arrived. Everyone present was shocked.
Everyone knew that Prince Xian's son was getting married and that the Yanbei Palace had sent a congratulatory gift, but no one expected that Princess Yanbei would personally attend the wedding banquet. Although Princess Yanbei had visited Prince Xian's Palace the previous time to invite Princess Xian to be the main guest at the Princess's coming-of-age ceremony, she had not entered the palace in public, so her sudden appearance at Prince Xian's wedding banquet still surprised many people.
Rong's face showed no sign of surprise. She stood up and went out to greet him in person.
When Princess Yanbei appeared before everyone, they saw Princess Xian and Rong coming in hand in hand. Everyone present stood up and respectfully saluted Princess Yanbei.
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