Ren Yaoqi nodded and said, "If there's something going on inside, I won't go in." Then he turned and left.
When they reached the gate of Ziwei Courtyard, Ren Yaoqi beckoned a maid over and said, "Go to the outer courtyard and take the man named Xia Sheng who came from my maternal grandfather's house to Yiran Pavilion outside the second gate."
Although Yiran Pavilion wasn't located in the inner courtyard, it was very close to the second gate. On weekdays, the maids and servants would usually go there to meet people from the outer courtyard. Because the pavilion had a great view and people were often around, there was no need to worry about any hidden dangers. When the masters were about to leave, they would wait in the pavilion for a while if their sedan chairs or carriages hadn't arrived yet. Therefore, Ren Yaoqi's presence there wouldn't be considered inappropriate.
Ren Yaoqi returned to her room and changed into clothes for going out. Then she took two maids and two old women to the second gate.
Xia Sheng had already been taken to Yiran Pavilion and was waiting there.
Xia Sheng was a little surprised to see Ren Yaoqi coming out. He thought it was Nanny Zhou who called him.
"Cousin." Xia Sheng bowed his head.
Ren Yaoqi nodded: "Are you going to Jizhou this time?"
Xia Sheng bowed and replied, "My cousin, yes."
"I have a few questions I want to ask you. I'm afraid Yihong's explanation is not as clear as yours." Ren Yaoqi looked at Xia Sheng and said with a smile.
"Excuse me, cousin."
"The previous Han family leader, Ren Jianping, only had one daughter. Han Dongshan cannot take over the position of leader. Who is the current leader?"
"The current head of the Han family is Han Jianxin, a distant cousin of Han Jianping. He is nearly twenty years older than Han Jianping, about the same age as Han Dongshan, but he is older, so Han Dongshan nominated him as the head of the family. Although Han Jianxin is the head of the family, he relies heavily on Han Dongshan and makes all major decisions after consulting with him. A few years ago, it was Han Dongshan who proposed the establishment of a clan school, and he covered all the expenses of the school. Therefore, Han Dongshan's prestige in the family is even higher than that of Han Jianxin, the head of the family."
"Oh? Then there is no one in the tribe who is not good like him?" Ren Yaoqi raised his eyebrows slightly.
Xia Sheng thought about it and said, "No, not really. Han Jianping actually has one or two cousins who are a little closer, but their attitude towards Han Dongshan isn't as strong as those who are more distantly related. There's a cousin named Han Jianmin, and I heard that Han Jianping once planned to adopt his eldest son as the heir to the family business, but for some reason Han Jianping gave up the idea and not only handed over all the family property to his son-in-law Han Dongshan to manage, but also had Han Dongshan enshrined in the Han family ancestral hall and deliberately planned to improve Han Dongshan's prestige within the clan."
"Later, Han Jianping passed away. Han Jianmin had originally planned to unite with several of his clan brothers to expel Han Dongshan, but Han Dongshan preemptively punished them. A few years later, Han Jianmin passed away, and no one in the Han family took the lead in causing trouble. After all, Han Dongshan still cared about the Han family members. This time when I went to Jizhou, the Han clan members almost all spoke well of Han Dongshan. Several close relatives did not dare to speak ill of him openly. Only Han Jianmin's son, Han Zuwang, seemed to be very dissatisfied with Han Dongshan and said many unpleasant things. However, I have also verified his words, and most of them are slanderous."
Xia Sheng was somewhat disapproving of this and seemed to look down on Han Zuwang.
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