Ren Yaohua's mouth twitched, and she felt herself getting angry again: "Ask your Aunt Fang what to do!"
Nanny Zhou also looked at Ren Yaoqi, waiting for her answer.
Ren Yaoqi said, "Don't act rashly, let's see what happens first." Seeing that Ren Yaohua didn't look embarrassed, Ren Yaoqi smiled and comforted her, "You have endured it for so long, it won't hurt to wait a little longer."
Before Aunt Fang could invite the old master back, the little maid who was watching outside came back to report that the person sent by Old Madam Ren had arrived.
Aunt Fang thought for a moment. Mrs. Lin, the Fifth Madam, was still at Ronghua Courtyard. Given Mrs. Lin's fiery temper, if she went to the old lady first, she would surely be in great trouble. So, she told Jin Ju, "I'll go out the back door first. You hold them back for a while. Tell them I'm not feeling well and haven't gotten up yet. I'll leave with them after I'm dressed."
Jinju replied yes, and Aunt Fang immediately put on a thin navy blue silk cloak and quietly left through the back door of Fangfeiyuan.
After leaving Fangfei Courtyard, Concubine Fang took a shortcut to the second gate to avoid people. From a distance, she saw that the entrance of the second gate with hanging flowers was guarded by several maids. Fortunately, Concubine Fang had no plans to go out. She quietly hid behind the rockery, from which she could see people coming in from outside.
Aunt Fang waited for a long time, and even saw that the maids who were sent to look for her seemed to have discovered that she was not in Fangfei Courtyard, and hurriedly ran to Ronghua Courtyard, and her maid Jinju was also dragged away by them.
Aunt Fang watched them walk past without moving.
Until I saw Old Master Ren coming in from the second gate.
Aunt Fang hurried out from behind the rockery and went to greet him.
When Old Master Ren saw Concubine Fang, he frowned. After she finished her greetings, he said, "For matters concerning the inner courtyard, you should go to Ronghua Courtyard to see the old lady."
Aunt Fang sent someone to ask Old Master Ren to come back, but he might not come back. However, he also heard about what happened in the inner courtyard, so he rushed back.
Aunt Fang lowered her head and said, "Old Master, I know it's against the rules to come to you, but I do have something important to discuss with you."
Old Master Ren still frowned and said nothing.
Aunt Fang glanced at Old Master Ren and said, "Old Master, I heard from Cun a while ago that the coal warehouses run by the Ren family around Kyoto seem to be losing money."
Old Master Ren couldn't help but be surprised when he heard this. He was not surprised that Fang Cun would talk about this with Aunt Fang. He was surprised that the Ren family had never made public the fact that the coal warehouses around Kyoto were losing money. Even in the Ren family, only he, his eldest son, and the second wife's father and son in Kyoto knew about it. How did Fang Cun know about it?
Although Fang Cun was an official in the south, he was not a Beijing official, and his position was not high.
Seeing Old Master Ren's expression, Aunt Fang knew what he said was true. She continued, "Old Master, I heard from Cun that the reason the Ren family's coal mines in the south aren't doing as well as those in Yanbei is not because the Ren family's coal is hard to sell, but because they have to deal with a group of officials of all ranks every year, which leads to insufficient income to cover expenses."
Aunt Fang was right. The Ren family originated in Yanbei. Their connections in the south were much weaker. Although the old man from the second branch had been doing business in Jingdu, he was no match for the local tyrants. So, even though the coal produced by the Ren family coal warehouse was of better quality than other coal warehouses, the Ren family was only able to barely survive.
Old Master Ren had also thought about giving up the business in Jiangnan, but as a businessman, Old Master Ren still had great ambitions. The Ren family was reluctant to give up the vast market in Jiangnan, even though it was like chicken ribs.
At this moment, Concubine Fang's next words surprised the old master. Concubine Fang said, "I can ask Cun to recommend someone to the Ren family. With this person's connections, the Ren family's coal warehouse in the south will surely be revived. It's only a matter of time before they can open up throughout the Great Zhou like the Wanjia coal warehouse in the capital."
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