Baihe River is located in the southern suburbs of Baihe Town. When the Ren family's carriage arrived, the greenhouse on the shore had been set up the day before. The Ren family had also sent people to erect countless colorful chess pieces on the river surface, enclosing a vast space to isolate all outsiders.
When Ren Yaoqi and the other women disembarked from the carriage, they saw a crowd of onlookers outside. Some half-grown children were dragging flat-bottomed carts made of planks with thick hemp ropes across the unfenced ice, or whizzing back and forth on homemade ice skates, laughing and making noises.
The Ren family's housekeeper thought they were too noisy and sent servants to chase them away several times, but as soon as they left, the other children ran back and could not be driven away. In the end, the eldest son of the Ren family, Ren Yiyan, said that he had gone out to have fun today and the more lively the better, so he gave up.
Aside from the Fifth Master, Ren Shimao, and the Fifth Madam, Mrs. Lin, all the others who came today were from the Ren family. The Fifth Master and his wife had something to attend to before the others left, so they wouldn't be traveling with them. Therefore, the eldest son, Ren Yiyan, and his wife, Mrs. Zhao, were temporarily in charge.
Ren Yaoqi and the other sisters of the Ren family followed Zhao to the greenhouse. As soon as they sat down, they saw another group of people walking in. It was actually the sister Han who rarely went out.
Ren Yaoqi looked outside and saw Han Yunqian, the young master of the Han family, walking towards them with Ren Yiyan, Qiu Yun and others, laughing.
"Huh? Who is this?" Ren Yaoting, the seventh sister of the East Mansion, asked puzzledly as she looked at Han You, the sister walking towards them. She had never seen Han You before.
Ren Yaoyin smiled and said, "This is Miss Han. Her brother and third cousin were classmates and friends at Yunyang Academy, so my cousin sent an invitation to the Han family."
Han You came forward with a smile to greet them, and the eldest young lady Zhao arranged for her to sit next to Ren Yaoyin and Ren Yaoqi.
"When I heard my cousin and eldest brother discussing sending an invitation to the Han family that day, I was worried that you wouldn't be able to come. Fortunately, you came." Ren Yaoyin smiled friendly at Han You.
Han You looked around with bright eyes. After hearing what Ren Yaoyin said, she said timidly, "I received your invitation last month. My mother happened to be ill, so... this time it was my mother and brother who moved my grandmother, so I was able to come."
Han You's explanation was a bit inconsistent, but they had heard Han You talk about the Han family's situation before, so they knew what was going on and couldn't help but feel a little more sympathetic towards her.
Although Han You was a little shy because she seldom went out, she was gentle and polite, so the sisters of the Ren family did not reject her after they came into contact with her.
Everyone sat down to drink tea and eat snacks, but the competition outside had not started yet. The eldest young lady, Mrs. Zhao, explained that they had to wait for the fifth master and the fifth mistress to arrive.
After waiting for a long time, the eldest young master Ren Yiyan sent people back to look for the fifth master and Lin, and announced the start of the competition here.
At this time, Yun Wenfang, Han Yunqian, Qiu Yun, and Ren Yijian, the fifth young master of the Ren family, came out wearing thin clothes, and several maids were tying leggings and ice shoes on their legs.
Ice shoes are made of iron and tied to the feet with straps.
"Fifth brother and the others are going to go on stage?" The eldest young lady Zhao was stunned and looked at the Ren sisters. It was obvious that she had not known about this before.
The Ren sisters all looked at each other in bewilderment. It was Han's sister who said, "On the way, I heard that Master Qiu and my brother each brought a team of servants."
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