Chapter 89

He did not say who it was, but other than Madam Rong Zhou, who else had the authority to control the upbringing of the children in the inner household?

Those who knew of this matter understood it perfectly well.

"Fortunately, Brother Chen helped me," Rong Xi said with a gentle smile.

Qin Ke nodded. "And your being sent to the ancestral residence was all because of Fourth Brother Rong. Fourth Brother Rong was merely an ignorant child. If no one had instigated him, how could he have threatened you?"

Thinking of how Rong Dalang had once been filled with grievances and fled Shengjing in panic, Qin Ke felt a bitter ache in his heart.

"Eldest Brother..." He suddenly turned sharply. "Who is outside?"

Rong Xi was startled and hurriedly rose to his feet.

Outside the room, Rong Lian stood there in a daze.

He had come to find his elder brother. Upon reaching the study door and hearing Qin Ke's voice within, he assumed the two were discussing important matters and had intended to leave. Yet then he heard the words "Rong Estate."

He paused, and ended up hearing every word that followed, from beginning to end.

The study door opened. Rong Lian raised his head as if waking from a dream. Seeing Rong Xi's mild expression, he could not help asking hesitantly, "Elder Brother, did she truly harm you in secret?"

Rong Xi smiled faintly. "They are only conjectures, not to be taken as truth. Second Brother need not overthink it. Just calm your heart and study."

Though he spoke as lightly as drifting clouds and a gentle breeze, Rong Lian's heart was roiling with violent winds and towering waves.

Since childhood, he had read the books of sages, listened to the words of saints, and followed the path