Song Yi then noticed Jiang Shuwan. The girl was wearing a light pink brocade top with cloud and goose embroidery, and a plain white pleated skirt with scattered floral patterns. She stood gracefully and elegantly.
She wore a white jade bracelet on her wrist, orchid earrings on her ears, and her hair was very simple, with only two hairpins.
The Song family's main business is jewelry. It was immediately apparent that although she was dressed simply and elegantly, the fabrics on her body and the items on her head were actually exquisite.
In particular, the palace fan she was holding was not only exquisitely crafted, but the two orchids embroidered on it were also extraordinary.
Jiang Shuwan lowered her head and followed Song Yi's gaze to look at her fan.
Last time, to thank Madam Pei for lending her 100,000 taels of silver to speculate in real estate, she made a gemstone fan as a gift for Madam Pei, and also made one for herself.
The materials used were not as particular as those of Madam Pei; only scraps of medium-to-high-grade glutinous white marble were used to piece together two small orchids, which were then embroidered on the palace fan as decoration.
Song Yi was a discerning man. He was so engrossed in her fan that it was not because the material was jadeite or white jade, but because of the craftsmanship.
After all, jade pieces are thin and need to be perforated to be stitched together. Modern perforation machines can do it with a simple press, but nowadays it is quite a test of the craftsman's skill. If the craftsman is clumsy, the hole will not be made and the jade piece will be shattered into pieces that cannot be picked up.
The craftsmen in the Marquis's mansion were indeed quite skilled; no matter what Jiang Shuwan said, they did it extremely well.
Concealing the emotions in her eyes, Jiang Shuwan lifted her foot and walked towards the Treasure Pavilion. Song Yi was stunned for a moment, watching Brother Nai walk behind her a step behind, and suddenly had a strange feeling.
That feeling was very strange. He had the same feeling when Dongfu Street and Donglai Street opened, but he didn't think about it in detail at the time.
"Vice President Song?"
When Brother Nai saw that he hadn't followed, he looked at him questioningly. Song Yi's eyes hardened, and he quickly followed. The two walked and talked, and their way of addressing each other changed to "Brother Song" and "Brother Qin," becoming more intimate than before.
Whether there was any closeness in their hearts, only God knows.
At least they were competitors before. Although Song Yi lost, Song Yi didn't think it was a good thing for Brother Nai to come over at this time.
The Song family is now facing a pincer attack from the Zhou family and the Nanshi area, and everyone wants to take advantage of the situation.
Song Yi immediately had a bad feeling, and his face turned ashen.
They were already struggling to make ends meet with the Zhou family and Nanshi; if Brother Qin were added to the mix, the Song family would only face even greater difficulties…
However, Song Yi soon began to doubt whether he was overthinking things, because Brother Nai and Jiang Shuwan only took a quick look around, bought two small items, and left.
"Young Master, what brings Chairman Qin here?"
The servant craned his neck to watch the backs of Brother Nai and Jiang Shuwan.
He thought they were there to kick him while he was down, but they left without doing anything.
"I don't know." Song Yi shook his head; he didn't know either.
"Young Master, who is that young lady? Chairman Qin is the chairman of the West Market Association. Why is he so respectful to her? He seems to treat her like her servant..."
The servant's words startled Song Yi, and the strange feeling he had just felt when he saw Jiang Shuwan walk up to the milk man returned.
He remembered that this wasn't the first time he had met Jiang Shuwan. When Dongfu and Donglai Streets opened, he had almost bumped into her and blocked her way.
"Brother Qin was very angry at the time; I thought it was his family."
“But Brother Qin is obviously older than her, and he owns so many shops and is the president of the West Market Association. There’s no way a woman could walk in front of him. Besides, her walking posture is very natural, which means she is used to walking in front of Brother Qin.”
"And Brother Qin even calls her 'Miss'—"
"Young Master, you mean they have a master-servant relationship!" the servant exclaimed in shock. "President Qin, such a powerful figure, is just a servant?"
The servant couldn't believe it, his gaze still fixed on Jiang Shuwan as she walked further and further away, finding it utterly unbelievable.
"President Qin is now a legendary figure among Beijing businessmen. He's so young, and I don't know where he came from. He joined the Chamber of Commerce as soon as he started doing business, was parachuted into the position of vice president, and then quickly became president. How could someone like him be someone else's servant?"
"That young lady must come from an official family, but I don't know which family it is."
The servant sighed deeply.
These days, it's normal for businessmen to have some kind of ambiguous relationship with officials, but for a prominent and influential businessman, especially one who is the president of a chamber of commerce, to be nothing more than someone else's servant makes him feel a little sorry for him.
Song Yi didn't say anything; he was planning something else entirely, but just thinking about it was too horrifying.
His face was so heavy it was almost dripping with water. After thinking for a moment, Song Yi went out through the back door of the Treasure Pavilion. With no one around, he rode a horse and cautiously circled the city a few times before arriving at a secluded mansion.
The courtyard is deep and secluded, with numerous flowers and trees that shade the sky and create a dim atmosphere throughout the yard.
It was broad daylight, yet it felt like walking in the dead of night, so quiet that not a single bird chirped.
The surrounding guards were as silent as ghosts.
It only served to highlight the deathly silence of the place.
The further in he went, the dimmer the light became, until the darkness so profound that Song Yi could not see his own hand in front of his face completely enveloped him.
Song Yi stopped in front of the last house and quietly knelt down on both knees.
After a long silence, there was a sound from the room in front of them. A maid in palace attire walked in from the covered corridor, passed Song Yi, and pushed open the door to go in.
The people inside seemed to be very clean and quiet. The maid walked in barefoot, trying to keep her presence to herself and not even daring to breathe heavily.
She lit the incense gently, and the faint scent of ambergris rose up with the wisps of smoke.
This seemed to be the only source of warmth and life in the house.
The maid closed the green-glazed lion-shaped incense burner, then quietly retreated from the corner of the wall, kneeling peacefully like a statue.
The room returned to silence.
Death is like lifelessness.
Song Yi knelt through the door, his forehead pressed against the back of his hand, his posture extremely respectful.
"I have followed my father around since I was a child. I would not dare to say that I have a very sharp eye, but I am quite accurate in judging people. Chairman Qin's attitude towards that young lady is indeed unusual."
"I have dealt with Chairman Qin several times. To be honest, he is quite capable, but his methods and behavior are obviously clumsy and not very experienced. Xishi ranks third among all the businessmen in Beijing, which is not worth mentioning. However, I also know the former chairman and another vice chairman. With Chairman Qin's abilities, there is absolutely no way he could surpass them to take over the chairmanship."
"Furthermore, there has always been a mysterious leader in the West Market. It is said that he is the one who manipulates everything in the West Market. I have always suspected that the leader is not Chairman Qin, but I have no evidence."
"Seeing that lady again today has only strengthened my suspicions."
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