Wensi Building was one of the few two-story buildings in Liang County. From the second floor, one could see most of the county town by pushing open the window.
The first floor housed a bookstore, and the second floor, a tea room. Behind it, there was a large courtyard constructed in the style of the Suzhou-Hangzhou Gardens, complete with bridges over water and intricately designed pavilions, as well as winding paths through flowers, trees, and bamboo forests, creating a truly scenic view.
The flower appreciation festival was being held in the back garden today.
When Song Jiyun and Yuan Yunzhong walked in, nearly everyone attending the festival had arrived. They were gathering in small groups, sipping tea and chatting casually.
Upon hearing the commotion, most people simultaneously turned their heads to look over.
Song Jiyun, composed, responded with a courteous nod and a gracious smile.
The crowd was momentarily taken aback, then resumed their discussions in small groups.
"Wasn’t today supposed to be a welcome banquet for the County Magistrate? How come a lady suddenly appears?"
"Seems like it’s the daughter of Song Youliang’s family!"
"The one who had that dispute over the family property with her uncles some days ago?"
"Was her name even on the guest list for the banquet?"
The voices were not loud, but there was no intention to avoid Song Jiyun’s ears. Anyone standing there could clearly hear them.
Song Jiyun pretended not to hear.
Having not received an invitation to the flower appreciation banquet, she had already anticipated what might happen.
Smiling radiantly, she said to Yuan Yunzhong, "Would you like to try our local Fuliang tea? Mr. Wen, who organized this gathering, owns the best tea garden around here, and their tea leaves are also the best."
Yuan Yunzhong, who originally had a stoic face, raised an eyebrow slightly in surprise upon hearing this and fixed his gaze on her for a long while as if something about her puzzled him and he needed to see clearly.
Song Jiyun felt completely confused, fearing he might cause some trouble at this moment.
However, Yuan Yunzhong slowly replied, "Alright."
Song Jiyun felt a wave of relief. She smiled and instructed the servant boy beside her to serve them Fuliang tea. Just then, she looked up only to see Ninth Master Song emerge from somewhere with a grim expression, striding towards them.
"How did you get here?" His voice, lowered in a scolding tone, reached them before he did, "Today is a banquet for the Dignified County Magistrate. Don’t create any disturbances! Be careful, you might implicate the Song Clan members and displease the County Magistrate!"
Even implicate him!
He silently added that thought to himself.
A cold glimmer flashed through Song Jiyun’s eyes.
She had been certain someone would confront her, but she hadn’t expected Ninth Master Song to be the first.
A house divided against itself invites abuse from neighbors. By suppressing her in front of outsiders like this, wasn’t he afraid others would mock the Song Family?
If he didn’t consider himself part of the Song Family, she wouldn’t bother giving him face either.
Song Jiyun smiled triumphantly and raised the invitation in her hand. Speaking in a volume loud enough for everyone to hear, she said, "I received an invitation. Of course, I should join in the fun!"
Ninth Master Song was taken aback.
It was well known among those attending the flower appreciation festival that the invite from the Song Family was meant for him, not for Song Jiyun.
Could Song Jiyun have tricked someone out of their invitation or crafted a fake one just to attend this festival?
The more he thought about it, the more he felt it could be true.
In his mind, Song Jiyun was cunning and would resort to any means necessary to achieve her goals.
He reached out to snatch the invitation from Song Jiyun’s hand, but someone else was quicker.
"How is that possible?" someone said, stepping forward with an expression of disbelief. "You say you received an invitation, but who knows if it’s real or fake? Show us!"
Song Jiyun looked in the direction of the voice.
The speaker was in his thirties, tall and burly, with dark skin, a horse-like face, and a hooked nose—his shrewd and powerful nature was written all over his face.
It was Li Zixiu, the owner of the Li Family Kiln Factory.
And a fierce competitor of the Song Family Kiln Factory.
Song Jiyun smiled and addressed the other party as "Uncle Li Shi" as she handed over the invitation, then looked at the people whose expressions varied and spoke loudly, "Is there any other uncle who wishes to see my invitation? Why not pass it around together!"
Some smiled awkwardly, while others gathered around Li Zixiu.
Song Jiyun silently memorized the faces of these people.
Li Zixiu scrutinized the invitation over and over, even holding it up to the sunlight for a long time.
Having confirmed it was not fake, he suddenly became serious and searched the crowd for Mr. Wen.
The crowd parted ways, and the tall, slender Mr. Wen emerged from behind the Taihu Lake Rockery.
It was early autumn, yet he still held a gold-traced fan painted with mountain and river scenes.
"What is the matter?" he asked with a frown and an annoyed tone.
Someone immediately approached and whispered in his ear.
Only then did his gaze fall on Song Jiyun and Yuan Yunzhong. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
A flash of amazement crossed his eyes.
But he quickly suppressed it.
He frowned and said to Song Jiyun without any explanation, "Regardless of where you obtained this invitation, as a girl, exposing yourself this way, where do you place your father’s clean reputation? I won’t reprimand you today. You should hurry back home and pretend this never happened."
These days, the most talked-about subject in Liang County was the matter of the Song Family.
Not to mention the Song Family’s distant relatives and in-laws, even the family and maid of the Wen Family, when talking about the Song Family’s affairs, could eloquently discuss how Song Youliang’s eldest daughter contended with her uncles over the inheritance, how she took control of the Song Family Kiln Factory, and how she threw out the Zeng Family’s betrothal gifts.
He loathed unruly, disrespectful women above everything.
Hearing this made veins throb at his temples, and he vehemently criticized Song Daliang and Song Sanliang for not being real men, also strictly forbidding anyone from the Wen Family to discuss this matter further.
As for the invitation, whether she obtained it from someone else or it was given to her by Registrar Wang, he didn’t care.
His own brother was the only Imperial Scholar from Liang County for the past decades and held a position in Hanlin Academy; whether it was Registrar Wang or past County Magistrates, he wouldn’t easily offend them, nor would they easily offend him.
He tapped his fan lightly and said, "I’ve heard that the Song Clan has changed its clan leader. In a few days, I’ll visit your Ninth Grand Master, and we will speak with your new Clan Leader proper—how can a woman be in charge of a kiln factory!"
Song Jiyun blinked her eyes.
She had seen many like Mr. Wen before.
To argue about gender equality with a man who had received traditional scholarly education since childhood was as absurd and out of place as asking modern women to bind their feet; it was utterly a waste of words and meaningless.
However, for Mr. Wen to try to send her away was unacceptable.
But somehow, she felt the atmosphere around her turn gloomy as if it were clouds covering the sky in June, signaling impending rain.
She couldn’t concern herself with that at the moment.
"There’s no helping it," she said with a gradually serious expression, "My father left behind a posthumous child, and as the eldest sister, I certainly couldn’t let our family heritage end!"
Mr. Wen and others looked surprised.
Song Jiyun continued, "Blame only our family’s lack of male heirs. In my grandfather’s time, there were only three brothers, my uncles, and my father, but only my father inherited the family business. What would you have me do in my generation if I did not step up?"
Was this implying that Song Daliang and Song Sanliang were incompetent?
She had ousted the Song brothers from their own family, yet now she planned to trample them underfoot as well.
Song Daliang and Song Sanliang were pitiable indeed.
The crowd felt suffocated.
Mr. Wen exploded, "Glib tongue! Creating discord! Seizing reason by force! Are you committing the sin of ’gossip’?"
Within the seven grounds for divorce was the accusation of "gossip."
This implied she lacked "womanly virtue."
If this reputation spread, neither Madam Qian nor the sisters of the Song Jiyun would find peace!
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