Chapter 149 - 147

The person swept back their cloak, revealing beautiful brows and eyes. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Who else could it be but Song Jiyun?

In the dim prison cell, her fair complexion shone like luminous fine jade.

Madam Wang blurted out, puzzled, "How did you get here?"

Song Jiyun smiled, saying, "I too have come to visit Old Master Wang."

Madam Wang was taken aback.

Song Jiyun had already walked past her towards Wang Zhubo.

Madam Wang quickly turned back to follow and saw Wang Zhubo standing at the railing, his hands tightly clutching the rough wood.

"Miss Song?!" His brow furrowed, not understanding why Song Jiyun would come here.

"Old Master Wang!" Song Jiyun greeted him with a smile and a nod, her voice gentle, "I heard from a steward below that Madam Wang went to my place looking for your Maternal Uncle. Only then did I learn that your Maternal Uncle left Liang County without telling anyone."

"A thought struck me, wondering whether your Maternal Uncle could have sold all his property to me when he left Liang County without even informing you."

"What did you say?!" Wang Zhubo’s eyes widened in disbelief, and he exclaimed, "My brother-in-law sold all his property to you?"

He of course knew that after he was imprisoned, someone would surely covet his wealth.

But he never imagined that Song Jiyun would be the one to seize it.

In his heart, Song Jiyun was just a girl of the inner chambers with some small tricks up her sleeve; her ability to hold onto the family estate left by Song Youliang was merely because Song Daliang and Song Sanliang were too foolish.

Now it seemed, he had underestimated her.

His gaze towards Song Jiyun turned cold.

However, Song Jiyun received a black lacquered, gold-trimmed box with a smile from Zheng Quan, who was standing beside her.

"There are twelve shops on Front Street, one tavern on Back Street, a tea shop, and sixteen warehouses at Changjiang Wharf; 600 mu of good farmland in Lianggang Village, 340 mu in Chen Bay..." she opened the box and counted the property deeds inside, "and these five hills in Chaotian dock, all planted with pine trees. The porcelain merchants in Jingde Town all vie for the pine wood from Chaotian dock for their kilns."

All these were properties registered under the name of Wang Zhubo’s brother-in-law.

Practically all of his fortune.

His blood rushed uncontrollably to his head, and his hands shook violently on the rough wood railing.

Meanwhile, Madam Wang already screamed and lunged at Song Jiyun, crying out, "Impossible, impossible! My brother, he couldn’t have done this to me!"

The quick reflexes of the prison matron stopped her in her tracks.

But she went limp, sitting down heavily on the ground with vacant eyes.

Wang Zhubu didn’t even glance at her, his eyes fixed unwaveringly on Song Jiyun.

"What are you trying to do?" he demanded. "You don’t think just because he sold these properties to you that they are yours, do you? Without me, you might not be able to sell the pine wood from Chaotian dock. That wood is just a jumble of different pines."

The mixed pines don’t produce much resin, and when used for kilns, the fire isn’t as strong or enduring as that from resin-rich pine wood.

Initially, the kiln factories clamored for the pine wood of Chaotian dock solely to ingratiate themselves with him.

"So you’re well aware of this!" Song Jiyun responded indifferently, stowing away the property deeds and passing the box back to Zheng Quan, her smile undiminished, "But their cheapness can’t be resisted!"

She even asked Wang Zhubo cheerfully, "Guess, how much money did your brother-in-law sell all these properties to me for?"

Wang Zhubo glared at her with veins nearly bursting, the thick railing creaking under his furious grip.

Song Jiyun parted her red lips and declared slowly, word by word, "Ten thousand taels. A total of ten thousand taels. That’s merely the silver our kiln factory earns from firing two kilns of high-quality porcelain."

Registrar Wang knew it would be low, but he had never imagined it would be this low.

That was the wealth he had meticulously accumulated over his lifetime.

His chest felt as though a heavy rock was pressing down on it, making it hard to breathe.

Yet Song Jiyun was not finished with him, and with an air of having more to say, lamented, "I also didn’t expect your brother-in-law to set such a low price. It really proves that old saying, ’Others’ drums are beaten vigorously.’ After all, it’s not money they earned themselves, so they don’t feel the pain."

"Shut up!" Registrar Wang could bear it no longer and hissed viciously, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west. Be careful not to get carried away and miss your step!"

Song Jiyun smiled faintly, not the least bit annoyed, and said, "Instead of worrying about whether I might miss a step, you might want to think about how you’re going to extricate yourself. I’ve heard that the County Magistrate’s complaint against you has shaken the whole officialdom of Jiangxi, even the higher-ups in the Three Departments are aware, and they’re calling for a thorough investigation!"

The Metropolitan Censorate, Ministry of Punishments, and Court of Judicial Review are collectively known as "Three Departments," and usually only significant, serious cases would involve their joint adjudication.

Registrar Wang’s breath caught.

Song Jiyun, however, smiled and shook her head, saying, "Pitiful, when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. You’re locked up here without anyone close to you to bring messages; I’m afraid you might not even know about this, right?"

Registrar Wang felt a raw taste in his throat.

He believed that Song Jiyun’s special trip to the prison was not simply to kick him when he was down.

As long as Song Jiyun had something to gain from him, he could negotiate terms with her; he could secure more bargaining chips for himself.

"Miss Song didn’t make a special trip to the prison just to tell me these things, did you?" he asked, feigning indifference as he looked at Song Jiyun.

Upon hearing this, Song Jiyun reacted as though she had just had an epiphany, saying, "If you hadn’t mentioned it, I would have really forgotten what I came here for."

Registrar Wang let out a sigh of relief.

As long as there’s a need, there’s room for negotiation.

He watched Song Jiyun quietly.

Song Jiyun said with a smile, "I came to return a favor!"

Registrar Wang was puzzled.

"It’s only proper to return a favor!" Song Jiyun took two steps forward, approaching the bars that imprisoned Registrar Wang, and chuckled softly, "You gave me such a big gift at the West Ridge Villa, and I thought, I must give you a big gift in return."

She asked Registrar Wang, "Do you like this gift?"

"You..." Registrar Wang’s face instantly turned as pale as paper, his mouth twitching as he pointed at Song Jiyun, unable to speak for a long while.

Song Jiyun scoffed and turned to leave.

Behind her, suddenly came the "thud" of a heavy object hitting the floor.

Song Jiyun turned her head and saw Registrar Wang laid out stiffly on the floor of the cell.

She curled her lips.

Had you known this day would come, why did you do it in the first place.

*

Outside the prison, the drizzle that had been falling had stopped at some unknown point.

The sky was clear and exceptionally bright.

When Song Jiyun returned to the Song Mansion, she found six or seven strong men and two average-looking girls squatting under the wall outside the gate.

She was quite surprised and had just asked Steward Wu, who came to greet her, "What’s going on here?" when the group of men swarmed around her, all clamoring and calling for "Zheng Quan," as if they were long-lost relatives of Zheng Quan.

Zheng Quan himself was also stunned and said, "Second Senior Brother, Sixteenth Junior Brother, what are you doing here?"

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