Song Jiyun was oblivious to all of this.
She continued to cheer for Shao Qing and He Dazhi, and upon seeing Shao Qing’s victory, she urged Zheng Quan, "Do you want to give it a try too?"
Sports competitions have a way of bringing people together effortlessly.
Zheng Quan had been eager to try, so he rolled up his sleeves and sat opposite Shao Qing, "Come on, let’s have a match."
Although Yuan Yunzhong did not say it, Shao Qing knew that Yuan Yunzhong was trapped in the Song Family, and the only person in the Song Family skilled in martial arts was Zheng Quan. He had been wanting to test Zheng Quan’s mettle.
The two of them refused to give in to each other, putting all their strength into the contest, and in the end, Zheng Quan narrowly won.
Unconvinced, Shao Qing said, "Again!"
The two squared off once more.
Song Jiyun, betting ten taels of silver here and ten there, soon gave away seventy to eighty taels.
The cheers and clapping beside the Water Pavilion never ceased.
Song Jiyun, pretending to be stingy amidst the excitement, began to look around, "Why hasn’t my mother arrived yet? Shouldn’t the dishes be served by now?"
Everyone laughed heartily, exclaiming loudly, "Miss cannot go back on her word. We won’t call it a day until the feast begins."
Clutching her chest, Song Jiyun loudly said to Zheng Quan, "You have to win for me. Whether my silver stays in my pouch or not is all up to you."
Zheng Quan, too, was uncharacteristically playful, saying to Shao Qing, "I think we should join forces, and split Miss’s prize between us."
Shao Qing laughed heartily, "That was exactly my intention. But since Brother Zheng Quan hadn’t mentioned it, it wasn’t my place to decide."
The crowd burst into roaring laughter.
He Dazhi called out even louder, "Miss, you’ve been tricked!"
Unperturbed, Song Jiyun joined in the laughter with everyone else, thinking she hadn’t paid attention to Yuan Yunzhong for a while, she turned to chat with him, "I didn’t expect Shao Qing to be so skilled."
Yuan Yunzhong flicked away the floating leaves on his tea with the lid of his cup and said, "He has been learning martial arts from a Taoist on Qingcheng Mountain since he was a boy."
"No wonder he can handle spicy food," Song Jiyun said with a laugh.
"It wasn’t from his master that he learned to eat spicy food," Yuan Yunzhong leaned on a beauty’s armrest, looking lazily at Shao Qing who was having a great time with Zheng Quan and the others, "His family is a domestic branch of my maternal grandfather’s family, who originally came from Hunan, where the tradition of eating spicy food is still maintained to this day."
Song Jiyun was slightly taken aback.
In the past, Yuan Yunzhong was very secretive about his background and origins.
She had not expected him to voluntarily mention his family history to her today.
She smiled and asked, "Then how come you can’t eat spicy at all?"
Yuan Yunzhong said with conviction, "My family is from Suzhou; naturally, I can’t handle spicy food."
In those days, some people never traveled beyond ten miles of their hometown in their entire lives. The fact that his parents hailed from such distant origins yet managed to form a union suggested that, according to the customs of the time, they were likely from families of officials.
Song Jiyun pursed her lips and smiled, "It must have been your mother who accommodated your father, right?"
Otherwise, how could they live together?
The two of them chatted intermittently when Madam Qian came over laughing with Nanny Zheng.
Everyone paid their respects to Madam Qian.
Madam Qian greeted everyone warmly. After hearing about the arm-wrestling match from Song Jixue and learning that Zheng Quan, Shao Qing, and He Dazhi had each won and lost, making it hard to determine the superior contender, she laughingly said with generosity, "Since Miss has already offered a prize, I won’t just follow suit. I will reward each of you with a horse."
Such a grand gesture.
Everyone was stunned, then broke into a round of cheers.
Song Jiyun suspected that Madam Qian had gotten to know the horse dealer the last time she bought a carriage for Yuan Yunzhong and had been sweet-talked by the seller.
She softly inquired of Nanny Zheng.
Nanny Zheng nodded helplessly, confirming her suspicion.
Song Jiyun didn’t think there was anything wrong with that.
If spending money could make her mother feel a little better, then what was the harm?
Of course, Madam Qian still favored Yuan Yunzhong the most. She told Yuan Yunzhong that she had picked out a horse named "Black Clouds Trampling Snow" for him: "The horse is pitch black all over, but its four hooves are snow white. The horse trader said that this is a once-in-a-century fine horse, and there are no more than ten like it in the world."
Yuan Yunzhong probably hadn’t expected to have one himself, and he thanked Madam Qian with a smile, generously accepting the gift.
Madam Qian was very happy.
Everyone else was even happier than her; as soon as the dishes were served, they all raised their cups of tea instead of wine to toast her.
She then said, "As long as you protect the young miss well in the future, the rewards will be plentiful!"
"Thank you, Madam!" Everyone cheered, and bursts of laughter echoed through the water pavilion, one wave after another.
But Song Jiyun felt something was amiss.
Madam Qian was generous, but that was towards her three daughters and Song Youliang, not towards outsiders.
She looked towards Nanny Zheng.
Nanny Zheng nodded almost imperceptibly at her.
Song Jiyun took the opportunity to speak with Nanny Zheng under the eaves of the water pavilion.
"It’s Great Madam," Nanny Zheng said, "She came to deliver an invitation, saying Old Master Song had betrothed Song Tao to Young Master Zeng. The betrothal gifts will be presented in seven days. Since Madam is in mourning, she is not invited to attend and witness the ceremony. They said that after the betrothal gifts are presented, they’ll have Song Tao pay respects to Madam as a way to complete the formalities.
"Madam saw through the invitation and remembered the past, how the Zeng Family kicked us when we were down. Fearing something might happen to you again, she hoped He Dazhi and the others would work devotedly and diligently, which is why she decided to reward them handsomely."
Song Daliang actually betrothed Song Tao to Zeng Wenxing?!
Song Jiyun’s eyebrows raised, and she sneered, "Since they know Madam is in mourning, why bother sending an invitation? Our two families are not as they were before; Old Master Song was eager to separate from our Song Family branch. If Great Madam comes again in the future, remember to remind Madam."
Nanny Zheng replied "Yes," and with a disdainful twist of her mouth, she said, "Only the Great Madam would treasure such a marriage alliance. But I’ve heard that Great Master’s kiln factory has never been able to produce decent porcelain. He couldn’t keep it up, and somehow managed to persuade Old Master Zeng to put forward the Five Thousand Taels of silver for the betrothal, and took Song Tao home."
Five Thousand Taels of silver for betrothal gifts?!
That must be nearly all the silver the Zeng Family could offer.
Song Jiyun was a bit surprised.
Zeng Wenxing clearly wasn’t a suitable match.
Would Song Tao marry Zeng Wenxing?
Song Jiyun really wanted to know what Song Tao would do next.
She instructed Nanny Zheng, "Continue keeping an eye on Song Tao."
Nanny Zheng nodded in agreement.
But until the Zeng Family went to present the betrothal gifts, there was no sign of Song Tao doing anything.
Song Jiyun found it a bit strange.
Madam Qian, however, shook her head, "It’s such a pity for the young lady Song Tao to have a father like Song Daliang."
Song Jiyun could only comfort her, "We all make our own paths; we just need to take care of ourselves!"
But two days later, a nun from The Eight Immortals Nunnery came to deliver vegetarian stuffed buns to Madam Qian, and she couldn’t stop talking, "Have you heard? The marriage of Old Master Song’s third daughter is off!"
Madam Qian was greatly startled and said, "You can’t just talk nonsense like that. Where did you hear it?"
Who in Liang County didn’t know about the dirty laundry of the Song Family?
The Eight Immortals Nunnery prepared banquet food for the Song Family’s second branch and received One Hundred Taels of incense money from Song Jiyun, so naturally, they were on their side.
"It’s all over Liang County," said the nun. "On the day the Zeng Family and the Song Family finalized the arrangements, Young Master Zeng stole the Five Thousand Taels of silver intended for Miss Tao’s betrothal and ran off with a courtesan he had been keeping on the side. Not only did the Song Family fail to hold the betrothal ceremony with the Zeng Family, but the two families also ended up in a brawl because of it!"
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