Song Jiyun sneered inwardly upon hearing these words.
This Li Zixiu, once the wound has healed, has forgotten the pain.
Is it necessary to hit where it hurts before he knows how to speak?
Without so much as a glance at Li Zixiu, she picked up the tea cup, took a sip of tea, and then smiled and said, "My cousin? In the Song Family, I am the oldest unmarried girl; I haven’t heard of anyone who had an arranged marriage called off! Which cousin from which branch of our Song Family are you referring to?"
After speaking, she feigned sudden realization and exclaimed, "Ah, could you be talking about the Third Miss Song from Song Daliang’s family? Our families have separated, and except for business interactions, we barely associate with each other now. Third Miss Song had her marriage engagement broken off? Where did you hear that from? How come I’m not aware of it?"
Then she even asked Old Master Yan, "Have you heard about this too? I’m usually busy with the kiln factory and the docks, and these gossipy women’s talks hardly reach my ears. Perhaps since I’ve taken charge of the household, people feel it’s not appropriate to discuss these matters with me?"
She just stopped short of pointing to Li Zixiu’s nose and saying he was like a gossipy woman, fond of talking and spreading rumors, lacking any breadth of vision.
Moreover, she reminded everyone that her family had no ties with Song Daliang’s family, and to not lump her family members with those of Song Daliang’s family.
Li Zixiu’s face turned dark.
Old Master Wang, knowing Song Jiyun’s formidable nature, seeing the situation, rushed to speak before Old Master Yan could, laughing and saying, "These street rumors change every day, we should just take them as jokes. Since we have tentatively settled on the matter of sacrificing to the Kiln God, Mr. Wen, do you think we should make a trip to the Yamen and discuss it with Magistrate Jiang to see if he has any opinions, so we can make adjustments accordingly?"
Mr. Wen, also wary of Song Jiyun and Li Zixiu breaking into an argument, immediately shifted the topic along Old Master Wang’s line, "I’ve already sent someone to Magistrate Jiang with my visiting card, only waiting for us to finalize our discussions here before paying a visit to Magistrate Jiang."
Everyone, with their remarks, glossed over the matter.
However, Song Jiyun felt something was amiss.
Only a few days had passed; even if Zeng Wenxing had caused a scandal, and even if the Zeng Family and the Song Family had called off the marriage, it shouldn’t have spread so quickly.
It seemed like overnight, everyone had heard about it.
As she left the Wensi Building, heading straight for the mule carriage stopped at the entrance, she was called by Hong Xi, "Miss Song!"
Song Jiyun turned to look at him.
However, he was speechless for a long moment then suddenly burst into laughter and said, "Miss Song, I originally meant to tell you where Young Master Zeng is. But now it seems, Miss Song, you clearly do not wish to know his whereabouts. I have overstepped."
He gave a bow to Song Jiyun and said, "Miss Song, may we meet again in the future!"
Without waiting for Song Jiyun to respond, he got into his own carriage and left Wensi Building.
Song Jiyun sighed.
Luckily, Young Master Hong was a sensible man, or else she would have had to explain to him her relationship with Song Tao.
She, while not afraid of these messy affairs, did not mean that she enjoyed them.
Song Jiyun was also in a hurry to return home.
She had already arranged for someone to watch Song Tao, so why had she not received advance news of something as critical as the termination of Song Tao and Zeng Wenxing’s marriage?
Assisted by Xiang Cao, she boarded the mule carriage and hurried home.
Madam Qian knew why Song Jiyun had gone to Wensi Building.
Knowing her daughter had returned, she didn’t wait for Song Jiyun to come and pay her respects; surrounded by her maids and nannies, she came to Song Jiyun first.
"How did things go?" Madam Qian, after adjusting the freshly changed clothes of Song Jiyun, asked her, "Did they give you any trouble?"
Song Jiyun had now developed the habit of reporting good news but not bad.
"Everything went quite well." She relayed the terms agreed upon with Mr. Wen to Madam Qian.
Madam Qian breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That’s good, that’s very good."
Song Jiyun steadied her mother as she sat on the Arhat Bed and asked about Song Tao, "Do you know exactly what happened? There was no noise before, so how did it suddenly spread?"
"Exactly! I also just learned about it," Madam Qian had a lot to say to her daughter, "Although Song Daliang is unreliable, he’s someone who cares about his reputation. How could he allow such rumors to spread? And there’s Madam Wang, she’s very strict in managing the family. Even if the news leaked, it shouldn’t have spread this quickly."
In the end, she added, "I always feel there’s something wrong with this matter!"
Song Jiyun had the same feeling.
After Madam Qian left, she called for Nanny Zheng to question her, "Are our people incompetent, or was there really no news before this?"
Nanny Zheng had also been pondering over this matter.
She said, "The news spread all at once. It’s like wild vegetables in the spring, which all pop up after a night of dew. By the time we heard about it, everyone knew."
Song Jiyun reflected thoughtfully.
Hong Xi, who had parted from her, went to their family’s sundry shops on Front Street.
Wang Zhubo was exiled, and Song Jiyun unexpectedly took over the industry that Wang Zhubo had left behind; however, she dealt heavy blows hither and thither, causing the Liang County market to become unstable—many properties were sold by her, some families were willing to adhere to the original contracts and follow the law. Yet, even more preferred to pay compensation in order to take back their shops or land.
Many shops closed their doors, and the shopkeepers and shop assistants were sent away.
Now, several tenants on Front Street had their shops taken back by their owners, who said they wanted to do business for themselves.
The shopkeepers of the Hong Family Shop saw him as if they had seen a lifesaver and said, "You’re finally here! We’ve been unable to reconcile the accounts no matter how we tally them these past few days; please help us take a look."
Hong Xi’s gaze flickered, and he took the opportunity to slip into the study with the shopkeeper. It wasn’t until At the Time of Lighting Lamps that he came out of the Accountant’s office, rubbing his shoulders.
The shopkeeper wanted to keep him for dinner, but he politely declined and returned to the Hong Family.
However, as he was getting off the mule cart, he saw someone carrying a load and selling Osmanthus cakes passing in front of his house. He was momentarily distracted and walked out a bowshot distance.
Hong Xi quickly called to stop the seller of the Osmanthus cakes, standing at the alley next to his house to buy some Osmanthus cakes.
From the alleyway, the angry and fierce voice of a man could faintly be heard: "You dare to run away! What’s wrong with you getting married? You’re almost twenty, what family’s daughter stays unmarried at twenty?"
The woman did not respond.
Amidst the shouts of "I’ll beat you to death," there was the sound of a woman’s pattering footsteps getting closer and closer.
Hong Xi looked up and saw a woman with disheveled hair, extremely disheveled, limping towards him.
"Young Master! Save me!" The woman seemed to see him and called out hastily, her beautiful eyebrows and eyes filled with anger and sorrow.
Hong Xi was taken aback.
The man chasing her had already caught up.
"You little hooves, I’ll see where you can run to!" The man took two steps at a time and suddenly grabbed the woman`s hair.
The woman’s body leaned backward as the man caught her arm and forcefully dragged her toward the alley.
Although the light was dim, Hong Xi, with his sharp eyesight, recognized the chaser as Song Daliang.
He frowned slightly.
He suspected that the woman being chased was Song Tao, who was currently the subject of everyone’s gossip.
He couldn’t help but take another look.
Under the cool moonlight, the woman’s beautiful face, eyes like water, seemed about to cry.
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