Madam Qian, with a fluffy headband on her forehead, was anxiously pacing back and forth in the room. Hearing Nanny Zheng’s voice, she immediately headed towards the doorway and ran into the Song sisters.
"Yun Duo!" she began, her eyes already moist, "What on earth is going on? How did Young Master Yuan become the Inspector General? Then, then you and him..."
Song Jiyun quickly patted her mother’s hand, smiling, "You know what happened initially. Grandmother was pressing hard and the Zeng Family was at a critical point. I thought by no means could I let them succeed. So, I planned to hire someone to impersonate my fiancé just to manage the situation for the time being."
As she spoke, she led her mother to sit beside the Arhat bed and personally received the tea Nanny Zheng offered to Madam Qian before continuing, "Then Young Master Yuan arrived to investigate Prince Ning’s smuggling case and somehow ended up in Jingde Town, got lost, and unintentionally entered our house. I did not know his identity then. Seeing his impressive presence and extraordinary demeanor, I thought such a man wouldn’t be suspected by anyone, right?
"I discussed it with Young Master Yuan, and he agreed to impersonate my fiancé to help me fend off our relatives while I helped him conceal his identity so he could investigate Prince Ning’s case.
"Unexpectedly, Eunuch Wan harbored greedy ambitions and tried to force me to hand over the formula for the sweet white porcelain. Young Master Yuan could not stand by and watch, so he took up our cause and his identity was revealed as a result.
"There’s nothing between me and Young Master Yuan! Young Master Yuan, too, was just helping our family.
"When you think about it, Young Master Yuan can be considered our family’s benefactor!"
Song Jiyun managed to weave the story, half-true and half-falsified perfectly.
Upon hearing this, Madam Qian put her hands together in prayer and chanted, "Amitabha!" feeling instantly relieved, "That’s good, that’s good!"
Then, she seemed a bit regretful, hesitated, and said, "Does Young Master Yuan, have any engagement? Spreading such rumors with our family, will it upset his family? Also, what are your future plans? How will this end?"
Song Jiyun smiled and said, "He still has matters to attend to and went with the Civil Administrative Commissioner and others to the Liang County Yamen. We’ll have to wait for his return to decide how to proceed. But don’t worry, you have met Young Master Yuan during these days and know very well what kind of person he is. Since he’s willing to help our family, he definitely won’t just walk away."
With one concern relieved, Madam Qian was troubled anew.
She frowned and said, "Still, this makes your marital prospects more difficult."
"Mother, you need to think about the bright side of things," Song Jiyun laughed and offered her mother a piece of Dingsheng Cake using a ginkgo-leaf shaped silver fork, "I already have a fiancé like Young Master Yuan. If anyone else wants to marry me, they’ll have to weigh their own worth, won’t they?"
She might not be at a disadvantage after all.
Madam Qian was amused into laughter by her.
Song Jixue was not pleased, pouting, "Sister, won’t Young Master Yuan be my brother-in-law anymore?"
"True!" Song Jiyun did not want to give her family the wrong impression and said firmly, "But don’t say anything in front of others. Wait until Young Master Yuan and I come up with a plausible explanation."
Song Jixue nodded gloomily.
Madam Qian recalled another matter, discreetly sent Song Jiyu and Song Jixue away, and spoke in a low voice to her daughter, "The Xiong Family had always had Madam Yan press for an engagement from one of your younger sisters, right? Hearing that Young Master Yuan is now the Inspector General, Madam Yan expressed regret, suggesting that with our family’s current standing, we might look down on the Xiong Family. Poor Old Master Xiong even sent them two large carloads of New Year’s gifts.
"I’m thinking, such a good marital match is harder to find than gold.
"Should we tell the Xiong Family about this? It would also be a good test of the Xiong Family’s attitude. If they aren’t a suitable match, it’s better to discard this thought earlier."
In Song Jiyun’s eyes, Song Jiyu was still young, but such was the current trend at court. She could go against the trend herself because she could bear any consequence, but she could not live life for Song Jiyu, who might not wish to live like her.
She laughed, "Let’s talk when Young Master Yuan returns!"
Yuan Yunzhong! Yuan Yunzhong!
Her expression was calm and composed, her eyes brimming with a smile, yet her heart was like a window that had sprung a leak, whistling loudly as the wind blew through it. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
And it was getting louder.
No matter the dynasty, a twenty-one or twenty-two-year-old inspector general, even one with family backing, was a rising star in the political arena. Even if she was full of confidence in herself, believing she could succeed if she wished, she simply lacked the energy and time now to invest so much between them.
Reason told her she should give up. But the thought of giving up filled her with great regret and even a faint sense of loss.
Song Jiyun took a deep breath and decided not to think about these things anymore.
She still had many things to do.
After leaving Madam Qian, Song Jiyun instructed Zhou Zheng to invite Old Master Yan, Old Master Wu, and others to discuss matters at her home.
Looking at Old Master Yan and Old Master Wu, whose eyes were eager for gossip, she didn’t wait for them to speak but started on the reason for inviting them, "Although there’s no issue with Eunuch Wan, Lord Yuan is an imperial envoy who handled Prince Ning’s case and will likely return to the Capital City. If anything happens, it would be beyond our reach. I was thinking, since we’ve already clashed with the Liangyu Kiln Factory, why not fight to the bitter end? What if after Eunuch Wan leaves, another thousand eunuchs or hundred eunuchs come? Are we supposed to ask Lord Yuan for help every time?"
The nods continued nonstop.
Since the opportunity presented itself, why not eradicate the problem at the root?
Song Jiyun said, "I initially planned to burn two more Dragon Kilns of Old Blue and White porcelain to ensure the Liangyu Kiln Factory couldn’t sell a single piece of Old Blue and White by this September. But now I’ve changed my mind."
She looked at everyone and said, "I’ve decided to burn four Dragon Kilns of Old Blue and White and drop the prices to the lowest conceivable. I want to make sure that the Liangyu Kiln Factory will not be able to sell any Old Blue and White porcelain from now on."
"That’s wonderful news!" Old Master Wu praised, "Boss Song, did you call us here because you were worried we wouldn’t want to lower our prices? Rest assured, with such a great opportunity, we will certainly follow your lead."
"That’s not it," Song Jiyun laughed, "I invited all of you here because I’ve decided to share the formula for sweet white porcelain with everyone!"
"What?!" Everyone was astounded.
Song Jiyun smiled and nodded, "No matter what happened before, you all trusted me, followed through with whatever I said. I have seen your support and kept it close to my heart. I don’t have much to repay everyone, so I’ve decided to share the formula for sweet white porcelain and make it together with all of you.
"This can’t be done!" Old Master Yan was the first to recover, shaking his head repeatedly, "There’s no precedent for this!"
"Yes! Yes!" The others had also come around and chorused, "Sweet white porcelain is the Song Family’s most closely guarded secret. How could we take advantage of your family’s secret formula?"
They all felt it was not appropriate.
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