Jiyun left the palace and went directly back to Pocket Alley.
Qin Fang, however, waited outside the Qianqing Palace for a while.
Nowadays, Yuan Haoran was in charge of the Ministry of Works. A few days ago, his nephew had taken on a task there, and he was thinking that once Yuan Haoran came out, he surely would not be in a good mood. He planned to say a few comforting words and speak well of his nephew in front of Yuan Haoran when the nephew went to report to the Ministry of Works.
Little did he know that he would wait outside for almost an hour without seeing either Yuan Yunzhong or Yuan Haoran come out. He couldn’t help but gesture to a young eunuch on duty at the Qianqing Palace, "Go see when Lord Yuan and Elder Yuan will be able to come out?"
The young eunuch tiptoed into the side hall of the Qianqing Palace.
In a short while, he returned with a message for Qin Fang: "Both Lords Yuan are still arguing endlessly, and the Emperor is almost unable to hold up anymore. They should be out in at most another half an hour."
Qin Fang was astonished.
The words of Jiyun suddenly echoed in his mind.
She said that even if Yuan Yunzhong knew that she agreed to his concurrent heirship, he wouldn’t come out so soon.
It was clear that she had accurately predicted that Yuan Yunzhong wouldn’t change his mind.
Qin Fang fell silent for a moment, and the young eunuch pleasingly told him, "The Emperor secretly sent someone to convey a message to Noble Consort Wan, asking her to quickly find an excuse to summon him back to the palace. Lord Yuan and Elder Yuan are both unyielding, and the Emperor is out of options."
"Understood!" Qin Fang nodded, and he waited at the palace gate for almost another half-hour until he saw a palace maid from Noble Consort Wan’s residence enter the palace. Only then did Yuan Yunzhong and Yuan Haoran father and son come out of the Qianqing Palace, ignoring each other.
Yuan Haoran was still there, coldly threatening his son, "Don’t think that I have no way just because you refuse. I just don’t want another family to marry in and be under the thumb of the Song Clan, which would look bad for the offspring."
Yuan Yunzhong’s expression was cold, and he walked out without saying a word. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢
Yuan Haoran was furious and shouted behind him, "You stop right there!"
Yuan Yunzhong, as if deaf, kept walking straight ahead.
Yuan Haoran clutched his chest, his face ashen.
Qin Fang hurried forward to support him: "Elder Yuan, please calm your anger. If you were to fall ill, what would Madam Wang do?"
The Yuan father and son both had a good appearance. Although Yuan Haoran was now of an age that understood his destiny, he was still tall and upright, with jet-black hair, and a handsome and scholarly face. An unknowing person seeing him and Yuan Yunzhong together might think he was Yuan Yunzhong’s brother.
Upon hearing this, he took a few deep breaths, and when his chest regained calm, he thanked Qin Fang, "Thank you, Lord Qin! You saw quite a scene."
His gentle and polite demeanor was also well-known.
"Look at what you’re saying." Qin Fang smiled, "It’s just that Lord Yuan is too young."
Yuan Haoran, being a typical scholarly type, was not very fond of associating with eunuchs like Qin Fang.
He waved his hand and exchanged a few polite words with Qin Fang before leaving the palace.
On the other side, Yuan Yunzhong walked briskly out of the Forbidden Palace, his anger still seething until he calmed down.
He looked around and, not seeing Jiyun, asked Shao Qing, who was waiting outside, "Didn’t I ask you to keep an eye on Pocket Alley?"
Shao Qing said, "How could that be! Boss Song entered the palace with the people from the Manufacturing Office, and even the emperor himself couldn’t stop Noble Consort Wan from meeting him! As soon as I heard about it, I arranged everything immediately. Who is Boss Song? In just a few words, he had Noble Consort Wan sorted out. Noble Consort Wan even promised that if there were any difficulties, he could seek her help. It’s just that I thought you would come out very soon, and I was worried that you wouldn’t have a carriage, so I dared not leave."
He added, "Boss Song returned to Pocket Alley. There, he still has Wang Hua attending to him. That young man, having been with Master Jinghu in the Capital City since he was young, everyone in the underworld and literary circles knows who he is, and he’s much more useful than me in the Capital City. Haven’t you also left him for Boss Song to use?"
He said this not without reason.
Previously, when Yuan Yunzhong and Yuan Haoran had an argument, Yuan Haoran, unable to control Yuan Yunzhong, ordered the servants in the house not to serve Yuan Yunzhong. Once, Yuan Yunzhong had to walk back from Hongluo Temple to West Jiangmi Alley. At that time, Master Jinghu was traveling abroad. When Old Grand Master Yuan found out, he scolded both Yuan Haoran and the maids of the Yuan Family.
Only then did Yuan Yunzhong’s expression slightly improve.
He jumped into the carriage with Shao Qing and headed to Pocket Alley.
Jiyun had predicted that he would definitely come, so he had the kitchen save a black chicken fish maw soup for him but closed the Weeping Flower Gate and did not meet him, having Xiang Zhan come out to relay a message, "Since the matter of inheriting the family name through adoption could disturb the emperor, it must have been an ongoing issue. Knowing you had this risk, why didn’t you inform me earlier and allowed me to blunder into it? Fortunately, Noble Consort Wan is easy to talk to. If Noble Consort Wan had insisted on being stubborn and picking one of the young ladies from your family, who were already arranged for marriage, to fulfill the imperial order, what would I have done then?"
"Lord, you should settle your family matters first!"
Knowing he was at fault, Yuan Yunzhong stood dejectedly in front of the Weeping Flower Gate, like a birch tree weathered by wind and frost, and said to Xiang Zhan, "Then tell your miss that I will handle this matter and see her afterwards. Ask her not to be angry."
Xiang Zhan nodded sympathetically.
Yuan Yunzhong walked away disheartened.
Xiang Zhan, unable to bear it, returned to the study and said, "Miss, Lord Yuan mostly had no choice. You see, he did not back down even in front of the emperor, which shows his wholehearted commitment to you. Aren’t you afraid of hurting his feelings by acting this way?"
While Jiyun was writing about the difficulties of the Manufacturing Office, she responded absentmindedly, "Is this my fault?"
Xiang Zhan shook her head vigorously.
Jiyun continued, "If that’s the case, why should I take the blame?"
Xiang Zhan frowned, feeling like her miss made sense but something was still amiss.
Jiyun had already set the matter aside and instructed her, "Go and ask Steward Zheng to come in; I need his help with something."
Xiang Zhan complied.
Zheng Quan, already informed about the matter of inheriting the family name through adoption, entered and said, "Miss, I’ve already asked Wang Hua. He said that the Yuan Family initially intended to have Young Master Yuan adopt a child, and Young Master Yuan was indifferent about it. Later, when Young Master Yuan wanted to marry you, he thought it disrespectful and wrote back, proposing to adopt after marriage for the family’s peace.
"The elders of the Yuan Family feared that, like Lord Xiao Yuan, Young Master Yuan would have only one son, and with Master Jinghu growing old, they feared he wouldn’t live to see his grandchildren grow up. Therefore, they disagreed with this method.
"After returning to the Capital City, Young Master Yuan had several in-depth discussions with Master Jinghu and Elder Yuan, and both elders changed their minds. It was only Madam Wang who felt it unfair to both the Wang and Yuan families and washed her face with tears several times, also visiting Tanzhe Temple to pray, which infuriated Lord Xiao Yuan and led him to defy Young Master Yuan, resulting in this argument."
"Wang Hua told you to rest assured, as long as their young master makes up his mind, Lord Xiao Yuan has never won against him."
Jiyun responded indifferently, "Hmm," and handed him a note she had written, "Go see who is representing Dehua porcelain and Longquan porcelain in entering the Capital. Where are they settled now, and what is their current state? The more details, the better."
Zheng Quan was speechless.
Jiyun emphasized, "The more details, the better."
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