Song Jiyun was the first to submit her work.
Lord Liu took it and glanced through it, twelve drawings, eight of which were flowers, while four depicted human figures. The eight floral ones were all various styles of intertwined branches, complex and gorgeous in design. Each of the four human figures featured Children at Play, with every chubby three-head-tall toddler so naive and endearing that a single glance could captivate anyone’s heart.
Song Jiyun, still fearing dissatisfaction, attached an additional twelve alternatives and brought over a wooden box, smiling as she said, "I was afraid the nobles in the palace might not see these clearly, so I’ve also produced the actual items."
Lord Liu’s expression became somewhat subtle.
Selections have always had a lot to do with the preferences of the person in charge.
His good relations with the Ji Family meant he would certainly help them devise strategies.
He had no way to inquire about the Empress Dowager’s preferences, but he managed to use his connections to reach the nephew of a palace maid favored by the Empress Dowager; that person dared not speak much, only informing him that the Emperor currently favored Noble Consort Wan, and the lack of children weighed heavily on the Empress Dowager’s mind.
Together with the Ji Family, they had thought long and hard, and in addition to lucky patterns and flowers, they also included two Children at Play paintings.
It was evident that the Song Clan was a person of significant depth.
Lord Liu was secretly somewhat regretful.
If she could stand out as a woman in the male-dominated world of porcelain, he should have known that her intellect, tactics, and strategy were extraordinary.
He had underestimated her in the past.
Lord Liu became serious and, not daring to tamper with the process, collected all of her drawings according to the regulations and sealed them in a drawing tube.
As for the box of actual items, he said, "When the time comes, I will report them as they are. If needed, I will bring them over; if not, then I will return them to you."
Song Jiyun repeatedly expressed her thanks, "Thank you very much."
The pieces she fired were, of course, all of exquisite quality. In principle, if the nobility in the palace did not wish to see them, she could have easily sent them to Lord Liu through proper channels. However, she did not trust these intermediaries, afraid that they might "misidentify" or "accidentally take the wrong ones" or "break them." Even if Lord Liu did not offer to return them to her, she would demand they be returned.
Moreover, after getting them back, she could still give them to Lord Liu; it would not be appropriate to appear too generous before the selection process had even begun by saying she did not want them back.
Lord Liu then held up his teacup.
Song Jiyun tactfully stood up to take her leave.
However, as she was walking out, she caught a glimpse with the corner of her eye, noticing several wooden boxes under Lord Liu’s desk, likely containing valuable items.
She smiled faintly.
If she had guessed correctly, those were probably the items brought over by the Ji Family.
Nonetheless, she was not discouraged.
She had taken all the necessary anti-counterfeiting measures she could; if something unexpected still occurred, she would have to find another way to strive for her goals.
As she was leaving the Manufacturing Office, suddenly someone called out to her, "Boss Song, please wait a moment!"
Song Jiyun followed the voice.
She saw Deng Yun supporting Deng Datong as they walked over from around the corner of the Manufacturing Office.
"Boss Song, I am ashamed, so very ashamed!" Deng Datong, not yet close, was already bowing continuously with a face full of shame towards her, "It is my poor supervision that led my nephew to be blinded by vanity, to lose sight of right and wrong for a moment, and to do wrong."
He stopped about five or six steps away from her and bowed deeply: "I have come specifically to apologize to Boss Song. I hope Boss Song will be magnanimous and not take his actions to heart too much."
Having finished speaking, his face darkened as he pushed Deng Yun forward and rebuked him, "Aren’t you going to kneel and apologize to Boss Song."
No longer the fierce man he used to be, Deng Yun became as docile as a lamb and fell to his knees in front of her with a "thump," repeatedly kowtowing, "Boss Song, I was possessed by devils, thinking that once Jingde Town was out of the picture, it would be Dehua porcelain’s turn to rise. I was wrong, I was so wrong!"
The Manufacturing Office staff, passersby, either peered curiously or stood by discussing the matter.
A surge of anger rose in Song Jiyun’s heart. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
Yet she was the type to become quieter in the face of conflict. Although her heart burned fiercely, she kept a composed expression, quickly moving to the side and said to Deng Yun and his nephew, "What are you doing? Get up, get up! If there’s a problem, let’s talk. With you kneeling like this, I’m completely at a loss for what’s happened."
You wanted to put me on hot coals, didn’t you? Now I’ll let everyone listen to what you’ve actually been up to.
Deng Datong’s gaze wavered.
Had it not been for their groveling and bribing Lord Liu’s staff officer with a hefty sum, they wouldn’t have learned that the Yuan Family stood behind Song Jiyun.
If they couldn’t win, it was best to concede early.
"Boss Song, he did something wrong and should be punished. Don’t spare him; let him kowtow to you properly and realize his mistake," Deng Datong said with a righteous tone.
Song Jiyun scoffed inwardly, but her face showed only bewilderment as she responded, "Master Deng, you keep saying your nephew is wrong, but I’m still confused about what he did. He’s of an age to be a father; making him kowtow to me in public robs him of all his dignity. Although you’re his uncle, making such decisions without consulting the clan elders might not be appropriate, especially in public."
Deng Datong struggled to maintain his composure.
Usually, when they did something like this, the other party would either feel embarrassed or not want to make an enemy, so they would hastily help the person up or hurry to reconcile with them.
But this Song Clan was entirely different.
Song Jiyun’s eyes showed a hint of frost as she watched him.
Deng Datong’s heart skipped a beat, realizing that Song Jiyun saw through his scheme.
His expression darkened slightly as he overheard someone commenting, "What’s happened here? Such a harsh punishment? Even for murder or arson, they wouldn’t go this far. This is a bit too excessive, stripping away all their dignity."
One voice was particularly grating, "They say Deng Datong of the Dehua porcelain Deng Family has no clue about social grace except for making porcelain. I used to doubt it, but it appears to be true. His nephew is unlucky to have such an uncle. Whatever the issue, couldn’t it be discussed quietly? To confront someone on the street and embarrass them throughout the Capital City..."
Someone then asked, "What did his nephew do? I didn’t catch it. Does anybody know what’s going on?"
Zheng Quan showed a rare moment of quick-wittedness, speaking up loudly, "Master Deng, our owner is right. Your family tried to monopolize our workshop and even threw snakes into it; we’ve reported it to the authorities, and they’ve dealt with it. Even if your nephew is at fault, it should be for the clan elders or the yamen officials to judge. This approach is highly improper."
He then took a stab at Deng Datong, "No wonder everyone calls you ’Porcelain Fool.’ Your porcelain making is top-notch," he gave a thumbs-up, "but you’re hopeless at handling these affairs. Maybe someone from your family should come and manage things for you!"
Deng Datong’s face turned green with anger.
Song Jiyun, however, disregarded all this, smiled apologetically, gave a small bow to him, and assisted Zheng Quan onto the carriage.
"Miss Song!" called a man’s voice after her.
Song Jiyun inwardly frowned.
Today, one after another, they all seemed to enjoy confronting her in full view of the public.
Pretending not to hear, she boarded the carriage.
"Miss Song!" The man calling out to her caught up, raising his voice a few notches, "My name is Wei Jie, I’m a childhood friend of Yuan Yunzhong."
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