Song Jiyun was puzzled.
"You don’t know?" Immortal Baoguang said with suspicion, "Wei Wei has been impeached by Chen Yue!"
Wei Wei, surnamed Wei, should have some relation to Wei Jie.
However, she had heard the name Chen Yue for the first time.
Song Jiyun said, "Who is Wei Wei? And who is Chen Yue? Why do I sense from your tone that Chen Yue impeaching Wei Wei is somehow related to Young Master Yuan?"
Immortal Baoguang looked at her with a somewhat resentful gaze and said, "Wei Wei is Wei Jie’s father. Chen Yue is an Imperial Censor at the Metropolitan Censorate, and he and the Yuan Family’s eldest son, Yuan Jingnian, are of the same graduating class."
"Are you saying Young Master Yuan told Chen Yue to impeach Wei Wei?" Song Jiyun couldn’t believe it, "Young Master Yuan couldn’t possibly act so recklessly!"
Everyone knew of the rift between him and the Wei Family, so how could he possibly have an acquaintance impeach Wei Wei?
"You seem to trust him quite a bit," Immortal Baoguang said with a complex look in his eyes, "Chen Yue and Yuan Jingnian do not get along; they have had several disputes over official matters. He has had disapproving remarks about several generations of the Yuan Family holding office in the Capital City. Your Young Master Yuan, I don’t know by what means, has convinced Chen Yue that Wei Wei was corrupt in office and arranged for him to personally find the evidence of Wei Wei’s excessive levying of taxes."
He continued with heartfelt regret, "My father even warned me not to get involved in your affair with the Yuan Family, and not to accept your payment. The work my brothers and I did was for nothing!"
That is to say, it was Immortal Baoguang and his brothers who had spoken on her behalf to the Empress.
"Don’t worry about it!" Song Jiyun hurriedly said, "One thing at a time. There’s no such thing as not accepting payment for work done. I’ll give it to you quietly, and you can just accept it quietly."
"No way!" Immortal Baoguang suddenly became adamant, in stark contrast to his previous greediness, "My father has said, there are so many people waiting to see him fall on hard times. If I don’t listen to him, I might as well wait to be devoured by others!"
Song Jiyun was embarrassed and hastily had Zheng Quan fetch two cases of gold ingots to give him, saying, "Take it for a spot of tea."
Immortal Baoguang firmly refused to accept them, only saying, "Remember you owe me a big favor! When my father says it’s okay, you’ll have to acknowledge my help and repay me."
"Certainly, certainly," Song Jiyun assured, sending away Immortal Baoguang, then quickly called in Wang Hua to ask if he knew what was going on?
Wang Hua shook his head repeatedly and said, "I’ll go find out."
Song Jiyun didn’t stop him.
He didn’t return until early the next morning, looking somewhat embarrassed as he said, "The impeachment of Wei Wei indeed has something to do with our Young Master Yuan."
It turned out that the Wei Family had taken the initiative to propose a marriage alliance with the Yuan Family.
Initially, Madam Wang was afraid that Yuan Yunzhong would act recklessly without regard, unwilling even under his parents’ pressure, which could have affected Miss Wei’s reputation. However, Madam Wei personally came to the Capital City and even brought her daughter to see Madam Wang, persuading her that children’s marriages are traditionally the command of parents and the proposition of matchmakers. "You only have Yunzhong and you spoil him too much," she had said.
Madam Wang’s heart was moved by her words. After consulting with Yuan Haoran, they decided to exercise the parents’ authority and forcibly betroth Yuan Yunzhong to Miss Wei.
Wei Jie had even come forward to pressure Song Jiyun, as if he was afraid the marriage arrangement would fail.
Yuan Yunzhong felt something was strange.
It was through Yuan Jingnian’s classmate, who was a Magistrate in Shandong, that he finally found out that Wei Wei had served under the Civil Administrative Commissioner for nearly twenty years without a promotion. Wei Wei had not spared any effort in brokering connections with the Ministry of Personnel. Yet, whether out of bad luck or some other reason, he always fell short of success. Seeing that he was reaching the age of understanding Heaven’s will, he realized that without effort, he would likely remain a local official for life.
After inadvertently hearing about the Yuan Family’s circumstance, he began to scheme.
Thus originated his proactive move to pursue a marital alliance with the Yuan Family.
Wang Hua hastily explained, "But, our Young Master definitely did not wrong him. It was his own greed that was not satisfied; he insisted on this marriage, so the Young Master decided to teach him a lesson."
Such a person deserves to be treated with his own tricks.
Song Jiyun waved her hand and said, "I understand." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
Then she continued with her drawing.
The issue with Wei Wei, however, grew increasingly serious.
Since he began privately levying taxes in Shandong, it turned out that he colluded with many officials there to smuggle private salt... It could be said that during his years as the Shandong Administrative Commissioner, half of the officials in the Shandong government had been dragged into the mire by him. Those who had not been implicated by him were sidelined to an insignificant position.
"The Emperor is furious," Zheng Quan informed her. "Chen Yue, having reported the crime, is riding high these days and is said to be getting a promotion."
The officialdom abhors standing out.
Especially standing out for having toppled someone else’s table.
Song Jiyun asked, "Has anyone linked this matter to Young Master Yuan?"
"I haven’t heard about that," Zheng Quan replied. "I’ve been hanging out in the tea houses the past few days listening to the gossip. Everyone’s saying Chen Yue is like Bao Qingtian, but no one mentions Young Master Yuan or the Yuan Family."
That was good news.
Song Jiyun breathed a sigh of relief.
But who would have known that upon her visit to Diagonal Street No. 2 Alley, her carriage would be stopped.
"Is this Miss Song?" The man who approached was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, of average height, but standing straight as an arrow, with large hands like fan palms, and bulging veins, clearly someone trained in martial arts, "Our master wishes to see Miss Song."
Zheng Quan positioned himself in front of Song Jiyun and asked, "May I know the name of your master?"
The man was courteous and replied with a smile, "Miss Song must be familiar with him. He is your fellow townsman, Prince Ning."
Song Jiyun frowned, recalling what Prince Ning had done in Jingde Town, and looked around.
They were on the main street leaving the capital, bustling with passersby, apart from a few stout Protectors by the carriage, everyone else appeared to be ordinary citizens.
It was evident that Prince Ning did not dare to act rashly in the Capital City.
Song Jiyun sat upright and said, "Men and women shouldn’t interact too closely. I’d rather not meet with Prince Ning. If Prince Ning has any message, he can simply have someone convey it to me."
The man’s face showed a slight change.
Laughter erupted from the carriage ahead, and a man shaking a folding fan descended from the carriage with the aid of his attendants.
"Miss Song!" He looked her over with his fan. "A reputation falls short of meeting one in person, Miss Song truly has a radiant beauty. No wonder Yuan Yunzhong flew into a rage over a beautiful woman, causing officials in the Capital City to tremble, with none daring to seek marriage with the Yuan Family any longer."
He gave Song Jiyun a thumbs up: "Miss Song, you really are a heroine among women, a true exemplar of courage."
Such praise as ’a heroine among women’ was originally from Magistrate Jiang as a compliment to her.
Now, used by him here, it was nothing more than a threat, indicating he not only knew her background but also what had happened before.
But Song Jiyun remembered even more clearly how he had used her safety to entrap Yuan Yunzhong in jeopardy.
She chuckled, replying neither too kindly nor too harshly, "I don’t deserve your overpraise. Young Master Yuan does have a bit of a temper, fond of resolving issues with a drawn blade on impulse. Please do bear with him more."
Her words were a reminder not to forget how he was driven out of Jingde Town by Yuan Yunzhong.
Indeed, his face darkened.
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