Song Jiyun blinked at him and said, "What do you think?"
Yuan Yunzhong laughed heartily.
A servant boy came in and reported, "Young Master Hong requests an audience."
Hong Xi? How did he find out so quickly that she had left the palace?
Song Jiyun served Yuan Yunzhong some snacks accompanied by tea and said, "I’ll go take a look and be right back."
Yuan Yunzhong nodded.
Song Jiyun went to the small Flower Hall for receiving guests.
Hong Xi was anxiously waiting. When he saw her enter, he looked her up and down as if relieved, and then said, "With Young Master Yuan’s protection, I knew you would be fine."
His voice, how it carried a tinge of bitterness.
Song Jiyun suspiciously looked at his face. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
He appeared normal, gentle, and polite.
She must have heard wrong.
Song Jiyun thought to herself, as Hong Xi had already begun asking about palace matters. This thought flickered momentarily and quickly vanished from her mind.
The fissures within the palace were inconvenient and inappropriate for her to discuss, so she merely shared some simple observations from her time in the palace.
Hong Xi listened with great interest and said, "Hearing you say that puts me at ease." He then comforted her, "The elders often say, those who survive great disasters will receive greater fortunes, you have turned calamity into blessing, and things will definitely go smoothly for you from now on."
"Thank you for your kind words." Song Jiyun exchanged pleasantries with him, and he talked about some progress in setting up his shop, then he stood up to take his leave, "You just got back, and the people from the Three Departments just left, you must be very tired, I won’t bother you anymore. I’ll come visit you again when you’re more settled."
Song Jiyun indeed felt a bit tired, and without insisting, she saw him out personally.
When she returned to the study, Yuan Yunzhong was asleep.
The book in his hand had fallen to the floor, leaning against the large pillow on the Arhat Bed, his eyes tightly closed in serene tranquility. Only the wind quietly passing through the window, slightly trembling the petals of gardenia in the sky-blue plum vase.
A surge of tenderness welled up in Song Jiyun’s heart.
He must have been very tired.
He had rushed back from Mount Tai day and night, went to the palace immediately to plead for her with the emperor, secured a peace charm for her from Hongluo Temple overnight, and had been waiting for the people from the Three Departments to leave.
She leaned over and left a gentle kiss on his forehead, tenderly tucking the blanket around him.
*
The Three Departments had decided to have Song Jiyun prove her innocence at the Glass Factory three days later.
She would need to fire up the kiln and make porcelain.
After sending off the person from the Three Departments who had delivered the official document, Song Jiyun asked Wang Hua, "Do you know what happened to the person who falsely accused me?"
These past few days, Yuan Yunzhong had been busy writing various titles and placards for the emperor regarding the Mount Tai Heaven Worship, sometimes these would be forwarded to the Ministry of Rites or the Guanglu Temple, and the officials from these departments would often inquire further. Once you enter the Yamen, there is no quick escape, and Wang Hua still remained by Song Jiyun’s side.
Song Jiyun had Wang Hua handle tasks outside.
Fortunately, Zheng Quan had been following him these days, showing eagerness to learn and gradually being able to help, which kept him from being too overwhelmed.
"They said they’d let her fire a kiln too when the time comes," Wang Hua said with malicious delight, "using the formula she mentioned. Lord Fu from the Metropolitan Censorate even specifically sent someone to ask Miss Song whether she would be using human bones or cow bones? So that the Three Departments could prepare the bones for her when the time comes."
That statement was quite ruthless.
As for the Lord Fu mentioned by Wang Hua, he was the same eighth-rank official from the Three Departments who had come earlier, dressed in a yellow oriole patch.
Jiyun could not help but laugh, saying, "Did the people from the Court of Judicial Review say he was currying favor with the Yuan Family?"
Wang Hua shook his head with certainty, saying, "I went back and asked Chief Steward Shao specifically, and that Lord Fu really has no relation to our family. He should be having some grievance with the current Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. It is said that Lord Fu’s mentor was the Libationer in the fourth year of Tianshun, and the Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was once a good friend of this Libationer. Later, due to the impeachment over a watchtower collapse, there were rumors that it was the Junior Minister who testified against him. Since this Junior Minister is overseeing your case, it is because of targeting the Court of Judicial Review that people might feel he is standing on our side."
He even took the opportunity to tell her about a few public cases involving the Court of Judicial Review, the Ministry of Punishments, and the Metropolitan Censorate—disputes and enmities among officials over minor matters, no different from quarrels between market women.
Jiyun was so overwhelmed she did not know what to say.
Later, she discussed with Wang Hua, "The reason I want to fire porcelain under everyone’s watchful eyes is, first, to prove my innocence, and second, to let more people in the Capital City know about the Song Family Kiln Factory and the Song Clan’s porcelain, to make our family’s name well known. Naturally, the more people who know about this, the better. Can you think of a way to spread the word all over the Capital City, so everyone comes to watch the action?"
Wang Hua’s eyes lit up upon hearing this, but then he hesitated, saying, "But that would require careful preparation."
If this firing resulted in only three or five bowls, it would be a slap in the face rather than a name boost.
Jiyun smiled, saying, "Don’t worry, my skills in porcelain firing are still decent."
Even though Wang Hua had never seen it with his own eyes and still felt a bit worried despite her assurances, he did not want to dampen her spirits and thus laughed, saying, "The little beggars in town all have leaders, and our grandpa has been giving rice and clothing for years. I know several of these leaders. I’ll have them help spread the word, and everyone in the Capital City will definitely know about it."
Jiyun then went to the workshop on Diagonal Street No. 2 Alley, gathered all the masters, and gave detailed instructions: who was in charge of kiln building from the Changjiang Gang in the Capital City, who was in charge of transporting the clay, and who was in charge of supervising the kiln workers coming to the capital—assigning responsibilities individually. Especially for Master Xiao Guo, who was in charge of supervising the kiln workers in the capital: "I’m most afraid that people will try to sabotage us in these few days, preventing us from firing the kiln. You need to be extra careful. Stay indoors if possible until these few days pass. After that, I’ll give you all several days off to go out and enjoy yourselves. I’ll pay you triple wages then."
The crowd cheered, and one of the kiln workers even said, "Owner, rest assured, I’ll even carefully smell the water I drink to make sure it has no strange taste. No one will get a chance to mess with us."
Everyone burst into laughter again.
Someone even teased that kiln worker, "Have you been drugged with a knockout drug or a laxative? You wouldn’t know if it had a taste."
The kiln worker laughed foolishly, scratching his head, saying, "Anyway, I’ll do whatever Master Xiao Guo says."
Master Xiao Guo scolded with a laugh, "You should do whatever the Owner says. Whatever the Owner tells you to do, you do!"
Everyone laughed again at this.
Amused by the joyful atmosphere, Jiyun left with a smile on her lips for Eunuch Qin’s estate.
She hadn’t yet gone to thank Immortal Baoguang after leaving the palace.
Immortal Baoguang was very pleased to see her, first harshly criticizing Prince Ning and the people from the Three Departments, then saying, "If you hadn’t left the palace, you wouldn’t have seen me again. I’m about to return to Dragon Tiger Mountain. Once I’m back in the Capital City, I’ll come and hang out with you again."
Jiyun felt he was still very reliable, saying, "Don’t worry, the accounts at the Capital City shop are totally clean. Just wait to collect the money when you return to the Capital City next time."
Immortal Baoguang was overjoyed, eager to introduce Eunuch Miao to her, "Eunuch Miao said you are a righteous person, not a penny short of the money you promised him, truly trustworthy!"
"Thank you for thinking so highly of me!" Jiyun laughed, talking about firing porcelain at the Glass Factory in three days, and if he was free, inviting him to boost the event.
Immortal Baoguang, who knew these matters best, patted his chest, saying, "Rest assured! I’ll not only come myself but also bring my brothers along. We’ll definitely make sure the Court of Judicial Review loses face."
"That won’t be necessary," Jiyun said with a wry smile, "Just come to show your support. This is a minor event; it’s not worth your and your brothers’ intervention."
Immortal Baoguang, delighted by her praise, beamed as he saw her out.
But as soon as Jiyun returned home, she was met by a very anxious Zhou Zheng.
"Owner, there’s trouble!" he said hurriedly, "We can’t find any White Mud Qi Clay for firing Jade Porcelain on the market."
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