Song Jiyun and Hong Xi both looked towards the door.
Outside the door, seven or eight carriages were parked, and more than a dozen servant boys were unloading burlap sacks from the carriages, hoisting them over their shoulders and carrying them by hand.
Wang Hua said excitedly, "Miss, our young master found a way to get White Mud Qi Clay for you from the Five City Armed Forces Office."
Song Jiyun looked at Yuan Yunzhong, shocked.
Yuan Yunzhong said indifferently, "The issue with your scheme must have been the doing of Prince Ning. He has no use for the White Mud Qi Clay after collecting it. I just had someone inquire about it, and it turned out to be the work of people from the Five City Armed Forces Office. So I had Wang Hua take my name card and pay a visit to the Five City Armed Forces Office, and he bought back all the White Mud Qi Clay that Prince Ning had them scavenge."
"Ah!" Song Jiyun exclaimed.
This was essentially drawing the fire from under the cauldron, as the saying goes, success and failure depend on the same man. She fiercely slapped Prince Ning’s face with this move.
"Thank you, thank you so much!" she said to Yuan Yunzhong, beaming with joy.
Yuan Yunzhong’s eyes and brows did not show the slightest movement, still maintaining his indifferent demeanor, and he said, "There is no need to talk about two families in one house. This is, after all, what I should have done."
Song Jiyun thought there was sense in his words.
She nodded with a smile, looking at the White Mud Qi Clay that Hong Xi and Yuan Yunzhong had brought, feeling that not to mention one firing, it was enough for a hundred or even a thousand firings. She couldn’t help but joke to herself, "I could even open another kiln to fire Dehua porcelain."
"That is not impossible," Yuan Yunzhong said, looking at her with tender eyes. "It is said that Hunan also has Liling Porcelain. We could take a look someday if we have a chance."
Song Jiyun nodded again, smiling.
Yuan Yunzhong’s gaze then fell on Hong Xi, "Young Master Hong, regardless, I should still thank you for helping Boss Song at the critical moment."
He discussed with Song Jiyun, "I think we should set a day to have a meal together, ten days after the opening of your shop! You should be less busy by then, and it would be a good opportunity to celebrate the opening of your shop."
Song Jiyun couldn’t help but laugh, "Are you so confident that my shop will sell well?"
Yuan Yunzhong smiled, "With Young Master Hong helping you, it will definitely succeed."
"That’s true," Song Jiyun also had great confidence in Hong Xi.
But Hong Xi felt as if his heart were wrapped in fish gall, bitter and astringent.
Who made it so that he, calculated by his own grandfather, had become a mere chess piece? Even if he wanted to compete with Yuan Yunzhong, he had lost the best opportunity. Sometimes, a person’s life is just like that; once you lose something, you can never find it again.
Putting aside the fanciful thoughts hidden in his heart, he took a deep breath and said with a smile, "Fine! When the time comes, I will strive hard at the Glazed Factory, and you strive hard in the shop. We can definitely stir up a huge wave in the Capital City’s porcelain industry and reshuffle the deck."
His unbridled spirit, so free and easy, was especially striking.
Song Jiyun smiled demurely.
*
Making porcelain is a very tedious and boring affair.
The biscuit ware sits in the kiln to fire, with the kiln mouth sealed, and it needs to burn for several days. Other than stoking the fire, there’s nothing else to do.
Who has the time and interest to just watch the fire being stoked for days on end?
Song Jiyun’s ostentatious self-vindication was intended to make a name for Jingde Town Porcelain, Song Family Porcelain Factory, and her soon-to-open "Yinyu Hall" porcelain store. If she could draw the attention of the whole city to this place, and not retain their interest in the end, wouldn’t that be a futile effort?
Because the newly built kiln needed to dry in the shade for two days to prevent sudden heat-induced cracking, after consulting with the Three Departments, she had people from the Changjiang Gang go to the Colored Glaze Factory two days in advance.
There were citizens who had heard about this matter and didn’t believe it, but when they passed by and saw people starting to build a kiln at the entrance of the Colored Glaze Factory, it was indirectly acknowledged that the Three Departments were holding a trial here concerning the lawsuit against the owner of the Song Family Kiln Factory. And since both the defendant and the plaintiff were women, the buzz of discussion grew even louder, as did the number of people who wanted to come and watch the excitement.
On the day of the trial, Song Jiyun rushed there early in the morning, from Zhengyang Gate there was such crowding of people upon people, squeezing so much that carriages and sedans couldn’t move at all.
Song Jiyun couldn’t help but silently feel grateful that she had heeded Yuan Yunzhong’s advice the night before and had switched to a sedan for travel.
Zheng Quan had a hard time getting her to the Glazed Factory, which was already surrounded by layers of people, completely impenetrable.
If it weren’t for the maintenance by the Shuntian Prefecture and the Five City Armed Forces Office, she, as the defendant, would have had no way to get in.
Luckily, the crowd there to watch the spectacle was kept outside the Glazed Factory, and once inside the grand hall of the Glazed Factory, only the government officials, the defendant, the plaintiff, and the legal advisors were present.
This was the first time Song Jiyun had seen Song Tao since their last encounter at the Temple of the Wind God.
She wore a peach-colored brocade vest with branch folding flowers, her dark hair loosely held up in a fallen horse bun with a gold pendent, with lotus seed-sized pearl earrings dangling beside her ears, surrounded by gemstone haloes, magnificent and splendid. Only she had become thin and severe, with waxen skin and sunken eyes, her expression one of exhaustion, standing there listlessly, as if she had been struck with a severe illness. Compared to the Song Tao that Song Jiyun remembered, she seemed to have aged ten years.
Song Jiyun frowned slightly.
Song Tao’s gaze had already turned toward her.
It was as if oil had been thrown upon ashes with but a few remaining sparks, which suddenly ignited.
A scorching light burst forth from the depths of her eyes, her cheekbones faintly flushed as she gnashed her teeth and murmured "Song Jiyun."
Song Jiyun didn’t hear, as they were somewhat distant.
Following the advice of her previous life’s image management consultancy team, she wore a bright blue Hangzhou silk garment with a subtle pattern of plum and bamboo on such a significant occasion; the white lining at the neckline and the simple pearl accessories on her ears set off her naturally beautiful face with particular grace and poise, dignified and steady, letting people clearly sense her seriousness and cautiousness.
"Your Excellences," she respectfully saluted, her skirts still, "This humble woman is of the Song Clan."
The several chief judges all nodded slightly, the impression she made upon them quite friendly.
As for those outside who were excited to watch, they were buzzing with various opinions.
"When the defendant hadn’t appeared, I felt that the plaintiff seemed pitiful, surely having suffered a great injustice. But now that the defendant has arrived, the difference in status is clear! Although the defendant is also pretty, she looks like a hardworking and honest person. On the other hand, the plaintiff seems flashy and not like she’s here for a lawsuit but rather like she’s out for a stroll!"
"Indeed. I hadn’t felt it until you mentioned it, but now that you have, the more I look, the more it seems true."
"Maybe it’s just the pettiness of a woman, seeing the defendant inheriting the family business and making money, she might have felt unbalanced, and that’s why she filed the lawsuit."
"I heard that the plaintiff is also the defendant’s cousin, so it really could be the case."
The voices of speculation came in sporadic bursts, causing Song Tao’s face to pale slightly.
Prince Ning, who was seated beside her to observe the trial, glared at Song Tao with evident disdain and contempt flashing in his eyes.
Song Jiyun took no notice of these things.
She was assessing the jury members.
Apart from the officials from the Three Departments and the junior officials, emissaries Chen and Liu from the Manufacturing Office, Registrar Wang from the Kiln Factory, and even Wan Xiaoquan, the Supervisor of Pottery from the Imperial Kiln Factory, were present.
One of the chief judges from the Ministry of Punishments cleared his throat, slammed the gavel loudly, and declared, "Silence! We are here to hear the case of Song Jiyun, a common woman from Jingde Town, Jiangxi, against her younger cousin, owner Boss Song from the Jingde Town Song Family Kiln Factory, who is accused of using vile materials to produce sacrificial porcelain intended for tribute. The trial begins now."
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