In the middle of the night, the rain had stopped, and the fire in the kiln had stopped as well.
Master Xiao Guo agilely began preparing with his apprentice to open the kiln.
The pearly light of dawn gradually emerging at the horizon was tinged with magnificent colors.
Song Jiyun stood beside the kiln, looking towards the dawn sky and took a long breath of relief.
Zhou Zheng came over and said, "Owner, today is good weather."
Song Jiyun nodded and touched the kiln wall of the bun kiln, "The temperature has already come down; once the people from the Three Departments arrive, we can begin opening the kiln."
"Right!" Zhou Zheng had recently picked up a few phrases of the Capital’s dialect, blurting them out now and then.
He stretched his neck to look over at Song Tao’s bun kiln across from him.
Song Tao was also speaking with her master.
He retracted his gaze and spoke to Song Jiyun about sweet white porcelain, "After this batch, do we also have to fire another kiln of sweet white porcelain?"
The Song Family had previously sent two types of sacrificial porcelain to the Imperial Kiln Factory, one was Dehua porcelain named "Jade Porcelain" by Song Youliang, and the other was the sweet white porcelain newly fired by Song Jiyun.
In his view, since the Song Family Kiln Factory had given up on Jade Porcelain, there was no need to disclose the formula for sweet white porcelain either.
After all, sweet white porcelain was the high-temperature porcelain that they in Jingde Town revered, truly claiming it as their own.
Song Jiyun chuckled softly, "Even if it’s disclosed, there’s no problem."
Using magnet stone to remove the excessive iron content in kaolin clay sounds simple, but exactly how much to remove and how much to retain was something she had consolidated all the master craftsmen from the six workshops of the Song Family Kiln Factory to jointly experiment over a month, firing over fifty kilns before they finalized the technique. Moreover, the temperature must be between 1250 degrees to 1280 degrees, neither higher nor lower, which is not something just anyone can master.
Otherwise, many experts in Jingde Town who knew their family had transported White Mud Qi Clay from Dehua, Fujian, guessed that their sacrificial white porcelain was related to it, but because they didn’t know that White Mud Qi Clay only produces the most beautiful ivory color at temperatures around 1200 degrees, they could only watch their family annually make sacrificial porcelain for the Imperial Kiln Workshop.
She laughed, "How to wash the kaolin clay is the key."
As long as she did not publicize the ratios and temperatures, those people, even knowing it, wouldn’t know how much effort it would take to establish the specific technical process.
"By that time," she continued indifferently, "our family might have new porcelain varieties on the shelf already."
Zhou Zheng was very convinced by Song Jiyun.
He nodded excitedly and hesitantly asked, "Are you planning to bring out alum-red?"
"No," Song Jiyun smiled, "I plan to fire Jihong."
"Ah!" Zhou Zheng exclaimed.
Jihong is one of the most difficult colors to achieve in porcelain; Jingde Town had once successfully fired Jihong porcelain during the Yongle period, but since then, no one has succeeded again.
"Your alum-red is also very beautiful." He thought for a moment and said, "We might well wait until the technology for alum-red is stable before introducing alum-red. Jihong porcelain, I heard, once caused a kiln transformation, and the color was like peeled flesh, very inauspicious."
"Everyone says that being able to fire Jihong porcelain is impressive," Song Jiyun smiled indifferently, "We should have the courage to climb higher and set it as a goal."
Zhou Zheng breathed a sigh of relief.
He was a bit worried that Song Jiyun would insist on firing Jihong porcelain. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶
Song Jiyun, however, felt that the technique for alum-red was not yet stable, so speaking of Jihong porcelain was still premature.
The two chatted, and it was soon noon.
Yuan Yunzhong had been anticipating her opening the kiln; in the previous days, he always came in the evening, accompanying her for dinner and a walk, then seeing her back to the Glazed Factory to rest and leaving himself. Yet today, he arrived by noon and personally went to Yao Ji to buy several boxes of Dingsheng Cakes to set out, saying he wanted to seek a lucky omen.
"Relax!" Song Jiyun comforted him, "We’ve done all we could. If there are still issues under these circumstances, it must mean that even heaven is on her side, and I’ll just have to find another opportunity to deal with her."
"That won’t happen." Yuan Yunzhong confidently stated, "Heaven rewards the diligent; this time, heaven must surely be on your side."
To talk of diligence, her involvement in the porcelain industry was still far from diligent.
Song Jiyun felt a bit guilty.
The Three Departments and the Manufacturing Office, including people like Prince Ning, had all arrived.
There were also a few officials who hadn’t appeared last time.
Those officials were gathered in groups, chatting, and no one paid any attention to Prince Ning; even Eunuch Wan discreetly followed behind Lord Liu from the Manufacturing Office. Those revolving around Prince Ning were all those he had brought himself.
Yet, he appeared leisurely and even pleased, which made her somewhat puzzled.
The crowd of onlookers jostled shoulder to shoulder, clogging up the front gate of the Glazed Factory like a bustling temple fair.
Seeing Song Jiyun looking around interestedly, Yuan Yunzhong quietly introduced a few new officials beside her, "The tallest one is the Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, an Imperial Scholar from the first year of the Zhengtong Era, who was sidelined during the Jingtai era and promoted during the Tianshun Era. Next to him is the Deputy Imperial Censor from the Ministry of Punishments, wearing a peacock patch. He became an Imperial Scholar in the fifth year of the Xuande Era, earlier than the Junior Minister at the Metropolitan Censorate. Since dispersing from the Temporary Imperial Scholar’s symposium, he has always been in the Ministry of Punishments, climbing from Registrar to Vice Minister. The one talking to him is the Deputy Metropolitan Censor from the right. The Deputy Metropolitan Censor and he were of the same year, both from Temporary Imperial Scholar backgrounds, though he started from being an Official in the Six Ministries. He was once in charge of grain in Shaanxi; after his father-in-law, Cabinet Elder Li, retired, he returned to the Capital to enter the Metropolitan Censorate..."
Song Jiyun carefully listened, feeling a sense of awe internally.
Such detailed knowledge, not belonging to a notable family, how could someone know without generations of accumulation.
"How else could one explain how well-informed the news is if not for our Xiao Si!" someone suddenly exclaimed by their side.
Song Jiyun and Yuan Yunzhong turned their heads in unison.
Magistrate Jiang stood smiling not far from them.
"Lord Jiang!" It was like meeting an old friend in a foreign land, Song Jiyun exclaimed with joy.
"I heard that the verdict of your case is due today," he said with a smile as he approached, "so I made a special trip to cheer you on."
He asked, "I’m not too late, am I?"
"Not at all, not at all," Song Jiyun replied with a smile, exchanging greetings with Magistrate Jiang.
By their side, Yuan Yunzhong explained, "He has been transferred back to the Capital City and will serve at the Metropolitan Censorate."
Song Jiyun was quite surprised.
Magistrate Jiang chuckled, "Don’t listen to his nonsense. I’ve just returned to the Capital City and haven’t even reported to the Metropolitan Censorate yet. I am here today purely in a personal capacity to support you."
"Thank you, thank you!" Regardless of why, Song Jiyun was very grateful.
Suddenly, three gavel bangs sounded.
The Chief Judge of the Ministry of Punishments sat behind the temporarily set up bench and announced, "Gentlemen, the time has come. Please take your seats."
To avoid overshadowing Song Jiyun, Yuan Yunzhong retreated to the crowd of onlookers.
The crowd gracefully took their seats in pairs and groups of three.
The Chief Judge of the Ministry of Punishments delivered a few opening remarks before individually asking Song Jiyun and Song Tao, "Is it possible to open the kiln now?"
"Yes!" Both nodded.
Officials from the Ministry of Punishments, led by a minor official from the Manufacturing Office, knocked open two Bun kilns.
A wave of heat washed over them.
The Government Officials and the minor official took several steps back before they began to uncover the kiln.
Soon, the Saggers inside were exposed.
The minor official from the Manufacturing Office directed the Kiln Workers to move the Saggers out.
To the left was Song Jiyun’s; to the right, Song Tao’s.
"Open the Saggers!" the Chief Judge shouted aloud.
Everyone craned their necks.
All of a sudden, the bustling Glazed Factory fell silent.
Even Song Jiyun, who was extremely confident in replicating and firing the "Jade Porcelain," couldn’t help but feel a knot in his throat, his hands tightly wrung together.
Amid the "snap! snap! snap!" sounds of breaking pottery, the ivory-like lustrous white of the Song Family Sacrificial Porcelain "Jade Porcelain" emerged from the rough clay sherds.
Perfectly flawless bowls, as if crafted by some divine being, appeared before everyone’s eyes.
"Is this the Jade Porcelain that the Song Family Kiln Factory rejected? My God! It’s so beautiful!"
"Then how beautiful must that sweet white porcelain be!"
"They don’t want it, but I do! I’m not picky, I want it!"
A wave of exclamations erupted from the crowd.
Song Jiyun breathed a sigh of relief.
He felt that his efforts at the Glazed Factory had paid off, and things were busy on Hong Xi’s side too.
The promotion must have been very effective.
Otherwise, these spectators wouldn’t have uttered such exclamations.
"No, it can’t be!" On the other side, Song Tao let out a shrill scream.
Song Jiyun couldn’t help but look over.
Five bowls per Sagger, three hundred bowls, amounted to sixty Saggers.
On Song Tao’s side, they had already opened half of the Saggers, and all they contained were ceramic shards that failed to form porcelain.
Song Jiyun was stunned.
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