Song Jiyun stood under a large tree, the canopy above her blocking out the sun.
She stood there expressionlessly, watching the group of men in black deftly tie people up and watching the man kneeling before Yuan Yunzhong speak to him softly, her mind racing.
Who was Yuan Yunzhong, after all?
How had he contacted these people? And when had he contacted them?
If he could contact these people, why hadn’t he left her home? What was his purpose?
Song Jiyun watched as Yuan Yunzhong approached her with a usual expression.
His long legs, straight shoulders, sharp gaze, and the nobility emanating from his brows were no different from usual.
She felt a bit of a headache coming on.
If she confronted him, could she bear the consequences?
Song Jiyun thought of those crossbow arrows gleaming in the sunlight and sighed softly to herself. Pretending to know nothing, she smiled, pointed at the group in black, and said to Yuan Yunzhong, "Even though you know them, they did save us after all. How much reward money should we give to avoid being impolite?"
Her words carried care, but more so, they were a declaration.
Yuan Yunzhong did not answer, but silently looked at her.
She stood calmly, not avoiding his gaze, letting him size her up.
He suddenly smiled and said, "You needn’t worry about the reward."
Then he pointed to the woods not far away and said, "Let’s go this way. We’ll see the postal road in less than a Shichen Chinese Time."
Song Jiyun looked in the direction he pointed.
The group of men with crossbows had already left silently, and several men with swords were tying up the group that had been chasing them.
It was the man who had just been speaking with Yuan Yunzhong, standing by with his hands hanging down, looking like he was waiting for instructions.
Seeing her look over, he smiled at her.
The man was not only tall and handsome but also had a clear and upright gaze, which was imposing and made one feel favorable towards him.
Such an outstanding person, but only a servant of Yuan Yunzhong!
She smiled politely at him, nodding as a greeting, then retracted her gaze and smiled at Yuan Yunzhong, "Alright! I’ll follow Young Master Yuan’s commands."
After saying that, she turned and walked ahead.
Yuan Yunzhong watched her composed figure, paused his steps a moment, then quickly caught up, casually saying, "We are fiancé and fiancée, it should be so!"
Song Jiyun suddenly stopped and turned around to look at him, her gaze sharp.
What did he mean?
She was playing dumb, and he was getting addicted to it?
Did he plan to continue to impose himself in her house?
What in their house was worth his lingering?
She examined him and slowly said, "So, the young master wants to be the Eldest Brother-in-law of the Song family’s second branch!"
Deep in Yuan Yunzhong’s eyes, a layer upon layer of amusement slowly appeared.
He gradually moved closer to her, "What? Miss Song can’t just use and throw away!"
His bright gaze stared directly at Song Jiyun’s clear eyes, their noses almost touching, his thin lips near her red lips, he finally stopped, smiling, "We have our parents’ orders, the matchmaker’s words, and a marriage contract as proof." 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
"Oh?!" Song Jiyun smiled widely, yet did not step back, her crisp voice lowered, light as a bird leaping through the trees, "That’s not impossible!"
She even slightly raised her head, with only a finger’s width between her lips and his, she said, "However, to be the Eldest Brother-in-law of the Song family, the first requirement is to obediently listen to the Great Aunt’s words."
Her breath was fragrant, their breaths seemed intertwined, "Do you think you can do it?"
Yuan Yunzhong’s hand, which was hanging by his side, paused briefly, his gaze on Song Jiyun’s face became more inquisitive.
Song Jiyun playfully blinked at him, showing no fear of his closeness.
Yuan Yunzhong swallowed.
After a moment, he straightened up and scoffed, "Since when does the Song family have such a rule? Surely Miss Song didn’t just decide this on the spot?"
"Deciding on the spot isn’t bad!" Song Jiyun looked at him with a cheerful gaze, "After all, who allows me to be the head of the Song family’s second branch? ’Autocracy’ and ’Changing orders by the evening,’ if a head of the family doesn’t have this bit of freedom, where is the fun in being the head of the family?"
Their gazes collided in the air.
Yuan Yunzhong said, "Aren’t you afraid of ’setting a beacon fire’?"
Song Jiyun replied leisurely, "I would actually like that, but no one is offering me such drama!"
Yuan Yunzhong turned away with a swish of his sleeve.
From a distance, Shao Qing was dumbstruck.
Their young master was actually rendered speechless by a retort?
Having served Young Master Yuan since childhood, Shao Qing had never witnessed such an event.
Should he tell the Old Master when he returned?
Shao Qing looked at Song Jiyun with admiration, hurried forward, and bowed respectfully, calling out "Miss Song."
He knew her?
That meant Yuan Yunzhong had made contact with his people quite early on.
Song Jiyun subtly raised an eyebrow but kept her expression unchanged, smiling as she asked, "And how may I address you?"
The man glanced at Yuan Yunzhong before stammering, "I dare not. My family name is Shao, with the given name Qing. You can just call me Shao Qing."
Song Jiyun pretended not to notice his small gesture and continued smiling as she asked, "Are you the one leading the way for us?"
This time, Shao Qing didn’t look at Yuan Yunzhong and cheerfully responded, "Yes! I have a strong sense of direction. Once I’ve walked a path, I’ll remember it for a lifetime."
Song Jiyun suddenly switched the topic back, asking, "Why do you refer to Young Master Yuan as ’master’?"
Shao Qing looked cautiously at Yuan Yunzhong, then somewhat tremulously replied, "I was once an attendant student by the young master’s side."
"Oh!" Song Jiyun responded, already somewhat numb, "And about those people chasing us, what are you planning to do?"
Shao Qing laughed heartily, "Leave them to the local yamen to deal with."
Local?
That was a very official tone, uncommon among ordinary people.
She pondered for a moment, then smiled and asked Yuan Yunzhong, "Young Master Yuan, since we are returning to Liang County, shall we make a trip to the Yamen? We are, after all, the victims here."
Song Jiyun wanted to gauge Yuan Yunzhong’s reaction and also wished to learn the identities of those pursuing her sooner.
At the kiln factory, they were about to start firing the sacrificial white porcelain.
She needed to clarify whether these people had any connection to the sacrificial white porcelain.
Yuan Yunzhong walked ahead of her, saying indifferently, "You are the real victim!"
Song Jiyun smiled, "Then you won’t accompany me to the Yamen?"
Yuan Yunzhong ignored her.
Shao Qing thus dared not speak either.
Fortunately, they didn’t have to walk much further on the post road before they encountered Liu Zi, leading Zheng Quan and others.
"Miss!" Zheng Quan ran over excitedly, almost in tears.
Liu Zi was also chirping excitedly beside him.
Only then did Song Jiyun truly feel safe.
"We’re all right!" Song Jiyun hastened to reassure Zheng Quan and told him what had happened. Zheng Quan exclaimed in surprise, "Zhao Family Village? I have never heard of that village!"
Not wanting to provoke suspicions, she said, "According to those people, the trees they cut belonged to Old Master Hong. Liang County has only one prominent Hong family residing at the end of our street. What if this wild kiln is connected to them? Let’s see who is chasing us before deciding."
If it has no connection to that wild kiln, this matter could be put aside temporarily.
She would sort out the kiln factory matter first.
Zheng Quan hesitated to speak.
Song Jiyun held her forehead and said, "By not telling me, do you think I can just ignore it?"
Zheng Quan guiltily whispered, "Last night, the storage room for the sacrificial white porcelain was burglarized, all the clay for making the sacrificial white porcelain was destroyed!"
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