Song Jiyun stepped forward, gracefully performed a courtesy to Ninth Master Song, and said, "You have traveled a long way, please first have a cup of tea in the hall. The matter of Song Li is not urgent, he is detained with someone guarding him, he cannot escape anyhow."
Ninth Master Song seemed somewhat displeased and insisted on seeing Song Li, "Without seeing that scourge, I cannot be at peace!"
Song Jiyun, however, insisted that Ninth Master Song first take a seat in the hall, "It’s not that I’m not letting you meet him, just have a cup of tea first."
In the end, Ninth Master Song relented and went to the hall.
Song Jiyun personally served him tea and instructed a young maid to serve some refreshments before explaining the situation from beginning to end. Finally, she looked at him and said, "Song Li claimed that all his actions were at your instigation!"
Ninth Master Song was astonished and retorted, "Impossible!"
"I also did not expect it," Song Jiyun calmly took a sip of tea and continued, "But Song Li argued convincingly. When he spoke with you, what instructions you gave him, he detailed everything so credibly that one can hardly disbelieve!"
Ninth Master Song slowly suppressed his anger and stared intently at her as if by doing so, he could spot a flaw in her words.
Song Jiyun allowed him to stare and continued to drink her tea nonchalantly, "At first, he didn’t want to tell me. But I told him that if he didn’t, I would sell his wife, children, and apprentices overnight. I’m not having a good life anyway, and I won’t let anyone else have one either!"
Ninth Master Song flicked his robe and sat down slowly, sarcastically saying, "How so?"
Song Jiyun was stunned before she understood what he had said.
There are still such shameless people in the world!
She reevaluated Ninth Master Song and slowly said, "The clay was ruined, the blanks were trampled, aren’t you going to give me an explanation?"
"I see you’ve been having a smooth time lately, perhaps getting a bit reckless," Ninth Master Song sneered with a look of disdain, "Who am I? A scholar of Liang County, a Clan elder of the Song Clan, you want me to explain—go to the governmental authorities to sue, I am a scholar, you are a commoner, I stand while you kneel; open the ancestral hall, I am a clan elder, you are an unmarried woman, I stand inside Fengxian Hall, you stand outside. Seems like you no longer wish for the clan’s support!"
He glanced at Song Jiyun out of the corner of his eye.
The light of dawn gradually appearing in the sky shone on the bluestone steps of the hall, giving off a moist sheen.
The window lattice of the room where Song Li was held also gradually brightened from the east.
A young maid came to deliver breakfast to Song Li and others.
The guard outside joked with the young maid, "Why so early?"
The young maid smiled and said, "Later we need to serve breakfast to the Young Miss and Ninth Grand Master. If it’s not delivered early, who will have time to bring it to you later?"
A few of the guards laughed, "So we are a nuisance, better to eat early and get it over with! This little sister is really blunt."
The young maid apologized sweetly, "This food container is for the people locked inside. Would you brothers please help me open the door?"
"Opening the door is out of the question!" the guards joked with the young maid, "But we can help you take it inside."
The young maid was frantic, "Nanny instructed me to personally deliver it. I’m afraid I’ll be punished if she finds out you did it."
The guards joked with her some more before finally letting her inside.
She entered with the food container, obviously relieved, and greeted Song Li warmly, "Master Song, it’s all the food you like. Our kitchen steward personally instructed it, I tasted it, and it’s all very delicious."
Song Li looked up at the young maid upon hearing this.
Being locked up here, even if the people from the Kiln Factory did not hate him, they would keep their distance.
Yet this young maid was so friendly towards him!
Song Li gave a casual response and had the young maid wait outside with the food container. He quietly removed the silver hairpin from his head to try it out, found nothing wrong, and continued to eat his breakfast while pondering over the earlier matters in the hall.
It seemed that Song Jiyun had been fooled by his words and would likely direct her anger towards Song Sanliang.
He should be able to get out of here easily.
Yet Ninth Grand Master was eating at the same table with Song Jiyun. Could these two be in cahoots?
"What about him then?"
The breakfast was a bit salty, Song Li thought, and couldn’t help but pick up the teapot beside him and pour a cup of tea.
This side room was empty, not even a bed, let alone a place to sleep. He couldn’t even find a teacup to drink tea.
The tea was from the food box he brought.
He drank the whole pot of tea in one breath. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
But once he finished drinking, his stomach suddenly clenched in pain, causing him to break into a cold sweat and collapse to the floor.
There was not a sound from the guards outside.
Song Li’s mind went blank, and then he began to shout, "Help!"
Still, no one paid attention to him.
He held his stomach, curled up, and continued to shout "Help!" while his heart churned tumultuously.
The breakfast specially brought, the caring maid, the unguarded side room... someone was trying to silence him by killing him!
His eyeballs turned a stark red.
He couldn’t die, he couldn’t let those people get their way.
"Someone come!" he shouted loudly, "I need to see the young mistress! I have something to discuss with her about the Sacrificial White Porcelain!"
*
In the hall, Song Jiyun casually set down the tea cup in her hand and sighed, "Ninth Grand Master is getting old after all, his memory is not as good as it used to be! Being a Scholar isn’t for life, don’t they need to take recurring exams every year? And the Clan elder, don’t even mention, as long as the generation is right, anyone can be replaced at any time.
"As for the clan’s support, do you have any idea why there was so much commotion when my father died? Do you really have the gall to talk to me about clan support?"
Ninth Master Song’s face stiffened.
How did Song Jiyun know about the Scholar’s recurring exams?
A maid ran in and whispered in Song Jiyun’s ear.
Song Jiyun first appeared utterly surprised, then turned her gaze toward Ninth Master Song, her eyebrows raised sharply as she stood up swiftly, pointed at Ninth Master Song, and said, "I never expected you to be such a person! On one hand, you come to me to discuss Song Li’s matter, and on the other, you secretly send someone to poison Song Li. If it weren’t for timely discovery, Song Li would have been dead! Your heart is really poisonous!"
She shouted loudly for "Zheng Quan," saying, "Song Li has been poisoned by Ninth Grand Master’s man; it’s a matter of life and death, hurry and report to the governmental authorities."
"What are you talking about?" Ninth Master Song exclaimed loudly, "Song Li was poisoned by my people? Impossible! I don’t even know the people at the Kiln Factory!"
As he spoke, he grabbed the maid: "Tell me clearly, what exactly happened?"
He had property, a wife and children, a reputation, how could he easily engage in such illegal activities?
The maid trembled, saying, "It, it was Master Song himself who said it. He said you poisoned him."
Ninth Master Song was instantly consumed with urgent worry, thinking it useless to keep questioning the maid, and with a swish of his robe, he rushed towards the door.
But he was blocked at the door by Zheng Quan.
Song Jiyun’s voice came from behind him, slightly leisurely, "Ninth Grand Master, where do you think you’re going? You are a suspect in the poisoning of Song Li, you cannot leave here!"
Ninth Master Song inhaled sharply.
"It was you!" he turned around furiously, "You plotted against me?"
"I plotted against you?" Song Jiyun, furious, said, "There’s the cook, the maid, Song Li, they all insist it was you who administered the poison. Now, you better think about what leverage Song Li might have over you, because when you meet the authorities, you’ll need to explain this to the governmental officials."
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