So, this fan pendant was Song Jiyun’s way of making an apology to him!
Yuan Yunzhong’s eyes twinkled slightly as he slowly took the pouch from her hand.
"Thank you, Miss Song," he said.
The peach-pink Hangzhou silk made his slender fingers look even more lustrous and fairer than the jade itself.
Song Jiyun’s gaze involuntarily lingered on them for a few moments.
Yuan Yunzhong opened the pouch, and two small deep brown wooden carved fishes, strung with bright red silk thread, fell into his fingers.
The fishes, about the size of a finger joint, had their scales, dorsal fins, and tails carved so vividly that they seemed to come to life. One of the little fishes arched its tail as if to leap into the air, the other raised its head and opened its mouth as if to break the water’s surface. The distinctive grain of the agarwood added ripples of golden circles to the carving, like water flowing over their bodies, exuding an exquisite and elegant beauty.
"Leaping over the dragon’s gate!" exclaimed Yuan Yunzhong, raising his eyebrows.
Song Jiyun said with a smile, "I hope Young Master Yuan will like it."
Having acquired both literary and martial arts, selling to the imperial family.
Such was a fine blessing for scholars.
Yuan Yunzhong’s fingers curled around the scarlet threads, swinging the little fish in the air.
"Agarwood fan pendants go best with ebony or brown bamboo round fans," he remarked. "Unfortunately, as autumn approaches, we need to switch to folding fans adorned with gold rivets or inlaid with tortoiseshell and ivory."
What did he mean by that?
Song Jiyun’s eyes widened in surprise.
Yuan Yunzhong, however, chuckled lightly, closing his fist and clasping the two little fishes in his palm.
"Nevertheless, I have seen gold-sprinkled multicolored rice paper at Yinyu Hall," he continued. "It would make for a fine fan surface. We could use the agarwood to make the handle for a folding fan, which could also be suitable."
He put the two wooden carved fishes back into the peach-pink pouch and stood up to search for the gold-sprinkled multicolored rice paper on the curio shelves.
Lowering her head, Song Jiyun smiled with pursed lips.
The gold-sprinkled multicolored rice paper was a tribute item, and her family had several rolls of it left by her maternal grandfather.
"I’ll help you!" she said, rising and walking toward the curio shelves.
But she accidentally knocked a stack of Xuan paper piled on Yuan Yunzhong’s desk to the floor with a "thump."
Hurriedly bending down to pick them up, she noticed one of the spread-out papers was painted with twining branch flower, cloud dragon, and lotus designs.
"What’s this?" she couldn’t help but unfold the Xuan paper and ask Yuan Yunzhong, "Have you seen the patterns the Imperial Kiln Factory brought over this year?"
Yuan Yunzhong glanced at it from afar, and with indifference, he responded with a casual "Oh," as he took down a camphorwood box from the top of the curio shelf, selecting a few sheets of gold-sprinkled multicolored rice paper: "I saw it at the Kiln Factory and simply sketched it out."
Recalling the water stain remaining on the blue and white porcelain brush washer when she entered, Song Jiyun smiled, picked up the stack of papers, and placed the one with the drawings on the desk, saying, "This pattern you drew is wrong."
When she first became involved with porcelain, she also showed a great interest in those beautiful patterns.
Yuan Yunzhong looked quite surprised and quickly walked over.
Song Jiyun decisively took a brush, dipped in ink, and began to add beside his drawings: "The twining branch flower includes not just lotus but also peonies and chrysanthemums. Moreover, it’s only after every lotus and peony that a chrysanthemum is added. You drew the lotus and peony, but you missed the chrysanthemum."
Without her pointing it out, Yuan Yunzhong wouldn’t have noticed at all.
He stood silently by her side, watching her draw.
Her fingers were pale yet plump, with neatly trimmed nails, unabashed by vermilion, revealing pink fingertips, clean and neat, evoking fondness in the observer.
Her hair was ebony and glossy; her forehead was clean and full, with a widow’s peak.
Her eyes were large and round, with thick and long lashes casting a shadow over her eyelids.
Her nose was straight and prominent, her lips red and plump like a blooming rose, looking exceptionally vibrant.
Especially her expression, earnest, focused, composed... possessed the calm and ease only found in those with a profound understanding.
He was momentarily transfixed.
His mind flashed between the haughty look she gave him when he was drugged and looking down at him, and her greenish knuckles under the moonlight at Zhao Family Village.
"Look, is this not the pattern you saw at the Kiln Factory?" Song Jiyun’s voice, tinged with a smile, suddenly came from beside him, "I don’t know what got into the Imperial Kiln Factory’s head to match twining branch flowers with cloud dragon patterns..."
Her voice stopped abruptly as a warm and soft sensation brushed his lips.
Yuan Yunzhong was startled and instantly turned to look.
The warm, soft touch was against his lips.
He saw Song Jiyun’s surprised face.
Her eyes as clear as autumn waters were wide open, reflecting his image.
And the rose fragrance lingering around her nose enveloped him overwhelmingly.
His mind buzzed, uncertain of where he was.
Song Jiyun was similarly stupefied.
She was absorbed in her painting, completely unaware of Yuan Yunzhong’s presence, not to mention when he had come so close to her with a slight bend at the waist. When she turned her head, their faces "brushed" past each other.
Fortunately, she was not a sheltered young lady confined to a life of seclusion.
As long as she wasn’t embarrassed, the embarrassment would belong to someone else.
She pretended nothing was amiss and prepared to take a step back.
However, Yuan Yunzhong unexpectedly turned his face towards her.
His lips grazed hers...
The warmth of his breath darted across her face, sending tingling sensations that made her scalp tingle.
Song Jiyun instinctively reached out, intending to push away the person before her.
But then came the "squeak" of a door, and a man’s cheerful voice filled the room, "Miss Song, I prepared some longan and red date tea for you, which nourishes the blood. It will help you sleep if you drink it at night."
Without thinking, Song Jiyun, in a panic, pushed Yuan Yunzhong away.
Yuan Yunzhong was suddenly pushed and couldn’t help but stagger backward.
But as a martial artist, he quickly regained his composure after two steps back and immediately steadied himself.
Yet the person who entered was only concerned with protecting the tray in his hands, adorned with gold on red lacquer and carrying a small blue and white bowl. He continued to walk inside and laugh, saying, "Just now, the Second Madam sent over a basket of fall tangerines. Their fragrance is elegant and pure, but they taste quite sour."
Both their gazes involuntarily shifted toward the newcomer.
The person who came in was Shao Qing.
Shao Qing suddenly found himself the focus of their intense gazes, and his voice dwindled to a murmur, "Such fall tangerines are best made into honeyed kumquat paste..."
Meanwhile, his heart pounded like a drum.
What’s going on?
Why were their young master and Miss Song standing side by side, only an arm’s length apart, one expressionless, the other solemn, both looking at him as if surprised and making the atmosphere so tense as though he had walked into the wrong place?
Could they have been arguing?
That shouldn’t be the case!
Back at the Kiln Factory, their young master was helping Miss Song with the firing, and now Miss Song had come to visit their young master so late.
He couldn’t help but look again at Yuan Yunzhong and then at Song Jiyun, his tone becoming involuntarily cautious, "After the Start of Autumn, it can be taken out to moisten the lungs and clear dryness..."
Having lived two lifetimes, Song Jiyun had never encountered such a situation before.
She knew she still revealed a bit of discomfort.
"I never expected Young Master Shao to be so knowledgeable!" she hastily joined the conversation with enthusiasm and stepped forward to take the tray from Shao Qing’s hands, hoping to gloss over the matter.
Shao Qing quickly glanced at Yuan Yunzhong.
Seeing Yuan Yunzhong standing there straight as a rod, with his eyelids slightly drooped, concealing his emotions, and one hand behind his back,
Shao Qing nearly jumped.
There really was a problem!
He didn’t know what kind of person Song Jiyun was, but having served Yuan Yunzhong since childhood, he did know about one of Yuan Yunzhong’s habits: whenever faced with a situation he couldn’t quickly decide upon, he would stand with his hands behind his back and practice divination in his sleeve with his ’swallowing gold’ technique to remain calm and rational.
He couldn’t resist glancing at Yuan Yunzhong again, while continuing to engage Song Jiyun in conversation, "I’ve learned this from the elders at home."
He even lifted the tray in his hands a bit higher, saying, "Miss Song, you’ve been working too hard these past few days. How could I let you do this yourself? Let me do it, I’ll take care of it!"
As he spoke, he placed the tray on the square table in the middle of the Zen chair, saying, "Please try it, see if you like it!"
He had only heard about the hardships of kiln firing, but after spending a few days at the Kiln Factory, he now truly understood just how demanding the work was. The sincerity of his words made it difficult for Song Jiyun to brush him off lightly.
"I’m already used to it!" She didn’t mince words with Shao Qing and let him hand her a cup of longan and red date tea, "Once the order from the Imperial Kiln Factory is finished, the pressure will be much less."
"Does that mean you can rest for a few days?" Shao Qing asked.
"There are still other matters at the Kiln Factory; there’s never a time to rest," Song Jiyun replied, secretly contemplating distancing herself from Yuan Yunzhong. Perhaps in a few days, everyone would forget about this incident.
She simply mentioned the plan to visit the Hong Family to express her thanks the next day.
Shao Qing was very surprised and quickly glanced at Yuan Yunzhong again.
Yuan Yunzhong stood in front of a desk, looking down at the drawings that Song Jiyun had just made.
Song Jiyun didn’t notice Shao Qing’s actions and continued speaking, "Regardless of whether the clay material was used or not, the Hong Family did put in effort, and it’s only proper, both morally and rationally, that I personally go to express my thanks."
"Indeed!" Shao Qing agreed, "After all, we all live in the same neighborhood."
But before he could finish speaking, Yuan Yunzhong’s voice suddenly rang out in the room.
"That’s enough!" he said, "You’re visiting the Hong Family tomorrow. If there’s nothing important, let’s all disperse early!"
He looked impassive, speaking evenly as though nothing had happened.
That was a relief!
Song Jiyun let out a long breath and immediately stood up to take her leave.
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