That night, Jiang Wan told Song Ziyu about it.
"Buy something from Linglong Pavilion?"
Song Ziyu looked at her suspiciously, her eyebrows almost furrowed together.
He had a falling out with Mr. Qingwu in the past, so it would probably be difficult for him to do business with him again now.
But everyone knows that Minister Pan of the Ministry of Personnel is a man of integrity, and even powerful figures in the capital cannot win him over. Now that there is an opportunity to befriend him, it would be foolish to give it up.
"Is it really what the Minister's wife said herself?" he asked.
He was wary of Jiang Wan, fearing that there might be some trap involved.
Jiang Wan observed his expression, but did not try to persuade him further. She made a move to stand up and said, "It's fine if the general doesn't believe me. Anyway, I've already conveyed the message. If you're unwilling to help, I will go and report back to Madam Sun."
"That won't do!"
Song Ziyu quickly stopped her and readily agreed.
"Tell Madam Sun to be patient and wait a while. I will do my best in this matter."
Minister Pan doted on his beloved wife, Lady Sun, but she had been childless for many years. Every year, he would invite the most skilled gynecologists from the Imperial Hospital, but to no avail. The desire for a child had become a source of great anxiety for the couple.
This matter is not a secret; a little inquiry will reveal the truth.
After asking around, Song Ziyu had already believed most of what Jiang Wan said. He felt this was a good opportunity and had been thinking about how to visit Mr. Qingwu for the past two days.
With the help of Minister Pan, his reinstatement is just around the corner.
But there are people who are even faster than him.
In the main courtyard, Gu Yurong pushed open the door to Song Lin's study.
Song Lin quickly stepped forward: "Well, has Mr. Ji Jiu replied?"
Gu Yurong nodded, took out a letter from her sleeve, and the mother and son opened it and quickly read it once.
Two days ago, Song Lin spent three taels of silver to bribe a nanny at Luhetang and went to Xingzhiyuan in the name of the old lady. Under the pretext of delivering tea and snacks, he overheard the conversation between Jiang Wan and Sun Shi and a few others.
Naturally, they also wanted that purple jade Buddha statue to curry favor with the Minister's mansion.
Song Ziyu didn't know any江湖人 (jianghu people), but Gu Yurong had a Mr. Ji Jiu. Although the two had become quite distant since Gu's mother was imprisoned, Ji Jiu readily agreed to act as a matchmaker, as it was a simple matter.
"Great! Linglong Pavilion is willing to sell this Buddha statue!" Song Lin was thrilled.
Gu Yurong was reluctant: "But this price is too high, thirteen thousand taels of silver, isn't that just asking for the moon?"
Having just extorted money from Song Ziyu, she was reluctant to part with the money and didn't want to live a comfortable life.
Song Lin thought for a moment and said, "It's normal for a treasure blessed by Master Jinghui to be expensive. You should reply to Mr. Ji Jiu and tell him that we want this purple jade Guanyin."
Even though Gu Yurong was heartbroken, for the sake of the bigger picture, she could only nod and sit down at the table to write a letter.
Song Lin pondered to himself.
He had just received 10,000 taels of silver a few days ago and was planning how to make a move when this opportunity came along. It was such a coincidence that someone might have orchestrated it.
Moreover, since Jiang Wan is involved, we must be even more cautious.
That woman is very cunning; he must not fall into her trap.
He said to Gu Yurong, "Don't rush to send the letter. Tomorrow, go to the palace to pay your respects to the Imperial Concubine and sound out her opinion."
Sun's confidante, Shang, was Consort Yun's cousin from her maternal family. Consort Yun must have heard about the situation in the Minister's mansion.
The next morning, Gu Yurong sent her visiting card to the palace, and did not return until late afternoon.
Song Lin and the others were anxious: "Why did it take so long?"
"The Imperial Concubine said that Minister Pan loves his wife dearly, and if he can win over Madam Sun, he will make an exception and promote her."
Gu Yurong rushed back, parched with thirst. She drank a cup of tea before speaking.
"After sitting with the Imperial Concubine for half an hour, I heard that Jiang Wan had also gone to the Empress's palace. The Imperial Concubine sent a maid to inquire about the situation. I was also suspicious of the reason why Jiang Wan entered the palace, so I sat for a while longer."
"Fortunately, we stayed a little longer. I heard that the Empress rewarded Jiang Wan with a box of things. The maid named Biluo took it and left the palace first. The Consort sent someone to pretend to bump into her and saw through the gap in the box lid that it was full of gleaming silver."
Gu Yurong chuckled.
"How desperate is she for money that she has the audacity to ask the Empress for it? It's shameful enough if word gets out."
Song Lin frowned upon hearing this.
Biluo is Jiang Wan's confidante. What matter requires her to leave the palace first? It seems that Jiang Wan not only needs money, but the matter is also urgent.
Could it be...?
Jiang Wan wanted to buy the purple jade Guanyin statue first and give it to Sun Shi?
"Mother, quickly send someone to deliver the message." Song Lin said decisively without further hesitation, "We must not let someone else get there first!"
Gu Yurong gritted her teeth: "But last time the income was only ten thousand taels, and we have to pay the remaining three thousand taels ourselves. I'm afraid we'll have to empty our savings. How are we going to survive..."
"There's no time to hesitate."
Song Lin was resolute.
"Once the child gets a good official position from Minister Pan, will we still have to worry about not being able to earn back this money!"
At this time, in the Empress's palace.
Jiang Wan was sitting in front of the couch, peeling the lychee shell with her delicate hands.
The lychees, newly transported from Lingnan, are soaked in ice, making them cool, sweet, and refreshing—perfect for summer.
Seeing that she liked it, the Empress had some more served: "It's a good thing you came to the palace today, otherwise I wouldn't know what to give as a birthday present for Atang next month."
"That old craftsman in the capital specializes in making miniature weapons. His craftsmanship is superb, and the princess will surely like them. However, it takes a long time to make, and the deposit is quite high."
Jiang Wan said.
"It was originally my duty to show respect to Your Majesty. How could I possibly accept your money for such a trivial matter?"
The Empress smiled: "How could I let you spend money on the gift I gave to Atang? Atang is clever and quirky, and ordinary women's preferences won't catch her eye. You've already helped me a lot by coming up with this good idea."
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