In the Water Pavilion, Yuan Yunzhong covered the cup with his hand and rejected Song Daliang's offer of drink once more.
Ninth Master Song secretly nodded his head, thinking that Yuan Yunzhong's refusal to drink was a mark of respect towards Song Youliang, and he was very satisfied with his behavior. On the other hand, he found Song Daliang, who kept drinking and pouring drinks to entertain the guests, rather displeasing.
After all, Song Youliang was his brother of the same mother.
He couldn't help but scold Song Daliang, "You should drink less too!"
Song Daliang chuckled awkwardly, staggering to a seat next to Ninth Master Song.
"Listening to Ninth Grand Master!" he said and looked towards Yuan Yunzhong sitting across from him. He felt that he should not have listened to Yuan Yunzhong earlier in taking the seat of honor to entertain the guests but should have sat next to Yuan Yunzhong instead.
"Son-in-law!" he called out to Yuan Yunzhong with a thick tongue, "You say, Lord Li, that is, Li Jin, Lord Li, you do not know him, but his brother-in-law, and your elder brother are from the same imperial examination cohort. So, your elder brother, is he a Juren or an Imperial Scholar?"
Before his words fell, the Water Pavilion was so quiet that one could hear the murmuring of the water beneath the floorboards.
Yuan Yunzhong thought for a moment and said, "I am not quite sure. I don't know if it's a direct brother-in-law, or just someone with the same surname claiming to be a brother-in-law. I will need to write to my elder brother and ask."
"You should write, you should write!" The Great Master looked at Yuan Yunzhong as if he was seeing a shining golden baby, "You just settle down here. If the Zeng Family dares to cause trouble, not to mention myself, even the clan elders present here would not agree to it!"
Yuan Yunzhong indifferently took a sip of water.
A servant boy brought in a chilled bowl of lotus seed soup.
However, after bringing the dish, that servant boy quietly stood by the floor-length screen without leaving.
The previous servant boys who brought dishes all left as soon as they were done.
Suddenly there was one who didn't leave, and Yuan Yunzhong couldn't help but glance at the boy.
That servant boy seemed very well-behaved, keeping his eyes low and his thoughts inward, trying his best to reduce his presence.
Abnormal occurrences denote something sinister.
Yuan Yunzhong looked at Zheng Quan, who stood like a wooden post under the eaves, and a thought flickered in his mind as he toyed with the wine cup in his hand.
Only then did he notice that they were using a set of alum-red, lotus-patterned porcelain.
Even the Imperial Banquets in the palace only had porcelain of this kind.
Yuan Yunzhong raised an eyebrow, still hesitating as he said to Song Daliang, "It's just that the Zeng Family is after all..."
Song Daliang spat out and said, "Their family just wants to take advantage of ours."
He certainly couldn't mention the matter of breaking the basin, so he brought up an old matter from the past: "Back when our father had just passed away, the three of us brothers were all still young. My uncle also owned a kiln factory, and my mother handed our kiln factory over to my uncle to manage. That turned out well, every year our family lost money, to the point it nearly forced the sale of the kiln factory. Meanwhile, my uncle's family prospered more and more each year, becoming wealthier than us, even wanting to use their money to buy our kiln factory."
Ninth Master Song felt this was a family disgrace and couldn't help glaring at Song Daliang. He composed himself with a mild expression before saying to Yuan Yunzhong, "Are you worried that it will be hard to clarify things later? What do you mean? Do you want the eldest daughter of the second family to marry during her mourning period?"
Upon hearing this, Song Daliang didn't wait for Yuan Yunzhong to speak, and hastily said, "That's also an option. Didn't the Zeng Family say the same, that after marrying, she could continue the mourning as usual?"
Yuan Yunzhong glanced sideways at Song Daliang and said to Ninth Master Song, "I intend to take this marriage certificate to the Yamen to make an official record."
By doing so, the marriage would be set in stone, more respectable and secure than any marriage that took place during a mourning period.
Initially, Ninth Master Song had some doubts about whether Yuan Yunzhong knew Lord Li, but now he had none at all.
If one did not have a government official among his family elders, who would be willing to frequent the Yamen?
He clapped his hands and said, "Good! This is the best course of action. In the future, if anyone dares to falsely claim this marriage, we can send them to the Yamen."
Yuan Yunzhong's lips curled into a slight smile.
*
In the small tea room of Madam Zeng's courtyard, Song Jiyun also had her meal.
Following the principle of "no talking during meals, no talking in bed," everyone sat according to their hierarchical age, and the occasional sound of porcelain clinking momentarily disturbed the quietude, only to enhance the solemn stillness of the small tea room.
A young maid hastened in and whispered in Song Jiyun's ear.
Song Jiyun set down her chopsticks, without any attempt to conceal her words, "Wasn't it said to be attending to the sick? Bringing in meals like that, what is going on? You go and tell her, when the old lady is about to wake up, someone will relieve her for meals, and that she should take good care of the old lady."
It was probably not Song Sanliang and his wife who were hungry, but her grandmother!
The people lifted their gaze towards her, yet no one spoke a word.
The young maid acknowledged the instruction.
Nanny Zheng stood outside the curtain, giving Song Jiyun a meaningful glance.
Song Jiyun put down her soup spoon, stretched out her hand, and immediately, a maid handed over a wet handkerchief.
She wiped her hands and stood up, "Shall I step out to see what the matter is?"
Madam Qian nodded.
Song Tao's gaze followed her as she went out.
Through the delicate bamboo curtain, Song Jiyun and Nanny Zheng stood beside the jade hairpin flowers in the courtyard talking.
The blossoms of the jade hairpin flower, pure white as jade, filled the branches, like clusters of snowflakes under the light.
But one couldn't make out the expressions of Song Jiyun and Nanny Zheng.
"What is she up to?" Song Jiyun murmured softly.
Nanny Zheng seemed a bit weary, "I don't know! Ding Xiang found Old Lady Liao, saying she was curious about what kind of person Young Master Yuan is and asked Old Lady Liao to find a way to help inquire about him. Old Lady Liao did not dare to decide on her own and came to me specifically for advice."
Song Jiyun uttered an "Oh," coldly, "Then help her inquire."
"I was thinking the same," Nanny Zheng replied, "Afraid of startling the snake by hitting the grass, I have already given the instructions. Zheng Quan will also help keep an eye on it."
Song Jiyun nodded and stood by the jade hairpin flowers for a while before returning to the small tea room.
A young maid was speaking with Madam Wang, "Third Madam says the old lady is not well, and she is somewhat panicked. You are older than her and have experienced more, so she asks that you hurry over to help check on the old lady."
Upon hearing this, Madam Wang got up, dropping her chopsticks and bowl.
Song Tao quickly grabbed her mother and said to the young maid, "You go back and tell Third Madam, Doctor Huang is waiting in the Baoxia. If even Doctor Huang can't take good care of her, then my mother, who neither knows medical skills nor understands pharmacology, wouldn't dare to go and look."
She added, "If Third Madam cannot make a decision, she could ask Ninth Master Song. He, being a scholar, has much more decisiveness than us women secluded in the inner courtyards."
The young maid struggled to suppress a smile, bowed, and replied with an "as you wish," then retreated.
Song Tao turned to Song Jiyun with a smile, her expression revealing a sense of vindictive relief, and she greeted her, "Younger Sister Yun, you're back. Did Nanny Zheng look for you about anything important?"
Song Jiyun assessed her without changing her expression.
A jade-colored cordyceps flower gauze beizi jacket, a moon-white Hangzhou silk skirt with picked-out stitching, the dark hair tied up with a white jade hairpin, adorned with a small row of jasmine flowers, with pearl earrings dangling from her ears, casting a lustrous glow. It was elegant yet lively, fitting for a young girl.
No different from usual.
So where was the change?
She replied indifferently, "Nothing important, just discussed the arrangements for tomorrow."