After all, Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji came from respectable families, and both had appearances that attracted attention. Ye Yaming remembered when she had gone with her father to Lu Guanyi’s residence to collect the tea cakes, and his servant had guarded against her as if she were a thief.

If Madam Wu became suspicious and thought the Ye family had used them to force Song Yifeng to break the engagement so that Ye Yaming could marry Lu Guanyi or Qi Ji, their cooperation would likely fall apart.

Therefore, Ye Yaming gave Old Madam Ye a very forced smile.

This appearance, in Madam Wu’s eyes, was that of a young woman who, though sad and upset, was pretending to be strong in front of others. She immediately felt full of pity.

“Grandfather, may I keep the engagement dissolution document myself?” Ye Yaming walked up to Ye Chongming and asked softly.

Ye Chongming looked at his granddaughter with sympathy and handed her the document that had been placed in a paper tube: “Certainly, you keep it.”

Ye Yaming handed the paper tube to Bai Rui, then bowed deeply to Madam Wu: “Thank you, Madam Wu, for coming today to be a witness for me.”

“Good child.” Madam Wu took her hand with compassion and patted it, saying, “The bad must go before the good can come. That Song fellow wasn’t a good match. Breaking the engagement will only benefit you, not harm you. Don’t be sad, alright? Tomorrow, let your grandmother find you a good match.”

Ye Yaming had come just to make an appearance and thank Madam Wu. Worried about revealing her true feelings, she didn’t dare stay long. She said a polite word to Madam Yu’s nanny as well, then took her leave.

Madam Wu also indicated she would depart.

Old Madam Ye had already had gifts prepared—a generous one for Madam Wu and a slightly lesser one for Zhang Yuniang. The two women couldn’t decline despite their protests and left the Ye residence with the gifts.

Upon returning home, Madam Wu told Master Tutor Wu about the day’s events and then asked, “What have you found out about Song Yifeng? Was it truly his desire to break the engagement, or was it the Ye family’s scheme?”

The day before yesterday, when they went to dine at the Ye family’s home, they had coincidentally encountered Song Yifeng coming to break the engagement—this seemed too coincidental. Master Tutor Wu, being a private advisor to officials, was accustomed to thinking thoroughly about matters. Concerned that he and his wife might be used by the Ye family to create trouble for Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji, he had sent people to investigate the matter as soon as they returned yesterday.

Master Tutor Wu said, “I’ve looked into it. That Song Yifeng, ever since he passed the provincial examination and became a Juren, has looked down on the Ye family for being merchants. His mother, Madam Yu, has repeatedly disparaged the Ye family and the third Miss Ye while chatting with neighbors.”

“Song Yifeng’s exceptional scholarship has earned him Imperial Academy Instructor Wang’s admiration. Instructor Wang has expressed regret multiple times at gatherings with friends about Song Yifeng being engaged, saying that if he weren’t already promised, he would certainly take Song Yifeng as his son-in-law.”

“Hmph,” Madam Wu sneered. “He’s certainly opportunistic. But taking such a person as a son-in-law, doesn’t he fear that one day Song Yifeng might treat him the same way he’s treating the Ye family?”

If he admired Song Yifeng so much, she couldn’t believe that Imperial Academy Instructor Wang wouldn’t know that Song Yifeng had been financially supported by his future in-laws to study and pass the provincial examination.

Master Tutor Wu shook his head, not wishing to discuss Imperial Academy Instructor Wang further.

He asked, “Based on your observation, does the Ye family have any unrealistic ideas about Young Master Lu and the Third Young Master?”

Madam Wu shook her head: “They shouldn’t. After Song Yifeng left, I inquired with Old Madam Ye about how they planned to arrange the third Miss Ye’s marriage. I also mentioned that if needed, I could help find suitable matches.”

She said this not genuinely to help find matches, but to probe the Ye family’s intentions.

“Old Madam Ye said that her second daughter-in-law was injured during the birth of her second daughter and couldn’t bear any more children. The second branch of the family has no son, and the Ye family doesn’t have a tradition of taking concubines. So, as the eldest daughter of the second branch, now that the third Miss Ye’s engagement has been broken, she will remain at home to bring in a husband. They will help the third Miss Ye find a husband who will marry into their family.”

Hearing this, Master Tutor Wu felt relieved and smiled: “That’s good. As long as they don’t set their sights on the two young masters, we can help them if possible.”

Madam Wu nodded: “I quite like the third Miss Ye. When I attend gatherings tomorrow, I’ll make sure to spread the word properly about that Song fellow.”

“This matter needs to be handled quickly,” Master Tutor Wu said. “If Imperial Academy Instructor Wang truly betroths his daughter to that Song fellow, and then we speak of this, it would be like slapping Instructor Wang’s face.”

Although Master Tutor Wu was Qi Zhipei’s advisor and didn’t need to worry about Wang Wenzhi’s opinion even without an official position, Wang Wenzhi was still Qi Zhipei’s colleague. Officials tend to protect each other, and it wouldn’t be good for them to cause conflict between the officials over outside matters.

Madam Wu understood this principle and nodded: “As it happens, in a few days there will be Old Madam Li’s birthday banquet. I’ll speak with everyone then.”

“But if we favor the Ye family like this, when news of Young Master Lu and the Third Young Master’s cooperation with the Ye family spreads, people’s evaluation of us might not be favorable,” she added.

News of Lu Guanyi, Qi Ji, and the Ye family’s cooperation was still unknown because it was too recent. Once they interacted more frequently and the tea and tea sets were marketed, her and her husband’s actions today would be seen as evidence of their currying favor. They might face criticism then.

Master Tutor Wu dismissively said: “Since becoming the advisor to the Prefect, I’ve faced envy and sour remarks from countless people. Those who passed the palace examination but could only secure seventh or eighth-rank minor official positions, who have to greet me with smiles and pleasant words because of the Prefect’s face, harbor untold contempt and jealousy towards me in their hearts.”

“If I truly cared about all this, I wouldn’t be able to do anything. And taking a step back, even if I did nothing and was just a lofty scholar or a reclusive country gentleman, people would still mock me for being incapable and talentless, having studied for so many years without securing even a minor official position.”

Madam Wu felt relieved: “Only the mediocre escape envy. Besides, in Song Yifeng’s case, we’re seeking the truth based on facts without fabricating lies, so we have nothing to be ashamed of. Truthfully speaking, Lord Wang should thank us. Without us, he would have had no choice but to marry his daughter to such an ungrateful wretch.”

Master Tutor Wu nodded: “That’s exactly right.”

…

In the Ye residence, Ye Chongming and Old Madam Ye were also discussing how to deal with Song Yifeng next.

The engagement had been broken, but they weren’t satisfied unless Song Yifeng was thoroughly discredited. After all, the Ye family had been taken advantage of and had even given Song Yifeng several hundred taels of silver.

But this matter had always been handled by Ye Yaming, and despite their curiosity, Ye Chongming and Old Madam Ye didn’t feel it appropriate to ask her what to do next.

Ye Yaming naturally had a backup plan, which was why she had asked Zhou Xiang to inquire about the detailed situations of Zhong Ming and Wang Wenzhi.

If Lu Guanyi, Qi Ji, and Master Tutor Wu’s efforts didn’t achieve the desired effect, she would arrange for Zhong Ming to inadvertently hear about Song Yifeng’s actions, preferably when Wang Wenzhi was also present.

Unexpectedly, Master Tutor Wu was quite zealous. The very next day, he invited some friends to dinner and brought up the matter of Song Yifeng during the meal.

Normally, the idle ruffians and hooligans under Zhou Xiang couldn’t enter and gather information at such an official’s banquet. However, Zhou Xiang was remarkably resourceful and somehow managed to discover what Master Tutor Wu and the others had discussed during the dinner.