After Song Yifeng left, Ye Chongming came over from next door. Qi Ji indignantly said to Ye Chongming: “They say you can see the greater from the smaller, perceive the whole from a glimpse. Song Yifeng is such an ungrateful person—gratitude and righteousness are worthless to him, so how can he speak of loyalty to the ruler? The scholarly atmosphere in Linan should be purified…”

Master Wu suddenly coughed, interrupting Qi Ji’s indignant words.

Although Qi Ji’s father was a prefect, scholars fell under the jurisdiction of the Director of Education and ultimately the Minister of the Imperial Academy. Qi Ji’s words were quite inappropriate; if spread, they would not only fail to solve the Ye family’s problem but would also create trouble for Prefect Qi.

Lu Guanyi, who had remained silent, spoke up: “Master Wu, you must frequently attend poetry gatherings and literary meetings in Linan, right? You must know many provincial examination candidates. When the time comes, Master Wu should tell your friends about Song Yifeng’s true nature. It wouldn’t be good if people failed to see through him and were deceived.”

“Yes, yes, yes,” Master Wu immediately clapped his hands and said, “That’s exactly what I was thinking. Young Master Lu’s thoughts align with mine perfectly.”

Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji were cooperating with the Ye family and had already dealt with Meng Chengwei; now facing a mere ungrateful provincial examination candidate, they naturally wanted to do the Ye family a favor and take their side.

And as Prefect Qi’s master adviser, he naturally had to side with the Ye family against Song Yifeng. Now that Lu Guanyi had pointed this out in front of the Ye family, he was letting them acknowledge this favor.

This Young Master Lu’s emotional intelligence was truly worlds apart from his own young master’s.

Ye Chongming and the others were delighted to hear this.

Ye Chongming bowed deeply to Master Wu: “I express my gratitude to Master Wu in advance.”

“Haha, no need for such formality. Mainly, I cannot stand how this Song fellow conducts himself. We scholars have studied the works of the sages extensively and should be more reasonable than others. How can one be ungrateful and still put on such a despicable face? It’s simply embarrassing for us scholars. My actions are to support justice and also to prevent the scholars of Linan from being deceived by Song Yifeng’s hypocrisy.”

“Regardless, we are deeply grateful to Master Wu,” said Ye Chongming.

Ye Yaming, who had been keeping her head down all this time, now stood up and bowed to Master Wu: “Yaming thanks Master Wu for standing up for me.”

Master Wu was surprised and quickly waved his hand: “No need for such courtesy; it’s a small matter.”

Ye Yaming raised her head and said earnestly: “However, for me, the most important thing is to break off the engagement. Although it’s impolite, I still want to ask if Master Wu could wait until after my engagement is broken off before telling others about Song Yifeng’s behavior. Would that be possible?”

“Of course, of course,” Master Wu quickly replied. “Your reminder is very necessary.”

These outsiders certainly hadn’t considered things as thoroughly. If they inadvertently mentioned it and Song Yifeng learned of the Ye family’s cooperation with the Marquis’s son and the Prefect’s son, he would surely stick to them like glue, impossible to shake off.

It should be known that Wang Wenzhi was merely a Director of Education, an eighth-rank official. Administratively speaking, he was properly a subordinate of the fourth-rank Prefect Qi Peicai.

With such connections, Song Yifeng would cling to them like a treasure, never letting go, not to mention Qi Ji, the son of a fourth-rank prefect from a prominent family.

He added: “You’re right. The most important thing now is to break off the engagement. Miss Ye, with your refined nature and kind heart, Song Yifeng isn’t worthy of you. It’s best to break off the engagement with such a person as soon as possible.”

As he spoke, he turned to Ye Chongming and said: “Elder Ye, after you’ve broken off the engagement with the Song fellow, please send someone to inform me.”

“Good, good. Thank you, Master Wu,” Ye Chongming bowed again.

Ye Yaming returned to her seat.

Qi Ji enthusiastically said, “Miss Ye, don’t worry. Not only will Master Wu tell those jinshi and provincial examination candidates about that Song fellow, but I’ll also have my mother tell those officials’ wives. That Song fellow is in such a hurry to break off the engagement with you, who knows which family he’s trying to associate with. When the time comes, I’ll make sure he ends up empty-handed.”

After speaking, he slapped the armrest and said angrily: “For a woman as outstanding as Miss Ye, that Song fellow must be blind not to cherish you.”

Master Wu had been serving as an adviser to Prefect Qi for eleven or twelve years. He viewed Qi Ji like his own nephew.

Now, seeing him speak more and more inappropriately, and concerned about how uncomfortable Miss Ye must be feeling, he quickly glared at Qi Ji and smiled at Ye Chongming: “I wonder if your kitchen has prepared the meal yet? I’m getting hungry.”

Although his words were abrupt, they rescued the Ye family from an awkward situation. With Qi Ji’s comments, the Ye family didn’t know how to respond.

Ye Chongming gave Master Wu a grateful look, stood up with a hearty laugh, and gestured: “The banquet has been ready for some time. Please, let’s be seated.”

So everyone moved to the side halls to begin the meal.

Men and women were separated, with tables set in the side halls on either side of the main hall. Ye Yaming and Old Madam Ye entertained Madam Wu in the side hall where Ye Chongming and Song Yifeng had just spoken.

Madam Wu was a very sensible person. Worried that Ye Yaming might feel awkward or upset, she didn’t mention Song Yifeng or the broken engagement during the meal. Instead, she shared interesting anecdotes about Linan Prefecture. The three women chatted and laughed, creating a relaxed atmosphere.

Ye Yaming, as a young lady who had just had her engagement broken off, maintained her composure throughout. She smiled when Madam Wu spoke to her and remained silent when not directly addressed.

The Ye family had put tremendous effort into preparing this meal. Although not extravagantly luxurious, it was certainly creative. Since Lu and Qi, along with Master Wu, were intent on building a good relationship with the Ye family, the men’s table enjoyed a thoroughly pleasant meal, with both hosts and guests satisfied.

After the meal, having personally seen the guests off, Old Madam Ye excitedly said to Ye Yaming: “This matter is settled now.”

She leaned close to Ye Yaming’s ear and whispered: “Grandmother has been paying attention these past few days and will find you a good son-in-law to marry into our family.”

Ye Yaming was startled and quickly said: “Grandmother, there’s no rush. I don’t want to consider this for now—at least wait a year or half before discussing it.”

Old Madam Ye fell silent, thinking that Ye Yaming’s heart had been deeply wounded by Song Yifeng, and she didn’t want to discuss her marriage for a while, which was understandable.

She said: “Alright, Grandmother won’t pressure you. We’ll discuss it later.” But in her heart, she was determined to start looking for potential matches for Ye Yaming.

For such an outstanding granddaughter, even if they were bringing a son-in-law into the family, they needed to find someone exceptional. First, he should be handsome; second, he couldn’t be too stupid, otherwise it would affect the children. After all, her granddaughter was both talented and beautiful, so her future children would surely be outstanding as well—they couldn’t let someone bring down the average.

Finally, his character must be upright, without any bad habits.

With such criteria, finding the right person would be difficult.

That’s why she needed to start making arrangements early.

While Old Madam Ye was contemplating how to find a husband for Ye Yaming, Ye Yaming’s thoughts were on Ye Yaqing’s marriage.