Chapter 94: Let Me Spread the Word

After Song Yifeng left, Ye Chongming came over from the next room.

Qi Ji angrily said to Ye Chongming, “People say you can see the big picture from small details. Song Yifeng, such an ungrateful person, values neither kindness nor righteousness. How can he be loyal to the emperor? The scholarly atmosphere in Lin’an should be cleaned up…”

Advisor Wu suddenly coughed, interrupting Qi Ji’s angry words.

Although Qi Ji’s father was a Prefect, scholars were managed by the academic officials and the head of the Imperial Academy. Qi Ji’s words were inappropriate and could cause trouble for Prefect Qi if spread.

Lu Guanyi, who had been silent, spoke up, “Advisor Wu, you often attend poetry and literary gatherings in Lin’an, don’t you? You must have many scholar friends. You should tell them about Song Yifeng’s true nature. It would be bad if he deceived them.”

“Yes, yes,” Advisor Wu immediately clapped his hands and said, “I had the same thought. Mr. Lu’s idea aligns with mine.”

Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji had cooperated with the Ye family to deal with Meng Chengwei. Now, facing an ungrateful scholar like Song Yifeng, they naturally wanted to help the Ye family.

As the Prefect’s advisor, Advisor Wu also had to support the Ye family against Song Yifeng. Lu Guanyi pointed this out in front of the Ye family to make them feel indebted to him.

Mr. Lu’s emotional intelligence was worlds apart from his own son’s.

Ye Chongming and the others were overjoyed.

Ye Chongming bowed deeply to Advisor Wu, “I thank you in advance, Advisor Wu.”

“Haha, no need to be polite. I can’t stand how that Song fellow behaves. As scholars, we should be more reasonable than others, not ungrateful and hypocritical. It disgraces us scholars. My actions are to uphold justice and prevent the scholars of Lin’an from being deceived by Song Yifeng’s facade.”

“Regardless, we must thank you, Advisor Wu,” said Ye Chongming.

Ye Yaming, who had been lowering her head, stood up and bowed to Advisor Wu, “Thank you, Advisor Wu, for standing up for me.”

Advisor Wu was surprised and quickly waved his hand, “No need for formalities. It was a small effort.”

Ye Yaming raised her head and said thoughtfully, “But for me, the most important thing is to annul the engagement. Although it is impolite, I would like to ask you, Advisor Wu, to spread the word about Song Yifeng’s actions after the engagement is annulled. Can you do that?”

Advisor Wu quickly said, “Yes, yes, you are absolutely right.”

These outsiders certainly wouldn’t consider everything so thoroughly. If they accidentally mentioned it, letting Song Yifeng know that the Ye family was cooperating with the Marquis’s son and the Prefect’s son, he would cling to them like a leech and be impossible to shake off.

One must know that Wang Wenzhi is just an academic official, an eighth-rank official, and administratively, he is a subordinate of Prefect Qi Zhipei, a fourth-rank official. Such a person is already a treasure to Song Yifeng, let alone Qi Ji, the son of a fourth-rank prefect.

He continued, “You are right. The most important thing now is to annul the engagement. Miss Ye is kind-hearted and intelligent, and Song Yifeng is not worthy of her. It’s best to annul the engagement as soon as possible.”

Turning to Ye Chongming, he said, “Old Master Ye, once you have annulled the engagement with the Song family, please inform me.”

“Yes, yes. Thank you, Advisor Wu,” Ye Chongming said, bowing again.

Ye Yaming returned to her seat.

Qi Ji enthusiastically said, “Miss Ye, don’t worry. Not only will Advisor Wu tell the scholars about Song Yifeng, but I will also have my mother tell the official’s wives. Song Yifeng is eager to annul the engagement with you; who knows which family he wants to attach himself to? I will make sure he ends up with nothing.”

After saying this, he angrily slapped the armrest and said, “A girl as outstanding as Miss Ye, Song Yifeng must be blind not to cherish her.”

Advisor Wu had been an advisor to Prefect Qi Zhipei for eleven or twelve years. He looked at Qi Ji as if he were his own nephew. Seeing Qi Ji’s increasingly inappropriate remarks, he quickly glared at him and smiled at Ye Chongming, “I wonder if the cook has prepared the meal? I’m getting a bit hungry.”

Although his words were abrupt, they relieved the Ye family from an awkward situation. Qi Ji’s words had left the Ye family unsure of how to respond.

Ye Chongming gratefully glanced at Advisor Wu, laughed, and made a gesture, “The meal is ready, everyone please take your seats.”

Everyone moved to the side hall to eat.

Men and women were seated separately, with the women in the side hall where Ye Chongming and Song Yifeng had talked earlier and Ye Yaming and Old Madam Ye hosting Madam Wu.

Being very considerate, Madam Wu did not mention Song Yifeng or the annulment during the meal, only talking about interesting stories from Lin’an, making the atmosphere light and cheerful.

Ye Yaming, as a young girl who had just had her engagement annulled, remained calm and composed throughout. She smiled when Madam Wu spoke to her and remained silent when she did not.

The Ye family had put a lot of effort into preparing this meal. Although not luxurious, it was unique. Lu Guanyi, Qi Ji, and Advisor Wu, who wanted to maintain good relations with the Ye family, enjoyed the meal.

After the meal, as they personally saw off their guests, Old Madam Ye excitedly said to Ye Yaming, “This matter is settled.”

She whispered in Ye Yaming’s ear, “Grandmother has been paying attention these past few days and will find you a good husband.”

Ye Yaming was startled and quickly said, “Grandmother, there’s no rush. I don’t want to think about this for at least a year or so.”

Old Madam Ye paused, thinking that Ye Yaming was heartbroken by Song Yifeng and didn’t want to discuss her marriage for a while, which she could understand. She said, “Alright, I won’t push you, we’ll take it slow.” But in her heart, she was determined to find a suitable match for Ye Yaming.

Her granddaughter was so outstanding that even if they were to find a husband to join their family, he had to be exceptional. He must be good-looking, intelligent, and of good character, without any bad habits.

Such a person would be hard to find.

So, she had to start looking early.

While Old Madam Ye was thinking about finding a husband for Ye Yaming, Ye Yaming’s thoughts were on Ye Yaqing’s marriage.