Glory

Madam Wu, understanding the subtle hint in the words, picked up a pastry and took a delicate bite, praising with a smile, "Oh, how fragrant, soft, and tender—truly excellent. Some time ago, I was invited by Magistrate Wang’s wife to a banquet at her residence and tasted a pastry called 'snail cake,' which was also quite distinctive. It’s a fine match for the pastries in your home, each with its own merits."

Song Yifeng’s heart skipped a beat, and he glanced at Madam Wu with alarm, meeting her meaningful gaze directly.

Flustered, he quickly averted his eyes, his mind in turmoil.

Steadying himself, he made one last attempt, addressing Ye Chongming, "Old Master Ye, are you truly determined to sever all ties? Out of gratitude for your past assistance, I had been concealing that matter for you. But if you show no regard for our relationship, I will no longer keep it hidden."

"Are you referring to the illicit tea trade?" Ye Chongming replied with a mocking tone. "I’ve already told you it’s mere hearsay. Do you still intend to use that to threaten me? Now, in front of Madam Wu, I can state once again: there is no such thing. If you wish to report it, go ahead. There’s no need to speak of any favors."

Song Yifeng’s face flushed crimson, whether from shame or anger.

He glared at Ye Chongming with resentment, then suddenly shifted his expression, forcing a smile that did not reach his eyes.

His voice grew calm as he said, "In that case, I am relieved. My intention to break off the engagement was solely because of this matter. Since it does not exist, there is no need to cancel the marriage."

With that, he stood up and cupped his hands in a salute to Ye Chongming. "I must return to my studies and will take my leave now."

Ye Jiaxing grew anxious upon hearing this and turned to look at Ye Chongming.

Ye Chongming stared at Song Yifeng and also smiled. "Very well. In that case, prepare for the wedding. It shall take place within three months."

Ye Jiaxing grew even more worried. Given how strained relations had become, if his third sister were to marry Song Yifeng, who knew what hardships she might endure? No matter how clever she was, she was still a young woman and a daughter-in-law. Yu Shi and Song Yifeng could easily make her life miserable with a mere word.

Yet he knew this was not a matter he could interfere in. He turned to his father with a pleading look.

Ye Hongchang glanced at his son, a trace of disappointment in his eyes.

Song Yifeng, younger than his own son, was still fighting back when cornered, while his own foolish son failed to grasp Song Yifeng’s intentions. The gap between them was indeed considerable.

After taking a few steps, Song Yifeng noticed Guizi still standing there dumbfounded and snapped irritably, "You fool! Aren’t you going to take the silver and follow me back?"

"Oh, right, right." Guizi hurriedly stepped forward, closed the box containing the silver, clutched it to his chest, and rushed after Song Yifeng.

Song Yifeng had already paused, waiting for Guizi. Once Guizi caught up, he strode out.

As Song Yifeng stepped through the main gate, Ye Jiaxing couldn’t resist calling out to his grandfather, but before he could speak, his father tugged his arm sharply and shot him a stern glare, forcing him to swallow his words.

In his mind, Song Yifeng counted his steps: "One, two, three, four..." hoping Ye Chongming would call him back.

But after seven steps, there was still no sound from inside.

He considered simply walking away. If the Ye family insisted on clinging to this marriage, he could always marry Ye Yaming.

Marrying her didn’t mean he couldn’t divorce her later; or worse, he could ignore her entirely and take a concubine to spite the Ye family.Yet the Ye family wished to use this marriage to bind him and benefit from his influence and power—that was absolutely impossible. Once he gained power, he would surely turn around and take revenge on the Ye family.

But he had already mentioned breaking off the engagement to Minister Wang. If he didn’t go through with it, the marriage arrangement with Minister Wang’s family would naturally fall through, let alone becoming the son-in-law of a third-rank official after passing the imperial examinations.

Moreover, was he truly willing to marry a merchant’s daughter? Even if he married Ye Yaming and later divorced her, he would still be unable to marry an official’s daughter. After all, official families would certainly seek sons-in-law with clean backgrounds and no prior marriages. And because his conflict with the Ye family had become so ugly, his reputation in this regard would undoubtedly suffer...

Thus, breaking off the engagement was his best option. Sacrificing his entire future to save a bit of silver was not worth it.

Having carefully considered everything in his mind, Song Yifeng noticed that even after he had walked some distance, Ye Chongming had not spoken up to stop him. Unable to keep up the act any longer, he signaled Guizi with a glance.

The master and servant had discussed this beforehand.

Seeing the signal, Guizi spoke up loudly, "Young master, perhaps... it’s better to just break off the engagement. Given how strained your relationship with Old Master Ye has become, even if you marry Third Miss Ye, it will be difficult for the two families to interact in the future." Song Yifeng immediately halted.

He turned back, pretending to ponder for a moment, and said, "You make a valid point."

He turned around and walked back into the hall.

Only then did Ye Jiaxing breathe a sigh of relief, casting an admiring glance at his grandfather.

It seemed everything was under his grandfather’s control.

What he didn’t know was that Ye Chongming had also been sweating nervously, fearing that Song Yifeng might actually refuse to break off the engagement.

The amount of silver was insignificant to the Ye family, but the engagement absolutely had to be terminated.

If they were put on the defensive, not only would they fail to seek justice, but they would also be extorted by Song Yifeng and his mother.

Song Yifeng said to Ye Chongming, "Guizi is right. Given how strained my relationship with your family has become, there’s no point in continuing this engagement. Let’s break it off. But I don’t have that much silver. For the remaining amount, I’ll write you an IOU and repay you when I have the money. Is that acceptable?"The loafers who had been eavesdropping on the Songs had long since reported the mother and son's efforts to raise money to Zhou Xiang." Ye Chongming knew exactly how much silver Song Yifeng had on hand.

He sneered, "From what I know, Young Master Song, over the years, you’ve used the silver I gave you to purchase quite a few fields. Those fields are worth at least thirteen hundred taels. Moreover, the house you currently live in was also bought with eleven hundred taels of silver from my family. Since both the fields and the house were acquired with my family’s money, I won’t demand cash from you. Just return them to my family. Together, these two items amount to twenty-four hundred taels. Add that to the fifteen hundred taels you just produced..."

He turned to Wen Tao, "Mr. Wen, how much does he still owe us?"

Wen Tao, who carried a small abacus with him, quickly calculated and reported, "He still owes six hundred and thirty-seven taels."

Ye Chongming said to Song Yifeng, "Bring the house deeds and land deeds, and sign an IOU for six hundred and thirty-seven taels of silver. Then we’ll be even."

Old Mrs. Ye, who had been sitting silently nearby, suddenly spoke up, "There’s more. Mrs. Song, Yu Shi, would often hint to Ming’er during festivals that other ladies had gold hairpins and jade bracelets, subtly suggesting that Ming’er give her gold and jade jewelry. Ming’er, fearing that if she didn’t comply, she would offend Yu Shi and have a difficult life after marrying into the family, had no choice but to give Yu Shi a piece of gold or jade jewelry as a New Year’s gift every year. Over seven years, that amounts to seven pieces of jewelry, worth several hundred taels of silver."