Triumph in Her Rise and Love-Chapter 230 - 228

No matter the issue, involvement with the nobility is always troublesome.

Once Song Tao confirmed the news, she became somewhat restless.

She went to seek an audience with Eunuch Wan.

If it weren’t for the thorn in his side that was Song Jiyun, Eunuch Wan would have thought that recent days had been quite pleasant.

He had connected with Wan Shen; Song Tao’s porcelain-making skills indeed surpassed those of other so-called master craftsmen in Jingde Town; Song Tao was also quite shrewd, sending him a hefty amount of silver every ten days, creating the illusion for him that he was making money every day.

He had never really noticed before that Song Youliang had the capability to raise two daughters who were as competent as men.

When he heard Song Tao wanted to see him, he agreed cheerfully.

Song Tao, of course, never came empty-handed. This time, she brought a pair of eight treasures tangled flowers blue and white plum vases that she had finally managed to fire successfully. Because she used Su Ma Li Qing, the blue and white porcelain emitted a slight green tinge.

She hinted to Eunuch Wan, "It’s exactly like the items that circulated out of the previous dynasty’s palace. If you find anything amiss, you could have someone send it to a pawnshop and ask Chao Feng to take a look."

This was to pass it off as an antique.

Eunuch Wan understood and felt that Song Tao, this young girl, was very cunning.

If only Song Jiyun could be as perceptive and understanding as Song Tao.

As the thought crossed his mind, he began to feel irritated again.

That thorn, Song Jiyun, he must dispose of her sooner rather than later!!

Eunuch Wan was somewhat displeased, and he asked Song Tao roughly, "What are you here for?"

Song Tao was full of anger.

This Eunuch Wan truly was insatiable, never satisfied no matter how much was offered.

No wonder people in Jingde Town were reluctant to get too close to him.

And to think how could Song Jiyun have dealt with him in her former life? Could she really have won his favor?

Unfortunately, by the time she returned to the Song Family, Eunuch Wan had already been transferred.

Otherwise, she could have drawn some lessons from that.

Suppressing her inner displeasure, Song Tao smiled and spoke of her purpose, "I’m just afraid that Song Jiyun has gotten involved with people from Prince Ning’s Mansion. As you know, she’s a person who can cling to any opportunity, especially with someone as influential as Prince Ning."

Eunuch Wan scoffed at this and said, "I’d rather she not consort with Prince Ning, that great Buddha!"

Song Tao was puzzled.

Perhaps due to the recent troubles caused by Song Jiyun, he rarely spoke to Song Tao about Prince Ning’s Mansion, "When Emperor Yongle traveled south, he spoke of ruling the realm together, but only the fools in Prince Ning’s Mansion believed this, always restless and discontent. The emperor sees everything. It’s just due to ancestral teachings that he hasn’t taken drastic actions.

"But who could tolerate someone else sleeping soundly by their bedside? Otherwise, why would he bother sending an Inspector General to investigate a mere smuggling case? There are plenty of vassal kings who kill imperial officials and seize the common people’s good land. Why focus specifically on investigating Prince Ning’s Mansion?"

Although Song Tao was hearing these secrets for the first time and was deeply shaken, in her previous life, Prince Ning had come out unscathed, suggesting that Prince Ning’s Mansion could still be useful to Song Jiyun.

She was pondering how to speak with Eunuch Wan about it.

But Eunuch Wan, already impatient, waved his hand, "Enough, leave this matter alone. I know what I’m doing. Instead, what progress do you have on the formula for sweet white porcelain?"

Wan Shen was very fond of sweet white porcelain, presumably to curry favor in the palace with his aunt, Noble Consort Wan.

These past few days, he had been pressing him to somehow come up with a few items of sweet white porcelain.

He had mentioned this previously to Song Tao, who said that this was Song Youliang’s closely guarded secret. She needed to explore slowly to understand what differed from the formula used for Jade Porcelain.

Eunuch Wan was already becoming impatient.

In her heart, Song Tao cursed Song Jiyun thoroughly.

She had no idea where she got so many ideas, nor how she managed to succeed every time.

Yet, on the surface, she dared not show any dissent. Instead, she had to smile and say to Eunuch Wan, "I have already tried firing twelve or thirteen kilns, and each kiln takes seven to eight days to fire. There’s really no way to speed it up."

Eunuch Wan was even more dissatisfied and said, "Isn’t it said that now firing a kiln only takes two to three days?"

Song Tao cursed Song Jiyun again in her mind.

How could she be so idle, doing these so-called "technological improvements" daily? Coal, pine firewood switched out when burning—sometimes even burning each half the time, forcing everyone to rack their brains daily on how to fire the porcelain.

The coal boats at Changjiang Wharf had turned the river water black.

"Song Jiyun is harming herself more than the enemy!" she could only argue, "Who doesn’t know that coal burns more fiercely and quickly? But coal is so expensive; how many can afford to use it? Just a few days ago, didn’t someone try to emulate their family and ended up with every piece of porcelain in their kiln cracked, not a single one intact? Porcelain is such a delicate thing; the fire can’t be too strong or too weak. You can’t use such fierce fire."

While they were talking, the Chief Accountant from the Imperial Kiln Factory came to see Eunuch Wan with a discontent expression.

Seeing that Song Tao was present, his face looked even more displeased. Initially planning to speak privately with Eunuch Wan, he now simply spilled all the beans, "Boss Song has just fired another dragon kiln, producing over eight thousand pieces of Old Blue and White porcelain, selling them at half the price of those from Liangyu Kiln Factory. The Song Family Kiln Factory is now swamped with clients inside and out, not to mention many people rushing to Jingde Town overnight."

He strongly disapproved of Eunuch Wan’s so-called "quota sales" method, and he disliked Song Tao even more for giving Eunuch Wan advice.

But the mountains are high and the emperor far away; an official ranking higher has overwhelming power, and despite his disapproval, he could only bear with it.

"Impossible!" Song Tao burst out before Eunuch Wan could speak.

Her face looked very distressed.The Registrar couldn’t help but taunt her, "Third Miss Song, how can you think it’s impossible? Is it impossible that Boss Song fired a kiln producing eight thousand pieces of Old Blue and White? Or is it impossible that the Song Family Kiln Factory dares to sell porcelain in Jingde Town?"

Eunuch Wan’s face had already swollen red like a pig’s liver. He didn’t bother with the Registrar’s sarcasm and sternly demanded, "What’s going on?"

The Registrar disdainfully glanced at Song Tao before responding, "Well, you could say Boss Song owes it to Third Miss Song’s fortune. Since Third Miss Song drove down the price of the Blue and White porcelain, those who fired old blue and white had no choice but to work for her. That way, these people didn’t consume any of the quota."

"They sold their quotas to the Song Family Kiln Factory.

"Now, out of the annual quota of 150,000 pieces of porcelain, except for those from Liangyu Kiln Factory, all are in Boss Song’s hands."

"What do you think, can she sell porcelain in Jingde Town?"

"How can this be?!" Song Tao was stunned.

Eunuch Wan was also dumbfounded.

Both of them were silent for a long moment.

The Registrar, who wasn’t afraid of making the situation higher, had long wanted to abolish the ridiculous quota system. He seized the moment to ask Eunuch Wan, "What should we do about this? In the future, shall only Liangyu Kiln Factory fire Blue and White porcelain? I did see, in the orders handed over from the Manufacturing Office this year, there are two sets of Dragon Jars. Look, shall we let Liangyu Kiln Factory try firing them first, lest we fail to deliver on time?"

Eunuch Wan was furious with shame, grabbed the teacup by his hand, and hurled it at Song Tao while angrily exclaiming, "How could you let those lowly kiln workers sell the quota to Song Jiyun? Are you incompetent? You can’t even handle this minor issue! What use are you?"