“Is this true?” Zhen Niang’s eyes sparkled at the news. The Ancient Yu Deer Musk Ink was complete but remained like an unknown beauty hidden away. She had been waiting for the right moment to introduce it, and regardless of the outcome, this competition would be the perfect opportunity.

“Manager, of course, it’s true. How could an announcement posted at the Ink Bureau be fake?” A-Tang, who accompanied Zheng Fuli, smiled as he spoke.

“Wonderful!” Zhen Niang’s eyes crinkled with joy. No matter what, this was an excellent opportunity.

They had to give it their best shot this time.

Suddenly, Zhen Niang understood why Tian Benchang had been frequently entertaining people from the Ink Bureau lately. It wasn’t just to mitigate the impact of the liquid ink incident—it was also for this birthday ink commission.

The Tian family had received early information.

Given the relationship between the Ink Bureau and the Tian family, the birthday ink commission might have been initially promised to them. Unfortunately, Tian Er’s incompetence and the liquid ink incident had likely caused the Princess to lose confidence, leading to this open competition. A golden opportunity had been squandered by Tian Er—Tian Benchang must be suffering in silence now.

Indeed, Tian Benchang was suffering in silence.

He never expected things to take such a sudden turn.

After the liquid ink incident, though the Ink Bureau claimed they needed to review, it was just an excuse to extract some benefits—otherwise, why review only the Tian family? Understanding this, despite his extreme anger at his brother’s incompetence, he believed there was still room for recovery. He had been lavishly entertaining the Ink Bureau officials, who had practically guaranteed the birthday ink commission would go to the Tian family.

As for the Princess’s approval, they had assured him there would be no problem.

But like the unpredictable June weather, everything changed suddenly. What should have been certain became uncertain.

This left him frustrated but helpless. He couldn’t afford to antagonize the Ink Bureau, given their frequent dealings regarding tribute ink. If the Bureau decided to create difficulties with the tribute ink, it would be devastating.

Moreover, the Ink Bureau now owed the Tian family for this situation.

Regarding the competition, truthfully, Tian Benchang wasn’t worried about others, including the Cheng family, who were still establishing themselves in Nanjing and couldn’t challenge the Tian family yet. His only concern was the Li family—specifically, Zhen Niang. Somehow, no matter how favorable his position seemed, he often ended up losing to this girl. The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth.

If the Tian family hadn’t broken off the engagement years ago, Zhen Niang could have been such an asset to them now. They had truly underestimated this girl, but that was all water under the bridge.

Never mind these thoughts—they were pointless now. The Ink Bureau owed him an explanation, and considering how much they had taken from the Tian family over the years, he had managed to borrow one of their masters for the competition.

He had borrowed Qi Chun, one of the Five Ink Masters, now an official at the Ink Bureau.

The Tian family, being relatively new to ink making, couldn’t compare with older families in ink assessment and competition. The master he had carefully recruited, Zeng Yipin, had harmed the family’s interests and disappeared. Currently, they have no prestigious masters in Nanjing. They had some in Huizhou, but there wasn’t enough time to bring them over.

Speaking of the Five Ink Masters, that was from the previous generation.

Master Wei had passed away. Luo Xiaohua had disappeared. Of the remaining three, one was Li family’s Eighth Master—Zhen Niang’s grandfather—who was in Huizhou and couldn’t possibly come for the competition. Third Master Cheng had developed a hand tremor in recent years and could no longer make ink personally. Tian Benchang suspected the Cheng family might not even participate in the competition, or if they did, they wouldn’t be a serious threat.

Only Qi, the official, remained. Coming from the Imperial Ink Bureau without family backing, his talents had gone unrecognized—in such places, a mere worker’s achievements were always credited to their superiors. If not for the imperial recruitment of the Five Masters to make imperial ink, no one would have known such a dragon was hidden in the Imperial Ink Bureau.

The title “Five Masters” emerged during that imperial ink-making event, which also led to Qi Chun joining the Ink Bureau as an official, overseeing ink production, testing, and assessment.

With Official Qi’s participation, the Tian family’s chances of winning increased significantly. Even if they lost, they would only miss one birthday ink commission opportunity. However, whoever defeated Official Qi would effectively offend the Ink Bureau, and without the Bureau’s support, their future development would be limited, making them unable to compete with the Tian family.

By having Official Qi compete, Tian Benchang had created a win-win situation: victory would be ideal, but even in defeat, the winner would gain little advantage, the Tian family wouldn’t suffer much loss, and the Ink Bureau would remain tied to the Tian family.

“Brother’s move is brilliant,” Tian Ronghua nodded upon hearing Tian Benchang’s arrangement.

“I don’t think this is right,” Sun Yuejuan spoke up. “Family matters should be handled by family members. Having outsiders compete—even if we win, might not truly bring glory to the Tian family. If we lose, others might resent us for their loss of face.”

“Sister-in-law, you don’t understand. How is it, not our glory when the Ink Bureau represents us? It proves our standing with the Bureau. Anyone wanting to challenge the Tian family will have to consider the Bureau’s reaction,” Tian Ronghua frowned, thinking his sister-in-law’s humble background made her view things too simply.

“Oh.” Sun Yuejuan didn’t argue further, but precisely because of her humble origins, she believed family matters were best handled internally. Since her father-in-law’s incident and the family’s lukewarm treatment over the past months, she has developed a deeper understanding of things.

The Ink Bureau was part of the government, and in dealings between common people and officials, the common people usually lost out. Moreover, the Bureau had many competing factions—why should the Tian family entangle themselves in that?

However, knowing she had little say in the Tian family, she didn’t pursue the matter. Standing up to leave, she said, “You continue your discussion. I’ll go rest.”

“Mm.” Tian Benchang nodded, then added, “You can visit Li Zhen Niang sometimes. No need to stay cooped up at home all day.”

“Mm.” Sun Yuejuan nodded without further comment and returned to her room.

To Tian Ronghua, this showed how petty Sun Yuejuan was, moving like an abacus bead—one push, one move.

Her humble background made her quite beneath notice in his eyes.

Zhen Niang knew nothing of the Tian family’s schemes, but even if she had known, she wouldn’t have abandoned the competition because of Official Qi or the Ink Bureau. The Li family would give this competition their all.

Thus, in the following period, the entire Li Ink Shop mobilized completely. The competition process was similar to the previous tribute ink competition. First, each family would submit ink samples for preliminary selection, from which five finalists would be chosen.

Then came the ink testing gathering, where experts would evaluate each family’s products to determine the winner. Of course, the competition wasn’t just about ink quality—relationships and connections played their part. For instance, when the Tian family won the tribute ink competition, they used “divine judgment,” which everyone knew was false but couldn’t dispute.

However, this time, since it also involved becoming the Princess’s Ink Supply Official, there was an additional ink assessment component.

This assessment covered much more ground than the ink duel at Li Ink Shop’s opening. That event mainly tested the sense of smell and memory, with a more playful nature. This assessment would examine comprehensive knowledge of the ink industry.

If not for Zhen Niang’s vast knowledge of ink-making from her previous life, someone of her age, even if they had studied from birth, wouldn’t stand a chance in such an assessment. It wasn’t just about talent—it required years of accumulation.

The addition of this assessment made the competition even more unpredictable.

“Girl, how are your preparations coming along?” In the evening, after another busy day, Zhen Niang came out for some air and saw Third Master Cheng strolling over with his hands behind his back.

“Still preparing. I’m a bit nervous. Third Uncle, please go easy on me in the competition—don’t let me lose too badly,” Zhen Niang joked.

“What nonsense! If your grandfather were here, he’d scold you for building others’ confidence while diminishing our own. You compete properly—I’ll be cheering for you from the sidelines. I hear the Tian family has invited someone from the Ink Bureau to compete. You’re the only one who can match them now,” Third Master Cheng said, bristling his whiskers and widening his eyes.

“What? Third Uncle, you’re not participating in this competition?” Zhen Niang asked in surprise upon hearing his words.

“No, I’m not. I’ve just arrived in Nanjing and barely set up shop. Most of my people aren’t here yet, and it’s too late to call them from Huizhou now. As for me, I’m too old to participate anymore.” Third Master Cheng spoke with some sadness, then reached for his teacup. There was a sharp clinking sound as his hand trembled like a leaf in the wind, nearly dropping the cup.

Watching this, Zhen Niang’s eyes welled up. For craftsmen who relied on their hands for their livelihood, tremors were their greatest fear—when your hands shake, you can’t hold your rice bowl. She understood now why the Cheng family had been so conservative in recent years, taking no risks. The Cheng family was in a transition period—the older generation was aging, and the family had entered a period of dormancy. It would be this period of lying low that would lead to their glory during the Wanli era.

“Ha! I was nervous before, but not anymore. The only person I truly feared in this competition was Third Uncle. Now, with Third Uncle backing me, whom should I fear? I’ll defeat them all thoroughly!” Zhen Niang said playfully. Third Master Cheng was a hero of the ink industry—while his current condition was regrettable, there was no need for sadness. Birth, aging, sickness, and death were simply the natural course of life.

“You girl, just compete well.” Third Master Cheng pointed at Li Zhen Niang without real anger, then walked away with his hands behind his back.

“Oh my, I’ve been had!” Watching Third Master Cheng’s retreating figure, Zhen Niang finally understood his earlier mention of the Tian family inviting someone from the Ink Bureau—the old master was pushing her to give it her all while he watched the tigers fight.

However, it didn’t matter. Those who live by their skills should let their skills speak for themselves.