While Madam Han-Li was speaking with Madam Zhao inside, Zhenniang and Li Jingfu went together to Wang Cuiqiao’s shipyard. Wang Cuiqiao’s first batch of goods was about to set sail—a significant event.
A ceremony was necessary, and Li Ink Workshop had a batch of ink to be shipped along with them. Li Zhengping would also be sailing with Wang Cuiqiao’s fleet.
Though Li Zhengping felt some loss after Sister Ge Qiu left, he wasn’t depressed. Their relationship had been complicated by too many entanglements, and their feelings weren’t pure. Li Zhengping’s inability to let go of Sister Ge Qiu was largely due to his sense of responsibility. He had proposed reconciliation mainly because she had nowhere else to go.
Now that Sister Ge Qiu had chosen to care for Ge San’er, Li Zhengping had nothing more to say.
As Sister Ge Qiu wrote in her letter if fate allowed them to meet again… Perhaps this was a process of separating the wheat from the chaff. After a period apart, both could calm down and let time remove the impurities from their feelings. What remained, after settling with time, might ferment into sweet wine.
With news of the lifting of the maritime ban spreading, Li Zhengping, having been in Nanjing for so long, understood the potential profits. Setting aside matters with Sister Ge Qiu, he planned to sail with Wang Cuiqiao’s ship to possibly explore overseas markets for Li Ink.
Zhenniang supported his idea.
However, this plan startled Madam Fang, who thought Li Zhengping might be acting rashly due to Sister Ge Qiu’s departure. She almost sent someone to find Sister Ge Qiu. After much explanation from Li Zhengping and support from Zhenniang’s family, Madam Fang finally understood that her son wanted to do something meaningful, and she relaxed—though she still felt reluctant.
Li Jingming, however, strongly supported Li Zhengping. After all, having grown up in Nanjing, returning to Huizhou would leave Li Zhengping with little to do. Now he could travel to foreign lands—not just for Li Ink’s market but also to trade in foreign goods, which could be quite profitable in Nanjing.
Just the spices from the Southern Seas, for instance, were very popular in Nanjing.
This reminded Zhenniang of Styrax. The famous Styrax Soot Ink meant Li Zhengping had another task—purchasing suitable styrax oil.
Thus, in the afternoon, Zhenniang, her father, and Mr. and Mrs. Li Jingming went to Wang Cuiqiao’s Xu Family Shipyard to attend the ceremony and see Li Zhengping off. The fleet would depart early the next morning, so they wouldn’t need to come for the departure.
Back at Li Ink Workshop, after Madam Han-Li left having said everything, Madam Zhao couldn’t settle her mind.
By evening, when Zhenniang and the others returned since Li Jingming and his wife would return to Huizhou the next day—they had stayed for two months, and Huizhou had many matters requiring attention; if not for Li Zhengping’s voyage, they might have left earlier—the workshop needed to prepare gifts and pack items for Li Jingming to take back to Huizhou. This kept them busy until late at night.
After all the activity, Zhenniang said goodnight and went to bed, unaware that First Aunt’s visit today had been about her marriage prospects.
In the main room, Madam Zhao waited until Li Jingfu returned. Seeing him immediately lie down to sleep, she pinched his waist with two fingers. Her mind had been churning all afternoon and evening with thoughts of Zhenniang’s matter—how could she let Li Jingfu just sleep?
“What’s wrong, feeling amorous?” Li Jingfu turned to face Madam Zhao with a grin.
Madam Zhao was so irritated she almost kicked him off the bed. However, knowing this wasn’t the time for anger, she said, “You only think about such nonsense and don’t care about Zhenniang’s matters at all.”
“What now? How am I not caring?” Li Jingfu protested. “Since coming to Nanjing, haven’t I done everything you said? Not letting Zhenniang shoulder everything, keeping her from being too public—I’ve done it all. Look, except for some women’s gatherings, I’ve taken over all the business negotiations. Not only that, I haven’t slacked off at the workshop either. I work as hard as any regular worker—they all call me ‘Master Fu’ now.”
He did have some foundation in workshop matters, and he had truly applied himself this time. Most workers at the Nanjing workshop were new, and though Li Jingfu was somewhat rough around the edges, his time in gambling halls and mines had given him an outgoing nature. He was good with words, and remarkably, in three months at the workshop, he had become more popular than even Master Ma, who had been there from the start.
The workers affectionately called him “Master Fu,” which made him quite proud when facing Madam Zhao.
“Who’s talking about that? It’s about Zhenniang’s marriage. First Aunt came today…” Then Madam Zhao told him what Madam Han-Li had said.
Hearing this, Li Jingfu laughed: “What kind of mother are you? Other mothers would be overjoyed to have their daughters catch the eye of a noble family, hoping their daughters could marry into wealth and status. Weren’t you the same way about the Tian family before? Now you’re different—a noble family shows interest in Zhenniang, and you’re worried? Isn’t this a good thing?”
“Good thing my foot! Don’t talk nonsense. How can you compare the Tian family then with the Xu family now? No matter how wealthy the Tian family was, they were still merchants. Even though our Li family was expelled from the ink workshop, we’ve had generations of ink officials. We weren’t beneath the Tian family! Moreover, Old Master Tian himself proposed the match to our father. How dare they just decide it’s on or off as they please? Not!” Li Jingfu had brought up exactly what irritated her, making Madam Zhao glare at him.
“But the Xu family is different now. If we had an ordinary daughter, what would it matter if they were a minister’s family? With Zhenniang’s abilities, she’d certainly avoid giving them any cause for complaint. But the problem is, Zhenniang has had an engagement broken off and carries the reputation of being unlucky for husbands…”
“How can they be sure about that unlucky business?” Li Jingfu angrily interrupted before Madam Zhao could finish.
“Of course, we know it’s not certain. But the reputation has spread—when three people repeat something, it becomes the truth. Don’t you understand?” Madam Zhao replied irritably.
Li Jingfu certainly understood. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have carried this worry, which led him to try arranging matches for Zhenniang whenever he got drunk. It was just that Huizhou placed too much importance on such things—he had hoped people from other places would be more reasonable.
Hearing Madam Zhao’s words, Li Jingfu fell silent. He was rough but not stupid. Having worked for Old Master Li, he had seen something of the world. Though he later frequented gambling halls, those places were even darker, and he had seen all sorts of human nature. Thinking carefully now, he too felt the Xu family match was inappropriate.
“So what do you think we should do?” Li Jingfu had lost all sleepiness now.
“What else can we do? First Aunt told me today to hurry and write to the Old Madam and our parents. If they’re willing to let Zhenniang enter the Xu family, the Old Madam would need to negotiate with them. If not, we need to quickly arrange another match for Zhenniang, before this matter spreads and we end up offending the Xu family,” Madam Zhao said.
“Oh right, during New Year’s, didn’t the Old Madam mention that young man from the Luo family?” Li Jingfu suddenly asked.
“Weren’t you the one who disapproved? Said he wasn’t a good person,” Madam Zhao gave Li Jingfu a sidelong glance. Then added, “But if the Old Madam makes the decision this time, it will be the Luo family’s son. Don’t cause trouble again.”
Li Jingfu fell silent, frowning in thought. Apart from the few times he had been frustrated by that young man, the fellow was quite decent—he had just been unwilling to admit it.
After a while, he said: “Yes, we should write the letter and make our position clear. However, we can’t let the Old Madam’s side make all the decisions—we need a backup plan.”
“Why? I promised during New Year’s to let the Old Madam decide,” Madam Zhao said.
“You need to understand that while Zhenniang marrying into the Xu family might not benefit her personally, it might benefit the entire Li family significantly. I see great advantages. Just considering next year’s tribute ink competition alone—if Zhenniang marries into the Xu family, the tribute ink might not be an issue anymore. The Old Madam is shrewd and capable—who knows if she might abandon the Luo family’s son and instead promote the Xu family match for this reason. Remember, we think the Xu family is unsuitable, but most people, hearing that the Xu family is interested in Zhenniang, would say she’s incredibly lucky. If we disagree then, we might be seen as failing to recognize a good opportunity.”
“Really?” Hearing Li Jingfu say this, Madam Zhao jumped in surprise.
“Whether it will happen or not is hard to say. Seventh Aunt’s actions can be unpredictable…” Li Jingfu said. Honestly, these were just his guesses, but it was better to be prepared.
“Then what do you plan to do?” Madam Zhao asked.
“Hmm, let me think about it first. You go ahead and write the letter,” Li Jingfu said, then seeing Madam Zhao’s worried expression, added, “That was just my speculation—don’t worry too much.”
The couple then went to bed, but with their minds preoccupied, neither slept well.
Li Jingfu couldn’t help thinking about whether he should talk to the Luo fellow, and how he could maintain control of the situation.
Yes, Luo Jiu! That brat! Time for another round.
Thus, the night passed.
The next day, seeing both her parents with panda eyes, Zhenniang assumed they had been overly vigorous the night before and secretly found it amusing. Then the family, along with Hua’er, saw Li Jingming and Madam Fang off on their boat back to Huizhou.
As for the letter to Huizhou, Li Jingfu arranged for someone else to deliver it by express horse—the boat was too slow, and land travel would be much faster.
Afterward, Madam Zhao and Zhenniang returned to the workshop. Finding a moment alone, Madam Zhao called Zhenniang aside and told her about the Xu family’s inquiry, along with their analysis from the previous night. After all, Zhenniang wasn’t like other young women—she was sensible, and since it concerned her own future, Madam Zhao didn’t want to keep it from her.
Zhenniang finally understood what First Aunt’s visit had been about.
“Mother, don’t worry. Not only do we disagree with the Xu family, but Seventh Aunt might oppose it even more than we do,” Zhenniang said.
“Why?” Madam Zhao looked puzzled. After hearing Jingfu’s analysis yesterday, she had thought Seventh Aunt would surely favor the Xu family.
“Mother, think about it. With my reputation, the Xu family wouldn’t normally consider me. If they’re truly interested, they must want something. What could they want? I have nothing but my ink-making skills, and the Xu family isn’t an ink-making family—even my skills would be useless to them. What remains is my ten percent share in Li Ink, and considering how the Empress Dowager’s birthday ink caused such a stir in the capital, it’s clear the Xu family has their eye on Li Ink. With Seventh Grandmother’s shrewdness, how could she not see through this? If I marry into the Xu family, they could use my shares to interfere with Li Ink—something Seventh Aunt would never tolerate. After all, she must protect the main family line and young Tianyou. Compared to tribute ink, Li Ink’s foundation is the most important. So rest assured, Seventh Aunt will never agree.”
“You’re right!” Hearing Zhenniang’s words, Madam Zhao let out a huge sigh of relief. Zhenniang’s analysis was crystal clear. Indeed, the Old Madam’s primary concern was young Tianyou—bringing in the Xu family would be like inviting a wolf into the house. The Old Madam would never do such a thing.