Along with Old Madam Li came Li Zhengshen of the Li family’s Ninth Branch and his new bride Zhao Susu.

Zhenniang was deeply moved by Old Madam Li and the others rushing here at this time. From the moment they sent someone riding at full speed to deliver the message to Huizhou, and then for them to travel from there, it had only taken nine days in total. Seventh Great-Grandmother and her grandfather’s group had taken the land route, and they had hurried their journey considerably.

The road from Huizhou was treacherous, full of mountains and bandits. The hardships and dangers need not be detailed – one could understand the difficulties just by looking at the two elderly people’s haggard faces.

Moreover, since the beginning of spring this year, my Seventh Great-Grandmother’s health hasn’t been good.

“Seventh Great-Grandmother, Grandfather…” Zhenniang’s voice was choked with emotion.

“That’s enough, girl. Don’t act like a child. Quickly go fetch some hot water for your Seventh Great-Grandmother and Grandfather – these old bones of ours can’t take much more,” Seventh Old Madam said teasingly, patting Zhenniang’s forehead.

“Mm.” Zhenniang nodded firmly and ran straight to the kitchen. She didn’t let Dao Po or Ma Sao help, instead chopping the firewood and tending to the stove herself. These were tasks she was well accustomed to, showing no signs of being out of practice.

Before long, she had heated the water and helped Seventh Great-Grandmother wash up and get to bed. Though Seventh Great-Grandmother was usually a light sleeper, she was exhausted and fell into a deep sleep as soon as she lay down.

Zhenniang tucked the thin quilt around Seventh Great-Grandmother and quietly stepped out. Outside, she heard her father and grandfather talking about his private agreement with Luo Wenqian.

“Your actions were somewhat small-minded. Don’t forget, I’m still in Huizhou. How could your Seventh Great-Grandmother not consult with me about Zhenniang’s matters? You’ve spent these years traveling abroad and broadened your horizons, yet somehow your mind has grown narrower,” Old Shopkeeper Li said with displeasure.

Hearing his son’s actions, Old Shopkeeper Li could understand his son’s heart – he was guarding against Seventh Old Madam favoring the Xu family and using Zhenniang as a bargaining chip.

“Father, you taught me when I was young: while one shouldn’t harbor thoughts of harming others, one must maintain vigilance. Besides, my actions weren’t solely to guard against Seventh Aunt. I was truly concerned about delays in traveling from Huizhou and feared that given more time, things might change. That’s why I took matters into my own hands. I hadn’t expected you and Seventh Aunt to arrive so quickly,” Li Jingfu, who usually acted like a mouse before a cat when facing Old Shopkeeper Li, explained somewhat pitifully.

Of course, regarding the last point, he was genuinely surprised. Observing Seventh Aunt’s actions, Li Jingfu realized he had indeed been too suspicious earlier – the Old Madam of the Seventh Branch truly held Zhenniang dear to her heart.

“Now you understand how your Seventh Aunt feels about Zhenniang? You were needlessly suspicious. However, as a father solely concerned for his daughter, you weren’t entirely wrong, so I won’t say more. I imagine your Seventh Great-Grandmother will understand too. But remember for the future: among family, matters should be discussed openly. If you’re always on guard, familial affection will be guarded away as well,” Old Shopkeeper Li continued.

“Father, I understand. You must be tired too, please rest a while,” Li Jingfu nodded in agreement.

Zhenniang had originally intended to check on her grandfather, but after hearing the conversation between her grandfather and father, she felt it inappropriate to enter.

So she retreated and went to the back courtyard, where Madam Zhao was chatting with Li Zhengshen and Zhao Susu.

Zhao Susu was originally Madam Zhao’s niece, and now that she had become her nephew’s wife, they were even closer.

When Zhenniang arrived, Madam Zhao was holding Zhao Susu’s hand and asking about everyday matters: “How’s the business in Wuyuan? When will you return there?”

“We won’t be going back for now. Both Zhengshen and my father have withdrawn from those mines in Wuyuan,” Zhao Susu replied to Madam Zhao.

“What happened?” Madam Zhao asked Li Zhengshen with surprise upon hearing Susu’s words.

Zhenniang was also curious. During New Year’s, she had asked Brother Zhengshen about it, and although the Wuyuan County Magistrate’s people had bought shares, the business was still doing well. How had things changed in just a few short months?

“It’s all because of the Meizi Pit. That pit is located in a ravine under a stream, making it extremely difficult to mine. Initially, Brother Zhengliang and I risked trying it once, and the yield was substantial. But precisely because we tried it ourselves and knew how dangerous it was, we never opened the Meizi Pit again after that. We stuck to mining the Jinxing Pit and two other smaller pits. We had planned to take it slow, accumulate funds, and then get more equipment before reopening the Meizi Pit. But after the County Magistrate’s brother-in-law’s people bought shares, they mined without restraint. In just the second half of last year, they exhausted the two small pits, and recently the Jinxing Pit hasn’t yielded any good ore either. So this spring, the County Magistrate’s brother-in-law set his sights on the Meizi Pit. You know, mining under a stream ravine – if underground water suddenly rushes in, people could easily drown. How could we proceed without thorough preparation? So Susu’s father and I firmly opposed it. As a result, the County Magistrate’s brother-in-law flew into a rage. He somehow discovered my past as a Taoist priest and threatened to report it to the county office if I didn’t agree…” Li Zhengshen explained with indignation.

“This is completely unreasonable! That happened so long ago, how can they still pursue it?” Madam Zhao frowned.

“Generally speaking, who would pursue such an old matter? But if someone reports it, the government officials will investigate. For merchants like us, the County Magistrate would welcome such cases – if we offend them, we’d have to pay bribes. Our former County Magistrate, Master Wei, has been transferred, and the new one surnamed Ji has an incredibly dark heart. That fellow Tian Benchang is still in prison because of the incident with Taoist Yunsung. Because of this, I discussed it with my father-in-law, and since the cooperation had become so unpleasant, we decided to withdraw completely. We’re not getting involved anymore,” Li Zhengshen continued.

“In that case, withdrawal was the right choice,” Madam Zhao quickly nodded.

Zhenniang also nodded. She remembered the records about the Meizi Pit – it seemed only the first mining attempt had yielded much, with little thereafter. There wasn’t much lost in giving it up now.

However, listening to her cousin’s words, Tian Benchang had been arrested. Zhenniang had been wondering – summer was approaching, but this year Manager Fang had been managing everything on Tian Mo’s side, and none of the Tian family siblings had visited. She had thought it was because they were in mourning for Madam Tian’s death, but hearing her cousin’s words, it seemed there was more to the story.

So she asked, “Cousin Zhengshen, what else happened to the Tian family?”

“It’s nothing but brothers fighting against each other…” Li Zhengshen shook his head.

It turned out that after Madam Tian’s passing, Tian Benchang’s life had become difficult. Old Master Tian now favored his concubine called Chunzhi, while Second Young Master Tian harbored resentment toward Tian Benchang for shamelessly driving him back from Nanjing. Of course, this wasn’t the only grievance he held – deep hatred isn’t formed in a day.

Thus, Second Young Master Tian, relying on Chunzhi’s pillow talk influence, began to move against the eldest young master. First, using the pretext that Tian Benchang should be in mourning for Madam Tian’s death, he persuaded Old Master Tian to take back Tian Benchang’s authority over the ink workshop.

Tian Benchang naturally disagreed. With his mother gone and his father valuing him less and less, if he handed over the ink workshop, he would be completely marginalized in the family.

Therefore, he refused to give up control of the ink workshop, arguing that the business had managers handling specific operations, and he only needed to oversee the general direction, which wouldn’t interfere with his mourning duties.

While Old Master Tian had become muddle-headed, he still knew that his eldest son was far more capable than his second son. Thus, Second Young Master Tian’s scheme didn’t succeed in this matter.

How could Second Young Master Tian let it rest? Having already broken face with Tian Benchang, he was determined to fight to the end. When one plan failed, he hatched another – he secretly had someone accuse Tian Benchang of embezzling imperial ink funds in collusion with Taoist Yunsung years ago.

Did this happen? Yes, but it wasn’t Tian Benchang’s doing – it was an agreement between Old Master Tian and Taoist Yunsung.

To understand this point, we must go back to the “Divine Selection” of tribute ink for the imperial examination.

Back then, Old Master Tian had invited Taoist Yunsung to arrange the “Divine Selection,” ultimately wresting the tribute ink rights from the Cheng family. But this didn’t come without a price – besides the fee paid to Taoist Yunsung at the time, they had agreed to help produce a batch of Taoist ink for him.

Because of this batch of ink, the Tian family had even risked using the hundred-year pine that Li Ninth Master of the Li family had exchanged with his life.

Of course, this batch of ink was paid for by the imperial court but was privately used by Taoist Yunsung.

If Taoist Yunsung had maintained his prominence, no one would have dared expose this matter. But now, as soon as Emperor Longqing ascended the throne, he had made an example of him.

Thus, the matter Second Young Master Tian reported immediately caught Magistrate Ji’s attention, and he promptly had Tian Benchang arrested.

In truth, Second Young Master Tian’s accusation wasn’t against Tian Benchang but against Old Master Tian, since the original agreement with Taoist Yunsung had been made by Old Master Tian. However, Second Young Master Tian had from the start pinned everything on Tian Benchang. And Tian Benchang wasn’t entirely innocent – although the initial agreement with Taoist Yunsung wasn’t his doing, he had indeed been the one who later requisitioned the Li family’s hundred-year pine and conducted the transaction with Taoist Yunsung. As for the rest, Tian Benchang had no way to defend himself – if he tried to explain, it would mean accusing Old Master Tian, which would be unfilial.

Thus, this trap thoroughly ensnared Tian Benchang.

“When we arrived, Tian Benchang was still in prison. Sun Yuejuan was helping him, pouring whole boxes of silver into bribes, but the outcome remains uncertain,” Li Zhengshen said.

“They brought this on themselves. Their methods of competing for the tribute ink rights back then were underhanded to begin with. Now it’s just a case of dogs biting dogs – they deserve it,” Madam Zhao, who had no good feelings toward the Tian family, found this quite satisfying.

In Zhenniang’s view, while Tian Benchang might not be entirely innocent, being brought to such a state by his own family was indeed quite tragic.