The Li family’s ink-testing ceremony concluded perfectly, and the play “Tragic Love” became an instant hit.
As “Tragic Love” gained popularity, people often remarked: “Ah, if only they had used Li family ink, there wouldn’t have been such a tragic misunderstanding. What a shame, what a pity.”
As such comments spread, the Li ink became even more deeply ingrained in people’s minds.
As the crowd dispersed, the drizzling rain suddenly stopped. A rainbow appeared on the horizon, making the entire sky crystal clear.
The long street of bluestone slabs remained wet. Children chased each other, splashing through shallow puddles, causing passers-by to jump away with good-natured scolding. The children just laughed and ran off.
The Li family group returned to the main house, all smiling.
Today’s successful ink testing ceremony had put Seventh Grandmother in high spirits. With Li Jingfu and Luo Wenqian returning from Nanjing today, she had the kitchen prepare two tables of food and wine—one in the outer hall and one in the inner hall.
Men and women dined separately.
The dishes included seasonal steamed bamboo shoots, preserved meat stewed with fresh bamboo shoots, steamed green carp, kung pao chicken, lotus root in sauce, and bracken starch dumplings. The wine was premium Huadiao, and both halls enjoyed their meals thoroughly.
After the feast, tea was served. Both halls were filled with conversation. Old Master Li was in high spirits today, reclining in his rattan chair with a blanket over his torso, resting while listening to everyone talk.
“Well, the house in Luo Village is built—a three-section compound. Most furniture is newly made, though sparse. We’ve stored plenty of wood, so after Zhen Niang moves in, we can make whatever else she needs, which might better suit her taste. Also, when the Luo family mansion was sealed, I moved some good furniture to the Luo ancestral hall. Later, my Third Uncle helped me renovate the hall, and we stored that furniture away. Now it’s all been moved into the new house. Zhen Niang can arrange it as she sees fit,” Luo Wenqian rambled about the situation in Luo Village.
“Mm, you can handle things there as you see fit,” Li Jingfu naturally had little to say on such matters. However, Luo Village valued Zhen Niang—they frequently sent someone to ask the Li family about their needs regarding the house’s layout. This was all reportedly arranged by Luo Wenqian.
From this, the Li family was quite satisfied with Luo Wenqian.
Meanwhile, Zhen Niang was in the inner hall with Hua’er, keeping Seventh Grandmother and her own grandmother company.
The conversation from outside drifted in faintly. Listening, Seventh Grandmother discussed Zhen Niang’s dowry with Madam Wu. They had agreed to discuss the wedding date after the tribute ink competition, which was now approaching, so these preparations needed to begin.
Beside them, Hua’er secretly tugged at Zhen Niang’s sleeve, teasing in a whisper: “Elder Sister must be overjoyed.”
“What’s there to be overjoyed about? You’re the one with spring fever—the way you were looking at Master Ding today, your eyes were practically dripping,” Zhen Niang pinched Hua’er’s waist, whispering back with embarrassment.
Ticklish, Hua’er giggled and squirmed: “I wouldn’t marry someone like Master Ding. I’d have to serve him all day and couldn’t even have a proper conversation. Er’gou is better—I can send him on errands when needed, and he can joke with me when there’s nothing to do.”
Hearing this, Zhen Niang laughed: “Oh? So Hua’er has taken a fancy to Er’gou?”
“No, I was just making a comparison,” Hua’er blushed, refusing to admit it.
As they were joking around, Luo Wenqian took his leave from the outer hall, saying he needed to return to Luo Village.
Madam Zhao secretly pushed Zhen Niang, who went along with it, walking out with a slight smile. She followed Luo Wenqian outside. At the corner of the outer wall, he stopped and turned to stare at her.
“What is it? Is there dust on my face?” Zhen Niang touched her nose, puzzled by his stare.
Seeing her confused look, Luo Wenqian laughed heartily: “Today’s ink testing ceremony was brilliant. I’m trying to figure out how that mind of yours works.”
He was always teasing. Zhen Niang glared at him without malice, then smiled smugly.
Luo Wenqian loved seeing her smug expression and reached out to take her hand.
The sudden contact made her heart jump. Though hand-holding wasn’t much, this was the Ming Dynasty, and if any Confucian scholars saw this on the street, they’d surely lament the decay of social morals.
Zhen Niang tried to pull away, but couldn’t—his grip was strong enough to hurt. She gave him another glare.
Luo Wenqian remained unperturbed, holding her hand as they walked along the bluestone street, feeling perfectly content.
Seeing his expression, Zhen Niang recalled how Ding Yunpeng had stumbled drunkenly when leaving, and she couldn’t help but laugh inside. This man appeared calm and steady on the surface, but he had quite a mischievous streak.
Her father had often warned her about this mischievousness, always telling her to be careful not to let him take advantage.
Suddenly, a group of people rushed over from the front street, shouting: “The magistrate’s office has posted an announcement! How can this be? This year’s silk production will follow last year’s system—they’re not giving us any way to survive!”
Several strong men were shouting, looking furious.
Their sudden appearance startled Zhen Niang and Luo Wenqian, who quickly let go of each other’s hands.
However, as Zhen Niang listened carefully to their words, she grew puzzled. Last year, the ledger involving Cousin Zhengping exposed various dark dealings—how the silk bureau, silk merchants, and local officials had colluded to exploit the silkworm farmers.
Now, she had given that ledger to the princess, who should have passed it to the court. Even if the case timing wasn’t right for prosecution, surely last year’s exploitative system should have been changed? How could they still follow the same system?
Wouldn’t this just lead to another round of corruption?
“That’s not all—this year the officials are distributing more silkworm eggs than last year. Where will we get enough mulberry trees? Should we plant mulberry trees in all our fields? What will we eat and drink then? We might as well become bandits in the mountains—at least that’s a way to survive,” another man grumbled.
“Are you trying to get yourself killed? Don’t talk about becoming bandits! The county office is arresting bandits right now. If they hear you and throw you in jail, how will the children and I survive?” A woman beside him said anxiously, obviously his wife.
“What good does it do us to live honestly? At this rate, after a year of hard work, we can barely feed our children,” the man shook his head dejectedly.
“What’s happening here?” Three men approached from nearby. The leader appeared to be in his fifties, thin and weathered, wearing a somewhat worn round-collared robe and a square official’s cap—dressed like a common impoverished scholar. The two men behind him wore short jackets, looking like servants. None of them stood out particularly.
However, the leader’s eyes held an inner light, and despite his thin frame, his back was perfectly straight. His gaunt face made his features more pronounced, and his whole being radiated integrity that suggested he was no ordinary person.
Zhen Niang glanced at Luo Wenqian, who looked respectful and tugged at his sleeve.
Luo Wenqian finally whispered in her ear: “It’s Lord Hai.”
Hearing it was Hai Rui, Zhen Niang’s heart jumped. Why had he come to Huizhou? Though Huizhou was under Yingtian’s jurisdiction, his inspection wasn’t unusual, historically he hadn’t come here. In Songjiang, he had been dismissed from office after handling the Xu family’s land issues, which had grown too contentious.
There was even a later play called “Hai Rui Dismissed from Office” about this.
Yet now, he had not only received the Yingtian Inspector position a year early but had also come to Huizhou first.
Suddenly, Zhen Niang had a feeling that Hai Rui’s arrival might be related to that ledger. She whispered two words in Luo Wenqian’s ear: “The ledger?”
“Mm.” Luo Wenqian nodded slightly.
Zhen Niang suddenly understood. Though history portrayed the Longqing Emperor as ineffective, no emperor truly wanted to be controlled by his ministers. From the moment he ascended the throne, he had been playing mind games with his cabinet ministers.
Regarding the ledger, since Longqing had just ascended the throne last year with many matters to handle, he had only transferred a few people for secret investigation, with no overt actions. Thus, Nanjing’s silk industry had remained peaceful. Now, sending Hai Rui down this year meant directly exposing the silk industry’s dark underbelly.
At this moment, seeing the strangers’ question, the men dared not answer.
However, Luo Wenqian stepped forward and relayed what the men had said earlier.
“Is this true?” Hai Rui asked the men after listening.
“Of course it’s true—the announcement is posted at the magistrate’s office,” one man said angrily.
Hai Rui nodded but said nothing more, just turned toward the magistrate’s office with a serious expression. However, one of his servants told the men: “Lord Hai has arrived in Huizhou. If you have grievances, go home, have someone write a petition, and submit it to the office tomorrow. Lord Hai will surely handle it.”
“Lord Hai—is that the upright Lord Hai?” one man asked excitedly.
“Indeed. Just come submit your petitions tomorrow,” the servant said, hurrying after the departing Hai Rui.
“Excellent! Whether we can survive depends on this!” The man exclaimed excitedly, pulling his wife along and calling to others about finding someone to write petitions.
“Ha, Huizhou will be lively for a while—the ink tribute competition and Lord Hai’s visit,” Luo Wenqian remarked, rubbing his nose as he watched the crowd disperse.
Watching the distant figures, Zhen Niang had a sense of unpredictable fortune and misfortune.
Lord Hai was indeed upright, but sometimes too extreme. She needed to warn her elder brother to watch out for those two from the Du family.