With this news spreading, another rumor circulated—that Tian Ronghua was cursed to bring misfortune to her betrothed.
Years ago, when Tian Ronghua was engaged to Luo Wenqian, the Luo family fell. Now that she was engaged to the Xu family, they met with great misfortune, even causing Third Young Master Xu to lose his life.
Thus, piece by piece, it seemed to confirm Tian Ronghua’s reputation as one who brought doom to her intended husbands.
“Fortunately, Zhenniang didn’t try to match with the Xu family back then. Otherwise, even having mouths all over her body wouldn’t be enough to explain things now,” Madam Han Li, who had come to attend Li Mo’s family ceremony, gossiped upon hearing about the Xu family’s situation.
“Enough, don’t spread such nonsense. They’re all unfortunate children,” Old Madam Li glared at Madam Han Li.
Madam Han Li reluctantly fell silent.
Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Zhenniang, who was sitting nearby, took out a book of ink-making notes and handed it to Old Madam Li, her eyes somewhat red: “Seventh Grandmother, these are my grandfather’s lifetime notes on ink-making. I’ve also added my ink formulas and insights from these past few years at the end, all for you.”
“Good, good,” Old Madam Li accepted the notebook, flipped through it, and emphasized heavily: “These notes are the foundation of Li Mo’s legacy.” Speaking thus, Old Madam Li stood up excitedly and said to Zhenniang: “Zhenniang, come with me.”
“Seventh Grandmother, where are we going?” Zhenniang asked curiously.
“You’ll know when we get there,” Old Madam Li kept it mysterious.
Li Zhenniang rose to support her Seventh Grandmother, following her into the Seventh Branch’s inner quarters, arriving at the old madam’s Buddhist shrine.
Upon reaching the shrine, Zhenniang had a rough idea—undoubtedly, Seventh Grandmother was taking her to the ink archive.
Zhenniang had long known about the ink archive in the Li family’s Buddhist shrine, but it had always been accessible only to the family head. She had only heard of it but never entered.
The ink archive was the foundation of every ink-making family’s survival.
Her heart pounding with excitement, she watched as the old madam walked to the side of the Buddhist altar. Under a wooden staircase was a screen. The old madam moved the screen aside, revealing a small door about half a person’s height.
Old Madam Li opened the small door, then lit a candle from the altar’s candlestick, and beckoned to Zhenniang: “Zhenniang, follow me in.”
“Mm,” Zhenniang nodded, taking the candlestick from her Seventh Grandmother, illuminating the steps. The staircase wasn’t long, just five steps down. What appeared before Zhenniang was a storehouse about the size of a main hall. However, being half-underground, it was very dim.
“Come, light the lamp stands around the room,” Old Madam Li instructed.
Only then did Zhenniang notice the lamp stands built into the walls. She raised her candle to light them one by one, and immediately the storehouse was brightly lit. Zhenniang could now see clearly that the room was filled with display cabinets made of rosewood.
“Go look at the Li family’s treasures,” Old Madam Li said with a smile.
Zhenniang glanced at her Seventh Grandmother before walking to the display cabinets. Opening them revealed ink cases. The cases alone were masterpieces of carving craftsmanship. Opening several cases revealed stick after stick of ink.
The first ink stick presented to Zhenniang was the Zhongjiang ink.
Zhongjiang was Wei Dan from the Three Kingdoms period, considered the founder of medicinal ink. The Li family’s medicinal ink was derived from Zhongjiang ink. One might say most inks were derived from Wei ink to the point where some people established Wei Dan as the Ink Ancestor.
Next was a stick of “Lushan Pine Ink.”
Lushan Pine Ink flourished during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, which was also when “Yishui Ink” first emerged.
Additionally, Zhenniang saw the piece of Yu Mi Tile Ink she had accidentally collected, the Four Harmony Ink that Old Master Qi Chun had given her, and the Luzhou Longbin ink she had first discovered at Sixth Uncle’s place.
There were many other ancient inks, some Zhenniang recognized, others she had never heard of.
Only now did Zhenniang realize the depth of the Li family’s accumulation. For an ink-making family like the Li’s, each piece of ancient ink was like what future generations would call a living fossil, each representing a method of ink-making.
Of course, as ink-making methods evolved, some ancient techniques had been eliminated, but they all stood as historical witnesses.
“Seventh Grandmother, I never imagined there would be so many ancient inks,” Zhenniang said incredulously.
“Look at the cabinet over there,” Old Madam Li pointed to another small cabinet.
Zhenniang opened it to find stacks of notebooks and volumes of ink line diagrams. Opening them, she saw these ink-making notes were left by generations of Li family ink makers. She had seen some before, given to her by the old madam for study, but viewing them now felt different.
Before, she had viewed them purely for learning; now, she saw them as inheritance.
Among them, Zhenniang even found ink-making notes from when her grandfather was young.
“Zhenniang, come, put this notebook together with the one your grandfather left in his youth,” Old Madam Li handed the notebook to Zhenniang.
Zhenniang accepted it and solemnly placed the notebook next to that one, feeling the weight of a thousand years.
“Zhenniang, the Li family ink business has had its ups and downs but has never perished, precisely because of these…” Old Madam Li said, looking around before continuing, “With these, Li Mo can continue its legacy, and these are the foundation of Li Mo, something the Li family must protect with their lives.”
Old Madam Li then solemnly removed a set of keys from her key ring and handed them to Zhenniang: “Now, I entrust these to you.”
“Seventh Grandmother?” Zhenniang was uncertain. Although Seventh Grandmother had essentially confirmed her position as Li Mo’s head during the unveiling ceremony, the ink archive was different. Its value was too great, and she couldn’t help but hesitate. By custom, these should be given to Tianyou.
“Silly girl, Li Mo’s inheritance has never been restricted by legitimate or illegitimate birth. Even your great-grandfather was originally from a side branch of the Li family. Li Mo’s inheritance emphasizes skill. Girl, you deserve this,” Old Madam Li patted Zhenniang’s shoulder.
She continued: “Truthfully, Li Mo’s talent has declined. Perhaps this is fate. A dynasty’s rise and fall follow fate, and a family’s prosperity and decline also follow fate. Since my Seventh Branch took over Li Mo, misfortunes have never ceased. For Li Mo, I could only maintain it, powerless to develop it further. It was you, girl, you who brought glory to Li Mo.” At this point, Seventh Grandmother sighed, gave a slight laugh, and continued: “Also, Seventh Grandmother has some selfish thoughts. Honestly, if possible, I don’t want Tianyou to follow the path of ink making. After all, our Seventh Branch has sacrificed too much for ink-making. I just want him to grow up peacefully.”
“Seventh Grandmother, I understand. Zhenniang will protect Li Mo with her life,” Zhenniang didn’t say more, just solemnly accepted the keys. She understood that Seventh Grandmother had essentially entrusted both the Seventh Branch and the ink workshop to her.
Zhenniang fully understood Seventh Grandmother’s thoughts. Not only had the Seventh Branch lost so many people because of ink, but in the Eighth Branch, her grandmother, after her eldest uncle’s death, also didn’t want family members involved with Li Mo again. Li Mo’s glory was the Li family’s pride, but it had also left them with deep wounds.
The pain of the Seventh Branch must have pierced Seventh Grandmother to her core. That’s why Zhenniang had always looked up to Seventh Grandmother as a role model. After all, for a woman to shoulder family responsibilities under such circumstances, the pressure was truly beyond what ordinary people could bear.
Seventh Grandmother possessed an indomitable spirit.
Afterward, Zhenniang looked around the archive more. Besides ink and ink-making notes, there were many ink molds, ink cases, ink pouches, collected glue and soot, and various ink-making tools—essentially an ink-making museum.
“Cough, cough…” Old Madam Li began coughing.
“Seventh Grandmother, let’s go back, it’s cold here,” Zhenniang said, extinguishing the surrounding lamps and helping Seventh Grandmother out. The autumn winds were already whistling.
Seventh Grandmother, being elderly, was tired from all this activity and went to rest.
Zhenniang first went to the ink workshop to check on the ink-making progress, then prepared to head home.
However, when passing the Sixth Branch’s entrance, Runr suddenly ran out and collided with her, falling on his bottom due to his small size.
“I’ll beat you to death, I’ll beat you to death today…” Aunt Jinhua came out from the house, grabbed Runr, and started spanking him hard, her eyes red.
“Aunt Jinhua, what are you doing? We can talk about this,” Zhenniang intervened, seeing Aunt Jinhua hitting too hard, as Runr was only ten years old.
“Don’t interfere, don’t pretend to be kind, you’re a bad person, my father was harmed because of you,” unexpectedly, Runr violently shook off Zhenniang’s hand, speaking through gritted teeth.
Zhenniang was stunned by the boy’s behavior. Runr had always been close to her, when had he started hating her so much?
“Li Zhengrun, who do you think you are, how dare you insult my sister, I’m not done with you,” just then, Li Zhengxi rushed out of the house and angrily pushed Runr.
Runr pushed back, and when Zhengxi tried to fight, Zhenniang held him back.
“Let him hit, I think this boy’s life has been too comfortable and he’s looking for trouble,” Old Master Li Sixth came out leaning on his cane, and Zhenniang saw her mother, Madam Zhao, coming out with him.
Without waiting for Old Master Li Sixth’s order, Li Jinhua had already grabbed a broom handle and started hitting Runr’s calves.
Although Madam Zhao’s expression wasn’t good, she stopped Li Jinhua: “Jinhua, I suspect this has something to do with Wang Decai. You should ask Runr about the situation properly. If the child doesn’t understand past events, you should explain them to him. Beating won’t help.”
Hearing Madam Zhao’s words, Li Jinhua finally stopped.
Then Madam Zhao took Li Zhengxi and beckoned Zhenniang to leave first.
“Mother, what’s going on?” On the way, Li Zhenniang asked her mother, still confused about Runr’s unexpected resentment.
“Your Sixth Uncle’s health is getting worse, your Aunt Jinhua isn’t very capable, and Runr is still young. Someone needs to help shoulder the family’s responsibilities. So when I came today, your Sixth Uncle mentioned having the clan consider letting Changgen marry in. Unexpectedly, Runr overheard this. The boy must have met Wang Decai sometime, as he disagreed, saying he still has a father who he wants to bring back. He even said his father was driven out of the Li family because of us, which infuriated your Aunt Jinhua.” Madam Zhao explained.
Changgen was the Sixth Branch’s long-time worker who had been with them for over ten years. His wife had died in childbirth a few years ago, leaving him single. Being of excellent character, Old Master Li Sixth had this idea.