“Hmph, it must be that scoundrel Wang Decai’s doing,” Zhenniang said angrily after hearing her mother’s words.

“Indeed. Your aunt knows what’s going on too. The problem is that Run’er is at that awkward age – he’s not quite mature enough to understand everything, but not so young that he understands nothing. Add to that the blood ties between father and son, and I’m worried that if we don’t handle this well, Run’er might end up becoming our enemy,” Madam Zhao sighed.

“Let him become our enemy then. I’m not afraid of him!” Xi’er huffed from the side. Though he usually played well with Run’er, this time Run’er had thoroughly embarrassed him, leaving Xi’er quite upset.

“You little rascal, you think you’re so capable? I haven’t even dealt with you yet – always getting into fights and causing trouble. Just wait until we get home,” Madam Zhao scolded, giving Xi’er a few light swats.

“Mother, I’m not causing trouble!” Xi’er ducked his head and tried to defend himself, but quickly fell silent, obediently supporting his mother while trying to get back in her good graces.

Zhenniang couldn’t help but smile at his behavior. Xi’er’s temperament was most like their father’s – a bit of a troublemaker who would fight at the slightest provocation. He’d earned quite a few beatings from Madam Zhao for it.

After the moment of levity passed, Zhenniang grew worried again. If Run’er’s situation wasn’t handled properly, it could become quite troublesome.

However, she had acted with a clear conscience that day. Even if Run’er came to hate her, she could face him without guilt. Besides, Run’er would grow up eventually. Once he was a bit older, he would understand certain things better. There was no need to agonize too much over it.

What Zhenniang couldn’t understand was what Wang Decai hoped to achieve by spreading such rumors to Run’er. If one claimed Wang Decai was acting out of fatherly concern, Zhenniang wouldn’t believe it for a moment. In her previous life, Wang Decai had never shown any care for Run’er. His current actions must have some ulterior motive.

But Zhenniang couldn’t figure out what that motive might be. It was obvious that no matter how much Run’er caused trouble, the Li family would never take Wang Decai back, especially with the Su couple by his side.

As for having designs on Li Mo, that couldn’t be achieved through Run’er alone.

First, Run’er was still young. Second, the sixth branch of the Li family had no connection to the ink shop anymore.

After the incident with Wang Decai, Sixth Uncle felt ashamed and withdrew his remaining shares in the ink shop. Now the shop had no connection to the sixth branch of the Li family. What could Wang Decai hope to achieve by manipulating Run’er?

Could Wang Decai simply be trying to antagonize the Li family? But if that were the case, it wouldn’t affect the other Li family members much – Run’er would be the one to suffer. Surely Wang Decai hadn’t gone to all this trouble just to make Run’er lose his place in the Li family? That didn’t make much sense either.

After pondering for a while, Zhenniang’s head was in a mess. She rubbed her temples and decided to set the matter aside for now and see how things developed.

The three members of the Li family returned home. Madam Zhao discussed Aunt Jinhua and Changgen’s situation with Grandmother Wu and Madam Zheng. Both thought it was a good match, and they agreed to speak with the Seventh Lady tomorrow. Having been deceived once before, and having been entrusted by Old Master Li Six, Madam Zhao wanted to be especially careful this time.

As for Run’er’s opinion, it was naturally ignored by everyone.

That night, lying in bed, Zhenniang tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

First, she thought about Run’er’s situation, then about Luo Wenqian. According to his schedule, he should be reaching Huizhou soon. Thinking of Luo Wenqian led her to think about Tian Ronghua, who had now been firmly labeled as a husband-killer by people’s gossip.

As she was lost in these thoughts, she gradually drifted off to sleep.

She wasn’t sure how long she had slept when, in a half-awake state, she was startled by a commotion.

“Fire! Fire! Quick, put out the fire…”

Zhenniang suddenly sat up in bed, her heart pounding. It was August, with dry autumn weather and strong winds – the perfect conditions for fires to spread. This could be a serious matter.

Zhenniang quickly put on some clothes and got up. She opened the door and called out, “Sister Liu Jin, where’s the fire?”

“Miss Zhen, it seems to be at the Tian residence,” Sister Liu Jin answered from the stairway.

“The Tian residence? How did it catch fire?” Zhenniang was shocked.

The Tian family mansion was just behind Four Treasures Street, which was lined with wooden buildings. With the strong wind, if the fire spread, the entire Four Treasures Street might not be saved. The Li family’s ink shop was on that street too.

Growing more anxious, Zhenniang quickly tied her clothes and wrapped her disheveled hair in a blue headscarf. She rushed downstairs and followed her father and elder brother out. When they reached Four Treasures Street, they saw flames rising from the Tian mansion, lighting up half the sky. The sight was enough to make anyone’s heart race.

“How is it?” Zhenniang asked her second cousin from the ninth branch, Li Zhengyan, who was guarding the ink shop. Li Zhengyan and several workers were holding buckets and boxes filled with water, ready to fight the fire if it spread their way.

Though the scene looked frightening, the fire was contained in the back courtyard of the Tian residence. Not only was Four Treasures Street safe, but even the main building of the Tian residence wasn’t affected. The Tian family seemed to have the fire under control – despite the strong wind, it wasn’t spreading.

However, although the fire wasn’t spreading, it kept burning more and more fiercely, with flames reaching higher and higher. The fire brigade from the magistrate’s office had arrived but wasn’t making any attempt to extinguish the fire. What was going on?

“What’s happening? The fire brigade is here, why aren’t they putting out the fire?” Li Dalang asked others in his deep voice, but most just shook their heads.

Just then, several people came by, followed by a buzz of discussion.

“What? Third Miss Tian self-immolated to preserve her honor!!!” This was the main topic being passed through the crowd.

Zhenniang stood stunned at the news. She had expected Tian Ronghua to be labeled a husband-killer like herself, but she hadn’t imagined Tian Ronghua would choose this way to deal with the rumors.

“Aiya, whose idea was this? This is too cruel,” someone in the crowd sighed.

“It’s obvious – either the Xu family’s idea or that Chunzhi couldn’t tolerate Third Miss Tian and forced her down this path,” angry voices from the crowd suggested.

“No, it was Third Miss Tian’s request. The magistrate’s office was prepared for it. They’ve even written up the commendation for her virtue,” someone else in the crowd explained.

Hearing this, several Confucian scholars in the crowd nodded approvingly: “How heroic and righteous!”

Though some women quietly muttered: “What nonsense about heroism and righteousness…”

Zhenniang felt cold. Whether Tian Ronghua had been forced or had chosen this herself, Zhenniang felt a chill run down her spine. When she first arrived, she also faced pressure to follow her husband in death, but her family worked together to resist Lady Tian’s wishes. Therefore, Zhenniang hadn’t experienced the cruelty of such martyrdom.

Even when she heard about Choumu’s story, though it touched her heart, it hadn’t struck her as deeply as the scene before her now.

Life was precious, yet sometimes it could be so fragile – fragile enough to be shattered by rumors.

These thoughts made Zhenniang clench her fists, her nails digging painfully into her palms.

Now the already collapsed embroidery tower lay in ruins, like a tomb, with countless particles of dust floating in the air, making it hard to breathe.

Just then, a short horse’s neigh came from the crowd. For some reason, Zhenniang looked in that direction. Under the eaves of a merchant’s house, a lantern marked “Cheng’s Shop” swayed in the wind. Luo Wenqian stood there holding his horse’s reins. As the lantern swayed back and forth, his face alternated between light and shadow, his eyes fixed on the fire, appearing clear and bright in the reflected light.

Luo Wenqian still had his travel bags on the horse, his whole person covered in dust, clearly having just arrived.

As if sensing Li Zhenniang’s gaze, Luo Wenqian suddenly raised his hand and waved to her.

Zhenniang took a deep breath and walked over from the crowd. The two couldn’t help but hold hands tightly.

Standing shoulder to shoulder, they looked up at the sky. It was dark and heavy, while the smoke was gray, hanging like mist and billowing like skirts in the night wind, resembling Tian Ronghua’s departing figure. Zhenniang turned to look at Luo Wenqian’s serious expression and suddenly felt uncomfortable.

Zhenniang realized her heart was quite small with jealousy.

So she tried to pull her hand from Luo Wenqian’s grasp, planning to leave – out of sight, out of mind.

But Luo Wenqian held her hand firmly.

“Let go,” Zhenniang said, somewhat annoyed.

Luo Wenqian kept holding Zhenniang’s hand tightly, looking at her with clear, contained eyes, his expression serious and persistent.

Suddenly, Zhenniang understood Luo Wenqian’s meaning – he was telling her that no matter what happened, they would stay together for life. Because life was too fleeting.

Zhenniang stopped struggling and instead walked to Luo Wenqian’s side. She casually sat down on a nearby stone step, and Luo Wenqian sat beside her, leaving the horse standing nearby, occasionally snorting.

After a while, the smoke in the sky dispersed, and the crowd also dispersed. By now Zhenniang’s eyes were stinging. She didn’t like this feeling – better to go home and sleep it off, hoping tomorrow would bring clear skies.

“Let’s go back,” Zhenniang stood up, but since she had been sitting on the steps and it was dark all around, she didn’t see the step clearly. As she stood up, she missed her footing and cried out in pain.

“Are you alright? Let me see,” Luo Wenqian caught her by the waist almost as soon as she twisted her ankle, lifting her foot off the ground while asking anxiously. Then he helped Zhenniang sit down and felt her ankle.

Zhenniang hissed – her ankle was throbbing with pain.

“Come, I’ll carry you back,” Luo Wenqian turned his back to her.

“Don’t we have the horse?” Zhenniang pointed at the docile horse.

“I want to carry you,” Luo Wenqian said seriously.

Zhenniang puffed her cheeks, then without ceremony climbed onto Luo Wenqian’s back. As soon as she pressed against his back, she could feel the warmth radiating from him, immediately dispersing the earlier chill.