Though Zhenniang was unaware of Wang Decai targeting Feng Daniu, her knowledge of the future family records combined with her deep understanding of Wang Decai’s character meant she remained constantly vigilant against him.
She was also making thorough preparations regarding the alleged Tartar collaboration incident mentioned in the future family records.
Thus, both Wang Decai and Li Zhenniang were making their preparations and calculating their moves in this silent contest.
Time flew by, and the twelfth lunar month arrived.
This year’s winter was particularly cold, with three snowfalls already shortly after the month began.
Zhenniang rose early, and after breakfast, walked through the crunching snow to the ink workshop.
“Uncle Jingming, is the ink all packed?” Zhenniang asked from the accounting office.
“All packed, and the Ink Affairs Bureau has sent word they’ll be here soon to inspect and collect the goods,” Li Jingming replied.
“Good, thank you for your hard work, Uncle Jingming.” Zhenniang nodded, then turned to Manager Shao nearby: “Manager Shao, are the red envelopes ready?”
Today was the day to deliver the tribute ink. Once the ink was inspected and accepted, the workshop would begin its holiday break. Summer and winter were the workshop’s slow seasons, especially winter, which coincided with the New Year. Thus, the workshop’s New Year holiday was particularly long, typically lasting from the fifteenth of the twelfth month to the fifteenth of the first month—a full month.
It was also the coldest time of the year.
“All prepared,” Manager Shao nodded.
As they spoke, the Ink Affairs Bureau officials arrived, led by a supervisor with several men to inspect the goods. Given that the Li family now held the title of “First Ink Under Heaven,” along with the sacrifices Eighth Master Li had made for Li Ink, even those inspection officials who usually liked to create difficulties and seek benefits now conducted their inspection properly and by the rules.
Naturally, there were no issues, and the tribute ink inspection went smoothly.
Of course, Zhenniang understood the ways of the world and had prepared some New Year gifts along with money envelopes for the inspection officials.
The officials accepted these without much ceremony.
By noon, all tribute ink had been inspected, packed, and taken away by the Ink Affairs Bureau personnel. The Li Family Ink Workshop had secured another source of income, ensuring a prosperous New Year for the Li family.
With the workshop business concluded, Zhenniang gathered the workers for two matters: first, to thank them for their hard work throughout the year, and second—most importantly—to distribute red envelopes.
Distributing red envelopes was naturally what made the workers happiest. One by one, they collected their envelopes, exchanged auspicious words with the owner, and then packed up their things to leave, heading to the streets to buy New Year goods for home.
Afterward, Zhenniang, along with Uncle Jingming, Uncle Jingdong, and Manager Shao, sealed the furnace, marking the beginning of the workshop’s winter break.
Yet unexpectedly, just as the workshop began its winter break, news came from the Tian family: Tian Benchang had returned home and accepted Spring Concubine as his mother.
“Tsk tsk, this Tian Da has lost his way. Has he forgotten how his mother died? She was driven to death by this Spring Concubine. Now look at him, eagerly accepting Spring Concubine as his mother. Pah! If I were his mother, I couldn’t rest peacefully underground, couldn’t even close my eyes,” idle gossip on Fourth Treasure Street couldn’t help but whisper.
Zhenniang was sitting in the Li Family Ink Shop at the time. Though the workshop was closed, the shop remained open, still able to sell some ink during the New Year season.
“What game is the Tian family’s eldest playing?” Third Master Cheng asked Zhenniang, holding a magnifying glass in one hand and an ink stick in the other.
They had all been in the same industry. While Tian Benchang might not have been the most generous person, he wasn’t the type to accept a criminal as his mother.
“How else could he reclaim the Tian family property? ‘If you want the tiger cub, you must enter the tiger’s den,'” Zhenniang replied with a smile. Though this was her speculation, she was nearly certain she was right—Tian Benchang was quite calculating.
“That’s true,” Old Master Cheng nodded and continued examining the ink.
Old Master Cheng had recently become fascinated with Li’s family’s various inks, often coming to study them. With his increasingly frank disposition in his old age, he would ask directly whenever he encountered something he didn’t understand, regardless of traditional reservations.
Zhenniang had no choice but to explain everything she knew thoroughly.
Technical development always required inclusiveness; keeping knowledge to oneself only halted progress.
Just then, Yao Qianshan entered from outside.
“First Uncle, when did you return?” Seeing Yao Qianshan’s sudden appearance, Zhenniang asked curiously.
“Arrived yesterday. By the way, there’s something I need to tell you—have Wenqian send more people to search,” Yao Qianshan said seriously, stepping into the inner room of the shop.
“What’s the matter? Search for what?” Zhenniang followed him in, asking in a lowered voice.
“Feng Daniu has disappeared,” Yao Qianshan said.
“How could Feng Daniu disappear? Weren’t Uncle’s men watching him?” Zhenniang’s heart skipped a beat, sensing something ominous.
“My men were secretly watching him, but recently he received a letter. Shortly after, he went out, taking many turns. The men following him weren’t paying attention at first, and by the time they did, they couldn’t find him anymore,” Yao Qianshan explained.
“Who sent him the letter?” Zhenniang asked.
“I investigated—the messenger said it was delivered by a servant from the Tian family. That’s why I came to Huizhou, but the Tian family claims to know nothing about it,” Yao Qianshan said.
When a servant was involved, the master could easily deny all knowledge.
Hearing this, Zhenniang understood—just as the family records had indicated, Wang Decai was indeed planning to frame the Li family for collaborating with the Tartars. This time, he intended to use Feng Daniu as his entry point, since her father had dealings with Feng Daniu in the northern territory.
She needed to discuss this thoroughly with Brother Luo. So she said to Yao Qianshan: “First Uncle, I understand. I’ll tell Wenqian to send more people to search.” Though she said this, Zhenniang suspected Feng Daniu was at the Tian residence, and she needed to discuss the entire situation’s layout with Brother Luo.
“Good, we can’t be careless about this,” Yao Qianshan cautioned her a few more times before leaving.
After Yao Qianshan’s departure, Zhenniang left the ink shop and headed straight for Luo Wenqian’s trading house. The Yihou Trading Company had a branch in Huizhou, mainly dealing in tea and local products.
“You’re saying Feng Daniu is likely at the Tian residence?” Luo Wenqian asked after hearing Zhenniang’s explanation.
“Yes,” Zhenniang nodded.
“But Feng Daniu is trouble now—why would the Tian family so eagerly bring him into their home?” Luo Wenqian asked curiously.
“Brother Luo, I’m worried Wang Decai is setting something up.” Zhenniang then explained how the family records documented Wang Decai and the Qin family framing the Li family for collaborating with Tartars, though she presented it as speculation and hypothesis.
Normally, who could have guessed such things? But with the family records as her guide, Zhenniang could trace backward from the outcome to the process.
As Luo Wenqian listened, his expression grew intense.
“Brother Luo, what’s wrong? Have you discovered something?” Zhenniang asked worriedly.
Luo Wenqian had been investigating the Qin family’s Tartar connections, mainly to uncover the truth about the massacre of Li’s father’s merchant convoy, but had never considered the possibility of the Li family being falsely accused of collaborating with Tartars.
However, hearing Zhenniang’s hypothesis and recalling someone he’d seen today, he suddenly realized that while her guess seemed incredibly bold and almost inconceivable, it wasn’t impossible. He had a feeling she might have hit the mark.
Taking her hand, he finally said after a while: “Your guess is very bold, almost inconceivable, but it might be true. Today, I saw the Qin family’s Third Master arrive in Huizhou.”
“Third Master Qin?” Zhenniang looked puzzled.
“From what I’ve learned, Third Master Qin has been the one handling dealings with the Tartars and bandits. To be honest, I’ve been wondering about his sudden arrival in Huizhou, but following your theory, his presence makes sense. He must be here to pressure Feng Daniu, to force him to implicate your father…” Here, Luo Wenqian shook his head: “No, not just that—me as well. With Third Master Qin’s abilities, sacrificing a few people to fabricate evidence wouldn’t be a problem. It’s quite possible they could make the accusations of Tartar collaboration against me and Li Father stick. And Fourth Master Qin might not even know about this.”
Zhenniang’s speculation had only considered Wang Decai’s plot against her family, not including Luo Wenqian. Hearing his words now, she suddenly understood—they were aiming to catch everyone in one net.
“Then what should we do? How’s the progress on finding evidence of the Qin family’s Tartar collaboration in the north?” Zhenniang grew anxious. She knew Luo Wenqian had never let go of this matter, but such things sometimes required luck, and even when you knew something would happen, you might not have the power to turn the tide.
“Don’t worry, let’s play along with them,” Luo Wenqian suddenly smiled lightly, squeezing Zhenniang’s hand reassuringly. Then he handed her a letter.
Zhenniang opened and read it—it was from the north, stating that Officials Xuan and Yan, who had fled from the Imperial Textile Manufacturing Office, had been captured by General Qi’s men. During their capture, another person was caught: Zhao Quan’s younger cousin, Zhao Zhen.
Zhao Quan was the Chinese man who had led Anda to attack Shi Prefecture and was also the court’s most wanted criminal.
This Zhao Zhen was the very person who had led the Tartars in the massacre of Li Jingfu’s merchant convoy. Moreover, he was the liaison between the Tartars and the Qin family.
However, since Officials Xuan and Yan wanted to atone for their crimes by claiming they could convince Khan Naji, who was having conflicts with Anda, to surrender, and General Qi didn’t want to affect these surrender negotiations, Zhao Zhen had been quietly held in the Qi army’s prison, unknown to outsiders.
Reading this letter, Zhenniang let out a long sigh of relief. With Zhao Zhen in hand, the Qin family and Wang Decai would ultimately end up lifting a rock only to drop it on their own feet.