Yi Husheng changing its proprietor was news that shook Nanjing’s business world like an earthquake. In an instant, rumors about Yi Husheng’s liquidation spread throughout the streets of Nanjing.

Winter was approaching, and Zhenniang carried a stack of children’s clothes to the Li Family Ink Workshop. Xihuo’er’s wife was about to give birth, and Madam Zhao was returning to Huizhou. Zhenniang brought the children’s clothes and naturally wanted to spend time chatting with Madam Zhao.

The autumn wind gusted through the courtyard, stirring up fallen leaves and beating against the courtyard pillars. Madam Zhao was opening the door, appearing ready to go out, when she saw Zhenniang enter. She said, “Perfect timing, I was just about to visit you.”

“Mother, what’s the matter?” Zhenniang asked with a smile, placing the bundle she was carrying on a nearby table.

“What else could it be? I want to ask you, what’s happening with Yi Husheng? Did Wenqian just let himself get pushed out of Yi Husheng?” Madam Zhao asked with furrowed brows, then added irritably, “This news has spread throughout Nanjing, and you’re still keeping it from me?”

“Mother, I’m not hiding anything. It’s not a big deal – Yi Husheng has always belonged to Wenqian and his brothers, not just to Wenqian alone,” Zhenniang said, taking her mother’s arm as they sat down.

“That may be true, but everyone knows Yi Husheng reached its current scale because of Wenqian’s efforts. Without him, how could Yi Husheng have achieved what it has today?” Madam Zhao argued, worried that her daughter and son-in-law were too accommodating and might be taken advantage of.

Of course, she understood that her daughter and son-in-law had been in business for years and weren’t easily fooled, but as a mother, she always felt protective when she thought her own people were being bullied.

“Mother, I think this is for the best. Our family doesn’t want food or clothing. Before, Wenqian was always busy with Yi Husheng’s business, either traveling to the Two Oceans or heading north. Neither place is particularly safe. Every time Wenqian went away, I couldn’t sleep well at night. Now he’s relaxed every day. Father has someone to drink with, and my heart is much more at ease.” Zhenniang snuggled against her mother’s shoulder, enjoying the familiar scent of soap.

As for the true details of the situation, Zhenniang naturally wouldn’t tell Madam Zhao everything, not wanting to worry her.

“That’s true.” Hearing Zhenniang’s words and seeing that both she and Wenqian genuinely didn’t seem concerned about these matters, Madam Zhao relaxed.

Speaking of business, it hadn’t been as easy in recent years as it had been before.

“Well, business is getting harder and harder these days. Not to mention everything else, just now, the patrol office came to collect taxes again in our area,” Madam Zhao said irritably.

“More taxes? What kind of tax is it this time?” Zhenniang asked curiously. In recent years, the imperial court’s tax rates have been increasing, with more and more categories being added. Though business in Nanjing was flourishing, most enterprises had already invested in powerful households, similar to the previous practice of donating land. This meant merchants essentially depended on these powerful families for survival; otherwise, business would be impossible. However, this also meant that merchants had become tools for these powerful families to accumulate wealth.

As a result, the gap between rich and poor grew ever wider – the poor became poorer, and the rich became richer.

“The Prince Lu Wedding Jewelry Tax,” Madam Zhao replied.

Hearing this, Zhenniang remembered and couldn’t help but pursed her lips.

Prince Lu was the Wanli Emperor’s brother, now fifteen years old. The emperor was very close to this brother, and recently, using Prince Lu’s upcoming marriage as a reason, he ordered the Ministry of Revenue to provide 3,800 taels of gold, 87,000 pieces of blue and red gems, and over 100,000 various pearls and coral pieces. This nearly emptied the entire ministry’s coffers, and the pressure trickled down level by level, resulting in this Prince Lu Wedding Jewelry Tax, which sparked widespread public resentment.

“Now the commercial tax has increased, along with shop fees and quota taxes, plus silver conversion fees. With the rise in local ruffians causing trouble, your father discussed with Wenyou about closing the Nanjing branch. However, Wenyou said since you established the Nanjing ink market, they needed to consult you first about closing it,” Madam Zhao sighed.

Zhenniang was well aware of the current situation with Li Ink. Apart from the substantial quota fees and shop fees, the older generation of ink makers had retired, while the new generation hadn’t yet developed their skills. Now only Sun Wenjie was holding things together. Additionally, due to intense competition between the two Fang families, many skilled craftsmen had been poached by both sides.

Li Ink had lost its former glory.

Now, Li Ink in Huizhou could only be considered second-tier, though fortunately, they specialized in high-end products and still had a good market among scholars and artists for custom ink. This was enough to sustain Li Ink’s current operations, and since these customers sought them out directly, there wasn’t much need for the Nanjing branch anymore, especially considering the high operational costs.

Moreover, with Yi Husheng facing a crisis, Zhenniang worried about getting too involved, so she nodded and said, “I agree to close it. Business in Nanjing has indeed become increasingly difficult.”

“Alright then, when I return, I’ll have your father discuss this with Wenyou and handle the matter,” Madam Zhao said.

Zhenniang nodded, feeling somewhat emotional. Indeed, rises and falls, prosperity and decline were the natural cycle of business.

Even Yi Husheng had reached a critical point in this cycle.

After chatting with Madam Zhao for a while longer, Zhenniang returned to the Luo residence.

At the entrance, she saw three men on horseback stopped outside their gate. The leader wore a brocade robe, had a short beard and dark complexion, and appeared to be in his fifties, his face weathered. Zhenniang recognized him – when Li Ink’s Nanjing shop opened, he had been invited by Luo Wenqian to attend the ceremony. It was General Qi, though compared to back then, he had lost some of his sharp edges and gained more worldliness, appearing more profound and dignified.

Zhenniang wouldn’t dare be negligent, quickly stepping forward to greet him: “General Qi.”

“Zhenniang, you’re back. Perfect timing – quickly warm some wine, I’ll drink with General Qi and chat,” Luo Wenqian came out from inside, first bowing to General Qi before addressing Zhenniang.

“Of course. General Qi, please come inside. I’ll go warm the wine,” Zhenniang curtseyed and went to the kitchen with Xinghua.

In the back garden’s ink-washing pavilion, the corner eaves pointed toward the ancient plum branches, which though bare, stretched powerfully skyward past the eaves, displaying an unyielding, upward vigor.

On the stone table in the hall were three dishes of appetizers: deer lips, five-spice dried meat, and peanuts. Zhenniang brought the warmed plum wine and poured it for both men. Then she withdrew outside the pavilion to appreciate the flowers with Choupa.

“Where is General Qi headed?” Luo Wenqian asked after sipping his wine.

“Nowhere in particular for now, just touring around Nanjing, meeting friends for drinks. I expect I’ll be transferred to Guangdong after some time,” General Qi drained his cup, his voice tinged with reluctance. He had received an imperial summons to report to the capital, but his audiences had been repeatedly unsuccessful. He’d learned that the court no longer intended to let him return to guard the northern frontier.

In the north, he had built up defenses and had ambitions to drive the Tatars completely back to the northern desert, but it seemed his aspirations would go unfulfilled.

Frustrated, he had come to Nanjing under the pretense of visiting friends.

“Then let me keep you company for a few more drinks,” Luo Wenqian, somewhat aware of General Qi’s situation, understood his frustration. There was nothing to do but drink, so he simply kept refilling their cups.

“Good, bottoms up!” General Qi raised his cup cheerfully. After drinking, he asked, “By the way, I heard you withdrew from Yi Husheng?”

“Yes,” Luo Wenqian nodded.

“That’s probably for the best,” General Qi nodded. His visit to Luo Wenqian in Nanjing served two purposes: one was to find someone to drink with and ease his frustrations, and the other was to let Luo Wenqian know that the emperor had grown suspicious of Zhang’s faction.

Some things didn’t need to be spelled out, and so they continued drinking, finishing the pot of plum wine.

They discussed more court matters. Hai Rui had been reinstated by the emperor as the Left Minister of the Nanjing Communication Office. Previously, because of Hai Rui’s inflexibility, Zhang Juzheng, though admiring him, never employed him. The emperor’s current reinstatement of Hai Rui was meant to utilize Hai Rui’s reputation.

“Farewell then. Mountains don’t move but water flows on – until we meet again.” After their chat, General Qi laughed and bid farewell.

“Safe journey, General.” Luo Wenqian accompanied General Qi to the gate, watching the three riders depart.

Zhenniang also followed Luo Wenqian to the entrance. The autumn wind whistled, carrying a deepening chill.

“The emperor’s intentions are clear,” Luo Wenqian held Zhenniang’s hand as they looked at each other. Zhenniang understood – it was coming. It was now November, and in December, the court would move against Feng Bao.

December arrived swiftly.

In the capital.

The winter of Wanli’s tenth year was exceptionally cold. Since winter began, there have been several snowfalls. At the city gates, the guards had to drag frozen corpses to the mass graves outside the city every day.

In the early morning, an elderly city guard descended from the tower. As he opened the city gate, he saw two more frozen corpses.

“More people frozen to death,” a young guard nearby sighed sympathetically. The old guard glanced at the frozen bodies, then at his young colleague, his numbed eyes showing indifference as he said, “People die everywhere these days. Northern Tatars, southern pirates, famine in Shanxi, and even the local chieftains are getting restless. Even in the wealthy Suzhou and Zhejiang areas of South Zhili, there are constant floods… I hear many have died.”

“That’s true,” the young guard hung his head dejectedly, feeling the increasingly chaotic times.

Just then, several palace guards came escorting an elderly eunuch. The eunuch was slightly plump, wearing a half-worn cotton jacket that could hardly keep out the cold wind. He shivered as he walked.

The guards laughed and occasionally kicked him, but the eunuch seemed not to notice, accepting the kicks indifferently, though his lips trembled constantly.

The young guard watched the eunuch, at first without recognition, then suddenly widened his eyes. His finger pointed at the eunuch as he turned to the older guard: “Isn’t… isn’t that Palace Eunuch Feng, the head of the Eastern Depot?”

This eunuch was legendary in the capital, owning numerous mansions and endless wealth. How had he ended up like this?

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” The old guard forcefully slapped down the young guard’s hand and then pulled him aside as they watched the guards escort Feng Bao out of the city.

Outside the city, ice and snow filled the sky.

“You don’t know? Eunuch Feng was denounced. They say the gold and silver found in his home exceeded the imperial treasury. For deceiving the emperor and harming the country, he should have been executed, but the emperor remembered his years of service and spared his life, sending him to guard the tombs in Nanjing instead,” the old guard explained.

Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west – the once-invincible Feng Bao had fallen!