It was already March, and with several consecutive days of bright sunshine, the temperature had risen somewhat. Patrol Leader Ge was a large, robust man who had lived comfortably these past years, inevitably adding some fat to his belly, making him particularly susceptible to heat.

So even though it was only March, when most people still needed a thin blanket at night due to the slight chill, Patrol Leader Ge, who was naturally averse to heat, couldn’t keep his covers on. Especially tonight, after drinking some wine and feeling troubled, his agitated mood made him feel even hotter. As soon as he lay down, he threw off the blanket onto the floor and lay there with his hands beneath his head, deep in thought.

“You old devil, if you won’t use it, I will,” Madam Cao complained from beside him. She got up, retrieved the blanket, and returned to bed, covering only half of herself as she rested her head on Patrol Leader Ge’s shoulder. “What’s wrong? Still thinking about Qiujie’s situation?”

“Mm, Qiujie can’t go to Huizhou with the Li family. She may act fierce and spicy, but it’s all empty bluster – she doesn’t have an ounce of cunning in her head. If she goes to Huizhou, I won’t be able to protect her. Li Zhengping was originally manipulated by me; how could he possibly treat her well?” Patrol Leader Ge said with furrowed brows.

“But once a daughter is married off, can you bring her back home? Since ancient times, it’s been said that a married daughter follows her husband like a chicken or dog. It’s not right to bring her back home,” Madam Cao said disapprovingly.

Although she usually curried favor with Ge Qiujie, Qiujie had never shown her any respect. She had no desire for Qiujie to return.

“What do you know? With enough wealth in hand, why worry about finding a good man? Come to think of it, weren’t you the one who insisted Qiujie marry into the Li family, saying it would be the legitimate way to get our hands on their property? But how has it turned out? We didn’t catch the fish, but got ourselves covered in fish stink, and even lost Qiujie’s dowry in the bargain.” Patrol Leader Ge glared at Madam Cao irritably.

“Ha! How can you blame this on me? You were the one obsessing over the Li family’s property. I was just helping you strategize. Back then, you called it a brilliant plan. Now that things haven’t gone as planned, suddenly all the responsibility falls on me? How unreasonable! Are you even a man?” Madam Cao cried out angrily.

“I have both sons and daughters – you tell me if I’m a man or not.” Patrol Leader Ge, provoked by Madam Cao’s words, snapped back. Then he stared at her and continued, “Don’t think I don’t know what’s in your heart. Though you act nice to Qiujie on the surface, you actually can’t stand her. Qiujie lost her mother young, and I’m rough by nature. When I wasn’t paying attention, you twisted her character and ruined her reputation. If not for that, how could I have agreed to marry her into the Li family in such a way?”

As Patrol Leader Ge spoke, his voice carried a cold edge.

Madam Cao felt uneasy.

Patrol Leader Ge continued, “Let me tell you, Qiujie’s mother shared my hardships. Even if I never have a son in this life, I must protect this daughter.” As he spoke, his irritation grew. He got up and put on his clothes.

Originally, because of Qiujie’s damaged reputation, he had followed Madam Cao’s plan. Though they had used underhanded means with Li Zhengping’s matter, that young man, despite being rather dull, was still an upright person. If Qiujie could live well with him and have children, even if there were conflicts between the families, the Li family wouldn’t treat Qiujie too badly for the children’s sake. Additionally, if he helped Qiujie control the Li family’s assets, her life wouldn’t be too difficult.

But he hadn’t expected the Li family’s main branch to appear suddenly and ruin his schemes. Now Li Jingming’s family was returning to Huizhou, and Qiujie, being all show and no substance, couldn’t handle hardship. Going to Huizhou would certainly not lead to a good life for her. Therefore, he needed to think carefully about how to handle this situation. He couldn’t let Qiujie suffer losses.

With these thoughts, he headed for the door.

“Where are you going?” Madam Cao hurriedly asked.

“I’m troubled. Going drinking,” Patrol Leader Ge replied without looking back.

Watching his departing figure, Madam Cao angrily clutched at the thin blanket, wringing it until it was as wrinkled as a mop.

“You old devil, better not come back at all,” Madam Cao said hatefully. Going drinking at this hour meant only one place – the brothels along the Qinhuai River. How could she not be angry?

Just then, there came a knocking at the courtyard gate. Madam Cao thought Patrol Leader Ge had returned and, not wanting to wake the servant women to open the door, rushed out wearing only her undergarments.

“Oh, it’s Brother Huang Lang,” Madam Cao recognized who stood outside by the light of the death lamp above the door – not Patrol Leader Ge but Huang Lang. She instinctively tried to close the door.

But her strength was no match for Huang Lang’s. His sharp eyes had caught sight of Madam Cao’s fair neck in the moonlight, and his face showed clear desire.

Huang Lang had been with Madam Cao first but later gave her to Patrol Leader Ge to curry favor. Usually, there was some ambiguity between them, but fear of Patrol Leader Ge kept them from acting on it.

But now, at night, with Madam Cao in only her undergarments looking so alluring, Huang Lang could no longer contain himself.

He held the door open, calling softly, “Sister-in-law, wait, I’m looking for Big Brother.”

“He’s gone out, not here. Come back when he returns,” Madam Cao said in confusion and panic.

Huang Lang had only been testing the waters, and hearing that Patrol Leader Ge wasn’t home, he grew bold with desire. He grabbed Madam Cao, closed the door, and headed straight for the main room, clearly familiar with the way.

Madam Cao was startled, never expecting Huang Lang to be so daring. She wanted to scream but covered her mouth – she couldn’t let the servant women hear, or she’d never be able to explain herself even with ten mouths.

“You devil, do you want to die? Let me go, leave quickly, don’t ruin me,” once in the room, Madam Cao pushed Huang Lang away forcefully, urging him to leave.

“It’s fine, I know Big Brother’s habits. Since he’s gone out at this hour, he won’t return tonight,” Huang Lang said lecherously. Then, without further ado, he picked up Madam Cao, threw her on the bed, blew out the lamp, and pounced.

Madam Cao never imagined he would be so bold, and didn’t dare truly scream. Already harboring feelings for him, she yielded after token resistance.

Truly brazen desire – Patrol Leader Ge’s hat turned a bright green.

A moment of passion…

…

The weather was warm, and Zhenniang had moved a small wooden table to sit in the second-floor corridor. She held a brush, focused on writing invitations – the ink shop was about to open, and they needed to invite people to support the occasion.

Most invitees were merchants who had previous dealings with the Li family, along with several ladies she had met when out with her aunt. Her aunt had already spoken with them, and some had promised to come, so formal invitations needed to be sent. Of course, for such occasions, one couldn’t invite ladies alone – the invitations were for couples.

Who would come? The relationships were shallow, and Zhenniang didn’t hold high hopes. If they came, it would be nice; if not, there was no need to dwell on it.

As for the Huizhou Merchants’ Association, regardless of personal connections, custom dictated that they must send representatives to congratulate a Li family business opening.

Counting it all up, there should be quite a few attendees, and the opening shouldn’t be too quiet. Such a start would be quite good.

“So this is the compilation ink made from the ‘Han Xizai’s Night Revels’ painting. It’s quite good and shows real effort. Mm, we can display it that day to broaden everyone’s horizons. It’s just a pity that the original painting is too precious. Otherwise, if we could borrow it to display for a few days alongside this compilation ink, it would create even more excitement,” the elderly Madam Li said, carefully examining the freshly made Han Xizai compilation ink.

In the blink of an eye, the elderly madam had stayed in Nanjing for over half a month, waiting only for the ink shop’s opening before returning to Huizhou.

“Seventh Grandmother is being greedy. For such a treasure, just being able to view it once is fortunate enough. If we borrowed it to display at the ink shop, we probably wouldn’t be able to sleep at night, worrying about thieves,” Zhenniang turned back with a teasing smile.

“Mm, you’re right about that. Indeed, this old woman was being greedy,” Madam Li said with a chuckle.

“What sin did I commit to deserve this? They say children are karmic debts, and it’s truly so. Forget it, forget it, I’m done trying to manage you all, do whatever you want!” At this moment, Madam Fang’s angry scolding could be heard from the front courtyard.

The elderly madam frowned. Zhenniang raised an eyebrow.

“They say our Huizhou is a small place, but from what I’ve seen, though small, we rarely have such ill-mannered people,” Ma Sao entered, speaking with clear displeasure.

“What happened?” Zhenniang asked casually.

“It’s that Madam Ge again. Manager Jingming’s family is returning to Huizhou, but how can a daughter-in-law speak so inappropriately? She’s even declaring she won’t go to Huizhou. Is this how a daughter-in-law should speak? I hear she wants to divorce Zhengping, saying Sister-in-law Jingming deceived her into the marriage,” Ma Sao said. She was a distant relative of the seventh elderly madam, so it was appropriate for her to call Li Jingming’s couple brother and sister-in-law.

“Deceived into marriage? What deception? I’d say they were the ones who deceived us into the marriage,” the elderly madam’s face darkened. In her view, a daughter-in-law like Madam Ge should be divorced.

“Don’t be angry, Seventh Grandmother. Uncle Jingming can handle this small matter,” Zhenniang said.

“I’m not angry at all,” the elderly madam said, though her tone clearly showed some anger – the elderly tend to have stronger tempers.

Ma Sao also fell silent.

“Well, the invitations are written. I’ll deliver them personally,” Zhenniang put away her brush and arranged the invitations, addressing the elderly madam.

“Mm, go ahead. All proper courtesies must be observed,” the elderly madam instructed.

“I understand,” Zhenniang nodded, then took Xiaoya with her and left through the second gate. Just as she reached the front courtyard, she saw Li Jingming also preparing to go out.

“Uncle Jingming, heading out?” Zhenniang greeted him.

“Yes, Patrol Leader Ge asked to meet to discuss your Brother Zhengping and Madam Ge’s situation,” Li Jingming didn’t hide anything from Zhenniang, speaking directly.

“Wait a moment, Uncle Jingming,” Zhenniang said, then quickly ran back to her room to get several papers containing information copied from the private ledger Uncle Jingming had handed over.

“Uncle Jingming, take these. If Patrol Leader Ge tries to give you trouble, show them to him,” Zhenniang returned to the front courtyard and handed the papers to Li Jingming.

Previously, there must have been tax evasion in the transactions between Madam Fang and Patrol Leader Ge. Without this leverage, Patrol Leader Ge might use those matters to threaten Li Jingming, so it was better to be prepared.

Better safe than sorry.