“Lu Quan, what are you doing?” Ge Xunlan asked coldly.

“There’s no choice. Eunuch Ma personally ordered me to bring you in for questioning.” The yamen runner called Lu Quan replied helplessly, then leaned closer to whisper to Ge: “Brother Ge, don’t blame others. You only have yourself to blame for trusting the wrong brother and choosing the wrong woman.”

“Was it Huang Lang and that shameless woman Cao who did this?” Ge Xunlan’s eyes burned with hatred.

“That’s right.” Lu Quan nodded. He also couldn’t stand Huang Lang. Though yamen runners were considered lowly, they still had their principles of brotherhood. Huang Lang’s actions were truly despicable – he shouldn’t be called Huang Lang (Yellow Wolf), but rather Bai Lang (White Wolf) instead.

He then waved his hand, signaling the other runners to take the person away, while others seized all the goods.

“Father.” Ge Qiujie bit her lip and called out worriedly.

“Qiujie, don’t worry. This is all Huang Lang and that shameless Cao woman’s doing. I just need to explain things to Eunuch Ma. Take care of yourself while I’m gone, and don’t bother with that shameless Cao woman. Wait for me to handle it when I return,” Ge snorted coldly.

“I understand.” Ge Qiujie nodded.

Subsequently, the tax office runners took away both the people and goods.

The situation had changed in an instant – one moment they were fighting a fire, and the next moment Ge and the two proprietors were arrested by the tax office over the matter of bed taxes.

The surrounding onlookers whispered among themselves. GeDa had never been a good person – over the years as an inspector, he had extorted no small amount of money from everyone. Most merchants on Official Street were pleased to see him arrested over the bed tax issue.

Some said that Ge finally got what he deserved and that Eunuch Ma had done a good deed for once.

Others remarked that which tiger doesn’t eat people when it rules the mountain? With Ge gone, whoever replaced him as inspector might not be any better than Ge.

Such idle gossip continued.

Ge Qiujie stood at the doorway, her worried gaze following the direction where her father and the others had disappeared. Only after they were far gone did she come to her senses. The whispers of the crowd reached her ears, making her even more furious. Feeling that everyone in the world was detestable, she glared fiercely at the crowd before slamming the door shut.

By now, Zhenniang had figured it out – this wasn’t just about the bed tax. Combined with last night’s adultery incident, it was clear that this was a case of a snake striking back after surviving an attack.

Ge Qiujie was also a ruthless person. When Madam Cao and Huang Lang’s affair was exposed but they weren’t caught in the act, they must have known Ge wouldn’t let them off easily. So they struck first, making a clean break of it.

Zhenniang looked at the scorched, tightly shut door of the silk shop and shook her head – this situation was getting messy. Truth be told, if not for the marital bonds between Li Zhengping and Ge Qiujie, Zhenniang would have been pleased to see this happening to the Ge family.

After all, no one would still have goodwill towards someone who schemed against their family property. Moreover, Ge being trapped by Huang Lang was ultimately due to his improper conduct.

In the end, those who live by the sword must face the consequences.

With these thoughts, she dispersed along with the crowd of onlookers.

It was nearly dusk now. The setting sun hung low in the west, its last rays of light catching the flying eaves of the ancient high walls, creating an unexpectedly gorgeous scene.

At the street entrance, a carriage came rushing by, stopping briefly next to Zhenniang. A young woman poked her head out from inside: “Zhenniang.”

“Yuejuan?” Zhenniang looked up in surprise, then noticed another face in the carriage – Tian Benchang. She understood now. With such major events happening in the Tian family, of course, Tian Benchang would come. Sun Yuejuan’s presence suggested that Tian Benchang would likely take over the Nanjing operations from now on.

“Miss Li, once I’ve handled these matters, I’d like to sit down with you and Master Cheng San for a proper discussion. Would you honor us with your presence?” Tian Benchang clasped his hands in greeting.

“Master Tian should focus on handling the Tian family ink shop’s affairs first.” Zhenniang neither agreed nor declined, preferring to judge by actions rather than words.

“Very well, I understand.” Tian Benchang bowed slightly, then signaled the carriage to move on. Sun Yuejuan smiled again at Zhenniang, who nodded in response.

Former close friends, now separated by different circumstances, could never return to their previous intimacy. At least in Zhenniang’s view, though Yuejuan’s smile was genuine, it carried too much deliberate meaning. It had lost some of its authenticity – given Yuejuan’s personality, showing closeness shouldn’t have been with such a gentle smile, but rather with playful scolding, perhaps complaining about Zhenniang forgetting her, or accusing her of being money-minded and disloyal.

But now, not a single such word was spoken, only that gentle smile. Perhaps this was the price of growing up.

As girls, they could laugh and scold carelessly, but after marriage, as proper wives, they had to maintain grace and virtue.

Lost in these thoughts, Zhenniang returned to the ink shop just as it was closing time. As the workers were shutting the doors, another carriage stopped in front of the Li family’s ink shop.

Zhenniang turned around and looked at the people alighting from the carriage, her face lighting up with joy: “Elder Brother, you’re here! Why didn’t you write ahead so I could receive you properly?”

“What’s the point of writing? By the time a letter arrives, we’d already be here by boat,” Li Dalang said as he turned to help another person down from the carriage – their mother, Madam Zhao.

Madam Zhao and Li Zhengliang had arrived on the same boat as Tian Benchang’s group. Though Tian Benchang had invited Madam Zhao to share their carriage, she, with her quick-tempered nature, had completely ignored him. As Tian Benchang was in a hurry due to family matters, he immediately hired a carriage upon disembarking, wanting to arrive faster.

This left Madam Zhao and Li Zhengliang to follow at a slower pace.

Zhenniang was surprised but overjoyed, her face breaking into a broad smile: “Mother, you came too?”

“What kind of talk is that? Not happy to see your mother?” Madam Zhao showed her usual temperament, quick to show displeasure at the slightest provocation.

As for why Madam Zhao suddenly came to Nanjing? The family’s livelihood was no longer as difficult as when Zhenniang first arrived. They were comfortably middle-class now, and Madam Zhao no longer needed to work herself to exhaustion every day.

Old Master Li could now return to the ink workshop, and his health had improved remarkably as if he’d taken some magical elixir. With Old Master Li doing well, his wife Madam Wu, sharing his fate, also becomes more energetic. With both of them in good health, Madam Zhao had much less to worry about.

Moreover, they had Madam Zheng who couldn’t sit still, and although Madam Du was pregnant, she had her sister-in-law taking care of her. At five months along, it was a stable period, so Madam Zhao didn’t need to worry much.

Thus, Madam Zhao found herself with free time and naturally thought of her daughter. Counting on her fingers, she realized her daughter had left for Nanjing after the New Year, and it was now July – almost half a year had passed. Being a daughter, though all her letters home spoke of everything being wonderful…

But knowing Zhenniang’s strong personality, she might well be hiding any troubles she faced. It happened that Dalang needed to come to Nanjing to explore the tung oil business, so Madam Zhao, having free time now, decided to come along and check on things. Once Madam Du’s delivery time approached, she wouldn’t have the chance.

Therefore, she accompanied Li Dalang to Nanjing, giving Zhenniang a big surprise.

“How could I not be happy? I was just so surprised I couldn’t speak properly.” In dealing with Madam Zhao, Zhenniang had her methods – just be thick-skinned and say some pleasing words, and her mother would be happy.

Sure enough, hearing Zhenniang’s words, Madam Zhao smiled and affectionately patted her daughter’s head. Zhenniang lovingly linked arms with her mother and led her inside, leaving the young maid to handle the carriage payment.

In the wooden building of the back courtyard, Madam Huang was talking with Ma Sao about the Ge family’s affairs. Seeing Zhenniang enter, she was about to ask about what exactly had happened with the Ge family.

Unexpectedly, she saw Madam Zhao following behind and lit up with joy: “Oh my, Sister Jingfu is here!”

She immediately called for Ma Sao to prepare rooms and told the cook to add more dishes. Then she invited Madam Zhao to sit down. Though the two sisters-in-law hadn’t interacted much before, one being straightforward and the other pure-hearted, they had gotten along best when the Li family’s eighth branch moved back to the old residence. Now as they sat down, they had endless topics to discuss.

Madam Huang asked about Huizhou affairs, while Madam Zhao inquired about Nanjing matters, with Zhenniang listening with great interest beside them.

Grandfather and Grandmother’s improved health was within Zhenniang’s expectations – it was the effect of improved spirits. Grandfather’s poor health had always been due to his inability to let go of the ink workshop matters. Now that the workshop situation was stable and the eighth branch had successfully reclaimed their shares, Old Master Li’s mental burden was lifted, naturally improving his spirits.

However, when discussing the eighth branch’s return to the ink workshop, they couldn’t avoid mentioning Li Jingfu. In his last letter home, Li Jingfu had mentioned wanting to earn money to buy back the eighth branch’s shares in the ink workshop, to redeem his past mistakes. Though Zhenniang had already helped fulfill this wish, Li Jingfu himself was gone – with no trace of him, dead or alive.

It was quite poignant.

“Sister Jingfu, try to think positively. This seems to be the fate of us Li family wives,” Madam Huang consoled Madam Zhao.

More than a year had passed since the incident, and even the deepest sorrow had somewhat subsided. Madam Zhao smiled now, indicating she had come to terms with it and no longer dwelled on it.

Just then, dinner was ready, and the conversation naturally shifted.

At the dinner table, remembering how Madam Huang had asked Zhenniang about the Ge family when they first entered, Madam Zhao also curiously inquired about it.

Zhenniang explained the afternoon’s events, adding, “The Ge family’s situation is quite troublesome this time. They might lose everything.”

“Serves them right,” Madam Zhao spoke bluntly. When Old Madam Li returned to Huizhou with Li Jingming’s family, she mentioned the Ge family matter to Eighth Master Li, who told Madam Wu about it at home, and Madam Wu inevitably praised Zhenniang to Madam Zhao. Thus, Madam Zhao knew about the Ge family’s intentions.

Knowing the Ge family wasn’t good people, their current predicament was self-inflicted, though Huang Lang and Madam Cao were even worse, of course.

“By the way, how is Zhengping doing now?” Madam Huang asked.

“Mm, Zhengping is doing well. With Zhengliang coming here, we’ve asked him to help watch over the oil mill back home. He’s very hardworking, just too quiet – barely says two words all day. His mother tried to find matchmakers to arrange a marriage for him, but he won’t even consider it. It’s driving his mother crazy, and she scolds him every day,” Madam Zhao frowned as she spoke.

“That child Zhengping carries heavy thoughts. After all, he and Ge Qiujie did share a bed, so there must be some lingering feelings. He probably hasn’t completely moved on yet. Sister Jingming is too rushed,” Madam Huang sighed.

“Indeed,” Madam Zhao nodded.

And so, they continued their casual chat, which though filled with trivial matters, carried a warm, homey atmosphere.