It was fortunate that Li Zhengping and Ge Qiujie could be released, though when Zhenniang first saw them, their injuries were truly shocking. Especially Ge Qiujie’s condition – all ten of her fingers were deformed from being clamped. Even Zhenniang had to admire Ge Qiujie’s resilience; torture of the fingers was excruciating, and enduring such torment required extraordinary willpower.
Although Zhenniang didn’t particularly like Ge Qiujie, after several interactions, she came to understand her character better and recognized her genuine fortitude. The recent hardships had worn away her impulsiveness. More remarkably, instead of becoming cynical, she had developed a sense of acceptance.
Perhaps, as Ge Qiujie herself said, this imprisonment felt like dying and being reborn. Anyone who has experienced such a close brush with death would surely gain some wisdom from it, or else the experience would have been meaningless.
Subsequently, Zhenniang asked Physician Gong to treat Li Zhengping and Ge Qiujie’s injuries.
After receiving treatment from Physician Gong, Ge Qiujie returned to Old Hu’s place. The elderly man had suffered much for her sake, so she needed to care for him.
Zhenniang didn’t inquire about the relationship between Ge Qiujie and Li Zhengping. After such an ordeal, both needed time to process their experiences. Things would develop naturally when the time was right – there was no need to rush.
Later, when Li Zhengping asked about the account books, Zhenniang explained the situation.
“That’s good to hear. I’m sorry for causing trouble for Mo Manor,” Li Zhengping finally breathed a sigh of relief. Truthfully, if the account books hadn’t been so crucial, he might have falsely confessed to the severe torture in prison. The pain had been so unbearable that death seemed preferable.
With this resolved, Li Zhengping could focus on recovery. After about ten days of rest, his injuries had improved significantly, at least enough for him to move around.
On February 28th, Li Jingming and Madam Fang arrived in Nanjing, accompanied by Madam Zhao.
Having received word in advance, Zhenniang went to the dock with her father and Li Zhengping to welcome them.
Since receiving the news, Li Jingming and his wife have been extremely worried. Throughout the journey, Madam Fang shed countless tears while cursing Ge Qiujie in her heart.
“Sister-in-law Jingming, you should try to stay calm,” Madam Zhao consoled Madam Fang. “We don’t know the full situation, and the letters couldn’t explain everything. Worrying won’t help now. It’s been over ten days since the correspondence – perhaps Zhengping is already free and well by the time we arrive.”
“If only that were true,” Madam Fang responded.
As it happened, Madam Zhao’s words proved prophetic. Soon their boat reached the dock, and from the deck, the three could see Li Zhengping waiting to greet them.
Madam Fang wept with joy, while Li Jingming also breathed a sigh of relief.
“What did I tell you, Sister-in-law?” Madam Zhao said cheerfully beside them.
“Yes, yes,” Madam Fang nodded repeatedly.
As they disembarked, Madam Fang kept close to Li Zhengping, unable to take her eyes off him while continuing to curse Ge Qiujie.
“Mother, Qiujie was wrongly accused too,” Li Zhengping said helplessly.
“Wrongly accused? Even if it wasn’t her directly, it was her brother! I told you not to come to Nanjing in the first place, but you couldn’t let go of her. Now look what happened – you got involved in this mess and caused trouble for your Eighth Uncle and cousin who had to help you…” Madam Fang nagged.
Ignoring his mother’s complaints, Li Zhengping turned to his father Li Jingming, and said, “Father, I want to remarry Ge Qiujie.”
“Remarry? Not!” Madam Fang protested.
“Have you thought this through?” Li Jingming asked.
“I have,” Li Zhengping answered firmly.
“Very well. Invite her over tonight – your Uncle Han and the others will be here. You both survived this ordeal thanks to your Uncle Jingfu, Zhenniang, and Uncle Han’s great help. Tonight, you two should properly thank everyone with a toast.”
Li Jingming’s words clearly showed his acceptance of Ge Qiujie.
“Yes, Father!” Li Zhengping nodded eagerly and left with joy.
This left Madam Fang with stomach pains from anger. Upon returning to Mo Manor, she shut herself in her room to sulk. Madam Zhao tried consoling her briefly before retiring to rest herself, as the water journey had been exhausting.
Li Jingming pulled Li Jingfu aside for a private conversation. Having lived in Nanjing for over ten years, upon receiving the letter, Li Jingming had suspected there might be more to the story. The case lacked evidence, and given Zhenniang’s status as an imperial consort’s supplier, most people would be cautious about causing trouble. Not to mention Brother-in-law Han Yigui’s connections – for a case with insufficient evidence to drag on so long, there must have been something he didn’t know about.
After their long private discussion, Li Jingming earnestly said to Zhenniang, “We owe you great thanks for this, Zhenniang.”
Zhenniang simply smiled and shook her head.
Just then, Li Zhengping returned looking dejected.
“Brother Zhengping, where’s Qiujie? Why didn’t she come with you?” Zhenniang asked.
“She left. Said she was worried about Ge San’er and went with Old Hu. She said we’ll meet again if fate allows,” Li Zhengping replied.
Zhenniang raised an eyebrow, understanding Qiujie’s decision. After sharing such hardships, Qiujie likely wanted to remarry too, but the ordeal remained a painful memory that needed time to process. Moreover, her concern for Ge San’er and awareness of Madam Fang’s attitude made her departure unsurprising.
“We’ll see what happens in the future then,” Li Jingming said, seeming unconcerned about the matter.
When Madam Fang heard about Ge Qiujie’s departure after her rest, she was initially delighted, calling Ge Qiujie sensible. However, upon reflection, she felt somewhat unsettled, realizing perhaps Ge Qiujie didn’t care for her son as much as she thought.
Originally, after calming down, she had considered accepting the remarriage, thinking she could get back at Ge Qiujie for past grievances. Now that possibility was gone, leaving her feeling somewhat disappointed.
By evening, the Li family had invited the Han family over. During the meal, Li Jingming and Li Zhengping toasted everyone in gratitude.
After dinner, the men chatted in the outer room while the women gathered in the inner chamber to discuss family matters.
For instance, they discussed how Li Zhengsheng from the Ninth Branch had become engaged to Zhenniang’s younger uncle’s daughter.
Though surprised, Zhenniang found this reasonable. After all, the Wuyuan inkstone mine was now a collaboration between Cousin Zhengsheng and her younger uncle, along with the local county magistrate and some wealthy households. It made sense for her younger uncle and Cousin Zhengsheng to strengthen their partnership through marriage.
“Really? That’s wonderful!” Zhenniang listened with interest. She had met her uncle’s daughter Zhao Susu once and noticed she had a personality similar to her own mother’s, suggesting she could probably keep Cousin Zhengsheng in line.
“By the way, what’s happening with the Daoist priests in Huizhou?” Madam Han Li asked. “Since His Majesty dismissed the palace Daoists and executed the most favored ones like Master Yunsong, many Daoist priests have been arrested here in Nanjing. I heard the prisons are overflowing.”
“It’s the same situation – Daoist priests don’t dare appear in public now. Speaking of which, wasn’t Zhengsheng from the Ninth Branch studying to become a Daoist priest? Fortunately, he abandoned that path early, or who knows what trouble the Ninth Branch would be in now,” Madam Fang added.
Listening to their conversation, Madam Zhao was quite pleased. The Ninth Branch’s aunt and the Li Jingming couple had specifically come to express their gratitude, saying it was fortunate they had guided Zhengsheng into business instead.
Of course, Madam Zhao’s joy wasn’t about the Ninth Branch’s gratitude. Rather, it was because the previous incident where Li Jingfu had caused trouble resulting in Li Jingming’s legs being broken had led to cold relations between the two families.
Now, because of this situation and the earlier thawing of relations through Zhenniang, the old grievances could finally be put to rest.
As darkness fell, Zhenniang left with her maid to check on Mo Manor’s ink shop. The shop had closed for the day, with Zheng Fuli reviewing the day’s accounts with A’Tang and Hua’er.
Seeing Zhenniang enter, Zheng Fuli stood to greet her and said, “Miss Zhen, the tung oil wasn’t among today’s deliveries.”
“Oh, I’ve been so busy I almost forgot. The tung oil is needed in Huizhou, so we’ll have to purchase it from the market for the ink shop,” Zhenniang said, tapping her forehead. After thinking, she added, “Based on our account balance, buy as much as possible.”
“Buy as much as possible?” Zheng Fuli was surprised. The account balance was substantial, being the payment received for the imperial consort’s birthday ink.
“Yes, there’s news that the maritime trade ban will be lifted, which will certainly cause tung oil prices to soar. During New Year’s, Seventh Grandmother and I discussed expanding the ink workshop, which will require significant amounts of tung oil. So we should stock up – even if we don’t use it all, we can sell the excess later,” Zhenniang explained casually. At this point, there was no need to keep it secret.
The lifting of the maritime ban had been discussed for many years, but like the boy who cried wolf, now that it was happening, no one believed it. Even court officials weren’t certain, as the matter had been debated endlessly.
Sure enough, Zheng Fuli shook his head disapprovingly: “Miss Zhen, they’ve talked about lifting the ban for years without action. This seems unwise.”
“It’s fine, just proceed with the purchases. We all agreed on this during New Year’s,” Zhenniang insisted. She believed it because she knew it to be true.
“Alright.” Since the Li family was convinced, Zheng Fuli had nothing more to say, though he remained worried.
Later, Zhenniang thought she should mention the maritime ban lifting to Luo Wenqian, though he might not believe it.
The next morning, she encountered Luo Jiu during his usual morning run by the shop entrance.
“Good morning,” Luo Jiu greeted as usual.
“I heard they’re lifting the maritime ban,” Zhenniang waved in greeting.
“Yes, we’ve heard that for a while,” Luo Jiu stopped and replied seriously, though unconcerned.
“This time it’s real,” Zhenniang said pointedly.
“Oh? Should we team up for a venture then?” Luo Jiu joked.
“Sure,” Zhenniang replied earnestly, though her eyes crinkled with amusement.
“Really?” Now Luo Jiu took notice, seeking confirmation.
“Of course,” Zhenniang answered.
“Give me two days,” Luo Jiu held up two fingers.
Zhenniang nodded with a smile. Suddenly, Luo Jiu remembered how she had previously mentioned the Yellow Wolf murder case would have developments in a few days, and indeed there had been a major twist that completely cleared the Li family of involvement.
He also recalled how she had given an early warning about his family’s situation. This girl seemed to have some divine insight indeed.