The grievances and disputes of the Tian family were not Zhenniang’s concern.
She simply guarded the Li Family Ink Workshop like a brooding hen, watching over her family.
No, that wasn’t quite right – she did keep one wary eye on Second Young Master Tian. Previously, she had considered him a mere fool, but seeing how he handled this brotherly feud, his schemes proved quite sophisticated. She would need to be cautious of him in the future.
By evening, Old Madam Li and Old Shopkeeper Li had rested well and gotten up to have some soup, feeling much better. The whole family was sitting in the back courtyard chatting when the Third Grand Uncle and Grand Aunt Luo, along with Luo Jiu, came to visit.
Next came the discussion of Zhenniang’s engagement with Luo Jiu.
Thus, Zhenniang was sent inside by Madam Zhao. No matter how capable and independent she was, she still needed to avoid such discussions. Zhao Susu went to keep her company.
The maid Hua’er acted as a spy, running back and forth to eavesdrop on the engagement discussions and report back to Zhenniang.
“The day after tomorrow is an auspicious date for the formal proposal and name exchange. However, the Seventh Great-Grandmother and Eighth Uncle discussed with the Third Grand Uncle and Grand Aunt Luo, and set your wedding date for after next year’s tribute ink competition. Seventh Great-Grandmother also said that even after marriage, you’ll still need to help manage the ink workshop. Young Master Luo agreed to everything without any displeasure…” Hua’er chattered away.
Listening to this, Zhenniang’s face grew warm. She had expected the wedding date to be set after next year’s tribute ink competition. After all, she had developed several types of ink for the workshop, and while Seventh Great-Grandmother and Grandfather were getting on in years with diminishing energy, her father’s previous tribute ink incident had been his fault. Thus, it wouldn’t be appropriate for him to oversee the tribute ink competition.
As for Uncle Jingdong, his leg was inconvenient, and he had always focused on ink mold carving rather than ink making, at which he wasn’t particularly skilled. Therefore, by all calculations, she would have to oversee next year’s tribute ink competition.
As for what came after, Zhenniang hadn’t thought that far ahead.
Hua’er continued gathering intelligence.
Soon, the discussions about Zhenniang and Luo Jiu’s engagement concluded, with everyone satisfied.
“Oh right, Seventh Great-Grandmother and the others are now talking about helping Cousin Zhengshen purchase a military position…” Hua’er came running back to report.
Hearing this, Zhenniang understood that this was likely the real reason for Cousin Zhengshen’s visit.
Regarding the purchase of military positions for family members, Zhenniang had heard Yao Qianshan discuss this with their Seventh Great-Grandmother during the New Year.
At the founding of the Ming Dynasty, military positions were hereditary. However, after the Zhengde Emperor’s reign, many military positions became purely nominal without real power. As the court’s official system fell into chaos, internal promotions like hundreds-commander to thousands-commander could be directly purchased with silver. By the Jiajing Emperor’s reign, the situation had become even more chaotic, with farmers, craftsmen, and merchants all able to purchase military positions with money.
Of course, these were merely titles without actual authority, but some merchants didn’t care about the real power. Having an official rank brought many conveniences. For instance, just in terms of dress, merchants’ low status meant they couldn’t wear certain fine silks. Although such restrictions were generally ignored in daily life, they still mattered at important gatherings. With an official rank, one could wear such clothing openly without breaking taboos.
Thus, in the Jiangnan region, wealthy people buying military positions had become quite common.
Previously, Zhenniang had wondered whom Seventh Great-Grandmother would help purchase a position for, and now it seemed Cousin Zhengshen was a good candidate.
At this point, Susu grew concerned and asked, “What did they say?”
“Young Master Luo said it wouldn’t be a problem. He has connections with the Nanjing Guard, and can arrange for a thousands-commander position.” At this point, Hua’er added with surprise: “Young Master Luo also purchased an official position himself, something called an Assistant Director.”
Zhenniang shook her head, not understanding these matters. However, she knew that in the Ming Dynasty, civil officials were valued while military officials were looked down upon. Since Luo Wenqian had previously donated half a gold mine to General Qi’s army in the north, his position probably wasn’t too low, but without actual authority, such positions were ultimately useless. Just look at those fallen nobles in Langfang who had sold their ancestral properties – if one inquired, they might well turn out to be some kind of aristocrat.
It was similar to the Eight Banner families at the end of the Qing Dynasty – they might hold noble titles, but without real power, they could barely feed their families and had to find work themselves.
Thus, Zhenniang lost interest in the matter. However, Zhao Susu was pleased to hear about the thousands-commander position, though she knew it would cost a considerable sum. Although the family wasn’t short of money, they couldn’t just eat through their savings. Thinking about their future livelihood, she couldn’t help but worry.
“It’s better to work with what you know than start something new. Since Cousin Zhengshen will have a military position, he’ll probably need to stay in Nanjing often. Why don’t you two open an inkstone shop here in Nanjing? I imagine you’ve accumulated quite a stock these past two years, and even if not, you have connections in Wuyuan. Even if you’re not mining anymore, getting inventory to sell shouldn’t be a problem,” Zhenniang offered her advice.
“Mm, that’s a good idea. I do know about inkstones,” Zhao Susu said happily.
She then asked Zhenniang about the details of opening a shop in Nanjing.
Later, the Luo family members left with happy faces. They would wait for the auspicious time the day after tomorrow, and after the formal proposal, name exchange, and date selection ceremonies, the marriage arrangement between the Li and Luo families would be officially settled.
The matchmaker, naturally, was the Third Grandfather Cheng.
…
At the Xu residence.
Today, Miss Xuan had brought several fashionable hairpins and bracelets to show Second Madam Xu and happened to meet Madam Hu, the proprietress of Sifang Money House, so they began chatting.
“Madam Hu, I heard your nephew is getting engaged to Li Zhenniang from the Li Ink Workshop. Is this true?” Miss Xuan asked. She had been inquiring about Li Zhenniang recently, hoping to arrange a match with one of her clan brothers, but then rumors spread about the Xu family making inquiries about the Li family’s daughter. Although she believed these were just rumors, it wouldn’t have been appropriate to make any moves, so she had been waiting and watching.
Unexpectedly, within a few days came news of the Li and Luo families’ engagement. Only then did she hear that the two families had been discussing the marriage since the end of last year, only pausing briefly when the emperor passed away.
Since Madam Hu was here today, she wanted to get the details.
Madam Hu was still in a daze, taking a while to realize that Miss Xuan was referring to Luo Wenqian. That boy had never shown any respect for his uncle or herself, and the two families rarely interacted. Thus, when Miss Xuan suddenly mentioned her nephew, she truly needed a moment to process it.
Meanwhile, Second Madam Xu had been irritated about this matter these past few days. She had spread word earlier, waiting for the Li family to take the initiative to visit so they could negotiate terms. Instead, she learned of the Luo and Li families’ engagement, which naturally left her quite unhappy.
Now, seeing Madam Hu playing dumb, she said with some sarcasm: “Oh, this is indeed a joyous occasion. We must congratulate Madam Hu. Recently, some gossip-mongers spread rumors that our Xu family was inquiring about Miss Li – complete nonsense. Madam Hu, perhaps you should explain this to the Luo and Li families, so it doesn’t affect their arrangement…”
Though the words seemed kind, Second Madam Xu’s tone was sharp. Madam Hu, who had dealt with Second Madam Xu many times, immediately caught her displeasure.
She had heard something about the Xu family inquiring about Li Zhenniang earlier but hadn’t paid it any mind, as the families’ social status was too different to even consider. But now, hearing Second Madam Xu’s tone, it seemed the earlier rumors weren’t groundless.
“Oh no, I don’t know about this matter. My nephew isn’t close with us at all, we rarely interact, and he certainly wouldn’t inform us of such things,” Madam Hu explained, first distancing herself from the situation.
After chatting about other topics, Madam Hu became increasingly distracted. After a while, she excused herself, saying she had matters to attend to at home.
Second Madam Xu didn’t try to keep her, having someone see her out.
Once outside, between the hot weather and thinking about how that presumptuous Luo Wenqian had likely earned Second Madam Xu’s enmity, Madam Hu broke into a sweat.
Actually, she didn’t care whether Second Madam Xu held a grudge against that boy Luo Wenqian, but she feared the Xu family’s anger might affect her family. Although this nephew rarely associated with them, he was still a nephew – that relationship couldn’t be severed.
Thinking this, she hurried home. As soon as she entered, she saw Wang Sifang sitting in the corridor with his legs crossed, humming a tune and fanning himself, looking completely at ease.
Seeing Wang Sifang like this, Madam Hu’s anger flared. She snatched the fan from his hand and threw it aside forcefully.
“What’s this about? What’s this about? Who’s upset you now, making such a fuss?” Wang Sifang stood up, glaring at Madam Hu.
“Who else could it be but your precious nephew?” Madam Hu snapped.
“Don’t mention him to me. Didn’t I tell you? That wolf cub – just pretend he doesn’t exist. Didn’t you remember?” Hearing Madam Hu mention Luo Wenqian, Wang Sifang also grew angry, his face darkening.
“Hah, you think I want to bother with him? But whether we acknowledge him or not, he’s still your nephew, isn’t he? Won’t his presumptuous actions affect us?” Madam Hu cried out.
“What has that boy done now?” Hearing Madam Hu’s words, Wang Sifang frowned.
“What has he done? The Xu family had their eye on Li Zhenniang from the ink workshop, they’d barely put out feelers, and that boy immediately got engaged to the Li family. Isn’t this deliberately slapping the Xu family’s face? Today at Second Madam Xu’s, I got snapped at for no reason. Don’t you think that’s unfair?”
She continued: “Being snapped at is one thing, but if the Xu family holds a grudge against us, our money house business will suffer…”
Hearing Madam Hu’s words, Wang Sifang frowned for a while before saying, “I’ll go find that boy.”
With that, he turned and left the room, calling for servants to prepare a carriage. Then he headed straight for the Yihousheng shop on Official Street.