The snow quickly began to pile up, accumulating even in the narrow alley. Leather boots made crunching sounds as they stepped into the snow. The oil paper umbrellas soon felt heavy, their surfaces laden with snow, forcing the Li family group to frequently tilt them to let the snow slide off.
“Grandfather, Mother, I’ll go ahead and knock on the door,” Zhenniang said as they emerged from the alley. Four Treasures Street lay ahead, and beyond it was the entrance to the Eighth Branch’s section of the Li family mansion.
“Alright, be careful,” Madam Zhao cautioned, concerned about the slippery snow.
The freshly fallen snow hadn’t frozen yet, so the ground wasn’t slippery. Zhenniang hurried across Four Treasures Street with her umbrella, turned a corner, and reached their door. Just as she was about to knock, the door suddenly opened, and two men wearing straw rain capes and bamboo hats came out cursing, nearly colliding with Zhenniang in their haste. Fortunately, she dodged quickly.
Then came her eldest brother’s muffled voice from inside: “Stop your cursing! I’ve already given the money to your mother. You two grown men, are you trying to extort more from the Li family? Let me tell you, don’t set your sights on the money in your mother’s hands. Otherwise, as your brother-in-law, I won’t hesitate to teach you two brothers-in-law a lesson. Don’t provoke me – see if I dare beat you or not.”
The sound of hurried footsteps followed.
Hearing this, Zhenniang was shocked. Her eldest brother had always been good-tempered, yet now he was speaking so harshly. The Du brothers must have done something to anger even someone as mild-mannered as her brother.
She wondered why the Du brothers had returned. Then it occurred to her – it must be because of the new emperor’s ascension amnesty, which had pardoned even their crimes. They certainly got lucky.
Zhenniang remembered that when Wanli later ascended the throne, Zhang Juzheng had rejected this amnesty clause precisely because it was so unreasonable.
When the Du brothers heard Li Dalang’s voice from inside, they snorted and both spat on the snowy ground. Hearing footsteps approaching the door, they fled like scared rabbits, not even noticing Li Zhenniang whom they had nearly crashed into earlier.
“Ah, sister, you’re back! Where are Father, Mother, and Grandfather?” Li Dalang had reached the door, catching only a glimpse of the Du brothers’ retreating backs. His expression was unpleasant, but it turned to joy upon seeing Zhenniang.
“Grandfather and Mother came with me. Father will be a bit later, he’s behind us. Brother, go welcome them,” Zhenniang said with a smile. Then, nodding toward the departing Du brothers, she asked, “What’s going on with them?”
At Zhenniang’s question about the Du brothers, Li Dalang’s face darkened. He waved his hand: “We’ll talk about it later. Let me welcome Grandfather and Mother first.”
With that, Li Dalang strode out.
Hearing her brother’s response, Zhenniang didn’t press further. She entered the house, where Sister-in-law Liujin came out to welcome her, happily taking the items from Zhenniang’s hands. She called out toward the interior: “Old Madam, Miss Zhenniang and the others are back!” Then, brushing the snow from Zhenniang’s hair, she added, “The snow is really heavy today!”
“Indeed it is. Fortunately, we arrived now – if we were still on the road, it would have been troublesome,” Zhenniang replied.
Inside, Madam Wu was warming herself by the fire. Hearing Sister-in-law Liujin’s announcement, she exclaimed “Oh my! Oh my!” with delight and hurried out, supported by Madam Zheng and Madam Du.
After the initial greetings, Li Dalang soon returned with Old Proprietor Li and the others. Young Xihu pulled along the still-tottering Huiguan and Xiaoguan to rummage through the luggage, searching for treats.
Zhenniang and the others went to change into dry clothes first. Madam Du busied herself serving hot tea, while Madam Zheng went to the kitchen to cook some poached eggs – perfect for warming one from the inside on such a cold day.
“By the way, I think I saw the Du brothers on my way here. What’s going on? Are they free now? They’re back?” Old Proprietor Li suddenly asked.
It turned out that when the Du brothers were walking back earlier, they had also encountered Old Proprietor Li, merely giving an awkward greeting before hurrying away. Old Proprietor Li found this strange, hence his question.
Zhenniang, still thinking about her brother’s earlier words, perked up her ears to listen.
“The new emperor’s ascension amnesty freed them,” Li Dalang said glumly, while Madam Du kept her head down, not daring to meet Old Proprietor Li’s eyes.
“This amnesty business makes no sense. Just because you become emperor, all the bad people are suddenly innocent? Nonsense – isn’t this just indulging wrongdoers?” Madam Wu grumbled.
“They got lucky,” Madam Zhao said indignantly, biting into a poached egg. That earlier incident had put tremendous pressure on the Li family.
Old Proprietor Li knew his wife best – she usually preferred to avoid trouble, so for her to speak this way meant something must have happened at home. Otherwise, she would never say such things.
He frowned: “Has something happened at home?”
This was also Zhenniang’s concern, especially seeing her sister-in-law’s pale, anxious face – it seemed the matter was quite serious.
“Ah, it’s nothing… just young people being foolish,” Madam Wu said, waving her hand, seeing Madam Du’s expression with sympathy.
But at this point, Madam Du suddenly fell to her knees with a thud: “Grandmother, don’t try to protect me. This needs to be told.” She then related everything that had happened.
It turned out the shameless Du brothers, upon their return and seeing the Li family’s oil business thriving – having heard about their big client in Nanjing and how Li Dalang had nearly monopolized Huizhou’s tung oil trade – burned with jealousy.
They gathered a group of local ruffians to cause trouble at the Li family’s oil shop, claiming it belonged to them, trying to take advantage of Li Dalang’s simple nature.
However, Li Dalang had changed since starting the coal stove business, then the inkstone quarry business, and finally taking over the oil shop. He had built everything up from the most difficult circumstances.
While still simple, he had developed an unyielding spirit – otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so determined about the business with Master Xi in Nanjing.
In short, today’s Li Dalang was no longer someone the Du brothers could push around. Moreover, being naturally strong, and with oil shop workers who were all strong men themselves, the ensuing fight went badly for the Du brothers. Not only did Li Dalang give them a sound beating, but he also dragged them to the magistrate’s office. He even found several people who had been poisoned by tung oil before and planned to file another case against the Du brothers – the court might pardon them, but victims could still sue.
Finally, the Du brothers yielded. They were also sentenced to twenty strokes of the rod and never dared trouble the Li family again.
The matter should have ended there, but these brothers were truly worthless.
Du Da’s wife wasn’t from a respectable family – she had only married him because he claimed to own oil business properties, thinking she’d have a place to settle down. But arriving in Huizhou, she learned the truth about the Du family. She realized she’d fallen into a trap.
However, having borne a son, she was favored by Madam Shen. With the money she got from Zhenniang’s sister-in-law Madam Du, she knew enough to be content, living quietly with mother-in-law Madam Shen behind closed doors, raising little Guan’er, and leading a peaceful life.
But unexpectedly, as soon as the Du brothers returned, the peaceful days ended. After being humiliated by the Li family, Du Da became addicted to gambling. After losing money, he nearly pawned his wife to the gambling house. His wife, no pushover herself, seeing the situation becoming impossible, kowtowed to Madam Shen, took some silver fragments from home for travel expenses, and ran away.
Afterward, the Du brothers became even more reckless, making friends with unsavory characters and setting up scams, though the money came in one hand and went out the other. When they ran out of money, they forced Madam Shen to come to the Li family for more.
This continued endlessly.
The Li family didn’t want to get involved, but Madam Shen was, after all, Madam Du’s mother. Being pressured by her sons this way was truly pitiful, and Li Dalang couldn’t completely ignore it. Finally, through intermediaries, they agreed to give Madam Shen three taels of silver monthly for living expenses for her and little Guan’er, all handled transparently. This way, the Du brothers could no longer reasonably use Madam Shen to extract money from the Li family. After all, three taels of silver were more than enough for a family of four’s monthly expenses.
This finally brought Madam Shen some peace.
However, the brothers still frequently found excuses to borrow money from the Li family during various festivals, leading to the scene Zhenniang had witnessed at the door earlier.
“There’s no law and order anymore?!!!” Upon hearing Madam Du’s account, Madam Zhao was furious, having no idea such things had happened at home while she was in Nanjing. Madam Du remained kneeling, sobbing quietly.
“Get up now. This isn’t your fault. It’s over now, but you must be wary of your brothers – don’t be foolish again,” Old Proprietor Li said to Madam Du, adding a word of warning.
“Grandfather, your daughter-in-law understands,” Madam Du wiped her tears and stood up. Zhenniang sighed – her sister-in-law’s unfortunate lot with such brothers was truly helpless. However…
Thinking this, Zhenniang frowned and asked her eldest brother: “Brother, do you still have all the case documents and evidence, including witness statements from back then?” It wasn’t the theft they needed to fear, but the constant threat – clearly, the Du brothers hadn’t given up.
They couldn’t touch the Li family now, but given the chance, they might strike again, so they needed to stay vigilant.
“Yes, we have everything. Everyone in Huizhou knows about them – their reputation is thoroughly ruined,” Li Dalang said grimly.
“Nevertheless, while we shouldn’t harbor thoughts of harming others, we must stay watchful,” Zhenniang said. The business world was full of pitfalls – without maintaining vigilance, one could fall into a trap any day.
“Yes, I understand,” Li Dalang nodded.
Just then, doorman Liujin led in Madam Sun, mother of Seventh Branch’s Wenyu, accompanied by her elder sister-in-law.
The Li family had just finished discussing the Du brothers, and Madam Du’s eyes were red from crying, so she wasn’t fit to receive visitors. She took Huiguan and went inside.
Madam Sun and her companion had come to inquire about Sun Wenjie. Truthfully, when news of Sun Wenjie’s situation reached Huizhou, his eldest aunt was terrified – how could they possibly compensate nearly a thousand taels of silver? She cursed herself for being blinded by greed, insisting on getting Wenjie into the ink workshop. With his careless nature, trouble was inevitable.
However, now that it had happened, Wenjie hadn’t returned home or sent a single letter, leaving her constantly worried.
Hearing that Zhenniang had returned, she brought Madam Sun along to ask about him, naturally hoping to also appeal for leniency through Madam Sun.
Zhenniang understood her intentions. As it happened, before leaving, Sun Wenjie had asked her to bring a letter to his aunt, which she now retrieved from her belongings and handed over.
Since the eldest aunt couldn’t read, she gave the letter to Madam Sun. Opening it, they found his account of the moldy ink incident, Zhenniang’s handling of it, and his current determination to improve himself.
The eldest aunt, who had been so worried, was relieved to see her son showing promise. In his letter, Wenjie mentioned that if he worked hard, becoming a manager wasn’t impossible – this delighted his aunt tremendously.
Although she had made many excuses and schemes to get Sun Wenjie into the ink workshop through Madam Sun, her only real goal was for her son to become a manager and learn a skill. Now, if her son could achieve this through his abilities, what mother wouldn’t be pleased?
As for Madam Sun, she felt Zhenniang’s handling of the situation had given her face, and was very pleased – it also helped her maintain dignity before her sister-in-law.
Finally, after Zhenniang promised to pay respects to Seventh Grandmother tomorrow, Madam Sun and the eldest aunt left happily together.