“Elderly Madam Li, Old Shopkeeper Li, I, Hai, was too hasty in my judgment and nearly wronged the Li family.” At this moment, Hai Rui, maintaining a stern expression, bowed apologetically to Elder Madam Li and Old Shopkeeper Li.
“Your Honor has always had the people’s interests at heart and was merely deceived by petty individuals earlier. Fortunately, justice prevails over evil. Now we ask Your Honor to make a fair judgment and give our Li family justice,” Elder Madam Li returned the bow and replied.
“That is only proper.” Hai Rui said seriously, immediately ordering the arrest of the Du brothers. He reopened the court session to hear the case.
In the end, the Du brothers were imprisoned and would be exiled to Shahukou in a month.
“Clerk Yuan, may I ask if our Li family’s tribute rights still need to be investigated?” Elder Madam Li then asked Yuan, the clerk from Huizhou’s Ink Inspection Bureau, who was observing the proceedings.
At this moment, no one was more embarrassed than Clerk Yuan. He had brought two subordinates to attend the hearing specifically regarding the Li family’s tribute rights issue, having been compromised by accepting favors. He had thought that even if the Li family escaped serious trouble, they would still be tainted by scandal. Unexpectedly, the Li family had achieved such a magnificent victory, making his earlier scheming completely pointless.
Now, hearing Elder Madam Li’s pointed question, he could only reply awkwardly, “There’s no problem, certainly no problem. This clerk was also misled by rumors. Please forgive me, Elder Madam.”
As he spoke, Clerk Yuan also stood and gave a bow.
“Being misled by rumors is understandable, but Clerk Yuan has always had a reputation for fairness and integrity in the Huizhou ink industry. Such a reputation is not easily earned—it would be a shame to let it be ruined by believing rumors too readily,” Old Shopkeeper Li said coldly. Everyone could hear the implied warning in his words.
“Yes, yes, that’s precisely why I brought people to observe today’s proceedings—ultimately to ascertain the truth. Now that the Li family’s innocence has been proven, there naturally won’t be any issues with their tribute rights. The day after tomorrow is the formal tribute selection. This humble clerk wishes the Li family success in winning the tribute ink rights.” Thick-skinned as he was, Clerk Yuan managed to deliver these words with an air of righteousness.
“In that case, thank you for your kind wishes, Clerk Yuan,” Elder Madam Li replied. There was no point in arguing further with such a slippery official.
The Li family group then took their leave.
At the entrance, the crowd outside had not yet dispersed. Elder Madam Li and the Li family members naturally had to express their gratitude. Everyone was delighted to hear that the Li family was cleared and the Du brothers were imprisoned.
Afterward, as the crowd dispersed, the people from Luo Village, Li Village, and Wang Village needed to head back—the sun was about to set, and they still had over ten li to travel. Luo Wenqian had come with the Luo Village group, so he naturally needed to return with them. He pulled Zhenniang aside and said, “I’ll head back first and come watch the tribute competition between the Li and Tian families the day after tomorrow. Oh, and I received news the other day that Master Wang and his group have returned from the Two Oceans region. Your cousin Zhengping has also arrived. I heard they had quite a successful venture—spices from the South Seas, rare treasures from the ocean, and even Kunlun slaves…”
“That’s wonderful! Uncle Jingming and Aunt Jingming have been constantly thinking of Brother Zhengping,” Zhenniang said happily. She had been the one to arrange for Zhengping to go to sea with Wang Cuiqiao, and Aunt Jingming had privately complained to her about it quite a bit. After all, in these times with pirates running rampant, each sea voyage was practically a life-or-death farewell.
Now that Brother Zhengping had returned with great profits, his mother would probably be overjoyed, and Zhenniang could finally breathe easy.
Whatever happened in the future would no longer be her concern.
After a few more words, Luo Wenqian bid farewell to Old Shopkeeper Li and the others, then returned with the Luo Village group.
The Li family group also returned home, except for Madam Shen, who broke down crying again after hearing that her two sons had been sentenced to exile. Reporting her two sons had truly been heartbreaking for her, but firstly, her two unfilial sons had gone too far, and she had finally seen clearly that she couldn’t rely on them in the future. She could only rely on her daughter now, so she couldn’t stand by and watch her two worthless sons ruin her daughter’s prospects. She had finally steeled her heart to make this decision.
“Zhenniang, go with your sister-in-law to help Madam Du at home. Find two people to look after her, and don’t be stingy with the necessary expenses,” Old Shopkeeper Li said at this point. Regardless of everything else, the Li family owed Madam Shen a debt of gratitude for stepping forward today. Now that the Shen family’s two sons were exiled, leaving only the elderly and young children, the Li family should provide some support.
“I understand,” Zhenniang nodded. Speaking of which, Madam Shen had truly impressed her this time—no one had expected her to step forward. Though unexpected, it was understandable. Since Du Da and Du Er’s return, Madam Shen hadn’t had a single peaceful day. Now she had completely lost faith in her two sons and was solely focused on the young official by her side. Ultimately, her and the young official’s livelihood would depend on her sister-in-law, so she couldn’t allow her sons to ruin her daughter’s prospects.
“Sister-in-law, please stay with Aunt Shen first. I’ll go find Aunt Shen’s grandaunt to see if she knows anyone suitable to look after Aunt Shen. It’s better to have someone we know well, someone we can trust,” Zhenniang said to Madam Du after they reached Madam Shen’s home. By this point, Madam Shen was crying inconsolably.
“Alright, you go ahead,” Madam Du nodded while helping Madam Shen into the house. Madam Shen was crying as if the world had ended.
So Zhenniang left.
The Shen family’s grandaunt lived near the vegetable market, an area Zhenniang had visited before—it was where Uncle Jinhua had helped Madam Su rent a house, and the Shen family’s grandaunt lived not far away.
When Zhenniang arrived, she saw the Shen family’s grandaunt talking with an old woman. They were discussing the earlier matter of the Du brothers accusing the Li family, which had become everyone’s topic of conversation.
“Sister, your niece showed her resolve this time, reporting her sons,” the old woman clicked her tongue, saying that a mother reporting her sons was something unheard of for many years.
“They deserved it! My niece finally did something sensible, protecting Lüniang. At least she’ll have someone to rely on in her old age. Otherwise, if the Li family’s oil press and tribute rights had been ruined by those two brothers, how could Lüniang have stayed in the Li family with any dignity?” The Shen family’s grandaunt clapped her hands, showing some satisfaction. The Du brothers had often extorted money from her too—those two rotten eggs got what they deserved.
“That’s true,” the old woman nodded repeatedly.
“Aunt Shen,” Zhenniang stepped forward to greet them.
“Oh, it’s Zhenniang! Do you need something?” The Shen family’s grandaunt quickly returned the greeting.
“Aunt, there’s a matter—Aunt Shen isn’t doing well emotionally, and young Master is too little. We need someone to help look after them. I came to ask if you know anyone suitable. We need someone trustworthy who can get along well with Aunt Shen.”
“Hmm, I’ll go stay with her for a few days. She doesn’t get along with many people, but she still respects me as her aunt and can talk to me about things. Also…” At this point, the Shen family’s grandaunt turned to the woman next door and said, “Right, Sister Yuan, your young daughter is quite hardworking. Why don’t you let her come help for a few days?”
“Of course, of course!” The woman called Sister Yuan agreed repeatedly with smiling eyes. If the Li family was asking for help, they would certainly pay well. There was no reason to turn down such a good opportunity.
Letting her daughter earn some dowry money before marriage was good, and more importantly, it would establish a connection with the Li family. She had heard the Li family was doing well in Nanjing now—if anyone in her family wanted to learn business in the future, they would have someone to make introductions.
So it was settled.
Just then, a man and a woman passed by in the distance, entering a doorway ahead.
“Oh, they’re back. I should go now, or there’ll be more gossip later. It’s not easy earning money,” Sister Yuan said as she quickly ran into that house.
Zhenniang frowned at this point. If she wasn’t mistaken, the man was her former Uncle Jinhua, Wang Decai, and the woman was Madam Su. That doorway led to the house that Wang Decai had once rented to Madam Su.
But hadn’t Wang Decai been exiled? How was he back already? Zhenniang frowned in confusion.
After a moment’s thought, she understood—it must have been due to another general amnesty.
“Who were they?” Zhenniang pretended to ask the Shen family’s grandaunt curiously.
“Ha! That woman is Madam Su, a servant of the Tian family who serves Second Young Master Tian. That man is her husband, who was supposedly exiled to Qiongzhou for some crime but returned recently. Sister Yuan looks after their child.” At this point, the Shen family’s grandaunt shook her head: “That man is such a worthless creature. Not only is he a cuckold, but his wife still shows him loyalty and affection. If it weren’t for his wife begging Second Young Master Tian, he’d never have been able to return in this lifetime. Now that he’s back, he should focus on making an honest living and earning money to redeem his wife. But instead, he’s become Second Young Master Tian’s lackey, fawning over him like a dog. I heard he’s quite favored by Second Young Master Tian now. Hmph, what a piece of work!”
The Shen family’s grandaunt was close to Sister Yuan and knew all about Madam Su’s family affairs. She looked down on someone like Wang Decai.
As for the house, although Madam Su had been sold as a servant, her son remained free. Because Madam Su was highly favored by Second Young Master Tian, she managed to get some money to continue renting the house and hired Sister Yuan to help look after the child.
Zhenniang nodded, now understanding the situation.
Thinking of how the family records described Wang Decai’s glory days when he obtained the Li family’s ink shop, and comparing it to his current state, Zhenniang felt quite satisfied. However, even so, she wouldn’t underestimate him. Fortunately, he no longer had any connection to the Li family—she just needed to inform Aunt Jinhua, especially regarding Runner. After all, Runner was Wang Decai’s flesh and blood, a connection that could never be severed.
So she would still need to remain vigilant.