“Don’t worry about all that. We’ll just do what needs to be done now, what should be done.”
Just as Zhenniang had predicted, after reading the letter, Lady Li and Master Li showed no concern about the upcoming ink competition in Nanjing.
Do what needs to be done now—as for what comes after, they would face each challenge as it arose. In the way of ink-making, the Li family had never retreated.
“Have you decided?” Luo Wenqian pulled up a chair beside the Li family’s seat and waved for a servant to bring more tea.
His casual behavior might normally have drawn sideways glances, but as the Luo family’s eldest son and a former celebrity in Huizhou—and though the Luo family had declined, he had quickly risen again—plus being the Li family’s future son-in-law, no one paid much attention.
“Yes. You should know my grandfather and seventh grandmother’s temperament,” Zhenniang nodded.
Seeing her nod, Luo Wenqian said no more. He had rushed to deliver the letter hoping the Li family would give up the tribute competition and avoid involvement in Nanjing’s ink battle. But he wasn’t surprised by their decision—in their position, he wouldn’t retreat easily either.
He sat beside them, pouring tea for Master Li and making casual conversation while thinking to himself that he still had some connections. If worst came to worst, he could spend money to at least ensure the Li family’s safety.
So they would compete to the end for the tribute ink rights.
Though they spoke of competing to the end, both Lady Li and Master Li wore grave expressions.
“Today, the three ink testers’ performance was somewhat off,” Master Li said, examining the hanging calligraphy and paintings in the lamplight.
“The Tian family must have pulled some strings,” Luo Wenqian responded. The Tian family was too profit-driven and superstitious about power—it would be strange if they hadn’t played some tricks at this time.
Seventh Grandmother Li also sat with a cold expression, snorting: “Let’s wait and see. Whether or not our Li family gets the tribute ink rights, there must be a convincing explanation. Otherwise, this old woman will make trouble. I won’t care about maintaining appearances then.”
Though the Li family had declined, with their century-old heritage, they still had some influence when needed. And Lady Li’s ability to sustain the Li household wasn’t simple either.
It was just that the Li family’s seventh branch had always been widows, and Huizhou placed extreme importance on reputation, so Lady Li had always kept a low profile.
“Seventh Grandmother, I have an idea,” Zhenniang said calmly.
“Oh? Tell me,” Seventh Grandmother looked at Zhenniang and nodded. This girl always had clever ideas.
Zhenniang quietly shared her thoughts with her grandfather and seventh grandmother. It was simple: use Su Dongpo’s ink testing method instead of the ink testers’.
“That won’t work. The ink testers were previously selected by the Ink Affairs Bureau. Having ink testers evaluate is tradition—how could we change it just because we say so?” Lady Li shook her head. Zhenniang’s idea was good but might not be feasible.
“What if I could prove the ink testers were fraudulent?” Zhenniang replied with narrowed eyes.
“Are you certain? If that’s true, then naturally we’d have a say,” Lady Li’s eyes gleamed as she stared at Li Zhenniang.
Zhenniang nodded firmly.
At that moment, a servant-like figure went to pour tea at the Tian family’s table.
Luo Wenqian saw the servant slip a letter to Tian Ronghua, who changed color after reading it and passed it to Master Tian. Master Tian read it without showing any reaction.
“I suspect the Tian family might voluntarily give up the competition,” Luo Wenqian suddenly said with a slight smirk.
“What do you mean?” Zhenniang looked up at him.
“The Tian family has also received news from Nanjing,” Luo Wenqian said with narrowed eyes.
Hearing this, Zhenniang suddenly understood. If true, the Tian family might withdraw. Compared to the Li family, the Tian family had always been better at avoiding danger for profit.
At this time, the sudden downpour outside finally stopped. As the rain ceased, the rolling black clouds dispersed, and the sky suddenly brightened.
The tribute ink competition between the Li and Tian families continued.
“Tian family’s Purple Jade Light has been tribute ink for over ten years since the time of Luo Ink, while the Li family’s Four Harmonies Ink is an ancient famous ink, once known to be as rare as gold is easy to obtain. Now, please continue testing the inks, and let us see whether Li’s Four Harmonies Ink or Tian’s Purple Jade Light is superior,” the Ink Affairs Bureau’s ceremonial officer continued, and the testing resumed.
When the testing concluded, the final results were similar to before. In Yuan Bai and Kang You’s paintings, the Tian family’s Purple Jade Light was superior to Li’s Four Harmonies Ink, while in Lu Chong’s painting, they were evenly matched.
Overall, the Tian family’s Purple Jade Light still surpassed the Li family’s Four Harmonies Ink.
Seeing these results, Zhenniang suddenly stood and curtsied, addressing Official Liu: “Your Honor, I have a presumptuous request.”
“Oh? Please speak,” Official Liu said.
“I would like to request that Your Honor allow us to test the inks once more using a different method,” Zhenniang said.
Li Zhenniang’s words caused an uproar among the crowd. Wasn’t the Li family essentially saying they didn’t accept the three ink testers’ results?
“Miss Li, what do you mean by this?” Yuan Bai could no longer contain himself and jumped up to question her. The Li family was blatantly discrediting him.
Li Zhenniang fixed her eyes on Master Yuan Bai, responding calmly: “Master Yuan Bai, our Li family has no other intention than feeling that the three masters don’t fully understand Li Ink’s characteristics, or perhaps their techniques aren’t quite suitable for Li Ink. During testing, not only did they fail to showcase Li Ink’s advantages, but they used techniques unsuitable for Li Ink, turning its strengths into weaknesses. Therefore, we hope to test again with a different method. I’ve heard of Su Dongpo’s ink testing method: ‘Test on a worn ink stone, write on a pure white jade plate, and all inferior ink will reveal itself.’ So, I would like to request Your Honor to provide worn ink stones and pure white jade plates—this method would be simpler and more direct.”
“Miss Li, you must accept the stakes. Your Li Ink’s color is inferior, yet you blame us ink testers. Isn’t that too discourteous and crude? Please give us an explanation,” Yuan Bai confronted Li Zhenniang aggressively.
He was determined not to let this happen. Testing ink color on pure white jade plates, especially the gradation, would reveal everything instantly. If the Li family was allowed to retry, his reputation would be ruined today.
“I think Master Yuan Bai has misunderstood. The Li family isn’t a poor loser, but we want to lose fair and square. We won’t play the fool, and when I say the three masters don’t understand Li Ink’s characteristics and use unsuitable techniques, I’m not speaking without evidence.”
“Oh? Then please enlighten us, Miss Li,” Yuan Bai said through gritted teeth.
“I wouldn’t dare to enlighten you. I’ll simply explain, and let everyone present judge,” Li Zhenniang said, curtsying to the crowd before walking to the test paintings and calligraphy of the three artists.
First pointing at the characters, she said: “In the calligraphy by Masters Yuan Bai and Kang You, they used cursive script. Everyone here in the ink industry knows that our Li Ink has a lacquer-like quality, with a deep, vigorous color that shows best in seal script and official script, making it appear steady and dignified. This is our Li Ink’s advantage. Moreover, all government offices currently use the official script, so why abandon it now during the tribute competition? Instead, they used cursive script, which can’t properly demonstrate ink color. Isn’t this unreasonable?”
Pausing briefly, she continued: “Furthermore, our previous Three Talents Ink combined various ink-making methods, suitable for any script. But in Master Yuan Bai’s cursive piece, where the flying white technique should have been used, he deliberately paused, causing the ink to accumulate and stagnating the ‘spirit’ of the entire piece. Everyone can see—am I correct? This is what made our Li Ink appear inferior to Tian Ink.” She turned to address the Ink Affairs Bureau’s observers.
Previously, everyone had focused only on ink color—it was an ink test, after all. But after Zhenniang’s explanation, looking more carefully at the characters, they discovered that indeed, as the Li family’s young lady had said, the poor performance of Li Ink in the calligraphy wasn’t due to ink color but problems with the tester’s technique. The observers began whispering among themselves.
Yuan Bai’s face alternated between pale and flushed as he argued weakly: “Sophistry! This is simply my writing style.”
“That’s exactly why I said Master Yuan Bai’s technique isn’t suitable for Li Ink,” Zhenniang replied, leaving Yuan Bai speechless.
Naturally, once Zhenniang started explaining, she would explain thoroughly. She continued: “Regarding the paintings, everyone knows that clouds need to be shaded and water needs to flow smoothly, all achieved in one continuous stroke. But look at these paintings—at every flowing point, Master Yuan Bai’s brush paused, making the clouds heavy and water stagnant, completely failing to express Li Ink’s natural charm.”
She paused again before continuing: “Of course, Master Yuan Bai might say that Li Ink inherently lacks vitality and charm, but that’s not true. I can point this out to Master Yuan Bai.”
She walked to Master Lu Chong’s two test paintings of the shepherd boy riding a yellow cow, pointing to the boy’s eyes: “Eyes are the most animated part of a person. In Master Lu Chong’s paintings using Li Ink and Tian Ink, our Li Ink and Tian Ink performed equally well. But everyone, please look carefully at the shepherd boy’s eyes. The eyes painted with our Li Ink contain hidden color variations, with a clear distinction between the light and dark of the pupils, appearing very transparent and exceptionally lively. In contrast, the shepherd boy’s eyes in the Tian Ink painting lack focus and spirit due to Tian Ink’s unstable color. If this happened in just one test, it could be a coincidence, but now, in both tests, it’s the same. So isn’t our Li family’s request for another test reasonable?”
After Zhenniang’s explanation, everyone looked carefully at the shepherd boy’s eyes and found it just as she said. Immediately, people began looking at Yuan Bai and Kang You differently. Though one could say their painting techniques weren’t suitable for Li Ink, most people understood that as imperial ink testers, they shouldn’t have technical problems.
Naturally, people suspected Yuan Bai and Kang You had taken bribes from the Tian family, especially since the Tian family’s methods in the last tribute ink competition had already been criticized.
Yuan Bai and Kang You’s faces turned ashen, knowing their reputations were ruined after this test. Lu Chong, sitting quietly to the side, felt a chill of fear. He had also used techniques to enhance Tian Ink’s color, but he always liked to leave some room for maneuvering, so he hadn’t deliberately suppressed Li Ink’s performance. Because of this, Li Ink and Tian Ink appeared equal in their paintings.
But he truly hadn’t paid much attention to the eyes, and with such little room for adjustment, he had painted them according to his usual feeling. Unexpectedly, this had allowed the Li family to seize upon this point, and now this development let him remain unscathed.
Under these circumstances, the Li family’s request was entirely reasonable.