Whether Wang Decai had designs on the Tian family was not an outsider’s concern. After all, Zhenniang had already given her warnings. Even if Tian Ronghua hadn’t taken it seriously then, how could the Tian family remain indifferent now?
For Zhenniang, this was merely gossip. What truly caught her attention was that ancestral record from years ago. She could now be almost certain that the branch of the family implicated in colluding with the Tartars and imprisoned was indeed the current Eighth Branch of the Li family, to which she belonged.
Back then, since Wang Decai had been exiled to Qiongzhou and no longer posed a threat to her family, Zhenniang hadn’t felt urgent about it. But now that Wang Decai controlled Tian Mo, and as Luo Wenqian had mentioned, Wang Decai harbored a deep hatred for the Li family, they couldn’t afford to be careless about this matter.
Fortuitously, during this return to Huizhou, the Seventh Grandmother had arranged a grand family celebration due to the Li family receiving the title of “First Ink Under Heaven.” First Aunt and First Uncle would also attend. Recently, Uncle Yao Qianshan had written saying he had uncovered some details about the incident where her father’s merchant caravan was raided by the Tartars. Several months have passed since then, so there should be some progress.
It would be the perfect opportunity to ask First Uncle about the details to guard against Wang Decai’s schemes.
The night passed uneventfully.
The next day, the Li family group set out for Huizhou, with Luo Wenqian seeing them off at the boat.
Luo Wenqian needed to remain in Nanjing for a few more days to manage Sifang Bank’s affairs. Of course, he couldn’t neglect matters in Huizhou either, as he was unwilling to miss the chance to reclaim Luo Mo. Therefore, he would be traveling between the two places during this period. Fortunately, traveling by horse was much faster than Zhenniang and the others’ journey by boat.
So he did not accompany Li Zhenniang and the others.
“Oh? Isn’t that Manager Fang from the Tian family? When did the Tian family establish connections with the Japanese delegation? And the Qin family is there too?” While preparing to board, Zhenniang noticed the Japanese fleet preparing to set sail. The Japanese delegation had completed their mission and was returning home.
This wasn’t surprising. What struck Zhenniang as odd was that Manager Fang, Tian Mo’s chief manager in Nanjing, was directing people to load boxes of ink onto the ships. Beside him was Fourth Young Master Qin, who was engaged in animated conversation with the Japanese envoy.
“It’s not that strange. These days, few have maritime trading rights in Nanjing besides Yihousheng Company, Master Wang’s Huiyuan Company, and Master Xi’s Xi Trading Company. These three all have their established circles, which the Tian and Qin families can’t penetrate. Now that cooperation between Fourth Young Master Qin and us is impossible, naturally, they must rely on Japanese ships to venture overseas, sailing under Japanese trading permits,” Luo Wenqian explained with narrowed eyes.
Trading permits were official documents issued by the Ming Maritime Trade Commission to foreign tributaries.
Hearing Luo Wenqian’s explanation, Zhenniang understood. Simply put, the Tian and Qin families had affiliated their merchant groups under the Japanese trade delegation’s permits, thus gaining maritime trading rights.
This Chunzhi couldn’t be underestimated. Having just taken control of the Tian family, she had already secured maritime rights through these means. Now joining forces with the Qin family, it would not be easy for the Tian family to reclaim their assets in the future.
At this moment, Li Jingfu spotted Fourth Young Master Qin and greeted him warmly. Although he had heard rumors about how Fourth Young Master Qin had schemed against Sifang Bank, firstly, the debt of saving a life outweighed everything else, and secondly, there was some enmity between the Wang and Li families. Years ago, due to the feud between Han Yigui and Wang Sifang, the Li family had been at odds with Sifang Bank.
Therefore, although their cooperation had fallen through, it didn’t significantly affect the relationship between Li Jingfu and the Qin family.
Fourth Young Master Qin returned Li Jingfu’s greeting with a courteous bow.
However, Zhenniang’s mind was racing as she watched the Tian family, the Qin family, and her father standing together.
Suddenly, she thought of the ancestral record about the Eighth Branch’s collusion with the Tartars, and some previously unclear points began to make sense.
Although Wang Decai was cunning, he had never been to the north and was just a minor figure. How could he have known about her father’s alleged collusion with the Tartars? Such accusations needed evidence; they couldn’t be made baselessly.
According to the record, the witness who testified about her father’s collusion with the Tartars was his former business partner.
Events in this life had proven that if Li Mo hadn’t risen to prominence, her father would have partnered with the Qin family in the business. After all, according to the ancestral records, her father had wanted to earn money to reclaim the Li Ink Workshop from Wang Decai.
Looking back at the record, it was almost certain that the ones who testified about her father’s collusion with the Tartars were the Qin family.
Thus, the whole picture became clear.
Thinking of this, Zhenniang ground her teeth. It was obvious that the Qin family had colluded with the Tartars but had managed to pin it on her father instead – wasn’t this a case of the thief crying “Stop thief”?
Additionally, Zhenniang decided that after returning home, she needed to sort out the Qin family matter with her father.
“Brother Luo, how is your investigation into the Qin family’s collusion with the Tartars going?” Zhenniang quietly pulled Luo Wenqian aside and asked in a low voice.
“I couldn’t find concrete evidence before, as the Qin family could easily deny involvement with just one or two contacts. However, this time they angered the court by helping two officials from the Imperial Textile Manufacturing Office escape through their channels. After all, court officials fleeing to Tartar territory is a direct slap in the face to the imperial court. The court has already issued arrest warrants for these two officials, and General Qi’s men have tracked them to Prince Batunagai. Currently, Prince Batunagai is quarreling with his grandfather Altan Khan and has retreated to Ming’s Hubao. General Qi intends to simply eliminate Prince Batunagai’s forces, capture these two officials, and teach Altan Khan a lesson – killing two birds with one stone. Once these two officials are arrested, the Qin family’s collusion with the Tartars will be impossible to hide,” Luo Wenqian explained with narrowed eyes, believing the Qin family had dug their own grave this time.
Listening to Luo Wenqian’s words, Zhenniang became lost in thought.
Prince Batunagai? He was a key figure in opening border trade in the north.
As for what Luo Wenqian mentioned about Prince Batunagai’s conflict with Altan Khan, historical records documented this.
Prince Batunagai was Altan Khan’s grandson. At the time, Altan Khan had taken a fancy to Zhongjin, the fiancée of a neighboring Oirat chief, and forcibly took her. This Zhongjin was the historically famous Three Ladies. After having his fiancée taken, the Oirat chief was enraged and led troops to attack Altan Khan’s forces. The back-and-forth conflict continued without resolution. Finally, Altan Khan compromised and promised Prince Batunagai’s fiancée to the Oirat chief instead. This enraged Prince Batunagai, who then raised an army. However, he was no match for Altan Khan and had to flee to Ming’s Hubao, where he surrendered to the Ming.
Eventually, both Altan Khan and the Ming used Prince Batunagai to begin negotiations. This ultimately led to the Ming opening border markets, while Altan Khan handed over Zhao Quan and others who had guided him during the Shishi incident to the Ming court.
“What’s wrong?” Seeing Zhenniang lost in thought, Luo Wenqian gently squeezed her hand and asked with a smile.
“Did Prince Batunagai’s quarrel with Altan Khan happen because his fiancée was taken?” Zhenniang asked.
“Oh, you know about that too?” Luo Wenqian was greatly surprised.
“You told me before,” Zhenniang replied with a slight smile, raising her head.
“When did I tell you that?” Luo Wenqian was confused.
“Never mind if you don’t remember,” Zhenniang said calmly.
Luo Wenqian rubbed his nose, genuinely having no recollection.
At this point, Zhenniang felt somewhat relieved about the Qin family matter, as she now had a better understanding of the situation.
Additionally, she hadn’t expected that the Qin family’s attempt to scheme against Sifang Bank by secretly helping those two officials escape would lead to General Qi’s men targeting Prince Batunagai. She wondered if this would ultimately affect the course of history.
Never mind, such thoughts were mere speculation, and the wheels of history would follow their path.
At this moment, the boatman called everyone to board. Zhenniang called her father to get on the boat, then waved goodbye to those who had come to see them off.
The journey was smooth, and after eight or nine days of sailing, they entered Huizhou territory.
“We’ll reach Huizhou in another day. Your Seventh Grandmother might already be waiting at the dock with others,” Chouma said at the bow. She had accompanied Zhenniang back to Huizhou this time, saying she wanted to spend her final days there.
“Mm,” Zhenniang nodded, also guessing that Seventh Grandmother might be leading the Li clan members at the dock, waiting to welcome the “First Ink Under Heaven” plaque bestowed by the Emperor. This was Li Mo’s glory.
Just then, while the boat was docked at a waypoint, two men boarded. They appeared to be postal station workers.
The two workers sat down and began chatting, and soon news spread through the boat about the drowning death of the Third Young Master of the Xu family’s Second Branch.
Zhenniang was greatly shocked and asked the workers, “Sir, is this news about Third Young Master Xu’s drowning true or false?”
“Of course it’s true. We just came from Songjiang,” replied one worker with a somber expression, clearly displeased with Zhenniang’s doubt.
Zhenniang offered a few pleasant words before carefully inquiring further. She learned that Third Young Master Xu had drowned after getting drunk.
“That Third Young Master Xu was always full of pride. Now that the Xu family has suddenly met with such misfortune, all those who used to call themselves his brothers have kept their distance. How could he bear such a fall from grace? He drank too much, and while passing by a pond, he fell in. He hadn’t brought anyone with him, and it wasn’t until later when servants went looking that they found his shoes by the pond bank. When they finally pulled him out, he was already dead,” the other worker explained.
Hearing this news, Zhenniang’s first thought was that Hai Rui was in trouble – his position as an official wouldn’t last long.
Xu Jie was no ordinary person. Although historically Hai Rui had sentenced both First Master Xu and Second Master Xu to exile, given the current situation, Zhenniang was certain that the verdict might be just words on paper – whether it could be carried out was another matter. Now with Third Young Master Xu’s death added to the mix…
Although Xu Jie had retired, his influence at court was extraordinary. Even though Gao Gong had returned to court, he now faced the newly rising Zhang Juzheng and couldn’t afford to offend Xu Jie’s people while trying to rebuild his power base.
Given Hai Rui’s personality and his unpopularity in court, Third Young Master Xu’s death might well become the turning point for the Xu family’s reversal of fortune and Hai Rui’s fall from power.