In the deep of night, Luo Wenqian carried Zhenniang on his back as they walked slowly down the long street. The old horse beside them seemed quite sensible, following unhurriedly behind the pair, occasionally sneezing, its hooves creating a rhythmic sound against the stone pavement that seemed especially melodious in the quiet night.

Like a lullaby, Zhenniang was almost falling asleep on Luo Wenqian’s back. However, in her half-awake state, she suddenly remembered Tian Ronghua’s promise to Sun Yuejuan a few days ago that “she would rescue Tian Benchang.”

Zhenniang had initially thought that with Tian Ronghua’s death, this promise would go unfulfilled. But in her drowsy state, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind—Tian Benchang could now be released.

Previously, many had speculated that Tian Ronghua’s martyrdom might have been orchestrated by the Xu family, or perhaps Chunzhi’s doing.

But now, at this critical moment, the Xu family likely wouldn’t concern themselves with whether Tian Ronghua was a husband-killer or not, so it seemed unlikely they were behind this.

As for Chunzhi, she was already being criticized for taking the Tian family’s property. She wouldn’t create additional problems by arranging a martyrdom that would only invite more gossip.

So while these two possibilities might seem plausible, they didn’t quite fit the current circumstances—the timing was wrong.

Instead, another explanation seemed more logical to Zhenniang: this martyrdom was arranged by Tian Ronghua herself.

Tian Ronghua was both calculating and proud. She was also someone capable of taking extreme measures, as evidenced by her previous decision to break Second Young Master Tian’s legs to please Li Fugui.

However, Tian Ronghua, though strong-willed, wasn’t invincible. Third Young Master Xu’s death had pushed her into a corner. Once the Xu family recovered, they would surely settle accounts with the Tian family slowly.

That was one aspect. Secondly, though Chunzhi might not move against Tian Ronghua immediately, once she consolidated her position, she wouldn’t tolerate Tian Ronghua’s presence. In short, Tian Ronghua’s situation was extremely precarious.

Moreover, since their last meeting, Zhenniang understood that although Tian Ronghua hadn’t said it explicitly, she regretted her actions against Tian Da. Combined with her unwillingness to watch Chunzhi take over the family property, she had to rescue Tian Benchang to protect the Tian family. However, without the Xu family’s backing, Tian Ronghua was just a weak woman—even with determination, she lacked the power to act.

So how could Tian Ronghua save her elder brother?

Only through a desperate measure—martyrdom, earning the title of a virtuous woman, whose requests would then be granted. Only then might the magistrate’s office agree to release Tian Benchang.

Realizing this, Zhenniang couldn’t help but admire Tian Ronghua’s resolve.

Tian Ronghua was both ruthless and decisive; it was unfortunate that the Tian family never gave her a proper stage to display her talents.

“Tian Benchang can be released now,” Zhenniang, now fully awake, said from Luo Wenqian’s back.

“Most likely, but not immediately. We still need to wait for the imperial commendation to arrive,” Luo Wenqian replied after some thought, nodding.

Zhenniang nodded. That was natural—without the imperial commendation, the magistrate’s office wouldn’t pay attention to the Tian family. Sun Yuejuan would surely seize this opportunity.

As they spoke, they arrived at the Li family gate.

Li Jingfu and Li Dalang had been searching for Zhenniang and only relaxed when they saw Luo Wenqian bringing her back. Madam Zhao scolded them briefly, but seeing Zhenniang’s injured foot, she worriedly called Sister Liu Jin and Madam Du to help Zhenniang back to her room to rest.

Li Jingfu asked Luo Wenqian when he had arrived. Since everyone was hungry after the night’s events, they invited Luo Wenqian to drink. He happily accepted—his relationship with Li Jingfu, formed during their northern gold-mining venture, alternated between that of in-laws and friends.

The night passed quietly after that.

The next day, Tian Ronghua’s martyrdom became the biggest topic in Huizhou. It was said that the prefect had sent an urgent memorial about Tian Ronghua’s martyrdom for Third Young Master Xu by express courier.

Such matters were considered important for local moral education and reflected well on local officials.

Thus, from Third Young Master Xu’s death to Tian Ronghua’s martyrdom, these two events became the last straw.

The Xu faction at court used these incidents to launch their final attack against Hai Rui, resulting in his dismissal from office.

The news of Hai Rui’s dismissal reached Huizhou twenty days later.

By then, Huizhou had entered winter, with frost bringing the north wind’s whistle.

“Lord Hai was such an upright official, how could they dismiss him just like that? Good people don’t get good rewards,” Mother Jiang exclaimed, slapping her thigh in distress upon hearing the news. Her daughter’s land had been seized, and it was thanks to Lord Hai’s intervention that they got it back from the Xu family. Even the money the magistrate’s office had withheld from their silkworm farming years ago had been partially compensated under Lord Hai’s administration.

Mother Jiang saw Lord Hai as everyone’s Buddha and now wanted to speak up for him.

“Not necessarily. Lord Hai was upright, but he could be confused sometimes. Remember the Du brothers’ case against Li Dalang? If their mother hadn’t come forward to testify, wouldn’t Lord Hai have wrongly convicted Li Dalang?” someone argued justly from the side.

Mother Jiang disagreed: “But didn’t Lord Hai eventually clear Li Dalang’s name?” she defended.

“That’s true, but we don’t really understand court politics, so let’s not discuss it,” another person said, waving their hand.

“Indeed, indeed, let’s not discuss state affairs, let’s not discuss state affairs,” an old scholar quickly added.

Mother Jiang remained unsatisfied but could do nothing about it.

Zhenniang wasn’t surprised by this news—historically, this was exactly what had happened.

By now, the imperial commendation for Tian Ronghua had also arrived, ordering the Tian family and the magistrate’s office in Huizhou to jointly erect a chastity memorial arch for her.

This was not just a major event for the Tian family but for all of Huizhou, immediately becoming the talk of the town.

Early morning at the Li residence, there was a rare winter sun, with temperatures reminiscent of October’s Indian summer.

Lady Tian and Sun Yuejuan came early, carrying a petition requesting the magistrate’s office to release Tian Da. They naturally wanted to seize the opportunity of the imperial commendation to get Tian Benchang released. They had come to the Li family seeking their support.

Lady Tian was the Third Lady of the Li family’s seventh branch, who had been sent back to the Tian family by Old Lady Li after the Wang Decai incident, and still lived with the Tians.

“Don’t worry, we won’t stand idle. I’ll arrange for Third Master Cheng to join us in speaking up,” Old Lady Li said. If nothing else, just for Old Master Tian’s jar of thousand-year pine soot ink, the Li family couldn’t remain uninvolved.

“Thank you, Old Lady,” Lady Tian and Sun Yuejuan expressed their gratitude.

“By the way, the Third Daughter-in-law, Old Lady Tian has passed away now. Shall I send Jingfu and Jingming tomorrow to escort you back?” Old Lady Li asked Lady Tian. Previously, when the Li and Tian families were feuding, and considering Lady Tian’s small schemes, Old Lady Li had sent her home to accompany Old Lady Tian.

Now that the Tian family had changed completely, and since Lady Tian had no intention of remarrying Old Lady Li planned to bring her back. After all, Lady Tian was still the Li family’s third daughter-in-law. However, Old Lady Li also worried that Lady Tian might have other thoughts, so she asked first.

Old Lady Li’s use of “Third Daughter-in-law” made Lady Tian’s nose tingle with emotion. She bowed and said, “Third Daughter-in-law longs day and night to return to Old Lady’s side, but the children at home are having a difficult time now. I should help them a bit more. With me in the Tian family’s inner courtyard, Chunzhi still has to show some consideration.”

“That’s fine too. If you have any difficulties, feel free to come to me,” Old Lady Li nodded after hearing Lady Tian’s explanation.

Afterward, Lady Tian and Sun Yuejuan took their leave, with Zhenniang seeing them out on behalf of her seventh grandmother.

That afternoon, Old Lady Li went to the Cheng family to find Third Master Cheng. They then went together to see the prefect, not returning until dusk. From Old Lady Li’s expression, Zhenniang could tell their objective had been achieved.

Sure enough, the next day, Sun Yuejuan accompanied Tian Benchang to the Li residence to thank Old Lady Li personally.

Compared to before, Tian Benchang appeared more haggard but otherwise hadn’t changed much, though his temperament seemed more somber. However, Zhenniang noticed that there was now more understanding and harmony between him and Sun Yuejuan.

These two had certainly not had an easy journey to reach this point.

“Miss Li, please pass a message to Luo Wenqian. Tell him I’d like to meet with him to discuss something. Let’s meet at the Taibai Tower tomorrow afternoon,” Tian Benchang bowed to Zhenniang before leaving.

“No problem, I’ll certainly pass it on,” Zhenniang nodded. She understood that with the return of the Tian family’s eldest son, he would want to rebuild their position—this was likely his first move in laying out his strategy.

Then Sun Yuejuan left together with Tian Benchang.

In the evening, Luo Wenqian brought a yellow-tailed fish from the Xin’an River to the Li house. He had been renovating the old Luo residence lately but came to the Li house every day to eat and drink. By now, the Li family members were all calling him son-in-law.

After handing the fish to Sister Liu Jin, Luo Wenqian drew water from the well to wash his hands. Zhenniang handed him a handkerchief to dry them.

“Tian Benchang came today and wants to meet you at Taibai Tower tomorrow afternoon,” Zhenniang said, squinting her eyes.

“It’s about time he came out. I wanted to meet with him too,” Luo Wenqian nodded.

So the next afternoon, Luo Wenqian went to meet Tian Benchang. When he returned at dusk, Zhenniang curiously asked what they had discussed. Luo Wenqian teased her: “You’ll know in a few days.”

Zhenniang wrinkled her nose in displeasure, but Luo Wenqian maintained his mysterious smile. Zhenniang punched him lightly, then quickly withdrew her fist, pretending to be proper—if Madam Zhao saw this behavior, she would surely scold her.

Luo Wenqian just laughed heartily, seeming to enjoy it.

As they were talking, Aunt Jinhua came rushing in anxiously: “Zhenniang, have you seen Run’er?”

“No, what’s wrong?” Zhenniang replied.

“That naughty boy, I’ve been keeping him close these days, but this morning You’er came to ask him to play. I thought keeping him confined too long wasn’t good, so I let him go with You’er. But now it’s almost dark, and Run’er hasn’t returned. I went to ask You’er, but he said he hadn’t seen Run’er since afternoon. This is really…” Li Jinhua said anxiously.

“Aunt, don’t worry, let’s look for him,” Zhenniang comforted her. Then everyone was mobilized to search for Run’er.