The night passed without further incident. Early the next morning, Zhenniang brought Runer out from the ink storehouse.
As soon as Runer emerged and saw Li Jinhua kneeling outside all night, his eyes reddened. He rushed forward and knelt before Li Jinhua, “Mother, I was wrong.”
Li Jinhua embraced Runer, stroking his head. “You weren’t entirely wrong. It was Mother’s fault. I always thought you were too young, so I never explained clearly about your father’s affairs. Now that you’re older and have learned to read, let me tell you everything about your father’s past…”
Li Jinhua sat down with Runer on the ground, mother and son side by side, and proceeded to explain everything about Wang Decai’s past actions in detail.
As Runer listened, his small fists clenched tightly. Had Wang Decai been present, the boy would likely have confronted him directly.
Zhenniang had originally planned to tell Runer these things the previous night, but she realized such matters would be better coming from his aunt directly.
Now that everything was clear, Runer would no longer be susceptible to Wang Decai’s manipulation.
Afterward, Li Jinhua comforted Runer until he fell asleep. She had initially planned to confront Wang Decai, but Zhenniang, after thinking it over all night, felt it unnecessary.
First, there was no direct evidence. Confronting Wang Decai would be futile unless Runer testified against him. However, Runer was still a child, and in these times, the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues were fundamental to human relations. Though Wang Decai was wrong, having Runer testify against him would be inappropriate and potentially harmful to the boy.
Second, it was ultimately Runer who had attempted to steal the ink formula. This could become a stain on his reputation if the matter escalated.
Therefore, after discussing it with Aunt Jinhua, Zhenniang suggested they simply ignore Wang Decai. Of course, Wang Decai still needed to be warned, and Li Zhenniang would handle that task herself.
Looking at the sky, dawn had already broken.
Though Zhenniang had stayed up with Runer all night, she had managed to doze off briefly and wasn’t too tired this early morning. After breakfast, she first made a round of the ink workshop. At Chen Hour(7 AM to 9 AM), she headed toward Fourth Treasure Street.
The weather was somewhat gloomy today, and with the twelfth lunar month approaching, the north wind grew increasingly fierce, making it particularly cold.
It seemed likely to snow, and pedestrians on the street quickened their pace.
At the Tian Family Ink Shop on Fourth Treasure Street.
Chunzhi stood at the entrance, wearing an apricot-yellow robe with a fur-collared cape. She was bundled up thoroughly, gazing at the shop’s sign with evident satisfaction. Who would have thought that a purchased concubine would eventually inherit such an enterprise?
“Madam, it’s cold. Have some hot tea to warm up.” Wang Decai brought over a cup of hot tea. Chunzhi took it leisurely, sipping it. Indeed, a warmth spread through her heart—Wang Decai was quite considerate.
At this moment, Zhenniang walked past them, but after a few steps, she suddenly stopped and walked back to stand before them.
“Oh, Miss Zhen, please come inside. As I’m new to the ink business, I’d welcome your guidance,” Chunzhi said with a slight bow, maintaining politeness. To her, the Li family was irrelevant, but she understood Wang Decai’s hatred for them and thus harbored little goodwill herself.
Her words carried a subtle sting.
“Concubine Chun, you flatter me. I hardly have anything to teach, but since you mention it, I’ll offer a word of caution,” Zhenniang responded, picking up on Chunzhi’s tone.
“Oh? I’m all ears.” Chunzhi found Zhenniang’s address of “Concubine Chun” particularly grating—everyone called her Madam now. Though Zhenniang’s form of address wasn’t technically wrong, she couldn’t correct it. Thus, her face showed obvious mockery; this Li Zhenniang didn’t know her place, getting ahead of herself with just a little courtesy.
Zhenniang paid no attention to Chunzhi’s expression and continued, “Has Concubine Chun heard about the incident with the foul ink at the Tian family’s Nanjing workshop?”
“Of course I have. Young Master Tian was foolish then, trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice in return—ended up being outmaneuvered by others,” Chunzhi said with a raised corner of her mouth, the “others” clearly referring to the Li family.
“So you see, in any business, one must follow the rules, or that’s the outcome. I’m simply reminding you of this lesson from the past,” Zhenniang said calmly.
“Li Zhenniang, what exactly are you implying?” Hearing these words, Chunzhi’s face darkened further.
“What could I be implying? Just offering a friendly reminder. Don’t overthink it, Concubine Chun.” With that, Zhenniang left.
“What did she mean by that?” Chunzhi smashed the teacup to the ground in anger, her face ashen as she shouted at Wang Decai.
“What else? It seems my plan to have Runer steal the ink formula has been exposed.” Wang Decai said coldly. Li Zhenniang’s meaning was clear—warning them not to covet the Li family’s ink formula, lest they fall into a trap like the fake formula incident that had backfired on them before.
“Hmph! I told you not to create unnecessary trouble, and now look what you’ve done. As if I didn’t have enough to worry about,” Chunzhi snapped upon hearing this.
“No, I was only thinking of our workshop’s benefit. I originally didn’t want to go too far, considering our years of marriage, but since Li Zhenniang is being so unreasonable, I still have one card that could cost the Li family their lives,” Wang Decai said coldly.
“What card?” Chunzhi pulled Wang Decai inside and asked in a low voice.
“Remember Feng Daniu who came with Young Master Qin last time?” Wang Decai asked.
“Yes, that lecher who couldn’t stop staring at me,” Chunzhi spat, then asked, “What about him?”
“Madam Su’s brother in Suzhou got some news. The Circuit Inspector Cai is investigating the murder and robbery of the Wang family merchant convoy in the northern territory. It’s connected to Feng Daniu. The only survivor was Li Jingfu, who returned from the north and suddenly became wealthy. What if I were to report that Li Jingfu conspired with Feng Daniu to murder and rob?” Wang Decai said with a cold smile.
Madam Su’s brother—the one who had posed as an Imperial Guard with Wang Decai to scheme against the Li family—had been exiled to Hainan with Wang Decai and returned to Suzhou after the general amnesty. He knew many people from various walks of life, including a runner from the Circuit Inspector’s office, which was how he learned this news. He mentioned it to Wang Decai while visiting Madam Su a few days ago.
Because Wang Decai was cooperating with the Qin family, he took special note of this information.
“Nonsense! Wasn’t it the Tartars who committed the robbery and murders? What does this have to do with Feng Daniu and Li Jingfu? Li Jingfu survived because he was lucky and the Qin family saved him. Besides, Feng Daniu is the Qin family’s man—reporting him would mean opposing the Qin family,” Chunzhi said irritably, thinking Wang Decai’s idea was far-fetched.
Moreover, she had just established connections with the Qin family and didn’t want to offend them.
“Madam, you only know half the story. Do you know why Inspector Cai, having discovered Feng Daniu’s involvement, hasn’t moved against him? It’s because they’re investigating the Qin family behind him. This matter involves the Qin family. Back then, when Wang’s merchant company started sourcing goods from the north, they were encroaching on the Qin family’s market. The Qin family had their eyes on Wang’s trade routes and wanted to merge with Wang’s company, but Owner Wang refused. This led to serious tensions between them. Shortly after, Wang’s company encountered Tartars while collecting goods in the north and was completely wiped out, with only Li Jingfu surviving…” Wang Decai explained. He knew something about the conflict between Wang’s company and the Qin family from his time running a tea house in Suzhou.
“That’s impossible. If the Qin family was behind it, why would they save Li Jingfu?” Chunzhi asked, confused.
“I’m not entirely sure about that. Perhaps the Qin family’s gold mining team happened to pass by and didn’t know about the connection to the Qin family, so they saved him. Or there’s another possibility—the mining team was there as a precaution, to clean up any evidence left by the killers, and they might have saved Li Jingfu because they thought he didn’t know anything about it,” Wang Decai couldn’t be certain about this point.
“Forget it, this is too complicated for me. All I know is that if this involves the Qin family, how can you still report it? Wouldn’t that implicate the Qin family too? And collaborating with Tartars is a capital offense—would Feng Daniu easily admit to that?” Chunzhi shook her head vigorously.
“Madam, you don’t understand. I’m telling you, I want to force the Qin family onto our side,” Wang Decai continued.
“What do you mean?” Chunzhi was confused again.
“Right now, we’re cooperating with the Qin family, but they don’t take us seriously. They’re only using our connections with Yang Songji from my time in Hainan to establish relations with the Japanese for sea trade. Once the Qin family becomes familiar with the sea routes, they’ll have no use for us. So, I want to use the Feng Daniu matter—either the Qin family goes down with the Li family, or they turn against Feng Daniu and join me in accusing him, the Li family, and Luo Wenqian…”
Wang Decai paused here: “Come to think of it, the Qin family has always wanted to crush Luo Wenqian’s Yihou Trading Company, since he took over their military supply business. If the Qin family testifies against Feng Daniu and we arrange some evidence, Feng Daniu won’t escape. Then he can implicate the Li and Luo families, taking them all down at once. I don’t believe the Qin family would resist such a good deal.”
Hearing Wang Decai’s arrangement, Chunzhi had to admit that his plan would indeed kill multiple birds with one stone.