Li Zhengping was unharmed. When he returned safely, the entire Li family was filled with joy.

Shortly after, all branches of the Li family gathered at Li Jingming’s home.

After the initial rejoicing, when asked about the twists and turns of events, Li Zhengping scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly and stole a quiet glance at his mother, Madam Fang.

In the end, it was Sister Ge Qiu who told the story from beginning to end.

Only then did Zhenniang learn that after Li Zhengping had led several people to the dock to report the news, he hadn’t returned to the ship with the others, but instead had taken a different boat, entering the Qiantang River from Ningbo, then into the Suzhou River, finally reaching the Songjiang River.

That was where Ge San’er was serving his sentence—the Songjiang quarry.

Li Zhengping had thought about how Ge San’er’s sentence was nearly complete, and since he had earned some silver from his overseas venture, he wanted to go to the Songjiang quarry first to ransom Ge San’er out, so he could reunite with Sister Ge Qiu sooner.

But unexpectedly, when he arrived at Songjiang, Ge San’er had already been ransomed out by several of Ge Da’s friends, and Sister Ge Qiu had brought Ge San’er along with Old Hu to Huizhou.

At that moment, Li Zhengping had lost all trace of Sister Ge Qiu.

He had drifted at sea for several months, then rushed without delay to Songjiang, carrying all his hopes, but found those hopes dashed. Combined with getting caught in the rain that day, he fell ill at an inn, completely unaware of any news from the outside world.

Meanwhile, Sister Ge Qiu had never stopped making inquiries along the coast at Ningbo. One day, she happened to meet the captain of the boat Li Zhengping had taken when it returned to port. The captain had known Li Zhengping, and hearing Sister Ge Qiu’s inquiries, told her about Li Zhengping’s journey to Songjiang.

So Sister Ge Qiu immediately rented a small boat and traveled day and night to reach there. Upon arriving in Songjiang, after many inquiries, she finally found the inn where Li Zhengping lay ill.

When Li Zhengping heard that his family thought he was dead, he naturally understood how heartbroken they must be and became extremely anxious, unable to remain in Songjiang any longer. As soon as he got the news, despite still being ill, he made haste with Sister Ge Qiu to return home. Fortunately, seeing Sister Ge Qiu had lifted his spirits—truly, joy makes one vigorous—and the exertion of the journey had made him sweat, nearly curing his illness.

“Ah, it’s fortunate this boy was so devoted to Qiu’er. He escaped a great tragedy—truly heaven’s blessing!” Eighth Madam Li, née Wu, clasped her hands and bowed repeatedly toward heaven.

“Indeed, Qiu’er must be our lucky star,” several aunts chimed in. Everyone understood that Li Zhengping would clearly marry none but Sister Ge Qiu now. Moreover, this time he had escaped disaster because of Sister Ge Qiu, and previously, Madam Fang had already expressed regret. Thus, their reconciliation became a natural progression, and everyone was happy to add their blessings to this favorable situation.

Li Zhengping was also quick-witted, and by this point, he knew everyone was speaking on his behalf. So he stood up: “Mother, I… I…” After stammering twice, he pulled Sister Ge Qiu down as they knelt together with a thud: “Please give us your blessing, Mother.”

“I wasn’t a proper daughter-in-law before. Please give Qiu’er another chance to make amends for past wrongs,” Sister Ge Qiu followed suit with a kowtow, speaking sincerely.

Madam Fang looked at Sister Ge Qiu with complex emotions. She had never liked this daughter-in-law, but after recent events, her tolerance had greatly increased. Moreover, Sister Ge Qiu’s devotion to Zhengping truly moved her.

“Ah, I wasn’t the best mother-in-law before either. From now on, let’s all work to improve together,” Madam Fang’s words were equally sincere at this moment.

Her words effectively granted approval to Li Zhengping and Qiu’er’s union. During this time, when Madam Fang believed Li Zhengping was truly lost, she had done much thinking, and seeing Sister Ge Qiu’s genuine feelings, she had naturally come to understand.

“Good, good, good! Next month is Zhenniang’s wedding. I suggest we arrange Zhengping and Sister Ge Qiu’s ceremony after Zhenniang’s wedding. After all, when Li Zhengping first married Qiu’er, she wasn’t properly brought home, nor recorded in the family registry—this wasn’t according to custom. This time we’ll do everything properly, then record her in the family registry,” Old Madam Li announced with a smile.

With Old Madam Li’s pronouncement, the matter was settled.

Thus, everyone began discussing arrangements for Li Zhengping and Sister Ge Qiu’s wedding.

In this way, after their initial shock, the Li family would soon welcome another joyous occasion.

In the following period, Zhenniang was confined to the house, unable to go out, preparing for her wedding. Though Luo Wenqian still frequently came to the Li house to discuss matters with Li Jingfu, each time he came, Zhenniang had to avoid him—the month before marriage required maintaining propriety.

The ink workshop’s affairs were mostly handed over to her father and uncles Jingming and Jingdong, while Zheng Fuli managed things in Nanjing. The workshop progressed smoothly, leaving Zhenniang with nothing to worry about.

However, even though Zhenniang stayed at home daily, with Xihu’er as an informant, she still learned quite a bit about outside events.

Currently, during this period in Huizhou, following the Huiyuan Bank incident, resistance against the Japanese pirates had become a topic of discussion. According to reports, the Ningbo General had led troops to drive the pirates back to sea, but a group of several hundred pirates had scattered and fled toward Hangzhou and Jinhua areas. Now Hangzhou, Jinhua, and other places had implemented curfews to guard against these scattered pirates.

However, after this group of pirates reached Jinhua, they vanished without a trace.

“Elder Sister, do you think the pirates might invade our area?” Speaking of the pirate situation, Xihu’er asked angrily.

“Probably not. Hangzhou and Jinhua are quite far from us, aren’t they?” Zhenniang replied.

Historically, some people from Huizhou had connections with the Japanese pirates. For instance, Wang Zhi and Xu Hai’s ability to dominate the seas was somewhat related to the pirates, though this was mainly through commercial dealings.

As for pirates attacking Huizhou, at that time the pirates mainly operated around the Zhoushan Islands and Fujian areas—Huizhou was too distant. Though at their peak, they seemed to have reached here before, Zhenniang wasn’t too clear about this.

“No worries! If they come, I’ll drive them back to sea!” Xihu’er thumped his chest proudly. “Our private tutor says that with Tartars in the north and pirates in the south threatening our China, it’s time for men like us to achieve merit!”

“Pah! What merit and achievement! Don’t worry about the Tartars—they’re already negotiating with the court. You’d better go make your bed properly. Didn’t your private tutor also say ‘How can one sweep the world without first sweeping one’s room’?” Just then, Madam Zhao passed by, grabbing Xihu’er’s ear and glaring at him.

Though Zhenniang’s presence had slightly altered the timing of some historical events, events still followed their original course without any real changes. With Batunaji’s surrender, the court had already begun negotiations with Anda.

And like all common folk of Great Ming, though far from matters of state, they could still point to the affairs of the realm in their gossip and idle talk. Moreover, with talk of resuming the tea-horse markets—a matter intimately connected to Huizhou people’s interests—everyone chatted as if they wished they could replace the court’s negotiators and achieve victory without a battle.

“Ouch, Mother, it hurts! I’m going right now!” Xihu’er immediately scurried away dejectedly. Whatever grand aspirations he had were completely deflated by his mother’s intervention. He walked away disappointed.

Watching him, Zhenniang realized this boy was already fourteen, nearly of age to discuss marriage.

Afterward, Madam Zhao sat down, glancing outside before closing the door.

“Mother, what is it? Why so mysterious?” Zhenniang found Madam Zhao’s secretive behavior curious and asked.

Madam Zhao’s face reddened slightly, then she pulled out a small booklet from her clothes and handed it to Zhenniang. When Zhenniang curiously accepted and looked at it, her face immediately burned red. In academic terms, this was a physiological hygiene manual; looking at it with colored eyes, this was an illustrated intimate guide, complete with various positions.

Most importantly, it taught which positions were most favorable for conception.

(Since we’re in that period, we won’t deeply discuss the contents of this booklet and its profound details. Hehe.)

“Read it when you have time. Every woman should read this before marriage,” Madam Zhao said, then calmly turned and left, having many other tasks to attend to.

Thus, for an entire afternoon, Zhenniang carefully studied this booklet in-depth, until finally, she became so absorbed that she had an intimate dream that night.

When she awoke, her mouth was parched.

Though it was mid-March, spring’s end still carried a chill at night. Zhenniang put on her clothes and rose, lit the oil lamp on her table, and then took several deep drinks from the teapot on the table. Only then did that parched feeling dissipate.

But at this moment, Zhenniang turned her face and noticed an unusual brightness through the window paper. What could this be? Curious, she opened the window and looked out, only to discover brilliant flames near the city gate, with several points of fire, and smoke filling the air.

Zhenniang was so startled she dropped the teapot in her hand, which struck her toe, causing sharp pain. However, Zhenniang had no time to worry about the teapot now, nor could she attend to her throbbing foot. She quickly opened her door and ran downstairs to knock on her parents’ door: “Father, Mother, something’s wrong! Several fires have broken out in the city!”

“What? What’s happening?” Li Jingfu emerged wearing his robe. Hearing Zhenniang’s words, he hurried upstairs and indeed saw several fires near the city gate. By now, Li Dalang and Xihu’er had also risen.

“Father, Mother, stay home. We’ll go find out what’s happening,” Li Dalang said, pulling Xihu’er along. The doorman Li Liujin also went with them.

Before leaving, they called for Liujin’s wife to quickly secure the door.

After they left, Liujin’s wife locked the door and stood guard beside it.

By now, everyone in the Li household had emerged, watching the distant flames. Several more fires had appeared by this time, and the direction of the fires seemed to be moving toward the Li residence. Moreover, the night wind even carried sounds of fighting.

What… what was happening?

Suddenly, Zhenniang thought of a possibility and clutched her head, her face full of anxiety. That ill-omened Xihu’er—surely his words hadn’t come true?

Just then, someone pounded on the door: “Quick, open up! It’s me, Wenqian!”

The Li family was already anxious, and hearing it was Luo Wenqian at the door, Liujin’s wife quickly opened it. At this point, no one worried about propriety anymore—Zhenniang also rushed out: “Brother Luo, what’s happening outside?”

“It’s the pirates. The Japanese pirates have invaded…” Luo Wenqian replied gravely.