The night passed without further incident.
In the early morning, after a night of heavy rain had washed the streets, the bluestone slabs gleamed like mirrors. The sky possessed a freshly washed clarity, and the willow trees along the riverbank sparkled with raindrops in the dawn light.
Zhen Niang rose early, first attending to Young Master Lin’s preparation for school. Miss Yu was running wild around the courtyard while Luo Wenqian, dressed in a cyan-colored robe and wearing a gentry’s cap, prepared to leave. Outside, Luo Ping’an had already readied the carriage and was waiting at the gate.
Zhen Niang saw Luo Wenqian off, secretly squeezing his hand – everything must remain calm.
Luo Wenqian understood Zhen Niang’s concern. He squeezed her hand in return, gently rubbing it. Due to years of ink-making, Zhen Niang’s hands weren’t as soft as other women’s, carrying a slight graininess, yet somehow this made them especially comforting.
The life built by these hands gave one an exceptional sense of security.
After a moment, Luo Wenqian released Zhen Niang’s hand, boarded the carriage, waved to her, and headed straight for Yi Housheng Money House.
Early morning at Yi Housheng Money House, the doors had just opened. Several workers were sweeping fallen leaves from the entrance, all knocked down by the night’s rain.
As the sun rose, the temperature gradually increased. The cicadas in the trees, as if afraid of being forgotten, couldn’t wait until noon to begin their chorus.
However, their sound wasn’t strained but rather carried a rhythm that added a touch of life to the morning atmosphere of the official street.
Small groups of merchants gathered for morning tea, discussing which goods were selling well, what events had occurred, or gossiping about some shameless old man who, at sixty-plus years, had taken an eighteen-year-old concubine – not considering whether his constitution could handle it.
Naturally, the conversation turned to Manager Yan’s extravagant spending of three thousand six hundred taels of silver on the graduation feast for Qingchun House’s new courtesan, with everyone suggesting that Yan Xilai must have enjoyed the beauty’s favors last night.
Of course, they didn’t know that Yan Xilai had spent a sleepless night.
Regarding Luo Wenqian’s authority built up over the years as leader, Yan Xilai felt considerable pressure. Yet the more pressure he felt, the more he wanted to break free. He knew Luo Jiu would arrive soon, and given Luo Jiu’s shrewdness, he believed Luo Jiu would understand the meaning behind his actions yesterday. How would Luo Jiu respond? Strip him of his position?
He thought this highly likely. Therefore, early in the morning, he kept the letter from the eldest brother in the North close to his chest. With this letter, Luo Jiu wouldn’t dare move against him. Years ago, when Luo Jiu came alone to the North, it was the eldest brother who took him in. Otherwise, it was questionable whether Luo Jiu would even be alive now.
Thinking this, he drew a deep breath. He had already initiated hostilities; there was no reason to retreat now. He swallowed hard, like a fighter awaiting the coming storm.
Just then, Luo Jiu’s carriage stopped at the entrance. Luo Jiu entered Yi Housheng with account books under his arm. Luo Ping’an drove the carriage to the back of Yi Housheng to tend to the horses. The money house’s conflicts were not his concern.
“Wenqian, you’re here.” Seeing Luo Jiu enter, Yan Xilai naturally went forward to greet him.
Luo Jiu laughed heartily and clapped his shoulder: “Fourth Brother truly died beneath the peony flower – a romantic even as a ghost! You must have thoroughly enjoyed the graduation feast yesterday. How was it? Did your wife let you in when you returned home? Didn’t make you kneel on the abacus beads?”
“Don’t tease me. Do I look like someone who enjoyed himself? My wife quarreled with me all night. I was just momentarily possessed – seeing Tang Benchang’s confident expression, I wanted to drive up the price. Who knew I’d lose more than I gained?” Yan Xilai never expected Luo Jiu to enter showing no reaction to the matter, instead just joking with him. His built-up tension deflated instantly.
His expression now showed embarrassment as he responded, though inwardly he was thoroughly confused. What was Fifth Brother’s meaning? Had he truly not understood his intention?
Of course, his explanation now was rather perfect.
“It’s fine, that’s what men do. Miss Liu Susu is truly beautiful – worth it, haha.” Luo Wenqian said this and spoke no more of it, checking the day’s accounts as usual before preparing to head to Yi Housheng’s goods division.
“Oh, right – Sixth Brother came by early this morning. The double-harvest rice from Fujian and Hainan is ready, and the final season is coming soon. He’s taken people there to collect grain. He asked me to let you know and requested that you look after the goods division for a while,” Yan Xilai said at this point, his eyes narrowing slightly afterward as he secretly gauged Luo Wenqian’s reaction.
“Mm, the drought in the North is severe – collecting grain from the South is crucial. Alright, I understand. I’ll keep an eye on things at the goods division.” Luo Wenqian nodded calmly, his expression completely normal.
This left Yan Xilai feeling uneasy, not understanding what game Luo Wenqian was playing. Yan Xilai felt as if he’d thrown a heavy punch into cotton.
Luo Wenqian ignored all this. Leaving the building, he called Luo Ping’an but sent him alone to check on the goods division while he walked home slowly.
In truth, Luo Wenqian’s mood was not good. While this was indeed the season for grain collection, over these past ten or more years, Yi Housheng’s grain collection channels had matured, mostly operating through grain boats with their crew. Unless something unexpected occurred, there was no need for Xiao Qi to make this trip. Without saying more, this trip was exactly as Zhen Niang had predicted – likely the eldest brothers all supported Yan Xilai in this matter. Old Sixth didn’t want to be caught in the middle, so he avoided it first.
This gave Luo Wenqian an indescribable feeling of loss and disappointment.
Zhen Niang was in the courtyard talking with Ugly Po while Miss Yu remained restless as ever. Zhen Niang often glared at her, but Ugly Po particularly enjoyed Miss Yu’s liveliness. In Ugly Po’s words: “Being lively is good, being lively shows spirit – I enjoy watching it.”
With Ugly Po’s encouragement, Miss Yu became even more unrestrained. However, for every policy from above, there’s a countermeasure below. Zhen Niang had many methods for managing little Miss Yu, now bringing out some ink writings for Yu to learn characters.
Whenever it came to learning about ink-making, Ugly Po immediately sided with Zhen Niang. Even if Miss Yu were the Monkey King, she couldn’t escape from Zhen Niang’s Buddha’s palm. The little girl had no choice but to study obediently.
“Xu Xuan ink, called Dragon Fragrance, also named Moon Disc, worth thirty thousand gold…” Miss Yu’s childish voice read along with Zhen Niang.
“Dragon Pattern ink, Double Ridge ink, Li’s Double Excellence…” Reading to this point, Miss Yu blinked and said: “Zhen Niang ink, Three Talents, number one under heaven.” After speaking, the little girl pressed her lips together in a secret smile.
“Stop flattering me, continue reading with me.” Zhen Niang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“She didn’t say wrong.” Ugly Po testified from the side.
This made the little girl even more pleased.
At this moment, Luo Wenqian returned. Zhen Niang saw him alone, still maintaining that lazy, casual manner, but the loss in his brow was clear to her.
Seeing this, Zhen Niang naturally understood – her guess had been correct. The trouble in Yi Housheng wasn’t just Yan Xilai. The elder brothers in the North all had their ideas now.
Luo Wenqian merely greeted everyone before entering his study. Zhen Niang didn’t follow immediately – at this moment, Luo Wenqian needed time alone to think. Thus, it wasn’t until nearly noon that Zhen Niang entered the study.
“Zhen Niang, look at these ink line drawings I’ve made – how are they?” Seeing Zhen Niang enter, Luo Wenqian handed her several freshly completed ink line drawings.
The first showed a person lying by the roadside, appearing weak and ill. From the features, it was Luo Wenqian.
The second showed a bearded man carrying him on his back, with several people gathered around showing concern.
The third depicted Luo Wenqian mining, sweating profusely, exhausted, with an overseer kicking him. Several people tried to help him but were whipped by other overseers.
The fourth showed all the gold that Luo Wenqian and others had laboriously mined being taken by a head overseer.
The fifth showed Luo Wenqian and others killing that head overseer.
The sixth showed six people kneeling in brotherhood, with the Yi Housheng sign in the background.
This was a set of collected ink drawings, and Zhen Niang saw the three large characters “Six Righteousness Ink” at the top. She naturally understood what Luo Wenqian’s “Six Righteousness Ink” expressed – it was the story of how the brothers had sworn their brotherhood.
“Back then, without the eldest brother’s rescue, there would be no Luo Wenqian today. If my eldest brother had any thoughts, he could have just told me directly – I would have had no reason to refuse. Why resort to such testing?” Now Luo Wenqian sat back in his grand chair, one hand tightly gripping Zhen Niang’s, his expression dark, clearly unable to let go.
Zhen Niang didn’t speak. She knew that at that moment, Brother Luo just needed to express his feelings. She just needed to listen quietly. Thinking this, she returned his grip.
“In recent years, I’ve donated much, mainly because Yi Housheng has grown so large – a tall tree catches the wind. And Lord Zhang was a capable man, a man with ambition, but such men are never truly benevolent. How many people have fallen by his hand over these years? Even Zhang Zhong, due to his excessive greed and overreaching, was ultimately sent home by Zhang Juzheng to be a mere gatekeeper. If even Zhang Zhong met such a fate, Yi Housheng could not afford even the slightest mistake. So these years, when Lord Zhang reformed and the court lacked silver, Yi Housheng donated – wasn’t this all just to show Lord Zhang our stance?”
Pausing here, Luo Wenqian continued: “Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger – this saying applies equally to Lord Zhang. Precisely because I supported his affairs without reservation, Lord Zhang has spoken for Yi Housheng these years, shielding us from wind and rain. Otherwise, how could people like us have protected Yi Housheng? The elder brothers don’t understand this.”
“Brother Luo, I think the elder brothers will understand – they just need time,” Zhen Niang said.
“Time? I fear by then Yi Housheng will have vanished like smoke. How could the elder brothers know that this moment is the most crucial for Yi Housheng?” Luo Wenqian said painfully.
“Brother Luo, precisely because this is a crucial moment, I think you should take a step back. Those amid things are often blind to them. Your relationship with Lord Zhang is too close, and Lord Zhang has too many enemies. At this time, you might do better to step back, see the situation more clearly, and make more preparations. If that day truly comes and Yi Housheng faces trouble, there would be ways to remedy it, preventing a complete reversal,” Zhen Niang now expressed her thoughts completely.
“You think that with Lord Zhang gone, the court will move against him? Impossible – with Empress Dowager Li there, how could she not protect the Zhang family?” Hearing Zhen Niang’s meaning, Luo Wenqian jumped in shock. If the court truly moved against Lord Zhang, Yi Housheng absolutely could not escape.
“It’s precisely because of the Empress Dowager… There are too many rumors among the people, and whether the relationship between the Empress Dowager and Lord Zhang is real or not, it’s a thorn in the Emperor’s heart… ‘Zhang Juzheng is not upright, the black-hearted minister lies in the dragon’s bed’… this rumor is truly fatal.” Zhen Niang spoke haltingly in a low voice.
Luo Wenqian hadn’t thought about it that way before, thinking that with the man’s death, judgment had been rendered. But now, with Zhen Niang’s words and analysis of the court situation, Lord Zhang’s grip on court power had been too concentrated. For the Emperor to take power, he would first need to weaken Lord Zhang’s influence. Adding the rumors Zhen Niang mentioned, her thoughts might well be correct.
“You’re right – the Emperor has a thorn in his heart regarding Lord Zhang. I should make proper preparations. Fortunately, there’s still time. Lord Zhang’s achievements are great; even if the Emperor wants to move against him, he won’t do so immediately. We’ll see when the Emperor moves against Eunuch Feng.” As Luo Wenqian spoke, he set aside the matter of brotherly conflict. He needed to prepare Yi Housheng for the coming storm.
Zhen Niang marveled at how accurate Brother Luo’s prediction was. Historically, half a year later, Feng Bao would fall. Thereafter came wave after wave of accusations against Zhang Juzheng, and a year later, the Zhang family would face a fatal blow.