Miss Yan’s name was Yan Xianglan.
“Get out! All of you, get out!”
Just as Zhen Niang reached Miss Yan’s chamber door with Mama Qian, a shrill cry emerged from within.
With a loud crash, a white porcelain vase flew out of the room and shattered on the ground, startling Zhen Niang. She instinctively picked up a piece—the base of the vase—which bore the Yongle reign mark.
“Tsk tsk.” Zhen Niang clicked her tongue internally. These wealthy people truly didn’t care about money. This white porcelain vase was the distinctive sweet white porcelain from the Yongle period. Judging by the mark, it was from the imperial kiln. Though not as valuable as it would become in later generations, it was still considered a luxury item at this time.
Seeing it shatter so carelessly made Zhen Niang’s heartache.
“Oh my, young mistress, what’s the matter now?” Hearing the commotion, Mama Qian told Zhen Niang to wait outside while she rushed in.
“Just looking at them irritates me. Mama Qian, make them all leave,” an impatient female voice commanded.
Standing outside, Zhen Niang guessed this must be Miss Yan Xianglan.
“What’s going on? How are you serving the young mistress? Why hasn’t the breakfast been touched?” Mama Qian’s scolding voice came from inside.
“We’ve been trying to persuade her all morning, but the young mistress has no appetite,” a maid replied somewhat aggrieved. If the young mistress wouldn’t eat, they couldn’t force her.
“If she has no appetite, you should find a solution! Try different dishes! If you just let the young mistress skip meals because she has no appetite, what use are you maids?” Mama Qian said coldly.
“Yes, this servant was wrong. I’ll go prepare different breakfast items,” the maid replied, her voice trembling.
“Enough, Mama Qian. I’m just in a bad mood. I won’t have an appetite no matter what they bring. Let them all leave and give me some peace,” Yan Xianglan interjected.
“Oh my dear young mistress, no matter how bad your mood is, you still need to eat! Oh yes, the master has invited a female physician to examine you. She’s waiting outside. Shall I invite her in?” Mama Qian said.
“Send her away! Even the imperial physicians couldn’t cure my condition. What skills could she possibly have? She’s surely another swindler. Get out, get out, get out!” Young Miss Yan raged hysterically from within.
“Young mistress, this one isn’t a fraud. Just a few days ago, Third Lady Zheng from the Zheng family had a terrible fire sore on her face. The fortune teller even said it was a demon sore. But this young lady used some kind of medicinal ink, and within two hours, the condition was cured. Only a slight red mark remained nothing else. This old servant feels she has real ability,” Mama Qian persuaded.
“Haha, you’ve all been fooled by these street performances! Remember what that previous physician said? Something about raising the dead and healing broken bones? And what happened? I suffered needlessly, and my condition worsened. Then she disappeared without a trace. Get out, get out, get out!” Yan Xianglan stubbornly replied.
“Well…” Mama Qian was at a loss.
“Mama Qian, since Miss Yan doesn’t wish to see me, I’ll return to my grandfather’s place,” Zhen Niang called from outside, poking her head in.
“Wait! Who said you could leave? Come in.” Yan Xianglan became displeased again. While she could dismiss people, she didn’t like Zhen Niang deciding to leave on her own.
Zhen Niang smiled slightly and entered. Yan Xianglan was still sitting in her bed chamber, her silhouette visible through the gauze curtains.
Zhen Niang stood there quietly, keeping her eyes downcast. Since Miss Yan didn’t speak, she naturally remained silent.
“You’re a physician? Female physicians are rare,” Miss Yan finally said coldly after a while.
“Miss Yan misunderstands. Zhen Niang is not a physician,” Zhen Niang calmly replied.
“If you’re not a physician, why are you here to examine me? Is this some kind of joke?” Miss Yan became even more agitated at Zhen Niang’s words.
“It’s just that Zhen Niang’s family has a traditional medicinal ink that has shown some effectiveness for certain conditions. That’s why Master Yan asked me to come take a look. May I ask what’s troubling Miss Yan?” Zhen Niang inquired.
“Young mistress, regardless, since she’s already here, why not let her take a look? Better safe than sorry. What if it works? Then you’ll suffer less,” Mama Qian added her persuasion.
“Fine, examine me then.” After a long pause, Miss Yan replied, her tone lacking confidence. Then she turned to Mama Qian: “Raise the bed curtains.”
“Yes!” Mama Qian happily complied, gesturing for the maids to lift the curtains.
Miss Yan appeared to be sixteen or seventeen years old. Her features weren’t delicate but had a certain dignity. She was covered with a thin blanket, but her back was exposed. As she turned away from Zhen Niang, a large sore was visible on her left back. It was bright red, with yellow and red pus mixed—a frightening sight.
It was a back sore, and possibly due to improper previous treatment, it looked even more terrifying now.
Zhen Niang stepped forward to examine it more carefully, then stepped back.
“Well?” Miss Yan turned back to face Zhen Niang and asked.
“This is a back sore. There’s a kind of medicinal ink that might be effective, but the ingredients are hard to obtain,” Zhen Niang replied.
“Will it work?” Hearing this, Miss Yan’s previous irritation transformed into nervous anticipation. For her, medicinal ingredients weren’t an issue at all.
“There are no guarantees in these matters. We can only try our best,” Zhen Niang answered.
“I understand. Even the imperial physicians couldn’t cure it. I’m just treating a dead horse as if it were alive. Mama Qian takes Lady Li to the medicine room to find what she needs. Whatever’s missing, have my father purchase it,” Miss Yan had become calm now.
She had suffered greatly from this illness.
“Yes!” Mama Qian responded cheerfully.
Zhen Niang took this opportunity to excuse herself, needing to report back to Master Yan.
Returning to the side hall, she found Master Yan still in conversation with Old Master Li. One was an ink supervisor, the other an ink-making expert—they had much in common to discuss.
“How did it go?” Old Master Li asked upon seeing Zhen Niang’s return.
Zhen Niang explained about the Eight Treasures Five Gallbladder medicinal ink.
Hearing there was hope, Master Yan immediately asked Zhen Niang to write down the required ingredients, so he could have his steward prepare them.
“Very well then. Once the ingredients are ready, I’ll have them sent to your home. I’ll entrust my daughter to Old Master Li and Miss Li,” Master Yan said after reviewing the list of ingredients Zhen Niang had written.
“Master Yan is too kind. Zhen Niang will do her best,” she replied.
Then they took their leave and departed from the Yan residence.
The distance wasn’t far. Old Master Li declined the offered carriage from Master Yan’s steward, choosing to walk slowly with Zhen Niang.
“Zhen Niang, where did you obtain this medicinal ink formula?” Old Master Li stared at her. While Zhen Niang might have been able to experiment with other inks, the Eight Treasures Five Gallbladder medicinal ink was impossible for her to have tested—the ingredients alone would have been beyond her means to gather.
“Well, once I met a physician surnamed Li in the countryside. He was treating a farmer’s back sore, using this type of medicinal ink. Since I was interested in ink, I chatted with the physician, and he shared the formula with me,” Zhen Niang explained. She had no choice but to make up an excuse, or it wouldn’t make sense.
However, physicians don’t typically share their formulas freely. Fortunately, she knew that Li Shizhen was currently traveling through mountains and valleys, compiling the “Compendium of Materia Medica.” Attributing it to him shouldn’t cause any problems.
“A physician Li? Could it be Imperial Physician Li?” Sure enough, Old Master Li speculated. Li Shizhen had once served as an imperial physician, so people commonly referred to him as Imperial Physician Li.
“I’m not sure about that,” Zhen Niang wouldn’t commit to a definite answer. Better safe than sorry—if they ever encountered the real Physician Li, she could always deny it.
“How confident are you?” Old Master Li asked.
“At least fifty or sixty percent,” Zhen Niang replied.
“Then do your best.”
“Yes.”
As grandfather and granddaughter walked and talked, they soon reached the Li family house at the city gate. Unexpectedly, they encountered Li Zhengyan from the ninth branch at the entrance, pushing a wheelchair occupied by a middle-aged man—Li Jingdong, Zhengyan’s father and Zhen Niang’s uncle.
“Uncle Jingdong, Cousin Zhengyan,” Zhen Niang quickly greeted them.
“Jingdong, why don’t you come inside and sit?” Old Master Li’s expression became emotional. Among the Li family’s younger generation, Li Jingdong hated him the most. Years ago, when Li Jingfu had caused problems with the tribute ink, Old Master Li had taken the blame. Therefore, Li Jingdong always believed it was Old Master Li who had caused his legs to be crippled.
So now, seeing Li Jingdong at the Li family entrance, Old Master Li was quite moved.
However, Li Jingdong’s expression was unpleasant. He stared at Old Master Li for a while before saying, “Eighth Uncle, wasn’t ruining the ink workshop in the past enough? Now you want the workshop to die with you?”
This statement stunned both the grandfather and granddaughter of the Li family’s eighth branch.
Old Master Li’s face changed color, and he began coughing violently.
Zhen Niang’s heart clenched. While patting her grandfather’s back, she angrily replied, “Uncle Jingdong, what do you mean? My grandfather has long left the ink business and has no connection to the workshop anymore.”
“No connection? If there’s no connection, why did you go to the Yan residence? Master Yan is the ink supervisor, and the Imperial Guard is investigating him. All major ink workshops are under secret investigation by the Imperial Guard. By going to the Yan residence at this time, aren’t you dragging the Li family workshop down with you? Whether you’ve left the ink business or not, you’re still surnamed Li, aren’t you?” Li Jingdong said coldly.
“Uncle Jingdong, you misunderstand. We didn’t choose to go to the Yan residence—Master Yan sent someone to invite us. We know Master Yan’s current situation, but until matters are settled, how can we assume he’ll get into trouble? What if he safely passes through this crisis? If we refused his invitation, wouldn’t that make him resent us more? How could the workshop escape his retaliation then?” Zhen Niang argued loudly.
“Zhen Niang, mind your manners. How can you speak to your Uncle Jingdong like that?” Old Master Li had recovered his breath and lightly reprimanded Zhen Niang. Then he turned to Li Jingdong: “That’s how things stand. We’ve been open and aboveboard about this matter and fear no danger. If the workshop is truly worried, you can expel our eighth branch from the Li family.”
Old Master Li’s words were heavy indeed.
“Old Eight, those are words of anger. Jingdong is simply concerned to the point of anxiety. Don’t be upset with him. Not only is there nothing wrong with this matter, but even if there were, our Li family has been around for hundreds of years and survived countless crises. How could we not handle this small danger? Everyone should stay calm,” the Seventh Madame spoke up, being helped down from a sedan chair by Chen Shi.
Chen Shi was the wife of Li Jingxian from the main branch of the family. She had given birth to a legitimate son Li Zhengxuan. Li Zhengxuan married Sun Shi and had a son, Li Tianyou, known as Young Master You.
Li Jingxian and his older cousin had been killed by bandits during a tribute ink delivery.
Now the main branch consisted of just three people: Chen Shi, Sun Shi, and Young Master You.
Earlier, someone had brought news that Old Master Li and Zhen Niang had entered the Yan residence. Upon receiving this news, Li Jingdong hurried out. The Seventh Madame, worried about potential issues, had followed and arrived just in time to hear Old Master Li’s words.
“Jingdong, apologize to your Eighth Uncle now,” the Seventh Madame commanded Li Jingdong.
Li Jingdong just gave everyone a dark look, maintained his stern expression, and left without a word, pushed by Zhengyan.
“Sister-in-law, I’m tired and will return to my room. You should head back too,” Old Master Li said to the Li family’s Seventh Madame.
“What’s this? I’ve come to your door and you won’t even invite me in for tea? Besides, I wanted to discuss the medicinal ink matter with Zhen Niang. Of course, if it’s inconvenient to discuss, I’ll leave,” the Seventh Madame said with a faint smile.
“Sister-in-law, why trouble yourself?” Old Master Li sighed.
Zhen Niang understood that while the Seventh Madame claimed to be interested in the medicinal ink, she was showing support for their family.
“You can’t write two ‘Li’ characters with one stroke,” the Seventh Madame said.
“Please come in…” Old Master Li replied.