When Old Master Li’s roar was heard, Madam Wu hurriedly ran over, followed by Madam Zhao who brought along Madam Du and Zhenniang.
Li Jingfu returned home with a face full of injuries, clearly having lost at gambling again and been beaten for failing to pay his debts.
At this moment, Old Master Li’s face was flushed red, his breathing heavy like bellows, as he stared at Li Jingfu who stood turned away. Li Jingfu maintained a stubborn expression and snorted, “Fine, I’ll leave if that’s what you want.”
With that, he turned to leave.
“Jingfu, what are you doing? Don’t you know your father is ill? Why are you being so stubborn? Quickly apologize to your father and promise you’ll never gamble again. Find a proper job and take care of your family,” Madam Wu urged anxiously, pulling at Li Jingfu’s arm.
“Mother.” Li Jingfu’s eyes reddened. “Father has disliked me since I was young. He was willing to teach the art of ink-making to my older cousin Li Jingxian, but not to me. Back then, I finally managed to enter the ink workshop and became a manager, but my father simply dismissed me, saying I was incompetent. He humiliated me in front of the entire clan. What else can I do besides gambling? Father made me feel that gambling is all I’m good for.” Li Jingfu practically roared.
“Puh…” Old Master Li spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed into his chair. He pointed at Li Jingfu, unable to speak a word.
“Old Master!”
“Grandfather!”
“Father!”
“Big Brother, quickly fetch the physician!” Madam Zhao called out to Li Da Lang, who rushed out the door.
“Father…” Li Jingfu rushed forward, clearly frightened by what had happened.
“Slap!” Madam Wu struck Li Jingfu hard across the face. “You unfilial son! Do you know why your father withdrew from the Li family ink workshop? Why did he announce his retirement from the ink business? Why he declared he would never touch ink again in his life? Do you think it’s as outsiders say, that he lost the power struggle to your cousin Jingxian? Is that the kind of person your father is?”
Madam Wu paused heavily before continuing, “It was because of you! Remember that batch of ruined tribute ink? Your father asked you to watch over the glue-boiling process that day, didn’t he? He told you to add the ingredients in the correct order and timing, didn’t he? But what did you do? When others deliberately flattered you and invited you to drink, you went, leaving the glue-boiling to others. Do you know what happened? They switched the glue, and when the ink was delivered to the capital, it all cracked. Your Seventh Uncle received dozens of strikes and nearly lost his life. He had to remake another batch and send many gifts to settle the matter. But your Seventh Uncle was already in poor health, and with these severe injuries, he couldn’t hold on and passed away two years later. Your father took the blame for you, you unfilial son! I should beat you to death…” Madam Wu’s tears fell as she continued striking Li Jingfu’s back.
Listening from the side, Zhenniang finally understood the grudge between her grandfather and Seventh Grandmother. It seemed Seventh Grandmother blamed her grandfather and father for the Seventh Uncle’s death.
Li Jingfu stood stunned, never having known the full story. No one had told him before. Recalling the past, Li Jingfu suddenly closed his eyes and fell heavily to his knees with a thud. He began kowtowing repeatedly to the ground, crying out, “Father, I was wrong, I was wrong, I was wrong…”
With each “I was wrong,” he knocked his head against the ground until his forehead was frighteningly bruised.
“What are you doing? As long as you understand your father’s heart, that’s enough, you foolish child.” Madam Wu pulled Li Jingfu up while sobbing. Even Madam Zhao, who usually despised Li Jingfu, felt sympathy for her husband at this moment.
“The physician is here!” Li Da Lang returned with the doctor.
Old Master Li suffered from an old ailment – lung disease. The first step in ink-making was smoke collection, burning coal to gather smoke. The finer the coal, the lighter and more delicate the smoke, but this inevitably meant breathing in particles that entered the airways and lungs. Combined with the constant smoke and fire in the workshop year after year, how could one not fall ill?
“This illness requires rest. He must avoid anger and exhaustion. He needs peace,” the physician prescribed medicine while giving detailed instructions.
Li Jingfu accompanied the physician to fetch the medicine, personally brewed it, and brought it to Old Master Li’s bedside to help him drink it. After taking the medicine, Old Master Li refused to look at Li Jingfu.
Zhenniang stood with the others, watching the scene unfold.
“It’s getting late. You should all return to your rooms. I’ll watch over him,” Madam Wu waved everyone away.
“Father, I’ll leave now and return early tomorrow to attend to you,” Li Jingfu said.
“No need. Don’t you remember I told you to get out?” Old Master Li spoke hoarsely.
“You old man,” Madam Wu pushed Old Master Li lightly.
“My word is my bond,” Old Master Li said, eyes still narrowed.
“I understand,” Li Jingfu replied.
“If you understand, then go see Chairman Qin,” Old Master Li said.
“Yes,” Li Jingfu nodded and left.
As Zhenniang was still pondering the meaning of Old Master Li’s words, she heard him say, “Zhenniang, Seventh Grandmother helped you today. Remember, a drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring.”
“Grandfather, your granddaughter understands,” Zhenniang nodded solemnly while quietly clenching her fist, Seventh Grandmother’s image appearing in her mind.
Actually, since transmigrating to this world, Seventh Grandmother was the person most familiar to her, though familiar didn’t mean personally acquainted. She knew of her deeds from her previous life.
Before her transmigration, Zhenniang’s name was Li Zhen, and she was also a Li family descendant. In her previous life, her family had a genealogy recording the Li family’s direct lineage.
The Li family was originally the Xi family from Yishui. During the chaos at the end of the Tang Dynasty, the Xi family moved to Huizhou and passed down the art of ink-making through generations. During the Southern Tang period, Xi Tinggui’s ink won the favor of Li Yu, who granted them the Li surname and appointed them as ink officials. This was the Li family’s most glorious period. During the Song Dynasty, Li ink was still considered the finest in the land, with the saying “Gold is easy to obtain, Li ink is hard to find.”
But the Li family was not at peace. Because of their deep connection to Li Yu of Southern Tang, they were viewed with suspicion by the Song court. Although the Li family ink business was renowned, they faced many obstacles. To preserve the Li family legacy, the family head split the large Li family into more than ten branches to continue the line.
During the Yuan Dynasty, the ink-making industry declined, and the various Li family branches naturally fell into obscurity.
When the Ming Dynasty arrived and the ink industry flourished again, the most promising branch of the Li family’s direct line failed to produce heirs and eventually died out. In her previous life, this had always been a regret for her grandfather, because the core techniques of Li ink were with this direct line. Once this branch died out, the essential techniques of Li ink were lost, and thereafter, the Li family never again held a prominent position in Huizhou’s ink-making industry.
Now, Seventh Grandmother’s branch should be that same direct line that died out according to the genealogy. Seventh Grandmother would be the last leader of this direct line. At this time, the Li family’s direct line had a widow – the Seventh Uncle had died due to that incident years ago. Afterward, several uncles and cousins either died falling while collecting ink materials on Huangshan Mountain or succumbed to illness. Now only young Li Tianyou remained, about the same age as Xihuo’er, from the same generation as Little Xiao Guan. Zhenniang remembered that according to the genealogy from her previous life, after her Seventh Grandmother passed away from illness, young Tianyou died mysteriously, and the other Li family branches began dividing up the direct line’s assets.
Zhenniang couldn’t remember other details clearly, but the final few lines in the records remained deeply etched in her memory:
Heir’s Wife: Chen, became a nun.
The heir’s Wife: Tian, returned to her family, and died shortly after.
Heir’s Wife: Huang, lived in a cold kiln, and died that winter.
Heir’s Wife: Sun, remarried, and died shortly after.
In her previous life, reading these entries wouldn’t have seemed so tragic without the word “died” at the end. But thinking about those deaths made Li Zhen’s heartache. After all, they were all only in their thirties.
Now, she would protect them.