Watching Er Gou leave, Zhen Niang planned to return to the accounting room. She hadn’t been to the ink factory for several days and needed to review the accounts, and then make rounds through the workshops.
It was winter now, the off-season for the ink factory, so things were relatively quiet.
“Zhen Niang!” Just then, someone called out to her. Turning around, she saw it was Aunt Jin Hua.
“Aunt Jin Hua, you’re here! Quick, go to First Aunt’s place. Grandmother made winter solstice dumplings. Go try some,” Zhen Niang said with a smile.
“I’ll go later,” Li Jin Hua shook her head.
Zhen Niang then noticed that Aunt Jin Hua looked somewhat depressed, her face pale with dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn’t slept well.
“Aunt Jin Hua, what’s wrong? You look like you haven’t slept well. Having trouble adjusting to a new bed?” Zhen Niang asked, tilting her head to look at Li Jin Hua.
“Indeed, I just can’t sleep well in a new place,” Li Jin Hua replied with a faint smile.
“I understand. I also have trouble with new beds. On the first night in a new place, I definitely couldn’t sleep, but it got better the second day. Stay a few more days, Aunt Jin Hua,” Zhen Niang said casually.
“That won’t do. Your Sixth Granduncle and Run’er are still at home, and they both need looking after,” Li Jin Hua replied distractedly.
“Mm,” Zhen Niang nodded, sensing that Aunt Jin Hua had something on her mind.
“Zhen Niang, how has your uncle been performing at the ink factory lately?” Li Jin Hua suddenly asked.
“Very well. Uncle is hardworking, humble enough to learn from others, and can endure hardship,” Zhen Niang replied after some thought. She wasn’t trying to speak well of Li Jincai; this was truly how he appeared to others. Not only did Manager Shao and Master Qin speak well of him, but even Uncle Jing Dong, who previously had a poor attitude toward Li Jincai, seemed to have warmed up to him recently.
He occasionally told her that Li Jincai had truly changed, which was good.
This showed how commendable Li Jincai’s recent behavior had been. Even if Zhen Niang wanted to speak ill of him, she couldn’t.
However, some things needed to be mentioned to her aunt early on, to prevent her from being overwhelmed when things came to light. She knew her aunt had feelings for Li Jincai—otherwise, how could she have forgiven him after what happened in Suzhou?
So she smiled and said, “Aunt, I think you should simply let the estate manager handle the property outside the city. Move into the city with Sixth Granduncle and Run’er. That way, Uncle won’t have to worry about you all the time. The ink factory finishes work quite late, and he still has to rush back to check on you. Then in the morning, he has to hurry back to work, often before dawn, having to crawl through holes in the city wall because the gates aren’t open yet. If the gate guards catch him, they might mistake him for a criminal. Not only would it be embarrassing, but he’d suffer needlessly. That would be truly unfair.”
Zhen Niang maintained her smile.
The city gates of Huizhou Prefecture were old, and with local ruffians and idlers often engaging in petty theft, they had secretly dug a few holes at the base of the already decrepit city walls for easier access.
The authorities would fill these holes when discovered, but as soon as one was filled, another would appear elsewhere. Some of the ruffians and idlers would privately bribe the gate guards, and the gate officials would occasionally turn a blind eye.
Thus, these “dog holes” had become a feature of Huizhou’s city walls.
Er Gou knew this best.
“What? Your uncle often returns very early in the morning?” At this, Aunt Jin Hua’s expression turned strange.
When Li Jin Hua heard about what happened at Zhen Niang’s home yesterday, it was already late. She had rushed to the city but hadn’t notified Li Jincai. Instead, she had gone directly to meet with Madam Chen, Madam Da Huang, and others to discuss how to help the Eighth House. After pooling some silver, the three of them went to the Eighth House together. It was already late, and when they returned, it was deep into the night.
As it happened, Madam Da Huang had asked her to stay and chat, so Li Jin Hua hadn’t returned to the Sixth House residence that night, instead staying with Madam Da Huang. Early the next morning, worried about Li Jincai, she had gone to the Sixth House residence early.
Unexpectedly, she had encountered Li Jincai at the door. He had appeared somewhat flustered at the time, later claiming he had been out for morning exercise.
But Li Jin Hua had a feeling that Li Jincai hadn’t been exercising at all—rather, it seemed as if he had spent the night somewhere else. Given what had happened in Suzhou, Li Jin Hua harbored doubts, which was why she had stopped Zhen Niang to inquire about the situation.
“I’m not sure about that, I heard it from Er Gou at the ink factory. He’s run into Uncle several times in the early morning when he’s just returning,” Zhen Niang replied, then deliberately asked, “Aunt, is something wrong with Uncle?”
Li Jin Hua thought for a moment. With both elderly and young family members to care for, she couldn’t leave them. Perhaps it would be better to have Zhen Niang keep an eye on things. So she said, “You know about your uncle’s disgraceful behavior in Suzhou, so I won’t hide anything from you. To be honest, your uncle has only returned home twice recently, and one of those times he left the very next evening. What Er Gou said is quite suspicious. Please keep an eye on him for me. If it happens again, I won’t be so easily fooled.”
Li Jin Hua’s face turned frosty as she spoke.
“Of course, Aunt, don’t worry. I’ll do that. Also, try not to dwell on it too much—you have Sixth Granduncle and Run’er depending on you,” Zhen Niang consoled her.
“Yes, I understand. Your mother told me that if a man’s heart is with you, he’ll think of you and worry about you. If his heart has strayed, even forcing him won’t help. When it first happened in Suzhou, I felt like the sky was falling, but after going through that, I can think more clearly now,” Li Jin Hua said, her face still pale but her voice relatively calm.
Hearing her aunt’s words, Zhen Niang felt relieved. Her previous hints hadn’t been in vain—exposing Li Jincai’s betrayal and remarriage in Suzhou early on. Although her aunt had ultimately forgiven him, she could never trust him completely as before.
It served as a preventive measure. Even if Li Jincai’s schemes came to light this time, the impact on Aunt Jin Hua shouldn’t be too severe. Zhen Niang felt somewhat reassured.
Afterward, Li Jin Hua bid farewell, planning to return to the main family first, then head back to Li Estate.
After the winter solstice came the true cold of winter.
However, Huizhou didn’t get much snow, just two or three snowfalls each winter. But the winter rain truly made people feel the bone-chilling cold.
Especially the night rain, which added an extra layer of dampness to the chill.
When Zhen Niang woke up in the morning, her nose felt cold, and after several sneezes, her head felt heavy and clouded. She seemed to have caught a cold.
She got dressed and planned to go to the kitchen to get some hot water to steam her nose.
Just as she stepped out and walked into the courtyard, she saw the courtyard gate creaking, with low voices speaking outside.
Because of the early morning silence, even though the voices were quiet, Zhen Niang could hear them. It was her sister-in-law talking to someone.
“Lü Niang, don’t blame your mother. She’s just confused, and your two brothers are her precious darlings. Besides, over these years, the family has been poor, and your mother hasn’t been able to find wives for your brothers. She feels she’s let them down, so she protects them more,” said an elderly voice.
Zhen Niang recognized the speaker as her sister-in-law’s great-aunt.
“Great-aunt, it’s not that I’m heartless and don’t care about my mother. You’ve seen how she treats me, wanting to pile all of this trouble on me to let Da Lang and Er Lang off the hook. But I’m her daughter too—her flesh and blood! Now my husband spends every day at the oil mill refunding money to people. People keep coming to make trouble, and if they weren’t wary of the Li family’s background, who knows what they might do? We’ve sold the coal stove workshop, and all our savings have been poured into this mess. Not only is my mother-in-law normally bad-tempered, but even Zheng Liang, who usually has such a good temperament, doesn’t show me a kind face anymore. I don’t even dare speak loudly at home now, afraid that if I upset my mother-in-law, she’ll divorce me. Honestly, if I get divorced, I’ll accept it—it’s my fault for bringing such trouble to the family. But I can’t bear to leave Xiao Guan behind. Great-aunt, please ask Mother to think of me too. My situation isn’t easy either,” Madam Du sobbed.
“Ah, I know, I know! But your mother is alone now, and with your heartless brothers taking all the money and running off, your mother’s life isn’t easy either,” the great-aunt sighed.
“Easy or not, she has to get by. Great-aunt, I won’t say more—my family will be waking up soon, and I need to prepare breakfast. Here’s some silver. Take it to my mother. If she’s frugal, it should last a while. In the future, whenever I have money to spare, I’ll send it to her, but I don’t want to see her right now. Please help look after her,” Madam Du said dejectedly.
“Ah, don’t worry, your great-aunt will check on her often. It’s just a short walk after all,” the great-aunt said, accepting the silver from Madam Du.
Ah, her eldest niece had brought this on herself, hurting Lü Niang’s heart. To win back Lü Niang’s affection would take time, but at least Lü Niang still showed some filial piety, much better than her brothers.
In the end, her eldest niece was still quite fortunate.
“Take care, Great-aunt,” Madam Du said.
Hearing this, Zhen Niang knew her sister-in-law was about to come in, so she retreated several steps back into her room, not wanting her sister-in-law to know she had overheard the conversation with her great-aunt, to avoid embarrassing her.
Sister-in-law’s life was indeed difficult now. With Mother’s temperament, plus the tung oil poisoning incident, no one in the family was in a good mood, so naturally, they weren’t kind to her.
However, once this matter passed and the oil mill started operating again, my sister-in-law’s troubles would gradually fade.
The family still had to live together. She just hoped that Madam Shen would learn from this experience and cause fewer problems for her sister-in-law in the future, while also leaving herself a way out.
Just as she was thinking this, someone knocked on the door again. Madam Du, who hadn’t gone far, turned back to open it.
“Young Madam, is Zhen Niang here?” It was Manager Zheng asking.
Hearing the voice, Zhen Niang hurried out: “Manager Zheng, so early? What’s the matter?”
Manager Zheng’s face was pale, and despite the cold weather, his forehead was covered in sweat: “Miss Zhen, something terrible has happened. A shipment from Huiyuan Money House was seized while going out to sea, and our family’s ink was among it. An Imperial Guard official from Zhoushan has come to investigate our family’s connection with pirates. The First Madam wants you to come quickly.”
“Alright, I’ll go right away,” Zhen Niang’s face tightened, but inwardly she laughed coldly. Just yesterday, she checked the Li family’s ink shipment with Madam Xu—it was still in Huiyuan Money House’s warehouse. How could it have flown out to sea overnight?
Li Jincai had finally made his move. The flower she had been waiting for had finally bloomed.