“Thank you, Miss.” Hearing Zhenniang’s words, the woman almost tremblingly took the ink she offered and handed it to the scholar: “Sir, please look, can this be used?”
The scholar glanced at Zhenniang, then took the ink and sniffed it. He appeared moved as he asked: “Is this Immortal Pan’s Baicao Shuang?” Then he frowned: “No, this doesn’t seem to be Immortal Pan’s ink-making method?”
“I didn’t expect sir to be knowledgeable about ink. Indeed, this uses Immortal Pan’s formula but is made using the Li family’s ink-making method,” Zhenniang nodded, surprised that this scholar had such an understanding of ink.
The so-called Immortal Pan was Pan Gu, the Song Dynasty ink maker. Pan Gu was known as the Ink Immortal, commonly called Immortal Pan. Interestingly, he reportedly died the same way as the legendary Poet Immortal Li Bai – both drowned after falling into the water while drunk.
Su Dongpo was a close friend of Pan Gu, and in his memorial poem for Pan Gu, he wrote: “One day he entered the sea seeking Li Bai, leaving only mortals to speak of the Ink Immortal.” This became a famous story passed down through generations.
“So it’s the Li ink method. No wonder the ink has such an elegant and profound quality. Li ink certainly lives up to its reputation. I don’t know much about ink making, I just happen to have collected a few pieces of Immortal Pan’s Baicao Shuang at home, so I’m somewhat familiar with it,” the scholar explained.
“Sir, will this ink work?” The woman interjected anxiously.
“Yes, it will work very well. This brother is fortunate indeed,” the scholar nodded, then handed the ink back to Zhenniang. “Let’s not trouble two masters for one task. Since this young lady carries the ink, she must also have an inkstone. Why don’t you grind it into liquid for this brother to drink?”
“Certainly,” Zhenniang didn’t decline.
Her small maid had already returned to their cabin to fetch the inkstone. Taking the ink, she began grinding.
Immediately, all eyes focused on the inkstone and ink.
“Can this ink cure illness?” Onlookers whispered among themselves.
“Of course! This medicinal ink is quite miraculous. Once on Fourth Treasure Street in the county seat, I saw someone use medicinal ink to cure a woman’s facial sores. It took just over an hour, and the sores disappeared – truly instantaneous! There was even a White Lotus sect priestess who claimed the woman had ghost sores, but she was exposed on the spot and fled in shame.” Someone spoke up, then quietly pointed at Zhenniang: “I believe it was this young lady who used the medicinal ink to cure that woman’s facial sores.”
They were referring to the incident with Madam Zheng.
“Really? Then this brother can be saved!” Others chimed in.
By now, the small maid had finished grinding the ink, and someone brought a bowl of hot water. The scholar took the hot water, mixed in some ink liquid, and had the man drink it.
Initially, the man was still coughing blood, but after a while, he was coughing up only traces of blood rather than clots.
“Good, the bleeding has stopped. Help your husband to his bed to rest, and avoid any strenuous movement. As for this ink, take one qian daily for three days. I’ll check then whether you need to continue taking it.”
“Yes, yes. Thank you for your trouble, sir.” The woman spoke, then hesitated while holding the ink as she looked at Zhenniang: “Miss… I…”
The woman clearly wanted to buy the entire piece of medicinal ink, but being short of money, she didn’t know how to ask.
Zhenniang had offered the ink to save someone and hadn’t intended to charge for it. Just as she was about to tell the woman to take it, Tian Ronghua appeared and stepped forward: “Miss Li, how much for this ink? Name your price, I’ll buy it for this brother.”
Zhenniang looked at Tian Ronghua and couldn’t help but smile. The Tian family’s young miss seemed no less sincere than her brother Tian Benchang. After all, this man had been injured by Tian Rongchang and nearly lost his life. Tian Ronghua must be feeling quite uneasy, and by stepping forward to buy the medicinal ink, she could earn goodwill at little cost – Baicao Shuang was made from common medicinal ingredients, nowhere near as precious as Eight Treasures or Five Gall medicinal inks, so it wouldn’t cost much. She could resolve a troublesome situation while appearing generous. Tian Ronghua truly lived up to her merchant family background, calculating quite cleverly.
Conversely, if Zhenniang accepted her payment for the ink, all her previous goodwill would become mere service to Tian Ronghua.
Zhenniang saw through it – Tian Ronghua was trying to hijack the situation, and Zhenniang wasn’t pleased.
However…
Zhenniang thought for a moment, then held up one finger: “One hundred taels.”
“Li Zhenniang, you’re robbing us! Baicao Shuang is worth five taels at most!” Tian Rongchang angrily protested from the side. If not for his two servants holding him back, he would have rushed at Zhenniang again.
The scholar glanced at Zhenniang, while the woman anxiously wrung her hands.
Zhenniang kept her finger raised, unwavering.
“You really can’t judge a book by its cover. We thought this young lady was kind-hearted, but she turns out to be greedy,” someone muttered.
“Not necessarily. You said to yourself the medicinal ink is miraculous. This is life-saving medicine – is one hundred taels that outrageous?” Another person uncertainly replied.
“Not outrageous? One hundred taels could feed an ordinary family well for two or three years!” Someone else added.
“But even a few years of good food and drink can’t compare to a life!” Another person argued in defense.
“That’s true,” the earlier critic reconsidered.
One hundred taels wasn’t beyond Tian Ronghua’s means, but she was unwilling to let Zhenniang lead her by the nose. Hearing the crowd’s whispers, she had an idea: “Zhenniang, you know how to take advantage of a situation. One hundred taels – I’m afraid that’s not convenient for me right now. I can’t help.” With that, she turned to leave, acting as if she had tried her best but Zhenniang was being unreasonable.
She wanted to see how people would judge Li Zhenniang.
“Ronghua, you’re mistaken. Though my Li family isn’t as wealthy as your Tian family, we wouldn’t take advantage of a situation for the price of an ink stick. The hundred taels isn’t for the ink…” Zhenniang paused here.
“Then what is it for?” Tian Ronghua turned back to ask.
“Your second brother injured someone and nearly took a life. Doesn’t that deserve compensation?” Zhenniang asked seriously.
At Zhenniang’s words, the crowd finally understood. They all laughed in agreement: “Indeed, compensation is due!”
“I knew this young lady wasn’t the greedy sort,” someone proclaimed with hindsight wisdom.
The Tian family was known for their overbearing ways, so Tian Ronghua hadn’t considered that angle. Now, confronted by Zhenniang’s words, she had nothing to say.
“Why should I compensate? He stepped on my foot, I kicked his leg – fair and square. He dirtied my shoes; I’m already being generous not asking him to pay for them,” Tian Rongchang said disdainfully.
Zhenniang ignored him and continued addressing Tian Ronghua: “Tian Ronghua, don’t blame me for speaking up, but everyone on this boat saw what your second brother did today. Most of these passengers are headed to Nanjing. And what kind of place is Nanjing? It’s the land of six dynasties’ splendor – sweep a pole around, and you might hit several princes, marquises, or high officials. With your second brother’s temperament unchanged, who knows what trouble he might stir up? These hundred taels can be a lesson for him – it might save his life someday.”
With that, Zhenniang bowed slightly to the scholar and the woman, then turned to return to her cabin.
As for whether the Tian family would pay compensation, Zhenniang wasn’t worried at all. Given what had been said and the crowd’s passionate response, the Tian family couldn’t avoid this financial loss. Of course, though Zhenniang’s words seemed earnest and well-meaning, they had one simple purpose: to make the Tian family pay, taking a small financial hit to settle the score for Tian Rongchang’s earlier verbal abuse of the Li family.
What Zhenniang didn’t know was that these hundred taels would indeed save Tian Rongchang’s life in the future.
“How is it?” Seeing Zhenniang return, Madam Huang asked about the situation outside. She and Ugly Sister weren’t ones to meddle in others’ affairs or seek excitement, so they stayed in the cabin after entering.
“It’s resolved. The medicinal ink worked,” Zhenniang replied.
“That’s good,” Madam Huang nodded.
For the next few days, Zhenniang stayed in the cabin, mainly discussing Nanjing matters with Zheng Fuli.
After about ten days, the boat arrived at Nanjing, docking at the Qinhuai Wharf outside Jubao Gate.
“Porters here! Only three coins…”
“Carriages! Going to Jiangdong, Heming, Zuixian, Jixian… wherever you want to go!”
“Braised foods, braised eggs, assorted tofu…”
“Nanjing stuffed buns, Nanjing stuffed buns…”
As soon as they disembarked, Zhenniang’s ears were filled with vendors’ calls – the atmosphere of a great metropolis. However, having seen future cities, Zhenniang merely watched with interest, not particularly amazed. But Ergou, Little Maid, and others were like country bumpkins in the imperial garden, finding everything fascinating, running here and there until Ugly Sister scolded them into behaving.
By now, Zheng Fuli had called a carriage over. He was quite familiar with Nanjing.
They loaded their luggage into the carriage.
The Li family’s property was located north of Zhenhuai Bridge inside Jubao Gate, right along Official Street, where a hundred thousand merchants and craftsmen gathered – Nanjing’s commercial district.
Originally, the Li family owned over twenty consecutive shops behind Zhenhuai Bridge, but when the tribute ink incident occurred, they had to sell or give away properties to handle the situation. Now only a small residence with an ink workshop and five shops along Official Street remained. Though their property had shrunk by more than half, this was still Nanjing – even these five shops should generate considerable annual income.
Zhenniang couldn’t understand why the Seventh Branch still had to contribute repair costs.
“It’s here,” While she was pondering, they arrived at a side street off Official Street, and Zheng Fuli pointed to a large dark red gate.
In this area, the shops faced the main street, with residences behind them. Residential gates typically open onto side streets. Behind these were several large workshops for brocade weaving, silversmithing, and other crafts.
“I’ll knock,” Ergou said eagerly.
Just as he was about to knock, the door suddenly opened, and a girl of fourteen or fifteen ran out, nearly colliding with him.
Looking at her directly, they saw her face was covered in tears. She irritably pushed Ergou aside, wiping her tears while turning back to shout at the house: “I won’t marry! I’d rather die than marry!”
“You little wretch! Listen here – you’ll marry whether you want to or not! Go ahead and run, let’s see how far you get!” At this moment, a woman in her twenties rushed out wielding a broom, swinging it at the girl’s legs.
The girl winced at the strikes and, seeing Zhenniang’s group, hid behind them.
“Who are you people? What are you doing standing here?” The young woman glared at Zhenniang’s group impatiently.
“I’m looking for Uncle Jingming. Is he here?” Zhenniang replied while observing the two quarreling people. She knew Uncle Jingming had a son and a daughter, and this girl should be his daughter, Hua’er. But she didn’t know who this young woman was – could she be Uncle Jingming’s wife?
However, it seemed odd that Uncle Jingming hadn’t mentioned such an important matter as taking a wife in his letters home.
Meanwhile, the woman was also sizing up Zhenniang’s group. After their journey, they looked travel-worn and tired. For convenience, they had traveled light, appearing quite ordinary.
To the woman’s eyes, Zhenniang’s group looked rather shabby. She muttered under her breath about “Uncle Jingming” – assuming they were more poor relatives from her father-in-law’s hometown of Huizhou.
After a quick assessment, the young woman curled her lip and said: “No such person here.”
“How can there be no such person?” Zheng Fuli frowned.
“Nonsense! Their Uncle Jingming must be my father. You unfilial shrew, how dare you deny my father? I’ll have my brother divorce you!” The girl snapped fiercely. Then she turned to Zhenniang’s group with an ingratiating look: “You’re from Huizhou, right? I’m Hua’er.”
Zhenniang nodded.
At this point, the young woman darted forward and yanked the girl so hard she stumbled, then sneered: “Pah! Has your brother divorced me? He wouldn’t dare! You filthy girl, get out of my way, and stop trying to claim kinship with these poor relatives from Huizhou.”
Then she lifted her eyes to look coldly at Zhenniang: “Li Jingming doesn’t live here. Turn left, then left again, and left once more – go look for him in the shanties by the city wall.”
“Who are you?” Zhenniang asked, narrowing her eyes.
“I’m Ge Qiu, Li Zhengping’s wife,” she said, then pointed at the girl and addressed Zhenniang: “And her sister-in-law, the principal wife of the household. This is none of your business.” The implication was clear – she was telling Zhenniang to go back wherever she came from and stop meddling.
Zhenniang couldn’t help but rub her nose thoughtfully. She was confused – it seemed this Ge Qiu had somehow taken possession of the Li family’s ancestral property. Even Uncle Jingming and his wife couldn’t live here and had to stay in shanties by the city wall. This was getting interesting. Today, Zhenniang was going to meddle in this business.
“Second Aunt,” Zhenniang looked at Madam Huang.
“You decide. Second Aunt doesn’t manage these matters,” Madam Huang said.
“Good, let’s go in,” Zhenniang said with a stern face.