The Heir

Сhарtеr 149: The Deаth оf Madаm Tian аnd thе Qin Fаmilу

Тhаt night, the grandfаther and granddaughter threw thеmsеlves intо the ink wоrkshор, еxреrimеnting with vаriоus cоmbinations of gluеs. Тheу finally discоvered thаt using fish bladder gluе аs thе рrimаrу аdhesive, suррlemеntеd bу othеr glues in smаllеr proроrtions, shоuld come сlosest to rерliсating thе Li family’s Four Наrmоnies Ink.

Оf соursе, this wаs оnly thе сlosеst aрproхimatiоn, fаr frоm a suссеss. А formula, from triаl production to finаl success, rеquires hundreds оr evеn thоusands оf experiments, and sometimes success is not guaranteed.

Zhen Niang truly wished to stay and work with her grandfather to perfect the Li family’s Four Harmonies Ink. Unfortunately, matters in Nanjing were more pressing. As soon as dawn broke, she had no choice but to set off.

"Go ahead, be careful on the road. Leave the Four Harmonies Ink to me. I believe that by the time you return, this ink will surely be perfected," Old Shopkeeper Li reminded Zhen Niang.

"Yes. Thank you for your hard work, Grandfather," Zhen Niang nodded in agreement.

She then picked up her bundle, bid farewell to her mother and others, and accompanied by her father, was escorted by her eldest brother to the ink workshop. From there, she set off with the rest of the workshop’s party.

This time, those traveling to Nanjing with Zhen Niang included Sun Wenjie from the Sun family, two carvers from the Huang family, and two nephews from the Li family.

As Sister-in-Law Sun had rightly said, among those from Huizhou who ventured out to do business, those who prospered would always bring along younger members of their clan. On one hand, it was to provide opportunities for the younger generation; on the other, being far from home often left them vulnerable to bullying. Bringing a group from the family meant sticking together, and with more people, outsiders would not dare to bully them easily.

This was a survival strategy.

However, just as the carriage entered Four Treasures Street, their path was blocked.

Sitting inside the carriage, Zhen Niang felt it suddenly come to a halt and leaned out to ask, "What’s going on?"

"Miss Zhen, there’s a funeral procession ahead. We’ll have to wait a moment," the carriage driver replied.

"Alright." A funeral procession passing by wouldn’t take too long and wouldn’t delay their journey by boat. Zhen Niang instructed the driver to move the carriage to the side to make way for the procession, a gesture of respect for the deceased.

Although it was nearly the end of the Chen hour, many shops on Four Treasures Street remained closed due to the New Year festivities. Only a handful were open, with a few idle clerks sitting inside. Bored, they now stood at the door, peering outside and whispering among themselves.

"Isn’t that the Tian family’s funeral procession? Who from the Tian family died?" one clerk craned his neck for a long while before turning to another.

"Haven’t you heard? Madam Tian has passed away," the clerk beside him raised an eyebrow. He had a cousin who was an apprentice at the Medicine Hall and had accompanied his master to treat Madam Tian. Knowing about her condition, he had spoken of the Tian family’s affairs when visiting for New Year greetings.

"Madam Tian is already gone?" the first clerk asked incredulously.

"What else could it be? Back then, when the eldest son of the Tian family nearly had an accident, she was so distressed it broke her heart. Later, when Tian Da returned, she was overjoyed. Such extreme grief and joy took a toll on her health. She could have recovered with gradual recuperation, but the inner quarters of the Tian family have never been peaceful..."The clerk nearby replied, then scoffed and continued, "Just look at how many concubines Tian Huai'an has brought into the household over these years. Madam Tian isn't a tolerant person, and her temper is rather fiery, so she's been quarreling with Master Tian every other day. At the end of last year, Tian Huai'an brought yet another concubine into the house. Did you know about that?"

"I've heard about it, ha. That was big news on Four Treasures Street back then. I heard it was his second son who helped Master Tian find her in Nanjing. Ha, a son sending a woman to his own father—is there no sense of propriety left?" The earlier clerk shook his head and sighed.

"It’s all because last year, that second son of his caused quite a stir in Nanjing and was chased back by Tian Da. Master Tian originally intended to punish him severely, but that Tian Er—though he lacks any real skills, he’s full of cunning schemes. To please his father, he sent such a beauty, and with the beauty whispering in his ear on the pillow, the punishment was completely avoided," the nearby clerk explained.

"Exactly," the earlier clerk agreed. Then he added, "But Madam Tian couldn’t accept it. Old Master Tian has always been like this—why should she ruin her own health over it? Now that she’s passed away, who knows who’ll benefit?"

"What do you know? This time, even if Madam Tian hadn’t been ill, a healthy person wouldn’t have been able to bear it," the nearby clerk said mysteriously.

"What happened?" the earlier clerk asked eagerly, curious.

"Hey, speaking of this, it’s really strange. This woman named Chunzhi has truly won Master Tian’s heart. He dotes on her like crazy. I heard that during the ancestral worship on New Year’s Eve, Old Master Tian actually invited this Chunzhi. You know who’s allowed to participate in ancestral worship—only the principal wife. Even Tian Er’s own mother wasn’t qualified. But this Chunzhi just said she’d never seen ancestral worship before, so Master Tian took her along. That was a direct slap in Madam Tian’s face. Already ill, how could she swallow such an insult? She coughed up blood in anger and didn’t survive the night. Tian Da almost came to blows with Old Master Tian over it. Heh heh," the nearby clerk recounted.

His cousin, who had followed his master to treat Madam Tian on New Year’s Eve, overheard many of the Tian family’s secrets from the servants while preparing the medicine.

"Tsk tsk, the affairs of these wealthy families…" The earlier clerk clicked his tongue and fell silent.

At that moment, Zhen Niang’s carriage was parked right next to the shop. She heard the two clerks’ conversation clearly from inside the carriage. She hadn’t expected that the Ink Incident would lead Tian Er to bring a woman back from Nanjing to avoid punishment, ultimately resulting in such an outcome.

With this, Tian Da’s advantage in the Tian family was gone. It was likely that brotherly conflict would follow. Tian Er, with Tian Ronghua’s assistance, along with his mother and the woman named Chunzhi, would surely give Tian Da plenty of headaches in the days to come.

Though she felt some sympathy for Madam Tian’s death, the turmoil in the Tian family was beneficial to the Li family. With the Tians preoccupied with their own troubles, they would have no energy to suppress their competitors. The Li family could now focus wholeheartedly on their own development.Thinking this, Zhen Niang raised her eyebrows slightly. She suddenly remembered that at the end of last year, Tian Benchang had immediately signed cooperative development contracts with everyone upon his arrival. Considering this, it seemed the Tian Family might have already been unstable back then, and Chunzhi was merely a catalyst. Tian Benchang was likely worried that if something happened to the Tian Family, the Li Family and the Cheng Family would seize the opportunity. That was why he had taken preventive measures early on.

From this perspective, the cooperative development contracts actually served as protection for the Tian Family. Tian Benchang had indeed planned ahead.

As she was thinking, the Tian Family funeral procession passed by the crowd and gradually moved farther away. Afterward, the Li Family group continued on their journey.

At Yuliang Wharf, porters were everywhere, and those waiting to board the ship were lined up in queues. Apart from the anachronistic clothing and other factors, the scene was somewhat similar to train stations during the Spring Festival travel rush in later generations.

Most of Huizhou’s merchants did business outside the region, and many were like Zhen Niang—returning home before the New Year to celebrate and pay respects to their ancestors, then hurrying off again after the festivities.

“Ink Artisan Zhen, heading back to Nanjing?” A gentle voice came from behind. Zhen Niang turned to see Luo Wenqian. Apart from meeting him on Little New Year’s Day, she had been too busy lately to pay much attention to the Luo Family’s affairs.

However, she had vaguely heard from ink artisans who came to pay New Year’s visits that the Luo Family had prospered, opening a money house in Nanjing. The Luo clan was now planning to renovate their Ancestral Residence, and it was said that the young master of the Luo Family would be taking several Luo nephews to develop business in the south. She had heard quite a bit about such matters.

Of course, she already knew most of this, and as for the renovation of the Ancestral Residence, it seemed inevitable.

“Happy New Year, wishing you prosperity and all the best,” Zhen Niang said with a smile, though inwardly she pursed her lips. This man had first addressed her as Miss Li, then as Miss Zhen, later as Manager Zhen, and now as Ink Artisan Zhen. His tone always seemed to carry a hint of teasing—or perhaps she was just overthinking it.

“Same to you, same to you,” Luo Wenqian replied. He was about to continue speaking when he heard a cough behind him. Turning around, he saw Li Jingfu standing there, looking displeased. Li Jingfu even shot a glare at Zhen Niang.

Zhen Niang rubbed her nose. Ever since Little New Year’s Day, when her father saw her talking to Luo Wenqian, he had repeatedly reminded her that a young lady should not engage in conversation with young men.

Still, basic courtesy was necessary, especially since Luo Wenqian had helped her several times. However, it seemed her father and Luo Wenqian had some unpleasant history in the north. Fortunately, it wasn’t a deep-seated grudge. Well, she wouldn’t get caught up in it. She turned and boarded the ship first, waiting at the bow, worried that the two might actually end up quarreling.

“Uncle Li, please board first,” Luo Wenqian said politely, stepping aside.

“Let’s go together, we can chat on the way,” Li Jingfu said, pulling Luo Wenqian along, afraid the young man might try something.

“I heard your money house business is doing well?” the two chatted as they boarded the ship. Outsiders weren’t entirely clear, thinking the Nanjing money house belonged solely to Luo Jiu, but Li Jingfu knew better—the Nanjing money house was actually from Luoshan Bay in the north. He had even heard that Marshal Qi had a share in it.

“Thanks to your blessings, it’s going alright,” Luo Wenqian replied casually.

“I have a business deal—are you interested?” Li Jingfu asked.

“How could I turn down a business opportunity? But will Master Li let someone like me profit from it?” Luo Wenqian asked suspiciously, unsure what Li Jingfu was up to."A small profit, not much, I'm afraid you might look down on it, Luo Jiu," Li Jingfu said calmly.

"As long as there's money to be made, no amount is too small," Luo Jiu replied.

Then Li Jingfu waved his hand and took a heavy bag of copper coins, weighing about twenty or thirty catties, handed over by a Li family junior. He placed it in front of Luo Jiu: "I want to exchange these copper coins for silver."

"Father..." Zhen Niang, standing on the bow of the boat, couldn't help but roll her eyes at the sight. This money was intended for Ink Manor. Unlike later times, where banks made currency exchange convenient everywhere, although merchants used silver notes and silver for transactions, copper coins were still the primary medium of exchange in most situations. Even several government-imposed taxes were stipulated to be paid in copper coins.

Thus, when merchants traveled, they often carried copper coins in chests. The twenty or thirty catties of copper coins the Li family had were truly not much, but they were meant for use. Why exchange them for silver?

"It's fine. Let him count them first. We'll decide whether to exchange them or not later," Li Jingfu said dismissively, waving his hand.

"I say, Master Fu, are you trying to keep me busy?" Luo Wenqian raised an eyebrow. It was clear that Master Fu was doing this on purpose.

"I do think you're quite idle, wandering around aimlessly. Young man, time flies. Idleness is not to be encouraged," Li Jingfu said with a serious, lecturing tone, as if instructing a junior.

"Yes, Master Fu’s lesson is well taken. I am grateful for your guidance. Coincidentally, I have some Northern Fire Cloud wine here. Having received your instruction, it is only proper for me to offer it as a token of respect. Please do not disdain it, Master Fu," Luo Wenqian replied, adopting the humble demeanor of a junior and politely returning the gesture.

However, this young man was equally mischievous. Northern Fire Cloud wine was like the later-era "burning knife" liquor. In the north, Master Fu would get drunk after just one drink of this wine. Luo Wenqian was essentially "returning the favor."

Li Jingfu was well aware of Luo Wenqian’s intentions—he wanted to see him make a fool of himself. In the north, Li Jingfu had some vague recollection of the embarrassing scenes he caused after getting drunk. But in the harsh, cold north, coupled with homesickness, life would have been unbearable without that wine. Besides, in the north, everyone used false names, and no one knew anyone else, so he could let loose. Now that he was back, aside from at home, Li Jingfu planned to abstain from alcohol entirely.

Hearing Luo Wenqian’s words, he first glared at him, then waved for the junior to take the bag of coins away. He then ordered the goods to be moved into the cabin, ignoring Luo Wenqian. After all, when dealing with that young man, he rarely came out ahead.

"Girl, come into the cabin and check the count. Don’t pay attention to idle, irrelevant people," Li Jingfu called out to Zhen Niang, who was still standing on the boat’s walkway.

"Yes," Zhen Niang replied, suppressing a laugh as she glanced at Luo Wenqian’s somewhat stifled expression.

"Tell your father to stay away from the Qin family, especially their business dealings. He must not get involved," Luo Wenqian said, rubbing his nose, his expression turning serious.

"Why? The Qin family saved my father’s life," Zhen Niang said, seeing the gravity in Luo Wenqian’s words and knowing he wasn’t giving idle advice. But how could they distance themselves from the Qin family when they owed them such a debt?

"I only know roughly that the Qin family may have ties with the Tartars," Luo Wenqian said.

"Is that true?" Hearing this, Zhen Niang’s heart tightened. This was no joking matter."Some time ago, Marshal Qi's men captured a Tartar spy—a merchant from Shanxi. What he confessed, though the evidence isn't fully sufficient and can't be completely confirmed, still warrants caution for your father. At the very least, the Qin family's business must not be touched." Luo Wenqian added another explanation.

"Alright, thank you, I understand." Zhen Niang nodded emphatically. Though Luo Wenqian said the evidence was insufficient and not entirely certain, in reality, it was likely eighty or ninety percent accurate. Otherwise, he wouldn't have reminded her so gravely.

As she spoke, Zhen Niang clasped her hands and bowed toward Luo Wenqian.