The Heir

Сhapter 159: Fаtеful Reunion аnd the Divine Раth

It wаs а grеаt fortune thаt Li Zhengping and Ge Qiu Jie werе аble tо be rеlеаsеd. Hоwеvеr, whеn Zhеn Niang first sаw them, their injuries wеrе truly shоcking, espеciallу Ge Qiu Jie’s—hеr tеn fingеrs hаd bееn сrushed by thе fingеr prеss until thеу werе barеlу recоgnizаble. Еven Zhen Niang сouldn’t help but аdmirе Gе Qiu Jie’s rеsilience. Тhе рain оf suсh tоrturе, with fingеrs сonnесted tо the hеart, cоuld onlу bе еndured with immеnsе willроwer.

Although Zhеn Niang didn’t have much fondnеss for Ge Qiu Jie, аfter sevеral intеrаctiоns, she had come to understand her personality somewhat—she was truly a person of remarkable fortitude.

Now, after enduring repeated hardships, the restlessness in her had been worn away. What was even more rare was that she hadn’t become cynical or resentful of the world; instead, she had developed a kind of open-mindedness.

Perhaps, as Ge Qiu Jie herself had said, this imprisonment was like having died once. And for someone who had already died once, if they still couldn’t gain some clarity about the ways of the world, then they would have truly lived and died in vain.

Afterward, Zhen Niang invited Doctor Gong to treat Li Zhengping and Ge Qiu Jie’s injuries.

Once Ge Qiu Jie had received treatment from Doctor Gong, she returned to Old Hu Tou’s place. The old man had suffered a great deal for her sake, so she naturally wanted to stay by his side and care for him.

As for the matter between Ge Qiu Jie and Li Zhengping, Zhen Niang didn’t ask a single question. After going through such trials, both Ge Qiu Jie and Li Zhengping needed time to settle their hearts and process everything. When the time was right, things would naturally fall into place—there was no need to rush.

Later, Li Zhengping asked about the account books, and Zhen Niang told him everything.

“That’s excellent. I’ve implicated Ink Manor,” Li Zhengping finally breathed a sigh of relief. To be honest, if it weren’t for the immense importance of those account books, he might have confessed to crimes he didn’t commit while in prison, just to avoid the unbearable torture. Under such severe punishment, death felt preferable to life.

With this settled, Li Zhengping could finally rest and recover. After recuperating for over ten days, his injuries had improved significantly, at least enough for him to move around.

On the twenty-eighth day of the second month, Li Jingming, Madam Fang, and their party arrived in Nanjing, accompanied by Zhao Shi.

Zhen Niang had already received the letter and went with her father and Li Zhengping to the dock to meet them.

Ever since receiving the letter, Li Jingming and his wife had been unable to calm their hearts. Along the way, Madam Fang had shed countless tears and cursed Ge Qiu Jie endlessly in her mind.

“I say, Sister-in-law Jingming, it’s best to keep an open mind. We don’t know the full details yet—the letter couldn’t explain everything. Worrying now won’t help. It’s been over ten days since the letter was sent, so by the time we arrive, Zhengping might already be out and safe,” Zhao Shi comforted Madam Fang.

“If only that were true,” Madam Fang replied.

As it turned out, Zhao Shi’s words hit the mark. Before long, the boat arrived at the dock. Standing at the bow, Li Jingming and the other two saw Li Zhengping waiting on the dock to greet them.

Madam Fang wept with joy, and even Li Jingming breathed a sigh of relief.

“What did I say, Sister-in-law Jingming? I was right, wasn’t I?” Zhao Shi said happily beside them.

“Yes, yes,” Madam Fang nodded repeatedly.

As they spoke, they disembarked from the boat. Madam Fang immediately clung to Li Zhengping, unable to get enough of looking at him, all the while cursing Ge Qiu Jie under her breath.

“Mother, Qiu Jie was also wronged,” Li Zhengping said helplessly."What's there to be wronged about? Even if it wasn't her, it was her brother. I told you not to come to Nanjing back then, but you couldn't let go of her, and now you've gotten tangled up in this mess, even dragging your Eighth Uncle and cousin into running around for you..." Madam Fang nagged.

Li Zhengping ignored his mother and instead turned to his father, Li Jingming. "Father, I want to remarry Ge Qiu Jie."

"Remarry? Absolutely not!" Madam Fang jumped in from the side.

"Have you thought this through clearly?" Li Jingming asked.

"I have thought it through clearly," Li Zhengping said resolutely.

"Very well. Bring her over tonight. Your Uncle-in-law Han and his family will be coming. After all, besides your Uncle Jingfu and Zhen Niang, your Uncle-in-law Han also contributed greatly to helping you escape this disaster. Tonight, the two of you should properly toast everyone." Li Jingming's words clearly indicated his acceptance of Ge Qiu Jie.

"Alright," Li Zhengping quickly nodded, then left with a joyful expression.

This only angered Madam Fang so much that her stomach ached. Returning to Ink Manor, she shut herself in her room to sulk. Zhao Shi tried to console her for a few words before also returning to her room to rest for a while, as the days of traveling by water had left everyone exhausted.

Meanwhile, Li Jingming pulled Li Jingfu into a room, closing the door behind them for a private talk. Having lived in Nanjing for over a decade, Li Jingming had suspected from the moment he received the letter that there might be more to the story. After all, the case clearly lacked sufficient evidence. Given Zhen Niang's current status as a Princess Manor's honored guest, people usually showed some restraint in minor matters. And there was also his son-in-law, Han Yigui—with his connections, how could a case with insufficient evidence drag on for so long? Clearly, there was something he didn't know.

That was why he had called Li Jingfu into the room to talk.

The two remained behind closed doors for a long time. When they finally emerged, Li Jingming spoke solemnly to Zhen Niang, "We owe you a great deal this time, Zhen Niang."

Zhen Niang smiled and shook her head.

Just then, Li Zhengping returned, looking somewhat dejected.

"Brother Zhengping, where is Sister Qiu? Why didn't she come with you?" Zhen Niang asked.

"She's gone. She said she was worried about Ge San Er and went with Old Hu. She said if fate allows, we'll meet again in the future," Li Zhengping replied.

Zhen Niang raised an eyebrow, understanding Qiu Jie's decision. Having gone through hardship together, it wasn't that Ge Qiu Jie lacked the desire to remarry. But this ordeal had been a painful experience, and as Zhen Niang had previously thought, it would take time to process. Moreover, Ge Qiu Jie was undoubtedly worried about Ge San Er. She also knew Madam Fang well. So, it was no surprise that Ge Qiu Jie had left.

"Then we'll talk about it another time," Li Jingming said, not particularly concerned about the matter.

When Madam Fang, after resting, heard that Ge Qiu Jie had left, she was quite pleased, saying Ge Qiu Jie knew her place. But upon reflection, she felt a bit unsettled—it seemed the other party wasn't that attached to her son after all.

After her initial anger, she had thought, "Fine, let them remarry. I've suffered enough at Ge Qiu Jie's hands before; now I can finally get back at her." But with this turn of events, that thought was dashed, leaving her somewhat disappointed.

...

By evening, the Li family had invited the Han family over. During the banquet, Li Jingming, accompanied by Li Zhengping, toasted everyone as a gesture of gratitude.

After dinner, the men stayed in the outer room chatting, while the women gathered in the inner room, also sharing casual conversation.For example, Li Zhengshen from the Ninth Branch had become engaged to the daughter of Zhen Niang’s maternal uncle.

Although Zhen Niang was somewhat surprised to hear this, it made sense. After all, the inkstone mines in Wuyuan were now a joint venture between Zhengshen and her uncle, and with the local county magistrate and some wealthy families also involved, her uncle and Zhengshen naturally needed to strengthen their cooperation. Thus, a marriage alliance between the two families was quite logical.

"Really? That’s wonderful," Zhen Niang remarked with great interest. She had met her uncle’s daughter, Zhao Susu, once before. Her temperament was somewhat similar to Zhen Niang’s mother’s, so she should be able to keep Zhengshen in line.

"By the way, how are the Daoists in Huizhou these days?" Madam Han Li asked. "Ever since His Majesty disbanded the Daoists from the palace and beheaded the most favored ones like Daoist Yunsong, many Daoists in Nanjing have been arrested. I heard the prison cells are overflowing."

"It’s the same there. Daoists don’t dare show their faces on the streets anymore," Madam Fang replied. "Speaking of which, I heard Zhengshen from the Ninth Branch also studied Daoism back then. Thankfully, he gave up on that idea early on. Otherwise, who knows what trouble he might have brought upon the Ninth Branch now."

Listening to their conversation, Zhao Shi was quite pleased. Because of this matter, the aunt from the Ninth Branch and Li Jingming and his wife had specially come to express their gratitude, saying it was all thanks to them taking Zhengshen into business back then. Otherwise, who knows what would have happened to him now.

Of course, what made Zhao Shi happy wasn’t the Ninth Branch’s gratitude. Rather, it was because the trouble Li Jingfu had caused back then had implicated Li Jingming, who ended up with both legs broken. Because of this, the relationship between the two families had remained strained for years.

Now, because of this incident, and with the relationship between the Eighth and Ninth Branches already thawing due to Zhen Niang’s efforts, the old grievances were finally laid to rest.

After sitting for a while and noticing the sky growing dark, Zhen Niang stood up and took Xiao Ya for a walk around the Ink Workshop and Ink Manor. The Ink Manor had already closed for the day, and Zheng Fuli was going over the day’s accounts with A Tang and Hua’er.

Seeing Zhen Niang enter, Zheng Fuli stood up to greet her and added, "Miss Zhen, the tung oil didn’t arrive in today’s shipment." Since Li Jingming and the others had come, the accompanying boats were surely carrying goods.

"Oh, I’ve been so busy lately I almost forgot," Zhen Niang said, tapping her forehead. "The tung oil in Huizhou is being used there, so we’ll have to purchase it directly from the market for the Ink Manor." After a moment’s thought, she added, "Based on the funds in the accounts, buy as much as you can."

"Buy as much as we can?" Zheng Fuli was taken aback. There was a considerable amount of money in the accounts—it was the payment from the earlier delivery of Birthday Ink to the princess’s residence.

"Yes," Zhen Niang explained casually. "There’s news that the Maritime Prohibition might be lifted. If that happens, the price of tung oil will surely skyrocket. During the New Year, Seventh Grandmother and I discussed expanding the Ink Workshop, which will require a lot of tung oil. So, it’s worth buying extra now. Even if we don’t use it all, we can sell it later for a profit." At this point, there was no need to keep such matters secret.

In truth, talk of lifting the Maritime Prohibition had been circulating for years, but it always turned out to be a false alarm. Now that it was finally about to happen, no one believed it anymore. Not just ordinary people, but even high-ranking officials couldn’t be sure, as the matter had been mired in endless disputes.Sure enough, Zheng Fuli shook his head disapprovingly. "Miss Zhen, the talk of lifting the Maritime Prohibition has been going on for years, yet it has never happened. I'm afraid it's not quite reliable."

"No matter, just accept it as usual. This was agreed upon by everyone during the New Year." Zhen Niang believed it because it was the truth.

"Alright." Since the Li family was convinced, Zheng Fuli had nothing more to say, though he felt somewhat uneasy inside.

Later, Zhen Niang thought about the matter of lifting the Maritime Prohibition and felt she should mention it to Luo Wenqian, even though the likelihood of him believing it was slim.

So the next morning, Zhen Niang stood at the shop entrance and ran into Luo Jiu, who went for a run every morning.

"Good morning." Luo Jiu greeted her as usual.

"I heard the Maritime Prohibition is going to be lifted." Zhen Niang waved back in greeting.

"Yeah, I heard about it a long time ago." Luo Jiu stopped and replied seriously, though in reality, he didn't care much.

"This time it's real." Zhen Niang said with a slight pout.

"Oh, then should we team up and give it a try?" Luo Jiu joked.

"Sure." This time, Zhen Niang replied seriously, though her eyes curved into a smile.

"Really?" Only then did Luo Jiu truly catch on and confirm.

"Of course it's true." Zhen Niang replied.

"Give me two days." Luo Jiu held up two fingers in response.

Zhen Niang nodded with a smile. Then Luo Jiu suddenly remembered the case of Huang Lang's death—hadn't this girl said the case would make progress in a couple of days? And indeed, there had been a major reversal, completely clearing the Li family of any involvement.

And back then, with his own family's affairs, this girl had also given an early warning. This girl was a bit of a prophet.