The Heir

Сhарtеr 177: Мold

Thе Shеn fаmilу jоyfully transроrted the ink аway. Fоr this bаtсh, thе Li fаmilу only сharged a procеssing fеe. Нowеvеr, Shеn Ziуan hаd аlrеаdу inquired аnd learned thаt this bаtch оf ink used the Re-blеnded Ink methоd of Gorуео ink frоm thе Раn ink-making teсhniquе. Regаrdlеss оf othеr asреcts, just this gimmick аlоne wаs enough to mаke literati flосk tо it.

Mоreover, Раn Ink hаd alrеаdу bесоme ехtinct. Тhus, the vаlue of this bаtch оf ink wеnt withоut saуing—еvеrуone understоod it well.

Shen Ziyan sеcretly сalculаted thаt thеre wаs no need to sell this batch of ink immediately. Instead, it should all be carefully stored away. If kept for just twenty years, the new ink would become aged ink, and by then, the profit could potentially increase tenfold or even a hundredfold.

Thinking this, he felt even happier. He also remembered Li Jingfu’s request for him to ask Shen Shixing to write an ink review.

Thus, he carefully packaged another batch of ink and had it sent to Shen Shixing in the capital. He instructed the accompanying person, “Deliver the ink to His Excellency and ask him to write a review after using it.”

This was what he had promised the Li family, and he intended to fulfill it.

…

Tian Ink Manor.

“The Li family recently helped the Shen family produce a batch of ink using the Re-blended Ink method of Goryeo ink, following the Pan ink-making technique. It was very successful, and the head of the Shen family was extremely pleased. I heard he even sent a batch to Shen Shixing in the capital, asking him to test the ink and write a review in return for the Li family…” Tian Ronghua listened as Steward Fang recounted the recent events involving the Li family while she reviewed the account books.

“Bah! What kind of luck does the Li family have? Now they’ve even climbed up to the Suzhou Shen family. I heard from Xu San that Shen Shixing was the top scholar in the forty-first year of the Jiajing reign, exceptionally talented. If they get his ink review, then next year’s Tribute Ink… even the Xu family won’t be able to openly oppose them.” Tian Er, who had been leisurely drinking tea nearby, became irritated upon hearing Steward Fang’s words.

Tian Ronghua also frowned. She was anxious too. Over the past two years, the Li family had been releasing new ink products one after another. Coupled with the internal strife in the Tian family this year and the competition for Tribute Ink, the reputation of Li Ink had already surpassed that of Tian Ink in Nanjing. Under these circumstances, even with the Xu family’s support, the Tian family would find it difficult to achieve anything in next year’s Tribute Ink selection.

This outcome was not what Tian Ronghua wanted. Regardless of anything else, for the sake of her future status in the Xu family, she absolutely had to secure this Tribute Ink.

However, the current situation left her helpless. In terms of technique, the Li family’s centuries of accumulated expertise were not something the Tian family could match in just a few years. For example, regarding the Shen family’s ink, she had actually received the news earlier and had tried several times, but all attempts failed. Unexpectedly, in the end, Li Zhenniang succeeded.

There was truly no way around this.

“Second Young Master, please calm down. I’m afraid this time, the Li family might end up shooting themselves in the foot,” Steward Fang said with a somewhat peculiar expression.

“What do you mean?” Tian Ronghua asked curiously upon hearing Steward Fang’s words. Could there be some trouble in the Shen family’s business deal?"A while back, when I went to Langfang one day, I saw that Li family's clerk named Sun Wenjie coming out of the Jiang Family Medicine Hall over there. Out of curiosity, I made some inquiries and found out that the clerk had gone to the Jiang Family Medicine Hall to buy medicinal ingredients for ink-making. Most people in the industry know that particular medicine hall sells a lot of counterfeit and spoiled medicines. I spent some money to ask one of the clerks inside, and it seemed that on that day, the Li family clerk had bought a batch of moldy, processed medicine—the very ingredients used to make the Shen family's batch of ink.

Second Young Master, Third Young Miss, as you know, such moldy medicine, once processed, looks no different from good-quality medicine on the outside—it might even appear more attractive than ordinary medicinal ingredients. But when mixed into ink, especially with the heavier rainfall since the start of autumn this year, and considering the Shen family's batch of ink is newly made and hasn’t fully dried yet—well, under such conditions, in just half a month or twenty days, that ink is likely to grow mold." Steward Fang explained.

"Is this true?" Tian Ronghua looked excited, then somewhat puzzled. "But hasn’t the Li family always bought their medicinal ingredients from the Gong Family Medicine Hall next door?"

"Exactly, but during that period, the Gong Family Medicine Hall happened to be out of stock," Steward Fang nodded.

After hearing Steward Fang’s words, Tian Ronghua fell silent. Meanwhile, Tian Er burst into laughter, exclaiming that heaven was on their side.

"Steward Fang, let’s add fuel to the fire. Spread some rumors that the Li family uses inferior medicinal ingredients to make ink," Tian Ronghua said after a moment of thought, her face darkening. Although such rumors might not be believed at first—after all, Li Mo’s quality is widely praised—it doesn’t matter. Once the Shen family’s ink starts having problems, people will have no choice but to believe it.

By then, she’d like to see how Li Zhenniang handles it.

"Excellent! Third Sister, that’s a brilliant move," Tian Er said, always eager to stir up trouble.

Steward Fang also nodded and went to make the arrangements.

Soon, it was the end of September. The continuous drizzle and the late September weather in Nanjing weren’t cold, but there was a faint sense of desolation.

During this time, news from the north grew increasingly grim. Since April or May, Anda had repeatedly attacked passes in places like Datong and Xuanfu. By September, the situation had grown even more severe.

As more and more news arrived, Zhen Niang couldn’t help but worry about Luo Wenqian. However, this era was nothing like later times—there were no telephones or networks, and news from the north remained hazy to those in Nanjing.

From Sister Ping’an, she learned that Yan Xilai was organizing people to go north and gather information. With that, Zhen Niang had no choice but to set aside her worries.

Early in the morning, just as Li Family Ink Manor opened, Zhen Niang stepped outside and overheard Yao Niangzi chatting with Madam Gong.

"Madam Gong, have you heard? Lately, there’s been talk on the streets that the Li family uses inferior medicinal ingredients to make ink."

"What nonsense! How can you believe such talk? The Li family buys all their medicinal ingredients from my Gong family. Are you saying my Gong family sells inferior medicine? Whoever spreads such rumors, I’ll confront them!" Madam Gong exploded before Yao Niangzi could finish.

"Exactly! That’s what I was saying too. My son has been using Li family ink all along, and most people in his school use it as well. Everyone says Li family ink is excellent—one stick can last a whole year," Yao Niangzi added indignantly.Zhen Niang listened from the side, unable to help but frown. Recently, for some reason, rumors had been spreading around the official street. Although the Li family had always emphasized quality, so few believed them, if such talk persisted, repeated falsehoods could eventually be mistaken for truth.

This matter needed attention. She was determined to find out who was behind these rumors.

Just then, a group of people carrying several boxes noisily approached from the entrance of the official street. Leading them were Shen Ziyan and a scholarly-looking man in his early thirties, who carried an air of refinement.

Shen Ziyan’s expression was grim. The Re-blended Ink he had placed high hopes on had unexpectedly grown mold in just over twenty days, causing him to lose face within his clan. He could not swallow this humiliation.

The scholar beside him, however, appeared calm and composed.

The appearance of such a group immediately sparked whispers among the shopkeepers along the official street. It was obvious that most of them, except for the scholar, wore expressions of anger, clearly indicating they were here with ill intentions. It was just unclear which family had run into trouble.

Before long, the group arrived at the entrance of the Li Family Ink Manor.

When Zhen Niang saw Shen Ziyan, she was about to step forward to greet him. Unexpectedly, Shen Ziyan waved his hand, and the men set down the boxes they were carrying, lining them up neatly in front of the Li Family Ink Manor, completely blocking its entrance.

This situation made it clear they were here to cause trouble.

“Shopkeeper Shen, what is the meaning of this?” Zhen Niang’s expression darkened as well. She was puzzled—their cooperation had been going smoothly before, so why had he suddenly turned hostile?

“This is the ink review written by my cousin Shen Shixing. Please take a look, Miss Zhen.” Shen Ziyan, his face stern, took a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Zhen Niang.

“Gold is easy to obtain, but Li Mo is hard to come by. The present falls short of the past, and the name does not match the reality.” Zhen Niang had never imagined Shen Shixing’s ink review would be like this. Her mind went blank, almost unable to think, while a surge of anger welled up inside her.

She had never expected Shen Shixing to give the Li family such an ink review in the end. No, she refused to accept it. Taking a deep breath, Zhen Niang said firmly, “Shopkeeper Shen, isn’t this review rather unfair?”

“Fair or not, you can judge for yourself, Miss Zhen.” Shen Ziyan replied mockingly. With another wave of his hand, his men opened the boxes, revealing the Re-blended Ink previously produced by the Li family. However, as the boxes were opened, a strong musty odor wafted out, noticeable even from a distance. The ink sticks were covered in white spots, starkly contrasting with the black ink.

“Miss, for ink of this quality, such a review is already lenient.” The scholar beside Shen Ziyan remarked calmly.

At the sight of the ink, Zhen Niang’s heart sank. She knew the situation was serious.

Just then, the surrounding crowd erupted in uproar. Rumors had been circulating that the Li family used inferior medicinal herbs to produce ink, but no one had believed it. Now, seeing this, it seemed there was truth to the rumors.

Hearing the commotion, Old Shopkeeper Li and others hurried out from inside. Their expressions changed immediately upon seeing the scene. For the Li family, such an incident was truly disastrous."Master Shen, please calm down for a moment. Come inside and take a seat. We will immediately investigate the cause. If it turns out to be the fault of the Li family, we will compensate you double without any hesitation." The Li shopkeeper, after all, was experienced and composed, knowing that in such situations, it was best to first soothe the buyer's emotions.

Meanwhile, Li Jingfu waved his hand, preparing to have the moldy ink carried into the house. Leaving it out here was simply too unsightly.

At that moment, Zhen Niang observed the Tian family members mixed in with the surrounding crowd, along with others from the ink trade and the tightly packed onlookers eager for gossip. Recalling the recent rumors circulating, she knew that once these problematic ink sticks entered Ink Manor, many things would become difficult to explain.

"Father, leave the ink at the entrance," Zhen Niang stopped her father. She then clasped her hands toward the crowd outside and said, "Everyone, I believe many of you here are knowledgeable about ink. Such an issue has never occurred since Li Mo first opened its doors. Now that a problem has arisen, we must investigate—not only will the Li family investigate internally, but we also invite anyone here who understands ink to help us. If the cause is identified, the Li family will offer a reward."

Drawing from her past experiences, she knew that hiding problems only led to greater trouble. The only way to resolve issues was to lay everything out in the open. At this point, Zhen Niang was even willing to spend money to make it happen.

In truth, from Zhen Niang's perspective, the situation before her eyes clearly indicated a problem with the materials.

Looking back, this was her oversight. Although she had initially emphasized the importance of using high-quality materials, due to the urgency of the Shen family's ink order, she hadn't thoroughly inspected the materials before production began. Having experienced smooth sailing all along, she had become somewhat complacent.

By insisting on having everyone investigate and offering a reward, she was demonstrating the Li family's attitude. With this attitude, people would place greater trust in the Li family.

...