The Heir

Chарtеr 187: Тhе Du Family Brоthеrs

Snow soоn began tо рilе uр, асcumulating еven in the narrow alleуwаys. Lеathеr bооts сrunchеd sоftlу оn thе snow, аnd the oil-pарer umbrеlla grew heаvy in no timе, its entire surfасе wеighеd dоwn bу the snow. Тhе Li familу раrty hаd to tilt thеir umbrеllas from timе tо time, lеtting the snow slide оff.

"Grandfather, Моthеr, I’ll go аhead and knосk оn the dооr," Zhеn Niаng sаid аs theу еmergеd from thе alleу. Ahеаd lаy Fоur Тrеаsures Street, аnd just beyond it was the еntrance tо the Li familу mansiоn, sрeсifically the wing belonging to the eighth branch. She quickened her pace.

"Alright, take your time," Zhao Shi cautioned, mindful of the slippery roads in snowy weather.

The freshly fallen snow hadn’t yet frozen, so the path wasn’t actually slippery. Zhen Niang hurried across Four Treasures Street, umbrella in hand, turned a corner, and reached her doorstep. Just as she was about to knock, the door swung open unexpectedly. Two men in straw raincoats and bamboo hats emerged, grumbling loudly as they rushed out, nearly colliding with Zhen Niang. Fortunately, she dodged swiftly.

From inside the house came the muffled voice of her eldest brother: "Enough of your grumbling! I’ve already given the money to Mother-in-law. Are two grown men like you really trying to swindle the Li family into supporting you? Let me make this clear: don’t even think about laying a hand on the money Mother-in-law has. Otherwise, as your brother-in-law, I won’t hesitate to teach you two a lesson. Don’t push me, or you’ll see if I dare to give you a beating!"

His words were followed by the sound of hurried footsteps approaching.

Hearing this, Zhen Niang was even more astonished. Her eldest brother had always been mild-tempered, yet now he was speaking so sternly. Clearly, the Du brothers must have done something to provoke even someone as gentle as him.

But she also wondered: why had the Du brothers returned? Then it dawned on her—with the new emperor’s ascension to the throne, a general amnesty must have been declared, pardoning even their crimes. They really got off easy.

Zhen Niang recalled that later, when Emperor Wanli ascended the throne, Zhang Juzheng had opposed the tradition of granting amnesty upon a new emperor’s enthronement, precisely because it was highly unreasonable.

Hearing Li Dalang’s voice from inside, the Du brothers snorted in unison and spat into the snow. As the footsteps reached the doorway, they scurried away like frightened rabbits, not even noticing Li Zhenniang, whom they had nearly bumped into moments earlier.

"Oh, little sister, you’re back! Where are Father, Mother, and Grandfather?" By then, Li Dalang had reached the doorway. He caught only a glimpse of the Du brothers’ retreating figures, his expression darkening. But when he turned and saw Zhen Niang, his face lit up with delight.

"Grandfather and Mother came with me. Father will be a bit later, he’s still on his way. Go and meet them, Brother," Zhen Niang replied cheerfully. Then, nodding toward the departing Du brothers, she asked, "What’s going on with them?"

At the mention of the Du brothers, Li Dalang’s expression soured again. He waved a hand dismissively. "We’ll talk about it later. I’ll go fetch Grandfather and Mother first."

With that, Li Dalang strode out.

Seeing her brother’s reluctance to discuss it, Zhen Niang didn’t press further. She stepped inside, where Liu Jin Sao greeted her with a joyful expression, taking the things from her hands. Raising her voice, Liu Jin Sao called toward the inner rooms, "Madam, Miss Zhen is back!" Then, brushing the snow from Zhen Niang’s hair, she remarked, "The snow is really heavy today."

"Indeed," Zhen Niang agreed. "It’s fortunate we arrived now. If we were still on the road, it would have been troublesome."Inside the house, Wu Shi was warming herself by the fire when she heard Liu Jin Sao's loud voice. She let out a series of delighted exclamations, "Oh my, oh my!" and hurried out to greet them, supported by Zheng Shi and Du Shi on either side.

The usual exchange of greetings upon meeting naturally followed. Before long, Li Dalang ushered Old Shopkeeper Li and the others into the house. Xi Ge'er, still unsteady on his feet, tugged along Huiguan'er and Xiao Guan'er, and the three of them went straight to rummage through the luggage, searching for something to eat.

Meanwhile, Zhen Niang and the others first went inside to change into dry clothes. When they came out, Du Shi busied herself serving hot tea, while Zheng Shi went to the kitchen to boil a few poached eggs. On such a cold day, eating something warm would bring comfort from the heart.

"By the way, on my way here, I thought I saw the Du brothers. What's going on? Are they all right? Have they returned?" Old Shopkeeper Li suddenly asked.

It turned out that when the Du brothers were heading back earlier, they had also run into Old Shopkeeper Li. They had merely exchanged an awkward smile and hurried off, which naturally struck Old Shopkeeper Li as odd, prompting his question.

Zhen Niang was still thinking about what her eldest brother had said earlier, and now she pricked up her ears to listen.

"The new emperor has ascended the throne and issued a general amnesty, so they're free," Li Dalang replied in a muffled voice. Beside him, Du Shi hung her head low, not daring to meet Old Shopkeeper Li's gaze.

"This general amnesty is truly unreasonable," Wu Shi muttered. "Does it mean that as soon as this emperor ascends the throne, all the villains in the world are suddenly innocent? It makes no sense. Isn't this just indulging evildoers?"

"They really got off cheap," Zhao Shi added indignantly, biting into a poached egg. Back then, during that upheaval, the Li family had endured immense pressure.

Old Shopkeeper Li knew his wife well—she had always preferred to avoid trouble whenever possible. For her to say something like this now clearly indicated that something must have happened at home; otherwise, she would never have spoken this way.

He frowned again. "Has something happened at home?"

This was also Zhen Niang's question. Especially now, as her grandfather asked this, her sister-in-law's pale and uneasy expression suggested that the matter was indeed serious.

"Ah, it's nothing... just the younger generation being foolish," Wu Shi said, waving her hand dismissively, unable to bear Du Shi's distressed expression.

But at that moment, Du Shi suddenly knelt down with a thud. "Grandmother, there's no need to hold back. This matter must be spoken of," she said, and proceeded to recount everything in detail.

It turned out that the Du brothers were utterly shameless. As soon as they returned, they saw how prosperous the Li family's oil mill had become. Hearing that Li Dalang had secured a major client in Nanjing and nearly monopolized the tung oil trade in all of Huizhou, the two brothers burned with envy.

They actually gathered a group of local ruffians and troublemakers to cause a disturbance at the Li family's oil mill, falsely claiming that the mill belonged to them. They were simply taking advantage of Li Dalang's perceived meekness.

However, the current Li Dalang was no longer the same man. Since starting the coal stove business, venturing into inkstone mining, and later taking over the oil mill, he had risen step by step from the most difficult circumstances.

In addition to his reserved nature, he had developed an unyielding resilience. Otherwise, he would never have held on so firmly to the business deal with Master Xi in Nanjing back then.In short, Li Dalang was no longer someone the Du brothers could easily deceive, and coupled with his own robust strength, along with the oil press workers who were all strong men, the fight ended with the Du brothers gaining no advantage. Not only were they soundly beaten by Li Dalang, but they were also dragged to the magistrate’s office. Li Dalang even found several victims who had suffered from tung oil poisoning and intended to sue the Du brothers again, as the court might pardon them, but the victims could still bring a lawsuit.

In the end, the Du brothers had no choice but to yield. They were also sentenced to twenty lashes and never dared to cause trouble for the Li family again.

The matter should have ended there, but these two brothers were truly despicable.

Du Da’s wife was not from a respectable family. She had followed him because he claimed to own an oil press business, thinking she would have a place to settle down. However, upon arriving in Huizhou, she learned the truth about the Du family—that it was a deep pit.

Nevertheless, because she had given birth to a son, Shen Shi usually treated her well. The little money she managed to get from Zhen Niang’s sister-in-law, Du Shi, was also spent on her. She seemed content with this and lived peacefully behind closed doors with Shen Shi, raising her little boy, leading a relatively stable life.

Unexpectedly, when the Du brothers returned, their peaceful days came to an end. After suffering a defeat at the hands of the Li family, Du Da became addicted to gambling. After losing money, he nearly pawned his wife to the gambling den. His wife, however, was no pushover. Seeing the situation and realizing there was no future, she kowtowed to Shen Shi, took some loose silver from the house as travel expenses, and fled.

After that, the Du brothers completely gave up on themselves. They befriended a group of unsavory characters and often engaged in schemes and scams. However, the money they earned was quickly squandered, and when they ran out, they forced Shen Shi to extort money from the Li family.

This went on endlessly.

The Li family naturally wanted nothing to do with it, but Shen Shi was, after all, Du Shi’s mother. Seeing her being pressured by her two sons was truly pitiable, and Li Dalang couldn’t simply ignore it. In the end, he found a mediator and agreed to give Shen Shi three taels of silver each month as living expenses for her and the little boy. Everything was done openly and transparently. This way, the Du brothers could no longer use Shen Shi as an excuse to extort money from the Li family, as three taels of silver was more than enough for a family of four to live on for a month.

Thus, Shen Shi finally found some peace.

However, the two brothers still often found excuses to borrow money from the Li family during various festivals, which led to the scene Zhen Niang witnessed at the doorstep earlier.

"Is there no law anymore?!!!" Upon hearing Du Shi’s account, Zhao Shi was furious. She hadn’t expected such a situation to arise at home while she was in Nanjing. Du Shi could only kneel there, sobbing.

"Get up. This isn’t your fault. The matter is already over, but you must guard against your brothers and not be foolish again," Old Shopkeeper Li said to Du Shi, giving her a warning.

"Grandfather, your granddaughter-in-law understands," Du Shi replied, wiping her tears as she stood up. Zhen Niang sighed as well. Her sister-in-law was truly unfortunate to have such brothers. However...Thinking this, Zhen Niang furrowed her brows and said to her elder brother, "Brother, do you still have all the case files, evidence, and witness testimonies from back then?" It’s not the thief you fear, but the thief’s scheming. Clearly, the Du brothers were not giving up.

Now they couldn’t do anything to the Li family, but if an opportunity arose, they would surely take a bite. So, they had to stay vigilant at all times.

"Yes, I have them all. Their deeds are known to everyone in Huizhou—they’ve long been infamous," Li Dalang replied with a grim expression.

"Still, as the saying goes, 'Harbor no ill intentions, but never let your guard down,'" Zhen Niang said. The business world was full of pitfalls, and without such caution, one could easily be trapped one day.

"Yes, I understand," Li Dalang nodded.

Just as they were speaking, the gatekeeper Liu Jin led Madam Sun, the mother of the seventh branch’s Xiao You, over. Following behind Madam Sun was her elder sister-in-law.

The Li family had just finished their discussion about the Du brothers. Du Shi, her eyes red from crying, was not in a state to receive guests, so she took Huiguan'er inside.

Madam Sun and her sister-in-law had come to inquire about Sun Jie’s situation. To be honest, when news of Sun Jie’s incident reached Huizhou, his mother was terrified. Nearly a thousand taels of silver—how could they ever repay such an amount? She cursed herself for being so foolishly determined to get Jie into the Ink Workshop. That boy was always careless and irresponsible—it was no wonder something had gone wrong.

But now, with the incident having occurred, there had been no sign of Jie returning home, nor had he sent a single letter. Her heart had not known a moment of peace since.

On the way, she heard that Zhen Niang had returned, so she dragged Madam Sun along to ask for news. Of course, she also hoped to use Madam Sun’s connection to plead for leniency.

Zhen Niang understood her intentions perfectly. As it happened, before returning, Sun Jie had asked her to deliver a letter to his mother. She took it out from her bundle and handed it to Sun Jie’s mother.

Since Sun Jie’s mother was illiterate, she passed the letter to Madam Sun. Madam Sun opened it and read about the incident of the moldy ink, how Zhen Niang had handled it, and Sun Jie’s newfound determination to work hard and improve himself.

Sun Jie’s mother, who had been anxiously worrying, finally felt relieved upon learning that her son was striving to make something of himself. In the letter, Sun Jie also mentioned that as long as he worked hard, becoming a supervisor was not out of reach. This made his mother beam with joy.

Although she had previously made many excuses and schemes to persuade Madam Sun to get Sun Jie into the Ink Workshop, her true goal had always been for her son to become a supervisor and learn a valuable skill. Now, if her son could achieve this through his own efforts, no mother would object.

As for Madam Sun, she naturally felt that Zhen Niang’s handling of the matter was a gesture of respect toward her, which pleased her greatly. It also gave her face in front of her sister-in-law.

Finally, Zhen Niang said she would pay her respects to Seventh Grandmother the next day. Madam Sun and Sun Jie’s mother then left happily together.