Chaрtеr 229: Кilling Мultiрle Birds with Onе Stоne
Thus, thе night passеd withоut inсidеnt. Еаrly the nеxt morning, Zhen Niang brought Brоthеr Run out frоm the Ink Rероsitоry.
Аs sооn аs Вrothеr Run steppеd оut and sаw Li Jinhua kneeling оutside all night, his еyes rеddеnеd. Не rushеd fоrward and knеlt bеforе Li Jinhuа. "Мothеr, I was wrоng."
Li Jinhuа held Brоthеr Run and рatted his heаd. "You weren’t еntirеlу wrong. It wаs I who was mistakеn. I аlwаys thоught уоu wеrе tоo уоung, so I nеver еxplаined mаnу оf yоur fаthеr’s mаtters cleаrly to you. Now thаt you’ve grоwn up and lеarnеd tо reаd and write, I’ll tell you everything about your father’s past in detail…"
As she spoke, Li Jinhua pulled Brother Run down to sit on the ground with her. She then recounted Wang Decai’s past actions and deeds to Brother Run in full detail.
Upon hearing this, Brother Run clenched his small fists tightly. If Wang Decai had been present at that moment, he might have rushed forward to confront him.
In truth, Zhen Niang had originally planned to tell Brother Run about these matters the previous night. However, upon further thought, she realized it was inappropriate for an outsider to speak of such things. It was best for his own aunt to explain everything.
Once this was clarified, Brother Run would no longer be manipulated by Wang Decai in the future.
Afterward, Li Jinhua comforted Brother Run and put him to bed. Initially, she had intended to settle accounts with Wang Decai. However, after thinking it over all night, Zhen Niang felt it was unnecessary.
Firstly, there was no direct evidence for such matters. Confronting Wang Decai would only lead to denial unless Brother Run stepped forward as a witness. But Brother Run was still a child, and in these times, the principles of the Three Bonds and Five Constants formed the foundation of human relationships. Although Wang Decai was at fault, having Brother Run testify against him would not be appropriate and could negatively impact the boy.
Secondly, it was Brother Run who had harbored the intention to steal the ink formula, which would leave a stain on his reputation. Making a big fuss about it would not be beneficial.
Therefore, after discussing it with Aunt Jinhua, Zhen Niang advised her to simply ignore Wang Decai. Of course, some pressure still needed to be applied to Wang Decai, and the one to do so would naturally be Li Zhenniang.
Glancing at the sky, she saw it was already bright.
Although she had stayed up all night with Brother Run and hadn’t rested well, Zhen Niang had managed to doze off for a while. In the early morning, she wasn’t too tired. After breakfast, she first made a round at the Ink Workshop. At exactly the hour of Chen, she left the workshop and headed toward Four Treasures Street.
The weather was overcast that day, and with the approach of the twelfth lunar month, the north wind blew fiercely, making it especially cold.
It seemed snow was imminent, and pedestrians on the street hurried along, quickening their pace.
At the Tian Family Ink Pavilion on Four Treasures Street.
Chunzhi stood at the entrance of the Tian Family Ink Pavilion, wrapped tightly in an apricot-yellow long coat and a fur-collared cloak. Her expression was one of pride and satisfaction as she gazed at the signboard of the Tian Family Ink Workshop. Who would have thought that a purchased concubine could eventually come to possess such a family business?
"Madam, it’s cold. Have a cup of hot tea to warm yourself," Wang Decai said, offering a cup of hot tea. Chunzhi leisurely took the cup and took a small sip. Indeed, a wave of warmth spread through her heart. Wang Decai was quite considerate and attentive.
At that moment, Zhen Niang passed by the two of them. After walking a few steps, she suddenly stopped, turned back, and stood before them."Oh, Miss Zhen, please come in and have a seat. I've only recently taken charge of the ink industry. I would greatly appreciate your guidance." Chunzhi bowed slightly to Li Zhenniang, speaking politely enough. For her, the Li family was unrelated, but she understood clearly that Wang Decai hated the Li family to death. Therefore, she naturally harbored no great fondness for them.
Thus, her words carried a somewhat prickly tone.
"You flatter me, Concubine Chun. What guidance could I possibly offer? However, since you bring it up, there are a few matters I should remind you about." Zhen Niang then picked up Chunzhi's thread.
"Oh? Then I'm all ears." Hearing Zhen Niang address her as "Concubine Chun" felt particularly grating to Chunzhi. Nowadays, everyone who saw her addressed her as "Madam." Yet, Zhen Niang's form of address wasn't incorrect, and she couldn't protest it. So, with a look of mockery, she thought to herself: This Li Zhenniang really takes an inch and asks for a mile—utterly tactless.
Zhen Niang paid no mind to Chunzhi's expression and continued, "Concubine Chun, have you heard about the incident of the foul-smelling ink at the Tian family's Nanjing Ink Workshop?"
"Of course I've heard. Back then, Tian Er was foolish, trying to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice. He got outsmarted by others." Chunzhi said with a curled lip, the "others" clearly referring to the Li family.
"So, in business, no matter the trade, one must abide by the rules. Otherwise, that's the outcome. I'm just reminding you, Concubine Chun: learn from past mistakes." Zhen Niang said lightly.
"Li Zhenniang, what do you mean by that?" Hearing this, Chunzhi's face darkened further.
"What could I mean? Just a friendly reminder. Don't overthink it, Concubine Chun." With that, Zhen Niang left.
"What did she mean by that?" Chunzhi slammed her teacup heavily onto the ground, shattering it to pieces. Furious, her face ashen, she yelled at Wang Decai.
"What does she mean? I'm afraid the matter of me sending Brother Run to steal the ink formula has been exposed." Wang Decai said coldly. Li Zhenniang's meaning was obvious: they should stop coveting the Li family's ink formula, lest the Li family set another trap, providing a fake formula that would harm them instead.
"Hmph, I told you not to stir up trouble, not to stir up trouble. And now look, you've caused this mess again. Do you think I don't have enough to worry about?" Chunzhi retorted even more irritably upon hearing this.
"Not at all. I did this for our family's ink workshop. Originally, considering our years as husband and wife, I didn't want to drive them to utter ruin. But since this Li Zhenniang is so ungrateful, I still hold a card that could cost the Li family their lives." Wang Decai said coldly.
"What card?" Chunzhi pulled Wang Decai into the room and asked in a low voice.
"Do you remember Feng Daniu, who came with Young Master Qin Si last time?" Wang Decai asked Concubine Chun.
"I've seen him. A lecherous fellow—when he saw me, his eyes didn't even blink." Chunzhi spat, then asked, "What about him?"
"Madam Su's elder brother in Suzhou received news that Inspector Cai, the circuit inspector for Nanjing and Suzhou, is investigating the old case of the Wang merchant caravan being robbed and killed up north. It's said to be related to this Feng Daniu. And back then, the only survivor from that caravan was Li Jingfu. Moreover, Li Jingfu returned from the north a wealthy man. What do you think would happen if I accused Li Jingfu of colluding with Feng Daniu in murder and robbery?" Wang Decai said with a sinister, mocking smile.Madam Su's brother, the one who had once disguised himself as an Imperial Guard and conspired with Wang Decai to plot against the Li family, was also exiled to Qiongzhou after the incident and returned to Suzhou after the general amnesty. He knew many people from all walks of life, including a clerk from the Inspector's Office, from whom he learned this news. When he visited Madam Su a few days ago, he inadvertently mentioned it to Wang Decai.
Wang Decai, who was currently collaborating with the Qin family, took this matter to heart.
"Nonsense! Wasn't it the Tartars who robbed the goods and killed people back then? What does that have to do with Feng Daniu and Li Jingfu? Li Jingfu survived because he was lucky enough to be rescued by the Qin family. Besides, Feng Daniu is a member of the Qin family. Accusing him would mean opposing the Qin family," Chunzhi retorted irritably, feeling that Wang Decai's idea was too far-fetched.
Moreover, now that she had finally managed to establish a connection with the Qin family, she did not want to offend them.
"Madam, you only know part of the story. Do you know why Inspector Cai and the others, having already identified Feng Daniu, have not taken action against him? It's actually to investigate the Qin family behind Feng Daniu. This matter is related to the Qin family. Back then, the Wang Trading Company went north to purchase goods, essentially seizing the Qin family's market. The Qin family had originally intended to take over the Wang Trading Company's trade routes and merge with them, but the owner, Wang, refused. The two sides had a falling out over this. Not long after, when the Wang Trading Company went north to purchase goods, they encountered Tartars and were completely wiped out, with only Li Jingfu surviving..." Wang Decai explained. He knew a little about the conflict between the Wang Trading Company and the Qin family back then, as he was running a tea shop in Suzhou at the time.
"Impossible! If the Qin family was behind it, why would they rescue Li Jingfu?" Chunzhi asked, looking puzzled.
"I'm not entirely sure about that either. Perhaps the Qin family's gold-digging team happened to pass by and didn't know the matter was related to the Qin family, so they rescued him. There's also another possibility: the Qin family's gold-digging team passing by the scene was actually a precautionary measure, meant to ensure that no clues were left behind by those who robbed and killed earlier, so they could be dealt with promptly. Maybe they thought Li Jingfu didn't know the truth, so rescuing him didn't matter?" Wang Decai couldn't clarify this point.
"Forget it, it's too complicated. I don't understand it. All I know is that since this matter involves the Qin family, why would you still accuse them? Wouldn't that drag the Qin family down as well? And collaborating with the Tartars is a capital offense. Would Feng Daniu easily admit to that?" Chunzhi shook her head vigorously.
"Madam, you don't understand. Let me tell you, I want to tie the Qin family to our boat," Wang Decai added.
"What do you mean?" Chunzhi was confused again.
"Right now, although we are collaborating with the Qin family, they don't really take us seriously. It's only because of my acquaintance with Renji Eishō in Qiongzhou that we can use our connections to establish ties with the Japanese for overseas trade. But once the Qin family becomes familiar with the sea routes, what use will we be? So, I want to use the Feng Daniu incident to force the Qin family into a corner. Either they go down with the Li family, or they turn against them and join me in accusing Feng Daniu, the Li family, and Luo Wenqian..."At this point, Wang Decai paused: "Speaking of which, the Qin family is determined to crush Luo Wenqian's Yi Hou Sheng Firm. After all, Luo Wenqian snatched the Qin family's military supply business. If the Qin family steps forward to testify against Feng Daniu and fabricates some evidence, Feng Daniu won't be able to escape. Then, through Feng Daniu, the Li family and the Luo family can be implicated, and the whole lot can be taken down in one go. I don't believe the Qin family would pass up such a lucrative deal," Wang Decai said.
Hearing Wang Decai's arrangement, Chunzhi had to admit that his move was a masterstroke, killing multiple birds with one stone.
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