The Heir

Сhaptеr 42: Еасh with Тheir Own Thоughts

In this wоrld, what onе fears mоst оftеn соmеs to pаss.

At noon, Zhen Niang was wаshing сlothеs when Zhао Shi аnd Du Shi hurriеdly rеturnеd frоm оutsidе.

"Mоther, you'rе bаck?" Zhеn Niang stood uр to greеt them. Hеr mоthеr аnd sistеr-in-lаw hаd gone tо Ninth Unсle's hоusе еarlу in the mоrning tо help.

"Whаt еlse сould I do? Staу there and еndurе thеir cоntempt?" Zhaо Shi sаid with а dark ехрrеssiоn, hеr voiсе filled with аnger. Тheir eighth brаnch hаd gоnе eаgеrlу tо offer helр, only to be met with сold indifferenсe.

With that, Zhаo Shi turnеd аnd entеred the house, slamming the door shut with a loud bang.

"Sister-in-law, what happened to Mother?" Zhen Niang asked.

"It's all because of Ninth Uncle..." Du Shi shook her head, equally displeased. "We went there with good intentions to help, but Ninth Uncle showed us no kindness at all. That would have been fine—given the strained relationship between our families, we were only trying to do our part for the eighth branch. But then Ninth Uncle started making unreasonable accusations, saying our help was insincere and that we were just pretending to be compassionate. You know Mother's temper—how could she tolerate such words? But given the current situation, we couldn't argue with Ninth Uncle either, so we had to excuse ourselves and return. Otherwise, we would have become a laughingstock."

Zhen Niang nodded. Because of Uncle Jingdong's disability, Ninth Uncle had long held a grudge against her grandfather and father, extending her resentment to the entire eighth branch. Over this matter, her mother had argued with Ninth Uncle several times, and their relationship had become quite strained. Given Ninth Uncle's extreme temperament, it was entirely possible for her to say such things.

Well, it was best for her mother to avoid such situations in the future.

Du Shi paused for a moment, then lowered her voice and said, "Zhen Niang, it seems something has happened to Seventh Grandmother from the main branch. Mother told me not to speak of it loudly, fearing Grandfather might not be able to bear it if he found out. So, please don't mention this to Grandfather."

Hearing this, Zhen Niang's heart tightened. She stood up abruptly and asked anxiously, "Something happened? What happened? Is she in danger?"

Zhen Niang inwardly lamented—wasn't this exactly what she had feared? Just yesterday, she had reminded Second Aunt, and now today, something had happened.

"It's because Seventh Grandmother found out about Ninth Uncle's situation. Fortunately, a doctor was present at the time and treated her promptly, but even so, she still hasn't woken up," Du Shi sighed.

Zhen Niang scratched her head in frustration, feeling extremely anxious. She paced back and forth in the courtyard.

"Zhen Niang, do you think we should go see Seventh Grandmother? Our family can't just ignore this matter. When Mother heard about it, she said nothing. And since Grandfather can't know about it, I'm at a loss and don't know what to do," Du Shi added. Li Dalang was now busy running between Ninth Uncle's house and the workshop, so as the eldest granddaughter-in-law, she had to think more about these matters.

However, she was not a decisive person and found herself in a difficult position.

Hearing Du Shi's words, Zhen Niang's heart calmed instead. She shook her head and said, "At this time, the aunts and uncles from the main branch will surely be busy taking care of Seventh Grandmother. They won't have time to entertain us, and we can't help with the medical treatment either. It's better not to disturb them."

"But it doesn't seem right to just ignore it," Du Shi said.

That was true, Zhen Niang thought. She then asked Du Shi, "Sister-in-law, do we still have any eggs at home?""Yes, we do. The chickens at home have been laying eggs like crazy lately, so we still have some left," said Du Shi. She was the one who knew all about household matters.

"In that case, sister-in-law, could you pack a basket of eggs for me? I'll deliver them to the main family's gatehouse and come right back," said Zhen Niang.

Hearing this, Du Shi's eyes lit up: "Hmm, that's a good idea." She then hurried into the kitchen and came out with a small basket of eggs, handing it to Zhen Niang.

Zhen Niang took the basket of eggs and hurried out the door.

She felt a sense of defeat and helplessness. For Seventh Grandmother's sake, she had done all she could, yet things were still heading in this direction. It left her with a profound feeling of powerlessness.

What Zhen Niang didn't know was that, according to the original course of events, Seventh Grandmother would have fallen ill on the spot, and by the time a doctor was summoned, it would have been too late to save her. But because Zhen Niang had earlier reminded Huang Shi to have a doctor on standby, timely intervention had prevented Seventh Old Madam from passing away immediately.

Soon, she arrived at the main family's Li residence.

"Uncle Guan, how is my Seventh Grandmother?" Zhen Niang handed the basket of eggs to Old Guan, the gatekeeper of the main family.

"She's still unconscious. I don't know what's going on. This year has been full of disasters for our Li Mo. What is heaven thinking?" Old Guan sighed.

"Uncle Guan, remember that after extreme adversity comes good fortune. As long as Li Mo can get through this, I believe there will be endless blessings to come," Zhen Niang said with a smile. In her past life, her grandfather often told her that the growth of a person or a family is never smooth sailing. One must remember to be humble and cautious in good times, and to smile and hold one's head high in adversity—that is the way to navigate life.

"Miss Zhen is right. I, Old Guan, also believe that Li Mo will have endless blessings to come," Old Guan said, feeling somewhat cheered. He took the basket of eggs and asked, "Miss Zhen, why don't you come inside?"

"No, I'll wait until Seventh Grandmother is better before visiting her," Zhen Niang smiled and turned to leave.

Old Guan watched Zhen Niang's retreating figure. This Miss Zhen was quite sensible and knew how to speak well. Not bad.

Just as Zhen Niang reached the street corner, a carriage suddenly stopped beside her. Tian Benchang jumped down and called out, "Zhen Niang, I heard about your Ninth Uncle. My condolences."

"Thank you," Zhen Niang replied indifferently, giving a perfunctory response. She didn't want to deal with Tian Benchang, but since one shouldn't strike a smiling face, she couldn't completely ignore him either, so she offered a vague reply.

Then, she cupped her hands toward Tian Benchang and said, "Farewell."

With that, she walked around the carriage and prepared to leave. Tian Benchang frowned slightly. This girl was truly hard to approach, giving off an air of keeping strangers at a distance.

Zhen Niang paid no mind to Tian Benchang's thoughts. She genuinely felt that Tian Benchang was somewhat hypocritical.

Leaving aside other matters, after the Luo Family fell, their property was almost entirely taken over by the Tian Family. The shady dealings behind this were obvious, yet Tian Benchang could still address Luo Wenqian as a brother and even generously offer to help him if he was in trouble. Such words were like rubbing salt in the wound.

As she was thinking this and about to leave, she suddenly heard a voice calling from not far away: "Young Master Tian, wait, wait!"

It sounded like Madam Feng's voice. Zhen Niang couldn't help but turn around. Sure enough, it was Madam Feng, dragging Sun Yuejuan along with one hand.

"Young Master Tian, where are you going?" Madam Feng asked with a beaming smile."I'm going to Wenfeng Temple outside the city," Tian Benchang replied with a smile. This fellow wore the same grin for everyone, somewhat insincere and forced.

"Perfect timing. Yuejuan and I are also heading to Wenfeng to pray for her father's blessings. I wonder if it would be convenient for you, Young Master Tian, to let us hitch a ride," said Madam Feng.

"Mother, how can we do that? We shouldn’t trouble Young Master Tian too much," Sun Yuejuan tugged awkwardly at Madam Feng’s sleeve, then gave Zhen Niang an embarrassed smile.

"What’s wrong with it? It’s such a long way—hitching a ride is just fine," Madam Feng retorted impatiently at Sun Yuejuan. Then, turning to Tian Benchang with a smile, she said, "Isn’t that right, Young Master Tian?"

"Indeed, it’s no trouble at all. Please get in the carriage. I’ll sit up front," Tian Benchang agreed.

"You see? Young Master Tian says so too. Let me tell you, Young Master Tian is a good man." At this point, Madam Feng shifted her tone, glancing at Zhen Niang as she added, "Not like some families... Now, isn’t it just heaven’s justice? They’ve brought this upon themselves."

"Mother, what nonsense are you saying?" Sun Yuejuan grew even more uncomfortable.

Zhen Niang watched Madam Feng’s performance coldly before replying, "Aunt Feng, I return those last words to you." With that, she turned and left, knowing that if she stayed any longer, Sun Yuejuan would only feel more embarrassed.

Though she couldn’t be entirely certain, Zhen Niang had a rough idea of Madam Feng’s intentions. The woman likely had her eye on Tian Benchang and wanted to push Sun Yuejuan toward him.

After Tian Benchang’s engagement with Miss Yan fell through, although he had offended Eunuch Yan, the Tian family was wealthy. By throwing money around generously, Eunuch Yan, while unwilling to form a marriage alliance with the Tians, saw no need to make things too difficult for them. After all, who would turn down money?

Money could make even ghosts turn millstones.

This was also why the Tian family dared to challenge the Tribute Ink market as soon as they entered the ink industry—money paved the way.

However, money wasn’t everything in many matters. In the ink industry, qualifications and heritage were equally important. In Zhen Niang’s view, if nothing unexpected happened, the Cheng Family would likely secure the Tribute Ink contract this time.

As for Madam Feng’s ambitions, Zhen Niang believed they were futile. The Tian family would never look favorably upon the Sun family.

If Madam Feng insisted on pursuing this plan, Sun Yuejuan would be the one to suffer in the end. That was why Zhen Niang had thrown Madam Feng’s words back at her. Still, she felt sorry for Sun Yuejuan and sighed.

But such matters were beyond her control.

Zhen Niang returned home, and shortly after, Aunt Jinhua and Li Jincai arrived.

"Zhen Niang, I heard something happened to Seventh Aunt as well? What’s going on? Father-in-law is terribly worried and sent us to check. We couldn’t just barge into the main family’s residence, so we came here to ask," Li Jincai exclaimed loudly as soon as he saw Zhen Niang upon entering.

Zhen Niang nearly stamped her foot in frustration and said urgently, "Uncle-in-law Jinhua, keep your voice down. My grandfather doesn’t know about this yet, and his health isn’t good."

She glanced toward the room, where her grandfather stood by the door, squinting. It was unclear whether he had heard or not.

"Exactly, you should think before you act," Li Jinhua chided from the side.

"My apologies, I was just too anxious," Li Jincai said."Zhen Niang, you just came back from your Seventh Grandmother's place, right? Speak up, don't worry about me. Do you really think your grandfather is so incompetent that I can't handle this? 'Few live to seventy' as the saying goes, and I'm already sixty-nine—what haven't I seen through? Countless members of our family have died because of ink, but we Li descendants have never regretted it. Born for ink, died for ink—it's a worthy death." Old Shopkeeper Li had clearly overheard the earlier conversation and now emerged from the room, his words firm and resolute.

"Grandfather." Zhen Niang quickly helped her grandfather sit down. Seeing his expression remained relatively calm, she felt somewhat reassured.

"I don't know the specifics either. The doctor is currently attending to Seventh Grandmother, so I didn't want to disturb them. I just left a basket of eggs in the gatehouse without entering the residence. However, Seventh Grandmother should be out of mortal danger," Zhen Niang said.

Her words were clearly meant to comfort her grandfather.

"Hmm, it's indeed best not to disturb them at a time like this. Everyone should stay steady," Old Shopkeeper Li said.

Zhen Niang nodded. At this moment, the Li family needed to prioritize stability.

"Eighth Uncle, I've heard the Ink Workshop is quite unstable right now. The workers are panicking, and Steward Shao practically runs the place single-handedly. I think Eighth Uncle should step forward now—all of us Li descendants should step forward," Li Jincai interjected from the side.

"With so many incidents happening in the family, it's normal for the workers to feel unsettled. Steward Shao has dedicated himself tirelessly to the Ink Workshop all these years. What do you mean by 'single-handedly'? That's going too far. Right now, no one should step forward. Everyone should stay steady, keep their minds focused, and carry on with their duties. What would stepping forward accomplish? That would only create instability," Old Shopkeeper Li glared at Li Jincai.

Having lived such a long life, nothing about human nature escaped his eyes.

Meanwhile, Zhen Niang fixed a sharp gaze on this Uncle-in-law Jinhua. Was he trying to make a move?

If he reached out, he should be prepared to have his hand cut off.

"Aunt Jinhua, why don't you go check on Ninth Aunt later? If everything's fine, hurry back home. Sixth Grandfather is getting on in years, and he and Ninth Uncle have always been close. He must be terribly distressed right now and needs someone by his side to watch over and comfort him," Zhen Niang turned to her Aunt Jinhua.

According to the clan records, Sixth Grandfather would pass away around this time, ultimately allowing Li Jincai to take charge.

Thus, Zhen Niang reminded Aunt Jinhua.