Сhарter Eighty-Тhrеe: Thе Unexресtеd Is Еvеrywherе
"Thank you, young lаdу." Upоn heаring Zhеn Niаng's wоrds, the wоmаn аlmоst trеmblingly tоok the ink stick hаndеd to hеr and passеd it to the gеntleman, sауing, "Sir, рlеаsе tаke a lооk. Cаn this bе usеd?"
Thе gentlеmаn glancеd аt Zhen Niаng, then took thе ink stick, held it to his nоsе аnd sniffed it. Нe then aрреarеd sоmеwhаt mоvеd and sаid, "Is this Рan Immоrtal's Нundred Hеrbs Frost?" Yеt hе frоwned аgаin: "Nо, this dоesn't seem tо be made using Pan Immоrtal's ink-making methоd?"
"I didn't exрeсt уou tо understand ink as well, sir. Indeed, this uses Pan Immortal's formula but is made with the Li Mo ink-making method to produce the Hundred Herbs Frost," Zhen Niang nodded, surprised that this gentleman also had considerable knowledge of ink.
The so-called Pan Immortal refers to the Song Dynasty ink master Pan Gu, known as the Ink Immortal Pan Gu, commonly called Pan Immortal. Moreover, he shared the same legendary death as the poet immortal Li Bai—both drunkenly fell into water and drowned.
Su Dongpo was a close friend of Pan Gu. In his elegy for Pan Gu, there is a line: "One day he went to sea to seek Li Bai, only to leave behind tales of an ink immortal in the mortal world." This has been passed down through the ages as a beautiful story.
"So it's the Li Mo method, no wonder the ink quality is so ancient, elegant, and profound. Li Mo truly lives up to its reputation. I don't know much about ink-making myself; I just happen to have a few sticks of Pan Immortal's Hundred Herbs Frost in my collection, so I'm somewhat familiar with it," the gentleman explained.
"Sir, is this ink useful then?" The woman on the side grew anxious and interjected.
"Useful, very useful indeed. This brother's life is truly fortunate," the gentleman nodded, then handed the ink back to Zhen Niang. "Since you already have the ink with you, you must also have an inkstone. Why don't you grind it into liquid ink for this brother to take?"
"Alright." Zhen Niang did not decline.
Xiao Ya had already hurried back to the cabin to fetch an inkstone. She took the ink stick and began grinding it immediately.
Instantly, all eyes were fixed on the inkstone and ink.
"Can this ink really cure illness?" whispered some among the onlookers.
"Of course! This medicinal ink is truly miraculous. Once, at Four Treasures Street in the county town, I saw someone use medicinal ink to cure a woman's red sores on her face. In just over an hour, the sores disappeared—it was truly immediate. At the time, an Immortal Maiden from the White Lotus Sect claimed the woman had ghost sores, but she was exposed on the spot and slunk away without a trace," someone nearby said. The speaker then discreetly pointed at Zhen Niang: "The one who used medicinal ink to treat that woman's fire sores back then seemed to be this young lady."
This person was clearly referring to the incident involving Zheng Shi.
"Really? Then this brother might be saved," others chimed in.
By then, Xiao Ya had finished grinding the ink. Someone else brought over a bowl of hot water. The gentleman took the hot water, mixed a small amount with the liquid ink, and gave it to the man to drink.
At first, the man continued coughing up blood. After a while, it was clear that what he coughed up was no longer blood clots but only small traces of blood.
"Good, the bleeding has stopped. Help your husband to his bunk to lie down. Avoid strenuous movement and let him rest well. Also, take one qian of this ink stick daily for three days. I'll check on him then to see if he needs to continue," the gentleman instructed."Alright, alright. Sorry to trouble you, sir." The woman said, yet she hesitated while holding the ink stick, looking at Zhen Niang: "This young lady... I..."
The woman clearly wanted to buy the entire Medicinal Ink stick, but she was short on money and didn't know how to bring it up.
Zhen Niang had taken out the ink stick for the purpose of saving a life, not to make money. She was just about to tell the woman to take it and use it when Tian Ronghua, who had arrived unnoticed, stepped forward and said, "Miss Li, name your price for this ink stick. I'll buy it for this gentleman to use."
Zhen Niang looked at Tian Ronghua and couldn't help but smile. Indeed, this young lady from the Tian family was no less shrewd than her eldest brother, Tian Benchang. After all, it was Tian Rongchang who had injured this man, nearly killing him. Tian Ronghua must have been feeling uneasy about it. By stepping forward to buy the Medicinal Ink now, she wouldn't have to spend much—Plant Soot was made from common medicinal herbs, far less precious than Eight Treasures Five Gallbladders Medicinal Ink, so it wouldn't cost much. Yet, she would appear to be doing a favor, making others see her in a good light. Spending a small amount of money to resolve a troublesome matter—Tian Ronghua truly lived up to her merchant family background, her calculations were quite clever.
On the other hand, if Zhen Niang accepted her money for the ink, all her earlier goodwill would end up benefiting Tian Ronghua instead.
Zhen Niang could see it now—Tian Ronghua was trying to swoop in and take credit halfway. Naturally, Zhen Niang wasn't too pleased about it.
But...
Zhen Niang thought for a moment, then extended one finger: "One hundred taels."
"Li Zhenniang, are you robbing us? Plant Soot doesn't cost one hundred taels—five taels at most!" Tian Rongchang exclaimed indignantly from the side. If not for the two servants holding him back, he would have lunged at Zhen Niang again.
The physician couldn't help but glance at Zhen Niang, while the woman beside him anxiously wrung her hands.
Zhen Niang remained unmoved, still holding up that one finger.
"Truly, you can't judge a person by their appearance. I thought this young lady was kind-hearted earlier, but it turns out she's greedy for money too," someone nearby muttered.
"Not necessarily. Didn't you say earlier that Medicinal Ink is miraculous? It's a life-saving medicine, so one hundred taels isn't too outrageous, is it?" another person nearby said uncertainly.
"Not outrageous? One hundred taels is enough for an ordinary family to live comfortably for two or three years," yet another person chimed in.
"Even if you live comfortably for a few years, how can that compare to a human life?" someone in the crowd spoke up in defense.
"That's true," the person who had spoken earlier reconsidered.
One hundred taels wasn't beyond Tian Ronghua's means, but she was unwilling to let Zhen Niang lead her by the nose. Hearing the whispers around her, she came up with an idea: "Zhen Niang, you really know how to take advantage of a situation, don't you? One hundred taels—I'm afraid I don't have that much on hand right now. I'd love to help, but I can't." With that, she turned to leave, putting on an act as if she had done her best and it was Zhen Niang who was being unreasonable.
She wanted to see what everyone would say about Li Zhenniang now.
"Ronghua, you're mistaken. Although my Li family isn't as wealthy as your Tian family, we wouldn't stoop to taking advantage of a situation over the price of an ink stick. I asked you for one hundred taels, not for the ink..." Zhen Niang paused here.
"Then what is it for?" Tian Ronghua turned back and asked.“Your second brother injured someone, nearly causing a loss of life. Shouldn’t he compensate for that?” Zhen Niang retorted with a serious expression.
Once Zhen Niang said this, everyone understood. They all laughed and chimed in, “Exactly, compensation is only right.”
“I knew this young lady wasn’t the greedy type,” someone remarked, playing the role of a wise-after-the-fact observer.
The Tian family had always acted domineeringly, so Tian Ronghua hadn’t even considered that possibility earlier. Now, cornered by Zhen Niang’s words, he was left speechless.
“Why should I compensate? He stepped on my foot, I kicked him back—fair and square. He dirtied my shoes, and I’m not even asking him to pay for them,” Tian Rongchang sneered dismissively.
Zhen Niang ignored him and continued addressing Tian Ronghua, “Tian Ronghua, don’t blame me for speaking out of turn. Everyone on this boat witnessed what your second brother did today, and most of the passengers are heading to Nanjing. What kind of place is Nanjing? The land of gold and powder from six dynasties! A single sweep of a broom there might hit a few lords, marquises, or high officials. With your second brother’s temperament unchanged, who knows what trouble he might stir up someday? Consider this hundred taels a lesson for him—it might just save his life one day.”
With that, Zhen Niang bowed slightly to the scholar and the woman, then turned and returned to her cabin.
As for whether the Tian family would pay compensation, Zhen Niang wasn’t worried at all. After what she had said, combined with the crowd’s fervor outside, the Tian family wouldn’t be able to avoid this financial loss. Of course, while Zhen Niang’s words sounded earnest and well-intentioned, her true intention was simple: to make the Tian family pay a small sum to vent the anger caused by Tian Rongchang’s earlier insults toward the Li family.
Little did Zhen Niang know that, in the future, this hundred taels of silver would indeed end up saving Tian Rongchang’s life.
“How did it go?” Huang Shi asked about the situation outside when Zhen Niang returned. Neither she nor Chou Po were the type to meddle in others’ affairs or enjoy crowds, so they had stayed in the cabin since entering.
“It’s settled. The Medicinal Ink worked,” Zhen Niang replied.
“That’s good,” Huang Shi nodded.
Over the next few days, Zhen Niang stayed in the cabin, mostly inquiring about Nanjing from Zheng Fuli.
After more than ten days, the boat arrived in Nanjing, docking at the Qinhuai Wharf outside Jubao Gate.
“Carry your bags, just three coins…”
“Carriages, carriages! To Jiangdong, Heming, Zuixian, Jixian… wherever you want to go!”
“Braised dried tofu and tea eggs, assorted tofu soup…”
“Nanjing sausage, Nanjing sausage…”
As soon as they disembarked, Zhen Niang was greeted by a cacophony of shouts, a scene befitting a bustling metropolis. However, having seen modern cities in her past life, she observed with interest but without much surprise. In contrast, Er Gou, Xiao Ya, and the others were like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden—everything seemed novel and fascinating. They ran around excitedly until Chou Po scolded them a few times, finally calming them down.
By then, Zheng Fuli had already hailed a carriage. He was quite familiar with Nanjing.
The group loaded their luggage onto the carriage.
The Li family’s property was located north of Zhenhuai Bridge inside Jubao Gate, right next to the official street. This area was home to a hundred thousand merchants and artisans, forming the commercial heart of Nanjing.Originally, the twenty-some shops lining the back of Zhenhuai Bridge were all Li family properties. However, back when the Tribute Ink incident occurred, the Li family had no choice but to sell or give away many of them to manage the fallout. Now, only a small residence containing the Ink Workshop and five shops facing the official street remained. Although their holdings had shrunk by more than half, this was still Nanjing—even these five shops should generate considerable annual income.
Zhen Niang couldn’t quite understand why the seventh branch still had to cover repair costs out of their own pockets.
"Here we are," Zheng Fuli said, pointing to a date-red gate on a side street near the official street, just as she was lost in thought.
In this area, the buildings facing the main street were all shops, while the residences were situated behind them, with their gates typically opening onto side streets. Further back were several large workshops, including brocade weaving and silver crafting workshops.
"I’ll knock," Er Gou offered eagerly.
Just as he was about to knock, the door suddenly swung open, and a girl of about fourteen or fifteen rushed out, nearly colliding with Er Gou.
Up close, the girl’s face was streaked with tears. She pushed Er Gou aside irritably, wiping her eyes as she turned back toward the house and shouted angrily, "I won’t marry him, not even if I die!"
"You little brat, let me tell you—you’re marrying whether you want to or not. Go ahead and run, see how far you can get!" A young woman in her twenties charged out from behind, brandishing a broom and striking at the girl’s legs.
The girl winced from the blows and, spotting Zhen Niang and her companions, ducked behind them for cover.
"Who are you? What are you doing standing here?" the young woman snapped, glaring at Zhen Niang and the others.
"I’m looking for Uncle Jingming. Is he here?" Zhen Niang replied, studying the two quarreling figures. She knew Uncle Jingming had a son and a daughter, and this girl was likely his daughter, Hua'er. But she wasn’t sure who the young woman was—could she be Uncle Jingming’s daughter-in-law?
Yet, it seemed odd that Uncle Jingming hadn’t mentioned such a significant event as his son’s marriage in his letters home.
Meanwhile, the young woman was sizing up Zhen Niang’s group. After their long journey, they were dusty, weary, and pale-faced. For convenience, they had traveled light, so their appearance was rather plain.
To the young woman’s eyes, Zhen Niang and her companions seemed somewhat shabby. She muttered under her breath, "Uncle Jingming?" Clearly, these were more poor relatives from her father-in-law’s hometown in Huizhou.
The young woman couldn’t help but look down on them. She curled her lip and said, "No one here by that name."
"How can that be?" Zheng Fuli frowned.
"Nonsense! The ‘Uncle Jingming’ she’s talking about is definitely my father, you unfilial shrew! How dare you deny him? I’ll tell my brother to divorce you!" the girl retorted fiercely. Then, turning to Zhen Niang and the others with a pleading expression, she said, "You’re from Huizhou, right? I’m Hua'er."
Zhen Niang nodded.
At that moment, the young woman lunged forward, yanking the girl so hard she stumbled. Sneering, she said, "Pah! Tell your brother to divorce me? He wouldn’t dare! You little brat, get out of the way. Don’t go cozying up to these poor relatives from Huizhou."Then she lifted her eyelids and looked coldly at Zhen Niang, saying, "Li Jingming doesn't live here. Turn left, left again, and then left once more—go look for him in the shacks by the city wall."
"Who are you?" Zhen Niang squinted and asked.
"Ge Qiu Jie, Li Zheng Ping's wife," she replied, pointing at the girl and addressing Zhen Niang, "and also her eldest sister-in-law, the head of the household. This place has nothing to do with you." The meaning was clear: she was telling Zhen Niang to go back where she came from and mind her own business.
Zhen Niang couldn't help but rub her nose, feeling somewhat confused. From the looks of it, it seemed the Li family's ancestral property had become a dish on this Ge Qiu Jie's plate. Even Uncle Jingming and his wife couldn't live here anymore and had to stay in shacks by the city wall? This was quite interesting. Today, Zhen Niang was determined to meddle in this affair.
"Auntie," Zhen Niang looked at Huang Shi.
"You decide. Your auntie doesn't involve herself in these matters," Huang Shi said.
"Alright, let's go in," Zhen Niang said with a stern face.
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