The Heir

Chaрtеr 85: Undеrmining thе Fоundation

Sincе Li Jingming hаd spokеn thus, Zhen Niang nаturаllу sаid nо mоre. Thоugh she felt there were mаnу dubious аspесts tо thе mattеr, sоmе things nееd not bе rushed—as the sауing goеs, haste makеs waste; оnly a gеntlе simmеr саn brеw gоod souр.

Аfterwаrd, Zhеn Niаng aсcоmрanied Нuаng Shi to rеst in the small building at thе back, then tоld еvеryоne to find plасеs to rеst thеmsеlvеs. Shе tоo tооk a light nаp, fоr after hаlf a mоnth оn thе watеrwауs, еveryonе was thoroughly eхhausted.

Thоugh she cаlled it а light nаp, Zhеn Niang slept quite deeply, waking only at dusk. Opening her eyes to the unfamiliar surroundings, she momentarily felt as if she had crossed over into another world again.

It was the drip-drip of rainwater from the eaves outside that brought her back to her senses. She changed clothes and got up, pushing open the window to find a faint mist hanging in the air.

The climate in Nanjing seemed not much different from Huizhou. A light rain had fallen before dusk, and Zhen Niang overheard Chou Po muttering outside, "Spring rain is as precious as oil." She then took Xiao Ya to dig in a patch of muddy soil in the backyard, scattering some vegetable seeds—not a moment wasted.

Er Gou had long since wandered off to who-knows-where.

Looking out from the window into the backyard, Zhen Niang saw that Ma Shifu and Zheng Fuli had already tidied up two small rooms, arranging the ink-making tools they had brought and roughly setting up a small Ink Workshop for temporary use. They would have to wait for Li Jingming and his men to move the goods piled up in the large Ink Workshop in the backyard before they could properly rebuild the framework of the Ink Manor and Ink Workshop.

"Zhen Niang, are you awake?" Hearing movement inside, Huang Shi pushed open the door from outside.

"Yes, I slept quite a while," Zhen Niang replied, somewhat embarrassed. As she spoke, she stepped out of the room.

"There’s hot water on the shelf over there. Go wash up and clear your head," Huang Shi said with a smile, habitually holding a piece of wood to carve a printing block. On the table lay a drawing Zhen Niang had made during the journey.

During the waterway trip, Zhen Niang had initially asked Zheng Fuli about matters in Nanjing. After two days, he had pretty much covered everything.

Afterward, Zhen Niang began learning carving from Huang Shi.

When it came to carving printing blocks, Zhen Niang actually had some foundation. After all, in the ink-making trade, carving was an unavoidable skill. However, in later times, machine carving was more common, and Zhen Niang had often taken shortcuts by drawing designs herself and having them machine-carved. As a result, her carving skills were far too crude compared to Huang Shi’s, making her feel the need to learn.

Of course, Zhen Niang wasn’t aiming to become a master carver. Each trade has its own specialization—she was already proficient in smoke generation and ink-making, and in the future, she should broaden her knowledge by learning from various masters to enhance her Ink Craft, rather than spending too much time on carving.

Learning on the boat was partly to understand the properties of wood for printing blocks, mainly to produce better ink. After all, the grain of the wood played a significant role in the structural stability of the ink.

But more than that, it was simply to pass the time, as the journey was rather monotonous. However, since in later times she had always drawn her own designs before carving, during her carving lessons, she sketched one or two ink-line samples for printing blocks. Unexpectedly, Huang Shi took a liking to them.

She insisted that although Zhen Niang’s carving was mediocre, her ink-line drawings for printing blocks were quite good. Thus, Zhen Niang ended up racking her brains to draw various ink-line designs for printing blocks.

Now, these drawings had become Huang Shi’s collection.At this moment, Zhen Niang finished washing her face. After rinsing the towel clean, she picked up the basin, preparing to go out and dump the water.

"Zhen Niang, just leave it there. Xiao Ya can take care of it later. After all, you're now the young mistress of the household. There's no need to handle such matters personally." Huang Shi looked up at Zhen Niang's actions and casually remarked.

"It's nothing, I'm used to it. Xiao Ya is still digging in the backyard with Chou Po right now." Zhen Niang smiled at Huang Shi. She hadn't brought Xiao Ya out with the intention of treating her as a maid. She simply wanted to take her out to broaden her horizons. For a young woman, gaining some worldly experience would give her a broader perspective and greater open-mindedness in the future, whether in work, managing a household, raising children, or other matters.

As for putting on airs as the young mistress of the household, there was no need for that around close acquaintances. She wasn't the type to put on airs anyway. Besides, some small tasks weren't troublesome to do and could even be a form of relaxation.

"You're just like your mother in temperament. Do as you please." Huang Shi was naturally easygoing and not one to impose on others. Since Zhen Niang didn't mind, she let her be.

So Zhen Niang still carried the basin out to dump the water.

Passing by the kitchen, she glanced inside. Ma Sao was busy at work, and Zhen Niang could already smell the aroma of beef soup.

"Miss Zhen, you're awake?" Ma Sao said upon seeing Zhen Niang, then brought over a bowl of tofu pudding. "Miss Zhen, this is something Er Gou went out to buy. It's called assorted tofu pudding, a specialty snack from Nanjing. Oh, and it has a particularly auspicious name—'Bright Future.'"

"Yes, I'm actually quite hungry." Zhen Niang accepted it without ceremony and began eating.

And so, a bowl of 'Bright Future' went into her stomach.

"Miss Zhen, I just managed to pry some information from the cooking nun. Do you know how that Qiu Jie entered the Li family?" Ma Sao said mysteriously.

Intrigued by her expression, Zhen Niang asked, "How did she enter?"

"From what the nun implied, that Qiu Jie isn't a proper sort. Brother Zhengping was originally apprenticing as an accountant at a brocade shop up front. But last year, for some reason, Ge Xunlan pulled him over to help with tax calculations. That's actually a decent and respectable line of work. But once he went, Qiu Jie took a fancy to him. Ge Xunlan even sent someone to sound out Manager Jingming's opinion. Manager Jingming didn't take a liking to the Ge family girl, so he had already told Brother Zhengping to quit that job. But later, the Ge family sent someone to call him over again, saying there were some unclear accounts. Brother Zhengping went over, but who would have thought—somehow, when Ge Xunlan returned home, he found Ge Qiu Jie and Brother Zhengping almost rolling into bed together. What happened afterward goes without saying. Ge Xunlan pressured them, and Manager Jingming had no choice but to let Brother Zhengping take Qiu Jie into the family." Ma Sao explained.

Then, lowering her voice and chuckling, Ma Sao added, "Oh, and when I went out earlier to buy some scallions, I chatted with the neighbors too. Everyone's laughing at the Ge family. They say the reason the Ge family married Ge Qiu Jie to Brother Zhengping was to get their hands on this house and those five shops. Before, everyone thought the house and shops belonged to Manager Jingming's family. Now, they're all saying the rightful owner from Huizhou has arrived, and the Ge family's plan has come to nothing—they even lost a daughter for free. Everyone's secretly laughing about it."Ma Sao spoke up again, giving Zhen Niang a thumbs-up. "Earlier, when the young lady publicly declared the ownership of this house and the shop, that was a brilliant move. Now everyone knows, and no matter what schemes they have, there's nothing they can do about it."

"Hah, idle gossip—just let it pass. No need to take it seriously," Zhen Niang replied with a smile.

In truth, her public declaration was mainly to guard against Uncle Jingming's family. After all, from what Seventh Grandmother had said, the financial situation on Uncle Jingming's side had been quite unclear over the past few years. Moreover, no one from Huizhou had been sent over for over a decade, with only Manager Zheng making occasional trips. But Zhen Niang knew Manager Zheng well—while he might not necessarily be a bad person, he wasn't very responsible either, and he likely wasn't fully aware of certain matters.

Given the circumstances at the time, Zhen Niang had asserted her ownership. The Ge family was merely incidental.

"Right, right," Ma Sao said. She was just a hired hand—she spoke her piece, but whether to take it seriously or not was up to her.

Zhen Niang continued to nod with a smile, understanding that Ma Sao's words were likely eighty to ninety percent accurate.

Just then, another commotion came from the front courtyard. Zhen Niang leaned out to look and saw Li Jingming and his wife moving back in at the far end of the long corridor.

Since they were all living under the same roof, Zhen Niang decided to go over and see.

But as she passed through the connecting hall between the front and rear courtyards, she heard muffled arguing from beneath the staircase—it was the voices of Madam Fang and Madam Ge.

Zhen Niang couldn't help but pause. She wasn't one to eavesdrop, but at this moment, whether she moved forward or retreated, she would inevitably disturb them, which would only make things awkward. She had no choice but to stand quietly to the side and wait for the speakers to leave.

"Why should I move out of the main room? When I married into this family, you said the front courtyard house was ours to live in, and the small building in the rear courtyard was yours. Now you’ve moved to the rear building, so the front courtyard is mine. Whether I live in the main room or a side room is my business—no one else has a say," Madam Ge sneered in a low voice.

"That was then, this is now. I am your mother-in-law, and if I tell you to move, you move. Otherwise, let’s go to Second Madam and see who’s right," Madam Fang retorted, unwavering. Though her voice was lowered, it carried an unyielding authority.

Zhen Niang raised an eyebrow. She had thought the mother-in-law was weak and suppressed by her daughter-in-law, but it seemed Madam Fang was no pushover.

"Hah, now that Mother-in-law has someone to back her up, her tone has changed, hasn’t it? If you want to take this to Second Madam, I’ll go to her too. Don’t forget, when I first entered this household, you patted your chest and said all these properties were yours, that you’d leave them to Zhengping and entrust them to me to manage. Now everything’s turned upside down. If I bring this up in front of Second Madam, I wonder how you’ll explain it to her then?" Madam Ge shot back without backing down.

"Go ahead, if you dare! You can expose things, and so can I. Those goods stored in the Ink Workshop warehouse in the rear courtyard aren’t mine—they’re your father’s, and none of them have been taxed. Your father took all the profits for himself. If the tax officials find out, do you think he’ll get off lightly?" Madam Fang snorted coldly, her voice still low.

Zhen Niang blinked, taking it all in. What kind of situation was this? It seemed neither of them was any good.Madam Ge suddenly giggled: "Alright, Mother-in-law, you just want to live in the main room, so go ahead. We’re family—what’s mine is yours, and what’s yours is mine, right? Now we’re grasshoppers tied to the same rope. That Miss Zhen isn’t someone to be trifled with, so we should let bygones be bygones, shouldn’t we?"

"Of course," Madam Fang replied indifferently, her voice tinged with a hint of triumph.

So these mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had actually decided to bury the hatchet—was this a sign of reconciliation?

Soon after, footsteps echoed from the staircase, one after another, as they left.

Only then did Zhen Niang emerge from the side. Though she hadn’t intended to overhear, now that she had, it wasn’t a bad thing. Their conversation gave her a deeper understanding of the situation here.

With that thought, she returned to the small building at the back.

Seeing Zhen Niang return, Ma Sao had Xiao Ya set the table. Zhen Niang joined Madam Tian for the meal.

"It was quite noisy up front earlier—what happened?" The Li family didn’t follow the custom of silence during meals, so Madam Tian asked about the sounds she’d heard.

"Oh, it was Uncle Jingming and his family moving back," Zhen Niang replied.

"How much of this family’s situation do you understand now?" Huang Shi asked, looking up with some concern. The day had left her feeling uneasy, as if things were rather complicated.

"I’d say about seventy or eighty percent," Zhen Niang said after a moment’s thought.

"Oh, tell me about it," Huang Shi put down her chopsticks and looked at Zhen Niang.

"Well, let’s start with Uncle Jingming’s side. I’m not entirely sure what Uncle Jingming is thinking, but Aunt Jingming’s intentions are clear. They’ve been managing these properties in Nanjing for over ten years. Back in Huizhou, the main branch has the elderly, the young, and widows—none of whom are in a position to travel far. With the capital so distant, Aunt Jingming likely has her own designs. That’s why she’s been telling everyone these properties belong to her family." Here, Zhen Niang took a sip of tea.

"Go on," Huang Shi nodded.

"Now, as for Madam Ge, her father is the patrol officer of this commercial district. He has a group of men under him and probably has a good grasp of the property situation. Aunt Jingming is scheming to take over these properties, but this Officer Ge likely wants to swindle her out of them. That’s why he arranged for Madam Ge to marry Brother Zhengping—to use her as a means to get hold of the properties. If it works, Uncle Jingming and his family would have no grounds to complain, given their own misconduct. Even if we tried to pursue it, we probably couldn’t pin it on the Ge family. So Officer Ge’s plan is quite clever. Meanwhile, Aunt Jingming, thinking herself shrewd, also wants to use Officer Ge’s influence to legitimately transfer the properties to her name. So the two families went along with the marriage."

Pausing briefly, Zhen Niang continued, "The marriage went ahead, but Aunt Jingming can’t control Madam Ge, especially since Madam Ge has her father backing her. Right around then, Aunt Jingming received our letter saying we were coming. Without telling Madam Ge, and as Madam Ge’s pressure intensified, she simply went along with moving out. Her goal was to make Madam Ge suffer a setback at our hands..."

Here, Huang Shi interrupted, "Oh, didn’t they say Jingming and his family moved out to clean and prepare the house for us?"

"Do you believe that reason, Aunt?" Zhen Niang asked with a playful smile."You clever little imp, go on." Huang Shi laughed and patted Zhen Niang's smooth forehead, clearly not quite convinced either.

"Keep going," Huang Shi urged again.

"There's nothing more to it. Madam Ge suffered a setback at our hands and finally understood the truth—she realized that if she didn't cooperate with Aunt Jingming, she wouldn't gain anything. Meanwhile, Madam Ge holds some leverage over Aunt Jingming, and conversely, Aunt Jingming knows some of the Ge family's secret paths to wealth. Both sides have leverage over each other and mutual needs, so naturally, they've now made peace. Next, they'll be competing against us." Zhen Niang chewed on a slice of beef as she spoke. It was truly delicious—Ma Sao's cooking was excellent.

"Oh, so those two sides are like local snakes, while we're strangers here with no connections. That makes things difficult. How do you plan to handle it?" Huang Shi continued.

"Actually, it's quite simple," Zhen Niang said, shaking her head with a hint of playfulness.

"Oh? Let's hear it. I thought it seemed quite challenging," Huang Shi replied with interest.

"Well, schemes can never compare to open strategies. Second Aunt, think about it—Uncle Jingming and his family have been in Nanjing for over ten years and haven't returned to their hometown in all that time. Shouldn't we give them a chance to reconnect with their roots? Besides, now that Zhengping has taken a new wife, shouldn't he return to pay respects to his ancestors?" Zhen Niang countered, looking at Huang Shi.

"Ha, you little imp! You're cutting off the firewood from under the cauldron—sending them back to Huizhou directly means they won't be able to exert any influence, no matter how much power they have. And with Seventh Grandmother in Huizhou, it'll be difficult for them to stir up trouble. Without Madam Ge as an inside ally, even if Ge Xunlan has any schemes in mind, it won't be easy for him. We can sit back and watch calmly. Truly an open strategy—Seventh Grandmother wasn't wrong about you." Huang Shi laughed. Earlier, she had been worried that the situation was a bit too complex and feared Zhen Niang might not be able to handle it. But now, hearing Zhen Niang's plan to simplify the complex and cut off the source of trouble, it didn't seem so difficult after all. Well done, well done.

"So, when do you plan to have your Uncle Jingming and his family return to Huizhou?" Huang Shi asked again.

"No rush. Let's wait and see," Zhen Niang replied, though in her mind, she was thinking about the task Seventh Grandmother had entrusted her with before leaving—to first clarify the accounts from these past years.