Zhen Niаng had no idеа аbоut Маnager Zhеng’s little schemes. A hundred оil lаmps, аlong with lаmр stаnds, рorсеlаin bоwls, аnd twentу catties оf tung оil—thesе were not things shе could сarry hоmе аlоnе. Luсkilу, Sun Yuejuan’s fаmilу lived nеаrbу, so shе borrоwеd a flatbеd сart frоm them to haul еverything baсk, рrоmising to hаve her eldеst brоthеr return it thе nехt dау.
Sоon аftеr arriving hоme, shе callеd Xi Gе’еr tо helр mоvе еverything into thе woodshed. This woоdshed would be hеr workshoр from nоw оn.
Aftеr a good while of busy work, Zhen Niang rubbed her sore back and led Xi Ge’er out, only to hear her mother’s shrill voice in the courtyard: “What? Is that really true?”
What was going on now? Zhen Niang hurried out.
She saw that Madam Feng, Sun Yuejuan’s mother, had arrived at some point and was sitting in the courtyard chatting with her mother. At her feet were two woven insulated buckets. Looking toward the shed on one side of the courtyard, she noticed a tall stack of straw piled up. It seemed that while she was away collecting supplies, her eldest brother had already brought back the straw.
“She’s here to take things from our house again. Last time, I just ate a few peanuts at her place, and she chased me for blocks, scolding and hitting me,” Xi Ge’er grumbled, frowning and eyeing the two insulated buckets at Madam Feng’s feet with a pained expression.
“Don’t say that. Sister Yuejuan has always been good to you. Besides, Uncle Sun helped out when I went to collect supplies this time. Two insulated buckets are nothing,” Zhen Niang scolded Xi Ge’er lightly, giving him a gentle pat. The boy could be a bit stingy.
But seeing Xi Ge’er’s sulky face, she knew he was holding a grudge and cheerfully added, “Alright, I’ll fry some peanuts for you later.”
Xi Ge’er’s face lit up with joy, and he didn’t forget to remind her, “And scallion pancakes.”
“Yes, and scallion pancakes,” Zhen Niang agreed amiably.
The two siblings whispered to each other.
Meanwhile, Madam Feng replied, “It’s absolutely true. The eldest young master of the Tian Family isn’t dead at all. He came out of the mountains early this morning, just injured his leg. I heard people say that the Tian Family deliberately spread the news of his death to break off the engagement.”
Hearing this, Zhen Niang was momentarily stunned. She hadn’t expected Madam Feng’s mysterious visit to be about this. Back then, to extricate herself from trouble, she had claimed that Tian Benchang wasn’t dead. Although she had said it as a tactic, it wasn’t entirely baseless. In the first few days after her transmigration, perhaps due to replacing the original body, her mind had been unstable, especially at night. She had dreamed fragments of the original owner’s memories, and one of those fragments was that Tian Benchang wasn’t dead.
To be honest, she hadn’t taken it seriously at first. But now, it turned out Tian Benchang really wasn’t dead. Could it be that those dreams were glimpses of what would have happened to the original owner?
As Zhen Niang pondered this, Zhao Shi jumped to her feet and asked, “Impossible! Why would they curse their own son just to break off an engagement? That makes no sense!”
“Sister Jingfu, you don’t know the half of it. The Tian Family wants to ally with the Luo Family. Everyone’s talking about it now. The Tian Family wants to enter the Ink Industry, and the Luo Family currently controls the Tribute Ink, making them the leaders in the Ink Industry. How could the Tian Family not try to curry favor? I heard the Tian Family’s betrothal gift to the Luo Family is a whole mountain of pine forest—they’re really going all out. Tsk, tsk. Compared to the meager betrothal gifts they gave Zhen Niang back then, it’s such a stark contrast,” Madam Feng said, clicking her tongue in disapproval.The Luo Family of Huizhou, with its patriarch Luo Longwen currently serving as a Secretary in the Central Secretariat, initially became Yan Shifan's advisor due to his exceptional ink-making skills. Since then, the family has consistently controlled the production of Tribute Ink, making them the foremost figure in Huizhou's Ink Industry today, their status at its zenith.
At this moment, Zhao Shi was so enraged by Madam Feng's words that her eyes turned red, and she clamored about going to settle scores with the Tian Family.
"Eldest son's wife, stop weaving tales. Go call for the eldest son. We'll also ask some people from the city gate area to help, and together we'll go settle accounts with the Tian Family." After saying this, she turned to Madam Feng: "Sister Dahe, don’t leave either. Who did you hear these things from? Bring that person out too. We’ll all go confront the Tian Family together. If I don’t ruin the Tian Family’s reputation this time, I’ll change my surname from Zhao."
Zhao Shi declared with absolute determination.
Zhen Niang, standing to the side and hearing her mother’s words, anxiously tugged at her mother’s sleeve. With Madam Feng present, there were some things she couldn’t say.
Having spent some time with Sun Yuejuan, Zhen Niang was well aware of her mother Madam Feng’s temperament—she was the type to revel in chaos. Her words were mostly based on hearsay, meant to stir up trouble. As the saying goes, those who gossip are often the ones causing trouble.
If her mother really went to cause trouble with the Tian Family again, their family would become even more of a laughingstock.
The Tian Family could easily shut her mother up with just one sentence: Tian Benchang was fortunate to be saved. Does Li Zhenniang have to actually cause someone’s death to be considered a jinx?
Faced with such a retort, how could her mother possibly respond?
As for the matter of the Tian Family seeking marriage ties with the Luo Family...
What status does the Luo Family hold now? The Luo Family patriarch resides in the capital year-round. Although the Luo Family’s young master oversees the Ink Industry in Huizhou, the Tian Family had just had a public dispute with their family, which remained a topic of gossip over tea and meals.
Even if the Luo Family had intentions to form a marriage alliance with the Tian Family, they wouldn’t settle it at this time. They would at least wait for a while, until the whole matter had died down.
Thus, the talk of a marriage alliance was completely baseless, let alone the betrothal gifts Madam Feng mentioned—all were mere rumors.
Originally, now that Tian Benchang hadn’t died, the label of being a "jinx" on her had already vanished. But if her mother went to make a scene, it would only create another spectacle for people to watch, inevitably attracting more gossip.
This would actually be worse for her.
It would be better to wait and see how things unfolded. Zhen Niang even hoped the Tian Family would seek marriage ties with the Luo Family. It was already the late years of the Jiajing era, and Yan Song’s downfall wasn’t far off. Historically, the Luo Family also faded into obscurity around that time. In later generations, only the ink named "A Pool of Spring Green," preserved in the Beijing Palace Museum, bore witness to the glory of the Luo Family’s Ink Industry.
At this moment, when Madam Feng heard Zhao Shi say she would drag her along as a witness, she was startled. How dare she offend the Tian Family? Moreover, what she had said was merely hearsay. So, she stood up with a disgruntled expression and said, "I have matters to attend to at home. I must be going now."
Then, turning to Zhen Niang, she said, "Zhen Niang, are you done with the handcart? I’ll take it back now."
"Ah, yes, I’m done with it. Thank you, Auntie. Let me pull it back for you," Zhen Niang quickly replied, finally realizing why Madam Feng had shown up right after she entered—she had been keeping an eye on the handcart.
"No need, I’ll pull it back myself," Madam Feng said, then pulled the handcart out of the Li Family’s home.Watching Madam Feng's retreating figure disappear, sister-in-law Du Shi on the side also stood up, preparing to go out and call Li Dalang. Zhen Niang quickly pulled her back and said to her own mother, "Mother, you really can't go make a scene."
Zhao Shi was now utterly composed, as if her earlier fiery temper had never existed. She merely gave Zhen Niang a sidelong glance and said, "Do you think your mother is truly a fool? How could I not understand the weight of this matter? Your Aunt Feng is just a gossip. She’s bound to spread what I just said. I just wanted to give the Tian family a bit of a headache. They probably think I’m going to cause trouble for them, but I won’t go at all. If anyone asks, I’ll say, 'Young Master Tian is fortunate to have survived, but my Zhen Niang suffered greatly—she almost became a burial sacrifice. Being the Tian family’s fiancée is truly a perilous role.'"
As she spoke, Zhao Shi raised an eyebrow and glanced at her daughter.
Zhen Niang narrowed her eyes and gave her mother a thumbs-up. Her mother’s words truly carried the weight of a thousand pounds with just a few ounces of effort.
From now on, any woman considering marrying into the Tian family would have to carefully weigh Zhen Niang’s experience in her heart.
On the side, Du Shi watched the mother and daughter exchange subtle remarks. Though she didn’t fully understand, she knew they weren’t actually planning to cause trouble at the Tian family’s home, so she sat back down and continued weaving the insulation bucket.
Zhen Niang returned to the woodshed, closed the door, and began the smoke generation process to collect the soot.
A hundred oil lamps were placed on racks, each holding a porcelain bowl, filling the entire floor of the woodshed. Before long, the shed became as hot and stifling as a kitchen stove, unbearably stuffy. And this was only spring—if it were summer, staying inside would feel like a sauna. Truly, ink-making was a grueling task.
Yet, only by enduring the hardest of hardships can one rise above others.
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