112. Things That Counteract Each Other

"The Ink Chamber of the Ink Merchants' Guild is a four-sided room with windows, guarded by twenty-four men. Eighteen are tasked with cooling the ink pellets, with six rotating every two hours. Entry and exit are strictly prohibited; even the Ink Envoys are not allowed to approach. These twenty-four men eat and sleep within the courtyard of the Ink Chamber and have no contact with outsiders until the chamber is opened, at which point the ink molds are retrieved in full view of everyone."

You Er’s voice, a low, buzzing drone like an echo, drifted through the air as he recounted the information he had gathered without omitting a single detail.

Gu Fei’s expression remained unreadable. Ziyuan, who had been listening nearby, pondered for a moment and asked, "Is there any possibility of bribing or coercing these twenty-four men?"

You Er shook his head. "From the moment the ink pellets are brought into the chamber to air-dry, these men are completely isolated from the outside world. No one can see them, and they cannot leave. Therefore, the possibility of bribery is slim."

Ziyuan frowned. If that were the case, tampering with Mo Geyi’s ink pellet would be incredibly difficult.

"Is it possible to enter the courtyard without being detected?" The entire hall fell silent for a moment before Gu Fei spoke.

Upon hearing this, You Er replied without a second thought, "The Ink Chamber is situated in the middle of a courtyard. The surrounding area is completely open, without even a blade of grass for cover. No matter which direction one approaches from, there is nowhere to hide; one would inevitably be discovered."

Gu Fei tapped her fingers lightly against the armrest of her wheelchair. After a long silence, she said slowly, "Why must we assume that the only way to interfere is by going inside?"

As these words fell, Ziyuan’s brow relaxed, and her eyes brightened. "Miss, have you found a way?"

To her surprise, Gu Fei shook her head, a look of contemplation on her face. "Not yet."

Ziyuan choked back her words. Seeing Gu Fei’s look of quiet confidence, she had assumed a strategy was already in place. She pouted, "The Ink Chamber opens tomorrow to retrieve the pellets from the molds. Half the day has already passed; we only have one night left."

Gu Fei waved her hand. Her brows knitted together as countless thoughts swirled through her mind. "I know. You go back first; I will have someone call for you if there is news."

Ziyuan rose, her light purple skirt flowing like water. She bowed, and without disturbing Gu Fei, turned and left.

You Er sat for a while longer. Seeing that Gu Fei seemed to have forgotten him, he took up a brush and paper, sketching and writing on the spread-out sheets. In the end, he shook his head and sighed to himself.

He grinned, carelessly propped one leg up, and picked up the plate of small pastries from the side table. He devoured them one by one, finishing the entire plate in a flash. Seeming unsatisfied, he cast a glance at Gu Fei, then cautiously sneaked off to the kitchen.

At that moment, Gu Fei’s mind was filled with the contents of the *Medical Canon* and the *Hua Family Fragrance Manual*. She went over the process of retrieving the ink tomorrow again and again. Because it was impossible to determine which Ink Envoy would be the one to receive the ink, she could not act at that stage. Finally, the ink molds would be placed on a tray, carried by a servant, and delivered to Mo Geyi, who would remove the molds, polish the air-dried ink pellets, and then apply gold-leaf decorations.

Gu Fei wrote down these steps one by one, crossing out the uncertain ones. In the end, only the moment Mo Geyi received the mold and handled the ink pellet was certain.

Yet, tampering with Mo Geyi himself was inherently difficult.

Furthermore, there were Feng Lizhi’s ink pellets to consider. Since the two used different ink formulations, she had to ensure that Feng Lizhi’s pellets remained unaffected so as not to implicate him.

Fortunately, it was precisely because of the difference in the main ingredients—Mo Geyi used sesame oil soot, while Feng Lizhi used indigo powder—that she could focus her efforts there.

Gu Fei stared at the white paper before her. After a long time, she turned to her own ink-grinding area and, based on the principles of mutual antagonism she had been studying, selected materials that were antithetical to sesame oil soot.

She needed to ruin Mo Geyi’s ink without doing so openly; it had to be done from the shadows. She knew that when ink pellets were stored, they were typically kept in boxes made of yellow pear or nanmu wood, which were beneficial to the ink's quality. Just as there were materials that enhanced the ink, there were those that damaged it. Her goal was to create a "poison" that would clash with the sesame oil soot and degrade the quality of the ink.

Gu Fei did not have much time. Her hands moved faster, grinding and mixing the ingredients while constantly refining her selection, discarding those with strong odors, deep colors, or those that did not form a fine powder. Finally, she looked at the small pile of gray-white powder—no larger than a fingernail—and a smile touched her lips.

She took a ready-made ink pellet crafted from sesame oil soot and lightly sprinkled a tiny amount of the powder onto it. A quarter of an hour later, the surface of the pellet appeared unchanged. However, when Gu Fei ground it into ink and saturated the tip of a brush to write, the ink spread at the edges before it could dry, revealing a dull, lackluster, and inferior quality.

Although eyebrow ink was not intended for writing, but for the intimate task of painting a lady's brows, the standard for tomorrow’s evaluation by the Ink Envoys would still be based on the quality of the ink pellets. Therefore, ink that had suffered such a degradation would certainly not receive a favorable review.

Gu Fei let out a sigh of relief. She called out toward the door and, seeing Nightingale open it, realized that dusk had already descended. She paused, suddenly feeling hungry and physically exhausted.

Nightingale had long since kept the meal warm on the stove. Seeing Gu Fei’s appearance, she knew she was hungry and immediately told Egret to set the table. She brought in hot water to help Gu Fei wash her hands and face before pushing her wheelchair to the dining hall.

While eating, Gu Fei signaled for You Er to be brought in. She handed him the gray-white powder and asked, "Can you manage to smear this on the tools Mo Geyi will use to polish the ink pellets tomorrow?"

You Er took it without looking at what it was, scratched the back of his head, and gave a foolish laugh. "Reporting to Miss, the place where they keep the ink-making tools is not as heavily guarded as the Ink Chamber. I can get in."

Gu Fei nodded, finally setting her mind at ease. She swallowed her food, buried her head, and continued eating without looking at You Er. "Then go quickly. Remember, it is the polishing tool; don’t make a mistake."

You Er shouted an acknowledgment and vanished in a blur of movement.

Only then did Gu Fei look up. She watched You Er’s tall figure merge into the night and disappear in an instant. Her brow furrowed slightly as she asked herself in a whisper, "When I bought You Er, that procuress didn't tell me he knew martial arts..."

But upon further reflection, You Er was one of You Hu’s people. When You Hu left, he had specifically told her that it would be best to take You Er along in all her dealings. It stood to reason that his skills were not weak, so she was not surprised.

Ultimately, everyone who appeared by her side had their own agendas. She did not care much about that; as long as they did not touch her final bottom line and remained mutually harmless, she would not fuss over it.

In this day and age, who didn't harbor a few hidden thoughts? She was as clear-headed as a mirror and understood this perfectly well, yet she still allowed these people to remain by her side. After all, she was alone and had difficulty walking; if she had no one to command, she would truly be as useless as a cripple.