No days of peace

That night, Gu Zhong felt as if he had returned to many years ago, when his father, on his deathbed, asked him to take over the family business and he was forced to make difficult choices. Gu Fei’s words had stirred up a tempest in his heart and left him wavering with uncertainty.

By rights, if a family wished to prosper, every descendant with talent—regardless of gender—should be taught and nurtured. Yet most daughters were less single-minded than sons, and once they married, their loyalties would shift to their husbands’ households. To pour effort into their training, only to see them become members of another family overnight, was a concern that weighed heavily on the heads of most households.

This was precisely why, even though he knew his daughter Gu Wanting possessed a spark of business acumen, he was still unwilling for her to involve herself in the family business.

As for Gu Fei, this illegitimate daughter who had returned midway through life, even though he had traveled far and wide and honed a shrewd eye, he still could not quite see through her.

Gu Fei clearly had her own motives—her crippled legs were suspicious in themselves—but at the same time, he also saw the value she possessed, value he could not bear to relinquish.

Those two ink mold designs had even garnered praise from the great Master Feng Puyu. Since they had been placed in the Gu family’s shop, in these past few days, nobles had come to visit, bringing sample drawings and requesting that identical molds be engraved, commissioning ink pellets of specific designs.

These nobles were not people he could afford to offend. If the Gu family could break into such circles, then in Yizhou, it would only be a matter of time before they stood shoulder to shoulder with the renowned Xiao Mo family.

All of these threads led back to Gu Fei.

With a contemplative, worried expression, Gu Zhong returned to the Peony Garden. No sooner had he entered the room than he saw Madame Cui’s gloomy face.

He had no mind to placate her, only feeling more irritable, so he simply swept his sleeve and made for the study.

“Husband, where do you think you’re going?” Madame Cui’s voice was sharp and sardonic. She held her teacup delicately, lowered her gaze, and sipped slowly.

Gu Zhong halted and turned, half his body shrouded in shadow. “Hmph. Don’t think I know nothing of what you did today. Utterly ignorant—just like a foolish child, lacking even a shred of sense.”

Madame Cui’s anger flared; grievance and resentment surged within her. After all these years of marrying beneath herself and painstakingly managing the Gu household, was this to be her reward—such cold, wounding words?

With a loud clatter, she slammed the teacup onto the table and snapped, “Well done, Gu Zhong! Twenty years ago, why didn’t you say I was ignorant then? Now, after all these years, you complain I lack sense? Even if I do, I’m still better than a merchant stinking of copper coins like you!”

Her words were like a gleaming dagger, stabbing straight into Gu Zhong’s soft spot, igniting his fury. “Reeking of copper, am I? Everything you eat, wear, live in, and use, every bit was earned by these very hands! For years, you’ve managed the household accounts. You say you married beneath yourself, but I have had only you, never wronged you in the least.”

He was a man; such words, trampling his dignity, were intolerable. And what he loathed most was being called tainted by the stink of money.

Madame Cui shot to her feet, her long nails digging into her sleeve’s embroidered hem, nearly breaking the skin. She could scarcely believe Gu Zhong would treat her so. Hysterical, she shouted, “Do you think I wanted to manage the accounts? It was your own second brother who was useless, your third brother who was rebellious—who else was to blame? Listen well, Gu Zhong: you owe me far more than you realize, and you’ll never be able to pay it back!”

Turning the blame on his family was the final straw that broke Gu Zhong’s tightly strung composure. His black beard quivered as he pointed at Madame Cui, his hand shaking uncontrollably. “Rotten wood cannot be carved! Do you even realize what you did today—smearing vinegar and wet salt on the copper basin, causing the blood not to blend? Because that girl failed to recognize her kin, our Gu family will remain in this half-alive, half-dead state for decades more!”

Madame Cui curled her lips in a cold sneer, standing in the shadow, her whole body exuding chill. “I fail to see what great talents she possesses. You, the great uncle, treat her better than her own father. Tell me, will you soon reveal she’s actually your own illegitimate child?”

Her words were both mocking and insulting. Gu Zhong’s face turned deathly pale with rage, and for a long time he could not speak.

Seeing his expression, Madame Cui felt a twisted surge of satisfaction and pressed on relentlessly. “You think your tricks escape me? Adding alum to the water—whether or not she’s truly of Gu blood, you seem intent on claiming her. Such benevolence—why not take in seventy or eighty beggar children and write them all into the Gu family register?”

Gu Zhong was speechless. He gazed at the familiar features he’d seen for twenty years, but the gentleness he remembered at the corners of her eyes was gone. He felt a deep sorrow, and a kind of defeated weariness at being so misunderstood.

Slowly, he turned, walked to the table, sat down, and composed himself, suppressing his excess emotions before he spoke. “A few days ago, that girl carved two ink molds. Not only did she win Master Feng Puyu’s praise, but a number of nobles have placed orders at our shop. Offending any one of them, and the Gu family would be finished.”

He paused, his eyes as deep and dark as ink. “If one can carve ink molds, one can surely make ink. And to have Master Feng speak so highly—how could her talent be ordinary?”

“I’ve worked tirelessly to tie her fate to the Gu family. Her legs are crippled; whether she can ever marry is uncertain. Keeping her here, regardless of sentiment, she’ll owe us her bread and must give something in return…”

“But you—meddling in secret, not even informing me, ruining everything—how do you plan to clean up this mess?”

Madame Cui felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her, instantly sobering her. She pondered his words again and again. While she had to admit Gu Zhong made some sense, resentment still simmered inside her.

She paced a few steps. “So without her, the Gu family can’t survive? If Wanting marries into the Xiao Mo family, we’ll still prosper. That thankless wretch who appeared out of nowhere will turn around and bite you one day.”

Gu Zhong sighed, rubbing his brows until the fine lines smoothed out. Only then did he speak. “If Wanting’s health were strong, that would indeed be a solution. But blame her own frail body—without a son or even a daughter, how can she establish herself in the Xiao Mo family?”

Madame Cui was struck dumb. She opened her mouth but could not utter a single word.

After twenty years of marriage, Gu Zhong could read her mind as if it were his own. “For the sake of that girl’s skill with ink molds, under no circumstances can they be given as Wanting’s dowry. Borrowing the Xiao Mo family’s influence is one thing, but it can never be as secure as holding something in our own hands.”

Madame Cui knew she could not persuade him. Even she herself now wavered in her own resolve. She slapped the table, gritting her teeth. “You don’t know how arrogant that girl is…”

Gu Zhong cut her off with a wave. “If she truly has ability, a little arrogance is nothing. If you don’t like her, then just stay away.”

His lips pressed tight, Gu Zhong thought for a moment before saying, “Today, she proposed a business deal with me: she’ll supply the ink molds, and help our family rise into the first rank in Yizhou, but she wants to participate in the family business.”

“What? Absolutely not!” Madame Cui’s face changed instantly. She seized his arm, her nails nearly digging into his flesh. “You must not agree! The Gu family’s business must go to our son!”

Gu Zhong’s expression flickered several times. He patted her hand. “I know all this, but this deal—I have no choice but to accept!”

That one sentence was enough to set Madame Cui ablaze with fury, no less than before. She stood, her face as still as water, and stared at Gu Zhong, enunciating each word: “Gu Zhong, will you be satisfied only when the second branch tramples us underfoot? When Wanting wanted to dabble in business, you righteously refused her, but now you’re handing your son’s legacy to an outsider! Do you even care about us anymore?”

Even Gu Zhong’s patience was at an end. All the anger he had suppressed now flared up together. He took a few steps, then turned, pointing at Madame Cui and rebuking her. “This family still bears the name Gu! I’m not dead yet. The family business is not for your son to inherit as he pleases. All you talk about is your son’s legacy—are you wishing me dead already?”

With that, he swept his sleeve and stormed out, paying Madame Cui no further mind.

She stood in the room, dazed, staring after him for a long time before she could recover.

At last, clutching her chest, her eyes rimmed red, her face contorted with twisted, furious hatred. “Gu Zhong, if you make my life miserable, I’ll make sure you know no peace either!”