Resumen del episodio 35 de The Heir
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Wang Cuiqiao informs Li Zhen that they still have no leads on the Tian family's contraband ink workers, suspecting Tian Benchang has already covered his tracks. However, a teahouse server mentions that many hired refugees quickly left for their hometowns after the recent riots subsided, sparking a realization for Li Zhen: Benchang targeted transient, illiterate refugees because they were easy to control and left no trace once dismissed.
This theory is quickly reinforced when Qi Jiu sends a note from prison, recalling seeing straw mats typical of refugees during his secret probe of the Tian family's ink workshop. Meanwhile, Tian Ronghua returns to Shexian after being cast out by the Xu family in the Capital, who discovered her family's collusion with Commander Wu Ru to smear Commander Qi. Dropped off on the street and devastated, Ronghua is warmly greeted by Li Zhen.
Touched by her childhood friend's unconditional kindness, Ronghua weeps and begs for forgiveness. At home, Ronghua confronts her father and brother about their wicked deeds, but Tian Benchang angrily dismisses her. Soon after, Tian Bensheng brings a Nanjing letter revealing that a competitor is vying for the vacant post in the Directorate of Imperial Supplies, and Commander Wu's son, Wu Weishi, demands another five thousand taels within a month.
Desperate for funds, Benchang resolves to ramp up contraband ink production and urges Bensheng to eliminate the threat of Li Zhen. Li Zhen is soon Passenger alerted that her associate Jixiang has found Wu Xin, a refugee who worked at the Tian workshop and possesses Japanese coins. During her interrogation, Wu Xin refuses to talk, but Officer Zhang suddenly barges in under the pretext of investigating the illegal detention of refugees.
Wu Xin immediately frames the Li family, claiming they kidnapped him to force him to make contraband ink. Officer Zhang arrests Li Zhen, and the Li family head, Li Jingdong, is also taken into custody. In court, Wu Xin sticks to his fabricated story, claiming he was forced to make Li Ink's ancient lacquer-soot ink. However, when Li Zhen questions him about the smoke shed's layout, Wu Xin claims he saw the pine-soot kilns and oil-soot sheds operating simultaneously.
Li Zhen exposes his lie, explaining that the rebuilt Li workshop had relocated its pine-soot kilns, and only the Tian workshop could run both. Just as Prefect He is about to demand the truth, he receives an urgent letter from Nanjing Commander Wu Ru. Instantly changing his stance, the prefect orders the sealing of Li Ink and the imprisonment of the Li family.
Hu Xuanlin, the president of the Literary Association, arrives with ink masters Chen Jiru, Huang Shan, and Pan Ruogu to stand surety for the Li family. To protect Li Zhen, Li Jingdong argues that her removal from the clan years ago means she should not be implicated. Under pressure, Prefect He relents, granting Li Zhen fifteen days to prove her family's innocence while the rest are jailed.
Recognizing the Tians' powerful backing, Li Zhen immediately travels to Nanjing to seek aid from Princess Shouyang. In Nanjing, Li Zhen secures an audience with Princess Shouyang. When the Princess hesitates to help, Li Zhen points out that Commander Qi once saved Du Village—the Noble Consort's hometown—and that Prince Yu has been protecting Commander Qi from Commander Wu's plots to steal military credit.
She offers to act as a weapon for the Princess and Prince Yu to expose the Tians' collusion with Commander Wu. Intrigued, the Princess lets her maid reveal that the Tians indeed need thousands of taels to secure the imperial post against a new competitor. Returning to Huizhou, Li Zhen and Wang Cuiqiao deduce that Tian Benchang will continue smuggling to raise the bribe.
Wang Cuiqiao also reveals that Benchang is forcing Ronghua to marry the aging Vice Minister Liu as a concubine in three days to secure a thousand-tael bride price. Li Zhen realizes Benchang plans to hide the contraband ink inside Ronghua's wedding dowry, as no one would inspect a bride's belongings.
Disguising herself as a silk delivery maid, Li Zhen slips into Ronghua's room and reveals the horrifying truth: her brother is selling her for the bride price and hiding contraband ink in her dowry, which would make her an accomplice to a capital crime the moment she steps onto the bridal sedan. Devastated to realize she is merely a tool, Ronghua desperately asks Li Zhen what she should do.
