Resumo do episódio 24 de The Heir
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As the new head of the household, Li Zhen proposes hanging the portrait of Sixth Grandfather, Li Jinhe, in the ancestral hall so he can receive offerings alongside their esteemed ancestor, Li Tinggui. Li Jingdong is deeply moved by this honor but remains reluctant to part with the precious pine timber his father died to protect.
Li Zhen gently reasons with him, explaining that while they cannot simply hand over the timber, fighting to the death and risking the family’s ruin would betray the very legacy Sixth Grandfather fought to protect. She promises him that they will deliver the timber, but they will make the Tians pay a heavy price for it. When the seven-day deadline expires, Tian Benchang arrives at the Li Ink Workshop with government officers, determined to seize the pine timber.
Armed with an axe, Li Jingdong stands in their way, threatening to kill himself and hold them all responsible. Tian Benchang remains unmoved, urging the officers to press forward and declaring that the Tian family will take full responsibility for any consequences. In a desperate move, Li Jingdong reveals that he has coated the wood in rosin ash and raises a lit tinder, threatening to burn the entire supply so they all perish together.
Li Zhen rushes in to play her part, pleading with her uncle to think of his father’s sacrifice, but Li Jingdong wildly declares he would rather burn the timber as an offering to his father than let the Tians touch it. Realizing that Li Jingdong's volatile temper could ruin the government commission, Tian Benchang reluctantly orders his men to retreat.
Seeing that Li Jingdong is too stubborn to yield, Tian Benchang pulls Li Zhen aside to negotiate, asking what it would take to secure the timber. Li Zhen feigns reluctance, pointing out that the pine wilt epidemic has made the wood invaluable. When Tian Benchang offers up to five hundred taels, she rejects the money, stating that Sixth Grandfather's sacrifice was for the future of Li Ink. Instead, she demands a ten-year lease on the Tian family’s Linxi pine yard.
Confused, Tian Benchang points out that Linxi is also ravaged by the pine wilt. Li Zhen pretends her goal is to cut down the dead pines and plant tung trees, allowing Li Ink to pivot to oil soot ink. Though skeptical, Tian Benchang promises to discuss the proposal with his father. Once Tian Benchang departs, Li Zhen reveals her true strategy to Li Jingdong.
She presents him with high-quality lampblack produced from rosin oil she secretly dug up from their own pine yard. She explains that while the pine wood is useless due to the disease, the resin underneath the trees remains perfectly intact and capable of producing premium soot. Since the Linxi pine yard is the largest and oldest in the region, securing its lease will guarantee their supply for years to come.
By using the tung tree seedlings as a cover, they can gather the rosin oil undetected. To keep the highly suspicious Tian Benchang from guessing the truth, she asks Li Jingdong to continue their public feud. Delighted by her brilliance, Li Jingdong happily agrees to play his part as a disgruntled uncle. To maintain the ruse, Qi Jiu travels around Huizhou signing small orders for tung tree seedlings, ensuring the news spreads.
While resting at a teahouse, he is confronted by Tian Benchang, who is eager to mock his fallen status. Tian Benchang sneers at him for becoming a spineless puppet to a young girl and deliberately pours tea over his hand to humiliate him. Xiao Qi is ready to attack, but Qi Jiu restrains his companion. He quietly tells him that they must let their enemy become arrogant and reckless before they finally settle all their new and old scores.
Meanwhile, Tian Jiangyue senses an opportunity to reclaim power. Hearing rumors of the transition to tung trees and the growing anxiety among the workers, she bribes a disgruntled master craftsman, Mr. Liu, to lead a strike and demand that Li Zhen surrender control to Li Jingdong. When the workers confront Li Zhen, she refuses to back down or step down.
She calmly announces that she will not force anyone to stay against their will and instructs Steward Shao to settle the accounts of those wishing to resign. Mr. Liu and his followers promptly walk out, leaving the remaining workers anxious about their future. Li Zhen reassures her Eldest Aunt, Sun Wanyi, and then consults with Li Jingdong.
She explains that letting the troublesome workers leave actually rids the workshop of disloyalty while making their public feud look even more convincing to the Tians. She instructs Li Jingdong to gather the remaining loyal master craftsmen, such as Mr. Ma and Mr. Qin, and act as their champion while continuing to publicly criticize her. This will keep the loyal workers feeling secure while thoroughly convincing the Tian family that Li Ink is in total disarray.
Tian Bensheng brings news of the massive strike at Li Ink back to his brother and father, reporting that the workshop is in complete chaos. Believing Li Ink is finished, Tian Benchang decides to quickly sign the lease agreement for the Linxi pine yard. He reasons that since Li Zhen is on the verge of being ousted by her family, they must secure the timber immediately to satisfy Taoist Priest Qing He's urgent demands for pine soot ink.
With the contract officially signed, Li Zhen and Li Jingdong gather Sun Wanyi, Steward Shao, and the loyal craftsmen to reveal the truth. After testing the rosin oil lampblack, the master craftsmen are overjoyed to find its quality equals that of traditional pine timber. Li Zhen and Li Jingdong apologize for keeping them in the dark, and the craftsmen readily forgive them. When the Tians demand their timber, Li Zhen sends it in a dramatic fashion.
The Li family, dressed in white mourning clothes, escorts the timber carts decorated with white funeral drapes through the streets, tossing paper money for Sixth Grandfather. The public display deeply embarrasses the Tian family, as onlookers openly condemn them for robbing a grieving family. With the crisis resolved, Li Jinhe’s portrait is hung in the ancestral hall, and Li Jingdong leads the clan in paying their respects.
Afterward, Li Zhen calls Tian Jiangyue to the main hall to account for her actions. Having proof of her role in leaking the financial secrets and instigating the strike, Li Zhen sentences her to a month of confinement and fines her a year's allowance. Tian Jiangyue flies into a rage, screaming that they are treating her like an outsider and accusing Li Zhen of having a murderer's blood in her veins. Undeterred, Li Zhen orders her to be dragged away as she desperately curses the family.
