Resumo do episódio 8 de The Heir
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Li Zhen arrives at the Li family ink workshop, Li Ink, to collect tools and raw materials for burning lampblack. However, the queue leader, Sun Baiyi, treats her with utter disdain. He mocks her family’s expulsion from the clan and reminds everyone of her grandfather Li Jinshui’s solemn oath never to make ink again, accusing her of trying to sneak in to do her grandfather's bidding.
Li Zhen fiercely defends her grandfather, asserting that she has spent three years studying the craft and is perfectly capable of making lampblack on her own. Sun Baiyi laughs at her, claiming that a female ink-maker is unheard of. When he tries to drive her away, Li Zhen challenges him to produce a single rule that bans women from the trade, threatening to take the matter to Seventh Grandmother if he cannot.
Reluctantly backing down, Sun Baiyi sets a trap instead. He lays out strict terms: they only accept transactions starting from a full catty of lampblack, with low-grade paying two hundred wen and prices rising by two hundred wen for each higher grade. Li Zhen confidently requests twenty lamps to burn. Sun Baiyi then springs his trap, demanding she deliver the full catty within a strict four-day deadline.
When Li Zhen protests that the timeframe was not in the contract, other workers in line warn her that twenty lamps cannot possibly yield a full catty in four days due to natural wastage. If she fails, she will forfeit her deposit. Stung by the mockery, Li Zhen impulsively demands ten more lamps, declaring she will manage thirty lamps at once. The crowd is astonished, as even master ink-makers rarely dare to manage thirty lamps simultaneously.
Ignoring the warnings of losing her deposit, she signs the contract. Outside, Li Zhen's childhood friend, Wang Hua'er, witnesses the harassment. Having spent years traveling north and south on merchant ships after her plans to sail to Europa from Yuegang were thwarted by maritime bans, Wang Hua'er has just returned to the Li family. Though she comforts Li Zhen, Li Zhen admits she acted rashly out of anger.
Doggie, a sympathetic worker from the workshop, offers to help the young women carry the heavy load of tools and raw materials back home. Meanwhile, the Tian Ink workshop is thriving under the dominance of the Tian family. The spendthrift Tian Bensheng attempts to coax fifty taels of silver from his sister, Tian Ronghua, who is managing the accounts. However, their father, Tian Benchang, refuses, telling Bensheng to learn from his brother's success and contribute to the family business.
Bensheng then reveals that he saw Li Zhen collecting lamps from the workshop of the clan that expelled her. Tian Benchang dismisses her efforts, claiming she could never produce decent lampblack and that Li Jinshui is simply using her as a front. Wang Hua'er begs Seventh Grandmother to intervene and punish Sun Baiyi for his cruelty. However, the elderly matriarch chooses to watch from the sidelines.
She explains to Hua'er that she will not be around forever, and the younger generation must learn to stand on their own feet and face adversity to truly grow. Back in her smoke shed, Li Zhen struggles to find her footing. The pressure is immense, and she cannot even produce high-grade lampblack, let alone the supreme-grade she wants. She loses her appetite entirely, leaving her mother's vegetable cakes untouched.
Sensing her distress, her brother, Li Zhengliang, arrives with a message from their grandfather. He tells her that a quiet mind is the key to mastering the flames; when the mind is entirely undisturbed and there is nothing but the self and the lamps, even thirty-five lamps become manageable. Realizing her grandfather is simply showing his care through Zhengliang, Li Zhen acknowledges that her anxiety over the deadline was ruining her craft.
She resolves to clear her mind and start fresh. When the delivery day arrives, Li Zhen returns to the workshop with one catty and two taels of exquisite, supreme-grade lampblack. Sun Baiyi immediately tries to cheat her, claiming the grayish tint of her product proves it is fake and contaminated with pine lampblack. He threatens to confiscate her deposit and only accept the batch as low-grade material for cheap, coarse ink.
Refusing to let her hard work be insulted, Li Zhen takes her jar and heads straight to the bustling street to hold a public auction. In the middle of the marketplace, Li Zhen and Wang Hua'er gather a large crowd. Li Zhen speaks passionately about the refined history of Hui Ink and the meticulous care required to harvest premium lampblack. She invites the onlookers to rub the powder and inspect it against the light.
The crowd marvels at the lively luster created by the incredibly fine soot and the gloss of tung oil, realizing they are looking at authentic, supreme-grade lampblack. A local merchant questions if her grandfather made it, but Li Zhen proudly declares the work is entirely her own. She starts the bidding at one tael of silver, and the price rapidly escalates as merchants recognize its value.
Luo Wenqian, who has just returned to his hometown and observed the Tian family's overbearing influence, arrives on horseback and joins the bidding at six taels. Tian Benchang, also present in the crowd, tries to outbid the newcomer. The competition intensifies until representatives from Li Ink bid ten taels. Luo Wenqian shuts down the competition by raising the bid to fifteen taels.
Before the sale can be finalized, Master Sun, a master ink-maker and Sun Baiyi's father, rushes to the scene. Embarrassed by his son's foolishness and lack of judgment, he publicly apologizes to Li Zhen. He offers to buy back the lampblack for the fifteen-tael bidding price since the raw materials belonged to Li Ink, and he forces a highly reluctant Sun Baiyi to apologize to her in front of the jeering crowd.
Luo Wenqian steps forward, noting that Sun Baiyi's apology was entirely insincere. He then shocks the crowd by clarifying that his bid of fifteen taels was not in silver, but in pure gold. Despite the staggering offer, Li Zhen decides to cancel the auction. She explains that she only sought to clear her name and defend her dignity.
Since Li Ink has offered a public apology, she will return the lampblack to them out of respect for the origin of the raw materials. Turning to Luo Wenqian, she politely declines his gold, stating it far exceeds the true value of her work. Instead, she promises to burn a fresh jar of lampblack for him in the future free of charge.
Luo Wenqian is deeply moved by her integrity and refuses to hold her to any debt, wishing her prosperity before departing. The triumph is short-lived. That evening, President Hu of the Literary Association, accompanied by Li Jingdong, his son, and representatives from the Tian family including Tian Bensheng, confronts Li Jinshui at his home.
Pointing to the tools in the yard, they accuse the old master of violating his sacred oath, refusing to believe that a mere three-year apprentice could successfully manage thirty lamps and produce supreme-grade lampblack. Li Zhen arrives and fiercely defends her grandfather, reminding her uncle Li Jingdong that Li Jinshui could easily burn supreme-grade lampblack and manage thirty-five lamps when he first started. She argues that as his granddaughter, it is only natural she inherited his innate talent.
Unconvinced, Tian Bensheng challenges her to prove her skills by burning lampblack on the spot. When Li Zhen explains she has run out of materials, Master Zeng offers to bring some from the Tian workshop. Suspecting the Tian family of harboring malicious intentions, Li Zhen refuses to use their goods, prompting Bensheng to accuse her of cowardice. Seventh Grandmother suddenly arrives with a cart of fresh raw materials.
She admits she has never seen Li Zhen's true abilities and encourages her to show everyone what she can do. To make the test absolute, the skeptics demand she light all thirty lamps simultaneously to eliminate any element of luck. Li Zhen confidently accepts. Inside the smoke shed, the examiners force Li Jinshui and Zhengliang to leave the room to prevent any outside assistance. Left alone under the suffocating gaze of the crowd, Li Zhen begins to light the lamps.
By the fifth lamp, her hands begin to tremble from anxiety. Recognizing her distress, she asks Wang Hua'er for a translucent strip of cloth and ties it securely over her eyes. Enveloped in darkness, she recalls her childhood and her father's gentle guidance. He had taught her to find joy in the rising smoke, showing her how to see butterflies, kites, and soaring peaks within the flames.
He instructed her to unify her senses of sight, hearing, and smell to open her mind's eye. Finding her inner peace, Li Zhen systematically and flawlessly tends to all thirty lamps. When the burning is complete, she removes the blindfold, her face covered in soot. The master ink-makers step forward to inspect the collection plate. To their absolute astonishment, the soot is of the highest, flawless supreme-grade quality. Li Jingdong and the other critics are left utterly speechless, while Seventh Grandmother looks on with immense pride at the soot-stained young woman.
