Chapter 132: Draw the Sword

The weather was gradually turning colder. Under the current circumstances, Ning Yi’s daily life was largely identical to the days before.

Every morning, he would run to the banks of the Qinhuai River to meet with Nie Yunzhu, occasionally sharing his plans for the day. In the afternoon, he would either go to the main Zhuji branch or come here to drink tea and listen to the guqin. For some time now, however, there had always been a human-shaped light bulb wedged in the middle of the time he spent with Nie Yunzhu. To be precise, she was sitting right beside them. Yuan Jin'er, who always seemed to have nothing to do, would constantly sit next to him and keep him company while Yunzhu played the qin and sang. Originally, the relationship between Ning Yi and Yunzhu had already been made clear, and perhaps it could have progressed in a thoroughly unchaste direction. In this situation, however, Yuan Jin'er forced Ning Yi and Yunzhu to remain impeccably chaste, which Ning Yi found deeply regrettable.

Of course, taking a step back, having two courtesan-grade beauties sitting beside him was not something an ordinary person could ever hope to enjoy. Yunzhu’s singing and playing could be called peerless, and if Jin'er had nothing to do and went down to dance or something, it would also be a most enjoyable sight. Yet Jin'er refused to let him take even the slightest advantage. Like a little boy, she would sit cross-legged next to Ning Yi with her chin propped in her hands, listening with rapt attention and looking thoroughly amused with herself, much like a little monk. Whenever Yunzhu stepped away to fetch the tea tray or pastries, Jin'er would not follow; she would simply remain seated right beside Ning Yi, looking dead serious and thoroughly detestable.

Because of this, after the two of them engaged in several rounds of sarcastic crossfire, they once had a few frank and open conversations, mostly when Nie Yunzhu had stepped away and the two of them were left staring at each other.

"Why don't you go down and dance for a bit, little girl?" Since things were already somewhat strained between him and this fellow, Ning Yi saw no need to choose his words carefully.

"I won't. I'm just sitting right here to listen to Sister Yunzhu sing... You should just be content. Do you have any idea how much money it used to cost just to have this young lady keep someone company at the Golden Wind Tower?"

Ning Yi rolled his eyes and chose not to argue with her over such matters. Recently, Su Tan'er had given him a key, turning him into a kept man who could casually take money at will, but that actually made it rather awkward for him to spend it. Consequently, he had been relatively poor lately and preferred not to dwell on the subject of money. "Tsk, you can't go on like this. Ruining people's romantic prospects is..."

"How am I ruining anyone's romantic prospects? Aren't you and Sister Yunzhu just very upright, platonic friends? Then you should just stay that way. But if you want to push your luck and do naughty things, I won't allow it. You are no good guy at all; you already have a wife at home. Can you really abandon that Su Tan'er at home and be with Sister Yunzhu?"

"To be honest, that would be rather difficult." Ning Yi thought about it for a moment, then looked out at the river water flowing past and muttered to himself, "There are many problems, and men are never any good—they're always looking at what's in the bowl while thinking about what's in the pot..."

Yuan Jin'er had originally intended to say those exact words, but seeing Ning Yi behave with such utter shamelessness, her eyes widened in an instant, and she puffed out her cheeks in anger. Yet she was a person of considerable experience; she quickly recovered her composure, curled her lip, and said, "Keep looking, keep looking. I'm just going to make sure you can look all you want without getting a single bite."

Ning Yi looked back at her with a somewhat lazy expression. "I didn't really want a bite to begin with, but since you keep reminding me all day long, I suddenly find myself desperately wanting one. What should we do about that..."

"Then we'll just have to see who's better at this..." Jin'er batted her eyelashes at Ning Yi in an extremely cute manner, causing him to laugh. "There are a thousand days of being a thief, but no thousand days of guarding against a thief."

Jin'er refused to listen to this, pulling a long face and turning away. Afterwards, she continued to keep Ning Yi company here while listening to the songs. Since she had the attitude of a dead pig that wasn't afraid of boiling water, and Yunzhu found it amusing and didn't chase her away, Jin'er would turn right around the moment Ning Yi left and cling to Yunzhu, lodging endless complaints. Yet in her current situation, Yunzhu could hardly get angry over such trivialities. Even when Jin'er brought up Ning Yi's "looking at the pot while eating from the bowl" attitude, Yunzhu would merely smile without a word, and sometimes even ask with genuine interest if he had truly said that, wearing an expression that practically said, "Does he really want a bite?" At that, Jin'er would feel a slight sense of deflation.

In truth, Ning Yi did not dwell excessively on such matters. As a man, he naturally desired it—it was impossible that he didn't. Nie Yunzhu was both beautiful and gentle, and beneath her resilient side lay qualities that deeply attracted him. They had already reached this point, and Yunzhu was more than willing when it came to these matters. If Jin'er hadn't suddenly appeared that day, things would have naturally progressed following the flow of the current.

On the other hand, his mind was not entirely consumed by these thoughts. As for Yunzhu, she derived greater enjoyment from simply experiencing this unique feeling of interacting with Ning Yi. Fairly speaking, in this era, although romantic love stories or tales of steadfast devotion were occasionally celebrated, the mode of interaction between men and women could never truly attain genuine equality or mutual respect. Even when many men cherished women, their affection was still built upon the traditional framework of this era.

The quality that Ning Yi genuinely made certain people perceive was perhaps his profoundly "eccentric" and "maverick" style of conduct. Back then, after saving Nie Yunzhu only to be slapped across the face, he had been able to walk away completely unbothered, and later conversed and bantered with her with total ease. He could spend an entire afternoon dozing off to the sound of Nie Yunzhu's guqin, far too lazy to show off his prowess or play the part of a talented scholar. It was much like how he could sit with Su Tan'er on the balcony for an entire evening out of sheer boredom, or casually toss out jokes about wanting to be kept by a wealthy woman.

Though casual, the demeanor Ning Yi displayed was neither boorish nor devoid of principle; he always maintained his own quiet temperament and grace, merely casual in his expression. The genuine tranquility and equality woven into these interactions—or what might be considered love from their perspective—were probably things the women of this era could never hope to experience. Of course, whether one liked this or not was a matter of personal opinion; for instance, a certain young girl named Zhou Pei constantly felt that her teacher, Mr. Ning, lacked any proper sense of decorum and was insufficiently dignified.

The sarcastic banter and covert struggles between Ning Yi and Yuan Jin'er often left Yunzhu feeling flustered. Whenever they were together, she would inevitably revert to her days as a courtesan, picking up her guqin to play a tune and liven the mood whenever she had a moment to spare. Jin'er found it utterly disgraceful that the audience refused to cooperate with her, and while Yunzhu felt a quiet sense of amusement, Ning Yi—who was just as disgraceful as Jin'er—would occasionally dust off his moral integrity, asking after Yunzhu in the brief moments when Jin'er vanished. Yunzhu would only smile and say, "My heart is happy." She would often share the contents of Jin'er's snitching sessions with Ning Yi—though naturally, she steered clear of overly sensitive topics like looking at the pot while eating from the bowl.

Naturally, the time he spent going over to the small building in the afternoons remained limited. After morning classes concluded, he would either take the Zhou family siblings to the laboratory beside the academy to teach them a bit more and research some physics and chemistry, or wander around the streets with Xiaochan and sample various local snacks. Sometimes he would visit Elder Qin’s residence to chat and play a game of go, and other times he would drop by the Zhuji store to sit for a while. The city gates had already been reopened, and the aftermath of the flood was entering its final settlement phase. Once the ban on alcohol was lifted, Zhuji would officially put its high-proof liquor up for sale.

Occasionally, he would run into people he had met previously in the business circles—members of the Wu family, the Xue family, or various friends and foes from the Su family, as well as some of the Su family's shopkeepers. From this perspective, Jiangning City did not seem all that large, yet they rarely had anything to say to one another. Toward Ning Yi, these people either sneered or looked down upon him, a reaction Ning Yi mostly understood and couldn't be bothered to entertain.

On the other hand, whenever he was at the Su residence, all sorts of messy troubles invariably popped up. For instance, not long ago, a young shopkeeper who shared some distant kinship with the Su family had accused him, claiming that the previous imperial merchant fiasco was entirely caused by his failure to properly safeguard the fabric's formula. Had it not been for his lack of experience and failure to attach sufficient importance to this aspect, the imperial merchant contract would have been a guaranteed success in the end.

There was no shortage of such incidents, and he had mentally prepared himself for them long ago. Whether it was the internal conflicts within the Su family's senior branch or the maneuvering of the second and third branches, all of them had surfaced by this point. As long as they could spare no effort in striking at anyone associated with Su Tan'er, it could presumably be counted as a victory. Although Ning Yi was merely a matrilocal son-in-law in the Su household and had currently stepped back from commercial affairs, he was, after all, Su Tan'er's husband. If they could force him to leave the Su family by any means possible, it would undoubtedly deal the most devastating blow to Su Tan'er.

Whether they could actually pull it off was another matter entirely, but the pressure from all sides was inevitable. In the face of this, Ning Yi's current response could only be perceived by others as an unresisting, turtle-like retreat. Since he was in the wrong, that was all he could do; yet the stifled frustration in his heart would surely not dissipate, and one day it would erupt, creating an even larger crack in his defenses. What people were waiting for now was precisely that day—the moment Ning Yi ran into trouble, leaving Su Tan'er, who was already overwhelmed and frantic, in an even more desperate plight. Yet over the past few days, the situation seemed to have grown slightly peculiar.

"Recently, both Fifth Uncle and Seventh Uncle of the clan have given their consent. In half a month, we will hold another clan assembly to formally discuss the family's current issues. At that time, they will also bring up once again the matter of Tan'er, a mere woman, meddling in the family's commercial affairs. The affairs of the senior branch should truly be settled within this year."

In the afternoon, inside the courtyard belonging to Su Zhongkan, several shopkeepers close to the second branch and various cousins—including Su Chonghua—were sitting with Su Zhongkan, drinking tea and casually chatting about recent family matters. Over the past two and a half months, the Su family had been in turmoil, and the businesses of the second and third branches had also suffered considerable impacts. Yet as members of the second branch, they did not display much despondency at the moment. As Su Zhongkan spoke of this, one of his cousins chimed in.

"I'm just afraid that Third Uncle still won't relent by then. Given the situation within our Su family, even if all the other uncles stand on our side, a single word from the old man will likely cause this drag to continue indefinitely."

Su Gu ranked third among the older generation, so the "Third Uncle" this person referred to was none other than him. Su Zhongkan shook his head.

"Father probably won't say anything more. If he were truly going to speak up, he likely would have stepped forward during the family's situation this past month. The senior branch, the second branch, and the third branch must eventually reach a conclusion, and the old man understands this as well. He values stability and wishes for family harmony; he was probably genuinely angry about Big Brother's actions, but Big Brother has already ended up like this, and Tan'er has made such a grave mistake. He must surely feel that it is unwise for the senior branch to continue standing in the eye of this storm. Stepping down now would also serve to ensure that niece Tan'er can live a peaceful life in the future."

"That stands to reason, I suppose." A cousin nodded. "Nowadays, everyone in the family likely shares this view. Over the past few days, I've been in contact with several shopkeepers from the senior branch to inquire about their future intentions, and most of them have indicated that if they split away from the senior branch, they are willing to come over to our side. It's just a pity that the core figures have yet to declare their stance. Shopkeeper Xi is young and headstrong, claiming he wants to live and die with the senior branch—heh, many people in the family are well aware of his feelings for the second lass. Furthermore, Liao Kaitai is also unwilling to show his hand..."

"If Shopkeeper Liao were to utter even a single word, I'm certain many people would change their tune," said one of the shopkeepers. "However, he is truly loyal to the eldest master. Even after such a calamity occurred, he still holds no resentment toward the senior branch... Oh, it's just that during a few nights following the cloth-merchants' annual meeting, he muttered to others that scholar Ning Liheng was simply too willful and headstrong, otherwise there would have still been a glimmer of opportunity... I haven't been able to find him lately, so there's no way to approach the matter from that angle..."

"Heh, Ning Liheng..." Someone chuckled.

Su Chonghua also leaned back in his chair with a smile. "That fellow has some literary talent, but unfortunately, he knows absolutely nothing about commerce..."

"Speaking of Shopkeeper Liao, I heard he was dispatched to the capital by niece Tan'er?"

Su Zhongkan nodded. "Hard to say what he's specifically up to, but the reason reported to the household was indeed a trip to the capital. At the time, I even laughed, wondering if niece Tan'er had lost her mind—knowing that things couldn't be resolved within Jiangning, did she think she could go to the capital to file a complaint? But I suspect she has other ideas. Filing a complaint requires concrete evidence, and we don't have particularly good connections in the Eastern Capital either; she ought to know that's impossible."

"It seems she has recently been focusing her plans on the Wu family, attempting to flood the market with low-priced goods to disrupt it. Could it be that she really has lost her mind and wants to make a desperate last stand?"

"Flooding the market with low-priced goods would be pushing our entire Su family into a fiery pit. Even a fool knows what the outcome would be—the entire cloth trade would unite to crush us," Su Zhongkan laughed. "Even if she wanted to do it, the family wouldn't permit it. The moment such an order was issued on the first day, a clan assembly would probably be called that very night, saving us the trouble."

"Still... there have been some rather strange rumors outside these past two days," a shopkeeper surnamed Ren interjected as a thought crossed his mind.

"Hm? What rumors?"

"The Wu family's situation appears somewhat peculiar. The events of the past two days are rather different from their previous approach of simultaneously adjusting supply and demand, drawing upon annual cloth reserves, and aggressively discussing business expansion with other merchants. There are rumors that they've run into some trouble with their golden-broidered silks. In any case, over the past two days, Wu Chenghou and his people have seemed somewhat absent-minded during business negotiations. Someone from the Weaving Bureau even leaked word that they are currently discussing with Dong Decheng to postpone the delivery date of their first batch of golden-broidered silks. It's just that it hasn't been confirmed yet."

"What's that about?" Su Zhongkan frowned slightly.

"I'm afraid they really just ran into some minor trouble; such things happen all the time. Yesterday, I heard that Manager Qin Zhongnan, who is in charge of the imperial merchant fabric batch for their household, suddenly fell ill. Because of various connections and rumors, people always manage to blow things out of proportion," a shopkeeper said with a shake of his head.

The shopkeeper who had spoken earlier also smiled and shook his head. "That must be it. I suspect the Xue family is spreading these rumors. This afternoon, I even heard someone claim that the Wu family fell into a trap set by our Su family regarding the imperial merchant business, and that the second young lady had been plotting against them behind the scenes, which is why things are going wrong now."

"Fell into a trap?" Su Zhongkan was stunned for a moment, then threw back his head and laughed. "This must undoubtedly be a baseless rumor spread by the Xue family. If anyone were truly setting a trap, it would either be the eldest master or the second lass. But the eldest master was still unconscious during those days. As for the second lass, if she were feigning illness, perhaps she really could have been plotting something; yet last time, she truly collapsed from exhaustion, and Physician Sun also mentioned that she was under immense stress and suddenly struck down by the eldest master's collapse... There's no doubt about that incident. If a trap really was set, I heard that everything was handled by Liheng at the time. Could it be that they fell into Ning Liheng's scheme?"

Hearing him mention this, everyone let out a helpless, bitter chuckle. To be honest, it didn't feel quite right for family members to laugh at one of their own, but they had all grown somewhat familiar with Ning Yi by now. Outsiders might call the man mysterious or unfathomable, but living under the same sprawling roof, everyone in the household knew precisely what he did every day.

He spent his entire day tutoring a bunch of children and telling them offbeat stories, supposedly dabbling in unorthodox little scientific experiments, playing Go, and wandering around the streets to eat snacks. Before Su Tan'er collapsed, he had practically never touched commercial affairs, and after that annual meeting, he had never set foot in the cloth store again. To claim that such an idle person had genuinely orchestrated something during that month-long period—keeping it hidden and leisurely until now, while enduring all sorts of awkward slurs and insults without batting an eye—was to suggest he wasn't even human. Furthermore, had he truly set anything in motion, various unexpected twists and turns would have occurred over the past month and a half, making it utterly impossible for him to remain completely detached.

The group sipped their tea and chuckled for a while. A moment later, a cousin frowned. "However... what if it actually is true?"

"Uh..." Su Zhongkan was slightly taken aback, and the atmosphere in the room abruptly grew a bit chilly as they looked at one another in silence. The cousin pondered for a bit.

"Thinking back on it now, it really does seem rather bizarre. This Ning Liheng completely ignored commercial matters beforehand, and after the second lass fell ill, he certainly put his heart into trying to straighten things out. Yet after August 25th, once the second lass took back control, he abruptly withdrew. It's entirely possible he felt discouraged after suffering a blow that day. But... his withdrawal was far too thorough. From then on, he completely ceased asking about business matters, treating other people's gossip and scoldings with utter nonchalance, continuing his daily life just as before. It was as if he didn't take any of it to heart at all, showing not a single trace of being affected... If he had truly been that angry, shouldn't he feel some lingering guilt or concern afterward? Could his self-cultivation really be that formidable?"

As he put it this way, a strange feeling welled up in everyone's hearts. Indeed, over the past month and a half, the household had experienced endless internal struggles, with tides rising and falling as people fought tooth and nail for various stakes, exhausting every ounce of effort. Many had also fixed their gaze upon this scholar, treating him as a pawn in the power struggle, constantly giving him the cold shoulder and heaping unpleasantness upon him in an attempt to squeeze him out of the Su family—or at least to cause interference for Su Tan'er. Yet this couple presented a stark contrast: one stubbornly persisted at the very center of the vortex, doing foolish things others couldn't quite comprehend, while the other... now looked as though he had been living his life completely unbothered by any of it. Everyone had assumed he was merely enduring it, but to be able to endure to such an extreme degree was truly excessive.

Still, this was ultimately just a casual, speculative remark, and a moment later, everyone shook their heads and laughed.

"How could that scholar possibly be so formidable..."

Su Chonghua probably understood Ning Yi better than anyone else present, and at that moment, he laughed the most amusedly. "You're thinking too much. The Wu family has merely run into some minor trouble; it's absurd of you to take street rumors for truth. If Liheng were truly that formidable, he wouldn't be the Ning Liheng we all know, but rather Zhuge Liang himself—accepting a critical assignment in a time of crisis, doing what needed to be done, then gracefully retreating without a single worldly concern weighing on his mind... Do any of you know a person like that? He does possess some literary refinement and a temperament different from ordinary people; in the past, when his poetic talent was questioned by everyone, he couldn't be bothered to offer a half-sentence of defense. Enduring a bit of verbal abuse and discussion now is certainly well within his capabilities..."

"Heh, Chonghua is right. You lot are indeed overthinking it..."

Amidst the laughter and jokes, the group immediately cast these thoughts to the back of their minds. Yet perhaps because they had discussed these matters during the afternoon, when Su Zhongkan ran into Ning Yi heading home that evening, he couldn't help casting a few extra glances in his direction. The young man in a azure long gown held an old book bought from parts unknown in his hand, reading as he walked while gazing at the sunset in the western sky, lost in thought. Noticing his gaze, Ning Yi turned his head back and offered a smile. "Second Uncle."

The two exchanged greetings and brushed past each other. Su Zhongkan gave a slight shake of his head. Indeed, the young man was far too young; one could perceive a youthful composure in him, but hardly any profound Machiavellian depths, and such composure on a youth was most likely just a facade. Having endured so many cold stares and insults over the past month, he was probably just bottling it up inside, forced to put on a brave face...

With that thought, Su Zhongkan redirected his focus to how he might persuade the youngest among his uncles—the ninth uncle—that very evening, dismissing all further considerations regarding Ning Liheng.

Small squabbles were always the domain of the younger generation; there was no need for him to get involved.

On that same evening, inside a private room at a restaurant on the banks of the Qinhuai River, Wu Qilong and Xi Junyu met. The two of them could be considered to have "run into each other by chance" that day, though each still had matters to attend to. Xi Junyu, for instance, had recently been interacting frequently with various members of the Su family and senior branch shopkeepers, diligently guiding and laying the groundwork for certain matters, which was already yielding results. Tonight, he was scheduled to have dinner nearby with several Su family scions, leaving him with very little spare time.

"Brother Xi, how have things been lately?"

"Everything is fine. What about your Wu family? Did something happen over the past two days?"

Wu Qilong gazed at him for a moment, then took a sip of tea. "Nothing much. I just wanted to ask you, what have you decided regarding the matter we discussed before? For the past month and a half, you've been working hard to make the Su family pin the blame for the imperial merchant fiasco on Ning Yi, and I've also had people help you spread the word outside. Right now, the core issue of the imperial merchant matter is precisely that Ning Yi failed to properly guard the dyeing formula. Yet it seems the results have been rather limited. What are your thoughts now?"

"Who said the results have been limited?" Xi Junyu smiled. "Until the very end, who knows how things will turn out? Given the Su family's current state, both Su Tan'er and Ning Yi must be harboring resentment inside. Su Tan'er is currently overwhelmed and scrambling to seize any final opportunity; she simply hasn't had the time to process those emotions. As for Ning Liheng... he has simply been enduring it all, and one day he won't be able to hold back anymore... Once Su Tan'er loses the senior branch, she will recall everything that happened before, and she will remember that everyone was saying it was Ning Liheng's fault..."

"And what if it doesn't turn out that way?"

Xi Junyu shook his head. "That is not something I need to consider right now."

"Heh, truly your style..." Wu Qilong chuckled, then leaned back in his chair. "I'll say it again: the doors of the Wu family are always open to you. When the time comes, I hope you'll give it some consideration."

Xi Junyu looked at him in silence for a brief moment, nodded first, and then, after a second thought, spoke up. "You're acting rather strange. Could it be that something has actually gone wrong on your end?"

"There are indeed some issues. The workshop has suffered a few accidents, and Manager Qin suddenly fell ill. Things happened too quickly, and the pressure has been immense. We are currently considering negotiating a postponement with the Weaving Bureau. It's not a major crisis, but it's certainly no good news either, and we can't let too many people know about it. That's why I've been thinking—if my family had a few more capable people we could rely on, it would be for the best..."

"Tend to your own affairs," Xi Junyu said, turning and walking out.

Wu Qilong watched him leave, then took a sip of tea and sat quietly in the room. As evening faded into night and the lanterns began to glow brightly, a figure knocked on the door and entered. Had any member of the Su family been present, they would have instantly recognized the visitor: a middle-aged man who was also a manager within the Su household, named Qi Guangzu. After closing the door and exchanging pleasantries with Wu Qilong, he took a seat at an adjacent table with a deep frown.

"Uncle Qi, how did it go?"

Qi Guangzu gazed at Wu Qilong. "Eldest Young Master, has something truly gone wrong with the Wu family?"

Wu Qilong smiled, lowered his head, and took a sip of tea. "Uncle Qi, if my Wu family really were in trouble, it wouldn't benefit you in the least, would it?"

"I spoke with Manager Zhou yesterday," Qi Guangzu furrowed his brow. "Among all the senior shopkeepers of the Su family's senior branch, Manager Zhou and Manager Bai are the most low-profile and cautious, which is why Second Young Lady entrusted them with the development of the dyeing formula. Following the imperial merchant incident, the Su family has been conducting internal audits, and the two of them have received the cold shoulder during this period. But after receiving your message, Eldest Young Master, I went out for drinks with Manager Zhou the night before last, and what he said genuinely frightened me... Eldest Young Master, what on earth is going on?"

Wu Qilong's expression turned serious. "What on earth is going on? Shouldn't I be asking you that? Uncle Qi, what exactly did Manager Zhou say?"

"He... he didn't say all that much," Qi Guangzu took a deep breath. "Yet throughout the time he was drunk, I couldn't discern a shred of worry in him. By yesterday, I realized that he seemed... not only unconcerned about the Su family's investigation, but even completely unbothered by the Su family's overall predicament right now. This was clearly a matter for which he and Manager Bai bore direct responsibility. Eldest Young Master, there is only one sentence I remember with absolute clarity."

Qi Guangzu paused for a second. "He was drunk at the time, and he said... of the entire Su family, the person he admires most, apart from the Grand Elder, is..."

"Heh, is it your Second Young Lady..." Wu Qilong could already guess what came next, and he raised his teacup with a cold smile. Across from him, Qi Guangzu wore a troubled expression. "No... it's... the son-in-law, Mr. Ning."

Wu Qilong froze right there. He pulled the teacup away from his lips, his gaze shifting uncertainly for a moment as if he couldn't quite figure out where to set the cup down. He drew a deep breath, parted his lips to speak, let out a long sigh instead, and then fixed his eyes back on Qi Guangzu.

"What... did you say?"