Chapter Four: People Who Don't Matter

People bustled back and forth along the street. Su T'an'er walked with Juan'er and Xing'er, while Ning Yi accompanied Chan'er, and Xue Jin was followed by two young attendants, all engaged in friendly conversation.

The region of Jiangning was thriving economically, well known for its textile industry. In this field, the three largest cloth shops nearby were the Su Family Cloth Shop, Xue Family's Da Chuan Cloth Shop, and the leading Wu Family Cloth Shop. Xue Jin's main purpose in visiting was to discuss a business partnership with Su T'an'er regarding a deal in the Huainan area. However, Su T'an'er at this stage only handled minor management within the Su family, with most business outside Jiangning still managed by her second and third uncles. She advised Xue Jin to speak with Second Uncle Su Zhongkan about the matter, but Xue Jin insisted it was easier to negotiate with someone familiar, and hoped Su T'an'er would attend the business banquet with Su Zhongkan in a few days. Such was the pretext.

Xue Jin had always been interested in Su T'an'er—everyone knew it. The Xue family had even proposed marriage to the Su family, but firstly, Old Master Su disliked Xue Jin, secondly, the Su family lacked talented heirs in this generation and did not wish to marry off Su T'an'er, and besides, both families were business rivals. The match was never made, and on the day of the wedding, Su T'an'er ran away. Xue Jin seized the chaos to sneak up and strike Ning Yi unconscious with a brick before fleeing. With no solid witnesses, the matter was messy and difficult to pursue, and in the end it was left unresolved.

So much time had passed, and with Su T'an'er’s recent escape from marriage, Xue Jin had come looking for her again, unwilling to give up. Although Su T'an'er was now married and could never join the Xue family, her beauty, intelligence, and capability attracted men who fancied themselves skilled and wanted to conquer such a woman. It was unexpected for Xue Jin to encounter Ning Yi, who was walking home. Despite having previously assaulted Ning Yi, Xue Jin had never taken this bookish man seriously, so he greeted him, intending to make Ning Yi feel slighted.

Su T'an'er had come out precisely because she understood Xue Jin’s intentions. Her feelings toward Ning Yi were simple—not unpleasant, and he was her husband now, so there was no help for it. In her mind, they were bound together. Xue Jin was nothing special, no different from the other idle heirs in the Su family, and she disliked him, but with the Xue family's backing, business was business and personal likes and dislikes had to be set aside.

Receiving word from Xing'er, Su T'an'er hurried out, fearing Ning Yi’s scholarly pride might not withstand provocation, leading to conflict that would ultimately embroil both families. Her feelings for Ning Yi were nowhere near strong enough to risk her family’s interests for his sake. But she could not ignore him, for he was her husband. To disregard a quarrel would be wanton, and if nothing happened, it would be hard to intervene. Though she had gotten along well with Ning Yi in recent months, she knew men cared most about such messy affairs. They still didn’t know each other well, and if she urged him to back down, who could tell if he might suspect she had feelings for Xue Jin? She wanted things to be perfect—even if Ning Yi was a son-in-law, she wished to avoid household discord in the future. At the moment, she felt a headache coming on.

But when she arrived, she found Ning Yi calmly discussing his amnesia with Xue Jin, seemingly without any recollection of Xue Jin’s name at all. Could it be that, in all these months, no one had mentioned the incident to him? She was puzzled, changed the subject, and soon bid farewell to Xue Jin, taking Ning Yi and the maids onto the carriage.

“By the way, for the Mid-Autumn Festival, there will be lanterns on Qinhuai and a poetry gathering at Pu Garden, to which families may attend. I hear Brother Ning is well read—will you and Sister T'an'er join us?” Xue Jin called out with a smile as they left. It was early August, and the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching. The Qinhuai River would host countless events—some for single men, some mostly for women; Pu Garden’s poetry gathering was famous. In any era, once basic needs are met, people seek a touch of elegance. Though called a poetry gathering, many performances would be held. Su T'an'er had often attended in past years, but now she lowered the carriage curtain. “We’ll see.”

“Tsk, ‘We’ll see’…” Xue Jin muttered as he watched the carriage depart, grinding his teeth, then turned to his attendants in confusion. “Do you think that Ning fellow is pretending, or has he really lost his memory? He couldn’t be pretending so well, could he?” He was baffled.

His intention had been to remind Ning Yi, “I struck you, and you can do nothing about it,” and he had even said, “Lately, there are rumors that I attacked Brother Ning that day; surely you wouldn’t believe such nonsense?”—all to provoke him. But Ning Yi was sincere and calm, showing no sign of forced composure. It felt as if Xue Jin had punched the air, and after all his effort, his audience gave no expected reaction. He felt somewhat disappointed.

In the carriage, Su T'an'er glanced at Ning Yi with curiosity. The three maids were the main talkers, chirping about how awful and rude Young Master Xue was. Though they never mentioned Su T'an'er directly, their words subtly emphasized, “Miss has nothing to do with that man.” Ning Yi occasionally joined in with a smile.

In truth, he simply found the maids’ behavior charming and sensible. In modern times, girls their age would be far more headstrong. After a while, Su T'an'er asked, “Husband… have you truly forgotten Xue Jin?”

Ning Yi nodded. “I honestly don’t remember.”

“But… you must have heard about it, surely?”

Su T'an'er stared at him in confusion. He glanced at her, and they locked eyes for a moment. “Er, does my wife wish I had hit him just now?”

Su T'an'er blinked at him, then gradually broke into a genuine smile—a departure from her usual polite expressions, this smile was bright and tinged with relief. Her husband, after all, understood these social subtleties. Yet, as she thought about it, she felt a little disappointed. She didn’t like pure bookworms, nor truly scheming men. Since they were still unfamiliar, it was hard to discern his true nature.

The carriage crossed a small bridge near the Su family’s gate. Su T'an'er looked outside. “In that case… would you like to attend the Mid-Autumn poetry gathering at Pu Garden, husband?”

“I’m not much for poetry.”

“You don’t need to be. We’ll just enjoy the performances and the lanterns.”

After she spoke, Juan’er nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes, Master, there are many performances.”

Xing’er chimed in, “The lanterns are beautiful, and there will be fireworks…”

“Maybe Miss Qilan will perform…”

“We can listen to singing…”

The three maids bubbled about the lantern festival’s events. Entertainment was scarce in these times, and they were clearly looking forward to it. Ning Yi smiled and nodded, “If possible, let’s all go together.”

There were still more than ten days until the Mid-Autumn Festival. A few days later, Su Zhongkan came to inform Ning Yi that he should report to Yushan Academy, not far from the Su family estate, to begin his leisurely career as a teacher.