From the forest, it was already noon, so everyone followed Chen Luoyuan to another courtyard at the foot of the mountain for lunch. One could tell that Chen Luoyuan was also a lover of beautiful scenery. This mountain forest was vast as a personal estate, and some of its scenic spots had already been developed. This courtyard was located on the other side of the mountain forest, hidden among the trees, facing a secluded ravine to the west. It was the season when mountain flowers were in full bloom, and the surrounding scenery was pleasant. Ning Yi couldn't help but feel envious.

But there was nothing to say about it. The further civilization progressed, the more astonishing the pyramid structure of wealth became. The Chen family had a solid foundation, but compared to Kang Xian, it was still nothing. Seeing that Ning Yi liked it, the old man didn't think much of it. "There aren't many people, the surrounding areas aren't connected, and it's a bit remote, not very convenient. Land is cheap around here. If you like it, well, that forest over there seems to be mine..."

"Which one?"

"Those two mountains are probably mine too. No one lives there. No one farms, so the land is useless. I don't even know which mountains they are, but there are quite a few. Do you like them? How about I give them to you?"

In those days, if you were a real landlord with connections in the government, you could have tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of acres of land under your control, and that was just the area of arable land that could generate economic benefits. Ning Yi naturally didn't know how much property Kang Xian had. It was impossible to inquire about or even guess. He probably didn't even know himself.

After a few words, Ning Yi naturally didn't need his land. He just had a whim that he could build a beautiful summer resort, but thinking about it carefully, this kind of business wasn't a surefire way to make money in the current situation. There were plenty of places in Jiangning City to serve people and help them relax. There was no industrial pollution or fast-paced lifestyle in this world, so people didn't need to deliberately look for places to escape. If you really wanted to build one, it wouldn't be impossible to make money if you were serious, but it would basically be a waste of effort. Ning Yi thought about it and let it go.

Since it was the Cold Food Festival, everyone ate many special Cold Food Festival snacks carefully prepared by the Chen family for lunch, which tasted good. In the afternoon, with Chen Luoyuan offering several prizes, it was time for poetry and songs, and the literary gathering became more formal. Ning Yi didn't participate, but just watched the performances of the courtesans, which were quite skillful and a feast for the eyes and ears.

A group of talented scholars showed off their literary talents, and no one paid attention to him. He and Yun Zhu were happy to be idle on the side. In fact, Ning Yi had been prepared to write a poem or two if necessary. Cao Guan cherished his reputation and didn't start trouble easily, which was understandable. Although Liu Qingdi seemed quite unhappy with him, he wasn't aggressive enough, and it was uncertain whether he would provoke him. If he really tried to drag him down, he wouldn't give him a good face. As for Zhou Bangyan, Ning Yi had originally thought that these scholars from the capital would pull him into the arena under the guise of learning from each other, but he guessed wrong. Zhou Bangyan was friendly, and Li Shishi's expression was a bit complicated when facing him, but she seemed quiet.

So in the end, Liu Qingdi didn't say anything to him, and the scholars from the capital didn't say anything either, which made him, who had been prepared, feel a bit bored. He didn't know that Fang Wenyang and others had originally been prepared to spar with him, but they were secretly suppressed by Li Shishi.

If it were an ordinary literary gathering, it would be fine, but this gathering had been stirred up to be tense by Puyang Yi and others. Before the gathering, Li Shishi thought it wouldn't hurt to compete, but after hearing those two and a half ci poems in the forest, she felt indescribable. She felt that she couldn't compare no matter what. Even if she only had the intention of making friends through literature, it was better not to compete if possible in this situation. With Zhou Bangyan's silence in between, it became this situation in the end. Ning Yi was left on the sidelines and neglected, and later he was nagged by Kang Xian and others.

Besides the competition between the talents from Jiangning and the capital, Jin'er didn't do anything out of line during the entire afternoon. Liu Qingdi had provoked her in the morning, but she seemed to have forgotten about it at this time. In the afternoon, she stayed by Yun Zhu's side, talking about other people's poems or performances. Although she still spoke freely, Ning Yi felt that she seemed to have become a bit more gentle.

In fact, when Ning Yi was chatting with Yun Zhu in the woods, Li Shishi and Zhou Bangyan were on one side, and Yuan Jin'er was also listening on the other side. After hiding in the bushes and listening, she had to admit in her heart, "This guy really knows how to pick up girls. I'm afraid I'm going to lose." She knew that Yun Zhu must be happy after hearing those ci poems, so she didn't want to disturb them. She would let them have a happy day, because Yun Zhu's happiness was the most important thing.

After a day, he wrote a crooked poem, didn't become famous, but was still in a good mood. Ning Yi had come out to relax with Yun Zhu, and his goal had been achieved, so everything else was insignificant. He went home in the sunset that day and was caught up by Li Shishi's carriage, who said a few words about getting together another day.

A few more days passed, and until Li Shishi left Jiangning, the two didn't meet again. In fact, Li Shishi's words were sincere, but Ning Yi treated them as polite words. After that, even if he received invitations to literary gatherings and banquets, he just treated them as routine and ignored them. Li Shishi would naturally not come to his home to find him. Until Li Shishi left, he couldn't help but wonder what the sentence after "Old wings, how many cold seasons" was.

The day before the Qingming Festival, Su Tan'er stayed at the old house with Ning Yi for one night to worship the ancestors of the Ning family. After that, the Su family was busy with Qingming, and Ning Yi was idle. After Qingming, he met the Qin brothers a couple of times and even fought with Xu Xiaohu once, losing miserably. Then the two exchanged some knowledge of joint techniques, which the other party was very interested in, and they talked happily.

Xu Xiaohu also taught him the Vajra Eight Forms, the foundation of Bazi Boxing. Then he said that if he really encountered an enemy, he didn't need to use Bazi Boxing or any other unfamiliar boxing techniques. He was familiar with joint techniques, those direct fighting techniques, so he should use those. The rest he could learn as routines. He should start with what he was most familiar with, and he would learn everything if he fought more. This was similar to what Lu Hongti said when she left, but Ning Yi thought that he probably wouldn't have many opportunities to "fight." Although he had also learned internal energy, he was afraid that he would never be a first-class expert in this life.

Of course, he was only in his early twenties now, and who could say what would happen in the future.

After Qingming, Li Shishi and a group of scholars from the capital left, and Qin Shao and Qin Shaoqian also left Jiangning one after another. Life returned to its original rhythm, lecturing, reading novels, doing experiments, chatting with Yun Zhu, teasing Yuan Jin'er, playing Go with Xiao Chan, or listening to Su Tan'er talk about the affairs of the cloth shop, gossiping about family matters, and occasionally bragging to his two disciples, Zhou Pei and Zhou Junwu, about the prospects of science... Three months passed like this, and it entered summer. This was probably the most pleasant time of the year, with a suitable temperature, neither cold nor hot. Jiangning was also peaceful, and every time he walked on the street, he couldn't help but feel that everyone had found happiness and satisfaction.

He originally thought he would leave in April, but Su Tan'er had just taken over the main house, and it wasn't easy for her to leave most of it to her father for a while, so the trip was delayed for a while. Yun Zhu was naturally happy that Ning Yi could stay longer. She was now on good terms with the Qin family, and the two would occasionally meet at the Qin residence.

Ning Yi thought back that it had been exactly two years since he came here. Some of the marks from his previous life had not faded, but these days were really the most leisurely two years. At this time two years ago, Qin Lao was setting up a chess stall by the Qinhuai River, and he often went to watch. The small tea stall by the river was still there, but the chess stall couldn't be set up anymore. Qin Lao was now being watched by some people, which couldn't help but make people feel that a storm was coming, and something was about to happen.

Regarding Qin Lao's affairs, everyone probably paid the most attention at the end of last year. After being silent for several years, due to those rumors between the Jin and Liao countries, visitors suddenly increased. However, around the end of the year, news of the peace talks between the Jin and Liao countries came, and those who couldn't see the situation gradually began to pay less attention again. Everyone wouldn't forget the old man's influence, but they all chose to wait and see what happened.

The Jin and Liao countries probably wouldn't fight again in the short term. Many people were thinking this.

The old man didn't talk about these things. Ning Yi came several times and only chatted about the weather and played chess, not talking about the situation. Sometimes he was teased by the old man about his relationship with Yun Zhu. This continued until one day at the end of April, when the weather was cool. The two played a game of chess in the Qin family's courtyard. Yun Zhu also came, bringing some wine and dishes from Zhuji to chat with Yunniang in the backyard.

"Speaking of which, Liheng, you're going to Hangzhou soon, right?"

"Yes."

"It's a bit hot to leave in May."

"I'll take a boat there, first to Yangzhou, and then down to Suzhou and Hangzhou."

"It's good that you don't get seasick." The old man smiled, then made a move, "Speaking of which, when you return to Jiangning, Liheng, I'm afraid I won't be living here anymore. This house... will probably be idle."

Ning Yi was stunned for a moment, then laughed, "After all, it's not a place to stay for a long time. Qin Lao's residence in the capital should be better than this, right?"

"Haha..." Perhaps his thoughts were revealed in a sentence, the old man laughed loudly, and then felt a bit melancholy, "People are not plants, how can they be without feelings? In eight years, I was originally prepared to grow old here."

"It's still early." Ning Yi smiled, picking up a chess piece in his hand. After a moment, he looked up and said, "Is there a war?"

The old man nodded.

"There's a war."

On an afternoon in April, the sky was sunny and warm, and the cool summer breeze blew through the forests inside and outside the city, and the leaves rustled, sounding like rapidly turning pages, but you couldn't see the person turning the pages. In the peaceful conversation, the northern horizon already faintly conveyed a bloody aura... (To be continued. Vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)