Regarding the Shandong camp, no one mentioned it again after that winter. Perhaps Qin Si-yuan knew about it, but he didn't bring it up with Ning Yi for discussion. As for Wang Shan-yue and Su Wen-yu, they buried the inside story and its impact in their hearts for a long time, only to bring it up again many years later.

During that winter, Ning Yi lived his simple life as usual, participating in training with his cousins every morning, and spending his days at home or going out with Tan'er, occasionally visiting Yun-zhu and Jin'er.

Amidst the heavy snows of winter, things in that large courtyard outside Bianliang City continued as planned. Ning Yi provided ideas as much as possible, supervised by several Su family relatives to cultivate their practical execution abilities. Although it seemed that everything was being done casually, in reality, it wasn't such a major matter for Ning Yi. All the threads were gradually forming order under this casual progress.

When a few small achievements appeared and several rewards were implemented, the artisans in the courtyard gradually understood what the master wanted and began to have some subjective initiative. Although this group of people might not have outstanding research abilities, what truly supports the operation of a large system is never one or two geniuses. As long as order can be formed, outstanding talents will eventually emerge.

What truly troubled Ning Yi were ultimately emotional issues. He wanted to make the best possible arrangements for Yun-zhu and Jin'er, but in fact, there was no perfect arrangement. He could manipulate human nature at will and do all sorts of terrible things to people he didn't care about. But for women who had gotten this close, the hearts were fragile, almost defenseless, and every step had to be taken carefully. He had considered marrying both Yun-zhu and Jin'er, but in fact, it would still cause harm among the four women around him, and marrying them might not really solve the problem.

And because of Yun-zhu's matter, he also felt guilty towards Tan'er and Xiao-chan. Even with his temperament and cultivation, he could restrain his emotions at will, but guilt still existed.

Having reached this point, he had become an indecisive person. Sometimes, looking at the snow scene at home, he couldn't help but mock himself and laugh. He would hug Ning Xi and say, "When you're chasing after a lot of girls in the future, don't be like this..."

As the end of the year approached, the capital was filled with a lively atmosphere, with various poetry gatherings, industry events, and countless activities in brothels, including the selection of courtesans. Talented scholars and courtesans gathered from all over the place, creating one scandalous news story after another. Although Ning Yi didn't participate much, Su Wen-ding and others naturally couldn't resist joining in the fun, and various romantic affairs in the city were often the topic of conversation in the Ning residence at night or in the morning.

Ning Yi disguised Tan'er and Xiao-chan as men and secretly went to two poetry gatherings, watching the gossip of those talented scholars and beautiful women from the side. Although they didn't participate in writing poetry, the family had a lot of fun messing around. After all, they were only in their early twenties. Ning Yi quite liked the girlish look on Tan'er's face when she was teased and couldn't express her anger.

Li Shishi had been quite busy recently.

As one of the most famous courtesans in the capital, the so-called New Year meant endless attendance at various gatherings that couldn't be refused. In order to have performances that she could be proud of at gatherings during the Lunar New Year's Eve and the Lantern Festival, she also had to take the time to consider numerous performance programs. Although everything was already familiar to her, she would occasionally fantasize about the New Year and celebrations of ordinary families, with family, parents, and so on sitting by the stove. Of course, when she came back to her senses, she would see the scene of "the sound of phoenix flutes moving, jade pots turning, and a night of fish and dragon dances."

This year was a peak year for her. The reason came from the gathering before the Dragon Boat Festival. The poetry manuscript given to her by Yao Zunian had too much power. After the release of poems like "I still remember the Pavilion by the Stream at dusk" and "Ode to the Knight Errant," her fame was raised to the highest point in the initial period.

Although there were inevitably doubts outside about whether these poems of different styles were written by one person, Ning Yi was not in the capital at that time, and Yao Zunian personally guaranteed it, which made this kind of discussion even more highlight Li Shishi's fame, making her undoubtedly the head of the courtesans in the capital.

It was only when the end of the year was approaching that a new problem was placed in front of her—at least in the eyes of others—the too high peak led to the fact that she could no longer surpass the glory of the middle of this year, unless she could find Zhou Bangyan or Ning Yi, who were already out of town, to write some more world-renowned works for her. Fortunately, her Mama, Li Yun, did not force her in this regard.

"The reputation is already big enough." After asking Shishi if she could visit Ning Yi again, she said, "But around the New Year, you still have to find people as usual, go to the door to say thank you, and the rest is your business."

Because Ning Yi's last visit was a bit hasty, Shishi didn't know his current residence, thinking that it was a bit rude. She actually had some small thoughts. She originally thought that if she could accidentally meet Ning Yi again on social occasions, the two sides would be more natural. If she specially visited, it would seem deliberate, and she was afraid that this friendship would change.

It's a pity that even though Ning Yi returned to Bianliang and did such a big thing as suppressing Liangshan, he was nowhere to be seen in social places like brothels, which made her a little regretful. Occasionally, she wondered what this strange childhood friend was doing in this lively city full of fireworks.

Sometimes she would hear some fragments about him at gatherings. Or when talking about poetry, or when talking about Liangshan, she would say that Ning Liheng was a guest of the Right Prime Minister's Mansion. And before the end of the year, Shishi finally heard specific news about the other party again.

The news came from an old musician named Nong Guyin.

This Nong Guyin was originally a courtesan in the brothel twenty years ago, with outstanding piano and opera skills. Later, she failed to marry, and when she got older, she removed herself from the register and lived in seclusion in Bianliang City, only repairing musical instruments and tuning for a few women in the brothel in her spare time. As the end of the year approached, Shishi sent the musical instrument to her. Although the trip was busy, the musical instrument had to match her hand feel, so she had to stay at the other party's house.

Although Nong Guyin was old, Shishi always envied her life like a hermit, and felt that if she was old, it would not be impossible to live like this. Nong Guyin would advise her to find a man to entrust her life to earlier, otherwise she would become as miserable as she was.

"I taught you to follow that Zhou Bangyan early, it's good to be a concubine, I don't understand what you women are thinking. Now your reputation is even bigger, who are you going to marry? It's too much for you to marry a family with fame and be a principal wife, and it's a pity to be a concubine, it's even more impossible to marry someone with no fame background."

The middle-aged woman shook her head, fiddling with the Guqin in her hand, while counting Li Shishi over there: "But speaking of which, you and that Ning Yi seem to have a good relationship. I think this man is okay, although he has wives and concubines, if you have the opportunity, you might as well follow him..."

Li Shishi smiled while holding a teacup: "Sister Nong, you don't know him."

"Who said I don't know him, I saw him a few days ago. Look, the stove over there for boiling water was made by him, it's very convenient." Nong Guyin smiled, "Besides, don't always call me sister, I'm already old and disfigured, I live alone, and my temper is strange..."

Shishi frowned and looked to the side, blinking her eyes: "He... what's the matter with coming to Sister Nong?"

"His concubine in the family is sick, and he accompanies her to relax everywhere. You know, few people come to me here, and I don't receive ordinary people. He came to me several times to ask, just because he heard that my piano art is good, and wanted me to play a song for his concubine. I haven't performed for strangers for a long time, so I had to agree after making things difficult for him several times... He really took a lot of trouble..."

Nong Guyin shook her head, and Shishi knew that although she was downplaying it now, the other party must have put in a lot of effort to impress her.

"Later, I had to play a song for them. That kid didn't understand music at all, and was absent-minded. Later, I even heard him say to his concubine, 'It's not very good,' which almost made me angry. But that concubine's piano art is really amazing, her name is Nie Yunzhu, and we have visited each other several times later..."

Nong Guyin said here, and the maid had already come to call Shishi away, so the topic stopped temporarily. When Shishi came over the next day, she asked about the whole story clearly, Nie Yunzhu's illness, Ning Yi's various arrangements, and even came to Nong Guyin to inquire about the secrets of making pianos.

"...It's really nonsense, how can you make a good piano without three or five years of work, he wants to make a piano by himself with a month's work, it's crooked and outrageous... But then again, after so many years in the brothel, there are not many men who have a seven-aperture exquisite heart and think about women all day long, but these people have too much powder gas. But this Ning Yi seems to be a person who does great things, but he can do this kind of thing, and he doesn't seem domineering, it's very rare..."

"...Later I met that Nie Yunzhu alone two or three times, and I heard that this person is not only like this to her, but also wholeheartedly cares for other wives and concubines in the family. That Nie girl said that she was a little worried that this Ning Yi had too many things on his back, and always wanted to take on everything for the people around him. She wanted to share it for him, but she didn't expect that it was still because of her physical problems that she became a burden to the other party, she felt very sorry... I have been in the brothel for many years, and this kind of thing is really rare. Men often like the new and hate the old, and women are just things to have fun with. When they like it, they naturally love it at will, and when they don't like it, they put it aside. If he thinks that having one more person around him is a responsibility, Shishi, you might as well marry him..."

After saying this, Shishi also laughed: "Sister Nong, you really misunderstood." She turned her head but was thinking about the relationship between Ning Yi and the women around him. She knew that Ning Yi had a principal wife, and that Nie Yunzhu was probably an outside room. On the other hand, she also knew that Ning Yi was a person who did great things, and had even overturned the entire Liangshan before. If the whole thing is really like what Sister Nong said, then what is the situation around Ning Yi now...

In any case, it makes people feel a little headache when they think about it.

Not long after, she saw Ning Yi again, it was already the spring of the eleventh year of Jinghan, at that time, many things happened in Ning Yi's seemingly plain home life, everything was unexpected when he returned to the capital to decide to do things...