The carriage entered the Su residence through the side gate, coincidentally encountering Second Uncle and his entourage returning home, tipsy from drinking. They inquired about Su Tan'er's experiences that evening, asking if she had enjoyed the poetry gathering. Su Tan'er responded with her usual composure.

At this time, various poems were still circulating throughout the city. "Shuidiao Getou" was undoubtedly an excellent piece, but it wouldn't cause a sensation or earn the reputation of being the best of the night just yet. The reprimands from Kang Xian at the Zhishui Poetry Gathering hadn't yet spread. In the eyes of ordinary people, top-tier poems were generally indistinguishable. To the average person, this poem was certainly good, but compared to Cao Guan, Li Pin, and others, it was perhaps only on par. Or, due to the previous reputations of these talented scholars, they might even consider "Shuidiao Getou" slightly inferior. Only those truly learned and erudite could clearly perceive the enduring depth and return to simplicity of this poem, and feel the distance.

Su Zhongkan had spent the evening discussing business with people and indulging in wine and courtesans. He didn't care much about poetry, so news about Ning Liheng hadn't reached his ears. After a few words of greeting, uncle and niece parted ways on the road. Su Tan'er and her four servants returned to their courtyard. Except for the large lanterns outside the courtyard gate, which were still lit, the courtyard was quiet, with only the moon's silvery light spilling down.

Su Tan'er glanced towards the darkness of the second-floor room. Xiao Chan asked, "Miss, should we wake up Master..."

"No, he's already asleep. Don't wake him. Chan'er, fetch some warm water. Xing'er, Juan'er, you should go to bed early... Chan'er, if you still have energy, could you tell me the story Master told you again?"

Chan'er nodded with a smile, and Juan'er and Xing'er also eagerly raised their hands.

"Miss, Miss, we're not sleepy."

"We want to hear it too."

She glared at the two maids good-naturedly, then laughed, "Then come along. Speaking of which, it's been a long time since I've heard any stories."

"I remember when Miss used to hold a book and tell us stories when we were little..."

"Yes, yes, I remember..."

The girls chattered excitedly. Su Tan'er went upstairs, and Juan'er and Xing'er helped Chan'er heat the warm water, carrying a wooden basin and towels up with them.

In the distance, the city lights gradually quieted down a bit. In the tranquil courtyard, warm yellow light flickered in the windows of the second floor, reflecting the silhouettes of the mistress and servants chatting and laughing in the room.

No one knew how long had passed, but the night grew much deeper. The three maids finally came out of the room, closed the door, and went downstairs. Back in her own room, Chan'er closed the door and leaned against it gently, holding her hands to her chest. She looked up and took a deep breath, her pure little face filled with complex expressions: happiness, confusion, fear, anticipation, and many others.

Su Tan'er had taught her many things, so in her heart, she was not purely simple. She also had her own little thoughts, but these little thoughts were always for the people and things she cared about, such as Miss, the Su family, and now Ning Liheng.

In the past, she could argue with Old Qin at the chess stall for the sake of the Su family. During this time, she got along with Ning Yi, who was detached in nature but also had a humorous side. When he did things—although he didn't do anything serious—he seemed to do them with ease and without worry. He was also kind to her, so she naturally liked him.

On the other hand, she not only liked Miss but also felt gratitude, a desire to repay her, and various other emotions. In short, she liked her very, very much. She understood Miss's past troubles and knew what Miss liked. Now that she had discovered that Master was not the bookworm she had heard of before, she naturally considered the marriage between him and Miss. If they liked each other and naturally came together, that would be the best. All she had to do was let Miss see and know about Master, and let Master know about Miss's good qualities—this was her job as a personal maid.

She knew that Miss liked poetry, but the poems Master had written before were nothing to show off. Sometimes, she even thought that Master was deliberately joking when he wrote those things. Tonight, seeing Master compose that "Shuidiao Getou," she wasn't learned, but she could still feel the goodness of the words. As if she had discovered a treasure, she took the poem to the Puyuan Poetry Gathering, intending to find a time to show it to Miss. Then, seeing Xue Jin come over and understanding what might be discovered, she naturally pushed the poem out. In any case, this poem should be very good, and shouldn't bring down their standing.

She just didn't expect that, in the eyes of those people, this poem would be so good.

If she had had an accurate idea beforehand, she would never have taken the poem out so rashly. Now it seemed that wanting to show Miss Master's talent had backfired—it seemed that even Miss was frightened. She looked a little unprepared on the boat, so she felt a little guilty. Originally, she just wanted to prepare a little surprise, but who knew the surprise would be too big and scare herself as well...

Ah, how could it be like this...

The lamplight flickered weakly. Xiao Chan, not very sleepy, sat at the table, supporting her chin and thinking worriedly. On her hand was the original manuscript of "Shuidiao Getou" that Ning Yi had written for her, so she read it again several times.

Master, it's good that you have talent, but you don't need to have it to this extent... What am I going to say to you about these things tomorrow...

It's definitely Master's fault.

She pouted, and gently poked the rice paper twice with her finger. When she saw the last sentence, her face gradually turned red again. Then, she carefully folded the paper again and put it back into the bottom drawer.

She blew out the oil lamp. The little girl, whose face was getting hotter and hotter, groped her way to bed...

"A shared moon a thousand miles away... Hehe..."

*****************

In the early morning, white mist filled Jiangning City again, and the bright sun was rising from above the mist, bursting forth with magnificent dawn light.

Waking up, Ning Yi felt refreshed and almost fully recovered. After another day of rest and consolidation, he could go to school tomorrow. For today, he could get some wooden training dummies and sandbags from the guards. This body had been weak for many years, and it wouldn't do without a thorough workout.

The steward in charge of the guards seemed to be surnamed Zhang. According to the atmosphere he felt in the Su family now, Su Old Master was relatively caring. He just needed to consider whether bringing wooden training dummies and sandbags into the courtyard would be too much of a shock to Su Tan'er and the others. It was one thing for a weak scholar like him to run around, but if he suddenly said he wanted to practice martial arts, they would probably think he was crazy.

He had to let them accept that he was a little different, but he had to take it slowly. This might be a little too fast, he weighed these things in his mind idly. Later, while drinking rice porridge together during breakfast, he felt that Su Tan'er seemed to be looking at him all the time, her eyes a little strange.

After a few casual glances, Ning Yi put down his bowl and chopsticks and looked at his wife with a puzzled expression: "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Su Tan'er smiled slightly and shook her head, "I just think you look very energetic this morning, husband."

"Oh, the illness should be gone, cough... my throat still feels a little dry, but it will definitely be fine after today, and I can go to the academy."

"It's good that you're feeling better. In these few days, you might be very busy, husband."

"Busy?"

"Yes." Su Tan'er nodded, not explaining further, and began to sip her porridge in a very ladylike manner. Puzzled, Ning Yi thought that the smile on the corner of her mouth was somewhat similar to the Mona Lisa's smile...

What was she referring to? Was the academy going to add work for me? Ning Yi speculated on the possible meaning of her words in his mind. It wasn't until he finished drinking porridge and returned to the room, and Xiao Chan timidly came over and explained what happened last night, that he finally accurately grasped the emotions contained in her eyes.

"I'm, I'm sorry, Master, Xiao Chan originally just wanted... just wanted to show it to Miss, but that Xue Jin was really hateful..."

Ning Yi listened to her in a somewhat dumbfounded manner. Then, his expression calmed down, and after thinking for a moment, he smiled amusingly.

"Oh, it's okay, it's not a big problem."

Seeing that he wasn't angry, Chan'er nodded happily: "That's right, Master's talent..." *Bang*, Ning Yi's finger flicked her forehead.

"Who said I have talent? Don't say that to people in the future."

"...Oh." The little girl hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"In that case, I won't go out today." Ning Yi thought for a moment and laughed, "It seems I need to be sick for a few more days..."

Sunlight shone in through the window. Ning Yi picked up a storybook and walked back to the bed, preparing to feign illness and stay in bed. After a moment, he waved to Xiao Chan, who finally put down the apprehension in her heart and carried the Go box and the small table for playing Gomoku from the corner of the room, happily running over...

Last night was Mid-Autumn Festival, and some people stayed up late, so most people woke up a little later this morning. Jiangning City recovered its usual prosperity about half an hour later than usual. It wasn't until after noon that the events of last night's Zhishui Poetry Gathering, mixed with other news about poetry, gradually spread widely. The influence of this "Shuidiao Getou" also began to cause a sustained shock and wave in Jiangning City in the following days, and continued to expand as time went on...