The sounds of carriages and horses echoed from afar. Behind the warehouse, dappled shadows danced in the alleyways, where two figures sat, each with a bowl of cold jelly, eating slowly. Search: \(?Complete? Book? Divine? Station) to read excellent literature for free.

"I have to check on the stores in Jiangning City every day. My father used to bring me along, saying that if you really want to manage these things, you have to put in a lot of effort to understand everything you need to know. Now, not many of the young masters at home can really manage the stores well, but I can. I can handle any task the shopkeepers have..."

Across the low wall, the trees, the ditch, one could vaguely see the bustling scene of the market. Ning Yi had been wandering around after class this afternoon, and now they were sitting in the back, eating cold jelly and chatting leisurely. Su Tan'er didn't usually eat snacks, but now she was like she was on the second-floor corridor of the small building at night, holding a small bowl and talking about all sorts of things, from the origins of the Liuxian skirt to the proportions of various dyes.

"The *Xijing Zaji* records that the Liuxian skirt originated with Zhao Feiyan. Before the Western Han Dynasty, skirts didn't have these kinds of pleats. But it's said that once, when Zhao Feiyan was dancing, a palace maid pulled her skirt, creating wrinkles. It looked even better when she danced, and later the women in the palace all imitated it. However, the pleats on the skirts at that time weren't like they are now. During the Tang Dynasty, there was a beautiful pattern that required seven more processes than the current skirts, but it was a bit troublesome to wear..."

"The white and blue of today's clothes aren't simple colors either. This white is very difficult to dye; it takes twenty-three steps. The dye used is very special, without sulfur or lime... Blue is easier to dye, but this is a color between teal and sapphire blue, using very expensive dark blue starstone, like the kind used on the screen on the second floor at home. If it's used for eyebrow powder, it's even more expensive. There's one in An'nan Fang, a very small box costs fifteen strings of cash..."

When Su Tan'er was at home, she mostly talked about everyday matters, gossiping about her silly cousins or scolding business partners, appearing a bit mischievous while eating. But now, she was only talking about things related to printing, dyeing, weaving, and clothing. She could talk eloquently about anything Ning Yi was wearing, pointing to it at random. It wasn't like she was reciting from a book; she genuinely understood these things and had spent a great deal of effort on them. Ning Yi held his half-empty bowl of cold jelly, listening to this nineteen-year-old woman, who was nominally his wife, talk about these things, and found it quite interesting.

The unloading in the warehouse continued. Xin Shi, and the streets near the warehouse seemed to be filled with noise. Xing'er ran over and said that there was a fight in front, a gang fight or something. Su Tan'er only turned her head to look at Ning Yi and smiled: "Fights happen here often; sometimes people die. Let's not go watch..."

There was a hint of entreaty in her words. Ning Yi nodded: "Yeah, lest we get caught in the crossfire." Xing'er looked at the atmosphere and ran away with a smile. Su Tan'er then shouted inside: "Don't get hurt."

On one side, there was the indistinct sound of chaotic fighting, and on the other, the busy clatter of carts and horses. The two sat in this back alley, chatting, listening to the cicadas of autumn, and watching the dappled light and shadows falling from the trees. The sounds seemed to become distant. The cold jelly wasn't very tasty. Su Tan'er took a sip and held the bowl in her hand without touching it. A leaf fell into the bowl. She just looked at it, and after a long time, she scooped it out with a spoon, spilling a spoonful of sugar water on the ground.

"It's been a long time since we've had such a leisurely day. If the city gates are closed, I'm afraid we'll be even busier."

"Wouldn't closing the city gates make it more leisurely?" Ning Yi took another spoonful of the half-bowl of cold jelly he had been holding.

"The city gates were closed for a month a few years ago. I was still young then, but I felt stifled." Su Tan'er looked at him. "Husband, have you forgotten even that?"

"I don't remember."

"What kind of person was my husband before? I can't figure it out..."

"Probably a bookworm, maybe a very dull one, or maybe no different from now... Uh, what are you thinking with that look?"

"I used to watch you, with Xiaochan and Xiaojuan, and ask around to find out what kind of person you were." Su Tan'er thought for a moment and smiled. "At that time, everyone did say you were a bookworm. I secretly watched you once, from a distance. I saw you from afar, but couldn't go up and talk to you, so I don't know what you were like then... You were walking with your head down, not knowing that Xiaochan and I were in the carriage not far away, lifting the curtain to look at you."

The sound of screams came from afar, shouts of "Murder!" and the like, almost like a chaotic background noise. Ning Yi thought for a moment, smiled, and didn't speak. Su Tan'er tilted her head: "Husband, are you angry?"

"No, I just think things are interesting."

Su Tan'er nodded and smiled knowingly: "I also think it's interesting." There seemed to be a slight sigh in her words, and her mood was a little complicated. Of course, that complexity might be different from what Ning Yi felt in his heart.

Soon after, the yamen's constables came and dispersed the fight in front, probably arresting some people. As evening approached, Ning Yi and Su Tan'er passed through the warehouse to the front gate. The street had returned to its normal bustling state, with pedestrians coming and going.

The workers carrying goods were bustling around, and the shop managers were shouting orders, directing work as usual. As they passed the warehouse, a small incident occurred.

There was a wooden架 (jià, frame) that didn't seem very stable. It shook a few times as the two of them passed. Because a worker on the opposite side was loading large items, he probably couldn't control it for a moment. The rack was about to collapse. Ning Yi saw it and wanted to reach out to steady it, but Su Tan'er, who was walking slightly ahead and looking at the loading on the other side, probably noticed it, and almost at the same time waved her hand and took a step back, trying to push Ning Yi away.

This may have been a subconscious action, because she didn't even have time to say a word. She ultimately stopped Ning Yi for a moment, and he couldn't completely support a large bag in front. White cotton yarn bobbins fell out of the bag, all light things. One of them hit Su Tan'er on the head. Su Tan'er narrowed her eyes and shrank her neck, then lightly exclaimed, "Ah..." Then she said, "Husband..." Chest to back, the two were almost leaning against each other like this. After a moment, Ning Yi took a step back.

Even if a whole bag of cotton yarn bobbins fell and hit someone, it probably wouldn't be a big deal, but the subconscious blocking action that backfired made Ning Yi find it a bit funny—a hidden assertiveness. Not long after, Ning Yi said with a smile, "Do you know that it would be troublesome if something else had fallen from above?" Su Tan'er just tilted her head and smiled faintly: "I only went over because I saw that it was cotton yarn bobbins."

"Oh." Ning Yi nodded, then smiled again, "Backfired..."

"I know..." Su Tan'er made a slightly embarrassed expression.

It was just a small incident. After tidying up her slightly disheveled hair, it seemed to have passed just like that.

As the sun set, after saying a few words to Shopkeeper Liao, Su Tan'er and Ning Yi found Juan'er and Xing'er, picked up several boxes of various sizes, and prepared to board the carriage to go home. The people still working hard at the pier would probably have to work until around midnight before they could rest.

The time was approaching the middle of the seventh month. On the way back to the Su residence, they could see many stalls selling paper, bamboo, and ghost money. Now that disaster victims were coming, there were also many pedestrians with looks of misery on their faces, beggars and vagrants on both sides of the road. After returning to the Su residence, there were many unfamiliar faces in the large mansion. Just as they entered the gate, more than a dozen people waiting in the gatehouse came over to talk to Su Tan'er. Su Tan'er also smiled and nodded to each of them, greeting them. Ning Yi accompanied her, and soon, Xiaochan, who had probably been busy all day, ran out of the courtyard gate on the sunset side, waving her hand with a smile, then quietly squeezed into the crowd, moving silently behind Su Tan'er.

On the way back to the courtyard, Xiaochan had to chatter and report on some of the situations at home, which relative had encountered what difficulty. Some of these were closely related to the First Branch, or were handled by Su Boyong, or had to be settled by Su Tan'er. It was said that a distant cousin had been wandering around Jiangning City these past few days and had caused trouble at a gambling den today. He was detained. His mother wasn't comfortable asking Su Boyong for help, and hearing that Su Tan'er was always easy to talk to, she had come to ask for help. Su Tan'er had to frown and ask about the amount of money involved, then asked Xiaochan to find Sun Huyuàn (孙护院), a security guard in the mansion who was relatively good at handling such matters.

Similar things happened often, especially these days, and it wasn't just one or two things. Before dinner, Sun Er, the security guard named Sun, came over, learned about the specific situation from Su Tan'er, took a silver note, and went out. Before dinner, Su Tan'er also went to her father's place once. After dinner, as night fell, there were various people visiting, relatives from near and far. After these people had mostly left, Su Tan'er could return to her room to deal with some documents and accounts that needed to be processed.

Many times, Ning Yi actually found this kind of busyness interesting. For people with real intentions and goals—like Su Tan'er—this little bit of busyness didn't usually cause her too much trouble. Watching her skillfully handle these things, Ning Yi would occasionally think of his past self. But these past few days had ultimately been a bit of an overload.

Preparing for the ancestral rites on the middle of the seventh month, arranging and dealing with some of the First Branch relatives' affairs, the impending closure of the city gates, and most importantly, probably the progress of the Imperial Merchant affair. This day, at midnight, the light from Su Tan'er's room hadn't gone out. Ning Yi read a book for a while, then went out to the courtyard for a walk. The autumn night was cool. He had recently been practicing the Qigong breathing method taught to him by Lu Hongti. He hadn't yet seen any results in terms of destructive power, but his spirit was good. He walked to the corridor under the eaves of Su Tan'er's room and stopped, sighing slightly.

The window of Su Tan'er's bedroom was open, and the desk was placed in front of the window. The light of the oil lamp flickered slightly on the desk. In the warm yellow light, Su Tan'er was lying on several sheets of letter paper, already asleep, her hair slightly disheveled.

Ning Yi stood in front of the window and watched for a while, then blew out the oil lamp on the desk. The window darkened, and the bright moonlight shone on this courtyard. Just as he was about to turn around and leave, he seemed to have sensed the change in light and heard a "Mmm" sound from behind. Ning Yi turned back. Su Tan'er was also struggling to sit up over there, rubbing her eyes sleepily, then sniffing and looking out the window.

In the moonlight, there was a somewhat plain eye contact. Su Tan'er's eyes seemed to have a light in the darkness, but they weren't opened very wide, with a bit of laziness and confusion: "Uh... Husband..."

In the moonlight, it was a low murmur like that of a little girl...

***********

Chapter 100. The transformer explosion in the community this afternoon delayed me for a few hours, but I finally managed to get it out at the last moment of this month ^_^ (To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please log in , more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)

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