Encountering Rain at West Lake

Rain fell, and as the carriage departed from the nearby street, the curtain was drawn back, and a gaze was cast back at the Su family mansion in the rainy night. All that could be seen were the two lanterns still lit under the eaves of the side gate. The rest was mostly the dark outline of the courtyard walls, with occasional glimmers of light rising from within. Xi Junyi sighed. Search: \(、Full、Book、God、Station、) to read fine literature for free.

"I knew you wouldn't listen, but..." he muttered, a smile appearing on his face, "Then don't say you weren't warned..."

Regarding the matter of the imperial merchant, after Ning Yi appeared, he still brought it up briefly. Of course, since he didn't know if Ning Yi was clear about the whole thing, his last words felt somewhat indirect. In any case, the message should have been conveyed. That was all he could do, all he should do, in front of Su Tan'er.

As the carriage departed, Ning Yi had already gone with Su Tan'er and Juan'er to a small courtyard not far away to await their meal. Ning Yi had long been aware of the palace intrigues, but he wasn't very clear about the details. He hadn't heard the first part of their conversation. He had only heard Su Tan'er talking about the state of the country and made a few teasing remarks. At this point, Su Tan'er smiled and chided, "Most of what I just said was actually what you casually discussed last time. Now you're saying I don't love my country... You're not a good person either."

"The context is different. You can't generalize," Ning Yi said, making up excuses with a smile in the heavy rain. Juan'er followed along behind them.

After being away for a few days, coming back felt much the same as before. Although his relationship with Xiao Chan seemed a little different, everyone still ate and talked together in the evening, chatting about the trip to Nanting Village. After Geng the guard and Dong Zhu left, Ning Yi and Su Tan'er returned to their small courtyard, holding umbrellas. Chan'er and Juan'er were busy boiling hot water for washing, while Xing'er was cleaning inside and out. Su Tan'er returned to her room and continued to work on the accounts she had been dealing with before Xi Junyi's visit.

The heavy rain had almost turned the courtyard into a surging stream. Ning Yi watched it for a while under the eaves, then looked up at the window of Su Tan'er's room across the way. The woman's figure was writing and calculating at the table by the window. It was indeed just like any other day. As he turned to go back to his room, he saw Juan'er standing behind him, holding a small basin of hot water.

Juan'er usually gave people a quiet impression, but she had a good relationship with Ning Yi. She smiled at him at this point. "Master, go to bed early tonight."

Ning Yi thought for a moment. "Huh?"

"The days Master wasn't here, Miss always stayed up very late. She's just clearing the accounts, but Xing'er and I can't persuade her to stop."

After she said this, she lowered her head slightly and walked away with the basin of water.

"Tsk." Ning Yi turned his head to look at the figure in the window, shrugged, "I can't persuade her either."

He read in his room for a while that night, calculating the time until around midnight, when the light across the way was still on. Ning Yi thought for a moment, put down his book, blew out the lamp, and went to bed. In the room across the way, Su Tan'er looked up at the dark room, her hand still turning the pages of the account book, her brow slightly furrowed.

She looked at it again, unable to resist glancing at the dark room. After a moment, she turned another page, then reached out and closed the entire account book.

That's enough. Time to turn off the lights and go to sleep, she thought.

In the maid's room on the side, Juan'er, wearing only a thin shirt, leaned out the window, looking at Ning Yi's window across the way, then turning her head to look at Su Tan'er's window. She sighed as she leaned on the windowsill. "Master is really amazing..."

After the last rustling sounds, the courtyard fell silent, with only the sound of the heavy rain continuing...

That same night, the capital of the Great Ming Dynasty, Tokyo, was without a single cloud. The night was bright and clear, and the waxing moon, like cool jade, shed its light. Stars dotted the sky, gathering into a vast Milky Way like a jade belt. The city under the night sky was still lively, with lights shining in markets, brothels, and houses large and small. The busiest Imperial Street led directly to the Xuande Gate, the main gate of the Imperial Palace. Looking from here, the wide street and the lights of the city illuminated the towering Imperial City.

Although the gates of the Imperial City were closed, the scene was the same every night. Few people knew that an extremely secret and important event was quietly taking place in the Imperial City this evening.

In the Zhongshu Menxia, some of the most influential ministers in the current court were gathered. Li Gang, Tong Guan, Wu Min, Tang Ke, Geng Nanzhong, Zhang Bangchang, Qin Hui, Gao Qiu, Zhou Zhi... Of course, these people held positions of varying importance and belonged to different factions. This was a break during a secret and important meeting. Groups of two or three gathered to the side, drinking tea, resting, and discussing matters in low voices. Though the voices were soft, their excitement was hard to contain.

"The Liao recently submitted a letter, requesting a renegotiation of the tribute, even offering to forgo the tribute in exchange for our Great Ming sending troops to attack the Jin together. I presume they've approached your channels as well?"

"Indeed. The Liao envoy asked me to say a few good words during court, offering many gifts. One incense burner was particularly valuable, the rest... well, nothing much..."

"The Liao are in a hurry. It's not easy to make them anxious..."

"When the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. I still believe we shouldn't send troops this time. The Jurchens are currently in the ascendant. Once they destroy the Liao, who knows if the next one won't be our Great Ming?"

"That's too alarmist. The Jurchens are too few. Once they destroy the Liao, their available troops will probably be no more than a hundred thousand. They'll have to maintain order. How can they launch a thousand-mile campaign to attack our Great Ming?"

"Zhong Shidao holds the same view. He told others that we shouldn't ally with the Jin to attack the Liao. We should ally with the Liao to attack the Jin, because the Liao has been a fraternal state with our Great Ming for a hundred years. Now, the Jin is a nation of tigers and wolves, and there's also Deng Xunwu..."

"Nonsense! Distant alliances and close attacks have always been the way. How can there be distant attacks and close alliances? The recovery of Yanyun is within sight, for hundreds of years. If we succeed, we... will all be immortalized in history..."

"Zhong Shidao is truly muddled..."

"The Liao's fate is sealed. We should act in accordance with destiny... The Great Ming will rise."

"It's a pity that Tong is about to leave the capital to deal with Fang La's rebellion..."

"A eunuch..."

"Shut up! Keep it down!"

The buzzing sounds of various discussions. But in any case, the proposal to ally with the Jin to attack the Liao, initially promoted by Tong Guan on the surface, had now passed the initial stage and entered the stage of detailed discussions.

The real foreshadowing may have been laid seven years ago with the Blackwater Alliance. Especially four years ago, when the Liao Emperor Tianzu personally led an army of 700,000 to attack the Jin, only to be almost completely annihilated by Wanyan Aguda's 20,000 warriors at Hubudagang. The call to ally with the Jin against the Liao had been growing in the country ever since. Although some people believed that the Great Ming should not participate in this war, or should ally with the Liao against the Jin, such as the famous general Zhong Shidao in the Northwest.

Perhaps Deng Xunwu, the Councilor of the Privy Council, had also made a suggestion to this effect, saying, "What 'annexing the weak and attacking the ignorant'? I think we should be supporting the weak and suppressing the strong. Everyone knows that the country's military strength is declining, its finances are depleted, and its people are exhausted, but no one dares to speak out. I don't understand: is it better to be neighbors with a strong Jin than with a weak Liao?" The King of Goryeo secretly sent a message saying, "Liao is a fraternal state. Preserving it can secure the border. Jin is a nation of tigers and wolves. It should not be befriended!"

Of course, this view was now in the minority. It had been over two hundred years since Shi Jingtang lost the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun. The temptation to recover Yanyun was something no emperor could resist.

Although the Liao, sensing the danger, had begun to seek help from the Great Ming, even offering to cancel the tribute as a condition to plead with the Great Ming to join them in resisting the Jin. But since a few years ago, the Great Ming had been sending people to contact the Jin by sea, back and forth several times. This time, the Jin sent several envoys, and finally there was a relatively definite answer. Next, they would discuss the terms of the negotiation, then send people over. They were roughly entering the stage of formal agreement.

The Jin envoy who came this time only expressed an inclination to agree. He did not have the authority to discuss and finalize each item. After the discussions were finalized here, they would have to send someone to the Jin to speak with Wanyan Aguda in person. While everyone was still discussing in the Imperial City, two members of the Jin delegation were drinking in a restaurant near Imperial Street. One was a middle-aged man in his early forties, and the other was only in his twenties. Both had the fierce aura of the Jurchens. The middle-aged man's gaze at the bustling street outside was somewhat complex. They seemed to be just attendants in the delegation, without much status. They had not entered the palace, but the meaning of their conversation was quite unusual.

"Now that Lord Gushen is here, why not simply show yourself and sign the agreement as soon as possible? That way, the Great Ming will send troops north, and those Khitan dogs will inevitably be overwhelmed, relieving some of our burden."

If someone who truly knew the Jin situation heard this address, they would probably be frightened by the words "Gushen." Gushen, son of Huandu, also known as Wanyan Xiyin, was Wanyan Aguda's most important strategist. He had participated in many major events since Aguda raised his army against the Liao. He was not only a great military strategist but also a famous scholar of the Jurchens. A few years ago, when Aguda became emperor, he believed that the Jurchens did not have their own script and had him create a Jurchen script. He created this script last year, imitating the Han Chinese regular script, and it was now being promoted within the Jin. At this moment, he looked at the lights outside and shook his head.

"Although we considered the assistance of the Great Ming at the beginning of our uprising, this matter was first proposed by the Great Ming. Since the Great Ming is seeking something from us, we naturally cannot appear too eager. I have come to the Central Plains to see the prosperity of the Great Ming, the scenery of Tokyo... What I have seen is already worth the trip. Look at the scenery of Tokyo, the five capitals of the Liao are still far inferior."

"Meiliye thinks it's too extravagant, soft, and without any fierceness. Lord Gushen, some people in the team who came with us this time said that the Great Ming, apart from its extravagance, has nothing else worth mentioning. They have been oppressed by the Liao for a hundred years without any achievements. Even if we ally with them, it may not be of much benefit. Although it may attract some attention, it's really dispensable. Even without them, our Jurchen soldiers can take down the Liao. Now they're just getting a piece of the pie for nothing..."

"Don't be arrogant." Wanyan Xiyin frowned. "The Great Ming occupies the land of the Central Plains, which is vast and rich in resources. Before our Jurchens appeared, the Han Chinese had lived here for thousands of years. Although they seem to have been oppressed by the Liao in recent years, if they were really that weak, wouldn't the Liao have annexed them long ago? How could they have allowed them to develop to this extent?"

He shook his head, but there was also some uncertainty in his eyes: "I have been studying Chinese characters and culture in recent years. The more I study, the more I admire its profound and unfathomable foundation. Meiliye, even His Majesty and the Second Regent, when talking about the Great Ming, have a sense of awe. The Central Plains nation cannot be underestimated. Once we join forces to conquer the Liao and share borders, we may become enemies. How can you underestimate your enemies?"

After saying these words, he turned his gaze back to the prosperous night scene outside. The young man named Meiliye pondered, if it were anyone else, he probably wouldn't be able to change his perceptions and ideas, but the Gushen in front of him was different. He not only had outstanding martial prowess, but also superior military strategy and wisdom. What he said must be reasonable.

Thinking so, Meiliye turned his gaze to the outside as well, and began to think about how powerful these Han Chinese really were.

Perhaps one day... they would meet on the battlefield.

He thought.

This night in Kaifeng, perhaps, would be remembered many years later, occupying a place in history books. Of course, it was just a small interlude in the many things that would happen in the years to come. People were all doing what they thought was right at the time.

The influence of Fang La and some of the righteous armies in the southeast of the Great Ming was beginning to spread widely. The Great Ming Imperial Preceptor Tong Guan, while advocating allying with the Jin to attack the Liao, was considering first suppressing these rebels with lightning speed and then sending troops north. The emperor was waiting to recover Yanyun and restore his homeland, and then slowly devote himself to governing. At this time, Wanyan Xiyin in Bianliang and Wanyan Aguda on the front lines of the anti-Liao war were both considering the assistance that the Great Ming's northern expedition would bring, as well as the future situation. The Jurchen population and army were too small. After taking the Liao, how would they maintain balance with the Great Ming and prevent themselves from being swallowed by the Great Ming...

Of course, Ning Yi knew none of these things.

He was sleeping. When he got up in the morning and saw that the heavy rain had stopped, he went for his usual run. During the run, he practiced internal energy according to the breathing methods taught by Lu Hongti. He went to Nie Yunzhu's small building, had a cup of tea, and talked. After all, it had been a few days since they had last met. After a brief greeting, the two sat quietly for a while. Nie Yunzhu was considering how to tell him that she had met the old Qin, who might become her adoptive father. As Ning Yi picked up the teapot to pour water for himself, a hand holding a teacup was also handed over from behind.

"Here, give me a cup too."

The woman's hand, white and small, Ning Yi paused slightly, poured into the cup, and then turned to look at the woman sitting on the steps two levels behind him, wearing what seemed to be Nie Yunzhu's dress, blowing on the teacup a few times, and slowly drinking it down.

They should already know each other. Nie Yunzhu turned back slightly surprised and opened her mouth, but for a moment she didn't know if it was necessary to introduce them. After a moment, Yuan Jin'er put down the teacup, smacked her lips, and found Ning Yi was still looking at her. She pouted her lips, glared at him, and leaned back. "Why are you staring at me?"

"Oh." Ning Yi blinked, nodded, then turned his face away to drink tea, no longer looking at her. After a moment, he shrugged. "Yesterday I saw a woman climb out of the river, and then there was heavy rain, completely drenched, cough, very drenched... shouldn't be you."

His tone was indifferent. Yuan Jin'er's eyes widened instantly. Nie Yunzhu "hm?"ed and turned to look at her. She still remembered the scene of Yuan Jin'er entering the door. Later, she took her to take a bath and she had already fallen asleep. In order to prevent her from catching a cold, she took off Jin'er's clothes herself and wiped her body for her.

Yuan Jin'er blinked her eyes and looked at Nie Yunzhu. "Of course it wasn't me!" Then, she pulled at the skirt and ran away. Nie Yunzhu was a little taller than her, and the skirt was a little longer. When she ran inside, she let out a "ah" and almost fell.

Nie Yunzhu smiled helplessly, turned to look at Ning Yi again. Ning Yi still had an indifferent expression as he drank tea, then glanced at her... then glanced at her again...

"Why are you looking at me like that? She already said it wasn't her!"

"...Lecher."

Nie Yunzhu picked up her teacup and turned her face to the side...

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