When she woke up again, it was already morning. The overcast sky suggested rain, and the weather felt a little stuffy. The figure of her husband was no longer by the window, and Xiao Chan had also gone to rest, replaced by Juan'er and Xing'er who were watching over her. According to Juan'er, the Old Master had come by earlier, but seeing that she was asleep, he signaled not to wake her. He merely casually inquired about the charts on the table, and learning that Ning Yi had made them, he didn't ask much, only telling them to let her rest well.

A single night wasn't enough to break the high fever. She drank another bowl of medicine, her head feeling heavy and her mouth full of bitterness. The anxiety in her heart remained. Even though Liheng had said those words yesterday, what would ultimately happen? She already knew to some extent, but her heart was unwilling. She had put in so much effort.

That figure wasn't in the room. Thinking of this, she felt a great emptiness in her heart, but she finally drifted back into a hazy sleep. This time, the sleep was unlike the one in the early morning. Nightmares came one after another, disturbing her peace. When she woke up again, it was probably past noon. Ning Yi was sitting in the chair by the window again, talking softly with Juan'er, who was standing beside him. They were likely discussing the account situation from the previous year, with Juan'er quietly explaining the reasons.

Xiao Chan came over and said, "Miss, you're awake?" Then Ning Yi and Juan'er also turned their heads.

Her body was very tired. She didn't want to talk much, didn't want to move, but Chan'er came over to prop her pillows higher, and Liheng's hand reached out to touch her forehead—aside from last night, they hadn't had such close contact before, but it felt natural. After testing the temperature of her forehead with his palm, the man nodded. "It seems a little better. Let's call Doctor Sun over in a bit." Then he said something incomprehensible like "Yesterday it was probably forty degrees."

Xiao Chan went out and brought a bowl of porridge, "forcing" her to drink a few small mouthfuls of plain porridge. Soon after, Doctor Sun also arrived, asking about her condition. Xiao Chan occasionally said a few words, and Liheng continued to look at the accounts at the table, recording things, only occasionally speaking. She lay there watching the comings and goings of people, and sometimes it was just her and Ning Yi alone in the room. The back view at the table seemed quick and decisive, methodical, giving her a strange feeling, very calming.

In the evening, the sky darkened, and it started to rain outside the window. Fresh air drifted into the room, carrying an earthy scent.

She only occasionally fell asleep, then woke up again. Liao Zhanggui and the others didn't enter the manor this day, and in the rain, there weren't the restless lights of the past few days. What were they doing? Had there been any changes in the business situation? Occasionally, she thought about it in her heart. Only Ning Yi, Chan'er, Juan'er, and Xing'er were with her in the room. Several sheets of xuan paper were hung on the walls, and Liheng occasionally glanced at them, adding a strange, inexplicable color to the quiet scene.

Although her bedroom often dealt with business matters, making it seem more grand compared to the bedrooms of ordinary young ladies, it still had many of the things and decorations that girls liked. The addition of these xuan papers immediately broke the atmosphere. The room was mostly quiet, with Chan'er, Juan'er, and Xing'er speaking softly to her and Liheng. Their comings and goings were also gentle, blending into the rain. Liheng's busyness and focus had its own rhythm, and only brought a quiet power.

It was not until this night that she once again clearly recalled the thought from the early morning: Her husband was a scholar, even the most talented scholar in Jiangning.

Years ago, before she was married, when she was still a girl, she had looked forward to these things, and had fantasized more than once about marrying a talented scholar in the future. Even though she was the daughter of a merchant, her family was, after all, a large merchant, and there was no lack of such opportunities.

After she understood the ways of the world, these thoughts lessened, but the longing was definitely still there. The stories of talented scholars and beautiful women that were passed around in Jiangning, the later rise to fame of Cao Guan, Li Pin, and others, and the rumors of competitions at poetry gatherings and banquets, she was very interested in inquiring about them. Even though she later went to Puyuan Poetry Meeting mostly to talk business, hearing about other poetry gatherings and seeing many good poems could make her feel that it was worthwhile. This seemed to be something from another world, but it didn't prevent her from liking and longing for it.

Then, life was still life. She got married according to the planned schedule, took in a son-in-law, who was said to be a scholar, but not a talented one. He could only be said to be a bookworm. Life was still life. She could still long for the stories of those great poets and talented men, but when her own husband seemed not as dull as she had expected, when certain things began to overlap, she felt a little at a loss.

Her husband was called the number one talent in Jiangning by some people. What should she do? She couldn't feel the symbols that a great talent or writer should have here—in the storybooks and operas she had heard and seen, it was clearly stated that a great talent should use classical Chinese and quote scriptures. Even in slightly unconventional legendary novels, they should casually display their talent. He should be the center and symbol wherever he went, making him unapproachable. She had once longed to marry a great talent, and it should be "Husband, you've worked hard," "Thank you for your concern, wife"—in short, as formal and distant as on the stage. But if there was no distance, what should happen?

Simple and casual speech in ordinary times, without arrogance or boasting, humorous and witty, but this person was called the number one talent. She would look at those two poems from time to time. Between them, it wasn't like ordinary couples, sometimes it was almost like friends—she had never heard of such good friends, they went upstairs to the second floor every few days to talk, about anything. Could there be such friends between men and women? In some storybooks, there were often women disguised as men and then befriending others, but she hadn't disguised herself. But were there such couples? It seemed she had never heard of it either.

She actually liked this feeling, liked it to the point that... she didn't know how to change it, or how to take it a step further. But the understanding that her husband was a great talent had always been somewhat vague in her mind. Until now, it became clear.

From afternoon to evening, she heard her husband ask a few questions in a soft voice, all of which were the most critical points in the accounts of the past few years. Her husband was a smart man. He was doing these things seriously. Su Tan'er soon understood this, but even the most talented person was powerless to do anything about it. Her husband was a great talent, and she was just the daughter of a merchant. These things were supposed to be done by her, and she had been working hard to do them well, trying not to let her husband feel annoyed or disturbed by these things, but in the end, she had still dragged him into it...

What the result would be was unimportant here. Her husband couldn't do this well. He said, "I will definitely do it well," to reassure her, but these things couldn't be solved by determination alone. In any case, after letting him come in as a son-in-law, these things had ultimately affected him...

She thought about these things in her heart, sleeping and waking up intermittently. By midnight, the rain was still falling, but the night seemed quiet. The light of the oil lamp flickered. In the room, only Liheng's back was sitting on the chair. He was looking at letters to and from shopkeepers in various places. Noticing the movement behind him, he turned his head, then put down the letter, got up and came over.

"Awake? Want some water?"

"Mmm..." Su Tan'er nodded slightly.

Ning Yi propped the pillows higher, poured a cup of warm water from the side, and fed her a few small sips. "Xing'er and Juan'er are asleep. Xiao Chan was also very tired today, so I lied to her to go rest for a while, but it's best if you're awake when you take the medicine later. Uh, if you want to..." Ning Yi looked at her hesitantly, then got up. "I'll go call Xiao Chan."

There was a reason for Ning Yi's hesitation. During the day, he had deliberately disappeared several times, mainly to give her time to get out of bed and take care of things. Although she had a severe cold, she still had the strength to get out of bed, and she wasn't really paralyzed in bed. These private matters were hard to talk about. If it were in normal times, Su Tan'er's face would have turned red, but at this time she was only slightly embarrassed. Seeing Ning Yi about to leave, she said, "Husband... there's no need..." When Ning Yi stopped, she said softly, "Husband is really not shy..." Of course, if he completely avoided it or didn't think about these things at all, she would probably be the one who was upset.

Ning Yi smiled. "Feeling better?"

"Better..."

"The fever will probably take two or three more days to break." Ning Yi looked at her a few times. There were many things he could say, but in the end he shook his head. "You're feeling uncomfortable, I won't bother you. Tell me if you want to eat something or have anything else."

He took a letter and sat down in the chair not far away. The room fell silent. The autumn rain outside had long become the background. Su Tan'er looked at that figure for a long time, and finally said, "Husband... why did you agree to this marriage?"

They had had similar conversations before, but at this time, the question was obviously different. Ning Yi put down the letter, looked at Su Tan'er on the bed, and after a long while, he shook his head with a smile. "I thought about talking to you about these things, but... maybe in a few days, when you're a little more awake? You don't look well now."

"This concubine is fine. I want to... want to know." Su Tan'er spoke slowly. "So Husband also wants to talk about it?"

"It's not about why I agreed to this marriage." Ning Yi put the letter aside, moved the chair to the bedside, and sat down. "Before... I actually already said it, I don't know why I agreed to this marriage, I lost my memory. What I want to say isn't what happened before I lost my memory, but... what happened after."

"What happened after?"

Ning Yi looked at her for a long time, sighed, then smiled. "Are you sure you want to hear these things now?"

Su Tan'er also tried to smile. "If I don't listen, this concubine won't be able to sleep..."

"Okay." Ning Yi nodded. Since Su Tan'er's mental agility was probably limited at this time, he didn't speak too fast, and sometimes repeated himself. "Actually, it's a simple matter. If I don't say it now, I'll definitely say it one day... A man named Ning Yi married a woman named Su Tan'er, as a live-in son-in-law, so that's how we met... These are already facts, don't think about it, whether it's fate or a twist of fate, anyway, it's the two of us... You are a part of such a thing. What do you think?"

Su Tan'er frowned and thought, not quite understanding the meaning of what Ning Yi was saying. "This concubine... this concubine is very happy..."

Ning Yi patted her hand, paused slightly. "What others say is empty, what talent, what live-in son-in-law... Anyway, things are already like this, life is simple. As for me, I don't have many opinions about being a live-in son-in-law. As for you, I don't dislike you... no, rather, I like you, your business acumen, your personality, you are very strong, but it's good. I like this kind of personality, and moreover, you're quite beautiful..."

Ning Yi rested his chin on one hand by the bed, his words calm and peaceful, as if he was saying whatever came to mind. Su Tan'er was suddenly caught off guard. Even in her weak state, a blush rose on her face, and she stammered shyly: "Husband, Husband, do you really... like me?"

"Yes, I like you."

"But... but, this is not the personality of a proper lady... A woman's lack of talent is a virtue, women... shouldn't be like this, they all say... that... men won't like this..." She spoke incoherently for a while, and the sick Su Tan'er didn't forget to emphasize some things with her eyes. After a moment, she became dejected. "I... I'm not worthy of Husband..."

"You're still so argumentative at this time. In other people's eyes, I'm just a kept man. You're more capable than many men..."

"Husband is not incompetent..."

Ning Yi smiled. "At this time, there's no need to keep putting yourself down. These things are not important, and arguing until tomorrow won't change anything... Anyway, it's just about us. I'm not dissatisfied with my life. I also like you, like this courtyard, Chan'er, Juan'er, Xing'er, and so on. There are some boring people around, doing boring things all day long, but in general, it's okay to live like this, it's pretty good. So, I wanted to talk to you about this."

He held Su Tan'er's somewhat weak hand in his, her fingers were round and slender, very beautiful. He played with it in his hand, then settled down. "If you don't have too much dissatisfaction either, then maybe we'll just live like this in the future... No matter how things were arranged before, anyway, things are already like this, there's no need to consider why it's like this, anyway, I don't dislike it, that's it..."

He pulled Su Tan'er's hand, waiting for a response. For Ning Yi, this was perhaps a more important decision. When he first woke up, he had been prepared to leave at any time. Later, he had just been observing the situation, but now, some things could probably be confirmed. There was no need to think about those overly romantic factors. In any case, since they had the title of husband and wife, and since he didn't dislike Su Tan'er's personality, and they got along fairly well, whether or not to change it didn't matter. Next, it would just be life.

Su Tan'er looked at him, blinking her eyes, and blinking again. Her eyes reddened, and tears flowed down. She pursed her lips tightly, unable to speak. Ning Yi waited for a long time before lowering his head and smiling. "No matter what, you have to say something..."

"Husband..." Su Tan'er's lips moved. "After this matter, when Tan'er feels better, we..." Her voice was choked and slightly hoarse, but her gaze was firm. In the rainy night, she paused slightly, and sniffed.

"Let's consummate our marriage..."

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

It was really not easy for her to say this... (To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please log in for more chapters, support the author, and support genuine reading!)

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