After the Su family's eldest son and the designated successor, the second young mistress, both fell ill, the live-in son-in-law began to manage the Su family's business. This was a major event in the Su family recently.

It was probably impossible for the other two branches of the Su family not to feel a bit of schadenfreude over Su Boyong's assassination and Su Tan'er's illness. The news of Su Tan'er's illness had not yet spread outside the family, but most of the family members already knew about it. Public opinion was wondering how the already weak eldest branch would cope with the current situation, or saying that Su Tan'er's previous performance was just that of a woman, unable to shoulder the heavy burden. In any case, while everyone was watching, Ning Yi was pushed forward to temporarily take charge, which immediately caused a lot of discussion.

Given his live-in status, in other families, ridicule and abuse would probably have erupted immediately. But at least this son-in-law was different. Since entering the family, he had repeatedly overturned people's perceptions. Originally, he was thought to be just a simple bookworm, but who knew he was so talented? Whether it was poetry or teaching, his talents had been verified over the past year. Family members often mentioned it with admiration for the old master's vision, believing that he had been the one to push the matter through, and that the old master must have known that this bookworm was not simple.

Now that such a situation had arisen, he was finally pushed out by the eldest branch. The family members were taking a wait-and-see attitude, whether it was Wen Xing and Wen Ji from the second and third branches, or some relatives and friends who were originally close to the eldest branch, all quietly watching to see if he was equally deeply hidden in this area. Was the old master really so powerful and biased, finding Su Tan'er a husband who was both talented in literature and business, even in the form of a live-in son-in-law?

This silence lasted for about three days before turning into a burst of laughter.

Despite his amazing poetic talent, this Ning Yi was, after all, an amateur in business, and just a bookish one at that.

It was obvious that he sincerely wanted to do things well, but his way of doing things was indeed a bit clumsy. For several days in a row, he went to several shops and warehouses in the city by carriage every morning in a similar manner - probably after inquiring about what Su Tan'er did every day, so he copied her actions.

In fact, with the Su family's foundation, the shops all had trustworthy people in charge, and the boss didn't need to run around every day. Su Tan'er did that to prepare for taking over the entire Su family in the future, so she was extremely demanding of herself. Su Tan'er could replace and solve any problems that occurred in the shops, but after Ning Yi's behavior continued for a few days, although he only looked around and tried not to speak, some seemingly casual questions came out, and others could probably see through his pretense.

After all, there was too much difference between insiders and outsiders. When it came to professional matters, Ning Yi's questions might be simple, but they became laughable in the eyes of insiders. For example, Wen Xing and Wen Ji might not be able to manage the shops well, but they were familiar with the cloth business. These two days, they had been laughing about an incident that happened at the cloth shop because Ning Yi mistook some fragrant herbs used for storing cloth for dyeing materials. When he went to the warehouse to inspect, he very kindly asked a shop assistant to take a bag and sweep the scattered "dye" back, so as not to waste it. The shop assistant was extremely embarrassed, and this matter spread throughout the Su residence in less than a day.

Later, what Ning Yi said to the shopkeepers that morning also came out. Focusing on the imperial merchant route was probably Su Tan'er's idea, and it was not wrong. But the words that came out of Ning Yi's mouth seemed impassioned, and while good things were good things, they were actually full of idealistic bookishness. Even the shopkeepers of the eldest branch would shake their heads after repeating them. It couldn't be said that they were completely wrong, but to say that having good things meant having everything was really... only bookishness could describe it.

This live-in son-in-law didn't understand business, that was certain - not many people originally thought he "might understand," and after a few days, it was just a confirmation.

However, although Ning Yi made some small blunders in the first few days of taking over the Su family's eldest branch's business, becoming a topic of conversation after meals, one thing was finally done. The shopkeepers of the eldest branch had begun to do their best to publicize the preparations they had made for the imperial merchants in recent years. Regardless of what Ning Yi did, these shopkeepers were, after all, professional and capable. In just three or four days, the news that the Su family had produced new cloth and had been preparing for the imperial merchants for several years had spread like wildfire in the weaving industry of Jiangning. Coupled with the high profile of the past few days, people in various cloth shops already knew that, due to the assassination of Su Boyong, the Su family - at least Su Tan'er, the woman, was preparing to fully show her edge in this matter, making a desperate gamble.

If she won, she would perfectly resolve the imperial merchant matter with years of preparation, take charge of the Su family's eldest branch, and even formally establish her position as the next head of the family as a woman. If she lost, then she would really lose, because Su Boyong had already been assassinated, and there was not much more to lose.

"To have such spirit in illness, truly a woman who doesn't give way to men. If I were to be an opponent of this Tan'er sister in the future, the pressure would be great." Atop a teahouse, Xue Yan put down his cup and smiled, shaking his head, "A Jin, if I had known this earlier, letting you marry into the Su family would have been a good match."

Today, Xue Yan was drinking tea and chatting with Xue Jin and several brothers from the clan. Since they were also in the cloth business, they inevitably talked about the recent changes in the Su family. Xue Jin shook his head helplessly and laughed, "I've seen it clearly. I can't control her. If she married into our Xue family, I would naturally treat her well. But if I married into her family, wouldn't I be unable to raise my head for the rest of my life?"

Xue Jin used to be a proud person, but he had unexpectedly become so low-key today. Several brothers from the clan couldn't help but laugh and tease him a few times. Then, they inevitably returned the topic to Su Tan'er's current husband.

"It's a pity, even if his poetic talent is amazing, he's just a pretty boy who's useless. With this kind of thing happening at home, even if he has poetic talent and no official title, what use is he?"

"Just look at Ning Liheng's performance in the past few days in business, I'm afraid Su Tan'er is supporting him behind the scenes, helping him come up with ideas."

"I think those performances of his in the past might have also been planned by Su Tan'er behind the scenes. I've seen a lot of talented bookworms, but I'm afraid you still need Su Tan'er's skills to get that reputation. In my opinion, that's how it is. Su Tan'er is making a name for her husband..."

Hearing them say this, Xue Jin hesitated to speak, but finally shook his head, "Don't just assume things here. That Ning Liheng is not simple. He's not a fool."

Ning Yi's rise to fame back then had almost made Xue Jin a stepping stone. Now he had learned to be humble, which was, of course, an improvement. However, after Xue Yan nodded, he patted him on the shoulder and said, "Humility is a good thing, but little brother is being too cautious in this matter. Ning Liheng is certainly not a fool, but he's just good at poetry. These kinds of literati are often a bit eccentric, which is understandable. But if he really has amazing talent and business acumen, ha, then why would he marry into the Su family? Could it really be a twist of fate like in a legendary novel?"

He paused slightly, "This Ning Yi, in my opinion, has at least average talent in business, or perhaps even more talent. He's a smart man, but no matter what, he's new to this field. It's normal for him to make some jokes. But, jokes aside, there's one thing everyone needs to be clear about... no matter what Ning Yi does, Su Tan'er is always sitting behind him. That woman is not that simple. No matter how many jokes Ning Yi makes, as long as they win the imperial merchant contract, everything will be blown away like the wind. Su Tan'er is both publicly fighting for the position of imperial merchant and letting her husband out to make a fool of himself. I'm afraid it's all part of her plan. We also want a share of the imperial merchant business. Don't just laugh and watch them take all the benefits."

After Xue Yan said this, everyone's faces became serious. The Xue family, the Su family, and the Wu family had all shown their intentions for the imperial merchant business. Everyone had their own relationships and advantages, but overall, the Su family's preparations were indeed the most extensive. Xue Jin shook his head and glanced at these brothers, "I told you a long time ago." Before he finished speaking, he looked downstairs, "Huh?"

Xue Yan also looked downstairs, and saw Ning Yi's figure walking by the roadside with a box in his arms. He didn't bring any followers or maids, he was just alone. It was unknown whether he was wandering here on a whim or came here specifically to do something. He asked a few stall vendors about some things by the roadside, and then went towards a courtyard not far away.

"That's..."

"The Bureau of Textile's... Lord He Fang's residence."

"Are you kidding me? He just ran over here alone?"

The Xue family members looked at each other for a moment. To compete for the imperial merchant contract this time, one had to find connections. As far as Xue Yan and Xue Jin knew, the Su family had already opened up many connections in the Bureau of Textile, and it was said that they had close relationships with several officials. But to pass the imperial merchant matter, the Su family had only truly gotten through to one of the three officials with the most power in the Bureau of Textile: Lord He Fang, Lord Han Chaoying, and the head official, Dong Decheng.

Dong Decheng, as the head official, had always been ambiguous in his attitude and would not easily express his opinion. And this year, the situation had changed. He Fang had not yet expressed his opinion on this matter either. He should still be inclined to have the previous few medium-sized merchants continue to accept the imperial merchant contract as usual. Now, several families were trying to get on his good side. The situation was becoming more and more sensitive, so He Fang simply stopped receiving visitors on this matter. The Xue family had been turned away a few days ago and was still trying to find a way. They didn't expect Ning Yi to run over like this.

Alone, he even looked like he was acting on a whim, because he seemed to be thinking for a long time before knocking on the door, and then disappeared under the eaves. The Xue family members upstairs couldn't help but discuss it again, some joking about it.

"Impossible."

"How could he possibly get an audience..."

"He's just a live-in son-in-law running over here like this, wanting to represent the Su family in negotiating this kind of business. Does he really think he's been entrusted with a mission at a critical moment..."

"He probably wants to achieve some results."

No one thought that Ning Yi could see He Fang. However, after a long time, when they didn't see him come out, they became suspicious. Then, someone went down to inquire and couldn't help but laugh when he came back.

"He's talking to the gatekeeper over there. This Ning Yi really has good patience. The gatekeeper is almost annoyed to death by him..."

Hearing him say this, everyone suddenly understood.

"Haha, bookish. He doesn't think that he can get on He Fang's good side by just grinding away like this, does he?"

"It's not like it's never happened before." Xue Yan frowned, then shook his head and smiled, "But it sounds like he's telling a story..."

After a while, Ning Yi still hadn't come out, so someone went to see him again. When he came back, he laughed that Ning Yi was still entangled with the gatekeeper, but he admired his temperament. He wasn't being shameless, he was just talking and talking. The gatekeeper probably had no temper and ignored him, letting him say whatever he wanted.

Coming to drink tea, they could actually see such a strange thing. It was really interesting. They kept talking, laughing, and discussing. They waited and watched upstairs for about an hour. Some people wondered if he could really grind out a way. But then, Ning Yi finally came out with the box, looked back at the courtyard door, and shook his head as he left. Someone went down to inquire again, and when he came back, he looked a bit like he wanted to laugh and a bit like he admired him.

"He talked to the gatekeeper for more than an hour, exhausting him... He said he'll continue to visit tomorrow..."

Xue Yan was stunned for a long time, "This bookworm..."

Xue Jin was silent for a while, "It seems that he also plans to do something in business to show people... This stupid method..."

"If he really keeps grinding like this, Lord He will have to see him sooner or later..."

"What's the point of that?"

That's what they said, but by this time, most of the people's faces no longer had the meaning of ridicule. This kind of stupid method had mostly been told to them as stories by their fathers when they were young. Doing business wasn't about being opportunistic, but about being down-to-earth and having solid patience. Of course, if someone really did it, there weren't many stories of success that they had heard. But seeing Ning Yi's posture today, everyone couldn't help but mutter in their hearts.

It would be fine if the person wasn't at home, and they waited for a long time for the sake of business. But the person had made it clear that they wouldn't see him. This guy looked like he hadn't inquired about all the details before coming to torture the gatekeeper for an hour. The stubborn temper of a scholar is truly terrifying...

Hope was slim, and whether he would succeed probably still depended on observation. It was already afternoon. At the same time that they were muttering in the teahouse, Ning Yi was already walking on the nearby streets, putting what he had just done out of his mind. Turning a street corner, the location of the Zhuji's main store was ahead. Ning Yi went in and went up to the second floor. He had just run to torture the gatekeeper on a whim, and hadn't eaten lunch, so he came to replenish some energy. After two side dishes were served, the one who brought the last bowl of egg drop soup was a woman in green clothes. Ning Yi nodded to her.

He had said before the city gates closed that he would accompany Nie Yunzhu to apologize to Old Qin in a few days, but due to Su Boyong's matter, this was the first time the two had met. Ning Yi thought about it and prepared to apologize. However, Nie Yunzhu didn't mean to blame him. From the moment she came over, she had just been looking Ning Yi up and down, her eyes a little worried. Then, she spoke first, softly asking, "Liheng, are you... alright?"

"Hmm?"