The third day of the fifth month was a bright, sunny day.

For Ning Yi, it wasn't a particularly special day. He ran, ate, and attended classes as usual. However, Jiangning City had been quite lively these past few days. Strolling through the streets, one could occasionally see performances by courtesans. People enthusiastically discussed these events, often mentioning which girl had received the most flowers, or which two had fought over jealousy. Even an ordinary event, when told in teahouses and taverns, would be embellished with many twists and turns, becoming quite dramatic.

Over these two or three days, Su Tan'er had indeed been quite busy, leaving early and returning late. The things she was doing were somewhat secretive, but Ning Yi vaguely knew an outline. It was generally related to something called "Gong Yin" (宫引). Many of the things Su Tan'er had been doing recently were subtle, but she was indeed moving in that direction. She wanted to become an imperial merchant, establish connections with Bianliang, and... she probably had already found a direction.

Imperial merchants in this era were of two types. Since the Treaty of Chanyuan and the Treaty of Tianshui, the demand for silks and fabrics as compensation to the north was very high. The imperial court wouldn't pay high prices, but it was equivalent to low profits and high sales. After establishing a relationship with the imperial court, there would always be some benefits and compensations. On the other hand, the current Wu Dynasty court was collecting good things everywhere. If truly good silk could be sold to the palace, there would be many advantages once this line was established. Su Tan'er wasn't just daydreaming. She was finding connections on one hand, and improving technology and seeking breakthroughs on the other. The matter at hand was probably related to the technical team she had secretly set up. In some key technical aspects, merchants were extremely secretive. Once something happened, apart from Su Tan'er and Su Boyong, even the responsible shopkeeper probably wouldn't be able to make a decision. But it wasn't really that busy, just that she couldn't relax.

Ning Yi currently didn't understand Su Tan'er's full plan, after all, it was just some fragmented speculations from casual conversations. But he admired his only nineteen-year-old wife, who was usually gentle and polite, for having such a large appetite in this regard. There was no such thing as a miracle plan, just the difference between having a large appetite and having an even larger appetite. Once this matter was properly handled, there would be no doubt that Su Tan'er would be in charge of the Su family. The other two branches would probably still be putting their efforts into basic sabotage and tripping. It was a difference in vision.

And although no one could realize it, Su Tan'er wasn't taking any shortcuts. She was ultimately spending her efforts on improving technology, and then striving for opportunities. This matter was solid and practical, although there might be an element of luck involved. But in a sense, Ning Yi could only think that some women in this era were probably more pragmatic than many men at present when they started doing things. Su Tan'er was nineteen this year, and he didn't know how long she had been planning these things.

Ning Yi admired these things in his heart and naturally didn't need to pay too much attention. On the first and second days of the month, Xiao Chan still accompanied her young lady to go out. On the third day, she dressed carefully and followed Ning Yi to the academy. Honestly, Ning Yi had felt that the little girl had been a little strange these past two days, as if she had something on her mind. She had staggered while walking last night and only woke up after bumping into a tree. She was also a little absent-minded today, of course, only for a short time. Most of the time, she was the same as usual, chirping and talking behind him. At noon, after school, she ate something with Ning Yi outside, and carried a small bag of candies in her arms, but didn't eat them. Ning Yi occasionally looked at her, and she would show a very serious expression.

"Is something... wrong with your family?"

"Huh?"

"You've been a little off these past two days... If something's wrong with your family, we should help if we can. It's okay to tell me..."

Ning Yi said so, and the little girl blushed at first, then shook her head desperately.

"N-nothing, nothing's wrong with Xiao Chan's family... Really nothing..." After emphasizing this, she looked at Ning Yi guiltily, "Uh, that... I'm just happy. It's very lively tonight. Miss took me to see it once a few years ago. At that time, Miss and we dressed up as boys. Miss looked very good dressed up, but I and Juan'er didn't look good, hehe..."

Ning Yi pursed his lips. There shouldn't be anything wrong. If Xiao Chan didn't say, he naturally didn't need to ask further, "Then won't Xiao Chan dress up as a boy again today?"

"Ah..." Xiao Chan was dressed beautifully today, in a white summer dress with碎花 (sui hua, small floral patterns), looking graceful and obedient. At this time, she looked down and was a little embarrassed, "It's not necessary to change clothes, Xiao Chan dressed up for a long time this morning..."

"Then don't change."

Ning Yi waved his hand, and Xiao Chan's tense expression relaxed. She reached out and grabbed the corner of Ning Yi's clothes and trotted a few steps behind him, her jade-like wrist white and delicate, "Master is so good... wise and mighty..."

"Useless..." Ning Yi laughed.

It was still early. The city gates of Jiangning City wouldn't be closed tonight. The main force going to Bailuzhou to watch the performances would generally gather in the evening. At that time, painted boats and floats would move together, parading and gathering along the way. Of course, although some people would go there for picnics in the afternoon, various vendors and acrobats would also go there at this time. Even if many people couldn't enter the main venue at night, they would watch some performances around it. After the performances in the venue ended, they would return with the painted boats and floats, and they could also enjoy the songs and dances of many beauties along the way.

Ning Yi wasn't planning to go to Bailuzhou yet. He didn't have any beauties to support. He and Xiao Chan went to the side where Old Qin had his stall. Qin Si Yuan wouldn't be joining in the fun tonight, but it was said that Kang Xian would still go.

In the afternoon, a clear breeze blew across the riverbank, the willows swayed slightly, and the water splashed against the riverbank wave after wave. Ning Yi chatted with Old Qin while playing chess, while Xiao Chan sat on the stool next to him, kicking her little legs under the skirt, her embroidered shoes gently swinging, watching the scenery, and humming songs, singing "When Will the Moon Be Clear?" that Ning Yi had taught her. She felt relaxed and comfortable. She didn't tie up her 包包头 (bao bao tou, a traditional hairstyle) today, and her hair gently brushed in the wind, looking youthful and innocent, but also faintly feeling a bit grown up.

Her singing was immersed in the afternoon wind on the riverbank, and it was perfectly matched with the melody of the wind and water. Old Qin smiled and said, "Although the tune is a bit strange, Xiao Chan sings really well." Xiao Chan became happy, she had been practicing this song for a long time.

As time passed a little more, and it was approaching evening, in the small courtyard behind Jin Feng Brothel, Yuan Jin'er was removing her makeup, enjoying a little bit of free time. Although tonight was her formal performance, she also needed to attend many social events these days. Starting in the morning, she received visits from talented scholars and wealthy patrons, and mediated between the male egos who disliked each other because of jealousy, stabilizing the situation, controlling the atmosphere, and trying not to make anyone really angry, so that they would have a sense of rivalry but not tear each other apart. This was also very exhausting for her.

In fact, the invisible competition of the Saihua Festival had already started half a month ago, and these days were basically like this. She had a little free time only this afternoon, and only dealt with the greetings from more important guests such as Cao Guan. She had just played a song on the piano on the stage outside, listened to everyone's praise, then calmly thanked them, and then returned to remove her makeup. This period of time until the floats started moving in the evening belonged to her, and as one of the four leading courtesans and the signboard of Jin Feng Brothel, she didn't need to perform on the floats, she just needed to conserve her energy and prepare for the evening's performance.

"It's okay tonight, just make sure I'm in the top sixteen... I've been busy these days, I'm hungry, I can't eat much, and Mama even told me to eat less, she basically wants to starve me to death..."

Wearing short clothes and shorts—actually just wearing two sets of underwear—and without much makeup after removing her makeup, Yuan Jin'er was now leaning lazily on the cool couch with her hair messy. Her fair and tender shoulders and bare feet were completely defenseless, as she stuffed a plate of banquet fruits and candied dates into her mouth while talking. Then, the fruit plate was snatched away by another person in the room.

"Mama told you to eat less because she's afraid your stomach will be bloated during the performance. If you want to eat, eat some soup and rice. If you eat fruits desperately at this time and don't eat rice at night, what will you do if you get bloated during the performance? Spit out what's in your mouth, aren't you afraid of choking..."

Yuan Jin'er originally wanted to snatch the fruit plate, but that hand went too far and reached into her mouth, so she closed her mouth with a "hmm" and refused to open it, then struggled for a while. That hand patted her face in annoyance, and she climbed into the cool couch and chewed all the things down, then coughed for a long time, covering her throat, "Uh... I swallowed the fruit pit, cough cough..."

That hand poured a small half cup of water over, "You can only drink one sip, we'll eat later."

"Got it, Yun Zhu Sister... no, Yun Zhu Brother."

The other person in the room was Nie Yunzhu. Today, she was dressed in men's clothing with a black robe, her long hair tied up, and wearing a scholar's scarf. If she had a fan, she might really have a bit of the demeanor of Zhuge Liang, a famous strategist in Chinese history. Of course, at first glance, some people might regard her as a man, but it was easy to recognize her. Dressing up as a man not only required makeup, but also required good acting skills, and even talent. Nie Yunzhu might be good at makeup and acting, but unfortunately she lacked talent.

In the past, Nie Yunzhu would not easily approach Jin Feng Brothel, but now it was starting to be a little different. In the past two months, the sound of preserved eggs had been quietly developing. Under Ning Yi's guidance, she hired some people, and when she wanted to hire one or two chefs later, she also went through Yuan Jin'er, after all, the only relationships she could find now were here. Now she gradually regarded herself as a merchant—although she didn't look like it at all usually, and didn't talk business with people in a complicated way.

In the past two months, although preserved eggs had gained fame as Ning Yi had predicted, the business had been silent and low-key, and some things that were brewing had not yet come out. Nie Yunzhu had resumed occasional contact with Yuan Jin'er. The main thing was that Yuan Jin'er wanted to make a splash in this Flower Queen competition, and the Mama of Jin Feng Brothel agreed with her that if Yun Zhu could help a little, she would try her best to help her with whatever she wanted to do in the future.

"Actually, Cao Guan is really enthusiastic this time, much more than last year. Jin'er, look at these poems, they are really用心 (yong xin, attentive)..."

Nie Yunzhu smiled and sorted out some poems on the table. Jin'er smiled and stood up on the cool couch. Wearing only underclothes, she stroked her hair. The girl, who was usually known for being lively, looked a little charming at this time. "He just wants to get back at what happened last year." As she spoke, the girl's body stretched gently on the bed, slowly swaying with the scheduled dance steps, her slender bare feet casually tapping, tapping out light footsteps on the cool couch. She swayed around, her soft body leaning back with a wave of her hand, looking like she was about to fall, but she quickly turned around, her hair dancing in a circle, stepped forward, paused there, and then naturally bowed gracefully, thanking the audience.

"Actually, Jin'er doesn't care about becoming the Flower Queen. The four leading courtesans are good, but if I become the Flower Queen, I don't know what I'll become. After Feng Xiaojing became the Flower Queen, it is said that she was forced by Commander Cheng one day and almost jumped off the building. If someone hadn't intervened, I'm afraid that Cheng Yong, the commander, would have killed her with a knife. If I become the Flower Queen, I'll have to find someone to marry immediately..."

"At that time, if you want to redeem yourself, the price will be even higher."

"There's always someone willing to marry me, right? Flower Queen, it's good to brag about after marrying her..."

"Has Jin'er not found someone who is willing to marry you wholeheartedly?"

Yun Zhu asked with a smile. Yuan Jin'er frowned, then almost twisted her mouth into a pig's snout, walked to the table and sat down angrily, reached out to grab the fruit plate, but Yun Zhu reached out to stop her again.

"Yun Zhu Sister likes to say these discouraging words, men... hum, anyway, Yun Zhu Sister will always have good men who like you. By the way, I heard a few days ago that Gu Yanzhen came back in March, and pursued Yun Zhu Sister and helped Yun Zhu Sister sell preserved eggs, but Yun Zhu Sister slapped him in the face in the street, losing face... Gu Yanzhen is a high school graduate, has an official position, returned home in glory, and has money. Jin'er wants to marry this kind of man, Yun Zhu Sister doesn't know how lucky she is."

Yun Zhu laughed, "Jin'er, you also said, men... In this way, aren't I the same, unable to find someone to marry wholeheartedly? If Jin'er really wants to marry, can't you really find a man like Gu Yanzhen?"

"But I don't like him, maybe Gu Yanzhen is a good man..." Yuan Jin'er was joking, then shrugged her shoulders slightly, found a melon seed in the corner of the table, secretly peeled it and threw it into her mouth, "Then... what about Yun Zhu Sister's Li Heng, the great talent, aren't you willing to marry him either?"

Yun Zhu threw a coat on her face and smiled, "You can't talk nonsense about this matter. I may not want this reputation, but Li Heng is a married man, don't slander his innocence."

"Got it, I know Yun Zhu Sister is protecting him." Yuan Jin'er pulled the clothes off her face and muttered, "Didn't Yun Zhu Sister say that he would go tonight too? When you introduce him, Jin'er will go and seduce him to see what kind of person he is. Hmph, when his wife finds out, she can just call someone to Jin Feng Brothel to beat me to death with sticks. Jin'er will fight her, and see who can beat who... Maybe Yun Zhu Sister will be able to elope with him and live happily ever after..."

"Nonsense..."

"Hehe." Yuan Jin'er smiled, "Speaking of which, why did Yun Zhu Sister hit Gu Yanzhen that day? Jin'er only heard about this, but doesn't know the specifics of what happened."

Nie Yunzhu thought for a while, took a deep breath, "He was indeed a humble gentleman, but he was too reckless at that time, so I hit him... He's not a bad person, this matter, it's probably hard to tell who's right and wrong, don't talk about it anymore."

Thinking back, on the day she made the decision in March, when she saw Gu Yanzhen again, she confessed to him, and naturally didn't mention Ning Yi or anything, but this time the rejection was indeed very thorough. Gu Yanzhen was probably a little flustered, and said a lot of explicit words, and also asked her if she had a lover or something, and in the end, he even came over to grab her hand. She slapped him instinctively at that time, and later washed her hands many times, feeling a little disgusted.

At that time, she was on the street, and there were many pedestrians. Gu Yanzhen also had a friend. This slap was not heavy, but it also stunned him. After that, he never pestered her again. It's just that Gu Yanzhen's promotion was too high-profile before, and later the news of this slap spread to a certain extent, unexpectedly even Jin'er knew about it. Nie Yunzhu didn't want to see this kind of thing. Although she was a little annoyed by that reckless pull, a gentleman breaks off friendship, but does not speak ill of each other. She naturally did not want to see this rumor deepen and tarnish the other party's reputation.

Yuan Jin'er probably understood her thoughts, nodded with a smile at this time, "However, that Gu Gongzi will also go tonight, Yun Zhu Sister... no, Yun Zhu Brother, what if he sees you?"

Yun Zhu smiled, "I'm all in black, I'll just hide in the dark at that time, who can really recognize me? This time I'm only going to cheer for Jin'er, I don't want to contact anyone else."

"Uh? What about that Ning Gongzi?"

Slight silence, after a moment...

"Jin'er was wrong! Yun Zhu Sister, spare me—"

A plea for mercy was faintly heard from the courtyard, mixed with silver bell-like laughter, and the yellow color of the sunset gradually rose from the west.

On the other side, on the bank of the Qinhuai River, Old Qin put away his chess stall, and with the help of Ning Yi and Xiao Chan, they carried the things back home. Old Qin invited Ning Yi to have dinner at home. Everyone was familiar with each other anyway, so there was no need to decline too much. After dinner, Old Qin and his two wives, Ning Yi and Xiao Chan walked together to the avenue. The color of the sunset was magnificent. Ning Yi and Old Qin talked in front, but from behind it looked like a family of three generations, Xiao Chan was still young, and Yun Niang, the second wife who used to be a famous courtesan, teased her, making the little girl blush, and Old Qin's first wife watched kindly on the side.

The gongs and drums and music were already ringing on the street, and some teams passed by from time to time. Old Qin smiled and said to Ning Yi, "If you see Mingyun, please give him my regards." Although he wasn't going today, he would probably take his family to join in the fun on the fifth day for the dragon boat race and the Flower Queen final. Then a team came along the road, and everyone stood on the side of the road. It was the Jiangning Zhifu's entourage, with a large number of soldiers accompanying him, mighty and powerful. The leading Jiangning Zhifu was riding on a horse, and when he passed by, he probably saw Old Qin, and even saluted him. Old Qin was a commoner at this time, and also returned the salute. Then he tilted his head towards Ning Yi and smiled to indicate:

"A few days ago, you asked about that Duwei Song Xian, now that Commander Cheng Yong of the Wu Lie Army and Duwei Song Xian are all here, look."

Among the team, two people riding horses behind the Zhifu seemed to be looking over here inadvertently. Cheng Yong was slightly fat, looking at the crowd on both sides of the road with a smile. Song Xian was cold and serious, with a lot of momentum. Ning Yi smiled. In fact, after inquiring for a while some time ago, this Song Xian had already "met" him on the street several times. For him, he had already recognized him. But after the Yuanxi Festival, it was useless to recognize what he looked like.

The group separated at the intersection ahead, Old Qin went home, and Ning Yi and Xiao Chan walked towards the outside of the city in the magnificent sunset. At this time, the sound of silk and bamboo, gongs and drums, and firecrackers had already rang out in Jiangning City. 彩绸 (cai chou, colorful silk banners) fluttered on the painted boats on the Qinhuai River, arranged in a long line. Floats moved along the roads in the city with the crowd and the gongs and drums, gathering in the city with torches and lanterns in a mighty manner, spreading towards here... (To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please log in for more chapters, support the author, and support genuine reading!)