Weather was gradually turning cold. Under the current circumstances, Ning Yi's daily life was largely the same as before. He would run to the Qinhuai River every morning to meet Nie Yunzhu, occasionally discussing the arrangements for the day. In the afternoon, he would either go to the main branch of the Zhuji restaurant or come here to have tea and listen to the zither. Recently, there had always been a "light bulb" between him and Nie Yunzhu. Actually, it was more like beside him. The seemingly idle Yuan Jin'er always sat next to him, accompanying him to listen to Yunzhu playing and singing. Originally, the relationship between Ning Yi and Yunzhu had been clarified, and perhaps it could have developed in a very impure direction. However, under these circumstances, Ning Yi and Yunzhu were forced to be pure, which Ning Yi found regrettable.

Of course, on the other hand, it wasn't every day that one could enjoy the company of two courtesans of Yunzhu and Jin'er's level. Yunzhu's playing and singing were excellent, and if Yuan Jin'er felt like it, she would get up and dance a bit, which was quite enjoyable to watch. But Yuan Jin'er wouldn't let him take advantage of her. She sat beside Ning Yi, cross-legged and chin in hand like a boy, listening with relish, seemingly enjoying herself like a little monk. If Yunzhu left to get tea or snacks, she wouldn't follow but would sit there beside Ning Yi, serious and infuriating.

Therefore, after a few exchanges of cold sarcasm, the two had a few frank conversations, mostly when Nie Yunzhu was away and they were left staring at each other.

"How about dancing for us later, little chick?" Ning Yi didn't mince words, as their relationship was already off to a bad start.

"No dancing. I'm just here to listen to Yunzhu-jie sing... you should be content. Do you know how much it used to cost to have me accompany you at Jin Feng Lou?"

Ning Yi rolled his eyes, not wanting to argue with her about that. Recently, Su Tan'er had given him a key, making him a kept man who could take money as he pleased. Ironically, now he was reluctant to take it, making him relatively poor, so he didn't bring up the money issue. "Tsk, you can't do that. You're ruining people's chances of happiness..."

"How am I ruining anything? Aren't you and Yunzhu-jie just friends? That's how you are, but if you want to take advantage and do anything bad, I won't allow it. You're not a good person. You have a wife at home. Can you abandon Su Tan'er and be with Yunzhu-jie?"

"Honestly, that's difficult." Ning Yi thought for a moment, then looked at the river and murmured, "There are many problems, and men are never satisfied. They always want what's in the bowl and what's in the pot..."

Yuan Jin'er had been about to say that, but seeing Ning Yi so shameless, her eyes widened in anger. However, being an experienced woman, she quickly regained her composure and curled her lip. "Desire, desire! I'll make sure you can only desire and never eat."

Ning Yi looked at her lazily. "I wasn't really that interested in eating, but since you keep reminding me, I suddenly feel like I really want to eat. What should I do..."

"Then we'll see who's more powerful..." Yuan Jin'er winked at Ning Yi, looking adorable. Ning Yi laughed. "There's no such thing as guarding against a thief for a thousand days."

"Hmph." Yuan Jin'er ignored him and turned her face away. Afterwards, she accompanied Ning Yi to listen to Yunzhu singing. She was shameless and unafraid. Yunzhu found it amusing and didn't chase her away. When Ning Yi left, she would cling to Yunzhu, complaining incessantly. But Yunzhu wasn't upset by such things in this situation. Even when Jin'er talked about Ning Yi's face of "wanting what's in the bowl and what's in the pot," Yunzhu just smiled and asked with interest if he really said that, looking as if she was wondering, "Does he really want to eat?" Jin'er felt slightly discouraged.

In fact, Ning Yi didn't care too much about such things. As a man, he naturally wanted it, that was unavoidable. Nie Yunzhu was beautiful, gentle, and her resilience was also very attractive. They had already reached this stage, and Yunzhu was already willing. If Jin'er hadn't suddenly appeared that day, things would have developed smoothly.

But on the other hand, these things didn't occupy much of his mind. And for Yunzhu, it was more about enjoying the feeling of being with Ning Yi. Honestly, in this era, although there were some romantic and commendable love stories or faithful legends, there was no real equality or respect in the relationship between men and women. Even if many men cherished women, it was still based on the model of this era.

What Ning Yi truly showed was perhaps that extremely "strange" and "unconventional" style. He could walk away without caring after saving Nie Yunzhu and being slapped, and he could casually chat and joke with her later. He could sleep through an afternoon to Nie Yunzhu's music, too lazy to show his talent. Just like he could sit with Su Tan'er on the balcony all night when he was bored and joke about being supported.

Although casual, Ning Yi's behavior was not that of a rogue or a man without principles. He always had his own temperament and demeanor, just casual. The calm and equal emotional component, or what they considered love, was probably something women of this era could never experience. Of course, whether they liked it or not was a matter of opinion. For example, a girl named Zhou Pei thought Ning Yi, as a teacher, was too informal and lacked authority.

Ning Yi and Yuan Jin'er's cold sarcasm and constant bickering often left Yunzhu a little flustered. When they were together, she seemed to return to her days as a courtesan, playing and singing a song to entertain them. Jin'er, as an audience member, was unhelpful in assisting, so Yunzhu felt it rather despicable of her. And Ning Yi, equally despicable, occasionally used the time to clean his principles. When Jin'er disappeared for a moment, he would inquire after her, and Yunzhu would just smile and say, "I'm happy in my heart." She would often share Jin'er's secrets with Ning Yi, of course, not the too sensitive ones, such as "wanting what's in the bowl and what's in the pot".

He still didn't spend much time going to the small building in the afternoon. After school in the morning, he would either spend more time teaching the Zhou siblings in the lab next to the academy, studying physics and chemistry, or he would stroll around with Xiaochan, eating things. Sometimes he would go to Qin Lao's house to talk and play chess, or sometimes he would sit in the Zhuji restaurant. The city gates had opened, and the effects of the flood had entered the aftermath stage. Once the alcohol ban was lifted, Zhuji would start selling high-proof liquor.

Occasionally, he would run into people he knew from the business world, from the Wu family, the Xue family, or other friends or enemies of the Su family, as well as some of the Su family's stewards. Jiangning City didn't seem that big, but they didn't have much to say to each other. These people either scorned or disdained Ning Yi, and Ning Yi understood, too lazy to pay attention to them.

It was at the Su family that all sorts of messy things often happened. For example, not long ago, a young steward who was somewhat related to the Su family accused him of being responsible for the imperial merchant affair because he hadn't properly managed the fabric formula. If it hadn't been for his inexperience and lack of attention to this matter, the imperial merchant affair should have been a sure thing.

Similar things were not uncommon, and he had been mentally prepared for them. Whether it was the internal contradictions of the Su family's main branch, or the power of the second and third branches, all of this was now coming to the surface. As long as they could spare no effort to attack those related to Su Tan'er, it could be considered a victory. Although Ning Yi was now a live-in son-in-law of the Su family and had given up commercial affairs, he was still Su Tan'er's husband. As long as they could make him leave the Su family by any means, it would be the most powerful blow to Su Tan'er.

Whether they could really do it was another matter, but the pressure from all sides was inevitable. Ning Yi's current response could only be seen as adopting a non-resistant, turtle-like attitude. He was at fault, so he could only do this, but he couldn't help but feel aggrieved in his heart, which would one day erupt and cause even greater flaws. People were now waiting for this day. If something happened to Ning Yi, Su Tan'er, who was already overwhelmed, would become even more miserable. However, in the last few days, the situation seemed to have become slightly strange.

"Recently, Fifth Uncle and Seventh Uncle have agreed that in half a month, another clan meeting will be held to formally discuss the problems that have arisen in the family recently. At that time, they will also raise the issue of Tan'er being a woman involved in the family business. The affairs of the main branch should be decided within this year."

In the afternoon, in the courtyard of Su Zhongkan, several stewards and cousins, including Su Chonghua, who were close to the second branch, were sitting with Su Zhongkan in the room, drinking tea and casually chatting about recent family matters. In the past two and a half months, the Su family had been turbulent, and the business of the second and third branches had been greatly affected. However, as members of the second branch, they did not show much frustration at this time. Su Zhongkan said this, and a cousin opened his mouth.

"I'm just afraid that Third Uncle will not change his mind. In our Su family, even if the other uncles and elders are on our side, one word from him will probably continue to drag on like this."

Su Yu ranked third among the older generation. The Third Uncle this person was talking about was him. Su Zhongkan shook his head.

"Dad shouldn't say anything more. If he really was going to speak, he would have already stepped in given the family's situation in the past month. The main, second, and third branches will eventually have a result, and he understands that. He seeks stability and hopes for family harmony. He is probably really angry about what happened to Big Brother, but Big Brother is already like this, and Tan'er has made such a mistake. I think he will also feel that it is not good for the main branch to continue standing at the center of this storm. Retreating now is also protecting Tan'er's niece so that she can live a good life in the future."

"It should be like this." A cousin nodded. "Now in the family, everyone probably has this understanding. These days, I have contacted several stewards of the main branch to inquire about their intentions for the future. Most of them have also said that if they were to be separated from the main branch, they would be willing to come to our side. It's just a pity that the most central figures have not yet expressed their views. Steward Xi is young and vigorous, and he wants to coexist and die with the main branch. Many people in the family know his feelings for the Second Miss. In addition, Liao Kaitai is also unwilling to express his position..."

"If Steward Liao said a word, I believe many people would change their minds." One of the stewards said, "But he is indeed loyal to the head of the main branch. After such a thing happened, he still has no complaints about the main branch... Oh, it's just that a few nights after the fabric industry's annual meeting, he told people that Ning Liheng's bookishness was too willful, otherwise there would have been a chance... Recently, he can't be found, so there's no way to start from this aspect..."

"Heh, Ning Liheng..." Someone laughed.

Su Chonghua also smiled and leaned back in his chair. "This man has some talent, but he doesn't know anything about business..."

"But... Steward Liao, I heard that he was sent to the capital by Tan'er?"

Su Zhongkan nodded. "It's hard to say what exactly he's doing, but what was reported to the family was indeed that he was going to the capital. I laughed that day. Is it possible that Tan'er has lost her mind and knows that the Jiangning relationship is not working, so she wants to file a complaint in the capital? But I guess she probably has other ideas. Filing a complaint is not possible without real evidence, and we don't have a very good path to take in Tokyo. She should know that it's impossible."

"She seems to be focusing on Wu's layout recently, wanting to disrupt the market with low-priced goods. Maybe she really wants to make a desperate gamble?"

"Selling goods at low prices is pushing our entire Su family into the fire pit. A fool knows what the result will be. The entire fabric industry will unite to fight us." Su Zhongkan laughed, "Even if she wants to do it, the family will not allow it. The day this order is issued, the clan meeting will probably be held that night, and we will save ourselves the trouble."

"But... there have been some strange rumors outside in the last two days." As he spoke, a steward named Ren thought about it and mentioned it.

"Hmm? What rumors?"

"The situation of the Wu family seems a little strange. The situation these two days is a little different from adjusting supply and demand and diverting tribute cloth, while also talking with other merchants about development. There are rumors that they seem to have some problems with the Brocade. In short, these days, Wu Chenghou and others seem to be a little distracted when talking about business. Some people from the weaving bureau have even spread rumors that they are discussing with Dong Decheng to postpone the delivery time of the first batch of Canjin brocade. But it can't be confirmed yet."

"What's going on?" Su Zhongkan frowned.

"I'm afraid there are really some small problems, these kinds of things happen often. Yesterday, I seemed to hear that Qin Zhongnan, the steward in charge of the imperial merchant cloth, suddenly fell ill. Because of this and that relationship, some people will always spread things in a mystical way," A steward shook his head and said.

The steward who spoke earlier also shook his head and laughed. "It should be, I think it was the Xue family spreading the news. I even heard someone say this afternoon that the Wu family was tricked by our Su family in the imperial merchant matter, that the Second Miss was secretly planning against them, and that there was a problem now, or something."

"Tricked?" Su Zhongkan was stunned, and then laughed, "This must be the Xue family spreading rumors indiscriminately. If we really want to fall for some trick, either it's for Big Brother's or for the Second Miss's, but Big Brother was not conscious in those days. As for the Second Miss, if she pretended to be sick, it may be true that she was using some trick, but last time she really collapsed from overwork, and Dr. Sun said she was under too much pressure, and she collapsed suddenly. This is not in question. If we really fell for a trick, I heard that all things were handled by Liheng at that time, did they fall for Liheng's trick?"

As he said this, everyone smiled wryly, honestly, it's not good to laugh at your own family, but they were familiar with Ning Yi, others might say this person is mysterious and can't be understood. They are all people in the same big house, and everyone knows what he does every day.

All day long, he is teaching a group of children, telling unreliable stories, it is said that he is doing some heretical experiments, playing Go, walking around and eating things. Before Su Tan'er fell, he had hardly been in contact with commercial affairs, and he did not set foot in the fabric industry after that day. If such an idle person really did something in that month, and it has only been discovered until now, and has been enduring all kinds of discomfort and insults all day long without moving, then he is simply not like a human being. What's more, if he really did something, all kinds of changes may occur in the subsequent month and a half, it is impossible not to care about it at all.

Everyone drank tea and laughed for a while. After a while, a cousin frowned, "But... what if it's true?"

"Uh..." Su Zhongkan was slightly stunned, and the atmosphere in the room immediately cooled down, and they looked at each other. The cousin thought for a while.

"It feels really strange to think about it now. Ning Liheng didn't care about commercial affairs at all before, and after the Second Miss fell ill, he did use his mind to make it better, but after August 25th, the Second Miss took over, and he suddenly withdrew. It is possible that he was hit hard on that day. It's just... he withdrew too completely. After that, he didn't ask about commercial affairs at all. Others scolded him and he looked calm and continued to live his life as usual, as if he didn't take these things to heart at all, and couldn't see any impact at all... If he was really so angry, shouldn't he have some guilt or care afterwards? Is his cultivation really so powerful?"

As he said this, a strange feeling welled up in everyone's hearts. Indeed, in the past month and a half, the family had been fighting openly and secretly, with ups and downs, and everyone inside and outside had been fighting for many things, and everyone had made the greatest effort. Many people also set their sights on this scholar, using him as part of the struggle, trying to constantly give him a face and discomfort to squeeze him out of the Su family, at least to interfere with Su Tan'er. But this couple, one was stubbornly doing some silly things that others couldn't understand in the center of the vortex, the other... now it seems that he seems to be living as usual as if he doesn't take these things to heart at all, and everyone has always felt that he is enduring, but it is really a bit too much to be able to endure to this extent.

But this is just a guess after all, after a while, everyone shook their heads and laughed.

"How can that scholar be so powerful..."

Su Chonghua probably knows Ning Yi the most, and he also smiles the most interesting at this time, "You think too much, the Wu family just has some small problems, but you also take hearsay as true. If Liheng is really so powerful, then it would not be Ning Liheng that you and I know, but Zhuge Wolong. Taking orders in times of crisis, doing what he should do, and then walking away, not worrying about anything... Do you know such a person? But he does have some literary talent and cultivation, and his temperament is also different from others. In the past, he was questioned by everyone because of his poetic talent, and he was too lazy to argue, now that he has suffered some scolding and comments, it is no problem to endure..."

"Hehe, Chonghua is right, you guys, you really think too much..."

In the midst of laughter, everyone put these things behind them. However, perhaps because they had talked about these things in the afternoon, when Su Zhongkan met Ning Yi on the way home that evening, he couldn't help but take a few more glances at him. The young man in a blue robe was holding an old book that he didn't know where he bought it from, walking while looking at the sunset in the western sky, not knowing what he was thinking. Noticing his gaze, he turned around and smiled at him, "Second Uncle."

The two greeted each other and passed by, Su Zhongkan shook his head slightly. Indeed, he is too young, and you can see a calmness that belongs to young people, but you can't see too much shrewdness. But this kind of calmness, on young people, is mostly pretended. In the past month or so, he has suffered so much criticism and abuse, and it is estimated that he is holding it in his heart, but he has to make this kind of appearance...

He thought like this, and then put his mind on how to persuade the youngest ninth uncle among the uncles and elders tonight, and stopped thinking about these things about Ning Liheng.

Trivial matters are always the matters of the younger generation, so he doesn't have to participate.

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

On the same evening, in a restaurant room on the bank of the Qinhuai River, Wu Qilong and Xi Junyu met. The two could be counted as "accidentally" meeting that day, and they each had things to do, for example, Xi Junyu, has recently been coming and going with many Su family members and main stewards, trying to guide and lay out some things, and now it has had an effect, and tonight he is scheduled to have dinner with several Su family children nearby, and there is not much time left.

"Brother Xi, how have you been recently?"

"Everything is fine, but your Wu family, has something happened in the last two days?"

Wu Qilong looked at him for a while, and then took a sip of tea, "It's okay, I just wanted to ask you, how have you considered what you said before? In the past month and a half, you have been trying to make the Su family blame the imperial merchant matter on Ning Yi, and I have also asked people to help you publicize it outside. At this time, the biggest problem with the imperial merchant matter is that Ning Yi has not kept the dye formula well, but it seems that the effect seems to be limited. Now, what do you think?"

"Who said the effect is limited?" Xi Junyu smiled, "Who knows what will happen until the end? In the current situation of the Su family, whether it is Su Tan'er or Ning Yi, they must be holding back their dissatisfaction in their hearts. Su Tan'er is unable to take care of herself now, and she wants to seize the last opportunity, so she doesn't have time to deal with these feelings. Ning Liheng... he has been enduring it, and one day he will not be able to endure it... Once he loses the main branch in Su Tan'er's hands, she will remember everything that happened before, and then she will remember that everyone is saying that this is Ning Liheng's fault..."

"What if it's not like this?"

Xi Junyu shook his head, "That's not what I need to consider now."

"Heh, it's really your character..." Wu Qilong laughed, and then leaned back in his chair, "I still say the same thing, the door of my Wu family is always open for you, when necessary, please consider it a little."

Xi Junyu looked at him silently for a moment, nodded first, and then thought about it before saying, "You're not quite right, did something really happen on your side?"

"There are indeed some problems, there have been several accidents in the workshop, and Uncle Qin suddenly fell ill. After all, things were too fast and the pressure was too tight. We are now considering negotiating with the Weaving Bureau to postpone the deadline. It's not a big problem, but it's not a good thing after all, and not too many people can know about it, so I was thinking, if the family can have more useful people..."

"Take care of your own business." Xi Junyu finished speaking and turned to leave.

Wu Qilong watched him go out, then drank a cup of tea, and sat quietly in the room. Time

passed evening, turned to night, when the lights became clear, a figure knocked on the door, and then came in. If someone from the Su family was there, they would definitely recognize the person in front of them, this middle-aged man who came in was also a steward of the Su family, surnamed Qi, named Guangzu, after closing the door, he greeted Wu Qilong and sat down on a seat, frowning.

"Uncle Qi, how is it?"

That Qi Guangzu looked at Wu Qilong, "Young Master, is the Wu family really in trouble?"

Wu Qilong smiled and lowered his head to drink a sip of tea, "Uncle Qi, if something really happened to my Wu family, it wouldn't be good for you either, right?"

"I talked to Steward Zhou yesterday." Qi Guangzu frowned, "Steward Zhou and Steward Bai are the most low-key and cautious among the Su family's main stewards, so the Second Miss let them be responsible for the development of the dye formula. After the imperial merchant matter, the Su family is also investigating itself, and they have been very neglected during this period, but after receiving your message, Young Master, I had a drink with that Steward Zhou the night before and was really shocked... Young Master, what exactly happened?"

Wu Qilong's expression became serious, "What exactly happened, shouldn't I be asking you? Uncle Qi, what exactly did that Steward Zhou say?"

"He... he basically didn't say too much." Qi Guangzu took a deep breath because Wu Qilong refused to say, "But throughout the whole process of getting drunk, I couldn't see any worry in him. I didn't see it until yesterday, it seems... not only does he not worry about the Su family's investigation, but he doesn't even worry about the entire situation of the Su family now, this is clearly something that he and Steward Bai should be responsible for, Young Master, only one sentence do I remember the most clearly."

Qi Guangzu paused, "He was drunk at the time, and said... in the entire Su family, the person he admired the most, besides the Old Lord, was..."

"Heh, is it your Second Miss..." Wu Qilong could almost guess what was going to happen next, and at this time he raised his teacup and smiled coldly. Over there, Qi Guangzu looked at him with some difficulty, "No... it's... Son-in-law Ning."

Wu Qilong was stunned there, he moved the teacup away from his mouth, after a while, his eyes turned, seeming to not know where to put the teacup, he took a deep breath, and then exhaled it slowly, turning his gaze back to Qi Guangzu.

"You said... what?"