In the alley by the roadside, Ning Yi felt a touch of helplessness at this sudden turn of events. He shook his head, but it was clear these two little troublemakers in front of him weren’t going to be sent off with a mere shake of the head.

“Why not?” This time it was Zhou Pei who spoke up.

“Trade secrets. Can’t just go around talking about that. You’ll understand eventually—it’s not what you think.”

“Then… then what does the teacher plan to do? How will you convince this He Fang?”

“Didn’t you see the man won’t even meet with me? What’s there to convince?”

“Then… we could find a way to help you get an audience with He Fang…”

Ning Yi narrowed his eyes slightly at the child before him. Zhou Junwu smiled back at him too, and after a moment, looking somewhat puzzled, he asked, “Er, is that not allowed?”

Ning Yi laughed. “You’re a little prince and a little county princess—rather bored, aren’t you, to be concerning yourselves with things like this.”

“No, no, it’s not like that. Sure, people call us little prince and little county princess, but really we’re just spendthrift brats, useless good-for-nothings.” Zhou Junwu explained, then turned to glance at his sister before turning back and blinking, feeling he’d been too self-deprecating, and offering a correction. “Er, well, not entirely useless—not useless, it’s just, it’s just… Father doesn’t manage anything either, and eventually we won’t have anything to do. Sister and I don’t want to be like that. We want to accomplish something great, so we want to learn from the teacher how to threaten people… er, no, I mean negotiate, negotiate…”

“But I don’t intend to threaten anyone.”

“Huh? Then how is the teacher going to get the imperial merchant title?”

“That’s rather complicated…”

In the alley, the one adult and two children went back and forth negotiating, and after a while, they seemed to have finally reached some kind of agreement. Ning Yi left the alley and nodded to a guard from the princely estate whom he’d apparently met before. The two siblings then came out as well, climbed into a carriage, and followed at a distance. Rounding the street corner nearby, in a teahouse there, Xue Jin and the others, seated by the window on the second floor, took in Ning Yi’s figure below and began chatting and laughing.

What Ning Yi himself was doing wasn’t really the point—it was that over these past few days, in his capacity as the steward of the Su family’s Eldest Branch, he’d been paying visits to He Fang with an attitude of not stopping until he achieved his goal, and this had finally drawn some attention. When a fool does foolish things, sheer momentum doesn’t necessarily preclude success. Xue Yan had business to attend to today and hadn’t come, so Xue Jin and the others sat in the teahouse chatting and laughing, speculating on whether Ning Yi would manage to get in to see He Fang today, or whether, even if he did get in, he’d actually accomplish anything.

Who could have known that the third day’s developments would go beyond everyone’s expectations. Or, in a certain sense, perhaps they were exactly what everyone should have expected…

…

“Ha, you’re telling me he… gave up? Left after half an hour?”

That night, at the Yan Cui Tower, Xue Yan, Xue Jin, and the others were discussing the amusing events of the afternoon. Xue Jin shook his head, laughing. “Originally, I made a bet with Old Xiang and the others—I said today was the third day, and maybe He Fang had already decided to receive him, so I bet he’d get to see Lord He, but that he definitely wouldn’t accomplish anything. Turns out I lost five taels of silver… No one expected that today he’d only stay for half an hour and then just leave, without even saying he’d come back tomorrow. He just gave up like that…”

A cousin sitting nearby also spoke up with a laugh. “The funniest part is, we went and asked around afterward. Lord He already knew about this Ning Yi’s repeated visits. Although he felt that as a mere matrilocal son-in-law the man had no real say in anything, the fact that he kept coming day after day showed sincerity worth commending. So this morning Lord He told the gatekeeper that if the man came again today like yesterday, and still hadn’t given up by the time he’d waited an hour, he should be brought in to hear what he had to say. Who would have thought… ha ha…”

“A scholar is, in the end, just a scholar.” Xue Yan shook his head. “When men like that want to accomplish something, they always start out with ambitions higher than the sky, but in truth they understand nothing, and have too many ideas of their own. That’s what makes people like that such a headache. I imagine Su Tan’er is having a hard time of it at home right now too. A hopeless case—all talent, and content to sit at home writing poems and admiring the moon, and that would be that. Just like those poets and lyricists, forever lamenting the state of the nation and the suffering of the people, sighing about their unrecognized talents more dramatically than anyone else, but if you actually put them in charge of state affairs for the people’s sake, it’s not that they lack the will—they simply lack the ability. Ha, a mediocrity is a mediocrity. All talk and no substance…”

He paused a moment, then laughed again. “Still, it’s a good thing for us that the Su family has such a mediocre son-in-law. From now on, everyone ought to get friendlier with this Ning Liheng. Right, Ah Jin, if you get the chance, invite him out on my behalf. We’re all in the same textile trade—business is business, but we should still maintain good relations. Last time, here at this very place, there was some friction between us, and Ah Xia and I weren’t entirely in the right either. Let’s have a meal together sometime, and I’ll apologize to him myself, ha ha ha ha…”

While Xue Jin, Xue Yan, and the others were discussing the afternoon’s events, Su Tan’er herself wasn’t particularly troubled by it. The people who reacted most strongly to the news were the other two branches of the Su family. It was said that Su Zhongkan had slammed the table that evening, nearly knocking something over.

“Absurd! He’s nothing but a scholar who understands nothing! If he’d just kept at it stubbornly and gotten in to see Lord He, at least he’d have left the impression of an honest, straightforward man! But this! What will Lord He think of our Su family now! This… this is nothing short of dragging everyone else down with him!”

These words came from the Su family’s Second Branch, and by evening, everyone in the great household was talking about it. But of course, neither the Second nor the Third Branch openly displayed such an attitude—no one went to lodge a protest with the Old Patriarch or sought Su Tan’er out to talk. Because the biggest matter at hand right now was whether Su Tan’er could actually secure the imperial merchant title, and for the Second and Third Branches, that in itself counted as something of a threat.

That same night, even Nie Yunzhu and Yuan Jin’er, upon hearing the news, were somewhat puzzled. That afternoon Ning Yi had brought a pair of siblings over to eat, and he’d seemed entirely unaffected by it all—though of course, at that point he probably hadn’t yet known that Lord He was prepared to receive him.

“Sigh, Sister Yunzhu, I bet he’s feeling really down tonight.”

“He probably… won’t be. Liheng is open-minded by nature…”

“Even the most open-minded person would feel down about this. And besides… it was just half an hour short, really such a shame. Why didn’t he just hold on a little longer…”

“Maybe… he felt Lord He truly didn’t want to see him, or else that pair of siblings was waiting outside, and he was in a hurry to get out to them…”

“Who were that brother and sister anyway? Could they be children he had somewhere outside?”

“Don’t talk nonsense, Liheng’s only just past twenty—how could he have children that old…”

“Maybe he had a child bride before he married in as a son-in-law…”

Though the intentions behind such speculation were kindly enough, the actual guesses weren’t too far off from each other. In the whole of Jiangning right now, the only ones entertaining a different theory were, perhaps, within the consort-prince’s estate on the other side of the city.

“He did it on purpose?” In the pavilion, Kang Xian listened to the siblings’ account and blinked in mild surprise. The two children had gone home to eat and bathe first, and only now had they come over. By evening, Kang Xian had already heard that Ning Yi had lost his chance to meet He Fang, having failed to hold out through the final half hour of the third day.

“Mm-hm.” Zhou Pei nodded. The little girl, dressed in a crisp autumn skirt, her small face flushed with excitement, looked as though she’d taken part in something truly significant. On the ride over that evening, she’d already speculated about it with her brother many times. “Grandfather, why would Ning Liheng do something like that?”

“Ha, I can’t figure it out either.” Kang Xian thought for a while, then shook his head, looking puzzled. “Didn’t he tell you two?”

“Mm, he wouldn’t say. Junwu said he could help him get in to see He Fang, and he refused right away. This man… he never intended to see He Fang from the very start. What I can’t figure out is how he knew He Fang would agree to see him today, so that he could deliberately leave half an hour early.”

“He didn’t know. But today was the third day…” Kang Xian sighed. “Liheng… he probably calculated it based on the number three. An ordinary person would typically persist for three days. He Fang isn’t a man who refuses to see anyone at all—he simply doesn’t discuss the matter of imperial merchant status with people. If someone truly wished to meet him, it could be arranged. After all, the Su family is one of the great textile houses. If he wasn’t received on the first day, and truly wanted to be received afterward, appearing moved by the visitor’s sincerity, he’d likely make him wait until the third day or later. Ning Yi deliberately created the impression of giving up halfway, which is why he chose the third day, and left half an hour short. Ha, this fellow…”

Kang Xian shook his head and laughed, though there was still puzzlement in his eyes. “But what reason could he have for doing this? Leaving He Fang with such an impression—how does that help resolve the matter of the imperial merchant title? Xiao Pei, Junwu, what else did he say to you two?”

“We made a trade.” Junwu spoke up beside her with a laugh.

“A trade?”

“Mm-hm. He wouldn’t let us go in, and he wouldn’t let us help. We thought that was strange. We asked him whether he could really resolve the Su family’s crisis, because Grandfather, you said he was very capable. He was probably afraid we’d cause trouble, so in the end he admitted he was indeed working on solving it, but that it would take a long time still, and that business matters were unpredictable, so he couldn’t tell us exactly what he was doing. So we made a trade—we won’t cause trouble, but for the next month we’ll often go over and follow him around, to see what he’s actually doing at the Su family. He agreed to it in the end, as long as Sister and I don’t cause trouble. We’re planning to dress up as little apprentices at the cloth shop, or maybe as page boys—I’ll be Page Boy A, and Sister will be Page Boy B. Oh wait… okay, fine, Sister, you be Page Boy A…”

Little Junwu rattled on with an air of innocent sincerity, then got smacked on the head by his sister and hurriedly corrected himself. Across from them, Kang Xian’s eyes had narrowed. “You two little rascals—is this because we haven’t let you out lately, kept you cooped up in the estate reading all day? Was this on purpose?”

“No way, we just wanted to see how impressive this teacher you keep praising really is…”

The little boy’s face was the picture of sincerity, his hand tugging at his sister’s sleeve. Zhou Pei nodded quickly beside him. “That’s right, Grandfather. If I find out he really is impressive, I’d be willing to accept him as my teacher too. You did say the Su family’s current troubles are hard to handle—if he can solve it all without even asking for help, then Junwu and I will admit he’s impressive… Mm, we promise not to cause trouble, and not to run off anywhere.”

“Mm-hm-hm-hm…” The little boy played along beside her, bobbing his head like a chick pecking at rice.

Kang Xian gazed at the two of them for a long while, narrowing his eyes, before finally laughing despite himself. “Fine. Everyone has their own area of expertise—if he can’t solve it, that’s only to be expected, but if he really does solve it, there’s no harm in you two getting a look at how it’s done. Since he’s agreed to this, I doubt he’d lead you astray. But remember one thing—once you’re out there, you are never, under any circumstances, to leave Guard Mu and the others’ sight. I’ll also send people to check in regularly. If anything happens even once, the two of you won’t be allowed out again until the city gates open. Understood?”

“Mm.” Two heads nodded firmly, and the siblings exchanged a smile. Free at last.

…

The Su family was, after all, one of the three great textile powers in Jiangning. Word of what Ning Yi had been doing these past few days spread through Jiangning’s textile circles within a day and a night. Setting aside the impact of this for now, the next afternoon Ning Yi went to the Bamboo Records to meet up with Nie Yunzhu, and the two of them headed off together toward the Qin residence. This was to make good on the promise made earlier, to go apologize to Old Master Qin.

In the days before, Yunzhu had actually been looking forward to this—Ning Yi taking her along to apologize to the old man at his home seemed to carry a certain symbolic weight. But today, she found she didn’t feel much excitement or anticipation after all. Because of her conversation with Jin’er the night before, her heart was now full of other feelings. Every so often she glanced at Ning Yi walking ahead of her, and amid their idle, desultory conversation, she found herself weighing some words of comfort or reassurance.

But in the end, she never said them.

If you meant to share the next chapter instead, feel free to paste that text and I’ll translate it.