The twenty-fifth of the eighth month, in the afternoon. By the time Ning Yi returned home, the whole Su residence still felt as busy as ever, though he couldn’t quite figure out why it remained so hectic. The weather was fine, a mild autumn afternoon, a warm breeze drifting through, some tree leaves already turned golden but not yet fallen, swaying gently in the wind. Making his way along the courtyard paths toward the smaller inner courtyard, he saw two servants dashing past in a hurry — probably some steward scolding someone again, the faint sound of a raised voice drifting over from the side.
This part of the residence, where the Eldest Branch lived, was comparatively quiet, mostly because fewer people lived here. Just as he was about to arrive, he ran into two cousins from a collateral branch coming the other way, trailed by their attendants — apparently having just been to see Su Tan’er. They exchanged greetings with Ning Yi and made some small talk, their tone carrying a faint note of reproach at him returning home so early, since tonight would decide the fate of the imperial merchant appointment, and most of the shopkeepers were out working hard even now — surely he ought to be out there holding things down at this hour too.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, they took their leave, and Ning Yi made his way back to the small courtyard, quiet and still. Su Tan’er, dressed in a green long skirt, sat in the pavilion at the center of the courtyard, tilting her head back to look at the leaves on a nearby parasol tree; on the second floor to one side, a figure moved about — probably Juan’er or Xing’er tidying something up. Seeing Ning Yi approach, Su Tan’er turned and grinned. “Husband’s back.”
“Look at you, so relaxed.” Ning Yi walked over and sat down in the pavilion.
“Husband’s the relaxed one — lounging in bed all morning and refusing to get up.”
“There wasn’t really anything for me to do anyway.” Ning Yi laughed. “I went in late this morning, missed the meeting, then spent the whole morning watching everyone rushing around getting all sorts of things ready. I kept thinking, why would there be so much to prepare… Hah, Shopkeeper Liao came by to chat at one point — he said whenever there’s an occasion like this, he tends to get very nervous too, couldn’t sleep last night, had a bit to drink, and this morning nearly couldn’t wake up either… About half an hour later, Shopkeeper Luo happened by too and told me he was actually quite nervous himself…”
Ning Yi recounted this with a flat expression, and Su Tan’er had already burst into laughter well before he finished — by the time he got to Shopkeeper Luo, she couldn’t stop, reaching out to steady herself on the nearby railing. Ning Yi shook his head. “Such kind people, all of them — knowing I couldn’t get out of bed because I was so nervous, and even amid all their busyness they still stopped to comfort me. Then at noon there was Shopkeeper Xi too, telling me all about how nervous you all were back when handling that Jiangzhou deal…”
“Husband was clearly doing it on purpose this morning.”
“Not at all. I genuinely couldn’t get up — look, this is the first time I’ve been late in a whole month of work. Honestly, every time I see everyone else running themselves ragged while I’ve got nothing to do, I feel a bit guilty about it. Today’s probably their busiest day yet.”
His whole morning had, in truth, been spent daydreaming and wandering around aimlessly, but he said all this now without the slightest hint of embarrassment — the two of them knew each other well enough on such matters by now. Su Tan’er smiled, then lowered her head. “Actually, I’ve been nervous too…”
“Have you?”
“After all, it’s years of effort riding on this, and with everything that happened, there were days when I truly felt like I’d lost my footing entirely. Now… now it’s much better, but the nerves are still there, of course. Just like husband said — tonight’s the night. I was just sitting here thinking through everything over these past few years, and I’d imagined there’d be a day like this that would decide everything, either success or failure, and I’d thought about how I’d feel when it came — just never imagined it would turn out quite like this.” She looked faintly bashful. “Is husband nervous?”
“Well, some nerves, certainly…” Ning Yi thought about it and nodded. “A bit of nervous tension helps focus the mind.”
Su Tan’er looked at him. “Husband really is calmer than anyone…” There was a faint note of envy in her voice at his composure.
“Ha…”
“What does husband plan to do once today’s over?”
“Once tonight’s business is settled, naturally I’ll go back to teaching. Your illness has cleared up, so don’t expect me to keep helping out. I’m clearly not cut out for commerce — that much is plain for everyone to see.” Ning Yi smiled. “Besides, the whole point of marrying in was to live off my wife’s fortune without too much fuss, enjoying a comfortable life — everything handed to me, nothing to lift a finger for. What a life. Anyone who objects can take it up with me.”
“Now you’re just saying the opposite of what you mean.”
“I mean every word.”
“Hmph, so… husband really does intend to keep living off Tan’er’s fortune? Is that truly the plan?”
“Ha, if nothing goes wrong, then yes, that’s how it’ll stay… Honestly, I think it’s a rather good arrangement. Look — I can teach, I can write poetry, and however you slice it, I’ve got the reputation of being Jiangning’s foremost talent. If I went out and advertised myself for a wealthy patroness, plenty of rich widows would be interested. Bringing me along would be quite the status symbol too. What do you say — miss this chance and there won’t be another like it!”
Ning Yi went on joking, playfully treating himself as a product to be marketed — a joke that would have seemed ordinary enough a thousand years later, but rather ahead of its time here. Su Tan’er couldn’t stop laughing, covering her mouth with one hand, though she lowered her head too, her whole face flushing red. “Husband, you shameless thing…”
“That remark wounds me deeply — this deal’s going to be much harder to close now…” Ning Yi shook his head with a mournful sigh.
“Uh, all right then.” Su Tan’er forced herself to look serious. “Anyway, since I am… I am…”
“A wealthy widow.”
“Mm, I’m the wealthy widow, so, Tan’er’s fortune shall go to feeding husband… deal’s settled.”
She struck a pose of finality, as though sealing a business deal, but Ning Yi only laughed and shook his head. “It’s not that simple. You just wounded my feelings — the price needs renegotiating. There are plenty of wealthy widows out there — why should it be you specifically?”
“Uh, but I’m… I’m… I’ve already married husband, I’m…” Su Tan’er put on a stern face, preparing to boast a bit about herself, but after a moment’s thought, she deflated with embarrassment, laughing and lowering her head. “Oh, husband…”
“All right, this is getting silly.” Ning Yi waved a hand with a laugh. “Once today’s over, everything goes back to normal. I really don’t intend to do anything — too much trouble.”
“But I feel I owe husband an apology…”
“Hm?”
“I never meant to treat husband like some married-in son-in-law to be used. I never thought of it that way to begin with — it’s just… it’s just that I’m stubborn, headstrong, with things I wanted to accomplish, and it ended up turning out like this. Ever since we married… eh, in any case, I never wanted husband to feel… to feel… I don’t even know what I’m trying to say anymore…”
She struggled to put her thoughts into words, then finally settled into an expression somewhere between embarrassed and helpless. Ning Yi nodded. “I know.”
Su Tan’er glanced at him, and once she was certain he wasn’t just humoring her, she let out a breath of relief. “I know it’s not proper either — not how a proper young lady should behave, not like those… ha, wealthy widows. But this is simply how Tan’er is…”
“Now that’s what a proper wealthy widow sounds like…” Ning Yi murmured half to himself. Su Tan’er didn’t quite catch it — in this era, “wealthy widow” and “career woman” were, of course, two entirely different concepts, the latter barely even having a name yet.
She thought for a moment.
“Actually, sitting here, I remembered something else I wanted to tell husband…”
“What is it?”
“When we got married, I secretly ran off. It wasn’t to give husband a hard time or anything like that — it was because I simply didn’t know what to do. Tan’er… is a woman, after all…” She lowered her head slightly. “Tan’er knows that wasn’t right, but Tan’er won’t apologize to the husband from back then — if it happened again, even knowing it wasn’t right, I might still handle it the same way…”
She looked up at Ning Yi. He nodded. “Because we didn’t know each other yet back then?”
“Mm, back then Tan’er didn’t know husband, and husband didn’t know Tan’er either… But Tan’er wants to tell husband now — Tan’er will never do something like that again.”
She spoke with a fair amount of courage, and once she’d finished, lowered her head again. It took Ning Yi a long moment before he finally laughed. “Isn’t this just an apology after all…” His voice was quiet, but Su Tan’er heard it clearly enough, blushing further, looking as though she wanted to protest out of sheer embarrassment but couldn’t quite manage it, and in the end said nothing.
The two of them sat in the pavilion for a while longer. Xing’er, carrying some things, glanced down from upstairs, saw the two of them, and left them undisturbed, going about her own business. As evening drew near, Xiao Chan and Juan’er returned too. As Ning Yi rose, he asked, “If you’re feeling nervous, do you want to come along to the banquet tonight?”
Su Tan’er smiled and shook her head. “No, I’ll stay behind. Husband wants to live off my fortune, but here’s a rare chance for him to actually do something — you’ve been running the show this past month and more, and today’s the most crucial day of all, so husband should go take charge. I’ll just sit here nervously, waiting for husband’s good news.”
“Tsk, no problem — watch me pull out all the stops tonight and bring that imperial merchant appointment home in style! Then retire gracefully once it’s done.”
Ning Yi spread his arms and stretched lazily in the setting sun. Beside him, Su Tan’er shot him a mock-annoyed glare. The curtain was about to rise on the matter of the imperial merchant appointment, while the small courtyard remained calm, bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun.
…
As night fell, a small procession of carriages rolled out from the Su residence. Ning Yi, Su Zhongkan, Su Yunfang, along with several members from the Eldest, Second, and Third Branches — the main stewards among them — all rode in this procession, representing the Su family, numbering perhaps twenty in all. Xiao Chan sat with Ning Yi in one of the carriages, a little nervous. Not far after the procession set off, an unmarked carriage merged in behind Ning Yi’s own, carrying some of Prince Kang’s guards, while the Zhou siblings, disguised as a young manservant and maid, trotted along after the carriages before climbing into the one carrying Ning Yi, ready to watch the outcome of the imperial merchant matter he’d been overseeing.
Before long, the restaurant known as Green Ripple Tower, by the Qinhuai River, came into view. Carriage after carriage arrived, merchant house after merchant house — the Xue family, the Wu family, the Chen family, the Lü family… along with a number of officials from the textile bureau, a grand and impressive gathering. Such occasions were common enough in Jiangning that passersby barely gave them a second glance, but among those exchanging greetings and pleasantries, every nerve was drawn taut.
What would unfold tonight was, without question, a major event for Jiangning’s textile trade. The focus, naturally, was the contest among the Su, Xue, and Wu families over the imperial merchant appointment — ever since the assassination attempt a month earlier, those paying close attention had already sensed the gunpowder simmering beneath the surface, and now everyone waited to see how tonight’s commercial battle would resolve.
Ning Yi lifted the carriage curtain, took a breath, and stepped down with a smile.
Under the night sky, lanterns blazed like a river of fire, stretching out along the long street in both directions.