An early-winter afternoon, sunlight, a teahouse — an atmosphere like a standoff.

“So… it really was you…”

Honestly, this wasn’t the sequence of events Wu Qilong had imagined. Even though he’d already suspected Ning Yi, suspected Su Tan’er, suspected the situation the Wu family now faced, and had already reached a preliminary conclusion — in truth, at least for today, he hadn’t expected Ning Yi to simply come out and say something like that.

Suspicion was, after all, only suspicion — after suspecting, there always needed to be some process of verification. These past two days, as he’d exchanged greetings with Ning Yi, including sitting down across from him just now, he’d still been thinking about how to probe, how to read something into the other man’s behavior. A moment ago, hearing Ning Yi talk about chemistry, about metals, he’d been thinking to himself — so the fabric fading really is connected to him after all? That too had been part of a gradual process of stacking up evidence toward a conclusion. He hadn’t expected that the other man would simply glance at him once and knock the whole thing over in an instant, confirming everything he’d suspected.

It didn’t make sense, really. Having laid such a trap, would you really choose to show your hand at a moment like this? Not in some formal setting, not after careful deliberation — just, on this early-winter afternoon, in what seemed like a leisurely spot, casually bringing up something like this. Waves of astonishment surged through Wu Qilong’s mind. Even though he’d already mentally prepared himself for the possibility that Ning Yi had set a trap, the sudden rush of confusion was still hard to put into words.

But Ning Yi merely glanced at him, then lowered his head and began pouring himself some tea.

“You look pretty angry. Why is that?”

The words came out flat and light. Ning Yi picked up his teacup and took a sip, his expression unchanged. Wu Qilong nearly clenched his teeth through in that instant.

Why was he angry? Of course it was because…

Because…

He suddenly burst out laughing, turned to glance around at his surroundings, then leaned back against his chair. “So it really was you… everyone miscalculated…”

Ning Yi shook his head, seeming rather indifferent about the whole thing. “The matter between the Su family and the Wu family has already reached this point — does it really matter who did it… How bad is the situation on your end?”

Never expecting Ning Yi to ask this so calmly, as though it were the most natural thing in the world, Wu Qilong froze for a moment, then let out a bitter laugh. “How bad is the situation — you don’t know?”

“Not entirely clear, honestly. Things have been chaotic at home lately, and besides, I haven’t looked into this matter in over a month.”

“You…” Wu Qilong tilted his head, eyes widening. “You haven’t looked into it!?”

This whole affair had begun showing signs several months ago — one could even say the Su family had started preparing years earlier. By now, it had drawn in countless people and matters, with countless people still scrambling and panicking over it. Just in these past few months, the money involved alone probably amounted to several hundred thousand, if not over a million taels. At a moment like this, having tracked down the one key figure behind it all, to hear the man casually say he hadn’t even bothered looking into it for over a month!?

He stared at Ning Yi, an absurdity almost beyond words in his gaze. Ning Yi looked at him for a moment, then smiled and reached over to close the book beside him. “It’s just about time, roughly speaking. Tan’er’s mentioned it several times at home recently — I hear she’s started spreading rumors outside. That’s probably about when it’s meant to happen.”

“…So the rumors really were her doing too, weren’t they?”

“Mm, that’s right.” Ning Yi said it as though describing some act of charity, nodding sincerely, his voice not loud but clear. “It’s not concrete news yet, for now — as for when to release that, well, your agreement with the Bureau of Weaving and Manufacturing, the delivery date for the first batch, should be coming up soon. That’s roughly when it’ll happen.”

An air of absurdity seemed to fill the entire teahouse. Wu Qilong, on one hand, could understand every word being said, yet on the other, felt as though he’d stepped into some completely unreal situation. Ning Yi’s tone was calm, his manner sincere, as if there were nothing in the world he couldn’t openly discuss — he seemed, in fact, entirely detached from it all, describing everything from the perspective of a mere bystander. Right now Su Tan’er was starting to spread rumors, and afterward more concrete information would follow — and here he was, laying it all out without the slightest concealment. Wu Qilong had never met anyone like this before; this manner of speaking, negotiating, confronting — it was absurd beyond belief.

But the most ironic part of all was this: no matter how clearly he now understood every step of the plan, there was nothing at all he could do to stop the other man from saying it.

Wu Qilong sat there, staring at Ning Yi in absurd disbelief, momentarily unable to gather his words. Ning Yi sipped his tea and glanced out toward the street outside the teahouse, waiting for him to collect himself. After a long moment, Wu Qilong finally took a deep breath and nodded through clenched teeth. “So you’re saying the time to show our hands has already arrived, is that it?”

Ning Yi pursed his lips in thought, shook his head, then nodded again. “Uh, not exactly… but sort of, I suppose. Overall, this isn’t really my business — it’s still up to you and Tan’er to work things out between yourselves.”

“Then… what exactly is this, to you?”

“Happenstance… a passing whim… pretty much anything works.” Ning Yi smiled. “In any case, you’d already realized it yourselves — you came here today, and I happened to be free, and you clearly wanted to talk about this, so telling you was no trouble at all. In fact, the earlier you know, the more time you’ll have to think it over and adjust — I think that’d be better for the Su family too.” He lifted his cup and took a sip.

Wu Qilong steadied his emotions and leaned in closer to the table. “So then, Ning Liheng — what do you think would be best?”

“Whatever Tan’er wants, just give it to her.” Ning Yi shook his head. “That’ll save everyone a lot of trouble.”

“How would I know what your wife wants?”

“Sincerity. Everything you can possibly offer, that the Su family’s main branch can actually absorb…”

“…Everything!?”

“Mm, everything.”

The two of them looked at each other for a moment. Wu Qilong’s smile turned cold and mocking; Ning Yi’s expression remained calm, sincere as a three-year-old child’s. After a moment, Wu Qilong took a deep breath. “Fine. Why don’t you give me some examples, Brother Ning — what exactly does ‘everything’ entail?”

“Everything means everything. Recently the Su family has already laid groundwork in various places — um, Luzhou, Shouzhou, Guangzhou, Hezhou, Xuanzhou…” Ning Yi seemed to be counting them off on his fingers. “In these places, whatever business share can be given up, some conveniently located real estate, um, a few fabric formulas — I heard Tan’er mention a couple, one seems to be a very tightly-stitched technique, your Wu family’s proprietary method — since some of the market share and business will need proper handover to go smoothly, and then…”

Before he could finish, Wu Qilong’s palm slammed down on the table. “Ning Liheng! Do you even know what you’re saying! You’re sitting here today, right in front of me, demanding half of my Wu family!?”

“Should be less than half.” Ning Yi glanced at him. “The Su family’s had its own turmoil lately too. Your Wu family has deep foundations — Tan’er’s side alone couldn’t swallow half of it. It’s just about taking as much as feasible. A third of the Wu family would be more than enough to reach saturation — with that third, even without the imperial merchant title, it would be enough to prove Tan’er has what it takes to head the Su family. But more importantly — what the Su family is really angriest about, what matters most to them, you should already understand. When the time comes, you’ll need to be genuinely sincere. You’ll only get one chance…”

“In! Your! Dreams!” Wu Qilong ground out through clenched teeth. “You actually think you’ve got my Wu family cornered, over something this small? My Wu family, after all these years…”

“That’s only human nature — everyone thinks that at first,” Ning Yi cut in flatly. “‘In your dreams,’ ‘wishful thinking,’ ‘greed knows no bounds’ — no one hands over something like this so easily. Which is exactly why I figured it was about time to lay it all out plainly. Honestly, over this past month and a half, we’ve pretty much finished what needed doing on our end. The fading fabric…”

“We’ll get the Bureau of Weaving and Manufacturing to grant us a delay. Let’s see how long your Su family can hold out.”

“Right, a delay…”

“So go ahead, spread your rumors — say our Wu family’s fabric is fading, go right ahead. Even if it causes some disruption for a while, confirming any of it will have to wait until our Wu family actually delivers the goods. What exactly can you do about it?”

Ning Yi glanced at him and sighed. “Mm, whatever’s going to come out will come out eventually. Honestly, we’d rather not wait the full ten days, because once the news spreads, the other cloth merchants will have some time to prepare themselves, and it’ll take more effort for us to secure things afterward. Better to have it come to us than for us to have to go grab it ourselves… oh, right, has Manager Liao gone up to the capital — I wonder if you’ve heard about that…”

“You…”

“I hear he used to travel back and forth in the capital quite a bit, knows a few big cloth merchants there, has plenty of connections. This time he took some silver up with him — there’s not much silver left in the Su family’s main branch treasury anyway, so he took essentially all of it. Mainly to try to pin a charge of deceiving the emperor on your Wu family.”

Amid Wu Qilong’s twisted expression, Ning Yi smiled and shook his head. “Actually, I know what your side is thinking. The fabric fading — call it a big deal, call it deceiving the emperor, but His Majesty has always been quite lenient over the years. A decree of confiscation and execution of the whole clan isn’t something handed down lightly. The Su family has connections, the Wu family has connections too — though neither side’s connections are especially strong. If both sides work it from their end, it really comes down to whoever’s in a better mood up above. Still, that’s a bargaining chip either way — throw down tens of thousands, even a hundred thousand taels, and it’ll certainly have some effect. If the Wu family accepts the punishment willingly, the outcome might turn out somewhat better. Um… if your side shows sincerity, Tan’er would even have Manager Liao put in a good word for the Wu family — the punishment won’t be light, but confiscation and execution of the whole clan really would be excessive…”

Wu Qilong laughed through gritted teeth. “You yourself know that a charge of deceiving the emperor won’t be judged so casually…”

“But there’s a war coming, Qilong.” Ning Yi picked up the teapot and refilled Wu Qilong’s cup for him. “Over the years, what does war need most of all? Money. Everyone’s seen the business opportunity in war — surely you’ve thought of that too? The Wu Dynasty may claim to be prosperous and thriving, but the state is always short on funds no matter the era. Before the troops even move, the provisions must go ahead — once the army mobilizes, how much money will it take to fill that bottomless pit? Never enough, no matter how much. We don’t know exactly when the fighting will start, but everything else will surely be decided before it does. Does anyone know whether the decision’s already been made?”

He looked at Wu Qilong. “If it hasn’t been decided yet, there’s still room to maneuver. But, tsk… will it be decided tomorrow? Or by the end of this month? Next month? Feel free to keep stalling, no harm in that… But once it’s decided, His Majesty, the chancellors, officials at every level of the Three Departments and Six Ministries — they’ll all be scrambling for money. Your Wu family, with such deep resources — how much silver could you actually pull together? I don’t know the exact figure, but plenty, surely. A few million taels? Over ten million? Am I overestimating? What convenient timing…”

Wu Qilong’s face had already gone pale. Ning Yi sighed and offered a gentle, comforting word. “Don’t dwell on it too much. Once this matter blows up, your Wu family will certainly face confiscation and execution of the whole clan — there’ll be no escaping it…”