Sunlight filtered through the branches overhead, falling across the bluestone paving of the alley, casting a golden glow over the three figures and their smiles—from a distance, it looked every bit the heartwarming scene of old friends reunited amid the blossoming vitality of the second month.
“…because of my father’s promotion back then, I ended up going to Bianjing with him… Father now serves as a bureau director in the Ministry of Finance… When I first arrived in the capital, not knowing a soul, I made no end of foolish mistakes out of sheer ignorance. Still, the capital really does have an atmosphere all its own, quite different from Jiangning—hard to put into words, really. Brother Ning, when you have the chance someday, you really must come visit the capital. I’d be honored to play host and show you around properly…”
“Actually, the most delightful surprise about going to the capital was reuniting with… Brother Wang here. Brother Ning may not know this, but Brother… Brother Wang actually grew up in Bianjing as a child—he’s the real host here, not me. When I first arrived, he looked out for me quite a bit, ha ha… Oh, judging by Brother Ning’s expression, it seems you don’t remember much of what happened here in the old days…”
Yu Hezhong chattered on, doing most of the talking throughout the exchange, taking evident pride in mentioning his father’s official position. A bureau director in the Ministry of Finance was, admittedly, only a minor sixth-rank post, but to an ordinary commoner it still counted as a lofty, unreachable rank—the kind of position a bookish, dull-witted scholar like Ning Yi could hardly dream of attaining in a lifetime of study. With his father serving in the Ministry of Finance, so long as Yu Hezhong himself was reasonably adept at social maneuvering and cultivated the right connections, securing some official post for himself down the road wouldn’t be especially difficult.
As the conversation continued, Yu Hezhong gradually noticed that Ning Yi seemed to retain little memory of their shared past—otherwise, surely he’d have shown at least some recognition of this Miss Wang. He remarked on this briefly, then casually asked after the whereabouts of a few other old acquaintances from the neighborhood, though Ning Yi naturally had no idea. Yu Hezhong laughed. “Do you remember Chen Sifeng? He passed the examinations last year, and now he’s been assigned a post at the Ministry of Finance too. When you come to the capital sometime, we could all get together.” Presumably this Chen Sifeng was another person the previous Ning Yi had once known.
The three of them chatted and laughed together easily enough. Yu Hezhong, apparently assuming that Ning Yi had failed the examinations and fallen on hard times, occasionally let a touch of superiority creep into his tone, especially in front of the woman surnamed Wang—understandable enough, given human nature. After all, everyone has some impulse to show off; anyone who gives face to others the moment they meet, without exception, is either a rare paragon of virtue or else someone like Puyang Yi, who’d been raised in the pragmatic tradition of merchant families. Honestly speaking, dealing with someone like Puyang Yi was easy enough so long as you knew your own position clearly, and Ning Yi rather liked that type. Yu Hezhong, though, was clearly just an ordinary sort, and his occasional bit of showing off wasn’t especially remarkable—Ning Yi simply found it mildly amusing to watch.
What actually caught his attention, though, was the woman surnamed Wang, who’d said very little throughout. She’d mostly stood by with a faint smile the whole time, seeming to feel some nostalgic fondness for the little alley around them as Yu Hezhong reminisced. When he brought up old memories, she’d occasionally chime in with a word or two of agreement, but otherwise listened quietly—perfectly ordinary, unremarkable behavior. What Ning Yi did notice, though, was that whenever Yu Hezhong bragged purely about himself, she’d smile and nod along, adding a flattering word here and there. But whenever his boasting carried even a hint of subtly putting Ning Yi down, her gaze would drift elsewhere, taking on a faintly distracted air, never once offering any hint of agreement.
That was rather interesting.
At most gatherings or social occasions, there’s usually a host, or at least someone whose status commands particular deference. When one person shows off and the host plays along, it grants the other real face. But when two guests hold opposing attitudes toward each other, maintaining an even, impartial stance—appearing fair, or smoothing things over without favoring one side or offending the other—is a rather sophisticated art.
This woman paid no mind to her old friend’s boasting when it stood alone, even offering a touch of shared pride in his accomplishments. But the moment Yu Hezhong tried to use subtle implication to belittle Ning Yi in front of her, she’d maintain her independence through this same subtle technique, declining to participate. Of course, being naturally closer to Yu Hezhong, she didn’t go out of her way to interfere with him either—her handling of favor and distance, closeness and reserve, was precisely calibrated.
If this kind of delicate balance had shown up only once or twice, it could simply be put down to ordinary good breeding. But maintaining it so precisely, every single time, was rather thought-provoking.
This woman, Ning Yi thought, must have had an excellent upbringing—and must also have moved in circles substantial enough to have cultivated and exercised such refinement. Honestly, opportunities for women to move about in public in this era were limited enough to begin with. Someone like his own wife, Su Tan’er, certainly had considerable poise herself, capable of navigating certain social circles deftly, with a fairly accurate read on people’s inclinations. But compared to the woman before him now, Su Tan’er seemed, by contrast, somewhat sharper-edged—lacking a certain polish in some respects.
Among the women he knew, Jin’er and Yunzhu had both been trained in similar arts during their time in the pleasure houses, each with her own way of managing relationships with others—though Jin’er tended toward liveliness, generally dissolving whatever reservations others held through sheer force of her own energy, while Yunzhu, gentle and composed, carried within her a noble, somewhat aloof pride that, given enough time together, one couldn’t help but sense the underlying resilience and edge. This woman’s simple smiles, by contrast, reminded Ning Yi of a quality rather similar to Puyang Yi’s own demeanor.
Similar, though—not necessarily on the same level. Understanding a person fully from just a few exchanged words upon meeting was, of course, impossible in any case. Ning Yi chatted with the two “old friends” for a good while longer, and just as they turned to take their leave, a figure emerged from the slightly shabby courtyard gate behind them. “Ah, young master, you’re here.”
It was Chan’er, having just finished cleaning the room, wiping the sweat from her brow as she stepped out. Dressed today in a flowered short jacket, she carried an unmistakable air of a modest, well-bred young lady. Seeing the two people speaking with her young master at the gate, she gave a small “eh” of surprise and positioned herself slightly behind and to the side of Ning Yi. Chan’er being naturally quite pretty herself, both visitors blinked slightly at the sight of her, and Yu Hezhong smiled. “Oh, is this your sister-in-law?”
The woman surnamed Wang, still in her male scholar’s garb, offered a bow of greeting as well. “Is this your wife’s sister?”
Being addressed as “sister-in-law” clearly stirred a bit of vanity in Chan’er; her eyes darted about, a flicker of surprised delight crossing her face, before she glanced at Ning Yi and leaned in slightly closer to him. “Er, no, I’m young master’s maid. My name’s Chan’er. And you two… gentlemen are?”
“We’re old acquaintances of Master Ning’s—I used to live over there…” Knowing now that she was merely a maid, there was no particular need for formal introductions. Chan’er, having offered her greeting, said nothing further, and after a few more words exchanged, Wang and Yu finally turned and took their leave. Ning Yi and Chan’er watched their retreating figures for a moment, and Chan’er said, “Young master, have you remembered things from before?” Then, “Oh, right… that Master Wang is actually a woman.”
“Even a fool could tell that.” Ning Yi laughed and patted her head. “No, I don’t actually know them—they used to live here, and recognized me, so they came over to say hello. I suppose they remembered this particular courtyard…”
The courtyard did look rather shabby at the moment—a worn-out gate lintel, and though the new year had only passed two months ago, not a single festive painting or spring couplet hung anywhere, standing out awkwardly against the neighboring houses. Ning Yi glanced down at himself, covered in dust and grime, holding a tattered old book, and couldn’t help but shake his head and laugh. Chan’er looked around and, apparently having thought of something, said, “Tomorrow Chan’er will have people come and give the courtyard a proper renovation.” After a moment, she added with a smile, “I’d really love to know what young master was like here before…”
“I hear he was a foolish bookworm…” Ning Yi laughed, then glanced at Chan’er. “Don’t pretend you don’t know—you probably know it better than I do. Isn’t that exactly why Tan’er picked me in the first place? Now that the goods don’t match the description, I bet she regrets it, doesn’t she… Tch, poor Xi Junyu…”
“Hee, that’s because the young mistress has good taste… and Chan’er certainly didn’t dare say anything back then, the young mistress was so serious about it all…”
The little maid began chattering away about amusing stories from before the wedding, and the two of them turned and walked back into the courtyard.
Elsewhere, Wang and Yu made their way past one courtyard after another. In truth, both had still been quite young when they’d left Jiangning, and though some memories lingered, what they recalled now amounted to little more than a handful of childhood playmates from the area. Yu Hezhong, being somewhat more familiar with the place, split off for a while, knocking on a few doors according to his recollection to ask around. When he came jogging back, the woman surnamed Wang was standing outside the courtyard she’d once lived in, peering inside—though it, too, had long since changed hands. Yu Hezhong said with a smile, “I can’t remember many of the old people here myself, but I just asked around, and it turns out one person I did know was still there. We chatted a bit, and I even asked about that little Ning fellow. Guess what I found out?”
He left it dangling for effect, but the woman surnamed Wang didn’t ask directly—she simply lowered her head, thinking. “That maid of his was quite pretty, and her clothes looked pretty nice too—I doubt they’ve been living in that courtyard for years now, have they?”
“Mm, the person I just talked to hadn’t lived here long himself, so he wasn’t entirely sure either, but pointing at that courtyard jogged his memory—apparently the owner of that house married into a merchant family that deals in cloth, said to be quite wealthy. Caused quite a stir at the time, apparently…”
The woman surnamed Wang glanced back that way. “Well, that’s not bad at all…”
“Ha, I got a bit carried away just now, actually—shouldn’t have asked him about the examinations and all that. Since he’s married in as a son-in-law, I suppose he can’t sit for the exams anymore anyway… Still, it’s hard to imagine him actually marrying into a family like that. Sigh…” Yu Hezhong let out a sigh.
“There are always things in life beyond one’s own control…”
“Er, I’ll come back again in a few days and ask my cousin about some of the other people from back then. Oh, Shishi, what do you think—should we invite him out for a get-together in a few days? Just as friends, you know—might actually do him some good?”
As Yu Hezhong spoke, his gaze remained fixed on the woman called Shishi. She merely smiled faintly and shook her head. “If you and Chen Sifeng invited him out, that would surely do him good. But given who I am, and given that he’s married in as a son-in-law, there’s no need to burden him further with someone of my standing. Besides, I only came by on a whim, just passing through to have a look—I’ve no interest in making some grand triumphant return. Back then… we barely exchanged more than a few words anyway. We weren’t really close at all, if I’m honest…”
Hearing this, Yu Hezhong laughed. “True enough. Well then… let’s leave it at that…”
The two of them spoke as they turned and walked on, and before long, their figures disappeared around the corner at the far end of the alley.
This chance encounter didn’t linger long in Ning Yi’s mind. He had no way of knowing that, not long after, the three of them would have another opportunity to meet.
That afternoon, upon returning home, he found Qin Shaohe, Qin Siyuan’s eldest son, already waiting for him at the Su residence—having come simply as an ordinary visitor giving only his personal name, not his official title, or else there was no telling how much of a stir it would have caused within the Su household.
Having returned to Jiangning these past few days, this middle-aged man, already a serving prefect, had plenty of his own affairs to attend to and many people to call on, and had missed Ning Yi once already a few days prior. Only today had he finally managed to free up the time, waiting at the Su residence until Ning Yi returned, at which point they finally met, and he expressed his gratitude in person.