From the moment Song Mao left that afternoon, Su Wenxing had been waiting eagerly for nightfall to arrive.
His eagerness wasn’t purely his own doing — he had already boasted to several brothers and close friends beforehand that once his uncle arrived, he would surely expose that fraud Ning Yi and his false scholarly reputation. This was exactly why, when Song Mao had heaped praise on Ning Yi at the library, Su Wenxing had rushed off in such a hurry to ask about it.
“I don’t think your uncle wants to get mixed up in this business at all — did you hear what he said at the library? He clearly didn’t know Ning Yi was the teacher when he started talking. Once the words are out about someone having great talent, he can’t very well take them back now. Old Five, don’t try to bluff us… hmph, I really don’t know what that Ning Yi has done to fool people so thoroughly. You all said he wasn’t some kind of professional con artist before, right?”
Dusk had fallen, and several young men sat chatting in a pavilion in the courtyard — mostly members of the Su family’s second branch. If not for Song Mao’s arrival, Su Wenxing wouldn’t have found himself at the center of attention like this. On ordinary days, these few called themselves allies bound by shared interests, but in truth they were little more than friends who ate, drank, and caroused together; being relatives simply made them naturally closer.
Since they all stood to gain from the second branch’s fortunes, between the eating, drinking, and playing at being refined scholars visiting the pleasure houses, they naturally spent some time worrying about the second branch’s future prospects as well. Proportionally speaking, although Su Tan’er always carried herself with an air of quiet confidence, and her generous spending had kept many of the younger generation neutral, when it came to actual support, most people still sided with the second or third branch, largely because Su Tan’er was a woman. Of course, such alliances weren’t especially reliable either — the current third generation of the Su family held little real standing as it was, and if things ever truly came to blows, their numbers would amount to little more than padding for the show of force.
Still, before becoming a truly influential member of the household, there was at least something to be done — chipping away at a rival’s advantages and confidence. In the eyes of this group of young men, who liked nothing better than dressing up as refined scholars and drinking with courtesans in their idle time, Ning Yi — eccentric, aloof, possessed of a reputation they themselves could never hope to earn, and married into the family as Su Tan’er’s husband besides — was naturally an irritant no matter how they looked at him.
If I had that kind of reputation, there isn’t a leading courtesan’s chamber along the Qinhuai River I couldn’t walk into right now — yet this fellow won’t even set foot in a pleasure house, what a waste, and besides, his reputation is surely fake anyway… simply unbearable…
But resentment was one thing; actually managing to do him any real damage was another matter entirely. When Ning Yi had told old Patriarch Su and the others that the poem wasn’t his own work, both Su Zhongkan and Su Yunfang had been present and had heard it themselves. Yet old Patriarch Su had given strict orders that the matter not be spread around — who would dare openly step forward as a member of the Su family to confirm this? Quietly spreading rumors was one option, but too many rumors and no one believed any of them. And within the household itself, there was no way to “expose” anything — the man had already admitted it himself! Such an honest, unflinching stance left nothing to attack, and worse, many people had come to believe he was deliberately keeping a low profile out of modesty.
As members of the Su family, they could hardly go running off outside to denounce one of their own, and they couldn’t very well handle it within the household either — the whole scheme was proving rather difficult to set up. This visit from Song Mao was, naturally, the perfect opportunity. As a proper prefect entirely unaware of the underlying situation, all it would take was for him to righteously call out Ning Yi’s fraudulent reputation in some public setting, and even the old Patriarch couldn’t hold it against him for not knowing better. Once word got out, their side could then nobly “sever ties” with Ning Yi for the sake of principle. Perhaps someday, at some pleasure house, one could even sigh dramatically to some beauty: “That live-in son-in-law married to my second cousin — I really did think he had genuine talent, who knew he was actually…” and so on and so forth.
And so, the moment Song Mao arrived, the group — having already discussed their plan — immediately gathered around Su Wenxing and pushed him to bring up the matter. Song Mao had always doted on Su Wenxing, and everyone present had witnessed it. After speaking with his uncle, Su Wenxing came out looking thoroughly pleased with himself. “It’s settled.” Not long after, at the library, everyone witnessed the scene of Song Mao lavishing praise on Ning Yi instead, and the group turned on Su Wenxing with open scorn. After all, Song Mao was known for his honest, upright character, and his praise for Ning Yi at the library had seemed entirely genuine — it looked as though the whole plan had blown up in their faces.
“What do you all know? Ning Yi wasn’t even there at the time. Even if my uncle wanted to say something against him, what could he say — that his teaching wasn’t any good? My uncle is just setting the stage first, giving him some credit now so that by the time he returns, his guard will be down. Then at tonight’s banquet, he’ll naturally be able to test him properly, and there’ll be no way for him to wriggle out of it.”
Coming out of his uncle’s room afterward, Su Wenxing turned over Song Mao’s earlier words in his mind and found them suddenly full of hidden meaning, feeling as though everything had clicked into place. He explained all this to the others, but by evening, doubts had begun to creep back in among the group, though by now they trusted Su Wenxing’s read on the situation more than not.
“He’s Wenxing’s own uncle — this is nothing but a small favor to ask. Who else would he help if not Wenxing? Wentian, stop worrying so much.”
“To expose him, you first have to get close to him, praise him a little, and then at the evening banquet, casually ask him a few things — that’s when his true colors will show. All those so-called talented scholars out there who’ve invited Ning Yi to banquets or sought his counsel — he’s always managed to brush them off with some vague remark, hasn’t he? Precisely because they weren’t close to him. Now that the prefect himself has praised him, no matter what, Ning Yi will have to put on some show of familiarity in return — and that’s exactly when the real blow will land. Wentian, do you really think the prefect’s thinking is as simple as yours?” The one speaking was Su Wengui, second in rank among the Su family’s male line — somewhat thin in build, but reasonably capable, having read a good number of romance novels and thus fancying himself something of a Zhuge Liang, always ready with some clever scheme whenever an issue, large or small, came up. His words carried far more weight than Su Wenxing’s, and hearing him speak up now, the previously restless Su Wentian gave an embarrassed laugh.
“Ha, well, I only said it because I couldn’t stand hearing everyone in the household going on and on about how talented that Ning Yi supposedly is.”
“What talent could he possibly have? We’ve all looked into it — just a bookish fool.” Su Wengui frowned slightly. “As I see it, most of what this Ning Yi does is really being orchestrated by second cousin behind the scenes. Tonight at the banquet, everyone stay sharp. If the prefect puts a question to him directly, second cousin might well try to smooth things over — claiming Ning Yi is feeling unwell, or contriving some minor incident. The prefect won’t want to press the issue too hard in that case, so the rest of us need to step in and stir things along, making sure Ning Yi can’t find a graceful way out. In any case, once we’ve exposed him tonight, we can openly cut ties with him in front of others going forward, and only then can we properly and rightfully continue undermining second cousin’s position…”
The others nodded eagerly, murmuring amongst themselves, and Su Wentian asked, “Wenxing, do you happen to know where the prefect went this afternoon? If someone kept him for a meal, he might miss tonight’s banquet altogether.”
Su Wenxing shook his head. “I’m not sure either — probably visiting some elder or mentor of his.”
“Must be some important figures then…” Wentian said with a smile. “Wenxing, wouldn’t it be wonderful if he took us along someday? If we could get even a word or two of guidance from men like that…”
“Hmph, Wentian, you never study hard as it is — you think a word or two from someone like that would suddenly enlighten you?”
“The tutors at Yushan Academy are all mediocre talents — what’s the use of me studying hard under them? Men of real stature are different. That poem I wrote the other day had all the ladies at the Yingchun Pavilion singing its praises. If I could just get a bit of guidance from men of that caliber, surely I’d rise to true heights…”
This Su Wentian was rather dim by nature, yet stubbornly convinced of his own literary talent — the women at the various pleasure houses he frequented would hardly have given him the time of day if not for the large sums of money he threw around. The others silently cursed his foolishness but couldn’t be bothered to argue with him. A moment later, an attendant came to report that Song Mao had returned.
“…The prefect seems to have come back together with that Ning Yi. The two of them appear to already know each other — they seemed to be getting along quite well.”
“So that’s how it is.” Su Wengui stood up, his expression calm as still water, snapping his folding fan shut against his palm. “The prefect is already laying the groundwork. Otherwise, given Ning Yi’s status as a mere live-in son-in-law, and a junior at that — even with some small talent, why would the prefect bother showing him such regard? Tonight’s plan should still hold. Everyone… let’s prepare.”
In the pavilion, his figure carried an air of detached, solitary confidence, as though he alone held all the schemes of the world in the palm of his hand. The others were thoroughly won over, nodding and voicing their agreement, spirits raised high.
…
Returning from outside, Ning Yi naturally had no idea that a group back at the household was quietly plotting against him. He had been somewhat surprised to learn, at the Qin residence, of the family connection between Song Mao and Su Wenxing, but he adjusted to it easily enough — it simply meant switching from calling the man “Brother Song” to “Uncle Song.”
Song Mao seemed simple on the surface but was in fact quite shrewd; for Ning Yi, dealing with shrewd people actually came with less pressure, especially when the situation was already fairly clear. Still, upon returning to the Su residence, a few other developments left him somewhat taken aback.
Few people at the Su household had seen him return together with Song Mao, and it wasn’t really a significant matter in any case — the two had parted ways at the gate. Ning Yi carried the jar of preserved eggs back toward the rear courtyard, and before long he spotted Xiao Chan waiting for him partway there. The little girl had apparently been wandering the nearby courtyard for quite some time already, her small face flushed pink from the cold. Seeing him, she called out “Young Master!” and ran over with a smile, looking rather excited.
“Ha, all done for the day? Oh, I brought something for you…”
Xiao Chan was probably the person at the Su household closest to him, and naturally he intended to give her some of the preserved eggs. He lifted the jar and gave it a little shake in the air, but before he could even open it, Xiao Chan — clearly not paying attention to the jar at all — reached out and wrapped both arms around it, hugging it to her chest. She apparently assumed Ning Yi simply wanted her to help carry it.
“Young Master, Young Master, listen to this — you were the center of attention today!”
“Oh.” Ning Yi already had a good idea what she meant, and wasn’t especially surprised. “I know — the examination at the library, right? How did Blackie and the others do? If the old Patriarch rewards them with something nice, Xiao Chan, tell me — as their teacher, should I claim half the reward, or the other half?”
“Mm-hm!” Xiao Chan nodded vigorously, delighted on his behalf. “But it’s not just the library thing — something else happened too! Young Master, you were amazing — you settled the business with the He family for the young mistress with just one sentence! It’s such a shame Xiao Chan was off watching the snow scenery with the young mistress at the time and missed seeing old Master He’s face when you said it — it must have been priceless! Today the young mistress, the cousin-mistress, and Manager Xi were all completely astonished when they heard about it — only Xiao Chan wasn’t surprised at all! But honestly, Young Master really does seem to know everything, it’s amazing. You know, if we run into the young mistress in a bit…”
“…”
Amid the still-drifting snowflakes, Chan’er clutched the jar to her chest like a mother hen guarding her egg — likely without even realizing what she was holding — chattering away excitedly as she walked. Ning Yi listened in silence for a good while before finally letting out a sigh.
“Xiao Chan, could you please tell me — from the very beginning — exactly what happened with this He family business?”