“You and Sister Yun Zhu, you just want to marry me off…”

“Blame me all you like, don’t drag Yun Zhu into it, she—”

“It’s all the same — you think I’m getting older, that in a few years no one will want me. Even if you’re doing it for my own good, that’s what it comes down to, I’m not stupid, you know.”

In the room, Jin’er’s tone remained stiff. Ning Yi frowned. “It’ll be harder to talk about this in a few years, won’t it? Right now you could still be someone’s principal wife. Give it a few more years, and even if there’s someone you like, chances are you’d only be able to be his concubine. Being a principal wife is at least better than being a concubine, isn’t it? Su Wenyu’s a good match. If you don’t like him, fine, forget it — I’m not trying to force you. Why are you getting so worked up over this?”

“Sister Yun Zhu isn’t a principal wife either. She’s just being kept on the side by you.”

“Now you’re just being unreasonable…”

Ever since she’d come in, Jin’er’s tone had stayed cold, and from the moment she’d opened her mouth there had indeed been a certain petulance to it. Ning Yi fell silent for a moment. “We were hoping you could be someone’s principal wife — you’re worth more than being anyone’s concubine. But fine, forget it. You don’t want it, I won’t interfere anymore.”

Jin’er turned her head aside. “I didn’t even come here to talk about that anyway.”

“Then what did you come to talk about?”

“I don’t want to say it now…” She clenched her jaw, her voice coming out small, as though it had risen straight from her chest.

“…So everything I just said was for nothing?” Ning Yi couldn’t help but feel a bit deflated.

Jin’er sniffled and looked at him. “You seemed pretty pleased with yourself, going on and on like that. Ning Liheng, deep down you think you already know why I came to find you, don’t you? You’re always like this — you always think you know what’s in everyone’s head…”

“If I got it wrong, you can just say so…”

“Why should I have to say it? You know everything already, you’re so clever, why should I have to spell it out! I just won’t say it. I just want you to feel uncomfortable, I get annoyed just looking at you, that’s why I came to pick a fight — why should I have to explain myself!”

The woman, sitting with her knees together and her hands folded in her lap, suddenly burst out with all this, her tone not raised but her words coming fast and sharp. Once she’d finished, she just stared at Ning Yi. He blinked, caught off guard — Jin’er’s expression seemed to carry a note of grievance, and he thought perhaps he really had done something wrong without realizing it. He’d stayed calm and even-tempered throughout, and certainly wasn’t about to get angry now — just a bit worn down.

“Your aunt’s come to visit, hasn’t she…”

“Wha— what aunt…”

“Monthly visitor, that time of the month, the crimson tide… your aunt!”

Ning Yi rattled this off quickly. Jin’er’s face flushed red with embarrassment at that, then went pale again. “N-no, it’s none of your business, you shameless—” She paused, then lifted her head again. “On the way here, you held me. You said you’d make it up to me. Where’s that ‘making it up,’ then?”

“How am I supposed to make it up to you? You already know exactly why that happened — Yan Qing from Liangshan was standing right in front of you, I had no choice, what else could I have done? Should I cut off my own hand and give it to you? You want it or not?!” Ning Yi shot back, then turned his head aside and exhaled. Outside, the night wind blew in, making the flame in the lamp on the table flicker wildly. Ning Yi reached out to shield it, then put the lampshade back on, and continued speaking.

“I don’t want to fight with you. If I really did something wrong, I’ll apologize. I know you’re in a bad mood — your family’s trying to marry you off, and I keep pushing things along without letting up, and on top of that you’ve left the place you’ve lived your whole life in Jiangning for somewhere completely unfamiliar, and apart from Yun Zhu, you probably don’t know anyone else here anymore. This morning you all went out and saw that corpse too, and you couldn’t even bring yourselves to talk about it or ask about it properly. All that’s been piling up inside you, and you want to lash out — I get that. Just tell me what’s actually bothering you, will you? I can’t possibly guess everything about you women…”

The two of them stared at each other for a moment. Ning Yi took a breath. “Or is it about that dead woman, weighing on you? I’m not comfortable with it either — it’s obvious the Grand Marshal’s household did it, and the man ranks among the three highest ministers of the realm — being uncomfortable about it doesn’t change anything. Even Qin Siyuan can’t touch him. If it’d make you feel better, should I find a way to get that Young Master Gao killed? Is that… uh, you…”

“You have no idea why I came to find you at all…”

“…Don’t be like this.”

In the pale golden light, tears slid down the woman’s face. Ning Yi found himself at a loss for words, and at the same time felt somewhat wronged himself. On her side, Jin’er sniffled, then pushed back her stool and stood up, tears streaming as she turned to leave. Ning Yi stood up too.

“What is it you actually want!?” Jin’er had taken two steps when Ning Yi’s voice rose sharply behind her, and she stopped. “What are you so upset about, what do you want to say — just say it plainly! You’re not acting like yourself right now, all this hesitating! We’re friends, aren’t we, Yuan Jin’er — look at yourself right now, look at the state you’re in! I talk too much? I’m guessing wildly? If I didn’t think of you as a friend, you think I’d be standing here cracking jokes like a clown trying to lighten the mood? Playing the caring older sister — that’s not exactly my strong suit. When I’m wiping out someone’s entire family, I don’t even need this many words…”

“Then go ahead and kill me!” Jin’er turned back, shouting through her tears.

“I wouldn’t dare, and I’m not scared of you either, but whatever it is, why can’t you just say it plainly? What exactly is wrong with Su Wenyu, I really don’t understand why you’re reacting like this. You can set aside whether you like him or not for now, you don’t need to throw a tantrum like this. If you want to yell at me about something, sit down and yell it all out properly. If you’re willing to talk, I’ll shut up and let you finish scolding me, all right…”

“I came here to tell you… I like you…”

“…Jin’er, sweetheart, communication is really—”

“…”

“Uh…”

Those words — “I like you” — only reached Ning Yi’s mind at that moment. He was caught off guard, his mouth opening and closing a few times out of sheer reflex, and the room fell silent. Having said this, Jin’er turned away, wiping her tears with her back to him, looking as though she meant to walk straight out the door — but in the end, she didn’t take that step. Ning Yi breathed twice before speaking again, and it wasn’t long before he did, his voice low. “If you’re only… only trying to embarrass me, this joke’s gone far enough…”

“I wish it really were just a joke too…” She pressed the back of her hand to her nose and mouth, sniffling. “I really don’t want to like you. I hate you. You’re the most annoying person there is…”

After saying this, she was quiet for a long while before turning back around, tears still streaming, her voice choked. “Negotiate? That’s what I came here to negotiate about? What is there to negotiate, Ning Liheng — you’re nothing but some married-in son-in-law, a meddler, annoying, a nuisance…”

Ning Yi, unsure how to respond, lifted his head slightly. “Damn it…”

The words weren’t loud, but they carried far enough to be heard. Jin’er tilted her head, asking through her sobs, “What did you say?”

“Wasn’t talking about you…”

“You’re cursing at me now, too…” She said this while crying, then hesitated a moment before finally stepping forward, snatching up one of the teacups Ning Yi had arranged, backing away, and throwing it at him. It didn’t carry much force; Ning Yi casually knocked it aside, and it shattered on the floor.

“…You’re the most annoying person there is, I hate how you meddle in everything, who do you think you are, what are you even to me? Whether I marry or not is none of your business! Why shouldn’t I like Su Wenyu — you already decided behind my back that I don’t like him, so what of it!”

“…I hate how shameless you are, you already agreed I like Sister Yun Zhu, and yet you go and mess everything up, you can’t even give her a proper status… and you still held me, you said you’d make it up to me, where is it — you think you can just joke your way past it? I’m not a fool — if I hadn’t let it go, you think I really would have just forgotten it, just like that? Huh?”

“…I hate how smooth-talking you are, your jokes aren’t even funny, you go on and on, what do you even know, do you really think I’d be moved by what you’re saying?!”

“…What I hate most is how full of yourself you are! Aren’t you supposed to be so impressive! So intimidating in front of everyone! Always killing people’s whole families at the drop of a hat, running circles around all those people at Liangshan! You always think you know exactly what’s in other people’s heads, so how come you can’t figure this out at all — why I’m upset, why I’m picking a fight with you! What does Su Wenyu have to do with any of it! You stole Sister Yun Zhu, and now you want to push me off on some other man — that’s why I’m angry, because you’re the one who arranged it! I hate you! I hate myself…”

“…I hate that I like you…”

She wept, sobbing, throwing the teacups on the table at him one after another. When she’d thrown them all, she stood there crying, looking at Ning Yi, wiping at her tears — this went on for quite a while, at one point she even choked on her own saliva mid-sob and coughed twice, covering her mouth with her hand. But even those two awkward coughs brought no hint of comedy to the scene; Ning Yi stood there, speechless, not knowing what to say. Finally, the woman turned to leave, but after one step, she turned back again, still wiping at her tears.

“Negotiate…” she said, kicking at the table, her voice tearful, “I hate that you’re scolding me…”

Her voice carried a note of desolation, and even more of grievance. The edge of the table slammed into Ning Yi’s thigh; he reached out to steady it, and the tea tray on top slid toward the floor. He grabbed for it with his other hand, catching the teapot, but the smooth-bodied purple clay pot slipped from his grasp the next instant, and fell — leaving only the lid in his hand, while the pot itself shattered on the floor.

Beside him, Jin’er shoved the door open with a bang and finally ran out crying. Outside the door, the small crowd that had gathered to eavesdrop stirred in commotion; Ning Yi saw Yun Zhu rush past the doorway, looking flustered and a little embarrassed, chasing after Jin’er. As for the others — Xiao Chan was probably among them, and perhaps Su Wenyu and Su Yanping too — they scattered like startled birds the moment they saw Ning Yi couldn’t see them anymore.

“A thing like this…”

He sighed, set the teapot lid down on the table, stared at it blankly for a moment, then swept it off the table with his hand, letting it shatter into several pieces on the floor.

The matter was still far from resolved, and for now, he’d clearly made a fool of himself. As he left the room and headed back toward the courtyard, he saw Su Wenyu and Su Yanping still standing by the doorway talking about something. Seeing him approach, they’d meant to slip away, but in the end only stepped aside, greeted him, then glanced at him nervously, sneaking looks at his expression. Ning Yi walked past the two of them, then pointed at Su Wenyu.

“From now on… find your own girl.”

With that, he walked off.

The moon had climbed above the treetops by the time Ning Yi’s figure disappeared from view, and only then did Su Wenyu and Su Yanping dare to keep talking.

“You’re not angry?”

“I saw this coming a long time ago… you know how Second Brother-in-law’s always going on about picking up girls… he’s genuinely formidable at everything else, you have to admit — but when it comes to courting women…”

“What?”

“…Heh, if you ask me, he’s really not any good at it at all.”

“Makes sense… let’s see how he handles this one.”