Being able to reach an understanding with Jin’er before leaving for Shandong, resolving the matter, was something worth being happy about for Ning Yi. Of the three matters he needed to settle recently, one was finally resolved. That afternoon, Jin’er’s demeanor returned to normal as usual. That evening, after finishing up her tasks, Xiao Chan spoke with him in the courtyard: “Xiao Chan, haven’t you been practicing what I taught you before?”
“Ah, but… that hurts…”
Then Xiao Chan was pulled away amid such hesitation.
Such an obvious change in attitude was likely enough for the household to guess what had happened. Sitting under the eaves resting with Yunzhu, Yunzhu’s smile carried an awareness of these things. That evening, after being worn out by Jin’er for a while, Xiao Chan naturally understood too, only right now she knew Ning Yi had been troubled by many matters weighing on him, and having resolved this one worry, she even seemed somewhat pleased.
That night, after the two of them had gone to bed, once it grew late, Xiao Chan nestled in his arms, and Ning Yi reached out to hold her, stroking the hair at the back of her neck. “When… Tan’er comes up to the capital, tell her honestly about everything that’s happened here.”
Xiao Chan raised her head. “Hm?”
“The matters with Nie Yunzhu and Yuan Jin’er—speaking of these things, I feel I’ve wronged you both somewhat.”
Hearing Ning Yi say this, Xiao Chan, who had only been nestled against him, reached out and hugged him tightly, burying her head against his chest as if trying to fuse herself with him. After a moment, she smiled against his chest. “Actually… the matter with Miss Jin’er must have put you in a rather difficult position, husband?”
“Heh… it did catch me a bit off guard…”
“Miss Nie, Miss Yuan, they’re both good people…” Xiao Chan spoke against his chest. “But some things—being a good person doesn’t mean everything will be fine… Back at the Su household, some of the masters married wives and took concubines, and at first everyone got along well, one happy family… but as time slowly passed, some things changed…”
The moonlight was hazy, and the words this little wife nestled in his arms spoke were light and easy, carrying no excess of emotion as she went on. “In great households, this and that gets said. The masters… the grievances they suffer outside, the worries built up in business dealings, they bring home from outside. Slowly, whoever gets distanced, whoever gets favored—the differences start to show. What’s in the heart builds up slowly, then… both good and bad people alike, they all have resentment in their hearts, they all have satisfaction in their hearts… these things, does husband know about them…”
The little wife in his arms raised her head, her eyes glistening. These things were probably weighing on her heart too. Ning Yi nodded, held her, and pressed his lips to the space between her brows. Xiao Chan closed her eyes, and they held each other like that for a good while.
“Some of these things, actually, Young Mistress said… especially after what happened with Sister Nie came out. She said, it’s not that every great household is like this, there are always exceptions—it just takes mutual understanding between husband and wife to make it work. Young Mistress said, husband is a strange man, that he’d rather abandon everything else out there than abandon us. That’s what Young Mistress thinks, and I… I think so too…”
Xiao Chan nuzzled her face against his body. “Xiao Chan… is just a maid who shares your bed—some things, I shouldn’t really be saying in front of husband, but… husband is a strange man, maybe he’s spoiled Xiao Chan rotten. What Xiao Chan wants to say isn’t anything bad about Miss Nie or Miss Yuan. Young Mistress said, these things, it really is something husband and wife can only manage through mutual understanding…”
She paused, lying against him. “Xiao Chan… has actually had a lot of good things happen in this life—being a maidservant at the Su household was good fortune, meeting Young Mistress was good fortune, having Juan’er and Xing’er as sisters was good fortune. But Xiao Chan thinks the best thing of all was meeting husband, being able to give my body to husband and no one else—that’s the best thing that’s happened in this whole life. But sometimes when I think that I might someday become one of those women who spend all day in a dark room, jealous and vicious, it makes my heart ache…”
Her voice even grew a little choked as she said this. “Xiao Chan… only has husband. There isn’t much I can do—fold husband’s clothes, pour tea, tidy things up. Xiao Chan only hopes… husband won’t cast me aside. When you’re happy, hold me; when you’re not, scold me. As long as husband is still by my side, Xiao Chan won’t turn into that jealous, vicious woman. Anyway, husband is a strange man—as long as husband remembers these things, that’s enough… as long as you remember, I won’t turn bad…”
These words had probably been on her mind for a long time. When she finally spoke them, Ning Yi was silent for a long while before saying, “I understand.” His wife’s words were, to him, a sobering admonition. After a moment, he added, “There won’t be anything like this again in the future.”
Xiao Chan just laughed against his chest. “That… is hard to say…”
“Hm?” Ning Yi felt a bit put out that Xiao Chan thought so little of him, plainly treating him as a womanizing rascal.
“My husband, you’re a man of great self-restraint. Ordinary women, even if they have feelings for you, you won’t be moved by them. Miss Qilan of Jiangning, and all those others, it’s the same with all of them. But husband, when it comes to genuine, heartfelt goodwill from others, you can’t seem to refuse it. That’s how it was with Miss Jin’er, wasn’t it?” The Xiao Chan in his arms raised her head, looking at him with a rather knowing smile.
Ning Yi frowned, unable to refute such an accusation. After a moment, Xiao Chan said, “Just like… that big-sword Watermelon Princess, what will happen between husband and her going forward?”
Xiao Chan had been trapped in Hangzhou together with Ning Yi, so she knew the whole process of what had happened between Ning Yi and Liu Xigua. Bringing this up, Ning Yi laughed. “Liu Xigua, ah… what she’s doing is the great cause of rebellion and saving all mankind. Back then at Overlord Blade Camp, all those things were just expedient measures at the time, it hadn’t gotten to that level. Xiao Chan, you’re thinking too much…”
“Er…” Xiao Chan hesitated slightly. She’d really just felt there was something ambiguous between Ning Yi and Liu Xigua, unable to be sure if there really was something going on. “There isn’t?”
“Not really.” Ning Yi answered, then thought for a while longer. “And besides… we’ve forgotten each other in the rivers and lakes, there probably won’t even be a chance to meet again, so what would there be to worry about. I just hope… she won’t be caught by the court, that in the end she’ll meet a good end…”
As for that female bandit chief of Overlord Blade Camp—though Xiao Chan had been afraid of her at first, over their later interactions, she’d actually come to quite like her. Hearing Ning Yi say this, and realizing the woman’s current position of open rebellion, Xiao Chan couldn’t help feeling a bit wistful. After a moment, she finally said, “Anyway… as long as husband just stays the same strange husband he is now, that’ll do…”
“How am I strange.” Ning Yi laughed, pinching her nose. “Anyway, I’ll always remember… you all are the most important things in my life…”
Since coming to the Wu Dynasty, this was the first time he had said this so plainly in front of anyone. Perhaps it was only in front of Xiao Chan that he could speak so candidly.
That night he talked with Xiao Chan about this matter. The next day, Ning Yi went out and paid another visit to the Qin residence. Coming to Bian Liang had originally been about one matter, but it had turned into three. The one concerning Jin’er was now temporarily resolved. The second was the outline for the entire Bamboo Records plan, but honestly, there would be plenty of time for that later. As for the preparations to deal with Liangshan, that was something that would come together naturally without needing deliberate effort—though it was legitimate business too, it didn’t need to be specifically counted in.
As for the third matter, it was the complication that had arisen involving Young Master Gao. For this, he could stay a few more days, but honestly, as things stood, there didn’t seem to be much possibility of resolving it.
The main trouble with this matter was that he had no substantial intelligence network in Bian Liang. If he wanted to investigate Young Master Gao while avoiding the Secret Investigation Bureau, the only one he could rely on was Li Shishi. But though Li Shishi treated him well enough, how far he could actually trust her was hard to say. If Ning Yi truly revealed his intention to kill Gao Muen, there was no telling whether she might turn around and run straight to the Grand Marshal’s residence to report it, in order to distance herself from the matter.
Ning Yi was skilled at strategic planning and at mobilizing resources, but without much in the way of resources to work with, he was just an ordinary man, not some deity. All those figures in books said to be “so brilliant they seem almost supernatural” were also built up through resources. Whether he was clear about the people around Young Master Gao, whether he had a real sense of the Grand Marshal’s residence’s background, capabilities, and style—all of this mattered greatly, and was the prerequisite for any scheme, open or hidden.
If he absolutely had to kill Gao Muen, there wasn’t a lack of ways to do it right now—there were even many options to choose from. But killing him without being traced back was difficult, especially right now, having just had a confrontation with Gao Muen—no matter what happened, he would be suspected first. And if he really drew the attention of the Grand Marshal’s residence, it would only make the whole situation worse. If he didn’t kill Gao Muen, at least there was the protection of the Qin household, and Yunzhu, Xiao Chan, and the others would be safe. If he did kill Gao Muen, and the other side sought revenge, then not even Qin Siyuan might be able to protect them—in that case, he might as well forget about Shandong and flee with everyone immediately.
For this reason, he had now essentially given up his plan to eliminate Young Master Gao. Coming to the Qin residence was to confirm several other matters once more.
After Tan’er headed north, the cloth business, along with the Bamboo Records project, would need help and looking after. There were several small plans that went along with the Bamboo Records—for instance, hoping the Chancellor’s household could help acquire a papermaking workshop and a printing house, and hoping the Secret Investigation Bureau could help arrange a clerk to collect and archive various tales and news from the martial world. These trivial matters had been mentioned to everyone before, and now it was time to formally settle them.
For people like Qin Siyuan and Yao Zunian, his idea for a “Ranking of the Hundred Greatest Martial Masters” probably seemed a bit like child’s play, but since Ning Yi was spending his own money on it, they had no reason to stop him. And before the Bamboo Records project truly got underway, Ning Yi himself knew this idea wouldn’t accomplish much yet. A scholar compiling some ranking of the hundred greatest masters—who would even know about it? Only once the Bamboo Records expanded, becoming something spoken of on every street corner, could it truly bear fruit. But preparations needed to begin now regardless. In any case, this could wait until he returned from Shandong.
In the days around the Dragon Boat Festival, both inside and outside Bian Liang were bustling, and in fact the same bustle extended into the court as well. Grand Marshal Tong’s army was in position, the Ever-Victorious Army’s defection had been fully confirmed, and the Liao, thoroughly routed by the Jin, chose to submit and declare vassalage to both sides when the Ever-Victorious Army sided with Wu.
Anyone with sense knew this was the Liao trying to buy time. The few remaining peace advocates at court were still fighting to voice their opinions, arguing that Wu and Liao could actually be brotherly nations, but that Wu shouldn’t share a border with the Jin. But such talk had grown too weak to hold up—everyone knew the ripe fruit couldn’t be left unpicked, and war was imminent, though how to wage it still had plenty of room for discussion.
Because of this atmosphere of an arrow already nocked on the bowstring, Qin Siyuan had also been extremely busy of late. Since he began pushing for the northern campaign, he’d mostly been coordinating logistics, and now that Guo Yaoshi led the Ever-Victorious Army bringing two prefectures to submit to Wu, all manner of trivial matters had only increased. That day, as evening approached, Qin Siyuan finally returned from outside. He’d already known for a while that Ning Yi would be leaving in the next couple of days, and that evening, staying home for dinner, he seemed to feel a bit of regret about it.
“Liheng, during these days you’ve been in the capital, it seems everyone’s been busy with their own affairs. I’d hoped to have you join a few poetry gatherings, join in the bustle of Bian Liang, but you didn’t seem interested either. It looks like it’ll have to wait until you’re back from Shandong.”
“There will always be opportunities.” Ning Yi said with a smile.
“Nothing else to say about it, but after the Dragon Boat Festival, word about you has been spreading widely. Tang Qinsou has spoken to me several times, saying that with such talent, you shouldn’t remain a pearl gathering dust—that whatever your thoughts, you ought to be allowed into the Imperial Academy to study, to take the proper path through the imperial examinations. Also, Grand Preceptor Cai apparently has expressed interest in meeting you. If you’re willing to go, you might well receive a fine reputation for it.”
Grand Preceptor Cai Jing—when Qin Siyuan mentioned this name, one that now seemed to have faded somewhat from the circles of power, something stirred faintly in Ning Yi’s mind. In his more than two years in the Wu Dynasty, though he’d occasionally heard this name, he’d never had much interest in the Wu Dynasty’s political circles before, so he hadn’t heard much in the way of opinions about the man. This trip to Bian Liang had filled in a bit of knowledge—he now knew roughly that the man had retired from office some years back but still held the title of Grand Preceptor, living out his old age peacefully in Bian Liang. But if one dug a little deeper, one would learn that this man, now in his seventies, was in fact the figure with the deepest foundation of influence in Bian Liang’s political world today—the true big boss.