His wife’s voice echoed through the courtyard, and beside her, Xiao Chan, bundle still in her arms, burst into tears as well. Ning Yi stood there, watching his weeping wife and concubine, unable to speak. He parted his lips, but no words came. Su Tan’er’s heartbreak had its roots somewhere real — the word she’d emphasized in what she’d said was “my.” She was his wife — his, and no one else’s. During the time Yun Zhu had been away, he’d thought he was simply letting himself relax for a while, but in truth, in front of Tan’er, his mood had indeed been affected by it, and he had, admittedly, been somewhat distracted.

He could untangle this feeling well enough within himself, but in that moment, he had no idea how to explain it to the two weeping women beside him. Xiao Chan, in tears, said, “My lord, mistress, please don’t fight anymore… boo hoo, husband, sister…”

Off in the courtyard, Wending and the others were probably still sneaking glances and eavesdropping. Ning Yi pressed his fingers to his forehead, forcing out some words with effort. “I know… I know I’ve done something wrong, but this whole thing… it’s not what you think it is…” He didn’t know how best to explain himself, and abruptly threw a punch off to the side. “Damn it, is this some kind of Korean drama?!”

Neither Tan’er nor Xiao Chan understood a word of that. Having growled it out through gritted teeth, Ning Yi’s expression twisted slightly. In his previous life, he’d never given much thought to matters of the heart, and now, in this life, taking things seriously for once, it had still turned out like this — though of course, that wasn’t their fault at all, it was his own. He wondered whether he should simply insist on keeping Tan’er here no matter what, resolving things the way everyone in this era would default to doing. In truth, however many people in this household stood by his side, and however many stood by Tan’er’s — regardless of the count — if he were to simply carry Tan’er off, give her a beating, strip her bare, and lock her away for a month, he suspected most everyone would actually support the idea. As he stood there thinking this over, Tan’er, having just shouted and then cried stubbornly for a while, walked over and wrapped her arms around him.

Tan’er pressed her face into Ning Yi’s chest, holding onto him, still crying. After sobbing for a good while, she finally said, quietly, “I’m not leaving…”

As if trying to comfort Ning Yi, she repeated it through her tears. “I’m not leaving. You’re my husband… and there’s Xiao Xi too, he’s not even a year old yet…”

Ning Yi wrapped his arms around her, but then heard her add, “But this time… I still need to go to Muyuan.”

Ning Yi thought about this, feeling thoroughly conflicted. “You… how… huh?” He genuinely couldn’t fathom what this woman was thinking.

“Because Miss Nie left, so I need to leave too. I don’t want to stay by your side and have you think I’m living happily here while she’s not…”

“That’s not going to happen.” Ning Yi said through gritted teeth. “You’re… you’re my wife, properly married with full honors, I… I’ve never really thought about who matters more and who matters less, don’t you know that already? I… I’ve never once brought up things like taking a matrilocal son-in-law’s role or having myself struck from the household registry — it’s precisely because I’ve been thinking of your feelings, even if you might not necessarily feel too troubled by it… You matter a great deal to me…”

Ning Yi wasn’t especially skilled at saying such things, but having said this much, Tan’er sniffled in his arms. “I know, but there’s another reason too… husband, it’s because you’re too tired…”

“Uh…” Ning Yi’s body went rigid for a moment.

Tan’er said softly, “You’ve been pushing yourself too hard, putting too much pressure on yourself — do you really think I haven’t noticed? You always want to handle everything, be fair to everyone, especially with me, Xiao Chan, and Miss Nie — you’ve accommodated so much, and you always think it’s your own fault, how could anyone possibly manage to satisfy everyone at once… I’ve thought it over. Since Miss Nie has left, if I leave for a little while too, maybe you’ll be able to think things through more clearly…”

As Ning Yi stood there dazed, she shook her head, her tone growing gentler. “I know too, a woman shouldn’t behave this way — I… I was taught, after all, only to support my husband and raise our children well. But you’re the one who spoiled me into being like this, husband — I still don’t fully understand what it is you want, or why you push yourself so hard. But since you’ve chosen to live this way, I thought, perhaps if I go away for a while, you’ll feel a little lighter. Once you’ve thought things through, whether you want to drag me back home, or whatever else you decide, I’ll come back — because I’m your wife, and whatever you say, I’ll listen to it…”

She sniffled and looked up at him. “Is that all right?”

Ning Yi opened his mouth. “I… I didn’t want things to turn out like this…”

After a moment, he added, “You — do you all really think… this is how it has to be? What about Xiao Xi? Can you really bear to leave him at home?”

“I can’t bear it.” Tan’er shook her head. “But there’s still so much missing over in Muyuan County — I can’t bring Xi’er along right now. There’s a wet nurse, and Juan’er to look after him — he’ll be fine.”

“You…” Ning Yi waved his hand, wanting to say something, but Tan’er pushed him away and stepped back. She was still crying softly, but her eyes, gazing at Ning Yi, seemed remarkably steady and resolute. Yun Zhu had worn that same look, once. Xiao Chan came over and hugged him, and Ning Yi found himself instinctively hugging her back.

He recalled the words Yun Zhu had spoken when she left — Jin’er had clearly seen through it long ago too. Their leaving wasn’t because they themselves felt burdened by pressure — it was because of the pressure that had built up inside him, and yet, ha, they’d truly seen right through it all the same…

He furrowed his brow, unable to find words.

But that night, in the end, neither Tan’er nor Xiao Chan actually left. That evening, the three of them lay together in silence, wrapped in each other’s arms beneath the bedding. Tan’er and Xiao Chan shed their clothes, holding Ning Yi close, their skin smooth as silk. By the following morning, with a chill still lingering in the morning breeze, the carriage rolled out through the gates of Bianliang, heading south along the road. It wasn’t until nearly noon that Ning Yi finally parted ways with them.

“I’ll go handle things in Muyuan. You take care of matters here in the capital, husband — and Wending doesn’t understand things yet, so you’ll need to teach him more… Look after Xi’er, and take care of your own health too. If… if you find yourself unable to hold back…”

“I know, I’ll just go to the pleasure house.”

“…Just endure it.”

“How am I supposed to endure it if I can’t hold back — that doesn’t even make sense logically…”

Amid the soft murmur of voices inside the carriage, they said their reluctant goodbyes.

…

The next time Li Shishi saw Ning Yi again was at the end of that same first month. On the twenty-sixth, Ning Yi formally sent over a calling card, addressed to Li Yun, the madam of Fan Tower. On the afternoon of the twenty-seventh, Shishi cleared her schedule and waited for him to arrive.

The dealings between Ning Yi and her were, for the most part, private in nature — calling cards could be delivered through personal channels as well. Both Shishi and Li Yun found this particular gesture on his part somewhat unusual, but regardless, Li Yun finally got to meet this most peculiar of talented scholars among Shishi’s “old hometown friends.” After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the two of them entered through the front gate together. Li Yun, a woman of considerable worldly experience and formidable social skill, hit it off with Ning Yi within just a few exchanges. By the time Shishi came out to join them, Li Yun had already steered the conversation toward the private friendship between the two of them, and was preparing to take her leave, giving them some space to themselves.

Among Shishi’s “old friends” — men like Yu Hezhong and Chen Sifeng — Ning Yi was likely the only one who could receive such warm treatment. Yet just as she was taking her leave, Ning Yi smiled and said, “No need to rush off, Madam Li. There’s something I’d like to discuss — please, sit.”

There was a certain natural authority in his tone at that moment. Li Yun, who had meant to leave, ended up sitting back down after all — mainly out of a desire not to offend anyone. She half-suspected Ning Yi might be intending to buy Shishi’s freedom outright, and frowned slightly at the thought; Shishi harbored the same suspicion in her own mind. Fortunately, once Ning Yi began speaking, it turned out to be an entirely different matter altogether.

“Shishi and I are close, practically family, but the reason I’ve come today is actually to ask a favor of Fan Tower, which is why I wanted Madam Li to stay and hear this too. I have here two new song lyrics I’ve composed — please, take a look.”

He drew two sheets of lyrics from inside his robe. Once the two women had read through them, their expressions shifting to surprise, he smiled and got straight to the point. “I’ll be direct about it. I’ve recently been opening up some shops — there are already two Bamboo Records locations in the city, and there will likely be more to come — so I’m hoping we might work something out together. These lyrics, I’ll give to Shishi, and there’ll be more to come after this too, but my one condition is that the very first performance, after the promotion, be held at Bamboo Records…”

Li Yun looked over the lyrics, then looked at Ning Yi, and after a moment said with a smile, “Honestly, Young Master Ning and Shishi are already old friends — talking business between the two of you seems almost vulgar…”

“Ah, well, business is business…” Ning Yi said, waving a hand with a smile. “Whether or not the business side of things works out, my friendship with Shishi remains what it is regardless.”

“Young Master Ning speaks plainly enough.” Li Yun laughed. “Then this old woman won’t beat around the bush either. As things stand, Young Master Ning would gain both reputation and profit from this, while also drawing customers over to your Bamboo Records shops. Ordinarily, between friends, this sort of thing wouldn’t matter much — but Shishi’s reputation didn’t come easily, and this old woman would hope that, aside from Bamboo Records, Young Master Ning might provide Shishi with additional poems as well, ones that could help her hold her own here at Fan Tower too.”

“I’d like to preserve the particular character of Bamboo Records, if possible… but Madam Li makes a fair point, and everything can be discussed. Actually, I imagine, hearing me talk about ‘Bamboo Records’ this and ‘Bamboo Records’ that, Madam Li still doesn’t have a clear picture of what it’s actually like. If it would help give you a sense of it, perhaps I could accompany Madam Li over there in the next day or two, so you could see it for yourself while we talk further. Actually, behind all this, there’s the backing of the Right Chancellor’s residence and the Wang family here in the capital as well — there could be room for us to cooperate on more than just this one thing, and we can discuss all of it further with Madam Li…”

Shishi sat quietly, watching the two of them go back and forth for a good while. She’d certainly witnessed this kind of exchange before, but this was genuinely the first time she’d ever seen Ning Yi speak about business matters with such practiced fluency. Li Yun, too, was a formidably capable woman — at first merely curious, but as Ning Yi’s proposition grew increasingly ambitious, she recognized she couldn’t agree too readily. The two of them sparred back and forth with veiled words for a good while, and in the end, nothing was actually agreed to outright — except that Li Yun consented to visit Bamboo Records in two days’ time. Once the business matters had been settled and Madam Li had taken her leave, Shishi caught sight of the satisfied smile on Ning Yi’s face and felt a faint, uneasy premonition.

Ning Yi drank down several cups of tea in a row, laughing and praising Madam Li’s shrewdness. Shishi set another pot of tea to brew, and, frowning slightly, asked him about Bamboo Records and matters of business. After a moment, though, her curiosity turned elsewhere. “I heard that Miss Yun Zhu recently left the capital?”

“Eh, how did you know that?”

“I’m on close terms with Sister Nong — she’s the one who taught you instrument-making, and she knows Miss Yun Zhu as well.”

“Ah.” Ning Yi thought for a moment, then nodded. “That aunt named… Nong Guyin.”

“Sister,” Shishi corrected him earnestly.

Ning Yi laughed and shook his head. “She’s gone to Xuanzhou, to visit her old family home. Women, honestly… I still haven’t quite figured it all out…”

“From what I’m hearing, though, it doesn’t sound like a simple family visit?”

“Mm, they… they seem to think I need some time alone to clear my head, so they’ve all up and left.”

“They?”

“There’s also the two ladies of my own household…” Ning Yi spread his hands. “But… let’s not talk about this sort of thing, shall we.”

Li Shishi blinked at him, her eyes filled with a certain bewilderment, but eventually nodded in agreement.

The following day, Li Yun visited Bamboo Records, and by the time she returned, she’d been sold on a whole batch of goods — at the very least, many of the fire-heated spots at Fan Tower would now be switched over, in stages, to coal stoves… Looking back on it afterward, Li Yun always felt she’d been thoroughly outmaneuvered by that glib-tongued young man.

Meanwhile, Zhu Biao, Hu Sanniang, and the others arrived in Bianliang…