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Holding the towel, he walked past the poetry gathering in the rear wing room and saw Xing'er secretly eating candy.

Calling it "secretly eating" might be a bit of a misnomer. As the head maid of the household, and essentially the housekeeper, Xing'er managed the money and accounts and had a monthly salary of twelve taels of silver. In an era where thirty to fifty taels could buy a servant outright, added to various holiday red envelopes and occasional side hustles, Xing'er would definitely be a sought-after, well-off young woman if she were outside. She had the means to eat whatever she wanted.

But, regardless, at that moment, she looked like she was sneaking around.

What she'd taken from the cabinet wasn't some kind of expensive candy. Ning Yi remembered it was some sesame brittle he'd casually bought when he was out on the street not long ago. The taste wasn't very good, and after trying it, Ning Yi had lost interest. Now Xing'er was eating it. Holding the long strip of sesame brittle, she suspiciously looked around, then put it in her mouth and bit off a piece, chewing frantically, the popping sounds making her look like a squirrel. After eating one strip, she carefully wiped her mouth, then couldn't help but gaze at the bag in the cabinet. Looking around again, she took out another strip...

He seemed to have seen similar situations before, but hadn't paid much attention. Now he found it amusing. Her expression was rather odd. Thinking back on it now, as Su Tan'er's head maid, Xing'er did have a sassy side, but she wasn't quite like Wang Xifeng. As a maid, she had to observe rules internally. In front of Chan'er and Juan'er, she was the older sister. When managing affairs in the house, she was mainly composed. Of course, in Ning Yi's eyes, she was just a young girl, not much different from Chan'er and Juan'er, but he rarely saw her eating snacks in front of people... Oh, he should say, he had never seen it. Her attitude was always focused on doing what a maid should do.

The last time he saw her sitting to the side eating snacks, he hadn't given it much thought. Now he realized that no one else seemed to be around then either. Seeing how amusingly she was eating, Ning Yi walked away from the window and went to take a bath with the new towel.

After his bath, he returned to the room. Su Tan'er was sitting by the window reading a letter, a family letter that had come with a recent shipment from Jiangning. Ning Yi sat at another desk, gazing out the window in a daze. Because of the room's layout, their desks weren't facing each other, but arranged in a row in front of the window. Ning Yi occasionally thought it was a lot like being classmates in elementary school. So he turned his head to look at Su Tan'er. Su Tan'er was wearing a plain white dress, her hair casually styled at the back of her head, the ends not tied up flowing down to her shoulders. Her skin was fair, and her profile was beautiful and confident.

If he'd had a classmate like this in elementary school, that would have been too awesome...

Su Tan'er turned her head to look at him. "Husband, what's wrong?"

Oh, if that female classmate also called him "Husband"...

This feeling is too awesome...

Ning Yi raised his hand and made a chopping motion between the two desks. "That side is yours, this side is mine. No crossing the line."

Su Tan'er blinked in confusion, then said softly, "What?"

"Nothing. In school, everyone puts their desks together, and then everyone forbids the other person from crossing the line. It's very interesting."

Su Tan'er thought about it, smiled, and said, "The desks at Yushan Academy were clearly separate, and girls didn't sit next to boys..."

Ning Yi gave her a sidelong glance and casually pulled out the hairpin holding her hair in place. Her long hair immediately cascaded down. Su Tan'er's eyes widened, and she quickly started arranging it. "It's hot with it down..." She reached for the hairpin on Ning Yi's side, but couldn't grab it after several tries. She had to grab a hair tie and tie it up. Ning Yi looked at her fair neck revealed after her hair was up, like a swan.

"Oh, right, I saw Xing'er eating candy over there just now. Does Xing'er like sesame brittle?"

"Ah? Husband, you saw?" Su Tan'er said with a smile, tying up her hair.

"You knew?"

"Mm, that girl Xing'er is quite greedy."

"You can't tell usually."

"Of course not. She's always so serious when there are people around." Su Tan'er smiled. "Husband, you don't know, she was kidnapped and sold by human traffickers when she was little. The trafficker used a piece of candy to lure her away. She was so young at the time, she couldn't remember her home. Later, she wanted to find it, and found the matchmaker who bought her from the trafficker, but the trafficker couldn't be found. The clue ended there."

"Uh..."

Ning Yi was speechless for a moment. Su Tan'er tilted her head and continued with interest.

"Not many people know she's greedy. I only found out after spending a long time with her. Chan'er and Juan'er probably know too. She was the first to follow me. She used to like eating candy a lot, but then someone said she was kidnapped because she ate candy, and she got embarrassed, so she only eats when she hides..."

"Oh, oh, kidnapped because she was greedy..."

Ning Yi repeated, unable to help but smile. Of the three maids, Ning Yi usually interacted with Chan'er the most. Their relationship only truly became close in the half-year after he consummated his marriage with Su Tan'er. Therefore, Ning Yi didn't know much about Xing'er and Juan'er's private matters. At this time, the two chatted about gossip and then talked about the poetry gathering tomorrow, which would be held on the day of the Autumnal Equinox.

Xiaoying Isle was actually Three Pools Mirroring the Moon on West Lake. Whether now or in later generations, it was a famous tourist destination. Qian Xiwens invitation has arrived, so we naturally have to go tomorrow. In addition to that, those going to Xiaoying Isle tomorrow afternoon wont just be poets; because the governor is leading the event, along with the literati, there will be officials and some merchants with connections. Su Taner accompanying me will also increase our presence in Hangzhou’s business world.

"I wonder...did old Master Qian send us the invitation because of Shi Changqi then?"

The first time Shi Changqi visited, Su Taner thought he was just NIng Yi’s friend, so she behaved demurely, came out to greet him, and brought tea and snacks. That's why Shi Changqi didn't notice anything wrong with the couple. So when he later argued with others, he didn't believe that Ning Yi was a live-in husband. Su Taner wasn't home for Shi Changqi’s second visit, but she heard about it later. Now, thinking of it, she asked. NIng Yi smiled and said, "He's certainly curious, but it’ll just be a greeting and a few words. To be honest, don't worry about it. That Old Qin probably isn't coming to tell you any good news. He's probably wanting to knock me down a peg. He is not targeting you or me, but he's sure to be bitter about some things."

Su Taner knew what Ning Yi was referring to. She also knew that the “Old Qin” her husband spoke of was now the Right Chancellor, which she found incredible. She nodded and said softly, "Actually, Master Qin is sincerely good to you. I know that."

“Mhm, so when we return, I might be going to the capital.” NIng Yi said plainly, not making it sound like a big deal. “Of course, we need to wait for you to settle business in Hangzhou first. When I go to the capital, I'm definitely taking you with me. You can argue, but I will insist...”

As he spoke, Su Taner looked at him, her eyes blinking in surprise and gratefulness. For a moment, she didn't know what to say. NIng Yi looked out the window and shrugged. “Of course, you can continue operating your business in the capital. If necessary, I will also help you.”

Su Taner lowered her head, then shook it. “If you had said that before coming to Hangzhou, we wouldn’t have come. Going to the capital is the same…” She thought for a moment and said, “But I won’t be operating a business after going to the capital. Let Wen Ding and Wen Fang do it. As an officials family, making public appearances and doing such things will affect your work… And if you become an official, you might not be in the capital anyway.”

Su Taner’s desire to control the household wasn't as strong as most people imagined. Since she was at the point where her husband was being valued and really could become an official, she would naturally be willing to make concessions. And since she was willing to make concessions, she was clear that if Ning Yi really became an official, she couldn't continue doing business. So she said it voluntarily. However, NIng Yi shook his head, not thinking like she did.

“Don’t think so dramatically. I won’t become an official.” He explained calmly, “After arriving in the capital, I might ask Old Qin to help me get a decent identity. Actually, the status of a Xiucai is enough; I don’t need even the Juren degree. I’m planning to be at most a strategist, offering advice and doing some planning in general. Unlike when I was idly chatting in Jiangning, I'll be taking these things seriously. But it will purely be for talking, manipulating right and wrong, sucking up to the Right Chancellor, and offering flattery. Hehe…”

Ning Yi smiled. “As for the specifics, such as becoming a magistrate somewhere, I don’t plan to do those kinds of trivial matters. I don’t want to enter that system, with its infighting and kneeling and bowing. That goes against my original intention. I’ll only offer advice; whether it’s adopted or not is up to Old Qin to decide. Maybe my armchair strategizing will be useless, and I'll still have to come back. As for you, you won’t be greatly affected.”

“Ning Liheng…”

Su Taner said his name with her head lowered. NIng Yi laughed. “Your voice changed. I knew these words would move you to tears. You can cry, it’s fine; that will make me feel very accomplished. Look, I’ll lend you my shoulder…”

After he said that, Su Taner couldn’t help but laugh and hit him. “Most people can’t become officials, so they want to become strategists, always relying on someone else’s power to finally get a position. You clearly can become an official, but you’re always thinking about being a strategist…”

"I have summarized that among all professions, only strategists are the most idle. Much money, little work, and light responsibilities. When you have ideas, you go out and speak, and if you don't have any ideas, most people don't expect much from you. And you only have to speak, the success or failure is someone else's responsibility. Those people who are always thinking of becoming officials are stupid. Officials have to take responsibility, the pressure is great, they are always drinking coffee and can't sleep, their beards grow long and they have bad tempers, they can't pick up girls ah…"

Of course, being a strategist is more than just that, but Ning Yi's ambitionless and nonsensical sigh made Su Taner only laugh. She didn't even care about the word "coffee" - Ning Yi usually had a lot of random words anyway. Before long, Xing'er came to call them out to dinner. It was sunset, and some birds flew across the sky. Su Taner raised her head in the yard, and there was only a thin cloud in the sky, dyed red by the sunset.

The weather is so clear, she thought, brushing back her hair behind her ear.

The next afternoon, the family went out. Ning Yi and his wife, Chan'er, Juan'er, Xing'er, including Su Wending and Su Wenfang, went to the West Lake and boarded their own decorated boat. Along with many other boats, they sailed towards Xiaoying Isle…

*****************

Since the New Year, many trivial matters, life and mood have been chaotic, and I haven't been online much, but I should be able to sort things out in the past few days.

Not long ago, I couldn't find a book to read, and I looked back at my own "Hidden Murderer". I suddenly felt very touched by a passage in it. It was a sentence written by Jiaming in the ninth episode after seeing Minamoto Yoritomo’s establishment, "Yellow and white lights, red and green neon lights, morning and dusk streets, passionate and cold cities, hills, grasslands, deserts, oceans, forests, heavy rain, sunshine and milky white fog, all kinds of people, a piece of life." The sentence after that sentence is this, "Looking back, you will find that, as if imperceptibly, the world has input various concepts and thoughts into your mind."

I suddenly felt that that sentence was very beautiful. I was probably watching Shinkai Makoto's animation around the time I wrote it. The reason why it touched me was because I suddenly thought that if I repeated it again, I probably wouldn't write such a sentence. This has nothing to do with regression or progress, it's just that people will continue to mature and change, and what I write will be another type of sentence.

For a long time, my position has been to write a book for the sake of a book. From high school to graduation, I wrote "True Demon Territory", which allowed my thoughts to constantly expand. Later, the more I wrote, the bigger the ideas became, until I couldn't control them at all, and I didn't even dare to write anymore. I think after constant practice, I can write such a book, but I recently calculated that I am twenty-seven years old this year. It's not too old, and even for me, I think I am still full of vitality, but the idea of *Zui Xu* is already very large. If it takes another four years to write, and then it takes another four years for me to write "Alienation", I will be thirty-five years old. What will the story in my mind look like then, the Tathagata in my mind, the heavenly realm in my mind, the paranoia in my mind, may be different from before.

Writing may become a more urgent thing for me, because they will remember what I looked like in each stage.

Just some recent moods, unrelated to anything.

But speaking of which, when I think of thirty-five, I feel like I will become very old. Why can't people live to be three hundred and fifty years old...

ps: The main text has exceeded 3,000 words. (To be continued.) Vote for recommendations, monthly tickets, your support is my biggest motivation.)