Sunshine was dazzling, and the painted boat gently swayed with the ripples of the water. From afar came the buzzing sounds of tourists. Ning Yi was sitting with Xiao Chan on the side of the painted boat facing the lake. In his view, there were still boats sailing from afar, and flocks of birds flew across the sky.

"Alright, what's wrong?"

After sitting down, the atmosphere between the two was somewhat silent. Xiao Chan did not sit upright but sat sideways on the edge of the chair. It was a rather restrained way of sitting. In ordinary families, maids dared not sit upright in front of their masters, and that was how they sat. However, Xiao Chan had long abandoned those formal respects in front of Ning Yi. Suddenly, she had such an attitude again, which could only mean that she was thinking about some difficult decisions. Seeing that her fingers were still tightly intertwined, Ning Yi reached out and took one of her hands into his palm. The palm was fair and small, and after being placed in Ning Yi's hand, it trembled slightly, but it finally made Xiao Chan take a breath.

"Groom... Young Master..."

"Hmm?"

"Young Master... Can you promise me something?"

The girl asked timidly, her voice gradually lowering. Ning Yi smiled slightly: "You don't tell me what it is, and I don't know if I can do it."

"I... I want Young Master to promise me that what I tell Young Master later, if... if Young Master doesn't agree, please don't tell Miss, okay..."

"Oh? Can't tell your Miss?"

"It's not..."

Chan'er shook her head softly. One of her hands was held in Ning Yi's hand, feeling a little more at ease. At this time, she thought for a while and decided to speak, her face gradually turning rosy.

"Young Master, can Young Master... tell Miss, say... say... tonight, no, or tomorrow night... any day is fine... Young Master and Miss, free up one night, don't stay with Miss, okay..."

She said these words with difficulty, which was quite ambiguous. Moreover, as a maid, it was too presumptuous to ask the two masters not to stay together at night. Ning Yi was slightly stunned. Xiao Chan should have also realized the ambiguity of these words. Her face turned red and white and anxious for a while. Her usual simple and lovely smile was now mixed with various expressions. The left hand held by Ning Yi shrank, wanting to pull it back, but Ning Yi used force on his hand, and she couldn't pull it back. She then touched it with her right hand, lowered her head, and bowed her body on the chair. Ning Yi could no longer see her face, only felt that her skin seemed to be burning, not only her palms, but also her originally fair neck had turned red.

"Young Master only needs to accompany Xiao Chan, accompany Xiao Chan... Young Master only needs to sleep with Xiao Chan for one night."

She finished these words forcefully, her forehead lowered to Ning Yi's hand. At this time, in the shadows of the ship's side, the girl's thin body seemed to be curled up in front of Ning Yi. Ning Yi thought for a while, then moved over a little, put her forehead on his shoulder, and sighed: "Wait a few days, after the wedding, wouldn't that be okay?"

In the distance of the view, there were boats coming over. If you looked closely, you might be able to see the situation here. However, Ning Yi didn't care about it at this time. Xiao Chan shook her head slightly on his shoulder: "No, not after the wedding..."

After saying this, she moved her body back, reached out and wiped her eyes, and raised her head slightly to reveal a reluctant smile: "Xiao Chan has thought about it, not after the wedding, Xiao Chan... Xiao Chan and Young Master, after we do that, it's okay to be a concubine, no title is okay too."

Ning Yi looked at her without speaking. His concept was different from people at this time. Titles, status, etc., were all irrelevant, but for Xiao Chan and others, it was impossible to be like this. As far as the concept is concerned, the one who sleeps with the master can be a concubine or a mistress. With a ceremony, there will be more titles. Even if the status of a mistress is not high, what many concubines pursue is only these titles, which may have certain important symbolic meanings for them.

Even if Ning Yi can use his own influence to make this family as harmonious as possible, as... strange as possible, for Xiao Chan and others, there are always some things that cannot be eliminated. In fact, it is not just the status of a mistress. With the intimacy between Ning Yi and Xiao Chan, the two could have done more things a long time ago. The reason why Ning Yi didn't move forward was because he knew that, at least for Xiao Chan, those rituals should be meaningful.

She is just a maid, but she can still have a ceremony. This ceremony may be small, and only a few people in the family may participate, but at least in that ceremony, she can also be valued like ordinary women, worshiping heaven and earth, offering tea, and there will be a wedding night. These will be meaningful in her life. Therefore, Ning Yi hopes that her experiences can be complete, but she said at this time that it is okay to have only one night, and the thoughts in her heart can be imagined.

For a moment, he didn't know what to say. Xiao Chan looked at him with pleading eyes. She, a maid, couldn't tell the Miss about this matter, and she knew that Ning Yi had a position in the family, so she asked Ning Yi to speak up. After a long while, she added: "I, I have thought about it for a long time..."

She tried to calm down and said in a low voice: "I, I and Juan'er were not originally maids following Miss. Only Sister Xing'er was following Miss from the beginning. Later, Miss said she wanted two people to help with things, and Juan'er and I came to Miss's side. We have always been helping Miss with things. If we really get married, the family's views will be different. Maybe they will say that Xiao Chan is a mistress and should not show her face again. Some of the things that Xiao Chan used to manage are not easy to manage anymore, otherwise she will be said to be restless. Even if I follow Young Master, I still have to follow Miss to do things..."

Speaking of this, she looked up at Ning Yi: "Don't think too much, Young Master. I like Young Master very much, but... but... anyway, Xiao Chan can take care of it. I can help Miss and serve Young Master. It's okay..." Her voice lowered, and then she returned to normal, "Also, there are Juan'er and Sister Xing'er. We are all maids. If I follow Young Master, my status will be different in the future. It may not be as good as before to get along... I have a very good relationship with Juan'er, and I treat Sister Xing'er as my own sister. I don't want to be alienated..."

Having said that, the courage in her heart was finally exhausted. Ning Yi organized his words: "I... I won't talk nonsense with your Miss, but with her shrewdness, if I say to handle it according to your ideas, do you think she won't think that this is your idea? Or will she not think about what you are thinking?"

"Uh?"

"Think about it, what will your Miss do after I retell it?"

"Can't think of it..."

"She may find you and pretend to be angry, but in the end, it's still the same result..." Ning Yi played with her slender fingers, "Some things are determined by this era, but for me, I really... like you very much and don't want to let you leave, Xiao Chan..." He put his hands together, wrapping the girl's palms in them, "A lifetime of things, you only need to think about one thing, do you want to marry me?"

Xiao Chan obviously didn't understand some of Ning Yi's words, but at this time, she just blushed slightly: "Xiao Chan, Xiao Chan is originally Young Master and Miss's. Whether I marry or not, I am... but I don't want Miss to be unhappy..."

"Since you said that, let me handle it with your Miss, okay?" Not answering Xiao Chan's last sentence, Ning Yi smiled and made a decision. Xiao Chan was stunned for a moment, then nodded and showed a shy smile. Many things don't necessarily have perfect solutions. At this time, Ning Yi was just a little moved, but he didn't necessarily have specific ideas. Of course, some things don't necessarily need to be really solved. In fact, it is enough to make Xiao Chan feel that there is a backbone.

In his previous life, he had been in such a circle, reaching the highest point. In the surrounding environment, wives were less common than mistresses, and one-night stands were often more practical than love. Money and power cannot bring true love. On the contrary, the more materialistic desires there are, the more distorted everything around is. After experiencing too much, he was tired and would yearn for pure things, but it didn't mean that he would completely idealize these things.

Su Tan'er's suddenly surging mood and Xiao Chan's lovable compromise are all part of this purity. The troubles between the two are part of this era. In this era without the concept of monogamy, it is actually not a very serious matter.

Ning Yi took on this matter and comforted her a few words. Xiao Chan, who believed in Ning Yi, also became more cheerful. At this time, recalling what she had just begged Ning Yi to sleep with her for one night, she was shy again, saying a few words such as "The clouds in the sky are like fish scales, it's so strange," and ran away in a hurry. Ning Yi originally wanted to take her off the boat to see a group of talented scholars chanting poems, but naturally, he couldn't find her at this time.

After delaying this time, basically everyone who was supposed to arrive today had already arrived. Xiao Yingzhou itself is a long and narrow ring-shaped island. Although it is also a beautiful water garden at this time, it is not as large as it will be in later generations. There is no place on the island where a large number of people can gather. Although it is said to be a poetry meeting, because there are many people coming, people walk and sit among the trees to appreciate the scenery, which seems to be somewhat similar to a spring outing.

However, there are still poetry meetings, of course. At this time, the large and small boats parked on the shore are almost connected in one piece. The real poetry meeting is not held on the shore, but on several large boats parked on the shore.

"It's still too hot at the beginning of autumn, and it's not customary to hold poetry meetings at this time. It was Xiong Ruming, who was the prefect here a few years ago, who set the precedent. At that time, various places were hit by disasters, and Hangzhou hadn't harvested in autumn, but various materials were also running out—of course, that's what they said, but actually, the problem wasn't that big. Prefect Xiong invited many people to visit this island, asked wealthy households to provide some materials, and asked talented scholars to write some poems, writing about the spirit of everyone sharing the difficulties together. At that time, he invited Qian Xiwun, Lord Qian, Mu Bochang, Lord Mu, and Chang Yuan'an, Lord Chang, to help him strengthen his momentum. Now Lord Chang has passed away, but the poetry meeting at the beginning of autumn has been preserved. Otherwise, their gatherings of literati would not have invited so many merchants to strengthen their momentum."

The time was almost up. Luo Tian, who had been wandering around below for a while, also arrived on the painted boat, preparing to take his wife to formally attend the meeting. He casually talked about the origin of this autumn poetry meeting. Ning Yi thought for a while: "I'm afraid it won't be very harmonious, right?"

"Some noble people have used poems to satirize the copper smell of merchants, but some people will take out the things from that year to refute it. At that time, those who had money contributed money, and those who had strength contributed strength, earning a good reputation for everyone. Moreover, those who are invited over also have some poetry background, like my humble wife, who was also a talented woman with some reputation back then, ha... Actually, this autumn poetry meeting is not as utilitarian as it was at the beginning. Visiting the garden, writing poems, and in the evening, there will be a carefully prepared banquet by the chefs of Fuqing Restaurant. Some water lanterns will be released at night to pray for blessings. It's still quite lively..."

After Luo Tian finished saying these things, he led his wife away. When Juan'er was cleaning up the teacups and fruit plates, Su Tan'er pulled Ning Yi to the side and said softly: "I just saw that Chan'er's eyes were red. Did she tell you something?"

Ning Yi relayed to her what Chan'er had asked for. Su Tan'er was silent for a moment and rested her forehead on Ning Yi's shoulder without saying a word.