The night settled over the small courtyard of the Su residence. Lamplight flickered in the rooms and under the eaves, bringing a touch of activity to the courtyard, which had quieted down slightly after the New Year.

Since dinner, a steady stream of people had come and gone, staying for a while before leaving. Ning Yi hadn't wanted to attract such curious gazes because of the afternoon's events, but he had taken a couple of punches and suffered some leg injuries in the fight. It wasn't serious; he had applied medicine and bandages at the Zhuji restaurant. However, the scent of the medicine couldn't be concealed. When Chan'er heard that he had been involved in something dangerous and injured, perhaps even seriously, she tearfully examined him.

"Master is always getting involved in such dangerous things... That assassin last year too... His hand had barely healed... And now this..."

Chan'er was almost seventeen now, and this petite and pretty girl didn't seem to take her master's fearsome title of "Blood Handed Killer" very seriously. Although Ning Yi exercised daily and occasionally bragged to his family about being invincible, even boasting about taking down a fierce bandit with a firearm before the New Year, Chan'er seemed to categorize her master as a frail scholar. She worried about his injuries, and before long, Su Tan'er, along with Xing'er and Juan'er, returned. Then Xing'er was sent to fetch a doctor, and before dark, the news of Ning Yi's injuries had spread throughout the Su residence.

The events that had occurred at the Zhuji restaurant that afternoon had already caused quite a stir in Jiangning city. In just half a day, several people in the Su residence had heard about it. The version was rather jingoistic, telling the heroic tale of how the people of Zhuji restaurant had thwarted a Liao assassination attempt on a court official. This was, in fact, the narrative that Ning Yi had arranged later, with the cooperation of the Kang Wang Manor and the Prince Consort's residence.

The sudden action that afternoon had stemmed from the need to save Qin Si'yuan. If possible, Ning Yi hadn't wanted to fight at Zhuji. After all, the business was thriving, and many customers frequented it. If they suffered an undeserved disaster, they wouldn't dare to return. Unfortunately, the group's determination to attack was unwavering, and the incident couldn't be avoided.

Later, after tallying the results, there were more than thirty people with minor and serious injuries, but fortunately, no innocent customers had died. After understanding the situation, Ning Yi used funds from the shop to pay out substantial compensation. Of course, he didn't use the word "compensation," but rather "rewards" for those who had bravely tried to stop the Liao people. Even those who hadn't been injured, as long as they were in the hall at the time, received money.

That being said, no one knew at the time that the attackers were Liao people. The assassins were fierce and highly skilled in martial arts, and few customers dared to engage them, preferring to take cover. However, after this arrangement, Ning Yi also had Lu A'gui arrange for some people to spread rumors, mainly to say that the Liao people were arrogant and believed that no one in the Central Plains was a match for them, daring to enter Jiangning to assassinate someone. But the Wu Dynasty people had risen up to attack them as a group. Although the Liao were fierce, the Wu Dynasty people were not to be trifled with. Everyone had bravely and selflessly stepped forward... The main idea was to portray it as a commendable heroic event, stirring up patriotic feelings and even exaggerating the injuries of the wounded, calling them heroes. For the next month, the shop would heavily promote this event, which might turn a bad thing into a good one.

In any case, that was the only way to manage the crisis. Ning Yi was well-versed in this, and with the cooperation of Kang Xian's forces, there shouldn't be any major problems.

Ning Yi was still puzzled by the events of that afternoon. Although the five men were quite skilled, the assassination itself seemed rather mindless and not the result of careful planning, suggesting that they weren't backed by an organized group. Moreover, the Liao Kingdom was currently seeking aid from the Wu Dynasty, so it wouldn't make sense for them to go to the trouble of killing Qin Si'yuan, which would be meaningless. After examining the items found on the young nobleman and discussing it with Qin Lao and Lu A'gui, they came to a somewhat ridiculous conclusion.

The young nobleman was likely a minor Liao aristocrat who had brought his powerful family guards south, ostensibly to trade. Relations between the Jin and Liao Kingdoms were strained, and the Liao Kingdom was holding its breath. In the Wu Dynasty, there were growing calls to take the opportunity to attack Liao. He had probably heard rumors about Qin Lao, and when he arrived in Jiangning, he decided to assassinate him out of anger.

This was the most likely explanation, but further investigation was needed to confirm it. Two of the attackers had escaped, and the government forces were still trying to capture them. If they weren't caught, Ning Yi felt that it could be troublesome. Throughout history, fanatics had been the most difficult to deal with, and patriotic zealots who took action were one type. He could only hope that only the young nobleman was a Liao fanatic and that the others were just following orders. Otherwise, if they retaliated, it wouldn't matter to him, but he feared they would target Zhuji.

As for the opportunists who had been present, Ning Yi didn't bother to worry about them. Kang Xian, Lu A'gui, and even Song Qian wouldn't let the matter go easily. Song Qian had saved Qin Si'yuan and would likely receive a promotion and reward for Kang Xian's gratitude. The hooligans who had beaten him up, including those behind them, were sure to suffer...

After seeing off the last of the visitors, Ning Yi was able to describe the afternoon's events in detail, without mentioning that he had killed two people, focusing mainly on Qin Lao and embellishing the fight with laughter.

"...The subsequent developments, I can describe as a *feng hui lu zhuan* (a turn for the better), because suddenly... a Bull Demon King appeared..."

After joking around like this, they went to bed late at night. Su Tan'er lay on his chest, her long hair gently spread out, as if sniffing the scent of medicine from the bandage on his chest. Then she said softly, "Actually, this afternoon's situation was very dangerous, wasn't it?"

"Hmm?"

Since returning in the evening, after hearing Ning Yi talk about his injuries, Su Tan'er had been quiet, just staying by his side. She helped Chan'er with the washcloth and tea, and it wasn't clear why she was in this mood until she spoke. "Before coming home, I heard about the Liao assassination attempt. I didn't expect my husband to be there too. They said the assassins were very fierce, but two of them died, one was seriously injured, and two escaped, their eyes blinded. Dozens of people were injured in the restaurant, and someone fired a gun..."

She paused slightly. They were both nestled in the quilt, Su Tan'er wearing only a *dudou* (an undergarment), close to Ning Yi, her tone very soft: "They said dozens of people helped to bravely capture the assassins, which isn't very likely... A scholar fired a gun, then fought with the thugs wielding knives and clubs... Dead and wounded... It's all very dangerous. I didn't think about it at the time, but after coming home and seeing you, I started to think about it..."

Ning Yi was slightly taken aback, his hand pausing on her back: "Uh... it was nothing really..." In fact, for him, the fight had been extremely dangerous.

Su Tan'er didn't say anything more about it, rubbing her cheek against the bandage, closing her eyes: "Mm."

The room was quiet and dark. After a while, Su Tan'er opened her eyes and said softly with a smile, "Husband, find some time... and take Chan'er as your concubine."

"Uh?"

"I'm not concerned enough about you..." Su Tan'er said softly, "I think it must be very dangerous. You shouldn't rush into these things, but when I think about it, I feel that if you encountered something happening to Qin Family Master, you would definitely rush out. A woman shouldn't say anything, so I couldn't say anything, although... I'm still worried in my heart, and I feel afraid afterwards..."

She tilted her cheek and smiled: "If you take Xiao Chan, I can have Xiao Chan talk about you all day long, but it's actually me ordering her to, hee..."

Ning Yi was silent for a moment, speechless, and sighed as he stroked her back: "You have to refer to yourself as 'This Concubine' to seem more virtuous..."

In fact, Su Tan'er was generally impeccable in her virtue. Most of the time she naturally used terms like "This Concubine," but sometimes she used "I," which she had picked up from Ning Yi.

In the past, when they met on the opposite second-floor balconies every few days, they occasionally used more unrestrained language. Ning Yi often took the attitude of a friend and exclaimed: "Su Tan'er, you are very cunning..." Su Tan'er also tried to communicate with the attitude of a friend. If she was in a good mood, they would have conversations like, "Who is this brother, and why are you on my balcony?" "Your husband." "...Pleased to meet you, pleased to meet you." By this time, their relationship had reached its most intimate stage, and the unrestrainedness of the past had become a kind of fun. Su Tan'er only showed her less than virtuous side occasionally during intimate moments when they were alone, and never when anyone else was around, not even the maids Chan'er and Juan'er.

At this time, Su Tan'er nodded: "This Concubine was wrong..." After a while, she put away her joking mood: "Actually, Husband also likes Xiao Chan, right? Xiao Chan likes Husband, but I don't know, uh..."

This was the first time they had talked about Xiao Chan after their wedding night. Some things were probably mutually understood. Su Tan'er was not unprepared for the possibility that Ning Yi would take Xiao Chan as a concubine in the future, and she had even taken the initiative to have Xiao Chan accompany Ning Yi before. However, it was inevitable that her mood was complex when talking about these things after their wedding night. She wasn't even sure if Ning Yi and Xiao Chan had truly had a relationship. If they had, it would be unfair to this little maid whom she regarded as a sister if she kept silent.

She was a very clear-sighted person. She had only brought up the matter of Xiao Chan tonight. After thinking about it, Ning Yi chose to focus on the key points when talking about his relationship with Xiao Chan. As a maid, Xiao Chan couldn't get pregnant before the mistress, and abortion medicine would harm her body, so Ning Yi had hesitated and hadn't consummated their relationship. Ning Yi also vaguely knew that Su Tan'er had instructed Xiao Chan to do things, so he smiled and mentioned it a few times. Su Tan'er smiled shyly and nestled on Ning Yi without saying anything more.

After that, the night passed without a word. The next morning, Ning Yi got up early again. Although he was injured, he felt nothing at this time thanks to his excellent internal energy and medicine. The Kung Fu that Lu Hongti had taught him was practiced in daily exercise and had a good effect on strengthening his body, but it was somewhat harmful only when he suddenly exerted himself. He did some preparatory exercises in the courtyard, then jogged out of the Su residence. In the morning mist, he walked along the Qinhuai River to the small building where Yunzhu lived.

In any case, Yunzhu had been injured yesterday, and Yuan Jin'er had jumped into the river in such weather. He was still a little worried...

***********

The power went out in the apartment complex during the day. I almost thought it wouldn't come back...

...(To be continued. Vote for recommendations and monthly passes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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