Time was in the afternoon, and as I walked along the streets by the Qinhuai River, there were pedestrians everywhere, near and far. After the spring snow melted, merchants and travelers began to pass through Jiangning City. Occasionally, one could see travelers leading horses through the streets, or well-equipped镖局 (biāo jú - security escort agencies) and merchant caravans, proceeding grandly with carts and horses. Some were departing from the local area, while others came from nearby cities, passing through Jiangning, and could relax a little. The escorts, holding knives and guns, looked around the streets, talking loudly and discussing the city's prosperity with their companions.

Once out of the city, truly on the road, such a scene of prosperity would be rarely seen.

Flags or signs fluttered in front of the shops on both sides of the road, and the shops near the river often had stone steps and gaps for boarding boats or washing clothes. The snow had only recently melted, and the surrounding willows had not yet sprouted, but some birds had already flown over, singing sweetly. On the blue waves of the river, painted boats traveled, accompanied by the sounds of music.

"Master, look at that scholar on the painted boat, he seems to be called Yuan Li. He visited the Prince Consort a few days ago."

In this early spring weather, there was not much room for feeling tense. Ning Yi, carrying a long package on his back, was walking along the street with Little Princess Zhou Pei. Behind and to the side was a middle-aged man, dressed inconspicuously but quite burly. This man was a royal guard named Song Qian. Zhou Pei and Zhou Junwu usually had two guards waiting nearby when they attended Yushan Academy. Now that Zhou Pei was going with Ning Yi to find Kang Xian, and had taken a few fire lances out of the small courtyard, she naturally called one of them to follow.

This man had been a guard in the royal palace for a long time, and unless something major happened, he would be like an invisible person, not giving people much of a sense of his presence.

The academy was a bit far from the Prince Consort's mansion, but with nothing else to do, Ning Yi preferred to take a stroll through the city. Little Zhou Pei had something on her mind, but naturally couldn't say it out loud. After walking with Ning Yi for a while, listening to her master pointing out interesting and erudite things, she temporarily put aside her worries. Walking along the road by the river, she saw a young man in a blue robe standing on the bow of a painted boat in the distance. Remembering what she knew, she told Ning Yi about it.

Ning Yi turned his head to look over there. The painted boat was quite lively, obviously another gathering. The young man in the blue robe stood at the bow of the boat, a folding fan in his hand, a headscarf fluttering in the wind, with quite a bit of elegance. A girl in white also came out of the painted boat and stood beside him, talking to him. She was probably a girl who accompanied the guests in the painted boat, and her figure was not bad, but it was difficult to see her appearance from a distance.

Turning his head to look at Zhou Pei again, he saw her gently lifting her long skirt with one hand, so as not to get it dirty when walking, while stretching her neck and watching the painted boat with great interest. At this time, she looked like a gossip-loving, star-struck little girl, which was quite cute.

"...It seems to be a boat from Mingyu Workshop. I wonder if it's Yin Xue or Hua Ping. Teacher, guess what they are talking about?"

That Mingyu Workshop was quite famous in Jiangning, and the two girls, Yin Xue and Hua Ping, were its signature attractions. This kind of thing was not considered a bad thing nowadays, as long as there were talented men and beautiful women, it would be embellished into a romantic story. Zhou Pei had grown up listening to such stories since she was a child, and was quite interested at this time. Ning Yi also squinted his eyes and looked over. The beautiful painted boat sailing in the spring air was indeed a pleasing sight.

"The name Yuan Li seems to have been heard before, he's quite impressive, right?"

Zhou Pei wanted to nod and say that he was impressive, but then she pursed her lips and looked at her master with blinking eyes. The man had some fame, and the fact that he could visit Kang Xian with others was evidence of that, but in Jiangning today, if he was placed next to the five words "Ning Yi Ning Liheng," he would be somewhat powerless. Seeing her master carrying a long package on his back, smiling and asking questions in a way that didn't seem fake, Zhou Pei was somewhat helpless for a moment. Her interest in the talented men and beautiful women over there lessened, and she just muttered something.

"Well, he debated with people at the Prince Consort's house a few days ago, talking about things in the north, and he was quite passionate. Didn't the teacher also sign that memorial a few days ago? He was one of the most enthusiastic people in it. These days, I heard that he has been discussing these things with people. It's a pity that the Jin and Liao countries have made peace. I don't know how many years it will be before the war starts again. Otherwise, I heard that he would emulate Ban Chao's ambition and abandon his pen for the army..."

"It won't take a few years..."

Ning Yi smiled and nodded. He, Zhou Pei, and Song Qian continued to walk forward, and the painted boat also moved forward slowly. There was music and dancing in the middle, and faintly scholars recited poetry, mixing the leisure of the Qinhuai River with the bustling noise of the street. Zhou Pei followed beside him with small steps: "Master also said it won't take a few years? A few days ago, I followed the Prince Consort to Grandpa Qin's place, and they guessed the same way..."

The little girl frowned, then remembered something else and said mysteriously: "Master, do you know about Grandpa Qin?"

"What's the matter?"

"Uh...it's about the Blackwater Alliance. In the past, I only knew that Grandpa Qin was very knowledgeable, and the Prince Consort had a good relationship with him, but I didn't know what he did. Recently, I suddenly heard people talking about it." Zhou Pei thought for a while, "Something about the Blackwater Alliance, losing the battle...Grandpa Qin used to live here, and not many people came to visit him, and not many people mentioned him too much. Recently, more people have been visiting him, and more people have been talking about him. But I overheard some people talking in private, and some people were scolding him, saying that he did a lot of things to gain fame and reputation, and there were even more unpleasant words, saying that he...saying that Grandpa Qin was a traitor..."

The little girl frowned: "I asked the Prince Consort recently, but the Prince Consort didn't say anything, only saying that everything should be judged after the coffin is closed, and it's not time to talk about it now. I roughly know that the matter may be related to the Jin and Liao countries, but every time the Prince Consort goes to visit Grandpa Qin, Grandpa Qin refuses to talk about these things, only talking about trivial matters, as if he doesn't care about these things at all..."

"I'm not very clear about what happened a few years ago..." Ning Yi thought for a while, then shook his head. He had heard some of the rumors circulating in the market recently, but these rumors were so mysterious that they could not be believed. He only knew that the Blackwater Alliance seven years ago might have been participated in by Elder Qin, who signed a messy and humiliating contract. Now that someone mentioned this matter, saying that the contradiction between Jin and Liao was foreshadowed at that time, they dug out the name "Qin Siyuan," but naturally most people did not believe this kind of thing.

In the past, Elder Qin and Kang Xian liked to talk about the situation of the world, but recently, they have talked very little about the affairs of the north. Especially when the Jin and Liao countries recently suddenly made peace, and Yelyu Yanxi conferred Wanyan Aguda as the Great Sage Emperor, the news came as a bucket of cold water to the Wu Dynasty people who were looking forward to the Jin and Liao war. Theoretically speaking, this step back by the Liao Emperor Yelyu Yanxi, whether true or false, would always secure a few years of peace, and the impending war was about to be postponed. At this time, Ning Yi occasionally visited Elder Qin and found that the old man did not even talk about this matter, as if he had completely ignored it. On the other hand, Kang Xian's visits to Elder Qin's place seemed to have increased vaguely.

Ning Yi could feel some of the atmosphere, and naturally had some guesses. But he was not a real participant, and even Kang Xian, who really knew the inside story, was holding his breath and not opening his mouth about it at this time. In this kind of serious matter, he certainly couldn't make a confident attitude and say anything to Zhou Pei. He just felt that people who do great things are still people who do great things, whether they sell the country or mislead the country, it is still different from the feeling of discussing abandoning the pen for the army on the painted boat and among the rouge and powder.

He then told Zhou Pei some things about the Jin and Liao countries, how Wanyan Aguda revived the Jurchen clan in the mountains and rivers of the northeast with his own strength, creating the myth of "Jurchens are not yet ten thousand, but ten thousand cannot be resisted." Hubu Dagan even achieved such a record of defeating seven hundred thousand with only twenty thousand. He was truly an extremely perverted hero. Not many people in the Wu Dynasty really knew this information, but in the past year, under Ning Yi's casual narration, a group of students, including Zhou Pei, both admired and feared this person. But fortunately, there were few Jurchens, and Wanyan Aguda was not young anymore. The possibility of him destroying Liao and then threatening the Wu Dynasty in his lifetime was still not great.

Zhou Pei liked to talk about these things, and occasionally made some speculations, asking, "Right? Right?" After she had said these things for a while, the depression in her heart was temporarily resolved. She had only nibbled on a small vegetable and meat roll for lunch because she was feeling upset, and now she had walked a long way, so she was hungry. At this time, they were close to Jin'er Store, which had not been open for long under the Zhuji franchise. The little girl hinted a few times, asking to stop and rest for a while, eat something, and also take a look at Zhuji's new store--Ning Yi had taken her and her brother to Zhuji's main store to eat a few times before.

So the two of them went over there. When they were almost at the entrance of the store, they ran into two people coming from the other direction. One of these two people was about fifty years old, tall and thin, dressed as a scholar, but he also had an air of wealth and arrogance cultivated from years of giving orders, with a serious expression and haughty eyes. Ning Yi had met this person once before. He was a famous Confucian scholar in Jiangning, named Zhang Rui, with the courtesy name Hongyuan. He was also one of the tutors of Kang Wang's mansion and was said to be highly valued.

The other person was about thirty years old, slightly fat, squinting his eyes, also with a serious expression, dressed as a scholar, and holding a fan. Ning Yi did not know this person. Zhang Rui recognized Ning Yi. The two of them said a few words and then came over to this side, but first Zhou Pei went over and saluted: "Tutor Zhang, Tutor Li, how are you?"

The two of them quickly returned the salute: "The Princess is also here, we dare not accept this, we dare not accept this."

Then they greeted Ning Yi and introduced each other. In fact, both of these people were tutors in Kang Wang's mansion and were quite famous in Jiangning. The fat man surnamed Li was named Li Tong, squinting his eyes as he looked at Ning Yi: "So this is Ning Yi Ning Liheng. I have admired your name for a long time. I have never had the chance to meet you. Today is really a coincidence."

Zhang Rui looked at Ning Yi and Zhou Pei, somewhat displeased: "Liheng is actually taking the Princess, a precious person, to wander around in such a marketplace. This seems a little...inappropriate, right?"

If it was a normal encounter, perhaps they would exchange greetings for a while and then separate, but now, after saying a few words, Zhang and Li began to turn the topic to things like "seeking advice" and "sitting down to discuss Dao" with you-one-word-and-me-one-word, and they began to talk about Ning Yi's teaching methods and that it was really inappropriate to take the little Princess to walk around in such a street.

The reasons for these things were well-founded. At the end of last year, Little Pei and Junwu became Ning Yi's disciples. Originally, they planned to make a big show of it, with Kang Wang personally going to the Su family to visit in order to increase their momentum, but Ning Yi refused. The apprenticeship ceremony was guided by Kang Xian in the middle, and everything was simplified. But as tutors of Kang Wang's mansion, these people knew that the little Prince and the little Princess had one more teacher.

There were many subordinates in the Wang's mansion, and a group of tutors were quite talented and had a good status, but they mainly taught the children of various servants in the Wang's mansion. Even if some of them had a teacher-student relationship with the little Prince and the little Princess, they were different from the teacher that the family specifically and intentionally sought.

Ning Yi was in his early twenties and was known as the number one talent in Jiangning. It was impossible not to be jealous. At that time, these tutors knew about it and prepared a big formation. They found a brothel, prepared to hold a poetry meeting, and then sent an invitation to Ning Yi, thinking that the weight of these people was enough. Everyone was in the Wang's mansion, so Ning Yi could not possibly not give them this face.

Who knew that even Ning Yi's title as a guest official of the Wang's mansion was stuffed to him by Kang Xian. He did not need to go to the Wang's mansion to work, and everyone could not be considered colleagues. Moreover, at that time, Ning Yi's relationship with Su Tan'er was just right. They had only been in the same room for two years after getting married, and they could be called adulterously deep. Su Tan'er needed him to accompany her to visit everywhere. He threw the invitation aside as usual, and returned a mass-produced letter of polite refusal, a long and eloquent article, the meaning of which was seven words: I'm busy, I'm not going, sorry.

These people specially turned over books and reviewed them for nearly half a month, preparing some topics and the like, but the result was that their expectations fell through, and they were very indignant. Today, Zhang and Li met Ning Yi on the street. The one surnamed Li was originally a little uneasy about the title of "number one talent in Jiangning," but seeing Ning Yi's appearance of being wet behind the ears, he might have some talent, which could be called a "wonder," but he was definitely not "broad" and "refined." Therefore, he decided to take advantage of today to compete with this person in learning with Zhang Rui. Of course, what he said in his mouth was the word "seeking advice."

Perhaps he could say that he dared not seek advice, but if someone said that he just wanted to sit down and talk together, he could not refuse. Afterwards, several people walked towards the newly opened Jin'er Store not far away, then went up to the second floor and found a private room to sit down.