“Family summons, there are some matters at home, I must take my leave early today, I hope Master Zhu can forgive and be understanding…”

“Tonight, I fear, will not be peaceful…”

“My residence is over there, Master Zhu need not see me off…”

“Forgive me, forgive me…”

“Bear with me, bear with me…”

Flames soared to the sky, troops mobilized, the sudden chaos had only continued for a short time within Hangzhou city. The situation inside Four Seasons Abode was also shaken from its initial shock and confusion, tilting towards the direction it should take.

Assistant Administrator of the Council of State, Qi Yuankang, has rebelled. This was the news received shortly after the events unfolded. Whatever the inside story might be was no longer important, the fact that a great fire could erupt in the city and troops of such scale be mobilized, probably meant that many things had reached the point of no return. Those attending Zhu Yanlin’s banquet were mostly people with some background, their families possessing their own influence and connections. With such a major event occurring, they had to be wary and make preparations.

Reacting immediately, half the people began bidding farewell to Zhu Yanlin one after another. The atmosphere on the streets outside, within the city, began to turn grim. The households in the residential areas closed their doors, extinguished their lamps, and aside from the occasional squads of soldiers running past, there were groups of people hurrying home. Although the chaos had only affected a few streets in the east, no one knew when the city would be placed under martial law.

Four Seasons Abode was currently one of the relatively lively gathering areas in the city, with not only restaurants and teahouses, but also two brothels nearby. Some rushed back home as soon as they learned of the chaos, while others remained relatively calm, feeling that it had nothing to do with them, and stayed to observe the situation. However, most of these shops had already closed their doors and were no longer accepting new customers. Therefore, although carriages were leaving Four Seasons Abode one after another, it did not mean that the gathering had dispersed. Dozens of people remained, maintaining the scale of the gathering in the main hall.

One major reason for this was perhaps because Lou Minzhong's son, Lou Jingzhi, also remained at the literary gathering and had not left. Zhu Yanlin did not have a close relationship with Qi Yuankang. No matter how things ultimately turned out, since he had initiated the gathering, he naturally had to maintain it.

With fewer people and the chaos outside, the waiters in the restaurant extinguished many of the lamps. Most of those who remained gathered on the second or third-floor platforms, with Zhu Yanlin and Lou Jingzhi as the center, watching the development and changes of the distant war, chatting and commenting. Some even began composing poems: "The West Lake surrounds the affairs of Jiangnan, in the half-light of the lonely city it is indistinct… what an eventful time…" It had a feeling of directing the affairs of the country. The courtesans who had been invited to participate in the literary gathering had not been sent away either. They were called up to speak with everyone, comment on poetry, and liven up the atmosphere. These women were not just vases, and soon, everyone set up tables and used the current situation as an accompaniment to their wine.

Not everyone gathered upstairs.

At this moment, Lou Shuwan was walking with Ning Yi in the courtyard corridors on the first floor. Most of the lanterns had been removed, and the light was dim. Looking diagonally, the second floor was bathed in warm yellow light, and the sounds of talking and laughter could be heard. Some were leaning on the railings of the corridor, looking into the distance. Not many people noticed the people walking in the corridor below.

The corridors in the courtyard led to the river side of Four Seasons Abode. At this time, the night breeze was slightly cool. Lou Shuwan, dressed as a man, walked beside Ning Yi, gently hugging her arms. In the distance, a returning two-story painted boat slowly sailed past, the lights seeping out of the windows, creating a particularly quiet atmosphere.

Speaking of which, since the fall of Hangzhou, everything around her had become unrecognizable. Life was anxious and pale, and the meaning of everyone's busyness was unknown. After the situation eased slightly, the literary gatherings she participated in no longer had the elegant atmosphere of the past. All that remained was bland flattery and praise. But strangely, now that the situation had suddenly become more tense, she seemed to feel the atmosphere of the past again.

It was as if she was at a gathering of talented scholars, but she had left the venue and was having a secret rendezvous with a man she admired. Elegance, heartbeat, and tranquility intersected at this moment - in fact, she had never really experienced such feelings before, but in the stories she had seen, in the love plots passed down by word of mouth, what was recorded and described was roughly this kind of mood.

"Assistant Administrator of the Council of State... things happened so suddenly, Lou's business is so extensive now, if Miss Lou doesn't go back immediately, won't there be any problems?"

At the end of the courtyard was a long corridor parallel to the river. Ning Yi leaned his hand on the railing, looked at the departing painted boat, and then spoke about this matter. Lou Shuwan sat down on a bench inside the railing, smiling and shaking her head: "My family does have some business with this Master Qi, but things won't involve the Lou family. Moreover, such matters can only be resolved by my father and older brother. I just had a servant return to report the news. The situation is still chaotic at this time, so it's better to wait here until the situation becomes clearer before going back, so as not to cause any misunderstandings on the road."

"That's true." Ning Yi nodded and sat down next to her. This location faced the corridor and windows on the second floor. Due to the shelter of the eaves, only the light seeping out could be seen, but laughter could be heard from time to time, and occasionally a woman would softly sing a poem, presumably appreciating poetry.

Lou Shuwan lowered her head and said softly, "Logically speaking, the Assistant Administrator of the Council of State is also a high-ranking official, almost like a prime minister, I never thought that such a thing would suddenly happen... I used to hear that this Master Qi was both civil and martial, although he was a civil official, he had some people under him, and his relationship with civil and military officials was good..."

She spoke for a while, feeling bored. She raised her head, brushed her hair, and smiled at the second floor: "...Liheng, what do you think they are talking about?"

"Poetry. Before, at the poetry meeting, they talked about politics. Now that something has really happened, it's hard to talk about politics, so they can talk about poetry in peace."

"Liheng came out for a stroll, do you also find it boring to talk about poetry with them?" In Lou Shuwan's view, Ning Yi was a top-notch talent, and she asked with a smile. Ning Yi shook his head: "I don't really like those things. When they really start talking, I just come out for a walk."

"It seems that Liheng finds it boring." Lou Shuwan continued to smile, pausing slightly, "Actually, I'm similar to Liheng in this regard. I also find it boring, but I actually don't understand these things, while Liheng is just too knowledgeable."

"Heh..."

"I liked poetry when I was young, but I never learned much. I like to see those great talents who are spirited and unrestrained after reciting a good poem. It doesn't matter what the poem is like, if it can make people so spirited and unrestrained, then it's a good thing. I thought that managing a business, if done well, could also make me so spirited and unrestrained..."

As she said these things, her mood seemed to be slightly low. Ning Yi stood up and said, "Miss Lou..."

Lou Shuwan raised her head and asked softly, "Can't Liheng call me Shuwan?"

"It's not appropriate." The words were faint, like a confession, but Ning Yi's expression did not change, he just smiled as usual, "Let's go upstairs and sit down, it's not good to just wander around aimlessly."

"Mm." Lou Shuwan naturally got up and went to the second floor with Ning Yi. The brief conversation just now may have had some meaning, but for a moment, it seemed as if it had never happened, dissolving into the conversation that followed.

After returning to the second floor, someone came over to greet him: "This must be Ning Liheng, Master Ning, I looked everywhere for you two earlier, I thought you had already left. I am Zhu Yanlin, I only heard just now that Master Ning had also come, I have truly been negligent."

Zhu Yanlin was around fifty years old, it was not an exaggeration for him to call himself "old man." He could be considered an orthodox literati. He was not clear about Ning Yi's arrival before, but at this time he had obviously heard about Ning Yi and knew about the *Ci* poem "Watching the Tide," so he attached importance to it. The two exchanged pleasantries for a moment, and on the other side of the guest gathering area, some people were looking this way. The woman who had previously sung "Watching the Tide" was one of them. Because she heard the name, she asked the person next to her: "Is that Master Ning Liheng, the author of 'Watching the Tide'?" Probably because she had read the poem, she had become a fan of Ning Yi.

On the side, Liu Xiyang, who had not left, also looked at the scene with some envy. In the academy, everyone could not distinguish too much superiority or inferiority, at most they felt that Ning Yi was thorny and had a backer, so there was no need to provoke him. At this time, with the difference in treatment, he could experience some of the loss of feeling like a scholar slighting another.

However, at this time, what few people noticed was that Lou Jingzhi, who had always been the center of attention in this gathering, also heard some words, looked at Ning Yi's side, and found someone to come over and ask in a low voice: "Could that be the author of 'Watching the Tide', the one surnamed Ning, named Yi, styled Liheng?" After getting the answer, he asked a few more questions, and when he learned the place where Ning Yi was currently employed, and received information such as the Wenlie Academy and the Overlord Saber Camp, he narrowed his eyes and frowned thoughtfully.

The chaos outside continued, and as time passed, it seemed to become more orderly. Part of the turmoil had been suppressed. If one was experienced, one could probably see that although it seemed to be quite intense from the beginning, the situation was far from being out of control. At Four Seasons Abode, the gathering was also proceeding in a relatively relaxed atmosphere. Although they had expressed their admiration for Ning Yi from the beginning, there were no special programs that required his participation.

Everyone's thoughts were on the outside. If everything continued like this, perhaps before long, the gathering would be about to end, and everyone could go back. Ning Yi had originally been nervous after hearing what Liu Dabiao said this morning, and even brought weapons with him when he went out, but after the incident happened, he knew that there was no problem of his own, and breathed a sigh of relief. It was also in this situation that a change suddenly came.

Not many people noticed that halfway through the literary gathering, a man entered the restaurant, looked around upstairs, and then left. At this time, a team of soldiers was rushing over led by that man. From a distance, others might have thought that these were soldiers rushing to support the Qi Yuankang rebel district, but when they arrived at the bottom of Four Seasons Abode, the leading general waved his hand: "Surround it."

In a moment, Wen Ren'er, who guessed the intentions of these people, went to report the news to Ning Yi, but it was too late.

Led by the general, a group of more than twenty people had entered the hall and were heading towards the second floor. Liu Jin, who had followed Ning Yi, had already rushed up, his hand on the hilt of his sword. The people at the gathering were somewhat confused, but Ning Yi glanced at them and understood.

The man in the lead was about thirty years old, burly, with a murderous look on his face. He was a fierce general who had truly fought on the battlefield.

Ning Yi let out a breath.

It was Li Tianyou.

These people came over and sat down at the tables around Ning Yi and Lou Shuwan. Lou Shuwan looked left and right, confused and flustered, not knowing what had happened for a moment. Only after a moment, the expression on her face suddenly turned pale - she thought that her family had finally been affected and something had happened.

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Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone! (To be continued.) Vote for recommendations, monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)