Five-Four Day of the Fifth Month, a perfectly ordinary morning. Outside Bianliang City, in the suburban villa of Baron Dong Xiaoyuan, servants bustled about, cleaning and tidying up with clangs and bangs. While this momentarily created a lively atmosphere, mixed with some protest from the homeowner, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Search: \(¨Complete¨Book¨Station¨) Read high-quality literature for free.

"Some scholars, huh? Isn't it just that Miss Shishi saw someone else before seeing you after returning this time? Don't tell me you're not targeting Li Shishi. This isn't the first time this has happened, just jealousy. Hey, have you found out who's next door before coming over? Don't try to pinch a soft persimmon and run into a rock. This isn't the first time, this kind of thing isn't pretty, especially not in my place..."

In this prosperous and peaceful era, most things that happened were nothing out of the ordinary. Even in a large city like Bianliang, if you lived there long enough and saw things with your own eyes, you could roughly understand what was happening. As the owner of the villa, a man with the title of Baron, Dong Xiaoyuan was not considered high-profile in Bianliang. After all, this was the capital, where princes and nobles were everywhere. He, a mere baron, had always been affable and approachable. This time, he was pulled out of the city and, after a little questioning, understood what was going on.

He hadn't been to his villa in a long time, leaving only two or three servants to look after it. Next door was a property of Fan Lou, nothing more than jealousy for the courtesans of Fan Lou. In Bianliang City, there were many young masters, scholars and literati pursuing fame, and wealthy idlers who never sought success. They were full of energy, and when they had nothing to do, they would fight chickens, race dogs, and snatch women. Every day in Bianliang City, dozens of cases of two groups being jealous of each other and wanting to make the other look bad occurred, nothing unusual. Dong Xiaoyuan originally didn't care, but when he was approaching the villa, he heard that Li Shishi was there today, so he backed down.

Ordinary women were fine, watching the show was naturally delightful, and offending them didn't matter. But the top courtesans in Bianliang City... why should he get involved in such things? Although he wasn't familiar with Li Shishi, he had met her a few times and knew that she had just returned from out of town. Before the Dragon Boat Festival, there would definitely be many visitors, and she could only receive a limited number of people. Clearly, this side hadn't gotten a chance to get close, so they ran over to provoke and make Li Shishi's guests look bad.

The few people who ran over to borrow the villa had some acquaintance with him in the past, so he couldn't refuse at this time. He couldn't help feeling a little helpless in his heart. No matter what happened, it might not be interesting for him. If his friends made the other side lose face, it might make Li Shishi hate him. On the other hand, the vision of these courtesans was often the highest. If they ran over today and the other side was entertaining Zhou Bangyan, and his side became the villain, they would be slapped in the face for nothing. If this matter got out, could this house still be lived in?

Thinking like this, he felt a little depressed. Those people opened the villa gate, told the servants to go in and take care of it, and then went to welcome the others. Dong Xiaoyuan was too lazy to ask more, on the one hand, he asked people to find out who had come from the other side, and on the other hand, he asked people to prepare a carriage and get himself out of this. After a while, the servant came over and replied that Miss Shishi was entertaining Yu Hezhong and Chen Sifeng, a few childhood friends.

"Yu Hezhong? Chen Sifeng? I seem to have heard of them, they are..." He thought for a while, then slumped his shoulders. He had heard in the past that Miss Shishi was particularly special to a few people when interacting with others, not because of their outstanding talents, but because they were old acquaintances. Wouldn't this be even more troublesome? If the other side was Zhou Bangyan, it would be a fight between literati for Miss Shishi's favor. Running over to make these few people lose face would be directly slapping Miss Shishi's face...

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

In Dong Xiaoyuan's worries, time went back a little, white clouds leisurely floated by, and shade gradually passed over Bianliang City.

In the Chong Wang Mansion, Zhou Pei sat on a stone bench under a tree, watching the dividing line between light and darkness push over from one side, quickly spreading over this area. Sunlight fell through the gaps in the trees, a little dazzling.

She didn't know what she was thinking. From last night to this morning, she had hardly closed her eyes in peace. The fact that she felt she had fallen in love with someone and that she had to choose someone else to marry in a little over a month weighed on her. She didn't know how to choose. If she chose according to the standard of her teacher, she probably wouldn't find anyone she liked. But if she let go of this standard... she couldn't let it go.

Especially after she realized that she was using Ning Yi as her standard for liking someone, she became increasingly aware of the fact that she was gradually moving away from her teacher and would soon move away. Perhaps from now on, it would be difficult to see her again. After thoughts in a dead end, she made her head empty, pretending that she had already become accustomed to this fact.

Then Zhuo Yunfeng came to find her, and she tried to look energetic. Zhuo Yunfeng didn't seem to notice her abnormality, and chatted with her here for a while, and then... he still asked the question with some hesitation.

"Do you know... where Ning Liheng went today?"

"...Teacher?" Zhou Pei's mind was blank for a moment, but she didn't show it on her face. "I don't know."

She paused, and finally said, "What's wrong?"

His voice was a little low, Zhuo Yunfeng's expression was still hesitating, but finally, he tilted his head and took a breath: "He... I heard he went to see Li Shishi outside the city, and then..."

Sunlight dappled down from the gaps in the trees. He told Zhou Pei the news he had heard in detail...

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

"...Hezhong, you've met this Brother Ning before. Shishi has always said good things about him, what is he really... like?"

Sunlight sprinkled down. In the shady path here, Yu Hezhong and Chen Sifeng walked side by side, Chen Sifeng also asked Yu Hezhong about curious questions. Although they couldn't be counted as close friends, they still came and went to Bianliang City quite often, and they were always more familiar than with Ning Yi. Some things were not easy to ask when Ning Yi was there, such as Ning Yi's identity as a Son-in-Law, how his talents were, and whether he had any background. If the other party's status was low, it would be too much to ask to his face, but they were still curious in their hearts.

Yu Hezhong shook his head slightly complicatedly: "To be honest, I'm not very clear either. I didn't see it clearly when I was in Jiangning. However, his identity as a Son-in-Law is indeed true."

Once there was such an identity as a Son-in-Law, he would not be able to get fame or fortune. Now Yu Hezhong has entered the Ministry of Revenue and is working as a petty official, but he is also quite promising. Chen Sifeng's position is even higher. He has been working in a county office near Bianliang for a few years as an eighth-rank clerk, and is now running around for promotion. Since it was confirmed that this was the case, Ning Yi's image in the eyes of the two became somewhat similar to a poor relative from the countryside. There was nothing comparable, but instead, they became more cordial.

"But I heard Shishi say that he is the number one talent in Jiangning. I have also read those poems and lyrics, and they are really admirable. What's going on?"

"I don't know either. Just based on what I saw in Jiangning, this Brother Ning's behavior is indeed very different from ordinary literati and talents. He doesn't participate in poetry gatherings. As for his poems... they also came about a little strangely. There is indeed a saying in the local area that his poems were sung by Taoists, but I didn't investigate it deeply, so I'm still not clear. But as for Shishi's side, Brother Chen also knows, she has always been kind to others. The sayings that come about because of Brother Ning, whether true or false, are actually hard to say..."

When Yu Hezhong talked about this, Chen Sifeng couldn't help but shake his head with a smile. Of course they knew the best. Although Li Shishi wouldn't praise someone to death, she was always tolerant to friends. If Yu Hezhong and Chen Sifeng had five points of talent, she would probably always praise them to seven points, but she would also be careful not to let them get too much attention and therefore make fools of themselves. As for the sayings about Ning Yi in her mouth, it was better to say that Li Shishi was willing to believe that they were true.

Chen Sifeng smiled: "But these things have nothing to do with us. It seems that it's always okay to make friends with this Brother Ning."

Yu Hezhong also nodded: "To be honest, since those poems came out, I haven't heard of any poems or lyrics coming out in the past year or so... But what does it matter whether it's true or false? It seems that he never thought of publicizing this matter everywhere. I have heard that merchants will do all kinds of messy things for the sake of face. I guess this matter is not easy to say... You and I also saw Ning Yi when he was a child, haha, do you remember? He was just reading all day long. Looking at him now, his appearance and demeanor are very different... If it's true, it's not surprising..."

"That's right. I don't think it's necessarily false."

They already had some sense of familiarity with Ning Yi in their hearts, and they wanted to be kind to others, so it was not difficult to talk to each other. The two of them pretended to go to the toilet and walked away from there. Since they had some secret words to say, they turned half a circle towards the front. When they were approaching the main gate, they heard a little noise outside. The two went out to take a look, only to see that the noise was coming from the villa next door. It seemed that they were also going to hold a party. Just as they were about to go back, they saw a man in luxurious clothes looking over here next to a carriage not far from the road. The man looked to be twenty-five or six years old, with a small beard under his jaw. His eyes were kind, and his temperament was quite calm. He was holding a folding fan and walked over with a smile.

"Brother Yu, Brother Chen, what a coincidence."

This person was not an official, but he must have been a wealthy son. Yu Hezhong and Chen Sifeng didn't have much of an impression of him. The man then introduced himself: "I am Dong Xiaoyuan. I had a brief encounter with the two of you at the Double Ninth Poetry Meeting last year."

He didn't introduce his family background, but when he said this, Yu Hezhong and Chen Sifeng naturally knew how to respond. They greeted each other with a smile and asked if the other party was also holding a party next door. Dong Xiaoyuan shook his head: "Someone is coming, but it's not organized by me." He lowered his voice, "May I be so bold as to ask if Miss Shishi is inside?"

Yu Hezhong was slightly stunned, while Chen Sifeng frowned. After Yu Hezhong gave a positive answer, Dong Xiaoyuan's eyes became solemn, and at the same time, he revealed the kind of expression that "everyone understands": "To be honest, I'm afraid that Miss Shishi's meeting with you friends here was leaked out, and then, for some reason, it was misunderstood..."

He roughly explained what followed, and smiled and cupped his hands: "Actually, this is not a big deal. Everyone knows what's going on in their hearts, so there's nothing to worry about... I still have important matters in the city, so I'll take my leave first. Please give my regards to Miss Shishi on my behalf."

Yu Hezhong and Chen Sifeng looked at each other and smiled bitterly. Then they cupped their hands to say goodbye to the other party and watched Dong Xiaoyuan get on the carriage and leave far away.

This kind of thing was indeed not the first time they had seen or encountered it for them, for Shishi, so it was a bit helpless, but... there wasn't much to be nervous about. I believe it will be resolved soon...

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

That's what Yu Hezhong and Chen Sifeng thought in their hearts, and Dong Xiaoyuan naturally believed the same in his heart. After tipping off the news, he sat in the carriage and returned to the city. In any case, he had already sold Li Shishi a favor. Maybe he could be favored and get a good time when he met her in Fan Lou in the future. Thinking like this, he didn't go far when a few carriages passed him by. He looked at them curiously, and then was slightly stunned.

The scenery here was good. Several villages were connected together, with houses dotted among them, forming the layout of a village. The surrounding area was surrounded by woods. His friends were naturally greeting people on the road. In this way, he reached the end of the woods at the entrance of the village. He stopped the carriage and greeted a friend under the shade of a tree. The other party was a little strange: "Xiaoyuan, where are you going?"

"I wanted to ask you, what kind of people did you invite?"

"I'm not too sure. We were a little rushed for time, so we invited everyone we could. I don't know who will be able to come. The one that just passed by was the third miss of Marquis Huaiming, right... Next up are Princess Qing of the Chong Wang Mansion, Fang Wenyang, a few old people from the Juanwen Society, oh, and Yu Shaoyuan, who has recently become famous for his *Wangdao Fu*, the famed Ji Wanqing from Tingyan Pavilion, and a few courtesans from Xiaozhu Workshop and Fan Lou..."

"You even invited Ji Wanqing... What are you going to do by inviting so many people..."

"Hey, I told you, tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival. Everyone thought the weather was good today, so they came out to enjoy the scenery, have a spring outing, and write poems, and just chose this place. Xiaoyuan, Young Master Xiaoyuan, how can you leave? If you leave now, we won't have any face left. Stay and watch the fun with us..."

"Don't joke around... You're not really just here for a spring outing, are you..."

When he said this, Dong Xiaoyuan's heart was actually already in chaos. He originally thought that it was just jealous admirers of Li Shishi arguing with each other here, but the situation was different when so many people were invited over. The few famous courtesans in Bianliang City did have conflicts with each other. It wasn't unusual for you to want to be one step higher than me and for me to want to suppress you, but every time they confronted each other head-on, at least under the later hype of the literati, it became a grand affair. If it was just simple jealousy, they wouldn't necessarily have pulled Ji Wanqing out.

Li Shishi of Fan Lou, Ji Wanqing of Tingyan Pavilion, Gong Tianer of Xiaozhu Workshop, and Yin Hongxiu of Qinyuan were the most popular courtesans today. It was difficult for the literati to please everyone. Right now, they had brought so many people here, either it was really just a spring outing, a random and unintentional choice of a place, or... then Ji Wanqing was going to give Li Shishi a slap in the face before the Dragon Boat Festival. Li Shishi had no preparation at all, and she was only surrounded by people like Yu Hezhong and Chen Sifeng. This was really troublesome...

Thinking of this, he sighed in his heart. The matter had become more complicated. It turned out it wasn't just jealousy, but also about stepping on someone to create momentum. But in this way, the complexity became more interesting again. He stopped the carriage and temporarily decided not to leave.

It's good to watch the fun.

In the distance, a few more carriages were driving this way...

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

People came and went, like clouds gathering and dispersing. Even when they were in the midst of it, they often didn't know what was going to happen next.

At least at this moment, Ning Yi couldn't imagine what would happen on this ordinary day, and Li Shishi, who was by his side, was the first to notice it, but she couldn't guess the outline of the whole thing either.

In these years in the capital, she had seen many things. Although she wasn't familiar with the viscount next door, the moment she saw them suddenly start cleaning, she vaguely realized that this matter might be directed at her. In Fan Lou, her whereabouts couldn't be counted as airtight. Similar jealousy wasn't the first time. But she hoped it wouldn't happen right now, because she knew that Ning Yi seemed to dislike this kind of thing.

If it was an ordinary literati, he wouldn't feel disgusted by a little comparison and confrontation. And even if he was disgusted, with her years of experience, she could make the other party enjoy it. Ning Yi had profound talent, she completely believed this. After meeting him in Jiangning, and even after being impressed by his talent, Li Shishi had thought in her heart, if he came to the capital one day, how shockingly he would use his talent to kill everyone. But after traveling north with him, she suddenly dismissed this idea.

This man had come to the capital for revenge, and he probably had many things to do. He didn't like these kinds of things, and there must be his reasons. Especially after seeing his methods of dealing with the Liangshan bandits, she felt that she might not be able to understand this man's mind and courage, which was completely different from those literati in Bianliang or Jiangning. So when this kind of thing might happen, she felt a little distressed. After all, it would be best if this kind of thing didn't happen.

Of course, in a moment, she had only guessed at this possibility. She was still conservative about whether someone was really coming for them. She taught Ning Yi how to fold paper in the pavilion, and simply chatted about whether Liheng was going to leave soon, and then told Ning Yi the trivial news she had heard about the dangerous situation in Shandong recently—after all, it wasn't good to say such things in front of Yu Hezhong and Chen Sifeng, and Li Shishi also guessed that Ning Yi wouldn't want to publicize the fact that his family had been killed a lot.

After chatting like this for a while, she was a little strange that Yu Hezhong and the two hadn't come over yet. Shishi led Ning Yi back to the room inside to find pen and ink, and then she asked the people in the courtyard to inquire about the news next door, and to see where Yu and Chen were. In any case, it was almost noon, and even if the other party really came with ill intentions, the few of them had to have lunch before leaving. She had to block things on her side, and there were still many ways to respond.

At this time, Yu Hezhong and Chen Sifeng were coming back. Most of the people in the courtyard had already noticed the clues of what was going on. However, whether it was Yu Hezhong, Chen Sifeng, or Li Shishi herself, they roughly focused on Shishi. Yu Hezhong and Chen Sifeng didn't find it strange. They just thought of Ning Yi and felt that he was a little innocent and would probably be very surprised later. As for Ning Yi, he only vaguely noticed that something might happen, but... of course, it had nothing to do with him. He hadn't offended anyone in the few days he had been in the capital, so he shouldn't encounter any messy things.

It seems that it's not easy to be a courtesan in the capital... With a slight sigh in his heart, Ning Yi wrote down the love poems he was going to use to pick up girls on the paper. Of course, the poems were copied, and he felt a little cheesy. He also weighed in his heart whether he should write two or three copies. In the end, he decided that this was not suitable for Yuan Jin'er, so he copied three copies, one for Xiaochun, one for Yunzhu, and one to send back to Tan'er.

Shishi returned from outside the door, still considering the possibilities of those troublesome things in her heart. Seeing that Ning Yi had just finished writing the second piece of paper, she knocked on the door a little carefully. Ning Yi glanced at her, and then tapped a poem with his finger: "I've finished writing it, I promised you." He picked up his pen to write the third one, and touched his chin, "It should be okay, right? Is it a little cheesy... They should like it..." The last sentence was a bit self-consoling.

Shishi walked over and saw that the paper was a six-line *Huanxisha*. At a glance, she knew it was *Huanxisha*. She picked it up, and after a moment, she read it out softly...

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

At the same time, Chong Wang Mansion.

Zhuo Yunfeng left, and Zhou Pei sat there, staring blankly, with a blank in her mind, not knowing what she was feeling.

What Zhuo Yunfeng had said just now was still spinning in her mind.

"...We knew that your teacher knew Miss Shishi. He went to look for Miss Li a couple of days ago and arranged to meet at a villa outside the city this morning. I heard that this news was leaked by someone in Fan Lou. Originally, someone just wanted to question Li Shishi about why she could find the time to meet with others but not with herself. But later, your teacher's name was known by the young ladies and young masters here, so they invited people and decided to go there together to embarrass Li Shishi and your teacher. I only heard about this in the morning. What Jiangning talent who is fishing for fame and reputation, they want to make him look good in person, and they have also invited a few old literary masters, saying that they are having a spring outing, but the main thing is to have them there, as well as a few famous talents who are famous in Bianliang today, the most popular Yu Shaoyuan. I guess they have already gone over at this time..."

I have troubled my teacher after all...

This thought flashed in Zhou Pei's mind.

From last night to this morning, she had actually been thinking about her teacher. When she was facing Ning Yi, she pretended to be extremely normal, but after leaving, her heart suddenly felt empty. She wanted to say something to Ning Yi, but she couldn't say anything, but even if she understood this, she still wanted to say something, anything would do.

People's thoughts are so strange. She told herself in her heart that there was probably no reason to see her teacher next, and she wouldn't see him again in the future. This was the state she should accept. But at this time, while the chaotic thoughts flashed in her mind, while she felt guilty for troubling her teacher, what surged up was actually a slight joy.

She still had to see her teacher once... The girl was thinking about this in her heart, and she stood up from where she was. An unconscious smile appeared on her originally somewhat blank face, and then she walked in one direction, only to realize that she had gone the wrong way after taking two steps. She turned around and jogged towards the courtyard gate not far away...

I have troubled my teacher...

Coming out of Bianliang City, the weather was very good. Large white clouds lowered the shade. On the official road to the villa over there, carriages and pedestrians were moving at different speeds. Scholars, literati, and young masters in luxurious clothes were traveling among ordinary pedestrians. Occasionally, if they knew each other, they would greet each other or pull the other party into the carriage.

In the vicinity of Bianliang, this kind of scene was not unusual. Yu Shaoyuan sat in a beautiful carriage, feeling the wind blowing, and he heard the soft laughter of a woman. He looked over to the side, and the beautiful woman named Ji Wanqing was also smiling at him. She was lightly fanning her with a round fan, her silk clothes were like a painting. She admired and liked him... He liked this feeling. Twenty years of hard work, this was his most proud moment so far. Of course, there would be more and more proud moments in the future, and it wouldn't just be Ji Wanqing who would like him.

Today was not a day that required him to be ready for battle, it was just an outing. However, he couldn't help but think of Li Shishi in his heart. In Bianliang City, each woman had her own characteristics. He hadn't met Li Shishi yet. What would she be like? Had she read his poems before? However, Wanqing, who was as famous as her, had already fallen in love with him. He had to help Wanqing defeat her after all. While defeating her, she would also deeply remember him. Thinking like this, he looked indifferent and at ease, watching the road at the entrance of the village in the distance, which had become lively...

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