The next morning, after returning from his run, the clear sunlight was already shining from the east. These past few days hadn't been too hot yet, but the weather was good, and he felt pretty good.

Last night's courtesan competition went by without the assassination Ning Yi had expected. That glimpse he'd caught earlier must have been a figment of his imagination. He'd wandered with Xiao Chan between the various stages to watch the singing and dancing, then gone home, and nothing had happened. On his morning run, he heard Nie Yunzhu talking about the events of the previous night.

"Last night, Jin'er and I saw Liheng behind the stage. He was standing a little closer to the front, eating a big pancake. Jin'er was dying of laughter, saying he wasn't caring about his image at all, not like the top scholar he was supposed to be. She said that while she was out dancing, you were still eating a pancake. She came back laughing and said it would be very interesting if, during her dance at the Jinfeng Brothel, there was a scholar in the audience munching on a pancake…"

Ning Yi then remembered that Yuan Jin'er's performance had been scheduled too late the night before. He had been hungry then and had indeed been munching on a pancake while watching the whole thing, so he laughed and told her about it.

"But Jin'er is a clever girl. Now that she knows you, if she sees you again tonight, she might come out and mess with you, Liheng, so you have to be patient…"

After finishing his run and returning home, Su Tan'er had already finished washing up and was waiting for him for breakfast. "Wen Fang and Wen Ding came by a moment ago, saying they wanted to thank you for your help yesterday, but they had an appointment, so they ran off early. They really have no sincerity at all…"

Su Tan'er spoke with a smile, and Ning Yi shook his head. "It was just by chance; I didn't help with anything."

"You're being modest again. When Juan'er and Xing'er went out just now, they heard the servants gossiping, saying that you defeated Chen Jiwen last night without a fight. Just by sitting next to him, Chen Jiwen didn't dare to write any poetry. He was so high-profile before, but ended up losing all his arrogance. Sigh, it's a pity I wasn't there last night to see it…"

"How did it spread so quickly…"

Su Tan'er laughed over there. "And just now, Wen Fang and Wen Ding said that with just one sentence from you, that Miss Tang made it into the top sixteen of the courtesan competition…"

The last bit was quite miraculous. Ning Yi touched his nose. "That has nothing to do with me."

Honestly, it was hard to say if it really had nothing to do with him. In last night's courtesan competition, Tang Jing wasn't a popular contender. She wasn't very famous yet, and she was far from being as skilled as Qi Lan or Lu Caicai. Her dancing and appearance were also good, but she still seemed a little apprehensive and naive.

Before, no one thought she would make it into the top sixteen. However, when the results were announced, she barely made it in, causing a surprise. Then, the story of Ning Yi intimidating Chen Jiwen at the Wenmo Tower and Ning Yi and Li Pin praising her dancing as "very beautiful" started to be discussed by some people—it was already widespread before, but now it was even more legendary.

People said that while other scholars wrote many poems, Ning Yi only used five words, "very beautiful," and that his one sentence, "valued for sincerity," made it impossible for others to criticize a bad poem. Later, some people said that after hearing Ning Yi's "very beautiful," Puyang Yi, the young master of the Puyang family, casually added five hundred flowers to Tang Jing, which was what got her into the top sixteen.

Three thousand flowers weren't much, and only some of them were publicized, but in any case, the reason Tang Jing made it into the top sixteen became the most story-filled event of the first night of this year's courtesan competition, with a complete beginning, development, climax, and resolution. Ning Yi felt somewhat helpless.

During the day, he still went to class. Jiangning was still noisy. In the evening, he went to the vicinity of Bailuzhou with Xiao Chan, and the layout of the venue had changed.

Last night, there were a total of five stages, and people walked around loosely while watching the performances, but tonight it was all official. Only now could the cleverness of choosing this location be seen. A large stage was set up near the riverbank, with most of the area in front being a gently sloping hillside. Now, many seats had been set up, and the decorated boats on one side of the river and the small buildings in the distance were also good viewing points. Behind the stage, tents of various sizes were distributed across the open space as a backdrop; those were the areas prepared by each brothel and individual.

A total of sixteen girls would perform twice tonight, and the viewing areas around them were also divided into sections, with slightly better areas in the front. The best viewing boat was specially for dignitaries and nobles. The sixteen brothels had also reserved some seats for their supporters, and these seats were mostly better. The boats, the small buildings on the other side, and the open space slightly in front of the stage had banquets prepared in some places. Even if there were no tables set up, some girls would be arranged to walk around and serve delicious snacks.

Ning Yi and Xiao Chan had only bought the most common flower, which probably meant sitting in the middle or back seats, but it wasn't a big problem, since Xiao Chan had brought a lot of snacks in her arms. However, after the two found some scattered seats with a slightly better view and sat down, they realized the problem wasn't that simple.

First, Su Wending, Su Wenfang, and Tang Jing and her group came over. Tang Jing thanked Ning Yi, and then the madam of the brothel started inviting Ning Yi to sit in the front. After he refused, a scholar he had met before passed by. "Brother Ning, why don't you sit in the front row?"

Soon after, Puyang Yi also came over and sat next to him, chatting and laughing for a while. This time, he didn't say anything about inviting him, but left after confirming that Ning Yi wanted to watch the show in peace.

Later, Li Pin also found him and said a few words.

Li Pin was there to cheer for Lu Caicai, but he knew Ning Yi's personality. Once he sat there, there would be many social engagements, so he didn't try to persuade him.

In short, the people in those front seats were mostly famous people. Occasionally, they would talk and see people pointing over here, mostly briefly, probably talking about Tang Jing's matter from last night. Occasionally, when someone came over, Xiao Chan sat next to him silently, watching intently while desperately eating snacks, like a gluttonous mouse. Later, she asked, "Young Master, why don't you go to the front?"

"Do you want to go to the front?"

"No." She smiled sweetly. "Xiao Chan thinks it's good here."

Xiao Chan knew more about this competition than Ning Yi. When she had free time, she told Ning Yi about the grand occasions of the competitions when she had come to play with Miss before, and some interesting things. During this time, Ning Yi saw Yuan Jin'er again. She was probably coming out to thank her supporters before performing. She lingered in the front and then looked over here… Theoretically, she and Ning Yi hadn't been formally introduced in a public setting and weren't considered "acquainted," so she naturally wouldn't come over. Not long after Yuan Jin'er went back, Ning Yi saw Nie Yunzhu's figure peeking out from the shadows over there. Yuan Jin'er smiled and pointed this way, and then smiled and pulled Nie Yunzhu back.

"Young Master Ning." In the final moments before the competition officially started, an acquaintance came over. It was Lu Agui, who followed Kang Xian. After greeting him, he pointed to a decorated boat in a certain direction. "The Master is over there. He saw Young Master Ning and Miss Xiao Chan here and thought you seemed a bit bothered. If you don't have any necessary social engagements, you might as well go to that boat to watch. That boat is the property of the Princess's residence. The second floor is full of idle people and is very casual. The view is also good."

Ning Yi looked over there. The boat's location was indeed good, and there weren't many people on the second floor. He looked at Xiao Chan and then nodded with a smile. The two followed Lu Agui up to the second floor of the boat. Sure enough, there weren't many people. The people gathered here were mostly young people, and some maids and servants were busy. Lu Agui arranged him and Xiao Chan in front of a window, with various fruits and foods placed on the side table. Compared to the crowding below, it seemed a little empty and quiet up here. Lu Agui smiled and said, "If you have any friends, you can invite them up to sit. There's plenty of room. If you need anything, just tell the servants. Oh right, the Master is over there."

Kang Xian also had social engagements. He was currently on the main boat where dignitaries and nobles were gathered, separated by a boat. While Lu Agui was speaking, he also looked over there and nodded and smiled in acknowledgement.

Next to Ning Yi and Xiao Chan, the window on one side was occupied by two men of unknown identity. When they saw Ning Yi and Xiao Chan come up and sit down, they cupped their fists and smiled at Ning Yi, then said something to Lu Agui, probably asking about Ning Yi's identity. Xiao Chan occasionally looked at them. After a while, she moved her chair with a thump and snuggled up next to Ning Yi, and then she felt relieved and prepared to watch the performance.

On Ning Yi's side, next to him was a pair of siblings. The sister was probably even younger than Xiao Chan, estimated to be thirteen or fourteen years old, but her face was quite serious, like a little adult. She had been turning her head to look at Ning Yi, but when Ning Yi looked over, she naturally turned her eyes to the stage. However, when Ning Yi turned his eyes away, her gaze shifted back, as if she had originally planned to look for five seconds, but had only looked for four seconds, and when Ning Yi noticed, she had to turn back to make up the one second in broad daylight. The younger brother, who was probably eleven or twelve years old, sat there curiously looking left and right. When the singing and dancing began, he dragged his chair over, as if he wanted to tell Ning Yi a secret.

"Hey, are you that Ning Yi, Ning Liheng? The Ning Liheng who wrote 'Shui Diao Ge Tou' and 'Qing Yu An'? I have a few questions to test you. If you can answer them…"

"No."

"Huh?" The little boy was slightly stunned.

Ning Yi lowered his head mysteriously and whispered to him, covering his mouth with his hand, "I'm not Ning Liheng."

“…Oh.”

The little boy was stunned for a long time. He awkwardly dragged his chair back to his sister, and then he was probably reporting the results. The sister lowered her head and said vaguely, "He's lying to you…" The rest was unknown.

As Lu Agui said, no one would bother them up here. The performances below were lively, and occasionally the cheers were thunderous. Ning Yi and Xiao Chan ate some things while watching. During the intervals between performances, it was announced that someone had dedicated a certain number of flowers to a certain girl, and some talented people had created masterpieces. After some famous people had seen them, they were also read out to boost the momentum. The dignitaries and nobles on the boats also had girls they supported, and occasionally you could see the girls going up to thank them after the performance. The main officials of Jiangning, including Chen Yong and Song Xian, were also up there, but Ning Yi didn't have the same thoughts as last night, so he watched the show in peace.

After a few performances, Xiao Chan went to the side to get a set of Go and started playing five-in-a-row with Ning Yi on the small table where the fruits were placed. With the changing lights below, they played five-in-a-row with Ning Yi at this window, the atmosphere was peaceful, comfortable, and fun. After a while, the little boy next door dragged his chair over with a thump and quietly watched the chess at the table, resting his chin on his hands. After a long time, he said, "That's not how you play Go…"

It was during this time that a woman walked through the crowd below the boat, looked up at the main boat for a moment, and then disappeared back into the crowd.

On the riverside under the night, the atmosphere of joy and auspiciousness was still climbing with the deepening night and the progress of the singing and dancing…