Since the Lunar New Year, the way Ning Yi and Su Tan'er interacted had become increasingly natural. Of course, this "natural" wasn't in the conventional sense of a "married couple" of this era, but rather the way "two oddballs" got along.

After the showdown before the New Year, Su Tan'er found a balance for her position for the first time. With a sense of stability in her heart, many things became easier. In the past, she always tried to maintain the "family" dynamic with great effort, but now she didn't need to be so deliberate. She used to actively seek topics at the dining table, weighing which could be said, which would be of interest to the other person, and which should be avoided to prevent causing displeasure, much like negotiating a business deal. Now, she didn't need to do that anymore, but the topics actually increased. She didn't need to search for them deliberately; she found everything interesting.

Although Ning Yi went for a run every morning, the couple usually had breakfast at home before leaving. They headed in different directions, Su Tan'er by carriage, and Ning Yi on foot with light baggage. At this time, Xiao Chan usually faced two choices: to follow her mistress or her master. Of course, she could stay at home, but the other two options were clearly more useful. Following the master meant she had nothing to do, but she could listen to his lectures, hear stories. Every time she listened to the master's casual narratives, she found them fascinating, and she would think how learned the master truly was...

Of course, Su Tan'er had been quite busy lately, as was the case at the beginning of spring. So Xiao Chan chose to follow her mistress. As mentioned before, although she treated Ning Yi and Su Tan'er with pure and simple honesty, she was quite reliable when it came to handling matters. She wasn't just responsible for serving people attentively every day. Ning Yi once saw her scolding someone angrily, frowning seriously, almost fierce. While scolding, she pointed out that some people were scheming against each other and holding each other back: "Don't think I didn't see it!" After arranging a solution, she said a few more words, waving a short ruler, almost hitting them. Then she looked at the short ruler, stunned, scratching her head, "Oh no, the ruler that mistress wanted..." She turned her head, "Hurry up and go!" After dismissing everyone, she turned around and ran away quickly. Ning Yi laughed non-stop behind her. She was being cultivated as a manager. Of course, the two were not in conflict, both being parts of her personality.

Ning Yi would return home at noon or in the afternoon, sometimes with Xiao Chan, because Xiao Chan would run to find him before her noon lessons. If Xiao Chan didn't come, he would come alone. Su Tan'er was mostly back after noon, sometimes in the room, sometimes in the living room, and sometimes sitting in the pavilion in the courtyard. Juan'er and Xing'er sometimes followed, and sometimes they were gone. They had to deal with the trivial matters of the servants in the main house.

Su Tan'er liked to bite her hand when thinking, sometimes biting her fist, sometimes gently biting her fingers, mostly showing such expressions when no one was around. One day in the evening, Ning Yi returned home. In the glow of the setting sun, Su Tan'er, wearing a goose-yellow dress, was sitting in the pavilion looking at a notebook, her white teeth gently nibbling on the fingertip of her thumb, occasionally turning a page. Ning Yi walked over, stood for a while, about to say hello, when Su Tan'er suddenly turned her head. Still biting her fingertip, her big eyes met Ning Yi's for a moment, with a somewhat ignorant and innocent feeling, then she turned back and continued to look at the accounts quietly.

Seeing that she ignored him, Ning Yi shrugged and walked away feeling a bit bored, thinking that this woman was really calm. Not far away, Su Tan'er shouted from behind: "Husband! You scared me to death!" When he turned around, Su Tan'er was looking over with an angry look, patting her chest lightly with her hand. After a moment, Ning Yi spread his hands silently, and Su Tan'er couldn't help but laugh.

From returning home to finishing dinner, evening entertainment, and finally going to bed, everyone gathered together, talking and chatting about this and that. Sometimes, Ning Yi felt that Su Tan'er was somewhat similar to his former self, although the specific problems they faced were different, and their moods and confusions were also different. Sometimes he thought that the problems Su Tan'er faced might be even more severe than his own. She was a woman. If the Su family had a man who was smarter and more capable, things would be simple. If she were dumber, things would also be simple. But she happened to be in this crack, so she could only move forward, and had to face the problems arising from her female identity from time to time.

Sometimes they would "coincidentally" meet by that pillar on the second floor. About every few days, they would look at the scenery of the entire Su family mansion together. Su Tan'er would say some random things, some that couldn't be said in front of others, and it wouldn't be good to say them even in front of Chan'er and Juan'er, mainly because they were meaningless. Or some of her plans in business, some triumphant little calculations, and also family gossip. A cousin had just scammed her out of several hundred taels of silver, saying that he saw a good porcelain piece, and buying it would definitely increase in price. Su Tan'er gave the money with a smile, then turned around and told Ning Yi that the guy was keeping a woman outside, biting her fingers and saying, "I can threaten him in the future, or tell his wife and let his wife make a scene..."

Su Tan'er was very smart and talented in business, but after all, she was only nineteen years old. She had nowhere to vent the pressure she faced most of the time. Ning Yi was perhaps the only one who could give her a space to relieve stress. In her opinion, this husband of hers understood some of what she said, but might not fully understand everything. Ning Yi would sometimes say a few things she didn't understand, and she would just listen. At such times, even if Ning Yi's wording was strange and what he said was incomprehensible, she wouldn't find it odd.

One thing was quite peculiar. Perhaps it was because she had given him a *songhua dan* (preserved duck egg) the first time they chatted. After the second chat, Su Tan'er was hesitant to speak, and then asked, "Husband, did you bring any snacks?" Then she said, "Bring some snacks next time."

After that, she would pack some snacks for him, a small bag of sugar, peanuts, honey dates, and so on. The Su family was not short of money, and there was no pressure to provide these things. There were also pears that were hard to find at this time of year. Once, Ning Yi casually took a *dabing* (large flatbread), which was as hard as beef jerky because it was late winter and early spring, and the weather was cold. Su Tan'er didn't mind, took it and tore it off bit by bit, eating it with satisfaction. Then she said, "Husband, you did it on purpose, didn't you?"

In February, the topics became even more casual. They seemed like very strange friends in this era, one doing business, and the other making some rebellious little inventions. Once, Su Tan'er asked Ning Yi: "Husband, why do you never go to those brothels, or attend those talented scholars' invitations?"

Ning Yi shrugged: "I only know two poems, I can't pick up girls..."

Su Tan'er thought about it for a long time before she roughly understood the sentence and laughed: "Just throw money at them! Those cousins and nephews, every time they scam a few dozen taels from Tan'er, they only patronize the famous ones. Husband, if you take a few hundred taels, plus your talent, you could meet Qilan or Lu Caicai a few times... By the way, after the Lantern Festival, I heard people say that the girl Qilan is quite fond of her husband. For a few nights, she sang her husband's *Qing Yu An* every night, the zither music was melodious and poignant, maybe her husband can have a beautiful story with her..."

She glanced at Ning Yi, her eyes rolling. Ning Yi thought for a while and nodded: "Is that so? Then I'll go there tomorrow night... After all, it's not easy for people..."

Su Tan'er was eating broad beans that night, glanced at him coldly, then crunched them for a long time, and then smiled with a hum: "Then the husband should take Xiao Chan with you."

Ning Yi wasn't short of money, mainly because he could always ask Xiao Chan for it. He didn't use much, and Su Tan'er didn't have any opinions on these things. But even if Xiao Chan was well-behaved, it was conceivable which side Xiao Chan would be on if Ning Yi really went to prostitute himself. Even if she didn't say anything on the surface, she would definitely use tricks to trip him up. At this time, he sighed: "Women and petty men are difficult to deal with... You woman is honey-mouthed and dagger-hearted, not honest at all. Give me back the broad beans, you're not allowed to eat them!"

Su Tan'er took the small bag and stepped back suddenly, smiling like a fox: "Tan'er has been doing business for several years, and I have never heard of a merchant who is truly honest. Husband, please bear with me."

February passed in such ordinary days for Ning Yi. Student, Nie Yunzhu, Xiao Chan, Su Tan'er, chemicals, sometimes meeting with Qin Lao and Kang Lao, a few casual chats, and sometimes learning about Song Xian and the Wu Lie Army through other channels. He recalled the woman's martial arts, but the female assassin had also disappeared after the Lantern Festival.

In early March, the Su family's business was also busy, but Su Tan'er still spared a day to go on an outing with Ning Yi and three maids outside Jiangning City. When they returned that afternoon, they went to the teahouse for tea, and accidentally heard several scholars dressed people next door discussing *songhua dan*, saying that the woman who runs the *songhua dan* business is a talented and artistic beauty, but she is only willing to support herself with her own hands. She researched the method of making *songhua dan*. A talented man admired her heart and has been pursuing her for several years. At this time, he used a little trick and opened up sales for that novel thing in less than half a month, and so on.

In fact, although Nie Yunzhu was also busy now, it was impossible for the *songhua dan*'s reputation to spread very far. The few people at this time were discussing the "little trick", which was exactly what he had asked Li Pin to help find someone to pretend to be a customer. He smiled in his heart, wondering how Li Pin had related this matter to Nie Yunzhu, and pursued her for several years. He was too careless, and Li Pin was in trouble now. But after listening for a while, he realized that things were not like this.

"This Gu Hong Gu Yanzhen was already famous in Jiangning a few years ago. This time he returned from Tokyo for this woman. He now has fame and status, and is still deeply in love with her, which is really rare..."

"The method used is also ingenious. In just a few days, he has solved the problem... A talented man and a beautiful woman, given time, will surely become a beautiful story."

"However, I don't think so. That woman shows her face in public and handles this kind of business, which is really not a good match..."

After listening for a while, he realized that these people were all discussing the man named Gu Hong Gu Yanzhen. Recalling the somewhat meaningful questions Nie Yunzhu had asked a few days ago, he thought of something and shook his head with a smile.

The next day, before dawn, when he arrived in front of the small building, Nie Yunzhu was sitting on the steps as usual, waiting for him. Seeing him coming, she showed a smile that was no different from usual. Ning Yi looked at her for a while and rubbed his forehead slightly: "Have you been very tired lately?"

"Uh?" Nie Yunzhu was stunned, and then shook her head with some confusion.

Ning Yi sat down next to her, pondering his words: "Why... didn't you tell that Gu Yanzhen to stop things?"

The morning breeze in the darkness brought a chill, and the small building fell into silence. After a moment, Nie Yunzhu's voice came from beside her: "Liheng... how could it be... Liheng... why... ask this..."

"Uh, I... I just heard about it... that Gu Yanzhen..." Ning Yi spread his hands, not knowing how to express himself.

"I... I, I have nothing to do with that Gu Yanzhen... They are talking nonsense... Liheng... uh... I..."

Nie Yunzhu's voice seemed a little wrong. Ning Yi turned his head to look over. In the darkness, there was only light from the side of the house. In the light, the woman's expression seemed a little angry, wanting to emphasize something but not grasping the key point. Ning Yi looked at it for a long time, finding it difficult to understand, and said slowly: "Well, I know..."

Nie Yunzhu glanced at him, frowning as if she was about to cry, but then she took a deep breath, looked at Ning Yi seriously, and emphasized, word by word.

"I have nothing to do with that Gu Yanzhen."

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

This chapter took a lot of effort. To be honest, it has a side plot, and I weighed it for nearly two hours before removing it for the subsequent plot balance. I will post it in the book review area first, and those who are interested can take a look. I will collect it in the works related later.

These are the last three days of this month, please recommend tickets^_^

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