Tan'er and Yunzhu had always enjoyed a good relationship, but it truly blossomed into intimacy during the period when Ning Yi left the capital for Lüliang Mountain. (Search: Complete Book Website) to read high-quality literature for free.

Both were relatively rational women. Ever since Yunzhu saved Ning Xi, they had both intended to become closer. Before Ning Yi left Bianliang, he formally married Yunzhu and Jin'er. During that time, Yunzhu was happily organizing a small Gomoku (Five in a Row) competition at the Bamboo Lodge (Zhuji), while Tan'er oversaw the overall business of the Bamboo Lodge remaining near the capital. This gave them more time to spend together.

Even considering the prevailing societal norms of male dominance and the feudal background of the time, one being a wife and the other a concubine, revolving around the same man with not much shared history, it's unlikely they would have deep, sincere affection for each other. Most of their closeness stemmed from rationality. However, there were opportunities to understand each other better.

As summer arrived and the capital's weather heated up, they often discussed the details of the Gomoku competition at home. This usually happened in Yunzhu's courtyard. During the scorching midday sun or torrential afternoon rain, they would sit on the cool bed in the room, eating cold drinks and fruits, and chatting idly.

Initially, they would brainstorm ideas for Yunzhu's event, sharing interesting gossip and household matters. But as time went on, Yunzhu began to see the burdens that Tan'er carried. Although Tan'er always showed the ability to manage the things around her and rarely complained, the various pressures still enveloped this only twenty-two-year-old woman like a spiderweb, consuming her spirit and energy, and driving her forward.

In later generations, twenty-two years old would only be the clumsy age of a woman graduating from school and just entering the workforce. Even at this time, when people had slightly earlier definitions of adulthood, twenty-two was still a remarkably young age considering the many things surrounding her.

Career, family, children. Su Tan'er carried complex responsibilities and obligations. Occasionally, Yunzhu could catch glimpses of these things in the gaps between their interactions. This woman, even a bit younger than herself, worried about her own affairs and those left by her husband, about raising children, and, amidst her busy schedule, seemingly casually, interacting with herself and even Jin'er, perhaps consciously fulfilling her role as the lady of the house.

After her husband left home, she had to take care of the things he left behind, educate the children, and proactively get along with the women who shared the same man. Perhaps her motivation wasn't superficial appearances but a genuine desire to alleviate some of the distant man's worries—it might not be so easy to articulate, but that was definitely part of the reason.

Yunzhu, having previously worked in a brothel, was quite perceptive about these things. As a woman herself, after noticing this, she felt somewhat guilty and sympathetic towards Tan'er. She wasn't capable of doing much for Ning Yi, nor could she support a family. All she could do was chat with her, relieve her boredom, and prepare relaxing tea and snacks for her. On summer afternoons, Yunzhu would talk softly with her, play soothing music, and sometimes Tan'er would fall asleep in this atmosphere, waking up during the most peaceful time of the afternoon.

If the initial interaction with Yunzhu was based on "necessity," after spending some time together, it became mutual recognition and affection. Tan'er certainly had the ability to discern Yunzhu's concern for her and the deeper reasons behind that concern. In a sense, Tan'er was, after all, a woman from a merchant family and was quite interested in Yunzhu's temperament and talents.

The greatest foundation for their closeness, however, could only be said to be their shared recognition and cherishing of this family. Xiao Chan's affection for Tan'er stemmed from their childhood master-servant relationship and sisterly bond. Her feelings for Ning Yi were another matter entirely. Jin'er simply appreciated Yunzhu and Ning Yi. But Tan'er and Yunzhu, because of their shared recognition of this family, quickly became close friends in a matter of months.

Ning Yi was somewhat surprised by these developments when he returned. Yunzhu would tell him about the pressure Tan'er bore, and Tan'er would sometimes wistfully mention Yunzhu's many talents and elegant, tranquil demeanor. They would occasionally sleep together—if Ning Yi took the initiative to make such an improper request, he would most likely be refused, but after they were already in bed together, he could more or less join in the fun, and the three of them would quietly fall asleep together, chatting softly.

After nearly half a year, Jin'er had basically adopted an attitude of reconciliation with Tan'er, but they still couldn't be considered close. She had good relationships with Yunzhu and Xiao Chan, but Ning Yi felt somewhat indebted to her. After the wedding and their wedding night, Ning Yi set off for Lüliang. Regardless of the reasons, Jin'er's mood was somewhat lonely during these six months.

Therefore, upon Ning Yi's return, his first action was to find her and spend time with her. When they were alone, the usually lively and cheerful girl looked at him and kept crying, unable to stop. Whether Ning Yi held her and apologized or spoke softly to her, it only exacerbated the situation. Jin'er just cried in his arms, occasionally saying, "I don't want to cry... I, I'm very happy..."

This continued until nightfall. After Ning Yi removed her clothes, her lips still trembled with sobs. During their second intimate encounter after nearly half a year apart, her body trembled as if she were still a virgin, her hands tightly entwined around Ning Yi's body until they both eventually fell asleep from exhaustion.

It took several days for her mood to gradually recover, and nearly half a month to return to her original carefree teenage state.

In September, the weather gradually turned cold. By the end of the month, Little Prince Zhou Junwu came to the capital and discussed many things with Ning Yi, including the scale and current state of the Enlightenment Party (Gewu Dang) he had established in Jiangning. He also visited the achievements of Ning Yi's side. The surprise in the sixteen-year-old boy's heart was self-evident. In the initial period, he almost completely forgot about going on blind dates with various families and stayed in the Bamboo Lodge (Zhuji) mansion outside the city, reluctant to leave. Later, after recording many things one by one and discussing them thoroughly with Ning Yi, he was willing to meet some women from wealthy families or participate in social events.

The Little Prince, who was originally simple and well-behaved, saw matters of love and sex as extremely ordinary, which surprised Ning Yi somewhat. But the most surprising thing was what Junwu later told him about the emotional problems between his sister and brother-in-law—these matters had not been mentioned in the greeting letters from Zhou Pei.

Ning Yi vaguely remembered the deep bow Zhou Pei gave him when she said goodbye before leaving the capital. In this era, a woman's happiness was essentially a one-time deal. When he first met this pair of siblings, Zhou Pei was just a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old girl. Now she had already reached the point where her marriage might not be happy. Thinking about it, it was somewhat regrettable, but even he could do nothing about it and could only sigh. It would be too pretentious to lament the tragedies of the old society, but in any case, his mood was a bit complicated.

In October, Xiao Chan became pregnant, and the weather began to turn to winter. The family often huddled in warm rooms filled with fox fur and blankets, chatting and playing games. Ning Xi often ran around outside, unafraid of the cold. When Wenren Er and others came over, they often said that Ning Yi was indulging in extravagance, thinking of hibernating before it even snowed.

The Xiangfu's operations in the north were progressing steadily over time, attracting truly useful members of the mountain strongholds and making every military supply sent out as effective as possible. They argued and criticized each other with Tan Zhen and others in the Jinluan Hall, sometimes taking two steps forward and having to retreat one step. Everything seemed slow, but the changes were extremely rapid. In some ways, Ning Yi and others were not sure whether the whole situation was getting better or worse.

Reaching out beyond Yanmen Pass, all aspects of the court were also trying their best to win over Guo Yaoshi, and the Xiangfu had to participate, frequently showing goodwill. As for the Jin Dynasty, court envoys and representatives of many large merchants were doing their best to promote trade between the two sides, hoping to turn these exchanges into mutually beneficial and normal ones. However, heavy snow had already begun to fall in the north.

Outside the imperial court and the state, there was the *wulin* (martial arts world). Due to the death of Sikong Nan, Lin Echan, Wang Nanda, and others were furious. The Great Brightness Sect (Da Guangming Jiao) launched a full-scale counterattack to the south, searching for and hunting down Chen Fan and his wife. However, the Miao village where the Overlord Saber (Ba Dao) was located had seized the opportunity to build momentum, colluding with some *lulin* (Green Forest/outlaw) people they had previously associated with. At this time, the entire southern *lulin* had begun to engage in interlocking and crisscrossing battles. With the intervention of the Six Doors (Liu Shanmen), it was indeed a bloody affair. However, since the court's attention had turned to the north, there would be no large-scale forces invested in the *lulin* in the short term. In addition, the death of Sikong Nan dealt a blow to the Great Brightness Sect (Da Guangming Jiao). In this fight in the southern *lulin*, the Overlord Saber (Ba Dao) side, hidden behind the scenes, might not be at a disadvantage. Therefore, Ning Yi did not need to rush to intervene.

Ning Yi occasionally went out, and he would invite people to Fanlou to discuss business. Sometimes, Shishi would visit. For Shishi, marriage had become an important issue that was imminent. But Ning Yi also knew that recently, Shishi often went out of the city when she had time to give porridge and buns to the beggars outside the city. Once, she was almost attacked, but she was still happy to do it.

Shishi had often done good deeds in the past, so most people said she had Buddhist nature, and her kindness was highly valued. But at this time, her kindness became even more intense, and it could only be assumed that she was escaping from something. Ning Yi had nothing to say about this. It seemed that she could no longer avoid getting married, but even if she did get married, it would be difficult to avoid the unhappiness like Xiao Pei. Anyway, it was none of his business, so Ning Yi didn't say much about it. After all, it was possible to say the wrong thing in this kind of situation.

In her interactions with Ning Yi, Shishi's biggest question was: what has he been doing lately? She asked him twice, but Ning Yi couldn't explain it either. How could he say that the Jin people would attack sooner or later? That in order to prevent the Jin people from attacking, I sent out a lot of storytellers? No matter how he said it, it would seem extremely strange.

Time passed in this atmosphere. Snow began to fall in Bianliang. Cheng Zhouhai returned to the Xiangfu. As for the Qin brothers, Wang Shanyue, Li Pin, and others that Ning Yi was familiar with, most of them stayed in their respective places, busy with their own affairs. At the end of the twelfth year of Jinghan, it was not a very lively winter. In the Ning residence, only the warmth was worth mentioning, but occasionally, during the process of giving porridge outside the city, among the beggars gathered outside the city, there were large numbers who were being frozen and starved to death.

The heavy snow sealed the mountains.

On the poorly maintained roads, only a few vehicles and horses passed through the wind and snow in some places around the city. The brothels and taverns in the city were still warm. There were also pedestrians going out on the streets. In the few shops that were open, there were often steaming pots that attracted passing customers. In the inns, travelers who had run out of travel expenses fought or argued with the owners. Every three to five days, the literati would have poetry gatherings, and the *qingguan* (high-class courtesans) would sing soft and tender lyrics, creating a warm and fragrant atmosphere. Vegetable vendors rubbed their hands at the morning market, breathing out warm air, and charcoal sellers passed through the city gates in the early morning.

It seemed to be the same winter day as in previous years, and it was about to pass...