The clatter of carts and horses echoed from the streets beyond. In the alley behind the warehouse, dappled tree shadows fell across two figures sitting there, each cradling a bowl of cold jelly¹and eating slowly.

"I have to visit and manage all our shops in Jiangning every day. Father used to take me along, said if you really wanted to run these things, you had to put in the effort to understand everything thoroughly. Now those young masters at home can't properly manage a shop, but I can handle all of it. Any manager's work, I could take over..."

Through the low wall, tree shadows, and drainage ditch, they could vaguely see the marketplace beyond, its clamor drifting over. Ning Yi had wandered here after his noon classes, and now the two of them sat in this back area eating cold jelly, resting and chatting. Su Tan'er rarely snacked, but right now she resembled her evening self on the second-floor corridor of their small building—holding a little bowl in one hand while rambling about various things. From the origins of pleated skirts to dye mixing ratios and such.

"In the Records of the Western Capital, it says pleated skirts²originated with Zhao Feiyan. Before the Western Han, skirts didn't have these kinds of pleats. But supposedly once when Zhao Feiyan was dancing, a palace maid pulled her skirt hem and created wrinkles—and it actually looked even better when she danced. After that, palace women all began copying the style. Though the pleating back then wasn't like what we have now. During the Tang Dynasty there was a beautiful pattern that required seven more steps than current skirts, but wearing them came with rather troublesome requirements..."

"Today's outfit—the white and blue aren't simple colors either. This white is quite troublesome to dye, requiring twenty-three steps in total. First, the dyes you select are special—no sulfur or lime... Blue is easier to dye, though this shade between emerald and sapphire blue uses very expensive dark blue star color stone. The same kind that's on our second-floor screen at home. If used as eyebrow powder it's extremely costly. There's one at An'nan Quarter, a tiny box costs fifteen strings..."

At home, Su Tan'er mostly talked about household matters, complaining about her foolish cousin-brothers or criticizing business partners, showing a bit of mischief while eating. But right now she only discussed things related to dyeing, weaving, and tailoring. She could speak at length about any piece of clothing Ning Yi wore. This wasn't rote memorization—she genuinely understood it all thoroughly. Who knew how much effort she'd invested in this. Ning Yi held his half bowl of cold jelly, listening to this nineteen-year-old woman who bore the title of his wife discuss these matters, finding it quite interesting.

The hauling continued at the warehouse ahead. Around late afternoon, fighting noises seemed to erupt from the street near the warehouse—Xing'er ran over saying there was a brawl up front, two gangs having it out or something. Su Tan'er just glanced at Ning Yi, smiling: "They fight here all the time, sometimes people die. Let's not go watch..."

Her words carried a pleading tone. Ning Yi nodded: "Mm, might get caught in the crossfire." Xing'er looked at the atmosphere and ran off laughing. Only then did Su Tan'er turn and call inside: "Don't get hurt!"

On one side came vague sounds of chaotic killing, on the other the busy rumble of carts and clip-clop of horses. The two sat in this back alley chatting, listening to autumn cicadas, watching dappled light and shadow fall through tree gaps. Those sounds all seemed to grow distant. The cold jelly wasn't particularly good—Su Tan'er had taken one sip then just held the bowl without touching it again. A leaf fell into the bowl; she just watched it, only using her spoon to fish it out after a long while, flicking it to the ground with a spoonful of sugar water.

"Haven't had such leisurely times in so long. Once they close the city gates, I'll probably be even busier."

"Wouldn't closed gates mean more leisure?" Ning Yi took another spoonful of the half-bowl of cold jelly he'd been holding forever.

"They closed the gates for a month a few years back too. I was younger then, but still felt stifled." Su Tan'er looked at him. "Has husband forgotten this as well?"

"Don't remember."

"What kind of person was husband before? Can't figure it out..."

"Probably a bookworm. Maybe the really dense kind. Or maybe not much different from now... Uh, what's that look supposed to mean?"

"I went to see husband before, with Xiao Chan and Juan'er. We asked around about what kind of person husband was." Su Tan'er thought for a moment and smiled. "Back then everyone indeed said husband was a bookworm. I secretly went to look once, saw you from afar, but couldn't approach to speak. So I don't know what husband was truly like then... Husband walked with your head down, unaware that Xiao Chan and I were in a carriage not far away, lifting the curtain to watch you."

Screams came from the distance, shouts of "Murder!" and such—like chaotic background noise. Ning Yi thought for a moment, smiled without speaking. Su Tan'er tilted her head: "Is husband angry?"

"No, just find it all very interesting."

Su Tan'er nodded with an understanding smile: "I find it interesting too." Her words seemed to carry a slight sigh, her mood somewhat complex—though of course, this complexity differed from what was in Ning Yi's heart.

Not long after, yamen constables arrived to disperse the fighting up front, probably arresting some people too. As evening approached, Ning Yi and Su Tan'er walked through the warehouse to the front entrance. The street had returned to its normal bustling state—pedestrians coming and going, cargo workers moving back and forth, shop managers shouting orders just like before. Passing through the warehouse, a small incident occurred.

There was a wooden rack that already looked unstable, swaying as they passed. A clerk across from them was loading large items and momentarily lost control—the whole thing tottered dangerously. Ning Yi saw this and moved to steady it, but Su Tan'er, walking slightly ahead and watching the loading on the other side, apparently noticed when she turned her head. Almost simultaneously she waved her hand and stepped back, trying to push Ning Yi away.

It was perhaps an instinctive action—she didn't even have time to speak. She succeeded in making Ning Yi pause but couldn't fully support the large sack in front. White cotton yarn spindles tumbled from the bag, all lightweight things. One hit Su Tan'er on the head. She squinted and hunched her shoulders, only then letting out a soft "Ah..." followed by "Husband..." Front to back, the two ended up pressed together. After a moment, Ning Yi stepped back.

Even if a whole bag of cotton spindles fell on someone it probably wouldn't matter much, but that instinctive blocking gesture that ended up causing more trouble rather amused Ning Yi—hidden dominance. After a bit, Ning Yi said with a smile: "You know if that had been something else up there, getting hit would've been troublesome?"

Su Tan'er just tilted her head with a calm smile: "I saw it was cotton spindles before going over."

"Oh." Ning Yi nodded, then smiled again. "Making things worse..."

"I know..." Su Tan'er made a slightly embarrassed expression.

Just a small matter. After fixing her slightly mussed hair, it seemed to pass just like that.

As the sun set in the west, after exchanging a few words with Manager Liao, Su Tan'er and Ning Yi found Juan'er and Xing'er, picked up several boxes large and small to load on the carriage, and headed home. Those still busy at the docks would probably work until around midnight before getting any rest.

With the Ghost Festival³approaching, all along the way back to the Su mansion they could see numerous stalls selling paper, bamboo, spirit money and such. With disaster victims arriving, there were also many pedestrians with desperate expressions, beggars and refugees lining the roadsides. After returning to the Su mansion, the huge compound also had quite a few unfamiliar faces. Just upon entering, over ten people waiting in the gatehouse came over to speak with Su Tan'er. She smiled and nodded, greeting each one. Ning Yi naturally accompanied her. Before long, Xiao Chan—who'd apparently also been busy all day—came running from a courtyard gate in the sunset, smiling and waving before silently squeezing into the crowd, moving soundlessly behind Su Tan'er.

On the way back to their courtyard, Xiao Chan had to chatter about various household situations—which relative had encountered what difficulty. Some were closer to the main branch and would be handled by Su Boyong's side, others fell to Su Tan'er. Supposedly a young master cousin from a distant branch had been wandering Jiangning these past few days and got into trouble at a gambling house today, detained there. His mother didn't feel comfortable asking Su Boyong for help. Hearing that Su Tan'er was always accommodating, she'd now come begging here. Su Tan'er could only frown and ask about the sum involved, then have Xiao Chan find Guard Sun, who was particularly good at handling such matters.

Similar situations happened often, especially these past few days—and not just one or two incidents. Before dinner, that Guard Sun (called Sun Er) came over. After understanding the specifics from Su Tan'er, he took a bank note and left. Before dinner Su Tan'er also visited her father's side. After dinner when night fell, various people came calling again—relatives near and far. Only after these people left could Su Tan'er return to her own room to handle documents and accounts that needed handling.

Often Ning Yi actually found such busyness interesting. For someone with genuine heart and goals—like Su Tan'er—this bit of busy work wouldn't normally cause too many problems. Watching her skillfully handle these matters, Ning Yi occasionally thought of his former self. But these past few days had definitely been overload.

Preparing for the Ghost Festival ancestral rites, arranging and handling various main branch relatives' affairs, the impending city gate closure, and most importantly the progress on the Imperial Merchant matter. This night at midnight, the lights in Su Tan'er's room remained lit. Ning Yi read for a while, then went to walk in the courtyard. The autumn night was cool. He'd recently been practicing the qigong breathing methods Lu Hongti had taught him. While he hadn't seen destructive results yet, his spirit felt good. He walked to the corridor under Su Tan'er's eaves and stopped, sighing softly.

Su Tan'er's bedroom window stood open, her desk positioned by the window. The oil lamp's flame trembled faintly on the table. In that warm yellow light, Su Tan'er lay sprawled across several letter papers, already fast asleep, her hair slightly disheveled.

Ning Yi stood at the window watching for a while, then blew out the oil lamp on the table with a puff. The window went dark as clear moonlight spilled across the courtyard. Just as he prepared to turn and leave, behind him someone seemed to sense the change in light. An "Mm" sounded. Ning Yi turned back to see Su Tan'er struggling to sit up, groggily rubbing her eyes with her hands, then sniffling and looking out the window.

Their eyes met quietly in the moonlight. Su Tan'er's seemed to glow in the darkness, though not fully open, still heavy with drowsy confusion: "Mm... My Lord Husband..."

In the moonlight, it was a soft murmur like a little girl's...