In the courtyard, Su Tan'er's expression appeared somewhat dazed. She had always addressed Ning Yi as "Husband,"¹but this time when she called him "My Lord Husband,"²her voice was soft, carrying a warmth that seemed to seep into one's heart. However, that slightly confused state didn't last long before it faded away. She raised her hand to rub her face and shook her head, then picked up the fire starter³from beside the table. Light flickered several times in the window before the oil lamp in the room was lit again. Ning Yi pursed his lips, and she smiled embarrassedly from the other side.

"Um, I'm almost finished... Just a bit tired."

She shook her head and her somewhat disheveled hair, then rested her hands on the table and looked up at Ning Yi with a smile. After a moment, Ning Yi turned and left, and the woman's figure in the window busied itself again. By the time the lights finally went out, more than half an hour had passed.

The next day, the eleventh of the seventh month in the eighth year of Jinghan, Su Zhongkan, Su Chonghua, and several other academy teachers held a meeting, naturally calling upon Ning Yi and Li Pin as well. The situation outside had begun to grow tense, and the academy was preparing to close temporarily.

The children studying at the academy generally had family connections to the Su family. At this time, those whose families lived outside the city had mostly entered the city with their parents and were arranged to stay at the Su mansion. During the one or two months after the city gates closed, things would be relatively chaotic outside the city, and even inside the city wouldn't be particularly comfortable—it was impossible for life to continue as normal. For example, Old Qin had already packed up his chess stall two days ago and no longer went out to set it up.

The academy had already learned about Li Pin's upcoming journey to the capital. Originally, he had planned to leave after the floods, which would have allowed him to stay and teach for another month. But now that the academy was closing temporarily, they wouldn't see him at the academy during this month. At noon, Su Zhongkan hosted a farewell banquet at the best restaurant near the academy.

From the moment Li Pin entered Yushan Academy, Su Chonghua and the others knew he couldn't teach at this small academy for long. However, leveraging Li Pin's reputation, Yushan Academy could naturally raise its status. As for his departure, those who knew the inside story understood he was going to become an official. Su Zhongkan generously presented a large sum as salary and travel expenses, offering many kind words and wishing him smooth travels and a brilliant future.

"Dexin and Liheng are the two most outstanding individuals at our Yushan Academy. We are all old and of little use now. However, Liheng's temperament is too detached, which is regrettable. He should learn more from Dexin. Dexin understands human relations well—this is the cultivation one should have to accomplish great things in the future..."

At the banquet, the rest were all middle-aged or elderly men, and they inevitably discussed Ning Yi and Li Pin together. In fact, both were now considered top talents in Jiangning, but Ning Yi's situation was rather extreme. Some who had heard of his reputation considered him Jiangning's premier talent—when he appeared, others hesitated even to put brush to paper for poetry. Yet he didn't participate in poetry gatherings or social events, didn't associate with numerous literati, and bore the title of a live-in son-in-law. Despite his talent, no one could really tell what he wanted. Now they could only conclude that his temperament was eccentric. Privately, some thought he sought empty fame, while others considered him a rare genius, but his reputation was always different from that of people like Li Pin and Cao Guan.

Su Chonghua spoke as an elder, and Ning Yi could only smile: "Headmaster, please don't tease me." Li Pin smiled and said, "Liheng's conduct far surpasses mine. I should be the one learning from Liheng..."

"Ah, I know you two are close, but Dexin needn't speak well of Liheng on his behalf." Su Zhongkan also laughed and waved his hand from the side. "With the city gates closed, who knows when they'll open again. Dexin has at least another month before leaving, and it wouldn't do to stay cooped up at home all the time. If you attend any poetry gatherings, Dexin should bring Liheng along. Though Liheng is a scholar, his temperament is too withdrawn, which isn't good. How about this—tonight I'll have Wenxing and the others host at Smoke and Emerald Tower.⁴Liheng and Dexin should both go. It'll be young people gathering together. Don't refuse—my family's younger generation is all worthless. Liheng and Dexin can consider it teaching these brothers. How about it..."

Li Pin naturally didn't mind such events, and since Su Zhongkan had spoken as Second Uncle, Ning Yi couldn't easily refuse at the moment and had to agree. After the banquet ended and the group descended the stairs, Su Zhongkan walked over to Ning Yi's side:

"Others divide families into First Branch, Second Branch, Third Branch—it's actually just boring outsiders watching for entertainment. We're all one family; there's no need for such divisions. Your cousins are worthless. If they truly took over the family business, they'd squander it all sooner or later. Tan'er has business talent that rivals any man's. If she takes over the Su family in the future, it would actually be the best outcome. Unfortunately, she is ultimately a woman, and sometimes inevitably finds herself isolated and unsupported. Recently, with tensions both inside and outside the city, and given her tendency to handle everything personally, I've noticed Tan'er always seems tired when we meet. You are her husband—you should look after and cherish her more, advise her to relax appropriately. The world's business cannot be finished in a day."

Su Zhongkan spoke earnestly, and Ning Yi respectfully nodded in agreement. While the Su family's third generation had no one of note besides Su Tan'er, the second generation was different. Su Boyong, Su Zhongkan, and Su Yunfang each had their abilities, and the Su family's overall situation was still under their control. Whether sincere or not, these words alone showed that Su Zhongkan was indeed no simple person.

On the way home, the afternoon was already half over. The outer and inner courtyards were somewhat noisy with the many relatives who had recently been arranged to stay at the Su family compound. When he returned to his residential courtyard, the noise diminished. Sunlight filtered through the tall tree branches into the somewhat quiet courtyard. There seemed to be no one around—Chan'er, Juan'er, and Xing'er were all absent, either having gone out with Tan'er or dealing with matters related to the First Branch relatives. The window of Su Tan'er's room was open, and when Ning Yi walked over, he saw her sleeping at her desk, much like the previous night. Today she had probably handled some matters at noon and then fallen asleep. The wind blowing through the courtyard stirred the woman's hair.

Since she was sleeping, Ning Yi didn't plan to disturb her and went straight back to his room to read for a while. Amid the cicada songs, he got up and went to check the small kitchen next door where water was heated, starting a fire to heat water for a bath.

In this era, bathing was actually quite troublesome. Each time, filling the bathtub required many trips back and forth, which was quite laborious. Emptying the water from the tub afterward was even more troublesome. There was a large water storage jar in the bathroom, but today the water had been used up, so he had to fetch it from the small kitchen one room over, along with the hot water. In winter, a fire could be lit under the tub to maintain water temperature, but this wasn't usually done in summer and early autumn.

His strength had been growing recently, especially after practicing the breathing techniques taught by Lu Hongti. Such simple labor didn't even make him sweat, and carrying water back and forth gave him quite a sense of accomplishment. After mixing in some hot water and filling most of the tub, the courtyard remained quiet, with the sounds of commotion so distant they seemed unreal. On an early autumn afternoon, in an ancient world a thousand years removed from his former modern life, doing such things alone felt rather marvelous.

Many things were missing, but at least he had martial arts now, and this small family. While drawing water into the jar, he felt the accumulated strength in his body and wondered what those three maids were each busy with on such an afternoon. Then he picked up two buckets and turned through the corridor, making his way to the outer bathroom area. He lifted the curtain to enter, took two steps, and only then clearly saw the figure standing before the bathtub.

The blue outer robe and long skirt were already draped on the nearby clothes rack. The woman wore a red dudou⁵and white silk pants, her figure graceful. Her fair, smooth bare back faced Ning Yi, her shoes and socks already removed and placed on the floor nearby. She reached up to remove several hairpins from her head, and her long hair cascaded down like a waterfall, swaying with her head movements. When Ning Yi noticed this scene, the woman had also turned her head, her hands cupping her cheeks with several fingers threading through her black hair, her gaze holding the confusion of someone just awakened.

Su Tan'er's confusion had its reasons. At noon, while handling matters at home, she had slept late the previous night and her sleep quality had been poor these past few days. The midday temperature was rather high and the courtyard was quiet, making her drowsy. She had leaned on the desk intending to take a short nap, and there were scattered sounds from outside—Juan'er was cleaning, wiping porcelain, tea sets, tables, and chairs. So she subconsciously instructed Juan'er to heat water for a bath. Her consciousness was already fuzzy at that point, and then she couldn't hold on and fell asleep.

Juan'er excitedly ran off to heat the water after hearing the instruction. When everything was ready and she ran to call her, the young miss was already asleep. Juan'er knew how hard she'd been working these past few days and thought sleep was most important, so she continued cleaning. After finishing and working up a sweat herself, with the young miss sleeping deeply and the water getting cold, she simply went and bathed herself. Afterward, someone came looking for Su Tan'er, and she went out with them to handle matters. This was why Ning Yi had returned to find the water jar in the bathroom empty.

Su Tan'er had just awakened and couldn't distinguish the time for a moment. She came over in a daze, not even certain if she had mentioned wanting to bathe. Seeing the water was ready brought back her awareness. She was just removing her dress and skirt when she turned to see her husband behind her carrying two buckets of water, causing her to frown slightly.

Ning Yi was also somewhat puzzled, but he recovered much more quickly. After thinking briefly, he set down the buckets and silently turned to leave.

Before he could exit through the curtain, there was a low "Ah!" from behind, followed by a splash as Su Tan'er fell into the bathtub that was already mostly full of water, clearly having been startled.

She didn't cry out when frightened—whether this showed self-control or indicated her temperament had been suppressed into something rather peculiar... Ning Yi glanced back, sighed inwardly, then pulled over a nearby bath towel and walked over. He lifted Su Tan'er out of the tub, wrapped the towel around her upper body, and helped her sit down nearby.

Su Tan'er coughed continuously, leaning against Ning Yi's embrace. He patted her back through the towel and sighed.

"If you drowned in your own bathtub, I don't know what people would say if word got out, hmm?"

"Cough, heh... cough cough... Husband..."

Su Tan'er's body trembled as she laughed with embarrassment and difficulty, which only made her coughing worse for a moment...