Firecrackers rang continuously, lanterns like dragons, and according to Wu Dynasty custom, lanterns were lit on the thirteenth day of the first month and taken down on the seventeenth—five days total. The city danced with dragons and lions, sleepless day and night, but naturally the fifteenth, the Lantern Festival, was the liveliest. Snow still hadn't melted. Various lantern gatherings and poetry meetings had already started up again, even exceeding Mid-Autumn night's scale.

This night's excitement didn't have Mid-Autumn's poetry competition atmosphere—it was more the continuing gathering spirit from New Year's, for if on Mid-Autumn night people preferred appreciating talented scholars' literary airs and enjoyed watching various idols compete, on Lantern Festival night people focused more on celebrating with their own families and friends, eating glutinous rice balls², guessing lantern riddles, strolling night markets, and only then noticing the misty towers where talented scholars gathered.

The reasons for this were complex—heavy snow blocking roads, reduced passing merchants and travelers, some traveling students returning home before New Year's—though various poetry gatherings still existed, they weren't as clearly divided as Mid-Autumn. The Puyuan Poetry Gathering and Zhishui Poetry Gathering didn't officially hold events on the Lantern Festival. This night usually featured performances by Lichuan Academy students. Lichuan was actually Jiangning's official school—if not for the Pan mansion's influence holding the Zhishui Poetry Gathering at Mid-Autumn, their students' quality should have been highest.

Of course, even though many formal poetry gatherings weren't held, talented scholars still had plenty of banquets to attend, exchanging New Year's masterpieces. Some Lichuan students would also scatter to participate in these banquets, using their poems to compete with classmates for attention. In short, this night was still mainly about the festive atmosphere continuing from New Year's.

After nightfall, everything was bustling, and when the bells rang at the hour of the pig³, Ning Yi was eating glutinous rice ball soup with Xiao Chan at a snack stall near Vermillion Bird Avenue. Around them were flower lanterns with various riddles, illuminating the entire street market like daylight.

That evening Ning Yi and Su Tan'er had followed Su Boyong to a banquet at a family friend's home, and after basic courtesy was fulfilled, Su Tan'er took her leave with Ning Yi, saying the young couple would stroll around Vermillion Bird Avenue—though naturally this wasn't the whole reason.

Several of Su Tan'er's managers were discussing business tonight at nearby Mingxiu Building, and Su Tan'er was concerned about the results, so after playing around on the road briefly, she found a table at a small teahouse opposite Mingxiu Building, listening to opera while waiting for results. Ning Yi listened to opera with her for a while. When the young manager named Xi Junyu came to report preliminary results, he also stood to walk around the area.

"I'll stroll around Vermillion Bird Avenue, see what good food there is, try a bit of everything."

"Remember to bring some back for me too."

Su Tan'er smiled sweetly as she said this, then Xiao Chan followed along. Looking back while going downstairs, Su Tan'er had already switched to a calm expression, talking with that young manager. Since Su Tan'er had also taken him around the Su family's various shops during New Year's, Ning Yi had met this Manager Xi several times—ambitious and capable, just with his edge still showing, not restrained enough yet, but still quite outstanding. This reminded Ning Yi of many years ago when he was also young, having seen many such young people, friends and opponents, though in the end, what surprised him most was actually that always indecisive Tang Mingyuan who'd followed behind him. Thinking this way seemed somewhat ironic.

Before long, he and Xiao Chan were near Vermillion Bird Avenue, tasting their way along the snack stall route, with unmelted snow still lying along the roadsides. Wind blew from near Qinhuai River but wasn't cold. The entire street felt bustling with heat—dragon and lion dances, lantern shows and acrobatics, hot air rising from each vendor's stove. Xiao Chan couldn't eat much. She bought a small lantern to carry, with a cat design on it. Of course, this cat had a "王" character drawn on its forehead, so they'd just consider it a tiger.

"Young Master, Young Master, how do you solve that candied coptis⁴riddle?"

"Could it be 'sharing both sweet and bitter'?"

"Young Master, Young Master, what's 'yellow silk, young woman, grandson's mortar'?"

"Heh, this one's hard if you don't know—Cao Cao asked Yang Xiu. The answer is 'absolutely wonderful words'⁵."

"Young Master, here's a really hard one: One form one body, four limbs eight heads. One eight five eight, flying spring flows upward... What's this?"

"...How would I know?"

"So Young Master doesn't know either..."

"Did you ask if the first two were right?"

"If Young Master says it, it's right."

"...Come eat glutinous rice balls... After eating I'll tell you it's the character for 'well'."

"Oh, so it's 'well'."

Really couldn't get angry at Xiao Chan, and after eating some glutinous rice balls they moved to the next stall. This stall's five-spice beans were Xiao Chan's favorite. She bought half a porcelain cup to eat slowly, the small lantern swaying. Before long, she said out of nowhere: "Young Miss is actually very tired."

"Hmm?"

"Just now... when Young Miss was upstairs at the teahouse and Young Master was preparing to leave, actually Young Master knows many things, right?"

That small face looked somewhat serious. Ning Yi thought about it and nodded with a smile: "If they can't agree over there, ultimately your Young Miss still has to make the decision. Me being there actually isn't useful, sometimes even counterproductive."

"So Young Master really does know..." Xiao Chan nodded, looking at Ning Yi several times, seeming to want to say something but holding back. Finally she still said: "Why doesn't Young Master help Young Miss?"

"Your Young Miss is very capable, no need to worry."

Xiao Chan thought about it, then smiled again: "Young Miss has been very happy recently."

"Hmm?"

"Because of Young Master. Before, Young Miss rarely talked this much with people... Well, she did talk, but wouldn't talk about business and such while being happy, and Young Master telling stories, playing chess... So Xiao Chan thinks if Young Master was willing to help Young Miss, Young Miss would definitely be even happier. Young Master also knows, Young Miss... Young Miss is a girl like Xiao Chan after all. Going out to do business, people always gossip. Young Miss doesn't say it, but surely has many worries in her heart..."

Xiao Chan truly cared for Su Tan'er, gathering great courage to say this, yet afraid she was overstepping a maid's bounds and making Ning Yi unhappy—she kept glancing at Ning Yi with difficulty. The response she got was her entire face being grabbed and squished into a pancake by Ning Yi's hand.

"How old was Chan'er when she entered the Su mansion?"

"Four years old." Chan'er hesitated a moment before mumbling and gesturing, and when Ning Yi released her cheeks and turned to walk forward, she ran to catch up, adding: "Chan'er was sold in at four years old."

"Four years old, so young..."

"Juan'er too. Sister Xing'er was one year older than us, five at the time. Young Miss was eight then." Xiao Chan didn't avoid this topic, smiling rather sweetly. "Originally we were really too young—the slave traders didn't want us. But the Su mansion happened to need some little girls, so Xiao Chan was selected. My family originally wanted to sell my brother."

"I don't usually hear you mention your family."

"Once Xiao Chan was sold to the Su mansion, I became a Su mansion person. How could I keep mentioning them?" Xiao Chan lowered her head in thought. "Actually Xiao Chan can't remember much from childhood, just being hungry. I heard I originally had a younger brother who starved to death soon after birth. The family originally wanted to sell my brother—brother could always do some work. Later they sold Xiao Chan for twenty-five years, the family got thirty-five taels of silver. Actually being Young Miss's personal maid is fortunate—it doesn't matter how many years. Now Xiao Chan sends ten taels home every year. Brother got married last year and even wrote me a letter, saying he married the prettiest girl from the neighboring village, just with ugly handwriting... Mm, Xiao Chan went back the year before last. This March I can also go home to see sister-in-law..."

Many things were society's normal state, and Xiao Chan spoke without much sadness, becoming happy toward the end before looking somewhat guilty and pursing her lips: "Young Master..."

Ning Yi smiled: "So Tan'er is like your older sister, right?"

"Mm." The little girl quickly nodded, then shook her head. "Xiao Chan is just a maid, I don't dare think that way."

"But she often tells you all about business matters, also tells those managers. Even if I help her, why would one more person make a difference?"

"But, but... Young Master is just different..."

"Heh, don't overthink it. The reason your Young Miss can tell me those things is precisely because I don't understand, and I don't do business. If I could really help, then it would indeed become talking business." Though he appeared simple before Su Tan'er, Xiao Chan wasn't stupid—on the contrary, very clever. Regarding her slight scheming for Su Tan'er's sake, Ning Yi didn't mind—human nature. At this time the two walked forward through the crowd, Ning Yi smiling: "Your Young Miss is much more capable than you think. If she wasn't this capable, then helping or not wouldn't matter—she'd better quit early. Though I'm happy you think I'm capable, but don't... uh..."

Ning Yi's words stopped, and behind came Xiao Chan's voice: "Young Master is very capable!" Under the bright lantern light, Ning Yi frowned slightly, looking puzzled at his left hand. On the outside of his thumb was a smear of bright red, sticky and not yet dry. This was... blood.

Where did it get on...

Looking back in confusion, the streets were brilliantly lit, crowds coming and going, various noisy sounds continuous. At the other end of Vermillion Bird Avenue, a yellow dragon danced to the chang-chang-chang-chang sound of gongs and drums, flying toward them. In the lively Lantern Festival scene, several constables mixed in the crowd, seeming to search for something.

The next moment, blood light suddenly bloomed...

(End of Chapter)