Chapter 101: East Pillar

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As night fell, scattered lights began to twinkle across the mountain village. On the threshing ground by the pond, a group of children chased each other, playing. An old farmer, sitting by his house and chatting, held a dry tobacco pipe, occasionally tapping it against the bluestone steps beside him. Dong Zhu and Guard Geng were also seated under a large tree near the pond, chatting for a while.

"...Originally, I also thought our son-in-law was as weak-willed as the rumors claimed, but the more I saw, the more I realized that wasn't right. A scholar is still a scholar, of course, but he should be like this! In Jiangning City now, who doesn't know our family's son-in-law, Ning Liheng? My boy is also studying at the academy now; last year, he was even praised by Prefect Song Mao. Tsk... My old Geng family has always been illiterate. If it weren't for the Su family, how could that boy have had the chance to read and write? And if it weren't for our son-in-law, how could he possibly have received praise from someone like Prefect Song..."

The mourning hall not far away was noisy. Guard Geng patted his thigh and began telling these things to the young carriage driver named Dong Zhu.

"You wouldn't know, but our son-in-law is truly humble by nature. He doesn't like to show off and never goes out whoring or drinking with those self-promoting scholars. And he's really good to the Second Miss. Look at the people he associates with—Li Pin, Li Dexin, these are truly great scholars... How does he teach in class? He never loses his temper, never says a harsh word. Those boys can be a bit unruly, but they study well. Even so, they are doing better than the boys from before..."

"I, Geng Lie, am illiterate. I originally just thought the teacher was strict, and last year, when Prefect Song praised him, I was happy. Then one day, that boy came back and spoke of things in class, and I felt something was off. 'The teacher is good-tempered and doesn't bother with you boys; you boys shouldn't be so thoughtless!' So I hung him up and gave him a good beating. Afterward, our son-in-law even specifically told me not to be so harsh. This is the demeanor of a great man, to win people over with virtue and talent..."

"In the past, when teachers were strict, those boys would just shake their heads while studying—it was useless. Now, even though those boys still fool around, they truly respect our son-in-law. All day long, they talk about what 'our teacher said, our teacher said,' haha! A few times, that boy even came to me saying such things. Tsk... Thinking about it, it really makes sense. Look at him this time, coming to this village, visiting this family and that one, how he speaks and acts, handling situations—he's no different from a great master. At first, you might not see it, but gradually, you realize this is the true benefit of being educated. Few in our family can compare to our son-in-law..."

Geng Lie, though outwardly imposing and fierce, was humble towards his own people and spoke slowly, one phrase at a time. Dong Zhu, sitting beside him, looked like a younger relative. He was silent for a moment, then finally asked, "I heard that when the son-in-law first entered the mansion, he was beaten, right?"

"Yes, Xue Jin from the Xue family probably hit him with a brick when no one was looking... No one saw it then. If I had caught him, even if he had the Xue family backing him, I would have beaten him half to death and reported him to the authorities... But later, our son-in-law also thoroughly humiliated him, hehe... Oh, right, you should have already joined the mansion by then, shouldn't you?"

"Yes," Dong Zhu nodded. "I had just joined the mansion then and heard people mention it, but I wasn't very clear on the details. But... Uncle Geng, if the son-in-law is so capable, why did he marry into the family?"

Geng Lie thought for a moment. "This matter is a bit complicated. Firstly, there was an agreement between the Old Master and our son-in-law's grandfather's generation. Secondly, the Su family now has a solid foundation, and the Second Miss is also capable and strong-willed. I don't know how they negotiated it back then, but we think one more likely reason is... hehe, before the marriage, the Second Miss secretly went to see the son-in-law. The Second Miss's appearance and demeanor are both excellent... I don't know what happened between them, but anyway, the son-in-law agreed... Not to mention the Second Miss, just look at the maids around her: Chan'er is so considerate, Juan'er is also good, and that girl Xing'er... she's pretty, but just a bit too feisty..."

Among the three maids, Chan'er was considerate, Juan'er was lively, and Xing'er, being a year older, sometimes argued with people. She had argued with Geng Lie a few times over minor issues; neither of them took it to heart, but it was naturally a bit amusing and annoying to recall. After chatting for a while, Geng Lie patted Dong Zhu's shoulder.

"The Second Miss and our son-in-law truly are a match made in heaven. The Su family's future will undoubtedly be in the Second Miss's hands. You're still young; work hard, and perhaps you can become a steward in the future..."

Encouraged by these words, Dong Zhu nodded in agreement. Soon after, night had fully descended. People moved in and out of the mourning hall, and farmers with nothing to do in the evening gathered, making it even livelier. As time passed, the crowd gradually thinned. Dong Zhu would occasionally go to check; the young girl named Chan'er was inside, and the son-in-law was sometimes there, sometimes not.

Dong Zhu had only entered the Su family mansion last year. For him, a country boy, being able to move to the city and work in such a prominent family gave him a feeling of everything being "impressive and novel."

Each courtyard, every rule, the stewards who seemed to know everything, and everyone else, regardless of age, seemed incredibly capable. Occasionally, he would hear them discuss who was who, how high their status was, or hear legends of scholars and talented people in the city. In short, they all felt like beings he could never aspire to be.

He often heard people in the mansion say that the Second Miss was the most capable person in the household—excluding a few masters, of course. He didn't have many opportunities to see the formidable Second Miss, but he had seen her maids several times.

The girl who often smiled and looked beautiful even when reprimanding others was Chan'er. Although she seemed younger than him, he still had to address her as "Sister Chan'er," which was only natural, given how capable she was. Juan'er, when giving instructions, was quiet and serious, showing little expression and rarely smiling, but when she got angry, her gloomy face was quite frightening. Sister Xing'er was usually gentle when giving orders, but she could be terrifying when she occasionally clashed with others. Once, he saw her arguing with a steward from the third branch, speaking point by point, never yielding... Even though she was just a maid, she dared to argue with such a capable steward and even won in the end, which truly impressed Dong Zhu.

Comparatively, it was Sister Chan'er who caught Dong Zhu's attention more. He hadn't really spoken much with her; a few times, she came, gave instructions, and left. However, he often saw her around the mansion. Sometimes he'd see her stretching and mumbling something as she walked, sometimes jogging, and sometimes skipping alongside the son-in-law. He just thought... Sister Chan'er's smile was truly beautiful. Of course, apart from that, he didn't have many other thoughts.

On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, he drove the carriage to take her out, but he didn't get to say much, only telling her his name. Later, she actually remembered it. A few times when they met in the mansion, she greeted him, addressing him as "Brother Dong Zhu." He couldn't respond properly on those occasions and felt very annoyed afterward.

There were also instances of servants in the mansion pursuing maids, but such matters were not on his mind. The Second Miss's three maids held a status in the mansion comparable to that of stewards. He wasn't yet accustomed to the idea of "pursuit," nor did he feel he was of a suitable status. Of course, this time when Chan'er was to return, he was assigned to drive the carriage. That morning, he had originally wanted to say a few comforting words, but he was clumsy with words and ultimately couldn't say them before they departed.

During these days in Nanting Village, he felt a constant emptiness. His tasks weren't many—just feeding the horses and maintaining the carriage. Occasionally, he would accompany the son-in-law and Guard Geng on visits to various households. The son-in-law was truly impressive; if it were him, he would never have been able to say those things. They sounded simple, yet they felt so inherently right, just as Guard Geng had said: educated people deserved respect.

That Sister Chan'er would share a room with the son-in-law was natural; he didn't find anything inappropriate about it. Yet, the sense of emptiness in his heart was hard to suppress. As time passed and night deepened, he went to check again, but both the son-in-law and Chan'er were no longer in the mourning hall. He then headed back to his resting place. As he passed the son-in-law's courtyard, he saw lights on inside. He stood outside for a while, watching. The son-in-law's shadow sat by the window, probably writing, but Sister Chan'er's figure didn't seem to be there.

Turning towards the small courtyard arranged for himself and Guard Geng, he noticed a rustling sound near the carriage. Puzzled, he approached, and Chan'er, dressed in plain white mourning clothes, crawled out from inside, carrying some items in her hands. Seeing him, she nodded, "Brother Dong Zhu."

"Uh, Sister Chan'er... Heh, I thought it was someone else..."

"The young master hasn't been eating very well these past few days. I prepared some things when I first arrived, so I brought them for him to eat." Chan'er nodded and smiled. In her hands were a few long-lasting biscuits and dried fruits. She then offered one to him, "Brother Dong Zhu, are you hungry? Have one too."

"Uh, I, I..."

"Here," Chan'er said with a small smile, placing the biscuit into Dong Zhu's hand. Then she waved, "I'll head back to my room now. Goodbye, Brother Dong Zhu, I'll have to trouble you again tomorrow."

"No, no... no trouble at all..." Dong Zhu held the biscuit, his mind full of unsaid words. He just watched as her figure disappeared into the other courtyard.

Actually, she didn't have her usual smile; her figure seemed somewhat sad. But when she reached the door, he could still see her pause, pull her lips into an arc of a smile, and then push the door open and enter.

The silhouettes of two people moved inside. Dong Zhu, holding the biscuit in his hand, stared blankly for a long time before taking a small bite. This biscuit might normally have been delicious to him, but at that moment, it didn't taste as good. He simply gazed at the figures in the light across the way, savoring a subtle, yet persistent, emotion—a nascent, confused affection, lost in the summer night...

"This is what rich landlords do..."

Inside the room, Ning Yi sighed, dividing the biscuits and dried fruits on the table into two halves. He pushed one half towards Chan'er. "Not being used to the food people enthusiastically prepare, and then having your maid bring you things to secretly eat in the middle of the night—what would people think if they found out about this kind of behavior?"

"It doesn't matter if people find out. Actually, you're the truly amazing one, young master. You clearly don't like the food, yet you can sit there and keep eating it..."

"Uh, is it that obvious that I don't like it?"

"Chan'er can tell, but others definitely can't," Chan'er chuckled. "I'm already full, young master; you don't need to give me any more."

"Regardless of whether it tastes good or not, I force-fed myself and I'm full. Since you brought it, we have a responsibility to finish it, half each. Don't waste it."

"Then I'll just have a small portion."

Chan'er picked up a biscuit and a fruit, placing them towards Ning Yi. Ning Yi shook his head, negotiating, "No, no, that's too much. I'll be at a disadvantage now. We can calculate it proportionally, divide it into five parts. Chan'er, you have to take at least two parts for this deal to work... This one's too big, swap it for a smaller one."

The negotiation, akin to a tense bargaining session, continued vigorously on the table. Chan'er, holding the large fruit and placing it with two smaller ones, protested, "You can't count it like that! This big one is worth two of the others..."

"Then you come up with a more reliable way to divide them! I don't think these biscuits are all the same size either. Look, the one on your side is clearly smaller, isn't it? That's not fair; you're deliberately taking advantage."

"If you want to put the big one here, young master, you have to take two small ones over there."

"I have another way."

"Hmm? What... Ugh..."

Chan'er opened her mouth, and Ning Yi tossed the large one in. "Alright, now the big one's gone, so it'll be easier to divide. We won't count the big one..."

"Ugh, h-how can you not c-count it? I a-ate it!" Chan'er protested, chewing with difficulty.

"How can we count it if you ate it? You ate it. And you can't even speak clearly, yet you're trying to negotiate. What exactly are you trying to say...? Tsk, anyway, I can't understand. Alright, I'll continue dividing now. You have the right to offer opinions, and I will take all your suggestions into consideration..."

With nothing else to do, they could only find mundane ways to entertain themselves. The two of them continued their back-and-forth, sharing the food in the room. When they finished and Chan'er calculated carefully, she realized she had eaten more than half. Normally, she was a clever and capable top maid, but against Ning Yi, she was helpless. She could only mutter, "The young master is bullying me," then took off her clothes, got into bed on the inner side, and decided to ignore him. However, not long after Ning Yi got into bed, she couldn't help but shift closer to the middle and hold Ning Yi's hand.

The night passed quietly. The next day, at *Chen* hour (7-9 AM), the deceased was buried. Originally, there were still dinner arrangements in the village for noon and evening, but considering the recent floods and the disaster victims heading to Jiangning, it was better to return to the city a day earlier if possible. After the burial and offerings, Ning Yi and the others bid farewell to everyone and prepared to depart.

At *Si* hour (9-11 AM), the sunlight in the sky was just beginning to turn scorching. The carriage left Nanting Village and drove onto the mountain road back to Jiangning. The weather in the mountains was muggy, and soon after, dark clouds seemed to begin gathering in the distance...

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