Chapter 117: Encounter at Yancui Building

Episode Two: The Pool of Undercurrents

Du Wan Juan recommends to all readers: "The Son-in-Law," Episode Two: The Pool of Undercurrents.

As dusk fell, Jiangning City came alive, with pleasure boats and illuminated brothels lining its streets. Of course, nightlife here wasn't limited to visiting brothels. One could admire the Qinhuai River at night, sample pastries and snacks, sit in a teahouse, or listen to stories and tunes. However, relatively speaking, frequenting brothels was indeed the most fashionable activity.

The tense situation both inside and outside the city, and the occasional floods every few years, could not disrupt this scene of prosperity and luxury. The wealthy remained wealthy, and in affluent areas like Jiangning, Yangzhou, and Tokyo, government control was relatively strong. Even if the city gates were closed in a few days, most brothels and entertainment venues would continue to operate as usual. In fact, with the gates closed, prices and fees would rise, and wealthy individuals with nowhere else to go would visit more frequently, making this period a golden age for such establishments.

When Ning Yi, Li Pin, Su Wengui, Su Wenxing, and others arrived at the entrance of Yancui Tower, the rest of the invited guests had already gathered. These were mostly friends of the Su family's younger generation, including two less-renowned scholars who wished to meet Ning Yi and Li Pin. Attending were not only Su Wenxing, Su Wengui, and Su Wentian from the Second Branch, but also Su Wenluo and Su Wenji from the Third Branch. Su Wending, who was usually closer to Su Tan'er, also came. In short, Su Zhongkan greeted everyone he saw; he was paying for this gathering of the Su family's younger members today.

As Su Tan'er had said, Su Zhongkan was not entirely sincere, and he certainly harbored an interest in the family head position. However, that aside, he had no reason to play petty, boring tricks on Ning Yi at this moment. This banquet was merely an informal gesture: partly to bid farewell to Li Pin in the Su family's name, and partly a genuine desire for the family's younger generation to interact more with Ning Yi and Li Pin. Su Zhongkan was well aware that his family's youngsters were not particularly talented. To try and humiliate Ning Yi would only be self-defeating, especially with Li Pin, a master of social grace, who would undoubtedly side with Ning Yi.

Yancui Tower was not as famous as brothels that frequently produced top courtesans or "flower queens," unlike prominent establishments like Jinfeng Tower or Ningyu Tower, where Qi Lan resided, which were considered Jiangning's first tier of brothels. Yancui Tower, however, was among the best of the second tier. It barely made it into Jiangning's top ten, and its services and entertainment were quite meticulous, though it might not possess the same elegance as Jinfeng or Ningyu; its reputation was purely a matter of brand effect.

For example, if the Jiangning Prefect or the Consort Kang Xian were hosting guests, choosing Yancui Tower would be considered a loss of face. However, many wealthy merchants regularly favored this establishment. While scholars, less concerned with such distinctions, also visited, they were not frequent patrons, as it was not their preferred venue.

As they traveled today, no one brought up poetry or literary essays. Individuals like Su Wenxing and Su Wending, who usually enjoyed playing the role of scholars, knew better this time. With Ning Yi and Li Pin present, even minorly famous scholars in Jiangning dared not make a fool of themselves. There was the previous incident where Chen Jiwen hesitated to write poetry in front of Ning Yi, so why talk about anything that would only bore them? These individuals belonged to the First, Second, and Third Branches of the family, and though they might have had occasional disagreements, they were united in their purpose now: to discuss business, not poetry.

Leveraging one's strengths to attack another's weaknesses – this strategy aligned well with military tactics. Su Wenxing, Su Wengui, and Su Wenji had all tried managing shops at home. Along the way, Su Wenji conversed quite well with Ning Yi. This young man, known as the Su family's "Little Mengchang," lacked personal ability but was skilled at utilizing others, maintained a humble attitude, and spoke courteously. Ning Yi found him quite interesting; his strength in interpersonal relations was commendable. However, for a true manager, the ability to balance and control talent was essential, and that was likely his weakness.

Such abilities required long-term cultivation and were linked to one's innate talent and subsequent education. To effectively utilize a talent with 100% capability, one must possess at least 60% of that capability oneself. While such skills could be cultivated, Ning Yi saw no need to elaborate. Listening to Su Wenji discuss his insights and business anecdotes on the way, Ning Yi simply smiled and nodded, indicating he was learning. Su Wenji, in turn, became even more delighted, seizing the rare opportunity to impress someone like Ning Yi, and began speaking in greater depth.

Occasionally, Su Wenxing and Su Wengui would interject: "Li Heng, you don't understand business matters, don't listen to his nonsense; he's pulling your leg. That Taihu business, Wenji here has no idea what the problem was.""Who says I don't know!""You just listen to whatever your shopkeepers babble and believe it all…""I can at least distinguish what makes sense!"

The two sides inevitably began to bicker. Ning Yi and Li Pin found it amusing from inside the carriage. After a while, one of them turned to Ning Yi and said, "Or why don't you go back tonight and ask Second Sister what she thinks… Hmph."

Although Su Tan'er was a woman, and there was overt rivalry over the family fortune, no one genuinely denied her business acumen. As for Ning Yi, he might be a great scholar, but he naturally knew nothing about business. Both Su Zhongkan and Su Yunfang had probably told these youngsters why Ning Yi was brought into the family as a live-in son-in-law: Xi Junyu was rejected precisely because he possessed too much business talent, a point that was beyond doubt.

Thus, boasting their business insights all the way, while these individuals diligently tried to showcase the excitement of the business world to Ning Yi and Li Pin, and to demonstrate their own excellence, they also alighted from the carriage and met a few invited friends at the entrance. Su Wenxing was the first to enter Yancui Tower, but soon encountered an acquaintance ahead.

As the main group entered the Yancui Tower's main hall, they saw Su Wenxing and Xue Jin from the Xue family engaged in a sarcastic standoff. Next to Xue Jin was his elder brother, Xue Yan, currently considered the future head of the Xue family among the younger generation. Several of their friends and guests were also present, and upon seeing more than ten people from the Su family suddenly arrive, they too gathered. The madame and bouncers of Yancui Tower, sensing trouble, quickly intervened with conciliatory words to mediate.

Brothels and entertainment houses were prone to arguments over rivalry, but at this time, it was merely a verbal spat. Both parties had their statuses, so it wouldn't escalate into a real fight. Both sides watched with interest, but Xue Jin's expression darkened upon seeing Ning Yi. Since the "Daoist wrote two poems" incident, he had practically stopped writing poetry, constantly feeling ridiculed. With both sides creating a buzz, Xue Yan and Su Wengui exchanged smiling greetings. As the madame mediated, Xue Jin and Su Wenxing exchanged a few more barbs, while Xue Jin's mind was still on Ning Yi. Meanwhile, Li Pin, beside Ning Yi, greeted someone on the opposite side."Brother Qingqiu, you're here too.""Brother Dexin, a pleasure to meet you."

That person was also a scholar named Liu Qingqiu, whose reputation was comparable to Li Pin's and Cao Guan's. After the greetings, Xue Jin looked up and introduced, "This is my elder brother's good friend, Liu Yan, courtesy name Liu Qingdi." Upon hearing this, the Su family group expressed their admiration, while Xue Jin stared at Ning Yi, who turned his head to observe the brothel's layout and decor.

Earlier, with just Xue Jin and Su Wenxing, there had been verbal sparring and tension. Now, with more people, the atmosphere seemed more harmonious.

They exchanged a few greetings, laced with subtle, veiled sarcasm. Xue Yan smiled and said, "The characteristic of Yancui Tower is that it's most comfortable sitting in the main hall. We'll be watching the performance here tonight. What about you all?"Su Wengui, on their side, smiled and replied, "Brother Xue has keen insight, as everyone in Jiangning knows. Since Brother Xue is here tonight, we will naturally also sit in the main hall… We're going to the second floor."

Generally, the first and second floors of brothels had similar layouts, largely resembling a theater with a stage at the front. While private rooms were available for entertaining courtesans and drinking, the stage performances were more public, and it was naturally impossible to make overly intimate gestures towards the accompanying women in such a public setting. No one came here simply to watch a show. If one truly intended to engage with a courtesan in a deeper way, a change of room was necessary. As Ning Yi ascended the stairs, he turned to Li Pin and asked, "How are these guys planning to compete for attention this time?"

Li Pin chuckled, "The performances in Yancui Tower's outer hall are quite elaborate. For instance, popular courtesans like Lu Xia sometimes perform in the outer hall without prior invitation. If they take a liking to someone, they'll step down and offer a cup of wine, and only then will they accompany that person to an inner room. Ha, a cup of wine offered in public is quite an honor. Merchants and scholars alike, everyone enjoys such scenarios where various means are used to win over a beauty."

Ning Yi nodded, "So, to win someone over, it probably still comes down to money.""That's natural," Li Pin smiled. "Of course, it's not just that simple. For example, if you're an old acquaintance, that works too. Or if Li Heng, you simply write a good poem for her, she'll naturally come over and offer you the wine. In short, it's always this kind of approach: to make a splash, you have to put in the effort."

"Oh, is Brother Li planning to write a poem to win a beauty later?""That would be difficult. Liu Qingdi's poetic talent is no less than mine, and besides, look at Xue Yan and his group's expressions; they are clearly regulars here and are sure to win. Of course, your companions probably know this too. Their confidence likely stems from seeing both you and me here. If only I write a poem later, even if I lose, Lu Xia would still come over to greet me, but if Li Heng, you also write one, with your reputation as the foremost scholar and 'ghost talent,' combined with your friends' 'silver bullet' offensive, the outcome truly remains to be seen."

"Oh, so it's all about saving face…""Haha, precisely, it's all for face…"

The two men chatted and laughed as they walked towards the private room on the second floor with a view of the performance. In fact, Li Pin was quite interested in such matters; even if Ning Yi didn't write, he would likely compose a poem himself to accept Liu Qingdi's challenge. Ning Yi looked back and saw the scholar named Liu Qingdi in the hall below looking their way, waving with a friendly smile. However, Ning Yi's gaze soon moved on, as a sudden sight from a room window on the side of the stage caught his attention.

The window of that room seemed inconspicuous, located on the side of the stage and likely not a place for entertaining guests. Ning Yi noticed it because the madame who had just mediated the dispute was now entering that room. Then… Ning Yi saw a face peeking out: it was Nie Yunzhu.

It was unclear how long Nie Yunzhu had been watching from that room. As Ning Yi's gaze met hers, she immediately smiled and waved gently in their direction. As Ning Yi also waved back, another figure emerged from the side of the window — another woman. She looked curiously at Nie Yunzhu's expression, then scanned the main hall for familiar faces. When she spotted Ning Yi, her eyes blinked, and her entire face crinkled. It was Yuan Jin'er.

Were these two selling preserved eggs here?

While Ning Yi was thinking this, Yuan Jin'er said something, and Nie Yunzhu smiled, giving her an annoyed glance as she retorted. Then, the two playfully wrestled, and Yuan Jin'er pushed Nie Yunzhu away from the window. A second later, she poked her head back out, stuck out her tongue at Ning Yi and made a mischievous face, as if triumphantly claiming her "Sister Yunzhu," before snapping the window shut.

Ning Yi chuckled with amusement.