Chapter 137: Two Little Followers (Part 1)

On this particular night, while many were focused on Ning Yi or Su Tan'er, everything in the Su family's courtyard seemed peaceful and gentle.

In Su Tan'er's room, the sound of chess pieces clattered, accompanied by lively chatter. Chan'er and Xing'er were playing Go-moku by the bed, with Su Tan'er watching from her bed, occasionally offering advice. When Xing'er, rarely winning a game against Chan'er, would protest loudly, Ning Yi, who was discussing matters with Juan'er nearby, would often scold them: "Can't you see there's a patient in the room? How can anyone rest with all this noise?"

"The loudest one talking is Miss, though," Xing'er pointed out, and Chan'er nodded in agreement: "Yeah, yeah." Su Tan'er chuckled, "I like a lively atmosphere. You won't let me out of bed, and now you won't let me talk either?"

"You have no patience for a patient, completely incorrigible..."

"I'm all better now."

"Better my foot..."

"Which one are you talking about?"

"Huh? What?"

"Which sister are you referring to? Xiaosan, Xiaosi, Xiaowu, Xiaoliu, Xiaoqi, and then all those cousins... let me count: Xiaomei, Xiaoqi, Xiaoluo..." Su Tan'er counted on her fingers from her bed. She had been quite idle lately, doing boring things. Ning Yi let out an exasperated chuckle and tossed some notebooks onto the chessboard.

"Chan'er, Xing'er, you two, along with Juan'er, write down the procedures for upgrading and renovating the looms in various places. Take your time discussing it, no problem. How to allocate funds, who manages which section, who the shopkeepers and managers are – you all know this, right? Why are you looking at me? I'm telling you to do it. Just brainstorm, a general outline will be fine..."

As Ning Yi spoke, Su Tan'er also opened her mouth from the bed: "Husband, this matter..."

"You have other things to do." Ning Yi picked up some letters and tossed them by the bed. "Since you're so idle, help me go through the things that have been sent over these past few days."

Su Tan'er quickly grabbed the letters, as if afraid Ning Yi would snatch them back. Then she smiled and looked at the three maids in the room: "But... Husband, the renovation and upgrade of the looms, that's too big a task..."

"Either way, you'll have to approve it in the end. Let them handle it; they've been with you all this time, so they might have better ideas."

Su Tan'er thought for a moment, finally nodded, and then looked at the letters in her hand: "These are..."

"These are the compiled opinions of all the shopkeepers in Jiangning over the past few days, including the letters they submitted. I've read them several times and asked Chan'er and Juan'er about them, but you know them best. I want you to tell me what you think – whose ideas these are, who's unhappy with me, who's trying to test me, who's indifferent, who's just spouting nonsense, their personalities, and why they think that way. Well, you can't stay idle anyway, can you?"

Su Tan'er smiled, then composed herself and opened the documents. A moment later, she began to think and analyze.

This was generally how evenings in the room had been lately. Su Tan'er's fever had subsided; aside from the day she learned Su Boyong would be permanently disabled, when her spirits were low, she had since recovered. Ning Yi had placed restrictions on her, and she was trying her best to cooperate. Being physically weak, she still needed a period of rest. On weekdays, either Chan'er or Juan'er stayed with her, and after Ning Yi left, she would get out of bed to walk or sit in the courtyard. While she still couldn't help but think about many business matters, her high-intensity thinking had been reduced.

Of course, Ning Yi was often unreliable. For example, he would casually hand over tasks to be dealt with in the evening to the three maids, then have them present the completed work for Su Tan'er's review. However, it had proven that they all did well. Still, entrusting the loom renovation and upgrade plan to the three of them made her worried, but since Ning Yi clearly knew what he was doing, she decided to let it go. After all, she would still have the final say.

Time passed in this atmosphere. Chan'er, Juan'er, and Xing'er discussed their ideas; occasionally Ning Yi and Su Tan'er would chime in, while Su Tan'er focused more on the shopkeepers' intentions, discussing and analyzing them with Ning Yi. This work might not last long; there was still time for casual chat afterwards. When Ning Yi returned to his room, everyone began to prepare for rest. Under the lamp-lit eaves, Xiao Chan carried a basin of water towards Ning Yi, with laughter and conversation. Soon, the courtyard gradually became quiet.

In the early morning, Jiangning woke up to the sound of roosters crowing.

After washing up and having breakfast, Ning Yi and Chan'er got into a carriage and headed to the main Su family store in Jiangning. The following events were simple: a morning meeting, after which Ning Yi and Chan'er visited each of the family's shops. Xiao Chan was usually adorable, but she was quite serious when acting as Ning Yi's assistant. She would introduce things they saw along the way and slowly explain matters concerning the textile shops to Ning Yi. Perhaps it was because of Ning Yi's blunder of using aromatic herbs as dye ingredients that she felt quite embarrassed; she had given Ning Yi a resentful look for a long time that afternoon.

Despite her resentment, she ultimately helped Ning Yi deflect most issues. During the morning meetings with the shopkeepers, she would sit nearby with a small notebook, appearing meticulously professional. Occasionally, she would comment on an idea, saying, "This isn't quite what Miss said." Ning Yi would simply nod in agreement beside her.

After the morning meeting, Ning Yi and Xiao Chan took the carriage for a tour around Jiangning. There wasn't much to do that morning, so they just strolled leisurely. Jiangning still appeared prosperous, but soldiers and yamen runners came and went, creating a somewhat serious atmosphere. Occasionally, they would see fights breaking out. Xiao Chan sat beside Ning Yi, peeking out from behind the curtain, then she lowered her head, becoming somewhat silent. When Ning Yi reached out and put his arm around her shoulder, she turned her head and rubbed her cheek against his hand like a small kitten.

"Young master, are you still going to see Lord He by yourself today?"

"Yes."

"But it's not safe."

"It'll be fine."

"But I'm worried..." she muttered softly. At times like these, Ning Yi found her even more like a kitten, and he couldn't help but pat her head: "Things aren't that bad outside; there's no need to worry so much. Don't be unhappy, be good now." Xiao Chan shook her head vigorously, then after a moment, she looked at Ning Yi's expression and smiled, lowering her head to speak softly.

"Actually, Xiao Chan is just a maid, and in some households, acting like this would get you punished... Uh, young master has his own things to do, and Xiao Chan knows that. The situation outside isn't that bad either, Xiao Chan knows that too, but... but I just can't help but worry about young master and miss. It's just something I can't control, so I just want young master to know..."

She clenched her small fists and earnestly thumped her chest, then lowered her head, blushing. For a moment, Ning Yi didn't know how to respond. By the time the carriage arrived at the last shop, Xiao Chan had returned to normal, hopping out of the carriage. In front of the shop assistants, she always appeared very serious and professional.

At noon, after arranging for Xiao Chan and a few others to return to the Su mansion, Ning Yi headed towards He Fang's residence. This was his scheduled third-day visit. Along the way, he unexpectedly ran into Wu Qihau from the Wu family on the street. They chatted for a while, and Wu Qihau briefly inquired about Su Tan'er's health before smiling and leaving. Compared to the Xue family, the two brothers of the Wu family were better at managing social relations, probably because there was less friction between them normally. As Ning Yi was nearing He Fang's residence, he was suddenly stopped.

They were two short figures in green clothing and small hats, looking like common household servants from a wealthy family. The two of them stopped Ning Yi and then pulled him into a nearby alley. One of them bowed and said, "Teacher." This was the young prince, Zhou Junwu. The other appeared more reserved, though her green attire and small hat looked quite amusing; it was naturally his sister, Zhou Pei.

After exchanging greetings, Ning Yi looked somewhat confused: "What are you two doing? Did you sneak out?"

"No, no, Uncle Mu and the others are right there," Zhou Junwu quickly explained. Ning Yi looked outside and saw several people, similarly disguised, looking their way, secretly on guard. They were likely the royal guards from the prince's mansion.

"Actually, my sister and I heard that Teacher wants to meet He Fang, and that you must have a way to persuade him in one go. We wanted to see it for ourselves, so we came out. Oh, and by the way, Teacher, do you think our disguises are alright? We'll just pretend to be your attendants going in to deliver gifts. We promise not to speak or cause any trouble, absolutely no bothering you. Oh, we even prepared gifts! It wouldn't look good if Teacher had two attendants but didn't bring many presents, so to save you trouble, we prepared them beforehand. They're very valuable, you know: ganoderma lucidum, tribute dried fruits, white velvet... We've already inquired, and Lord He Fang will definitely like them. We just want to see how Teacher persuades He Fang..."

Little Junwu was full of excitement, waving his hands to emphasize that they would absolutely not cause any trouble. Zhou Pei stood silently beside him; there was still some friction between her and Ning Yi, but she still wanted to see. Regarding this matter, it was mainly because Kang Xian had analyzed Ning Yi's intentions the previous night and concluded that it was almost impossible for Ning Yi to persuade He Fang purely with rhetoric. If not with words, then it must involve something else. The siblings later discussed it and concluded it must involve a conspiracy, leverage, or threats.

Just imagine meeting a court official, getting dirt on them, finding their weaknesses, threatening them, and even after the matter is done, they won't be able to speak out – it must be something like that. Ning Yi wasn't an idiot. Such a dark and wicked affair felt thrilling just thinking about it, so today the two siblings disguised themselves, waited there, and prepared to negotiate with Ning Yi to go in and broaden their horizons.

Ning Yi's eye twitched. After listening to Zhou Junwu finish speaking, and seeing the boy looking at him with an expectant face, he finally shook his head.

"You'll just cause trouble. You're not allowed to follow..."