Chapter 197: Night Talk

The Angry BananaMy Son-in-Law

The courtyard of the Su family residence. As night fell, lights flickered in the rooms and under the eaves. The courtyard, which had been relatively quiet after the New Year, became lively again tonight.

Since dinner, a steady stream of visitors had arrived, stayed for a while, and then left. Ning Yi had not wanted the events of that afternoon to attract so many curious glances, but during the fight, he had taken a punch or two and sustained some leg injuries. It wasn't serious; he had already applied medicine and bandaged the wounds at Zhuji, but the smell of medicine couldn't be hidden from others. Upon hearing that he had been involved in something dangerous and sustained injuries, which seemed quite perilous, Chan'er tearfully examined him.

“Young Master always likes dangerous things... Last year, there was that assassin as well... His hand had just healed from a burn... Now this again…” After the New Year, Chan'er had turned seventeen. This petite and lovely young maid did not, however, take her master’s fearsome reputation as the 'Butcher of Blood-Hands' seriously. Although Ning Yi exercised daily and occasionally boasted to his family that he was invincible, and even had the impressive feat of knocking down a fierce bandit with a firearm before the New Year, in Chan'er's heart, her master was still largely categorized as a frail scholar. She felt a pang of heartache over her master's injuries. Soon after, Su Tan'er returned with Xing'er and Juan'er, and then had Xing'er call for a doctor. Before nightfall, the news of Ning Yi's injuries from outside had spread throughout the Su family residence.

What happened that afternoon at Zhuji had already caused quite a stir in Jiangning City. In just half a day, several people in the Su family residence had also heard about it. The version being circulated was more nationalistic, speaking of a thrilling story where Liao people attempted to assassinate an imperial official at Zhuji Restaurant, only to be stopped by the crowd. In fact, this was an arrangement Ning Yi had made later, a result of cooperation from forces like the Kang Prince's Manor and the Imperial Son-in-Law's Residence.

That sudden move in the afternoon originated from the need to save Qin Siyuan. At the time, if possible, Ning Yi had not wanted a fight to break out at Zhuji. After all, the business was bustling with many customers; if they suffered an unprovoked disaster, who would dare to come back later? Unfortunately, that group was determined to act, and in the end, the incident could not be avoided.

Later, it was estimated that over thirty people sustained either minor or serious injuries. Fortunately, no innocent customers lost their lives, which was a great relief. After understanding the situation, Ning Yi disbursed a large sum from the shop's funds as compensation. Of course, the term 'compensation' was not used; instead, it was presented as a reward for those who had bravely intervened to stop the Liao people. Even those who were unharmed, as long as they were in the main hall at the time, received a sum of money.

That being said, at the time, who knew those individuals were Liao people? The assassins were fierce and highly skilled; hardly any customers dared to engage them, barely managing to dodge their attacks. However, after these arrangements, Ning Yi had Lu Agui arrange for some people to spread rumors and promote a narrative. The main message was that the Liao people were arrogant, believing no one in the Central Plains could stand against them, and daring to directly assassinate someone in Jiangning. However, they were met by a courageous uprising of the people of Wu Dynasty. Although the attackers were fierce, the people of Wu Dynasty were not to be trifled with, charging forward bravely and fearlessly. The primary goal was to portray this as a commendable heroic event, stirring up patriotic sentiments, and even exaggerating the injuries, labeling those who suffered them as heroes. Furthermore, for the next month, the shop would prominently feature this incident in its promotions, potentially turning a bad situation into a good one.

In any case, this was the only way to handle the crisis public relations, and Ning Yi was proficient in such matters. With the cooperation of Kang Xian's forces, there would be no major issues.

Regarding what happened that afternoon, Ning Yi still found it somewhat peculiar. Although the five individuals were skilled, the assassination itself seemed rather brainless, not a well-thought-out plan. This suggested that they were unlikely to be part of an organized group acting on instructions. Moreover, Liao was currently seeking aid from the Wu Dynasty; it made no sense for them to go to such lengths to kill Qin Siyuan. Later, combining this with some items found on the young nobleman and discussing with Elder Qin, Lu Agui, and others, they deduced a rather baffling conclusion.

The young nobleman in question was likely a minor Liao aristocrat who had traveled south with formidable retainers, moving around under the guise of trade. Currently, relations between Jin and Liao were tense, and Liao was holding its breath. Meanwhile, calls from the Wu Dynasty's populace to seize the opportunity to attack Liao were widespread. He had probably heard rumors about Elder Qin, and upon arriving in Jiangning and finding the opportune moment, he indignantly decided to carry out the assassination.

This was considered the most plausible hypothesis, but further investigation was needed to confirm it. Two of the other party's group had escaped, and the authorities were still trying to apprehend them. If they weren't caught, Ning Yi felt it would be troublesome. Throughout history, fanatics have always been the most difficult to deal with, and patriotic hotheads who take action are a prime example. For now, he could only hope that only the young nobleman was a Liao hothead, and that the others were merely following orders. Otherwise, if they sought revenge, it might not affect him much, but he feared they would target Zhuji.

As for the thugs who happened to be there, Ning Yi couldn't be bothered to worry about them. Kang Xian, Lu Agui, and even Song wouldn't let this matter go easily. Having experienced this and saved Qin Siyuan's life, Song would likely receive promotions and rewards due to Kang Xian's gratitude. The thugs who had ganged up on him, along with those behind them, were certainly in for trouble...

After slowly sending off all the visitors, Ning Yi then generally recounted the detailed events of the afternoon. He did not, however, mention killing two people. He primarily talked about Elder Qin and humorously exaggerated the fight scenes.

“...Following a moment of silence, he could only stroke her back and sigh, “You need to refer to yourself as 'this concubine' to appear more virtuous...”

In fact, Su Tan'er was generally flawless in terms of virtue and wifely conduct. Most of the time, she naturally referred to herself using terms like 'this concubine.' However, occasionally using 'I' was something Ning Yi had influenced her to do.

In the past, when they met on the second-floor balcony across from each other every few days, their choice of words would occasionally be more uninhibited. Ning Yi often remarked with a friendly tone, “Su Tan'er, you are very cunning...” Su Tan'er would then try to converse with him in a similar friendly manner. If she was in a good mood, their encounters would sometimes involve conversations like, “Who is this brother, and why are you on my balcony?” “Your husband.” “...A pleasure, a pleasure.” By this point, their relationship had reached its most intimate stage, and their former unrestrained banter had naturally become a form of playful affection. Su Tan'er would only occasionally adopt a less demure demeanor during their intimate moments alone. In her daily life, if anyone else was present, even maids like Chan'er or Juan'er, she would never act that way.

At this, Su Tan'er nodded, “This concubine was wrong...” After a moment, she set aside her teasing thoughts and said, “Actually, Husband also likes Xiao Chan, doesn't he? Xiao Chan certainly likes Husband, but I just don’t know, erm…”

This was the first time they had discussed Xiao Chan since their marital consummation. Some things were probably implicitly understood between them. Su Tan'er was not unprepared for the possibility that Ning Yi might take Xiao Chan as a concubine in the future. Before this, she had even proactively instructed Xiao Chan to accompany Ning Yi. However, bringing up these matters after their consummation naturally made her feelings complex. She was actually unsure whether Ning Yi and Xiao Chan had truly become intimate. If they had, her continued silence would perhaps be a disservice to this young maid, who was like a sister to her.

She was a very perceptive person. That evening, when Xiao Chan's matter came up, Ning Yi thought for a moment, then chose to explain the key points of his relationship with Xiao Chan. As a maid, it was improper for Xiao Chan to become pregnant before her mistress. Abortifacient drugs were harmful to the body, so Ning Yi had concerns and had not consummated their relationship. Ning Yi had probably known about Su Tan'er's implicit instructions regarding Xiao Chan before, and now he mentioned it with a smile. Su Tan'er gave an embarrassed smile, nestled into Ning Yi, and remained silent.

After that, the night passed without further conversation. The next morning, Ning Yi woke up early again. Although he had injuries, thanks to his excellent internal martial arts and the medicine, he felt nothing at this point. The martial arts technique Lu Hongti had taught him was meant to be practiced through daily exercise, offering good health benefits; it only caused minor strain when abruptly exerting full force. He performed some warm-up exercises in the courtyard, then jogged out of the Su family residence. Enveloped in the morning mist, he followed the Qinhuai River toward the small building where Yunzhu lived.

Regardless, Yunzhu had been injured yesterday, and Yuan Jin'er had jumped into the river in such weather; he was, after all, still a bit worried...