Chapter 36: One Night of Fish and Dragons Dancing (Part 1)

Firecrackers boomed continuously, and lanterns illuminated the streets like dragons. According to the custom of the Wu Dynasty, lanterns were hung in the city from the thirteenth to the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, burning for a total of five days. The city vibrated with dragon and lion dances, day and night, though the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth was naturally the liveliest. Even with the snow still unmelted, various lantern fairs and poetry gatherings had already begun, even surpassing the scale of the Mid-Autumn Festival night.

The revelry of this particular evening lacked the competitive spirit of the poetry contests seen during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Instead, it retained the lingering festive atmosphere from the New Year. While on Mid-Autumn night people preferred to admire the scholarly charm of literary talents and the flair of competing idols, the Lantern Festival night was more about celebrating with family and friends. People focused on eating tangyuan, solving lantern riddles, and exploring the night markets, only then perhaps sparing a glance at the pavilions where the literati gathered.

The reasons for this situation were complex: heavy snow blocked roads, reducing the number of traveling merchants and pedestrians, and some visiting scholars had returned home before the New Year. While various poetry gatherings still occurred, they were not as distinct as those during the Mid-Autumn Festival each year. The Puyuan Poetry Society and Zhishui Poetry Society did not formally convene for the Lantern Festival. This night usually featured performances by students from Lichuan Academy, which was essentially the official academy of Jiangning. Had it not been for the influence of the Zhishui Poetry Society hosted by the Pan family during Mid-Autumn, the quality of students from Lichuan would have been considered the highest.

Of course, even though many formal poetry gatherings were not held, literary talents still had numerous banquets to attend, where they could exchange recent works from the New Year. Some Lichuan students also dispersed to participate in these banquets, trying to outshine their classmates with their own poetry. Overall, this evening was primarily dominated by the festive atmosphere that had prevailed since the New Year.

As night fell, the city bustled with activity. When the bells chimed for Hai Shi (9 PM), Ning Yi and Xiao Chan were eating tangyuan at a snack stall near Zhuque Street. Lanterns adorned with various riddles illuminated the entire market, making it as bright as day.

That evening, Ning Yi and Su Tan'er attended a banquet at the home of a long-standing family acquaintance of the Su family, accompanying Su Boyong. After fulfilling their basic courtesies, Su Tan'er excused herself and Ning Yi, saying the young couple would take a stroll around Zhuque Street. In reality, this was not their sole purpose.

Several of Su Tan'er's managers were conducting business negotiations at Mingxiu Tower nearby that night. Anxious about the outcome, Su Tan'er, after a brief stroll, found a table in a small teahouse opposite Mingxiu Tower. She sat down, listening to the opera while awaiting the results. Ning Yi listened to the performance with her for a while. When the young manager named Xi Junyu came to report the preliminary results, Ning Yi got up, preparing to walk around for a bit.

"Wander along Zhuque Street, see what delicious things there are, and try a little bit of everything."

"Remember to bring some back for me too," Su Tan'er said to him with a sweet smile. Xiao Chan then followed. As they went downstairs, Ning Yi looked back to see Su Tan'er's expression had already turned calm and composed as she spoke with the young manager. Ning Yi had met Manager Xi a few times before, as Su Tan'er had taken him to various Su family shops around the New Year. Manager Xi was ambitious and capable, though his sharpness was external, lacking sufficient restraint, but he was still quite outstanding. This reminded Ning Yi of when he himself was young many years ago, and he had met many similar young people, some friends, some rivals. Yet, in the end, the one who surprised him most was Tang Mingyuan, who had always been indecisive and followed behind him. Thinking about it, it was somewhat ironic.

Soon after, he and Xiao Chan were near Zhuque Street, sampling food from one snack stall after another. Unmelted snow still lay along the sides of the road, and a breeze blew from the Qinhuai River, but it wasn't cold. The entire street buzzed with vibrant energy, filled with dragon and lion dances, lantern fair acrobatics, and the rising warmth from vendors' stoves. Xiao Chan couldn't eat much; she bought a small lantern to carry, featuring a cat design. Of course, a "king" character was drawn on the cat's forehead, so they would just consider it a tiger.

"Young Master, Young Master, how do you solve the lantern riddle about candied coptis?"

"Could it be 'sharing joys and sorrows'?"

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

"Ah, that one's hard if you don't know it. Cao Cao asked Yang Xiu this; the answer is 'marvelous words'."

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

"...How would I know?"

"Oh, so Young Master doesn't know either..."

"Did you ask if the first two were guessed correctly?"

"If Young Master said it, then it must be right."

"...Come here and eat tangyuan... I'll tell you it's the character 'jing' (井) after you finish."

"Oh, it's the character 'jing'."

Ning Yi couldn't really get annoyed with Xiao Chan. After eating a few tangyuan, they moved to the next stall. This stall's five-spice beans were Xiao Chan's favorite; she bought half a porcelain cup and ate them slowly, her small lantern swaying. After a while, she said out of the blue, "Miss is actually very tired."

"Hmm?"

"Just now... just now Miss was in the teahouse, and Young Master was about to leave. You actually know a lot of things, right?"

Her small face was serious. Ning Yi thought for a moment, then smiled and nodded, "If they can't agree on something there, ultimately your Miss still has to make the final decision. My being there wouldn't be very useful; sometimes it might even be counterproductive."

"So Young Master really does know..." Xiao Chan nodded, looked at Ning Yi for a few moments, seemed hesitant to speak, but finally asked, "Why doesn't Young Master help Miss?"

"Your Miss is very capable; you don't need to worry."

Xiao Chan thought for a moment, then smiled again, "Miss has been very happy lately."

"Oh?"

"Because of Young Master. Before, Miss rarely spoke so much to people... well, she did talk, but she wouldn't talk about business or anything so happily. And Young Master tells stories, plays chess... So Xiao Chan thought, if Young Master were willing to help Miss, Miss would definitely be even happier. Young Master also knows that Miss... Miss, after all, is a girl just like Xiao Chan. When she goes out to do business, people always gossip. Miss doesn't say anything, but she must have many worries in her heart..."

Xiao Chan genuinely cared for Su Tan'er and had mustered much courage to say this. She was also afraid of overstepping her boundaries as a maid and displeasing Ning Yi, so she occasionally looked at him uneasily. The reaction she got, however, was Ning Yi reaching out and squeezing her whole face into a "pancake" with a soft "hmm."

"How old were you, Chan'er, when you entered the Su household?"

"Four," Chan'er mumbled after a moment of hesitation, making a gesture. Only after Ning Yi released her face and turned to walk forward did she trot to catch up, adding, "Chan'er was sold in when she was four years old."

"Four years old, so small..."

"Juan'er was too, and Sister Xing'er was a year older than us, five at the time. Miss was eight years old then." Xiao Chan spoke about this without reservation, smiling rather sweetly. "Back then, I was really too young; slave traders didn't want me. But it just so happened that the Su family needed a few young girls, so Xiao Chan was chosen. My family originally wanted to sell my elder brother."

"I haven't heard you mention your family before."

"Once Xiao Chan was sold to the Su family, I became a part of the Su family. How could I talk about them all the time?" Xiao Chan lowered her head and thought. "Actually, I don't remember much about my childhood, just being hungry. I heard I originally had a younger brother who starved to death not long after he was born. At that time, my family wanted to sell my elder brother because he could always do something. But then they sold Xiao Chan instead, for twenty-five years, and the family got thirty-five taels of silver. Actually, following Miss as a concubine's maid is a blessing; I don't care about how many years it's for. Now Xiao Chan sends ten taels of silver home every year. My brother got married last year and even wrote me a letter saying he married the prettiest girl in the neighboring village, though his handwriting is ugly... Hmm, Xiao Chan went back once the year before last, and this March I'll be able to go home and see my sister-in-law..."

Many things like this were common in society at the time. Xiao Chan didn't sound particularly sad recounting them; in fact, she grew happier as she spoke. Then, feeling a little guilty, she pursed her lips: "Young Master..."

Ning Yi smiled, "So Tan'er is like your older sister, isn't she?"

"Yes," the little girl quickly nodded, then shook her head, "Xiao Chan is just a maid; I wouldn't dare to think that."

"Well, she often talks about business matters with you all, and she often talks about them with those managers. Even if I help her, why would my involvement be different?"

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

"Heh, don't overthink it. The reason your Miss can talk to me about those things is precisely because I don't understand them, and I don't do business. If I were truly able to help, then it would indeed turn into a business discussion." Although he always acted simple-minded in front of Su Tan'er, Xiao Chan was not foolish; on the contrary, she was very intelligent. Ning Yi didn't mind her slight cunning in thinking for Su Tan'er; it was only human nature. At this moment, the two walked forward through the crowd. Ning Yi smiled, "Your Miss is far more capable than you think. If she weren't so capable, helping her or not would be useless; she'd be better off quitting early. Although I'm happy you think I'm capable, you also shouldn't... uh..."

Ning Yi's words trailed off. From behind, Xiao Chan's voice came: "Young Master is very capable!" Under the bright light of the lanterns, Ning Yi frowned slightly, looking at his left hand with confusion. A smear of crimson, sticky and not yet dry, stained the outside of his thumb. This was... blood.

Where did it come from...?

In his confusion, he glanced back. The market was brilliantly lit, people came and went, and a cacophony of sounds filled the air. At the far end of Zhuque Street, a yellow dragon danced to the clanging of gongs and drums. Amidst the usual lively Lantern Festival scene, several constables mingled, seemingly searching for something.

The next moment, a sudden burst of blood light erupted...