As the sun set, lanterns, tables, and many people lit up the place. It was dinner time, just like the large scale banquet that the Su family would gather around the New Year. The number of participants was about the same, but the atmosphere today was a little different.
There was a hubbub of voices, and it was lively after all. It was just that there was not the usual scene of people toasting each other and laughing without any burden. The people of the first branch, second branch, and third branch each had their own hidden areas. Only the most heartless people could pick up wine jugs and eat and drink freely — everyone was laughing and talking, and greeting each other, but not many people drank. Under this lively appearance, people from all sides were sizing each other up. There was a surging undercurrent, and a slightly tense atmosphere.
Su Yu sat at the head of the table, quietly watching all this. His gaze swept across the second and third branches, and when it turned to the first branch, he could clearly sense that there seemed to be a mixture of decadence and silence. Only Su Yunsong and a few others were laughing and livening up the atmosphere. Su Tan'er and Ning Yi sat to the side eating, and spoke in low voices. These two people were also quiet. Su Tan'er's expression was calm, and she occasionally glanced around, but when she chatted, her attention was still on Ning Yi.
Su Yu's gaze rested on Ning Yi for a moment, and then someone came over with a wine cup. It was the second branch's shopkeeper, Xi Anzhi. The old man smiled, withdrew his gaze, and nodded to him.
This banquet did not last long.
After eating their fill, it entered the stage of dispersing. There was no solemn ceremony or symbolic speech here. Everyone already knew what was going to happen next, but they still let a few stewards notify the members who were going to participate in this clan meeting. The venue of the banquet was a little chaotic. Some people got up and started to walk to the meeting hall next to the ancestral shrine. The crowd was talking in twos and threes. It seemed to be a little chaotic for a moment. Some people got up and looked for someone in the crowd, giving some orders.
There were a total of fifty people who could participate in this clan meeting. The rest of the people who attended the banquet were mostly family members, or the shopkeepers and stewards of the Su mansion. Even if they couldn't attend, most of them would be waiting for news in the nearby square or garden. Turning around the eaves in front, lights extended around the small square of the Su mansion. Su Boyong was being pushed forward in his wheelchair in the crowd. Slightly behind him, Su Tan'er and Ning Yi were also heading in that direction.
"Husband, do you feel bored tonight?"
"I don't think so."
"But …" Su Tan'er lowered her head and seemed to want to say something, but she just smiled in the end. In the night wind, she quietly reached out and grabbed Ning Yi's sleeve. The couple seemed to walk side by side intimately. After a while, Su Tan'er even shook her arm childishly and shook Ning Yi's hand a few times. At this time, as if remembering something, he turned his head and looked to the side, and then his eyes began to calm down.
Xi Junyu was also in the crowd, talking to a shopkeeper from the first branch. Occasionally, he would glance at Su Tan 'er. He was actually talking about his worries about tonight and the issue of their stance after tonight. After about half of the square, a man came out of the crowd and greeted him with a smile. This was Guard Geng, one of the most trusted men of the first branch.
"Miss has arranged something tonight. Shopkeeper Xi, please go out with me at about a quarter past seven. This is an important matter, and there is still about a quarter of an hour left. If Shopkeeper Xi has something to do, please arrange it first. I'm afraid you will be busy until late tonight."
Walking aside, Guard Geng whispered.
"Important?" Xi Junyu frowned, "Tonight … what's going on?"
"It's hard to say for the time being. In short, it's Miss's arrangement."
Xi Junyu thought for a while, and his face showed joy, "Is there a chance to turn things around?"
"It's hard to say. Shopkeeper Xi, you will know when you go with me …"
"Oh, okay."
Xi Junyu nodded. When he looked at Su Tan'er, he saw that Su Tan'er had left Ning Yi's side and was leaning over her father's wheelchair, saying something. Noticing his gaze, Su Boyong smiled slightly and nodded at him and Guard Geng. Then, Su Boyong also turned his head and nodded slightly at them.
So Xi Junyu also smiled and nodded in response.
At this time, the two parties were already a little far apart. When he saw Su Tan 'er turn around and walk towards the Ancestral Shrine Assembly Hall, he remembered that he should have gone over to comfort her for what happened tonight. But … well, let's talk about it when he came back.
He looked at the back of the crowd that disappeared from his sight.
However, there was a chance? How could it be possible?
So he began to frown and ponder …
Soon after, the first round of ancestral worship began to ring from there.
*****
In the council hall, the lights were brightly illuminating every corner of this large room.
"… According to the old rule, we all gather here at least once a year. Every time, we need to decide some important things. In the past, the meeting was held after the general account at the end of the year. This year, why is it more than a month ahead of schedule? This time, we have to trouble the patriarch and all the patriarchs to come out and come back from far away. It is because recently, our Su family has a lot of problems. The problems may be small, but they may also be very big … but now everyone thinks that the problem will be very troublesome … "
The loud voice sounded in this council hall. All the seats were silent. Below the group of patriarchs were the people of the three branches. Su Boyong, who was sitting in a wheelchair, was not in good spirits. He looked at his nose and his heart. Su Zhongkan sat upright and still. Su Yunfang seemed to be thinking about something. The one who spoke in the middle of the hall was Su An, who was called Seventh Uncle by several people. When he said this, he paused slightly.
"Regarding these things, regarding the matters of this family, after all, the patriarch knows best …" He turned back, "Third Brother, why don't you say it?"
Su Yu frowned and looked at the people in the council hall. After a moment, he raised his hand, "Seventh Brother, you continue."
Su An nodded. After a moment, he turned to the side and stretched out his hand to someone, "As for the specifics … let the Head Butler say it. He knows best."
Naturally, he was referring to the Head Butler who managed the specific affairs of this mansion. This middle-aged man was also a relative of the Su family. Usually, he was relatively low-key and did not participate in things like fighting for property. But now, most of the administrative work of the Su mansion in Jiangning would eventually flow to him to summarize. Even though the first, second, and third branches were all hiding things, the accounts in his hands were still relatively objective.
Not long after, the voice rang out.
"As for whether these things are serious or not, I can't say for sure. But recently, the specific things that have come to me are roughly as follows: First, in the past three months, the various goods of the Su family in Jiangning have been sold, and the market share has decreased to a certain extent. But overall, it is less than half … The main problem has appeared in the area of future profits. Recently, nearly 60% of the suppliers and partners in Jiangning have begun to negotiate with the Su family to raise the price of raw silk and lower the cost of receiving goods. I have listed it here: the Qi family's request …"
The Head Butler's voice was not low. The voice spread out of the council hall and echoed in the night wind. The nearby square and the side garden could faintly be heard. Su Wengui and the others gathered at a place not far away, listening and discussing. A little further away, Su Danhong was also talking to a few family members of the first branch who were close to the first branch. Occasionally, she would frown.
Everything began as expected. She was also clear about the problems that the Su family was facing, the requests from all sides, and the hidden crises behind these requests. When she turned her head, she inadvertently saw Ning Yi walking over there. This man seemed to be a little bored. He was waving his hands and feet, making a few stretching movements, and walked further away.
Su Danhong followed him.
After walking through the courtyard gate, she could no longer hear the voices from afar. She could only see the lights around the courtyard wall. At this time, Ning Yi's figure seemed a little different from the past. He still looked relaxed, but … it seemed that he was feeling something there. He sat down by the pavilion in the courtyard and looked up at the sky full of stars. From time to time, footsteps could be heard in the alley near the courtyard. Su Danhong frowned.
Could it be that this person was experiencing the feeling of the first branch at the last moment before they lost power?
She frowned …
*****
In the council hall, the narration continued. As long as one knew something about business, he could feel the danger behind these situations. The problem of the Su family, the hungry wolves surrounding them and hitting them when they were down, the butler spoke for a long time. After he finished narrating these things, he returned to his seat. No one below spoke. Only a few elders of the clan began to speak.
"This is … thinking that our Su family is hopeless, thinking that our Su family is going to have a big problem …"
"The problem needs to be solved. Let's talk and find a reason …"
Several elders looked around, and the hall began to become silent again. Su Chonghua sat in the crowd, watching silently. He could probably guess what would happen next, but after all, these things did not require him to speak or make a statement. At this time, his mood was a little relaxed. However, when his eyes swept over the door, he suddenly thought of Ning Yi.
Where was he now, how was his mood? That song, Calm the Storm …
"The beginning of this matter, after all, was caused by the assassination attempt on Eldest Uncle. Of course, the responsibility will not lie on Eldest Uncle. I feel that our Su family should also try our best to find the mastermind behind the assassination. But if we only talk about the reason, Wenxing has some ideas … "The person who lit the fuse walked out. Although he was the third generation of the Su family, because he had recently been managing some of the affairs of the second branch, he could already participate in this meeting.
"The root of this matter is because our Su family's high-profile fight for the imperial merchant failed …"
"Such a big momentum, such a big investment, in the end, there is nothing …"
"So the people outside have already begun to suspect …"
As planned, after Su Wenxing started this topic, waves of discussion finally began to spread. After Su Wenxing finished, the other members of the second and third branch joined in the discussion, followed by Su Zhongkan and Su Yunfang. There were discussions and doubts, and the voices spread out in waves.
"So the problem now is, how much did Tan'Er spend to operate the imperial merchant …"
"The first branch … from Manager Liao down, the specific situation … Unfortunately, Manager Liao is not in Jiangning today …"
"The current situation on our side is like this, and there is a certain problem. We can't turn it back, and in the long run …"
"In the last two years, no, three years, we know that there are some problems with the accounts. This matter should be known by Eldest Brother …"
The predetermined drama began, one by one. The first branch, from beginning to end, was relatively silent, and Su Tan'er and the others occasionally spoke. The starry night was hanging low. This night, the whole thing was destined to take a long time. Outside the meeting hall, Su Wengui and the others talked and laughed. Some left and came back. "It starts tonight …" They said.
*****
In the Moon Fragrant Restaurant a few streets away from the Su mansion, Xue Yan and the others were eating and laughing about some recent events. At this time, he also looked in the direction of the Su mansion. "Speaking of which, it has already started there."
As one of the four chief of the Jiangning Line, Luo Miaomiao smiled not far away. "Young Master Xue and the others, tonight, it doesn't seem to be these romantic affairs that you are concerned about."
"Haha, Miaomiao, you have sharp eyes. Tonight, we do have some matters that we are concerned about. Miss Miaomiao, do you know about the Bu Xing Su family? "
Luo Miaomiao thought for a while, and a ray of light flashed in her eyes. "Young Master Xue, are you referring to the Su family that Ning Yi and Ning Liheng married into?"
After all, the matters of the Bu Xing were the concern of the insiders. Now that Luo Miaomiao was the chief of the line, she didn't know much. However, the first thing that came to her mind was the number one scholar of Shuidiao Getou and Qingyu Case. Xue Yan and the others were stunned, and then they laughed.
"That's true, that's true. Speaking of which, this has something to do with him. Miss Miaomiao, have you heard that a few months ago, Jiangning was besieged, and there was an assassination that caused an uproar …"
The scheduled mode of the Su family's clan meeting had already begun. On the other side, in the Moon Fragrant Restaurant, the ups and downs of the Jiangning weaving industry in the recent months had also begun. Under the same starry sky, there was a place that originally had nothing to do with these things. It was the Changyun Pavilion, not far from the Moon Fragrant Restaurant. It was a rather large restaurant. Tonight, a party hosted by the Puyang family was being held here.
As the richest family in Jiangning, the Puyang family had a certain relationship with many scholars in Jiangning after so many years of operation, and with Qi Lan as the top courtesan, the family also had a certain relationship with many scholars in Jiangning. Today was not a big day, so when the party started, many famous scholars also came along. Among them, Cao Guan, Liu Qingdi, and the others were also among them. This could also be considered a poetry party among scholars. The host of the party, Puyang Yi, was a person who took care of everything, but some things were not easy to control. At this time, a small interlude happened.
Today, Liu Qingdi, who was in a bad mood, drank some wine, and wrote some wild poems. During the poetry party, he accidentally bumped into a participant, and then the two sides quarreled. Although Puyang Yi mediated and calmed it down, there was a faint smell of gunpowder between some people at the party.
A middle-aged man who was called Empty Mountain Hermit, whose talent was not very outstanding, was also among them. He originally wanted to intervene and mediate, but then he was also involved in Liu Qingdi's dispute.
In this unharmonious atmosphere caused by the interlude, the poetry party continued. Both sides began to compete for literary talent and poetry, and gradually the atmosphere heated up. Therefore, Puyang Yi was also very happy.
Of course, at this time, they still had not connected with the trajectory of the Su family …
*****
"Crack." Ning Yi peeled the peanuts, threw them into his mouth, and softly hummed the prelude of the Japanese entering the village. As he hummed, it became a wedding song.
Su Danhong walked over from the side, feeling angry. She just looked at him like this.
"Cousin Hong, sit down. Don't be so polite. Eat peanuts? "
"I don't know what you are thinking."
"Feel this atmosphere …"
"The thing that Tan'Er fought for for so many years without giving up is going to be gone soon. Do you know that?"
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