Over the next few days, except that the world around him was a little more noisy, everything else went on as usual.
When he returned to the Su Mansion, there were more people greeting him, and they were more enthusiastic. There were more family invitations, and more things to refuse. Several students who had left his class also began to want to return, and relatives came to talk to him, and so on. It was expected. It was human nature, and it was not a strange change.
But after the "Calm Disturbance" spread out, in addition to some people vividly describing the battle between the Su and Wu families, more people came to Yushan Academy to visit. The situation was similar to when the "Shuidiao Getou" first came out, but now the people who came to visit were much more complicated.
For example, Puyang Family's Puyang Yi, this kind of businessman also came to look for him once, inviting him to a certain pleasure boat gathering, with Miss Qilan accompanying him and so on. Although Ning Yi's impression of Puyang Family was still pretty good, these gatherings naturally still tactfully declined according to convention.
In any case, Qi Lan was not very attractive to him. He occasionally went to the small building to listen to Yunzhu play the piano and sing. In this aspect, Yunzhu's attainments were not comparable to Qi Lan's, not to mention that she had already become familiar with Ning Yi's taste, and sometimes she could sing a few different songs according to the modern singing method taught by Ning Yi.
And even if Qi Lan's identity was the Top Courtesan, there was also Yuan Jin 'er's identity, one of the four Top Courtesans. But she was not even willing to dance, and quarreled all day long, which also drowned the superior feeling of the Top Courtesan. But at least she had a true temperament.
After a few days, he met with Elder Qin and Elder Kang. The two old men joked about his nickname "Ten Steps to Calculate", but when they talked about the whole series of arrangements, they all said that he handled heavy things as if they were light, and had the demeanor of a great general. After that, Kang Xian smiled and said, "It's just that compared to 'Ten Steps to Calculate', the bandit name 'Bloody-Handed Butcher' is a little strange. I've asked around for a few days, but I've never heard of anyone who made such a name in the past …"
The hidden power behind Kang Xian was quite strong. Since he was interested in Ning Yi's recent movements, it was not surprising that he knew about the Ten Steps Slope. He told Old Man Qin about Ning Yi's involvement that night. Old Man Qin furrowed his brows, "For this kind of thing, we need to remove the roots when we cut the grass. If we really offend these people of the pugilistic world, and a few of them escape, we are afraid that there will be trouble in the future.
Kang Xian said with a smile, "After knowing about this matter, I have already informed the government to issue an arrest warrant for this kind of strong person. The nearby prefectures and counties have also quickly issued the order. This morning, I heard that they have already intercepted one person. This person was seriously injured and was killed when they were trying to apprehend him."
Elder Qin nodded, "Since they have gone all out, I am afraid these people can't hide for more than a few days."
The two could be regarded as masters of Confucianism. In the past, when they played chess and chatted, they talked about some principles of kindness to others. But at this time, after Elder Kang started the conversation, Qin Siyuan did not say a word of dissatisfaction or advice about the killing, but from the beginning, he considered it as a matter that needed to be dealt with.
These days, Kang Xian had actually used his influence to intervene in the matter, but Ning Yi did not know it. But at this time, when he heard it, he could not help but shake his head and smile.
In the past, when they played chess casually, he had a general understanding of the other party's style. At this time, it was nothing more than to see a little more clearly. The two old men in front of him usually wrote moral essays, but when it came to real things, they were not careless.
In fact, when they talked about this matter, they only talked about Ning Yi's appearance at that time, and his ability to pull back more than 20 people who were about to break out of the encirclement. As for how many people died in the fight between the Shang Family and the gangs, Elder Qin and Elder Kang did not seem to care much. After all, Su Boyong was assassinated first, and it was reasonable for them to take revenge. If they really cared, it was probably because Kang Xian felt that Ning Yi should be a person who did great things, and there was no need for him to put himself in danger for this kind of thing. If something really happened, the lives of a few petty thieves could not make up for the loss of the country.
"The Monocular you invented has been sent to Tokyo, and we are also speeding up the research and production. At present, there are a few finished products, and they have been put into the military formation. They are very useful." Elder Kang was playing chess with Elder Qin. He shook his head and threw the Ten Steps Slope bandits to the back of his mind, and talked about the real important matter.
"It's just that you are so low-key, and it is difficult to ask for credit for you. It makes people angry … I have a group of technicians and craftsmen at home. If you are interested, I would like to give them all to you. If you want to do something, just let them do it. Recently, I heard from Xiao Pei and Jun Wu that you have been doing things related to gunpowder. To be honest, it is not that the military has not done research on this kind of thing. I know you have ideas, but it is very dangerous. Even if you really use iron for things like assault rifles, there is a possibility that they will explode and hurt you. It is not that the military has not tried it before. Why don't you tell me what you think, and just let others do it? "
Nowadays, the Wu dynasty's army was also researching gunpowder as a weapon. There were all kinds of messy designs, but they were always flashy but not practical. Kang Xian naturally looked at Ning Yi in a different light. He did not want him to get hurt because of his research. Thinking about the disaster relief booklet and the Monocular, Ning Yi's value was already astonishing, not to mention the ability to plan and plan that he had shown in many small areas these days. But he wanted to select talents for the country, and Ning Yi had his own ideas. He and Qin Siyuan had not yet figured out these ideas, so for the time being, they could only let him be.
Ning Yi's enthusiasm for guns stopped there for the time being, mainly because of technical limitations. It was not yet time to develop it. No matter how he developed guns, it was still not as good as crossbows. He had not thought about what he should do next, so he could only shake his head and tactfully decline Kang Xian's good intentions. If he really agreed, it would also be a layer of restraint.
"But how long before the war?"
When Ning Yi asked about this, Kang Xian also smiled and shook his head. "I don't know, they are still negotiating. Duke Jing has been in charge of this matter for several years. Although I don't usually ask much, looking at the situation, it should be about time. But now that it is winter, the weather in Liaodong must be even worse. If it can be negotiated, maybe there will be a result after the beginning of spring … What do you think, Master Qin? "
Elder Qin thought about it and nodded. "Although Tong Guan is … ahem, although he is a eunuch, he is still good at handling matters. But now I am a little afraid …"
"Afraid of what?"
Elder Qin held up the chess piece for a long time before putting it down. He sighed. "I am afraid of being rushed."
Kang Xian had not entered the officialdom, but Elder Qin used to be a person of high status and power. Today's Duke Jing, Tong Guan, was also under him in the past, perhaps also under his control. It was just that Elder Qin usually did not talk much about these things. At this time, he only said a few words to change the topic. But Ning Yi could roughly see that the old man should be concerned in his heart, so he did not want to say more.
After playing chess with Elder Qin, they did not talk much about politics. Most of the time, it was academic issues, some trivial things that happened in Jiangning City, and some jokes.
Time passed in such a way. At the end of October, the relationship between Ning Yi and Su Tan'er became more harmonious. After the weather turned cold, everyone gathered in the living room at night to chat, play chess, and tell stories. It was warm and cozy. Su Tan'er still seemed to be busy these days, but the things that she worried about the most were basically done.
In the scope of the entire Su family, it was actually quite busy recently. In the past, the annual performance and dividends of the Su family were usually calculated at the end of November or the beginning of December. But this year, all the important managers from all over the country came a month in advance, and the work that should be done at the end of the year had also been done one after another. Because a group of relatives and friends gathered together, the Su family was also in a state of bustle every day. In the day, teahouses and pubs, in the night, brothels. Because of this turn of events at the end of October, the reputation of the Su family in the business world of Jiangning became more and more resounding.
Because of this, Su Tan'er actually did not have much free time. After the clan meeting, cousin Su Danhong often came to accompany her. Ning Yi did not spend much time alone with her, but in any case, the relationship between husband and wife had solidified. Su Tan'er had her own ideas, so he did not need to care too much. But on the afternoon of the fifth of November, when he returned home, Ning Yi saw Su Tan'er doing something strange.
Although the temperature had dropped, the weather that afternoon was not bad. Ning Yi returned home early, and the small courtyard was quiet. Ning Yi thought that no one was there, but after a glance, he found Su Tan'er sitting in the pavilion, facing the small building that he lived in, deep in thought.
In theory, there should not be any major events after the clan meeting, so it was not worth her frowning and worrying like this. Ning Yi took a few glances, a little puzzled, but Su Tan'er seemed to be deep in thought, and the expression on her face changed. She did not notice him. After a moment, he saw her pursing her lips, as if she had made a decision. She stood up, took a deep look at the small building, and turned to walk to the small kitchen at the side.
That expression of making a decision looked a little childish, the expression of a nineteen-year-old girl, but he did not know what kind of difficult decision she was making at this time. Ning Yi shrugged and returned to his room. Not long after he closed the door, he saw Su Tan'er's figure hurriedly coming out of the small kitchen. She seemed to have thought of something, and quickly walked to the courtyard door, looking to both sides a few times. After confirming that there was no one, she returned to the small kitchen and carried out a bundle of firewood.
Usually, Su Tan'er was more concerned about the rules and image. She might help someone when moving goods from the warehouse, but at home, she definitely had the image of a lady from a noble family. She would not do such things as starting a fire or moving firewood. But at this time, the atmosphere was indeed quite mysterious. Ning Yi secretly looked out of the room and saw that Su Tan'er was moving the firewood and looking at the small building on his side, and then walked to the back of the building.
Ning Yi closed the door and quietly followed. He saw that Su Tan'er had picked out those thin, flammable firewood and piled them up by the window at the back of his room. When she placed them, it seemed that she had considered for a while.
Ning Yi was a little dumbfounded. This woman thought for a long time before making a decision. Was she going to murder her husband? Or burn him to death so cruelly?
Not long after, he found that the development of the matter was somewhat different from what he had imagined...
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