It was afternoon. When walking through the streets by the Qinhuai River, there were pedestrians far and near. After the spring snow melted, merchants began to pass through the city of Jiangning. From time to time, travelers could be seen leading their horses through the streets. There were also armed merchant caravans that escorted their carriages and horses as they traveled. Some of them came from the local area, while others came from nearby cities. Passing through Jiangning, they could relax a little. Armed escorts with knives and spears looked left and right in the streets, talking loudly and discussing the prosperity of the city with their companions.
Once they left the city and embarked on their journey, such a bustling scene would be a rare sight to behold.
The shops on both sides of the road had flags or signboards. The shops near the river often had gaps in the stone steps for boarding boats or washing clothes. Not long after the snow melted, the surrounding willow trees had not yet sprouted. However, some birds had already flown over and chirped. On the blue waves of the river, a gaily-painted boat came and sang.
"Master, look at the scholar on the gaily-painted boat. He seems to be called Yuan Li. He also visited Grandpa the Emperor's son-in-law a few days ago."
In such early spring weather, there was no need to be too nervous. At this time, Ning Yi was carrying a long cloth bag and walking on the street with the young Commandery Princess Zhou Pei. Behind them was a middle-aged man dressed in low-key clothes but with a rather burly figure. This man was a bodyguard of the prince's mansion, named Song Qian. Zhou Pei and Zhou Junwu were attending classes at the Yushan Academy. There were always two bodyguards waiting nearby. At this time, since Zhou Pei was going with Ning Yi to find Kang Xian, she naturally called one of them to follow her when she walked out of the small courtyard with a few guns on her back.
This person had been a bodyguard in the prince's mansion for a long time. If there were no major accidents, he would be like an invisible person and would not give people much sense of his existence.
The academy was a little far from the prince's mansion, but since there was nothing to do, Ning Yi preferred to take a walk in the city for a while. Little Zhou Pei originally had something on her mind, but naturally she couldn't say it out loud. After walking with Ning Yi for a while and listening to this Shifu talk about profound and interesting things, she temporarily put her mind at ease. As he walked along the river, he saw a green-robed young master standing on the bow of a pleasure boat not far away. He recalled what he knew and told Ning Yi.
Ning Yi turned his head and looked in that direction. The pleasure boat was bustling with noise and excitement. Clearly, it was another gathering. A young master in a green robe stood at the bow of the boat with a folding fan in his hand and a silk scarf fluttering on his head. He looked rather elegant. A girl in white also came out of the pleasure boat and stood beside him to talk to him. She was probably one of the girls who accompanied him on the pleasure boat. Her figure was not bad, but her appearance could not be seen clearly from afar.
He then turned his head to look at Zhou Pei and saw that she was holding up her long skirt with one hand so that she wouldn't dirty it as she walked. She stretched her neck and looked at the pleasure boat with great interest. At this moment, she looked like a gossipy little girl and was quite cute.
"… It seems to be a boat from Ming Yu Lane. I don't know if it's Yin Xue or Hua Ping. Teacher, can you guess what they are talking about?"
Ming Yu Lane was also somewhat famous in Jiangning. Yin Xue and Hua Ping were its two famous girls. This kind of thing was not a bad thing nowadays. As long as there were scholars and beautiful ladies, it would be a good story. Zhou Pei had also grown up listening to such stories, so she was quite interested at this moment. Ning Yi also squinted his eyes and looked at the beautiful pleasure boat sailing in the early spring air. It was indeed a pleasing sight to the eyes and heart.
"I seem to have heard of the name Yuan Li. Is he very powerful?"
Zhou Pei wanted to nod and say that he was powerful, but then she pursed her lips and blinked at her teacher. That person had some fame. He was able to visit Kang Xian with others, so his words were more or less proof. However, in the current Jiangning, if he were to be placed next to the five words "Ning Yi and Ning Liheng", it would be somewhat powerless. Seeing that her teacher was carrying a long bag on his back and asking questions with a smile that did not seem to be fake, Zhou Pei felt a little helpless. Her interest in the scholars and beautiful ladies lessened, and she could only mutter.
"It's alright. A few days ago, I was debating with someone at Grandpa Fuma's house. He was quite impassioned when talking about the North. Didn't Teacher also sign on the admonition a few days ago? He is also one of the most enthusiastic people. I heard that he has been discussing this with others these days. It must be the same today … It's a pity that the Jin Kingdom has made peace with Liao. I don't know how many years it will take before they go to war again. Otherwise, I heard that he would follow Ban Chao's example and throw away his pen and join the army … "
"It won't take a few years …"
Ning Yi smiled and nodded. He, Zhou Pei, and Song Qian kept walking forward. The gaily-painted boat also moved forward slowly. There were singing and dancing, and vaguely, some scholars reciting poems. The leisure of the Qinhuai River was mixed with the hustle and bustle of the market. Zhou Pei followed him with small steps, "Teacher also said it won't take a few years? A few days ago, I followed Grandpa Fuma to the Qin family and they also guessed the same thing … "
The little girl frowned and then thought of something. She said mysteriously, "Teacher, do you know anything about Grandpa Qin?"
"What is it?"
"Uh … It's about the Blackwater Alliance. In the past, I only knew that Grandpa Qin was very knowledgeable and Grandpa Fuma had a good relationship with him, but I didn't know what he had done. Recently, I suddenly heard it from someone." Zhou Pei thought for a while, "The Blackwater Alliance, the defeat … Grandpa Qin used to live here in the Qin family, but no one came to visit him and no one talked about it. Recently, there have been more people visiting him and talking about it. But in private, I've heard some people talk about it and scold him. They say that he did a lot of things to fish for fame, and there are even more unbearable things, saying that he … that Grandpa Qin is a traitor … "
The little girl frowned, "I asked Grandpa Fuma recently, but he didn't say anything. He just said that everything could only be concluded after the coffin was sealed. It's not the right time to talk about it. I probably know that it may have something to do with Liao of the Jin Kingdom. But every time Grandpa Fuma visited Grandpa Qin, Grandpa Qin refused to talk about it. He just gossiped about it, as if he didn't care about it at all … "
"I don't know what happened a few years ago …" Ning Yi thought for a while and then shook his head. Recently, he had heard some of the rumors circulating in the marketplace. However, these rumors were too mysterious to be believed. He only knew that Elder Qin might have been involved in the Blackwater Alliance seven years ago and signed a messy and humiliating contract. Now, someone mentioned this matter and said that the conflict between the Jin Kingdom and Liao Kingdom was foreshadowed at that time, so the name "Qin Siyuan" was dug out. But of course, most people didn't believe it.
In the past, Elder Qin and Kang Xian liked to talk about the situation of the world. But recently, they talked less about the north. Recently, the Jin State and the Liao State suddenly made peace, and Yelu Yanxi conferred Wanyan Aguda the title of the Great Sage Emperor. When the news came, it was like a bucket of cold water was poured on the people of the Wu Dynasty who were looking forward to the war between the Jin and the Liao State. Theoretically speaking, Yelu Yanxi's concession, whether it was true or not, would at least ensure a few years of peace, and the war that was about to break out would be postponed again. At this time, when Ning Yi occasionally visited Elder Qin, he found that the old man didn't talk about it at all, as if he didn't care about it at all. On the other hand, the number of times Kang Xian went to Elder Qin's place increased.
Ning Yi could feel the atmosphere, so he naturally had some speculations. But he wasn't a real participant. Even Kang Xian, who really knew the inside story, held his breath and didn't say anything. On such a serious matter, he certainly couldn't say anything to Zhou Pei with a solemn attitude. He just felt that people who did great things were people who did great things. Whether they betrayed the country or harmed the country, it was different from those who discussed on pleasure boats and among beauties to throw away their pens and join the army.
Thereupon he told Zhou Pei a few things about the Jin and Liao kingdoms. He told her that Wanyan Aguda had single-handedly revived the Jurchen race in the White Mountains and Black Waters, and created the legend that 'if the Jurchen race is not less than ten thousand, no one can defeat ten thousand'. Moreover, Budagang had even defeated seven hundred thousand soldiers with twenty thousand soldiers with twenty thousand. He was indeed an extremely abnormal hero. There weren't many people in the Wu Dynasty who really knew about this, but in the past year, Ning Yi had casually explained it to them, and the students, including Zhou Pei, had both admired and feared this person. Fortunately, there weren't many female Enlightened Masters, and Wanyan Aguda wasn't young anymore. The possibility of him destroying the Liao Empire and threatening the Wu Dynasty while he was still alive wasn't high.
Zhou Pei liked to talk about these things. She occasionally speculated and asked, "Right? Right? "After talking about these things for a while, the depression in her heart was temporarily dispelled. At noon, because she was stifled, she only ate a small vegetable meat roll. Now that they had walked a long distance, she was hungry. At this time, they just happened to be approaching the newly opened Jin 'er restaurant by Takeshi. The little girl asked them to stop and rest, eat something, and take a look at Takeshi's new restaurant. In the past, Ning Yi had taken the siblings to eat at Takeshi's main restaurant several times.
So the two of them walked over there. When they were about to reach the entrance of the restaurant, they met two people coming from there. One of these two people was about fifty years old. He was tall and thin. Although he was dressed like a scholar, he had an air of wealth and arrogance around him. He had a serious expression and a proud gaze. Ning Yi had met this person once before. He was a famous scholar in Jiangning. His name was Zhang Rui, and his courtesy name was Hongyuan. At the same time, he was also one of the instructors of Prince Kang's Mansion. It was said that he was quite valued.
The other person was about thirty years old. He was slightly plump, squinted his eyes, and had a serious expression. He was also dressed like a scholar and held a fan in his hand. Ning Yi did not know this person. Zhang Rui recognized Ning Yi. The two of them exchanged a few words and walked over. However, it was Zhou Pei who went over first and greeted them. "Teacher Zhang, Teacher Li."
The two of them quickly returned the greeting. "Princess is also here. We don't deserve this, we don't deserve this."
Then they greeted Ning Yi and introduced each other. In fact, both of them were instructors of Prince Kang's Mansion. They were also quite famous in Jiangning City. The plump man with the surname Li was called Li Tong. He squinted his eyes and looked at Ning Yi. "So you are Ning Yi, Ning Liheng. I have long heard of your name, but I have never had the opportunity to meet you. Today is really a coincidence."
Zhang Rui looked at Ning Yi and Zhou Pei. He was a little displeased. "Liheng actually brought the princess's precious body to stroll around in the marketplace. This seems a little … inappropriate, doesn't it?"
If it was an ordinary chance encounter, perhaps they would have parted after exchanging conventional greetings for a while. But right now, after exchanging a few words, Zhang and Li, two people began to talk one after another about 'seeking advice', 'discussing Taoism' and the like. They also talked about Ning Yi's teaching method, as well as the fact that it was somewhat inappropriate for him to bring Xiao Junzhu around in this kind of marketplace.
There was a reason for these things. At the end of last year, Xiao Pei and Jun Wu had become Ning Yi's disciples. Prince Kang had originally planned to make it a big deal. Prince Kang had personally paid a visit to the Su family to boost the momentum. Later, Ning Yi had refused, so the ceremony was led by Kang Xian. Everything was a little simpler. But as instructors of Prince Kang's Mansion, these people knew that the young prince and the princess had a new master.
There were many officials in Prince Kang's Mansion, and a group of instructors were quite famous and had a good status. However, their main task was to teach the various servants and children of the mansion. Even if some of them had a master-disciple relationship with the young prince and the princess, they were different from the kind of masters that people would specially seek out.
Ning Yi was only in his early twenties, but he was known as the number one scholar in Jiangning. It was impossible for him not to be envious. When these masters found out, they also prepared quite a large number of people. They found a brothel to hold a poetry meeting, and then sent an invitation to Ning Yi. They thought that they had enough influence. Since everyone was in Prince Kang's Mansion, it was impossible for Ning Yi not to give face.
Who knew that even Ning Yi's position as a guest of Prince Kang's Mansion was given to him by Kang Xian. He did not need to work in Prince Kang's Mansion, and they were not considered colleagues. Moreover, at that time, Ning Yi and Su Tan'er were in a good relationship. They only slept together after two years of marriage. It could be said that they were in love. Su Tan'er needed him to accompany her to visit everywhere. As usual, he threw the invitation aside and replied with a mass-produced rejection letter. It was a long and voluminous letter of rejection. The meaning was only four words: I have something to do, I can't go, I'm sorry.
These people specially flipped through books for nearly half a month and prepared some questions. In the end, their expectations were dashed, and they were very angry. Today, Zhang and Li met Ning Yi on the street. Li was originally a little nervous about the title of "Jiangning's number one scholar". However, seeing that Ning Yi was still wet behind the ears, he thought that he might have some talent and could be called "strange", but definitely not "knowledgeable" and "refined". At that moment, he and Zhang Rui decided to take advantage of this opportunity to compete with this person in knowledge. Naturally, they said the words "ask for advice".
Perhaps they did not dare to ask for advice, but if he said that they only wanted to sit and talk, they could not refuse. Then, they walked towards the newly opened Jin'er shop not far away, went up to the second floor, and found a private room to sit down.
*****
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