The house where Ning Yi, the previous Ning Yi, lived was located in an alley in the north of Jiangning City. The small courtyard did not cover a large area, and it could not be called the ancestral home of the Ning family. This was because the Ning family had already declined during Ning Yi's father's generation. Their former mansion had long been sold, and then it was torn down to build a new house. Ning Yi's father moved to this alley to live, and his life had always been more difficult and poverty-stricken.
Ning Yi's grandfather was probably a scholar who lived a good life, and it was said that he also had a small academic reputation. Because of this, Su Yu was able to make friends with him. At that time, perhaps Su Yu, as a businessman, was the one who had a higher social status. Ning Yi's father probably enjoyed a few days of extravagance, and he was relatively arrogant. In a scholar, he could be said to have a strong character.
Since crossing over, Ning Yi had probably heard several comments about his father when he was alive. According to Su Tan 'er, her respected father-in-law was generous and had a wide circle of friends when he was alive. Unfortunately, he was not lucky enough, so he did not get an academic reputation and so on. Ning Yi had heard a few times, and roughly understood that his father was a playboy by nature, ambitious but not talented. He had no knowledge but spent money extravagantly. Originally, there was a little foundation in the family, but it was all squandered. When he was young, he indulged in debauchery and fooling around without restraint. Later, when his family was in dire straits, he became depressed. Unfortunately, he had read some books and thought highly of himself. Under the torment of both his body and mind, he finally met an early end.
In the past, Ning Yi did not have a few days of glory or a free and unfettered life like his father. Since he was sensible, his family had not been living well. He was not smart. His father forced him to study, but he did not achieve much. He was a poor child who had been suppressed by life. But because of this, he did not develop a proud character. If not for this, he probably would not have chosen to marry into the Su family, and probably would not have had so many things to do.
Nowadays, Ning Yi did not have much interest in that person's life. After getting married, he had only returned to this house a few times. After he married into the Su family, with the Su family's financial resources, they naturally wouldn't be interested in such a small courtyard. Therefore, this was still Ning Yi's property. Occasionally, Chan 'er or Juan' er would arrange for their servant girls to come over and clean it up. That afternoon, they came over because Xiaochan was ordered by Tan'Er to clean up. Ning Yi had nothing to do, so he came along.
There were still a few days before the Qingming Festival. Last night, Tan'Er told him that he could come over during the Qingming Festival to burn some joss paper for her in-laws. Although Ning Yi had no memory of the blood relatives in this body, he still attached great importance to the significance of paying respects to the ancestors. The fact that Tan'Er was willing to consider this was a form of friendship for him, so he nodded in agreement.
Behind this matter, there was naturally a discussion between Su Yu, Su Boyong, and the others. Normally, a person who married into the family would not receive such treatment. It was like a married woman. If she took something from her maiden family, it would be a form of disobedience. In the era of the family, the circle of the family was strictly watched. However, there were no longer any relatives in contact with the Ning family. Su Yu had also expressed his attitude that if Ning Yi and Tan'Er's second son could have the surname Ning, this little concession would not be too big of a problem.
Of course, the time here still had to be staggered from the ancestral worship of the Su family. Everything was based on the Su family. Because Tan'Er wanted to accompany him back for a day before the Qingming Festival, at this time, Xiaochan was tidying up the room inside and out. Ning Yi also helped to move the tables and chairs. Because there was no one living in the room, there were only some tables and chairs, wooden cabinets, and other things in the room. As for bedding, bedding, cloth, clothes, and other things that might be damp, they were all not prepared. Today, Xiaochan came over only to take a look at the general situation. If it was to the extent that people could live in, she would definitely have to call some maids and servants to help tomorrow.
"Young master, you don't need to help. Those tables have been left for a long time. They are full of dust. If you move them, you will be dirty …"
Holding a new broom and sweeping the old bed, Xiaochan, who was working with a headscarf wrapped around her head, occasionally turned her head to protest. Because during this time, Ning Yi had already moved a few boxes that were originally placed in this bedroom out. He also chose some chairs and moved them in. Then, he began to move the sandalwood table that was originally placed in another room. Because it had been left for too long, the table was a little dirty. At this time, Ning Yi had great strength, so it was not difficult for him to move things. However, when Xiaochan saw it, she would be angry.
How could there be a master doing the work of a servant? Although she knew that Ning Yi did not put on airs after getting along with him for a long time, and he occasionally did things like boiling water and washing his face, it was too much for him to do such dirty and messy work.
"When I go back and see that young master is dirty, Miss will scold me again …"
After all, Xiaochan was used to doing things. At this time, at this time, at this time, she took the broom and patted the room, at this time, at this time, at this time, there was not too much dust on her body. At this time, when Ning Yi moved some things, there was a lot of dust on his body. When Xiao Chan protested, he smiled and drew a line across Xiao Chan's face with his dusty finger. The two of them busied themselves in the small courtyard, and the room that had almost been tidied up into a warehouse gradually took on an embryonic form. After the big things were moved, in the end, Xiaochan still had to tidy up and clean the small place. In the courtyard, he looked at the trivial things placed in the boxes, and occasionally listened to Xiaochan say something.
"Young master, why didn't you agree to help the young master of the Puyang family write a poem?"
"It's not worth it. I'm not very familiar with that Qi Lan, and writing a poem won't give me any advantage. Moreover, the other party is Li Shishi. If I don't look at the situation and write a poem for this side, she will definitely hate me, right? Not only can I not take advantage of this side, but I will also be hated by the other side. As a businessman, it is really not worth it, right … "
The day before yesterday, in the afternoon, when Puyang Yi came to ask him for a poem, Ning Yi's answer was roughly the same. Of course, the joke was half true and half false. After all, in the end, Ning Yi did not give a poem at first. Puyang Yi had always been a good person, and he was a smart person. A poem, in fact, it was fine if he gave a poem, but in Ning Yi's opinion, the whole situation was a little unreliable. Qi Lan was supported by the Puyang family, and the hype behind this matter was definitely the Puyang family. At the moment, whether that Li Shishi would fight with others was still unknown, so there was no need for him to enthusiastically get involved. After all, adding flowers to embroidery was far less interesting than providing charcoal in the snow.
At that time, Ning Yi might not have thought through it in such a complicated manner, but to him, it was clear at a glance what was best to do. At that time, when Puyang Yi asked him to come over, Ning Yi made a few jokes, and then said that if there was a need for him to help, he would naturally not refuse. But now, as a smart person, there was no need to make a stand in such an awkward situation where two beauties were competing.
He said it humorously, but Puyang Yi knew that he rarely went to the brothel. But since he had received the promise, he left happily at that time. But when he returned, he repeated Ning Yi's words to Qi Lan, making her feel wronged. "I have already sent so many invitations to Young Master Ning, but Young Master Ning has never taken Qi Lan seriously, and now he says that he is not familiar with Qi Lan. What a bully."
Her words seemed to be wronged, but in fact, it showed intimacy. It was a tacit understanding with Puyang Yi. When Ning Yi heard this, he could only shake his head and smile. Businessmen were like this. As long as they had a sense of propriety, it was not a big deal for them to hype up, and he would not care too much about it.
The afternoon passed in such an atmosphere. Occasionally, Xiaochan talked about the gossip about Li Shishi, and occasionally talked about the importance that the Su family attached to him, the son-in-law, when they were cleaning the room. There were also some clues about the second son who would be surnamed Ning. In this era, it was indeed a big deal under the circumstances of marrying into the family. Xiaochan was sincerely happy for him. Ning Yi sat outside and said with a smile,
"Then … Xiaochan, when you marry me in the future, your child will be surnamed Ning, and Tan'Er's child will be surnamed Su. What do you think?"
After all, Xiao Chan couldn't joke about "marriage" in this kind of situation in broad daylight. Her face was bright red, but then her expression became complicated, "Young master, if these words were heard by others, Xiao Chan would be beaten to death …"
It was indeed not good to say this. Ning Yi said it casually, but now he understood and comforted her with a smile. After a while, Xiaochan took a rag and sat beside Ning Yi. She lowered her head and said,
"Chan'Er knows that young master is good, but … don't always say these things that will make Chan'Er think too much … Chan'Er is Miss's maid and will stand with Miss for the rest of her life. For example … for example … when young master marries me in the future, Chan'Er will kill her together with Miss. If young master has a lover outside, Chan'Er will also go to your door with Miss to make trouble … In fact, Chan'Er is very powerful. I was taught by Miss. A normal fox will definitely not be able to compete with Chan'Er at home … young master, young master, you have to be careful …"
The little maid seemed to be a little proud and a little timid to show off. Ning Yi laughed at the side. How could he not understand the ability of the three maids at home? In modern times, no matter what, they would have the qualities of high-level managers. But here, they were maids. On the surface, they looked obedient, but in fact, their ability to plan and coordinate all kinds of things was already very outstanding. Just as she said, if other concubines really came into this home and she and Su Tan'Er got together, the other party would not have a good time.
"I know, I know, but there is no need to kill her so cruelly …"
"For young master's sake, Xiaochan will beg Miss to leave her half alive …"
"Tsk …"
The two of them talked for a while in the courtyard. After cleaning up, Xiaochan bought some incense and smoked it in the courtyard. Ning Yi then tidied up the things in the wooden boxes in the courtyard. There was nothing really interesting in them. Some gadgets might have contained the trajectory of Ning Yi's life in the past, but most of them had already become trash. Ning Yi looked for a while, then took out some broken bottles and jars, or moldy and scattered bamboo scrolls and books from the box and threw them away. When he was throwing them away, he found a scroll of Thousand Character Classic that was still in good condition. There were all kinds of handwriting annotations in it. It was probably written by the previous Ning Yi when he was young. It had some value as a memento, so he took it back.
The afternoon sun was pretty good, and it warmly shone on the bluestone alley. When Ning Yi came back, he sat on the bluestone bench at the entrance. The alley was deep and quiet, with rows of courtyards and doors. A few old trees dotted the black tiles and bluestone walls. Occasionally, a passerby walked by and nodded kindly at him. Ning Yi did not know if they knew each other, so he nodded back. In the distance, the sound of pedestrians and carriages came from the street outside the alley.
Some of the residents in the alley knew him, and some even knew that he had become quite famous recently. However, Ning Yi did not have any impression of this alley. He just sat on the stone bench and felt a peaceful atmosphere. He sat there and flipped through the old Thousand Character Classic. Some of the pages were broken and fell off, so he had to put them back. In the process, he found that someone was looking in his direction.
It was a woman wearing a white Confucian robe. Although she was dressed as a man, it was easy to tell that she was a woman. In fact, when Ning Yi sat down, this person had already appeared at the entrance of the alley. For an ordinary person, this amount of time was enough for them to go back and forth in the alley eight or nine times. She walked and stopped along the way, and Ning Yi did not know what she was looking at. It was only when she got closer that Ning Yi noticed her. The woman had an oval face, a sharp chin, and small lips. When she was disguised as a man, she looked a little thin. She looked in Ning Yi's direction and also tilted her head to look into the open courtyard door.
Ning Yi held the old Thousand Character Classic in one hand and the fallen page in the other. He also looked in her direction. The woman nodded, lowered her head, and turned to leave. Then she paused, nodded, and bowed. She said, "Uh … Young Master, is the person who used to live here no longer here?"
"… How long ago?"
"About … seven or eight years …"
Ning Yi looked back. "My parents and I should have lived here all the time … You are …"
The woman was young. Although she looked mature, she was probably not much older than Xiaochan. Maybe she knew him in the past. He frowned slightly. The woman looked at him carefully and a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. "Ah, you are Xiao Ning …"
"Do we know each other?"
"We … kind of know each other …" The woman was not very sure. She pointed to a relatively beautiful courtyard at the other end of the alley. "I lived there for two years. Uh … My surname is Wang. We probably didn't talk much …"
When the woman pointed to the courtyard, she lowered her head slightly. There seemed to be something in her eyes that she did not want to say. However, looking at it as a whole, the two of them had probably lived in the same alley before. Perhaps they had even spoken to each other, but it was unlikely that they had much of a relationship. Ning Yi waited for a while. Sure enough, she smiled and said, "You used to study here. I still remember that I once came to your house to borrow soy sauce."
"Oh, I see …" Ning Yi smiled in agreement. Anyway, they were not familiar with each other. He did not want to spoil the mood when she said this excitedly. After a few perfunctory words, another figure trotted over. He knew this woman. "Brother … Wang, you really came here …"
"I came back to take a look. The place hasn't changed much …"
"My house is over there. Brother Wang, do you remember? But I sold it, so I can't go back to see it now. "
The newcomer was a scholar in a green robe. He used to live in this alley. The woman, a woman named Wang, looked at him. "By the way, He Zhong, do you know this young master?"
They did not seem to be husband and wife. But because they were from the same hometown, they seemed close. When the man named He Zhong came over, he looked at Ning Yi a few times. But he pretended not to notice. Ning Yi could easily sense that He Zhong cared about this woman. He looked at her a few more times and looked at the courtyard behind him. "Could it be … Silly Bookworm? Ah, no, what was she called at that time … "
A woman named Wang frowned slightly. "Xiaoning."
"Oh, by the way, Xiaoning. It's me, He Zhong, Yu Ho-chung. I used to live there. When we were young, we used to play together. Unfortunately, I went to Bianjing with my parents. At that time, we called you out to play. You were often punished to copy and memorize books. How is it? You are still reading. When you were young, you were the most hardworking. Now … you should be famous, right? "
The man named Yu Ho-chung seemed friendly. He patted Ning Yi's arm affectionately. But the meaning in his eyes was obvious. Ning Yi was holding a tattered book in his hand. Although the robe he was wearing was expensive, he had moved some things around. There were a few stains on it. At first glance, he looked like a silly bookworm who had been down and out for a long time. Even his clothes were not clean. The pat from Yu Ho-chung also highlighted this image. It was like a reminder.
Ning Yi felt it was funny. He looked down and said, "I didn't get any fame."
"Oh, it doesn't matter. If Brother Ning works so hard, he will get one day …"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
