ering Ning Yi's identity, their connection would fade and they might never see each other again in the vast Jiangning city, a few days later she realized that this assumption wasn't entirely accurate.
That morning, waking to the faint sound of running footsteps outside her window, she opened it just in time to see Ning Yi's figure dash by. It reminded her that even without her inadvertently causing him to fall into the river, Ning Gongzi was still out there running every morning.
In an era that valued literary achievement over martial prowess, especially among scholars, there weren't many who engaged in such physical exercise. Initially, she thought he was being chased, but soon realized this extraordinary Ning Gongzi was indeed practicing his morning run, and it seemed the distance he covered was steadily increasing. This left her somewhat puzzled, but mostly impressed.
Of course, being early morning, she couldn't expect to see him every day, yet their encounters were frequent enough. Nie Yunzhu contemplated whether she should greet him. Eventually, she decided she was overthinking it. She had grown wary of the people she had met before, all with ulterior motives. Now, this Ning Gongzi had not only saved her but also clearly had no ulterior motives. Such interactions should happen naturally, and reflecting on it now, she realized she had been too concerned.
After mentally chiding herself, when she spotted him running by again that morning, she stepped out to greet him. To her surprise, he merely waved and continued on his way without stopping. She stood there, momentarily stunned, until her maid, Hu Tao, who had recovered from her illness, came out and asked, "Who was that? Do you know him?" Then she pouted, "How rude…" Nie Yunzhu couldn't help but chuckle.
Ah, the gentleman's friendship... is this how he treats me, like a friend?
With the arrival of the cold dew and frost, and after the start of winter, along with the increased intensity of her systematic training and months of buildup, her physical condition had seen some initial improvement. Though it wasn't visibly apparent, she at least had a body that was now healthy for an ordinary person.
In these times, scholars focused solely on studying, and their diets were often lacking in nutrition, leaving many in worse shape than modern-day shut-ins. Though the Six Arts included activities like archery, it was mainly a slogan — similar to modern platitudes about "comprehensive development of moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor education." Ning Yi had been no exception to this stereotype. Given his previous twenty years of frailty, recovering in six months was already quite remarkable.
Every morning, as he ran along the banks of the Qinhuai River, he would occasionally exchange greetings with Nie Yunzhu, just nodding to one another. Although she had been clumsy during their previous encounters, seeing her several times allowed him to discern that she was not truly oblivious. In fact, their conversation while buying charcoal revealed her intelligence. She always dressed simply, yet she was very beautiful and tall.
Occasionally, they would meet at the entrance, waving and exchanging smiles with "Ning Gongzi." Sometimes he would see her in the kitchen of the small building, where the window facing the street was open. She would be either tending the fire or chopping vegetables, looking up with a smile. He would also catch glimpses of her carrying a wooden basin to the terrace by the river, waving at him as he ran past. The morning breeze would lift her skirt, and the dawn light would shine from the horizon behind her, reminiscent of the goddess of the river.
One maid who lived with her wasn't particularly pretty and was quite short; Ning Yi guessed she had recently been ill.
In October, Ning Yunzhu and he began to have some simple conversations. One morning, having forgotten to drink water before increasing his running route, he returned covered in sweat, gasping for breath and desperately thirsty. He stopped to ask her for a cup of water, and they exchanged a few words. The next day, when he returned, she was there again. It felt awkward to rush over directly, so he paused to catch his breath. Gradually, this became a habit.
"Master Ning truly has a peculiar temperament, running for such long periods every day. Doesn't he get tired?"
"It's the exhaustion that makes it effective. What's so strange about running?"
"Yunzhu has met many scholars and talented men during her years at the Golden Wind Tower, yet none quite like Master Ning…" She glanced at Ning Yi as she spoke. Though Ning Yi had already surmised her past, he found her candidness surprising but didn't show much reaction. After a moment, Nie Yunzhu asked with some puzzlement, "Could it be that you plan to join the military?"
"Hah, with my current physique, I wouldn't last a minute on the battlefield. I just think there's no harm in exercising, especially since scholars like me are often deemed good for nothing."
"If others heard you say scholars are good for nothing, it might cause some trouble for you."
Their conversations were brief, but over time, a clearer picture of Nie Yunzhu's life emerged. After spending some years in a brothel, she redeemed herself and her maid, bought this beautiful riverside house, and now navigates life with a certain naivety about the everyday world, leading to occasional blunders.
While Nie Yunzhu may find his personality peculiar, Ning Yi also thought she had some quirks of her own. She was likely once the daughter of a bureaucrat before being sold to the brothel. After redeeming herself, she was determined not to return to that life, which perhaps explained the struggles she now faced. She seemed to have a bit of stubbornness in her character.
In late October, while Ning Yi and Xiao Chan passed through the East Market, they caught sight of her from a distance.
The market was crowded, and from the upstairs of a restaurant, Ning Yi saw Nie Yunzhu and her maid, Hu Tao, separated by a few meters from the crowd. They seemed to be buying vegetables or perhaps greeting a familiar vendor. Nie Yunzhu, as usual, was simply dressed, with an unflattering headscarf tied around her hair. She was crouching behind a stall where chickens were sold and slaughtered. Holding a hen in one hand and a knife in the other, she cut its throat and drained the blood into a bowl. She seemed disgusted by the act, pulling her head back as far as possible while keeping a firm grip on the bird. After draining the blood, she threw the hen into a pot of hot water nearby and stood up, appearing quite pleased with herself. She glanced in Ning Yi's direction, but it wasn't clear whether she had noticed him.
"Master, what's wrong?"
Noticing Ning Yi looking toward the market, Xiao Chan asked curiously. Ning Yi shook his head with a smile, "Nothing, let's go inside."
It was rare for people to have chicken back then, and even when they bought it, they'd usually take it home to raise for a few days before slaughtering it. Offering to kill it for buyers was an extra service, one that could only be seen in a big city like Jiangning. The stall owner must have been quite inventive to provide it.
The next day, sitting on the steps of the riverside house, Nie Yunzhu asked, "Master, did you see me at the East Market yesterday?"
"Yeah, why were you there slaughtering chickens?"
"Zhao's son, Erniu, who works at the market, and Hu Tao have a mutual affection for each other." She smiled and pointed to a nearby house. "His family sells vegetables at the East Market, and since Hu Tao and I visit often, we've gotten to know some of the vendors. Yesterday, when we went to buy something, Aunt Liu, who sells chickens, was swamped, so I said, 'Let me give you a hand,' and I really ended up killing the chicken myself…"
She laughed cheerfully at this, leaving Ning Yi momentarily stunned before he shook his head with a smile, "Why go through all that trouble?"
Master Ning found it quite unexpected that Nie Yunzhu, who had redeemed herself from the brothel at such a young age, would take such an approach to life. Having been highly sought after during her time in the brothel, she likely led a life more refined than that of a noblewoman. Since her redemption, though her life appeared somewhat bumpy, it was still far better than most ordinary families. Not knowing how to slaughter a chicken was not surprising at all for someone like her, yet her determination to learn this skill at the first opportunity was rather striking.
"It's always delightful to learn new things," Nie Yunzhu smiled as she gazed into the distance, then turned her eyes to Ning Yi, "Oh, Master Ning, could you stop by here again tomorrow?"
Taking a rest here had already become a routine, so there was no need for her to mention it unless something was on her mind. Ning Yi asked, "What's the matter?" Nie Yunzhu shook her head with a smile, "You'll find out tomorrow."
The next day, when Ning Yi returned, Nie Yunzhu brought out a bowl with a few freshly made pancakes.
"You haven't had breakfast yet, have you? Why not take these and give them a try?"
Ning Yi, who usually ate after his morning run, was a bit puzzled but sat down to rest on the steps and began eating, "What's this about?"
Seeing him eat, Nie Yunzhu's smile brightened, and she sat down beside him, "How does it taste, Master Ning?"
"It's not bad," Ning Yi nodded.
"Well... Do you think they'd sell well?"
"So, you're planning to sell pancakes now…"
Nie Yunzhu chuckled, "Apart from my former days of entertaining with my looks or embroidering handkerchiefs and shoe insoles, there's not much else Hu Tao and I can do. We learned how to make these while at the Golden Wind Tower, and I think they taste pretty good... So we thought of getting a small cart and selling them along with some tea."
Though Ning Yi was no longer interested in business matters, he found Nie Yunzhu's tenacity fascinating. She might have seemed gentle and delicate, but she was a strong-willed woman. After leaving the brothel, she had cut ties with all her former patrons, and even learned to slaughter chickens, a task she once found repulsive, just to adapt to ordinary life. Now she was planning to sell pancakes, an idea that didn't exactly match her elegant image but made Ning Yi find her all the more intriguing.
In early November, Ning Yi moved rooms within the Su household. He and Su Tan'er both relocated from the now chilly upper floor to the warmer downstairs. With the deepening cold of winter, evenings were spent gathered in Su Tan'er's cozy living room, warmed by charcoal fires. This also led to more frequent interactions between Ning Yi and Su Tan'er...