Di Ming

Chapter 77 The Surname Ning
Zhu Yin quickly dressed and went straight to the lobby. Passing the guest room counter, he said to the waiter inside:

"My five horses must be fed the best horse feed!"

"Get it done quickly! I'm a nephew of the Zhuang family! Be careful!"

He grumbled a few words in a condescending manner, then stomped upstairs.

He had just gone upstairs.

A man with wet hair came out of the bathhouse, went to the counter, took out a small piece of silver, about five qian (approximately 15 grams), and pushed it in front of the waiter.

"I'm inquiring about someone, a little guest, not even ten years old..."

The waiter waited for him to finish speaking, then quickly collected the loose silver and said with a smile:
"Sir, you've come to the right person. He is from this county, though his travel permit doesn't show anything. But he is related to the Zhuang family, saying he is a nephew of the Zhuang family."

"What? Zhuang Tingjian's nephew?" The man frowned. "But he doesn't have the surname Zhuang."

The waiter, having received five qian of silver, naturally wanted to show off to demonstrate that he hadn't taken the money for nothing, and reminded him:

"It is precisely because he is not surnamed Zhuang that the obvious flaw proves it to be true. If he is not surnamed Zhuang, could he not be Master Zhuang's nephew or great-nephew?"

"Sir, you're not from Nanjing, are you?" His tone was somewhat arrogant.

“In Nanjing, outsiders can’t afford to offend Prefect Zhuang Zan. A local official is more powerful than a county magistrate. No matter how big Nanjing is, it’s still under the jurisdiction of two counties. Even many high-ranking officials and powerful eunuchs wouldn’t easily mess with Jiangning County.”

"A local official is more powerful than a distant one!" Upon hearing this, the man felt somewhat discouraged.

His master was wealthy and powerful, holding the official rank of a fifth-grade commander and being a prominent merchant in the market. He was a well-known figure in Nanjing.

They have a large number of guards and thugs, many of whom are skilled fighters recruited from martial arts schools and gangs.

But if that child had any connection with Magistrate Zhuang, he wouldn't dare to do anything.

A local official is more powerful than a distant one. Even the master of the house would suffer if he offended the magistrate of Jiangning County.

However, the children that the master had his eye on were always the ones he couldn't get his hands on.

Hmm, I happen to know a yamen runner from Jiangning County, why not just go and ask him about it?

Anyway, the county government office isn't far away.

The man immediately left the inn and headed straight for the Jiangning County government office.

Zhu Yin, who was behind the stairs, listened to the conversation between the two, her small face as cold as ice.

Damn it, he really did follow me out to find out my background.

If I didn't have powerful backers, would you dare to just kidnap a boy?

So you're the owner of Jinyunfang? I'll remember you.

Zhu Yin slowly walked upstairs and saw several guests talking loudly under the moonlight on the balcony.

Judging from their accent, they seem to be from Guanzhong.

One of them said, "...Eunuch Tian and Madam Tian are cousins. Madam Tian's family is the Ning family, which is only one village away from ours, so we are from the same hometown."

Another person said, "Now, the highest-ranking official among us Guanzhong people is Eunuch Tian, ​​isn't he?"

Another person said, "Of course! Eunuch Tian is the garrison commander of Nanjing, an imperial envoy with official seals. Who in Nanjing has more power than him?"

"Didn't you say you and Madam Tian are from the same hometown? Can we benefit from that?"

"Nonsense! Madam Tian's family was attacked by bandits years ago, and the entire Ning family was wiped out. She hasn't returned to Huayin for decades."

Upon hearing the surname Ning, Zhu Yin's heart skipped a beat.

There aren't many people with the surname Ning.

……

downstairs.

Not long after, Zheng Qianhu's attendant returned to the inn from the yamen with a regretful look on his face, and happened to meet Zheng Qianhu after he had finished taking a bath.

“Sir, I’ve inquired and found out that the handsome boy is related to Zhuang Tingjian. He calls Zhuang Tingjian his uncle. Just today, Zhuang Tingjian personally saw him off from the county office and urged him to study hard. He also said that he would test his studies next time they met.”

"What?" Master Zheng's face immediately darkened. "Really?"

"Reporting to your Excellency, what I said is absolutely true. That child and Magistrate Zhuang must have a close relationship."

Master Zheng snorted coldly, "Then let it go for now. Don't offend Magistrate Zhuang. We can find another opportunity later. There's always a way. Let's go to South Courtyard Alley and have a few plates of South Courtyard dishes to cool down!"

What a pity. If this boy didn't have connections with officials, he would have had plenty of ways to get a taste tonight.

The servant smiled obsequiously, "I heard that a few new junior officials have arrived in Nanyuan Lane. They're so young and fresh, even more handsome than girls. If you arrive too late, sir..."

Master Zheng laughed loudly, "You short-lived scoundrel! You jinx! Get out of here!"

A group of people followed him out, surrounding him, and got into a sedan chair.

...

Zhu Yin returned to his room, where the other women had already finished washing and left.

Only Ning Caiwei, her sister, and Black Tiger remained in the room.

Zhu Yin wasn't comfortable with the two bolts, so he moved a stool to barricade the door. He needed security more than Ning Caiwei.

"What are you doing?" Ning Caiwei asked, drying her hair and sipping her tea. "Aren't you at ease? What happened?"

Zhu Yin took a sip of water, sat down on the drum stool, and said calmly, "I went to the bathhouse tonight, and they've got their eyes on me..."

"Pfft—" Ning Caiwei couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of air, clutching her chest in pain.

Choking.

"Hehehe..." Ning Qingchen, who had just finished a fragrant bath, laughed happily on the bed until tears streamed down her face.

Zhu Yin looked at the baby quietly. "Is it funny? Is it interesting?"

Ning Qingchen had a very low threshold for laughter and couldn't control her emotions, so she laughed even harder.

Of course it's interesting!

Just from what happened tonight, and the fact that you wore stockings before, I'll be laughing about it from childhood to old age.

Zhu Yin said, "Just keep laughing, don't stop."

"Cough cough." Ning Caiwei finally caught her breath and then straightened her face, saying in a serious tone, "Damn it, so damn it."

"However, even if we don't have Zhuang Tingjian as our backer, we still have Lan Cha and the others. What can they do?"

Zhu Yin shook his head: "What do you think this place is? This is Jiangnan, this is Nanjing, not outside the Great Wall, not Daishan Island. Here, the government is in charge."

"If we don't have any backing, what good will it do if we win a war between the two sides?"

"When the constables and soldiers arrived, they stood right in his direction and arrested us. Should we resist or cooperate?"

"Resistance is treason, punishable by death. Cooperation, however, will result in imprisonment..."

Ning Caiwei was also a little scared. "Luckily you were quick-witted. During the day, you managed to get on the good side of Magistrate Zhuang, which was like wearing a tiger's skin. With a little trick, you resolved the crisis."

The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became, and her face turned pale.

She suddenly realized that Zhu Yin was destined to be her man, her own possession, Ning Caiwei's.

Not only should you not touch women, you shouldn't touch men either!

Otherwise, wouldn't she be at a huge loss?
Zhu Yin put down his teacup. "No rush. I already know who he is. I hold grudges."

"How can we get revenge?" Ning Caiwei gritted her teeth and said, "This kind of person has probably harmed countless young boys and girls. He deserves to die."

"It's not the theft itself that's scary, it's the thief's persistent interest. Since he sent someone to the counter to inquire about you, he probably won't give up."

"How about we ask Xu Xiaobai for help? Isn't he the grandson of the Duke?"

Zhu Yin shook his head. "Xu Xiaobai is definitely still under house arrest. He said before he left that he would be under house arrest for a year at most. How long has it been? We can't count on him now."

"For now, having Magistrate Zhuang as a powerful figure is enough. If we can cure Hai Rui, we'll have a strong backer too."

Ning Caiwei said, "Didn't you say he wouldn't be back for several more days? Jaundice is treatable, but I'm afraid he might have other underlying conditions."

Zhu Yin thought for a moment, “Tonight’s awkwardness makes me feel even more urgent. We are outsiders, without parents or relatives, without deep-rooted social connections, without official titles or positions, and we are easily bullied by evil forces.”

"Relying solely on Lancha's military strength is far from enough. Having Magistrate Zhuang's influence alone is also insufficient. We need to secure even greater and more powerful backers in advance."

"Old Hai is the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief, but the Vice Censor-in-Chief in Nanjing has no real power. In fact, he is a second-line official with a high position but little power. He only has the power of supervising the river patrol, conducting major trials, and holding hot trials, which are all big but useless powers."

"In Nanjing, and even in the entire Southern Zhili region, who wields the most power? Whose words carry the most weight?"

"Who?" Ning Caiwei asked.

"Tian Yi, the garrison eunuch of Nanjing Garrison Office and concurrently the Director of Ceremonial Affairs of Nanjing!" Zhu Yin said. "If we can get in touch with this powerful eunuch, we'll be the top connections in Southern Zhili."

"Only then can you do business freely and navigate the market with ease, while we can confidently and boldly build our wealth and influence."

Ning Caiwei said, "He's a high-ranking eunuch, and countless people are trying to curry favor with him. It will be very difficult for us to make him our patron. Unless he also falls ill and we cure him."

Zhu Yin smiled and said, "Tian Yi can live for many more years; his health is fine. However, his wife..."

"Is his wife sick?" Ning Caiwei asked, finding it strange that a eunuch would have a wife.

Zhu Yin shook his head. "His wife isn't sick, but his wife... her surname is Ning!"

Ning Caiwei understood, and her expression turned somewhat strange.

"There aren't many people with the surname Ning; it's considered a rare surname. Our Ning family is indeed from Xi'an. But just based on this surname, it doesn't mean much."

Zhu Yin said, "Relying solely on a surname is of little significance. But sometimes, it can be very useful, depending on how you use it."

Ning Caiwei had already guessed Zhu Yin's plan and said, "This matter cannot be rushed; it requires careful planning. The most urgent matter is still the house."

"We're moving tomorrow, so we need to buy some things first."

She handed me a piece of paper and a quill pen. "This is tomorrow's shopping list. See if you have anything to add?"

Zhu Yin opened it and saw that the purchase order was neatly categorized and densely written...

(End of this chapter)