"Big Sister, what were you and Second Brother whispering about behind my back?" Ning Hui walked over to Ning Sang-sang and asked, his face full of curiosity.
"Little brats shouldn't pry into grown-ups' business," Ning Sang-sang replied, putting on a solemn air.
"...Big Sister, I've already grown up! I'm not a child anymore, and you're only two years older than me!" Ning Hui protested indignantly.
"However grown-up you are, you're still a little brat." Ning Sang-sang rolled her eyes.
She muttered inwardly, At your age, you'd still be a little brat in elementary school in the Twenty-First Century. But people in ancient times really do look more mature than modern people. Boys in their teens are already handsome young men, and girls in their teens are already lovely and captivating. In modern times, kids this age are still scrawny dried string beans.
Ning Hui listened to Ning Sang-sang's strange remarks, utterly bewildered and at a loss for words. Ning Chengxiao finally spoke up. "It's getting late. Let's head home." He kept feeling that Yan Xuanjing had designs on his younger brother. He couldn't let them spend too much time together, or what if... He really didn't dare follow that thought any further.
Ning Hui frowned and pouted. "Second Brother, it's still early! Why go home so soon? Let's stay a little longer. We've only just arrived, and Big Sister surely hasn't had her fill of fun either." Ning Hui wanted to spend more time with Yan Xuanjing and ask how his face and legs had been cured. He didn't want to go home at all.
Ning Chengxiao saw straight through his younger brother's little schemes and frowned. "Mother told us to come home early."
"Second Brother, you're hardly the sort who listens to Mother. She told you not to be with Bai Xinrou, but you stayed with her anyway." Ning Hui's mouth ran ahead of his brain, and the moment the words left his lips, he knew he'd said the wrong thing. Bai Xinrou had made a cuckold of his second brother, who was already miserable. Wasn't saying that just rubbing salt into his wounds?
At that thought, he hurriedly looked at his second brother and saw his cold expression. Ning Hui's heart lurched. Oh no, I've made Second Brother angry. Just as he opened his mouth to explain, his second brother turned and left without a word, his face dark.
Watching Ning Chengxiao leave in anger, Ning Hui told Ning Sang-sang with a mournful face, "Big Sister, I've made Second Brother angry. He's definitely going to demand I repay him when we get home."
"Don't worry. Someone will help you pay him back," Ning Sang-sang comforted him, patting his shoulder. As she spoke, she glanced meaningfully at Yan Xuanjing, dropping Ning Hui a hint.
Little bro, Yan's got money. Ask him for a loan.
Hearing this, Ning Hui's eyes immediately lit up, and he looked at Yan Xuanjing hopefully.
Yan Xuanjing said, "I have no money."
Ning Hui said, "..."
Talking about money really did hurt feelings.
Seeing his second brother getting farther and farther away, Ning Hui lost all desire to stay and enjoy himself. He told Yan Xuanjing, "Brother A-Xuan, I'll head home now. I'll come hang out with you another day."
Yan Xuanjing nodded and watched the siblings walk away. Only after Ning Sang-sang's figure disappeared from sight did he withdraw his gaze.
"Back to the residence," he said coldly.
Meanwhile, Ning Sang-sang and Ning Hui caught up with Ning Chengxiao. With a thoroughly ingratiating expression, Ning Hui apologized, "Second Brother, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lifted the very kettle that hadn't boiled and brought up the sore subject of you and Bai Xinrou. Second Brother, I know I was wrong. Please forgive me."
His second brother had once been madly in love with Bai Xinrou and had even fallen out with his family over her. Then she had cheated on him, dealing him such a heavy blow. What Ning Hui had just said really was rubbing salt into his second brother's wounds.
Looking at Ning Hui's ingratiating expression, Ning Chengxiao's tense face relaxed. "Don't let it happen again," he said irritably.
"Yes, Second Brother!" Ning Hui nodded hastily, secretly vowing never to breathe a word about Bai Xinrou in front of his second brother again, lest he upset him.
Of course, most importantly, he didn't dare make his second brother angry. If his second brother demanded repayment, he'd be in deep trouble.
After all, he owed his second brother a full thirty thousand taels of silver! His monthly allowance was only a hundred taels. Thirty thousand taels... Even selling himself wouldn't fetch that much!
Watching from beside them, Ning Sang-sang's lips curved slightly, and she muttered inwardly:
This little bro is apologizing so obsequiously because he's afraid Second Brother will get angry and demand his money back, isn't he?
With his little scheme exposed, Ning Hui coughed awkwardly a few times. "Second Brother, Big Sister, let's go."
"Let's go," Ning Chengxiao agreed.
Only when his second brother made no mention of repayment did the great stone weighing on Ning Hui's heart finally settle.
The three of them headed home together.
On the way, Ning Chengxiao earnestly warned Ning Hui, "Stay away from Yan Xuanjing from now on." Someone like Yan Xuanjing was far too deeply calculating. His foolish, simplehearted younger brother would suffer for associating with him.
Ning Hui immediately frowned. "Second Brother, Brother A-Xuan is a very good person. Don't be prejudiced against him, and don't look down on him like everyone else does!"
Ning Chengxiao said, "..."
I'm afraid Yan Xuanjing will spirit you away, you little rascal! Ning Chengxiao grumbled inwardly. But seeing how fiercely Ning Hui defended Yan Xuanjing, he knew he couldn't force the issue. He had to try another approach. Just as he was about to say something more, Ning Hui spoke first. "Second Brother, I'm not stupid. I can tell right from wrong and good from bad. Brother A-Xuan is a good person. He's just a little cold."
Seeing his younger brother so protective of Yan Xuanjing, Ning Chengxiao felt rather helpless. He was about to say something when his younger sister spoke as well. "Second Brother, let's go. Yan Xuanjing won't hurt Hui."
Yan Xuanjing thinks of little bro as his younger brother. He won't hurt him.
Ning Sang-sang felt great sympathy for Yan Xuanjing. His childhood had been so wretched that he had become ruthless and cruel. Without that ruthlessness, he could never have survived in a place as dark as Great Yan's imperial palace. She felt that anyone raised in the same circumstances might well have turned out just like him.
Hearing his younger sister's words, Ning Chengxiao fell silent. He decided to let his younger brother associate with Yan Xuanjing if he wanted to. After all, Yan Xuanjing wouldn't hurt him.
At the Flower-Viewing Banquet, Pei Yunluo had been in low spirits ever since learning that Ning Sang-sang had left. Ning Sang-sang's words about Zhang Yu kept circling in her mind. As she recalled every little moment they had shared, Pei Yunluo couldn't believe that her proud, upright Jade Darling could be the sort of person Ning Sang-sang had described.
"Nonsense! That wretched girl Ning Sang-sang must be talking nonsense!" The more Pei Yunluo thought, the angrier she became. She slapped the table, stood up, and strode outside. She intended to sneak out of the residence and find Zhang Yu to get a clear answer.
Once outside, she instructed Feicui, her personal maid waiting at the door, "If my parents or eldest brother come looking for me, tell them I didn't sleep well last night and am resting."
Feicui understood at once: the Commandery Princess was sneaking out again to see her sweetheart, Zhang Yu. She hurriedly tried to dissuade her. "Commandery Princess, the Flower-Viewing Banquet is today! If you sneak out at a time like this, the Princess Royal could easily find out!"
The Commandery Princess had kept her relationship with Zhang Yu hidden from the Princess Royal and the rest of her family. Apart from Feicui, no one knew. Whenever the Commandery Princess met Zhang Yu in secret, she made Feicui keep watch outside. If the Princess Royal found out, Feicui would be in terrible trouble.
Pei Yunluo frowned. "Who will know if you don't tell them? Just do as I say. If my parents or eldest brother ask, tell them I'm feeling unwell and resting." Without waiting for Feicui's reply, Pei Yunluo hurried out of the courtyard.
Watching Pei Yunluo leave, Feicui sighed helplessly. She knew her mistress loved Zhang Yu deeply, but she felt that he wasn't worthy of the Commandery Princess. Moreover, she kept feeling that Zhang Yu wasn't a decent man and had approached the Commandery Princess with an ulterior motive.
After leaving the residence, Pei Yunluo headed straight for Zhang Yu's current lodgings.
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