"Go back? Come on, let's eat on the top floor." Ning Sang-sang started toward the top floor.
Since she had come to the restaurant her fifth senior brother owned, she might as well try the food.
Ning Hui said, "Sis, you need to book the top floor in advance. We didn't make a reservation, so we can't get in."
"We don't need a reservation. I know the manager of the Fragrant Drunkard Tower."
"Huh?" A little startled, Ning Hui hurried to her side and asked curiously, "Sis, how do you know the manager of the Fragrant Drunkard Tower?"
Ning Chengxiao was curious, too.
"The manager of the Fragrant Drunkard Tower is the son of Old Wang, who lives next door to me." Ning Sang-sang casually made up an excuse to fool him, without telling him that the Fragrant Drunkard Tower belonged to her fifth senior brother.
Ning Hui believed every word she said. "Then are you close to Old Wang's son?"
"Obviously. If we weren't close, would I go ask him to bend the rules and let us onto the top floor?"
"Wait, that's not right, Sis. The manager of the Fragrant Drunkard Tower is surnamed Zhang, not Wang."
Ning Sang-sang lied without blushing or missing a beat. "He took his mother's surname, not Old Wang's."
Ning Hui accepted her explanation without the slightest doubt.
Ning Chengxiao, however, frowned, inexplicably feeling that Ning Sang-sang was spouting nonsense.
Ning Sang-sang brought Ning Chengxiao and Ning Hui to the entrance of the top floor, which glittered with gold and splendor, exuding luxury.
Ning Hui thought to himself, One meal up here costs three thousand taels of silver. That's half a year's allowance! It's far too extravagant. Forget it, we'd better not eat here. My wallet couldn't take it.
"Sis..." Ning Hui caught Ning Sang-sang's arm.
"What is it?" Ning Sang-sang stopped and turned to look at him.
"Why don't we eat at another restaurant and save Second Brother some silver?"
Ning Chengxiao said, "No need. We'll eat here."
He was willing to splurge on a meal for his younger sister.
Just then, a waiter approached with a warm welcome and said respectfully, "Please show me your reservation confirmation."
"I want to see your manager," Ning Sang-sang told him.
"Please wait a moment, miss. I'll let him know."
Upon hearing that Ning Sang-sang wanted to see their manager, the waiter readily agreed and went to inform him.
Soon, the waiter returned with a middle-aged man. He looked modest and courteous, generous and amiable, but his eyes held a merchant's shrewdness. He was clearly no ordinary man.
"Manager Zhang, that's the young lady who wanted to see you." The waiter pointed toward Ning Sang-sang as he spoke to Manager Zhang beside him.
Manager Zhang approached Ning Sang-sang and asked with a smile, "Miss, the waiter said you wanted to see me. What can I do for you?"
Hearing this, Ning Hui looked at Ning Sang-sang and asked, "Sis, didn't you say the manager of the Fragrant Drunkard Tower was the son of Old Wang next door? Why doesn't he recognize you?"
Manager Zhang: "???"
What son of Old Wang next door?
My surname is Zhang. Where did this father surnamed Wang come from?!
If he hadn't recognized the young gentlemen before him and known they were the second and fourth young masters of the Duke of Ning's Residence, he would have suspected these three were here to cause trouble at the Fragrant Drunkard Tower!
"Ahem." Manager Zhang gave a light cough and opened his mouth, about to say something, only to hear the young lady solemnly tell the fourth young master of the Ning family, "Old Wang's son hasn't seen me in years. A girl changes eighteen times as she grows up, so of course he wouldn't recognize me." Then she called out to him excitedly, "Uncle Zhang, it's me, little Sang! Don't you recognize me? You even held me when I was little!"
Manager Zhang: "???"
"Miss, you..." Ning Sang-sang's antics left Manager Zhang at a loss for words. Looking at her, he finally managed to squeeze out those words, only for her to say, "Uncle Zhang, don't speak. Hear me out."
Manager Zhang: "..."
"Second Brother, Hui, wait here for me. I'm going to have a few private words with Uncle Zhang to jog his memory."
With that, Ning Sang-sang pulled Manager Zhang away without waiting for either of them to speak.
Only after she had dragged Manager Zhang somewhere out of Ning Chengxiao and Ning Hui's sight did Ning Sang-sang stop.
"Miss, you've mistaken me for someone else. I'm not the Uncle Zhang you're talking about," Manager Zhang told Ning Sang-sang.
Ning Sang-sang said nothing. She simply took a jade pendant from the little bag she carried and handed it to him.
The moment he saw the jade pendant, Manager Zhang made to drop to his knees. Ning Sang-sang swiftly caught him and said, "From now on, you're the son of Old Wang next door to me-my Uncle Zhang."
Manager Zhang hurriedly nodded in agreement and said respectfully, "Yes, miss."
The jade pendant this young lady held belonged exclusively to his young master. Seeing the pendant was the same as seeing its owner, and anyone who presented it had to be obeyed unconditionally. Never mind asking him to be some Old Wang's son-even if she told him to change his surname to Wang right now, he would agree.
Looking in the direction Ning Sang-sang and Manager Zhang had gone, Ning Hui curiously asked Ning Chengxiao beside him, "Second Brother, what do you think Sis went to talk to Manager Zhang about?"
Before Ning Chengxiao could reply, a snide voice rang out. "Well, well, if it isn't the fourth young master of the Ning family! What brings you to the top floor of the Fragrant Drunkard Tower today? Has your father increased your allowance?"
A youth in lavish clothes came up from downstairs, glittering with jewels and waving a folding fan in his hand. He looked outrageously ostentatious, and two burly guards followed behind him.
At those mocking words, Ning Hui's expression changed. He turned toward the newcomer and snapped, "Chen Zihao, cut the snide remarks, or I'll beat you to death."
Chen Zihao waved his fan and looked at Ning Hui with contempt. "Ning Hui, before you try to beat me up, you'd better see whether you have what it takes. Could your paltry skills beat these two guards of mine? I paid a fortune to hire these warriors. They're highly skilled."
Before Ning Hui could speak, Ning Chengxiao said coldly, "Just because he can't beat them doesn't mean I can't. If you're looking for trouble, Third Young Master Chen, don't blame me for showing no mercy."
Chen Zihao opened his mouth, about to say something, when he saw Ning Hui hurry off in another direction. Following him with his eyes, he saw Ning Hui run up to a very pretty young lady and speak to her happily, looking quite close to her.
Chen Zihao raised his brows and walked over to Ning Hui.
"Well, Ning Hui, look at you! Where did you meet such a pretty girl?"
As he spoke, Chen Zihao turned to Ning Sang-sang. "Miss, what's so good about staying with Ning Hui? Come with me, and I guarantee you'll..."
Thud.
Hearing him speak disrespectfully to his sister, Ning Hui lost his temper and punched him. "Chen Zihao, you're asking to die! This is my sister!"
Crack.
The jade fan in Chen Zihao's hand fell to the floor and broke. His expression instantly darkened.
"Young master!"
The two guards hurried forward to steady him.
Furious, Chen Zihao opened his mouth, about to order them to teach Ning Hui a lesson, when a clear female voice rang out:
[You still have the leisure to act like a mad dog here? Your father, Duke Chen, keeps a mistress outside the household, and her children are even older than you. Your position is hanging by a thread.]
Chen Zihao flew into a rage at those words. "What nonsense are you spouting? I..." Yet no matter what he did, the words he wanted to say refused to leave his mouth. Some mysterious force was preventing him from saying them, as though he were possessed. Refusing to accept it, Chen Zihao desperately tried to force the words out, but no amount of effort worked.
Chen Zihao instantly let out an enraged scream inside his head. Aaaaargh!
Ning Chengxiao and Ning Hui were also stunned by Ning Sang-sang's sudden words, scarcely able to believe them. Duke Chen was renowned as a good man and enjoyed an excellent reputation. Who would have thought he kept a mistress outside his household, whose children were even older than Chen Zihao? This truly was shocking news.
Manager Zhang couldn't hear Ning Nuannuan's thoughts, so he had no idea everyone was reeling in shock. Sensing the strange atmosphere, he cautiously said, "Whatever misunderstanding there is, why don't you go inside, sit down, and talk it over?"
Ning Sang-sang turned to Ning Chengxiao and Ning Hui. "Second Brother, Hui, let's go inside."
Ning Chengxiao and Ning Hui nodded. Neither paid Ning Zihao any attention as they walked straight inside.
Before you continue