Inviting Trouble to the Doorstep

The commotion from the lobby didn't affect the siblings, Shifei Xin and Shiding Hao, who were entirely focused on the dishes laid out before them. One morsel after another was deftly lifted and devoured, as if nothing else in the world mattered.

Even Gan Fanren didn't pay attention to the noise. If it weren't for being with these two, he wouldn't have had a chance to dine at Sichuan Memory Fragrance.

Who in the capital city wouldn't want to indulge in a meal at Sichuan Memory Fragrance? Today, luck was on his side, and he didn't even need to pay for the meal himself. Naturally, he was going to savor every bite, so he could later regale his underlings with stories of his culinary adventure.

However, old habits die hard. People like him, who navigated the streets, had developed the ability to be vigilant and aware of every little movement around them.

Thus, Gan Fanren's fervent devouring of the braised dishes slowed as he hesitated, glancing at the oblivious siblings engrossed in their meal.

"Miss, Sir, it seems someone is looking for you."

"Looking for us? Impossible. We don't know anyone here." Shiding Hao mumbled, his mouth full.

Gan Fanren fell silent momentarily, then walked to the door to listen carefully. But as he placed his hand on the door, it was forcefully pushed open from the outside.

And in walked a haughty young nobleman dressed in brocade.

Shifei Xin and Shiding Hao, unfazed by the intrusion, continued to eat.

"Who are you?"

Shiding Hao, with a mouthful of food, responded incomprehensibly, "Do you know how rude it is to barge in like this? If you barge in so forcefully and startle us, what are we supposed to do? If we choke on our food because of you, will you foot the medical bill?"

The haughty Zhao Young Master: "."

Did he not enter the scene with enough pomp? Why were they still eating?

Aren't they supposed to be awestruck by his presence?

Seeing that they were still calmly eating, Zhao Young Master felt affronted. Crossing his arms, he raised his chin and glanced disdainfully at Shiding Hao, "Are you the impostor pretending to be me?"

Shiding Hao, more concerned with Zhao Young Master's nose than his words, burst into laughter, "Wow, you have such a big nose!"

Zhao Young Master: "."

Is it because he didn't appear intimidating enough?

Seeing his own nose through their eyes, and noting the suppressed chuckles from onlookers, Zhao Young Master's shoulders began twitching involuntarily.

Annoyed to no end, Zhao Young Master walked up to the dining table and slammed his hand down on it.

The force was so strong that the plates on the table trembled.

Ignoring the fleeting expression of pain on Zhao Young Master's face, one might think that his demeanor could intimidate others.

Shiding Hao, observing Zhao Young Master's actions, asked with annoyance, "What's wrong with you? Why did you hit our table?"

Zhao Young Master, enduring the stinging pain in his hand, glared at Shiding Hao with fury, "."

He didn't give a proper entrance, right?

Why could they still eat after seeing him?

Shouldn't they be awed by his presence?

Zhao Young Master had become incensed. He marched to the table, raised his chin again, and proclaimed, "Listen up, I am without a doubt Zhao Shenghao, the true son of the Governor of Huaiyuan. You..."

But before he could finish his sentence, Shiding Hao reached out and pushed down his chin.

"Just like I said, that pose of yours is really unattractive."

Zhao Young Master was caught off guard. "Are you seriously mocking me? I dare you to mock me again!"

Unable to deliver the blow, Zhao Young Master launched another verbal attack, "You did mock me! By using my name to deceive others, you made me lose face. Today, I will not leave until I've turned you into a pig's head."

"Stop it!"

Shiding Hao intercepted Zhao Young Master, earnestly asking, "Do you really want to fight me?"

Thinking Shiding Hao had backed down, Zhao Young Master sneered, "Of course, I came here to beat you up."

Shiding Hao responded calmly, "Alright, I can fight you. But this place is too small, and if we break the furniture, we'll have to pay for it. Are you willing to fight me outside?"

Zhao Young Master, confident that he had intimidated Shiding Hao, replied with a mocking laugh, "Sure, let's go outside. Who's afraid of whom?"

Shiding Hao turned to Shifei Xin, "Sis, pack up the leftovers for me. I'll continue eating when I come back."

Shifei Xin, holding a plate of braised meat that she had discreetly moved to the corner, nodded, "I'll make sure to pack it."

Shiding Hao stood up, declaring, "I'm going to have a fight now."

"Wait."

Shi Fuxin stopped Shi Zhenghe and glanced at Zhao Xiaogongzi (Young Master Zhao) with a playful smile. "Just fighting like that is quite boring, let's make it more interesting."

Shi Zhenghe instantly understood Shi Fuxin's meaning. He imitated the manner of Zhao Xiaogongzi, crossing his arms and looking at him. "Do you dare?"

Zhao Xiaogongzi scoffed, "Who's afraid of whom!" With that, he took a pair of fist-sized jade cabbage ornaments from his waist and said confidently, "If you can defeat me, I'll give you these jade cabbages."

Seeing the jade cabbages, Shi Dinghao's eyes lit up. "Alright, let's do it this way." Worried that Zhao Xiaogongzi might change his mind, he walked up to the window and said, "If you have the guts, follow me." He then jumped out the window.

Seeing this, Zhao Xiaogongzi hesitated for a moment, then his excitement returned. The servants who practiced with him at the mansion never dared to go all out against him, so he found it quite dull. Now that he encountered someone willing to fight seriously, how could he not be happy?

Seeing Zhao Xiaogongzi jump out of the window as well, the inn's shop assistants were somewhat worried. "Boss, shouldn't we stop them? What if something happens?"

The innkeeper didn't speak but looked at Shi Fuxin, who was still leisurely eating at the table, holding a plate of food.

Shi Fuxin noticed someone looking at her, turned her head, and smiled gently. "Boss, please pack the dishes we ate earlier. I'd like to take them with me."

The innkeeper replied with a smile, "Sure, I'll arrange that for you." He paused for a moment and continued, "We offer home delivery service. Miss, if you ever crave dishes from Shuji Braised Delights in the future, just let us know. We'll send them to the Wu Changbo Mansion right away."

Shi Fuxin didn't reply immediately. She turned her head and looked at the intense fight between Shi Dinghao and Zhao Xiaogongzi outside. After a while, just as the innkeeper was beginning to think she wouldn't respond, she said, "Wuchangbo Mansion."

The innkeeper's expression froze briefly at the mention of the name, but he quickly regained his composure. "The inn is aware of that. In the future, if Miss wants dishes from our restaurant, we'll send them to Wuchangbo Mansion."

Shi Fuxin nodded and didn't say more. She watched the fierce battle between her brother and Zhao Xiaogongzi outside the window.

Beside her, Gan Fanren observed Shi Fuxin with some surprise. She wasn't a daughter of a governor, but of a noble house!

Gan Fanren patted his chest, feeling his heart beating irregularly today.

The fight between Shi Dinghao and Zhao Xiaogongzi was already decided, so Shi Fuxin stopped watching and turned to the table. She looked at Gan Fanren and asked, "Where do you live?"

Gan Fanren hesitated for a moment and then smiled as he mentioned a location.

Shi Fuxin said, "These days, I plan to explore the North City. It would be kind of you to show me around."

Gan Fanren smiled, "It's my pleasure to run errands for Miss."

Indeed, what an honor it was. He had unexpectedly caught the eye of a noble lady from the Wu Changbo Mansion.

There were many high-ranking individuals in the capital, and it wasn't something ordinary people like them could easily encounter. To have contact with such an esteemed person was beyond his wildest dreams.

After a while, a shop assistant brought up the packed braised dishes. "How much does it cost?"

The shop assistant smiled and said, "As per Miss's request, the previous meal was complimentary. Now, you'll only be charged for the packed dishes. It's a total of sixteen taels."

Sixteen taels! Shi Fuxin's eyelids twitched involuntarily at the unexpectedly high cost of the dishes.

Their monthly allowance was only two taels of silver, and these sixteen taels were equivalent to her monthly allowance for the next eight months! They didn't even eat that much!

Shi Fuxin looked at the empty plates on the table. Just eight dishes, was it really worth so much?

Doing the calculations, one tael of silver was equivalent to a thousand wén, and one wén was roughly equal to one yuan in the past. Sixteen taels of silver equated to sixteen thousand wén.

Sixteen thousand wén for a table of dishes, it was like robbery!

Shi Fuxin's expression was too clear, making the shop assistant feel awkward.

Gan Fanren touched his nose, realizing that this lady from the Wu Changbo Mansion might not be very affluent. That's probably why she had suggested a wager earlier.

Suppressing her inner discomfort, Shi Fuxin paid the bill and looked at her nearly empty purse with frustration.

Money, she needed to earn money as soon as possible. The expenses in the capital were huge!

She dreaded the possibility of going out for a meal and realizing she didn't have enough money to pay. That would be truly embarrassing.

"Let's go, the fight should be over by now."

Carrying the packed braised dishes, Shi Fuxin left the private room. As she exited the Shuji Braised Delights, she saw Shi Zhenghe finally overpowering Zhao Xiaogongzi and pinning him to the ground.

"You've lost!"

Shi Dinghao extended his hand toward Zhao Xiaogongzi, holding out the jade cabbage ornaments.

Zhao Xiaogongzi had enjoyed the fight today, but he also felt frustrated. He had fought with all his might, which was satisfying, but he was frustrated because the person before him, who he considered a pretender, had better skills and had almost dominated the fight.

"Quick, the jade cabbage!" Shi Dinghao urged, impatiently waving the ornaments in front of Zhao Xiaogongzi.

Seeing Zhao Xiaogongzi's hesitation, Shi Dinghao couldn't help but push further, "Don't tell me you're planning to go back on your word?"

Zhao Xiaogongzi was indeed reluctant to hand over the jade cabbage ornaments. He liked them a lot, otherwise, he wouldn't wear them every day. However, realizing he had lost, he reluctantly took off the jade cabbages and handed them to Shi Dinghao.

Taking the jade cabbages, Shi Dinghao grinned widely at Zhao Xiaogongzi. "If you ever want to spar again, you can come find me. Just prepare some stakes, and I'll fight with you."

With that, he went to find Shi Fuxin.

"Sister, we earned something today."

Shi Dinghao handed a jade cabbage to Shi Fuxin. "One for each of us."

Smiling, Shi Fuxin accepted the ornament and the two siblings left together.

"He's just a foolish kid, coming to me for a fight. I hope I encounter more fools like him in the future, so I can earn some extra money."

The defeated Zhao Xiaogongzi muttered to himself, feeling discontented. He gazed after the departing pair and mumbled, "Just wait, I'll find my brother when I get home."

Shi Fuxin and Shi Dinghao returned to the mansion. Passing by Chuihua Gate, they noticed a tall, slender maid using a broom to sweep away the snow.

"Brother, what are you looking at?"

Shi Dinghao asked curiously as he noticed Shi Fuxin's gaze fixed on the maid.

Shi Fuxin didn't answer immediately. Instead, she walked to an area that hadn't been cleared yet, picked up a stick, and poked it into the snow-covered ground.

The snow was more than ten centimeters deep in some areas and even reached up to forty or fifty centimeters in others.

Looking at the cleared ground where the stick had been, Shi Fuxin smiled and walked over to the maid. "Did you clear all the snow around here by yourself?"

The maid appeared somewhat uneasy when she saw Shi Fuxin and Shi Dinghao. She nodded slightly and replied, "Yes, Sixth Miss, Ninth Young Master. I'm responsible for sweeping the area around Chuihua Gate."

Chuihua Gate connected the front and back courtyards and covered quite a large area.

Observing the maid's forehead only slightly damp and noticing she wasn't out of breath, Shi Fuxin glanced at the slender, clearly defined joints on her hand that held the broom. The hand didn't have much flesh, yet it was powerful.

"You may continue with your work," Shi Fuxin said.

After the siblings left, the maid sighed in relief and picked up the broom to continue sweeping.

Over the next few days, whenever Shi Fuxin went to school, she deliberately detoured to Chuihua Gate to watch the tall maid finish her duties. After sweeping her designated area, she was always called by the stewardess to clear other parts. Even when given additional tasks, she meticulously completed them.

"What's your name?"

After observing for a few days, Shi Fuxin wanted to bring this person into her service. She approached the maid with a smile and struck up a conversation.

The tall maid seemed visibly nervous. "Sixth Miss, I'm called Xiaofang."

Shi Fuxin smiled. "Xiaofang, would you be willing to serve by my side?"

Xiaofang's eyes widened in disbelief upon hearing Shi Fuxin's question. She clearly hadn't expected to catch her mistress's attention.

Shi Fuxin continued, "You can think about it and give me your answer later."

Xiaofang quickly responded, "I'm willing, Miss. However, I only know how to sweep."

Shi Fuxin smiled. "That's fine. Would you be interested in learning other things?"

Xiaofang nodded eagerly. "I'm willing to learn, Miss."

Shi Fuxin said, "As long as you're willing to learn, that's enough. No one is born knowing everything. If you're willing to come to me, I'll talk to my aunt about it later."

Xiaofang nodded fervently. "I'm willing, Miss."

Shi Fuxin asked, "Do you want to discuss this with your family?"

Xiaofang lowered her head. "My parents have passed away. I'm living with my uncle now. I'm sure he and the rest of my family would agree if I were to serve by your side."

"Alright, I understand," Shi Fuxin replied.