Seeing the panicked flinch from most of Su Yao's friends, Wu Ling quickly stood and strode forward to greet the two young men with cupped hands and a very slight bow. "Brother Xiong and Brother Liu, was it?" Wu Ling greeted the two men directly. "We should give the fairies here time to prepare themselves for the banquet," he continued smoothly. "Sister Xiang was just scolding me for being where I shouldn't be. Besides, there's nothing to drink here but tea. I'm sure Young Lord Fang must have a few jugs of fine wine to start the evening with shouldn't he?"
"I don't see why we can't just bring the beauties with us," the golden haired young man said loudly, his eyes scanning around the room before settling on the curvy figure of Zheng Qingye. "I'm sure having a beauty or two to pour for us would only make the wine sweeter."
"Of that, I have no doubt!" Wu Ling readily agreed. Stepping close to the two men, Wu Ling wrapped an arm around their shoulders and leaned in close to whisper to them. "I wonder if Brother Liu and Brother Xiong know which sect owns the Drifting Silk Pavilion?"
"What?" Xiong Dahuo said in surprise. "I've never heard of any sect owning this place." In truth, even if it was commonly known that the Drifting Silk Pavilion was owned by a powerful sect, Xiong Dahuo still wouldn't have heard it. As much as he'd put on finery to give face to his friend Fang Lin, he preferred much rougher establishments to the refined and elegant Drifting Silk Pavilion.
"I'd never heard about it either," Liu Mingtao added, giving Wu Ling a skeptical look. Unlike Xiong Dahuo, this was exactly the sort of establishment that the golden-haired youth found to his liking. Not only was it a place that many of his well to do friends would rent out to host lavish parties, it had several secluded gardens where a young man with wandering hands could entertain the company of a young fairy or two if the opportunity presented itself.
"In that case, let this Young Lord show you something special," he whispered in a conspiratorial tone. "Brother Liu, would you give me a moment to speak with the young woman behind you? Then we can retire to Brother Fang's waiting room for a bit of wine and early entertainment," he promised.
"Oh?" Liu Mingtao said, raising an eyebrow at Wu Ling in doubt. Stepping out of the way he gestured grandly to the helpless-looking employee in the hallway. "By all means, I won't bar your way."
Stepping out of the room, Wu Ling glanced briefly at Su Xiang on his way out hoping that she could stand between the hot-blooded young men and the other young women if they took this moment to cause greater trouble. Thankfully, neither of them felt stronger than middle-stage Brawlers so he had no fear of a repeat of being entrapped like he'd been by the late-stage Brawlers of the Red Tiger's Den. Still, it never hurt to be cautious.
When Wu Ling made his move, Su Xiang shifted her own position, noticing that the crimson-haired man's red eyes tracked her with a surprising intensity. The golden-haired young lord, however, seemed more interested in what Wu Ling intended to do than he was in the young women in the waiting room, or at least he was for the moment which was a welcome relief to Zheng Qingye who felt increasingly uncomfortable under the young lord's gaze.
Reaching into the small cosmos sack Huang Yeyan had given him, Wu Ling palmed his new identity jade before showing it discreetly to the young employee. "I wonder if you could carry a message to the Mistress of the house for me. Let her know that I'm joining Young Lord Fang in his waiting room and that I'd appreciate the company of any Sisters who have a discerning palate for wine," he said.
In truth, Wu Ling was taking a significant risk that the people at the Drifting Silk Pavilion would support him. He'd spotted the marker outside proclaiming this to be a business of the Bamboo Silk House, but even if it was, it would fall under the auspices of the sect branch located in the Golden Mist Ward, not the branch of the sect in the Outer Blossom Ward.
If this was a business of the sect closer to home, he could borrow his mother's authority to issue orders to any junior disciples working here. As a direct disciple of an elder, while he couldn't give orders to Wardens or senior Deacons of the sect, there shouldn't be any of either in an external business like this one.
In the Golden Mist Ward, however, he could only make his request and hope that the House Mistress of this business would choose to give him face. If she didn't, he'd find himself very quickly hung out to dry.
Staring at the dark identity jade in Wu Ling's hand the young woman blinked several times before her eyes went wide in shock and a small amount of fear. "Of, of course, Young Lord Wu," she finally managed to say, nearly tripping over herself as she backed away from him. "I-I'll let the housemistress k-know that you're here. I'm sure there are a few Sisters who would be happy to entertain Young Lord Wu and his friends," she stammered.
"You see?" Wu Ling said, returning the identity token discretely to his cosmos bag and turning back to the two young lords. "Wine and beauties, all without disturbing the fairies keeping Young Lord Fang's potential betrothed company. Come, let's go see Fang Lin and tell him the good news," Wu Ling finished with a large smile as he once again wrapped an arm around the shoulders of Xiong Dahuo while placing the other arm around the shoulders of Liu Mingtao before he glanced back at the women in the room.
"Beauties, I'm very sorry but you'll have to suffer without my company for a short time while I drink with these brothers, but I promise, I'll come back to your sides once the banquet begins," he finished with a gleaming smile and a mischievous wink.