Yuexiang Courtyard was a well - known brothel in the capital. As soon as Sun Jiming said this, the smile on Young Master Wang's face began to fade. He forced himself to say, "What do you mean, Brother Sun?"
Sun Jiming gave a humble smile. "Young Master Wang, don't misunderstand. I..."
"Jiming, it's so lively here. Why didn't you call me?"
A clear male voice interrupted Sun Jiming. Everyone looked over.
At the front was a man in a silver - white brocade robe with dark patterns. He was tall and slender, with a handsome face and a faint smile. His tone was full of familiarity.
But Sun Jiming was startled and quickly got up to greet him. "Your Highness the Crown Prince, you've come. Why didn't you let this student come to welcome you?"
"It's okay. Jiming, you don't need to be so polite with me. I'm just accompanying the Third Princess out for a stroll today. She's been feeling bored in the palace recently. Hearing that it's lively here, we came to join in the fun. Jiming, you won't be unwelcoming, will you?"
It turned out that this was the current Crown Prince of Dayue, Qin Ling.
"Your Highness, what are you saying? This student welcomes you with all his heart!"
Sun Jiming immediately got up and invited the Crown Prince to take the seat of honor.
After the Crown Prince sat down, he seemed to just remember and pointed to the person behind him. "Jiming, this is my cousin, Qin Junxing. He'll also study in the Imperial Academy in the future. He just returned to the capital today. I brought him here to get to know everyone."
Qin Junxing...
Sun Jiming immediately realized who the person in front of him was. He bowed and saluted. "This student pays respects to Your Highness the Prince."
In the past few days, there had been rumors in the capital that Qin Junxing, the only son of the Protectorate Princess, was going to return to the capital from the northern border. He didn't expect to meet him in his own home today. Presumably, the news that the prince had appeared in the capital would spread tomorrow.
It was said that this prince didn't take his father's surname but his mother's.
His mother was the elder sister of the current emperor. She commanded 700,000 frontier troops and had been guarding the northern border all year round, deterring the foreign tribes.
Thanks to the presence of this princess, no one or horse from the northern border had dared to cross the border for ten years.
This prince had grown up in the northern border with his mother since childhood. It was rumored that he could go to battle and kill enemies at the age of ten. He was burly and had a fierce appearance. It was said that because he couldn't find a wife in the northern border, the princess sent him back to the capital, hoping that the emperor, his uncle, would bestow a marriage on him.
Sun Jiming was still thinking about the rumors about this prince when he heard a slightly hoarse voice say, "Young Master Sun, there's no need for so many formalities."
...
That was it?
Sun Jiming had bowed slightly to show his respect. Now he looked over in a daze and met a pair of deep, black eyes.
The owner of those eyes was dressed in a black suit, with a white warm jade pendant hanging from his waist, which didn't look out of place at all.
His skin was a bit dark. Different from the elegant and refined men in the capital, this prince had a wildness of the grassland. His aura unconsciously made people want to take a step back.
But surprisingly, this prince was extremely good - looking.
The Crown Prince was known as the most handsome man in the capital, but on closer inspection, this prince's facial features were even more delicate than the Crown Prince's.
Sure enough, rumors couldn't be trusted. It just seemed that this prince was a bit hard to approach!
Sun Jiming, the well - versed young master, didn't know how to make small talk for the first time. It was the Crown Prince who saved the day. "Jiming, my cousin is just like this. You'll get to know him better after more contact."
Sun Jiming smiled. "It's already an honor for this student that the prince is willing to come. Your Highness the Crown Prince, how about we move to the garden?"
Unexpectedly, the Crown Prince waved his hand. "The scenery here is very nice. And the Third Princess said she wanted to show off in front of Scholar Sun. As her elder brother, I also want to see my sister's skills."
As he said this, he looked up at the attic, obviously knowing what was going on up there.
Seeing the Crown Prince's look, Sun Jiming knew that the prince was interested. He didn't dare to go against his will, so he had to order the servants to decorate the place again.
The others had been stunned when the Crown Prince appeared. It wasn't until the Crown Prince said, "What were you talking about so lively just now?"
Sun Jiming: "..." Did he have to have such a good memory?
He wanted to find an excuse to cover it up, but unfortunately, Young Master Wang wanted to show off in front of the Crown Prince and spilled the beans directly.
After the Crown Prince heard it, he became interested. "The storyteller in the teahouse in the south of the city? I'm really curious. Which teahouse is it? The storyteller's stories are even known by the young ladies in the boudoir. I must take my cousin to listen some other day."
He then looked at his silent cousin. "Junxing, what do you think?"
Qin Junxing lifted his eyelids and glanced at the Crown Prince, then said, "As you wish."
Everyone was shocked by his attitude, but the Crown Prince didn't care. Instead, he smiled good - naturedly. "Since that's the case, then I'll trouble Jiming to find out which teahouse it is."
Sun Jiming had no choice but to call a servant over and whisper some instructions in his ear.
The servant came back not long after. When the Crown Prince saw him, he called him over. "Did you find out?"
The servant of the Sun family was a bit nervous, but he didn't lose his courtesy. He replied respectfully, "Your Highness the Crown Prince, it's the Lingfeng Teahouse in the south of the city."
"Lingfeng Teahouse?" The Crown Prince repeated it to himself, then looked at the servant again. "Do you know which young lady told you this?"
Hearing the Crown Prince's question, everyone's eyes turned to the servant of the Sun family.
No one noticed that there was a hint of surprise on the prince's face when he heard this name.
Perhaps because of nervousness, the servant of the Sun family subconsciously glanced at Sun Jiming. When he realized who was in front of him, he quickly averted his eyes and answered honestly, "Your Highness, it was the young lady who told this servant."
"In that case, thank you for your hard work." The Crown Prince seemed to be just asking casually. Not getting the answer he wanted, he wasn't disappointed. He just sent the servant away.
Seeing this, Sun Jiming quickly took over the conversation to divert the Crown Prince's attention.
Up in the attic, because of the Third Princess's attitude, Xie Fengran was being cold - shouldered like never before.
Sun Yuelan had been pulled by the Third Princess all the time, so no one paid attention to Xie Fengran either.
It wasn't until a servant of the Sun family came up.
It turned out that Sun Jiming didn't want to attract attention, so he didn't let the servant ask his own sister. Instead, he went directly to Xie Fengran and told the servant to keep it a secret in front of the Crown Prince.
Xie Fengran didn't know who was so bored to ask this question.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention to her, she simply watched the gathering of the young masters in the garden, trying to find out who this bored person was.
Unfortunately, there were barriers around the pavilion. She looked for a long time but didn't find anything. Just as she was about to look away, she unexpectedly met a pair of deep eyes.
Those cold and emotionless eyes made her feel a sense of ridicule for no reason.
What did this mean?
But before she could think further, the owner of those eyes looked away. Unable to find the person, Xie Fengran had to look away.
By this time, the talent show in the attic was coming to an end. The young ladies had written or painted. Almost everyone had left their works of their specialties. Even Xie Yunxi had written a calligraphy work!
The Third Princess seemed to just come to join in the fun. She just watched the others write and paint, and occasionally said a few words to Sun Yuelan. When Sun Yuelan announced the end, the Third Princess suddenly said,
"Xie Fengran, everyone here has left their works. Why don't you? Do you look down on the Sun family and the Women's Academy?"
Here it comes!
Xie Fengran murmured to herself. She knew that this princess wouldn't let her go so easily.
"Your Highness, why do you say so? Fengran just knows that she is not well - learned and is ashamed to make a fool of herself today. This subject's daughter respects Scholar Sun very much and has great reverence for the Women's Academy."
Xie Fengran met the Third Princess's gaze fearlessly and gave a charming smile.
Only then did everyone notice that the eldest daughter of the Marquis's Mansion was extremely beautiful when she smiled, especially her pair of eyes, which were full of charm.
"Humph!" The Third Princess curled her lips, showing a sarcastic smile. She said maliciously, "But this princess heard that the old lady of the Xie Mansion once said that the Women's Academy was 'immoral'. I wonder how Miss Xie would explain this?"
Now everyone could see that the princess really didn't like the eldest daughter of the Xie family. She was so aggressive. If she answered incorrectly, she would not only offend the Sun family but also easily be accused of disrespect.
Everyone wanted to see how Xie Fengran would answer.