"Grandmother!"
Xie Yunxi's eyes instantly turned red, and tears welled up in her eyes. She looked like a pitiful little thing that made one's heart ache.
Sure enough, the only man seated couldn't sit still any longer. His lips twitched, and he looked at the Elder Lady Xie. "Mother..."
"Bang!"
The Elder Lady Xie slapped the table with her palm, and Xie Yi immediately swallowed the second half of his sentence.
"Xie Yunxi, stop acting like that. What kind of etiquette is it for a young lady from a noble family to look like this?"
The Elder Lady Xie's face darkened, and everyone in the room didn't even dare to breathe loudly.
Xie Fengran sighed and couldn't sit still either. Such a nice family reunion dinner had turned out like this. This Xie Yunxi was really restless.
Did she really think that Father would indulge her now? That Grandmother would turn a blind eye?
She didn't even think that from now on, when she went out, she would represent the face of the Marquis Mansion. After what happened in the palace, did Xie Yunxi still think she could take advantage of Father? There was no way!
Seeing the atmosphere turn stiff, a teacup was stuffed into the Elder Lady's hand. "Grandmother, calm down. It's just that Sister has just returned to the mansion today. Maybe she doesn't know the current situation in the mansion. You can just ask the maid to teach her. There's no need to get angry and hurt your body!"
The Elder Lady Xie glared at Xie Yunxi and then took the tea. She finally gave Xie Fengran some face.
Xie Yunxi was also frightened by the Elder Lady Xie's look and stood there at a loss!
"Sister, what Grandmother said is all for your own good. As the saying goes, there can be no square without a compass. Concubine Yuan can barely be considered half a mistress, and now she's under house arrest. There's absolutely no reason for her to dine with the master. You should apologize to Grandmother. If you make Grandmother angry, it's your filial piety!"
"You..." Xie Yunxi glared at Xie Fengran angrily. She didn't understand how Xie Fengran had changed so much in just over a month!
Xie Fengran raised her eyes and met Xie Yunxi's gaze.
Her expression suddenly changed, showing a hint of mockery, as if she was mocking Xie Yunxi for humiliating herself.
How could Xie Yunxi bear such humiliation? She gritted her teeth and was about to explode!
"Elder Lady, Concubine Yuan is here!"
This shout was like a basin of cold water poured over Xie Yunxi's head, waking her up.
What was she doing?
With this thought, she immediately knelt down. "Grandmother, please forgive me. It's because I'm ignorant and behaved rudely. I don't understand the rules. Please, Grandmother, spare me for the sake of my love for my birth mother!"
Just as she was speaking, Concubine Yuan came in from the door. Seeing Xie Yunxi on the ground, a flicker of pain flashed in her eyes. Without thinking, she threw herself at Xie Yi's feet. "My Lord Marquis, Yunxi just returned to the mansion today. She's ignorant. Please spare her!"
Concubine Yuan knew that she wasn't in the good graces of the Elder Lady, so she didn't dare to plead with the Elder Lady.
Instead, Xie Yi felt pity for Concubine Yuan, who was crying uncontrollably.
"Mother, look, Xier already knows her mistake. Please spare her!"
He looked so sincere that it seemed as if they were a family of three.
Xie Fengran wasn't surprised by this scene. Anyway, as long as Concubine Yuan and her daughter were around, her father was always defenseless.
It's just...
Out of the corner of her eye, Xie Fengran glanced at her mother beside her. She saw that her mother's eyes were fixed on Concubine Yuan's hands holding Xie Yi, and her expression couldn't hold up!
She shook her head secretly. She thought that after being taught by Grandmother for so many days, her mother would understand, but unexpectedly, she still only had Father in her heart and eyes, and couldn't see anything else!
"Fine! Since you don't mind, I won't be the bad guy. But from now on, if you dare to disgrace the Xie family's reputation outside the Xie family's gate, I will never spare you!"
"Granddaughter will always remember Grandmother's teachings and will never dare to disgrace the Xie family's reputation!"
Xie Yunxi was very obedient. Seeing her like this, the Elder Lady Xie's expression softened. "Alright, get up. Stop crying. What a sight!"
Concubine Yuan knew when to stop. She got up from the ground and stood behind the Elder Lady. She took a pair of chopsticks from the maid and served the Elder Lady some dishes. "Elder Lady, you usually like this duck the most. Try if it tastes good?"
Xie Fengran glanced at Concubine Yuan and thought that she could recognize the situation. She knew that it was better to serve the Elder Lady than her mother.
Not only could she curry favor with Grandmother, but she wouldn't be criticized for breaking the rules.
Poor Yunshi only had Xie Yi in her heart and eyes at this moment. She only cared about serving Xie Yi dishes!
The Elder Lady glanced at Yunshi and was really angry in her heart.
So she just let Concubine Yuan serve her.
Seeing that the Elder Lady Xie didn't say anything, Xie Fengran knew in her heart that today's scene caused by Xie Yunxi was over in Grandmother's heart!
Thinking of this, she felt quite melancholy.
She had worked so hard to gain a foothold in front of Grandmother and won her father's attention, but she still couldn't compare to the crying of these mother and daughter!
Just as Xie Fengran had this thought and was about to remind her mother to pay attention to the situation, the butler's voice, as if facing a great enemy, came from outside the door. "My Lord Marquis, the Crown Prince is here!"
...
In the reception hall in the outer courtyard, the Crown Prince sat upright on the upper seat. While drinking tea, he sized up the surroundings with his eyes. His sight fell on a calligraphy hanging on the wall.
Appreciation flashed in his eyes. "The calligraphy of the late Marquis is truly the best in our dynasty. Ji Ming, take a look!"
Sun Jiming also noticed this calligraphy and nodded in agreement. "The late Marquis was extremely talented. He is really admirable!"
The Crown Prince deeply agreed, but when he thought of the current Marquis of Dingguo, he felt a headache.
It was said that a tiger father doesn't have a dog son. Why didn't the current Marquis of Dingguo inherit half of the late Marquis's talent?
Just as he was thinking, there came the sound of soft footsteps outside the study. The Elder Lady Xie led Xie Yi and Yunshi into the study.
Seeing the Crown Prince, they quickly bowed down.
"Greetings to Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
The Crown Prince glanced around but didn't see Xie Fengran. A flicker of disappointment flashed in his eyes.
But then he thought that it was really inappropriate for an unmarried girl to come out to meet guests.
So he quickly helped the Elder Lady Xie up. "Elder Lady, there's no need for such formalities. I'm here today on my mother's orders to give rewards to Miss Xie, and I also have something to talk to Miss Xie about."
The Elder Lady Xie immediately understood that the Crown Prince had other motives.
She thought for a while. Before she could speak, Xie Yi spoke first.
He told the butler, "Go and invite the two young ladies here."
The Crown Prince's eyes flashed, and he spoke up to stop him. "My Lord Marquis, I'm looking for the eldest young lady."
Xie Yi's expression froze for a moment, looking a bit embarrassed.
The Elder Lady Xie glared at Xie Yi from an angle that no one noticed and told the butler, "Go and invite the eldest young lady!"
"Yes!"
The Crown Prince pointed at Sun Jiming beside him and introduced him to the Elder Lady Xie. "This is Young Master Sun from the Sun Mansion, Sun Jiming!"
"I pay my respects to the Elder Lady, the Marquis, and the Lady!"
Sun Jiming was tall and handsome. Standing beside the Crown Prince, he was not overshadowed at all.
The Elder Lady Xie nodded and said gently, "Your mother was a rare beauty in the capital when she was young. Now that I've seen you, you're even more outstanding than your mother was back then. I've heard that you're currently serving the Emperor with the Crown Prince. I'm sure you're very talented. It's really enviable for Scholar Sun to have such a son!"
Hearing this, Xie Yi suddenly felt as if he'd been shot by an arrow!