Sun Jiming gave a humble smile and bowed his head slightly, replying respectfully, "You flatter me, Madam. My mother often mentions you and says that you, a woman of mettle, are someone she highly admires."
Whoever is complimented with a beaming smile by a young and handsome lad would hardly fail to be pleased, and Madam Xie was no exception.
She smiled more genuinely and almost couldn't wait to hold Sun Jiming's hand to show her fondness.
In the end, reason prevailed, and she refrained from doing anything unbecoming. Instead, she said demurely, "Your mother is a person highly regarded by Emperor Dezong. How can I be worthy of such praise!" In her heart, she felt quite regretful that such a handsome and elegant young man wasn't from her own family.
For a family elder like Madam Xie, someone like Sun Jiming, with a moderate family background and a gentle disposition, was more popular than the Crown Prince.
After all, she couldn't hold the Crown Prince's hand and talk about his parents!
Moreover, given the Crown Prince's status, it was impossible for him to flatter the old lady like Sun Jiming did!
So, while Madam Xie and Sun Jiming were complimenting each other politely, the great task of chatting with the Crown Prince fell to Xie Yi.
After all, Xie Yi was the Marquis and as the head of the family, it was a sign of respect to the Crown Prince for him to receive the guest!
This really put Xie Yi in a bind. He could rattle off which restaurant in the capital served the best dishes, which tavern had the finest drinks, and which brothel had the prettiest girls.
But having a conversation with the Crown Prince was an unprecedented experience!
After struggling for a long time, he finally managed to say, "Your Highness, this tea is excellent. Have some!"
The Crown Prince's expression froze for a moment. Perhaps no one had ever said something was good in front of him.
After all, no matter how good the things in anyone's mansion were, could they be better than those in the Crown Prince's Mansion?
However, the Crown Prince had seen the big picture. He quickly recovered, gave a gentle smile, and said, "It does have a unique flavor. Thank you, Marquis!"
Seeing the Crown Prince's smiling face, Xie Yi perked up and started chatting with the Crown Prince about the fun and food in the capital.
Madam Xie's face grew darker and darker. When Xie Yi started talking about the girls in Fanhua Tower, Madam Xie couldn't bear it any longer and coughed loudly!
Xie Yi came to his senses and realized who was sitting in front of him. His face immediately turned grim!
Although the Crown Prince looked down on Xie Yi's behavior, he didn't make things difficult for him.
Just as he was about to speak up to help Xie Yi out of the awkward situation, Xie Fengran appeared at the door.
The Crown Prince's eyes lit up instantly.
"I pay my respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
"I'm here incognito today, Miss Xie. There's no need for such formalities!"
Xie Fengran straightened up and greeted Sun Jiming.
"Miss Xie, I'm here today on behalf of the Queen Mother to give you a gift."
After saying that, the eunuch behind the Crown Prince took out a box and handed it to the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince took it and personally handed it to Xie Fengran.
Xie Fengran lowered her eyes slightly and looked at the box in the Crown Prince's hand but didn't reach out to take it immediately!
The Crown Prince let out a hearty laugh and said, "The bracelet the Queen Mother bestowed on you before was broken by the third princess. Coincidentally, the Liuli Kingdom has paid tribute with a seven - colored bracelet. The Queen Mother thought it would suit you very well and specifically asked me to give it to you!"
Xie Fengran took it with both hands and thanked him again.
"I'm not worthy of having Your Highness deliver it in person, Fengran feels so honored!"
"Delivering the gift is just a side matter. I also have something to talk to you about," the Crown Prince said, and then added an explanation, "It's about the Women's College!"
After the Crown Prince finished speaking, Madam Xie stood up, glanced at Xie Yi, and said with a smile, "I just remembered that I have some business in the inner courtyard. Fengran, entertain His Highness the Crown Prince well!"
Xie Yi perfectly understood Madam Xie's look and quickly found an excuse to slip away!
For a moment, only Xie Fengran, the Crown Prince, and Sun Jiming were left in the room.
Xie Fengran half - lowered her eyes, feeling inexplicably irritated.
If she had only suspected before, now Madam Xie's attitude was quite obvious.
Now that the Crown Prince had come, it also showed that after the previous incident, the Queen still hadn't given up on the idea of an alliance with the Marquis's Mansion!
It was really like a lingering ghost!
The Crown Prince didn't know about Xie Fengran's dislike. He didn't beat around the bush and directly said, "Miss Xie, His Majesty has appointed several scholars from the Imperial Academy as the interviewers for the Women's College. The list will be announced soon. I know the preferences of these scholars. If you don't mind, I'll have someone send the information to you later!"
"Isn't this inappropriate?" Xie Fengran didn't want to accept the Crown Prince's kindness and showed a hesitant look on her face. "I know Your Highness means well. I'm already grateful enough that Your Highness has told me this news. If I take something from Your Highness, wouldn't it be unfair to the other candidates?"
Xie Fengran became more fluent as she spoke. "His Majesty must have his reasons for appointing these interviewers. I'll have people find out, but I don't want to rely on Your Highness's favor!"
The Crown Prince smiled and didn't force her.
"Well, it's better this way. It can avoid some unnecessary trouble!"
After a pause, the Crown Prince continued, "Actually, His Majesty attaches great importance to the Women's College. I believe you will definitely be admitted to the college. If you top the class, you can represent the college in the competitions between colleges and even appear in the International Tournament. You should keep this in mind!"
"The International Tournament? Is it going to be resumed this year?" Xie Fengran became interested. She knew that due to years of war, the International Tournament hadn't been held for a long time.
"Yes. Now that the northern border countries have ceased fighting with us, His Majesty wants to take this opportunity to resume the International Tournament to showcase our country's might!"
The so - called International Tournament, though named so, was actually a competition of both literature and martial arts held among Dayue and its neighboring small countries.
However, since the end of Emperor Dezong's reign, when the northern border was invaded, the International Tournament had been suspended!
If it were to be resumed now, the capital of Dayue would once again witness the grand occasion of countries gathering.
Just thinking about it, Xie Fengran felt excited.
Although she knew that the Crown Prince had deliberately revealed this to her, she couldn't help but feel a little excited.
She smiled at the Crown Prince and said, "Thank you, Your Highness, for telling me. I will definitely work hard!"
Seeing Xie Fengran's cute face, the Crown Prince felt that this trip was well worth it.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sun Jiming and had an idea. He extended an invitation, "Princess Zhaoyue will be hosting a banquet at Jingyueju tomorrow. I wonder if you would do me the honor of attending?"
"Princess Zhaoyue?"
"Yes. Since you can dine with Miss Sun, you shouldn't show partiality. If Zhaoyue finds out, she might be angry with you!"
"Since the princess has invited me, I will surely attend." Xie Fengran agreed, but her heart sank.
Seeing that Xie Fengran had agreed, the Crown Prince didn't linger. He left with Sun Jiming.
Xie Fengran saw them off to the front gate. She turned around and went back only after seeing the Crown Prince get into the carriage.
Sun Jiming had come in the Crown Prince's carriage and was still sharing the ride with him.
As the Crown Prince's study companion, he was considered one of the Crown Prince's confidants.
But the carriage was deathly quiet at this moment. The Crown Prince half - closed his eyes. After a long while, he suddenly spoke.
"Jiming, aren't you quite familiar with Miss Xie? Why didn't you say a word just now?"