"Get up."
The Crown Prince's calm and domineering voice rang out, and the beauties expressed their gratitude.
Crown Prince Feng Zixiao withdrew his gaze from the beauties and placed it on Hailing. Hailing wanted to ignore him, but since he was staring at her, she felt that if she avoided him, she would appear weak. So she looked up and stared directly at Crown Prince Feng Zixiao.
This was the first time she had seen Feng Zixiao up close. Although she was unwilling, she had to admit that the Creator was biased towards this Crown Prince. Not only was he born with a good figure, but his face was also incomparably beautiful. He was the epitome of a devil's figure and an angel's face. Coupled with his domineering presence, this man was born with the capital to attract people. No wonder women in the Great Zhou Dynasty wanted to marry into the Crown Prince's mansion one after another.
However, this definitely doesn't include her. As a woman who has seen many handsome men in modern times, she wouldn't be so quick to judge someone based on their appearance alone. Moreover, thinking about how the royal family had put her in danger, all she wanted to do now was grab this man by the neck and ask him, "Why the hell did you hurt me?"
But despite her thoughts, she didn't dare to do such a heinous thing in front of so many people.
Crown Prince Feng Zixiao's eyes were as deep as the sea, exuding a cold and chilling aura of malevolence.
But the woman who looked directly at him was neither trembling nor startled, neither dodging nor afraid, which surprised him quite a bit, as most people wouldn't dare to look him in the eye.
This woman does have some courage, but...?
The prince's handsome eyes swept over Hai Ling from head to toe, a fleeting look of disgust passing through them. Although it was only a momentary glint of irritation, Hai Ling still caught it.
Hai Ling smiled, exuding an air of nonchalance. She had seen this kind of look many times before, so she was now completely at ease with it.
The crown prince is nothing special. Doesn't he know that you can't judge a book by its cover?
For a prince to judge people by their appearance shows that he still has weaknesses.
Not only Hai Ling, but even Princess Chang Le, Feng Qian, caught the look of disdain in her brother's eyes and felt a little disappointed. The reason she had brought Hai Ling over was to let her brother know immediately that Hai Ling was different from other women, so that they could make a good first impression on each other. Unfortunately, her brother judged her by her appearance...
Chapter 40 Challenge
The hall was silent; no one spoke.
Aunt Qingyun quickly led several head nuns from Jiaoyuan Academy forward and invited His Highness the Crown Prince and others to sit in the VIP seats. Crown Prince Feng Zixiao ignored Hailing's presence with his narrow, starry eyes, walked past her and Princess Changle, and went into the hall.
Behind him followed the Left Prime Minister, Xi Lingfeng. Xi Lingfeng looked up and swept his eyes over Hai Ling. His eyes were shimmering, like sunlight shining on a blue lake, creating magnificent ripples. It was impossible to discern any of his thoughts, yet one was drawn to those eyes and kept looking at him.
Hailin was startled and quickly lowered her head to avoid him.
Princess Chang Le also pulled Hai Ling to sit to the left of the Crown Prince. To the right of the Crown Prince sat the Left Prime Minister Xi Ling Feng, followed by the Seventh Prince Feng Zi He and the Imperial Censor Wei Lin.
Qingyun, the headmistress of Jiaoyuan Academy, led the people of Jiaoyuan Academy to sit in the lower seats.
At this moment, in the huge hall, those gentle and pretentious young ladies from noble families all had flushed cheeks and gleaming eyes, showing a determination to win. It was clear from the Crown Prince's expression that he did not like the Crown Princess. If they married into the Crown Prince's residence, they might be able to overthrow the Crown Princess and sit in a high position.
His Highness the Crown Prince, seated in the very center, appeared so dazzling and radiant with his casual and relaxed demeanor.
Dressed in a bright yellow brocade robe, with jet-black hair as smooth as silk, and exuding an air of nobility and dominance in every gesture, he captivated the women, making their hearts flutter. But when they glanced at the Crown Princess not far from the Crown Prince, they felt extremely depressed. How could this woman be worthy of such an outstanding Crown Prince?
Surrounded by admirers, Feng Zixiao frequently received Princess Chang Le's stares. He finally turned his head to glance at his younger sister, Feng Qian, sitting beside him. His younger sister was someone to be proud of. Although she was in the royal family, she was not arrogant or haughty because of her privileges. On the contrary, she was well-mannered, upright, and had a cheerful personality. She was deeply loved by their father and mother, and he liked her very much too. But what was wrong with this girl today? She kept glaring at him.
"Qian'er, what's wrong?"
Feng Zixiao leaned slightly forward to ask Feng Qian. Feng Qian was initially very angry and didn't want to talk to him, but when she thought of his purpose, her face immediately lit up with a smile, and she spoke gently.
"Your Majesty has never been to the Banana Garden Study before. You must have come here today because you know that Your Majesty is here."
After Feng Qian finished speaking, she stepped back a little, so that Hai Ling, who was sitting next to her, came into the sight of Crown Prince Feng Zixiao.
She just wanted to show the Crown Prince how extraordinary Hai Ling was. Unlike other women who would swoon over him, she possessed an air of dignified composure and elegance. He should be grateful to have such a person as his Crown Princess.
However, Feng Qian's hopes were dashed in no time.
Because Feng Zixiao didn't follow up on her words, but instead gave an order directly.
"Isn't this an assessment? Let's begin."
Aunt Qingyun immediately stood up and accepted the order: "Yes."
The assessment for Jiaoyuan Bookstore has officially begun.
Jiang Feixue was overjoyed to see the Crown Prince dislike Jiang Hailing. She felt a surge of happiness and satisfaction. A smile finally appeared on her usually tense face. She secretly plotted to make this woman look bad later, so that the Crown Prince would dislike her even more. The more she thought about it, the more excited she became.
Princess Chang Le was furious, her beautiful face turning cold. The Seventh Prince, Feng Zihe, was also very angry. For a moment, some were happy while others were sad. At this time, the assessment began.
The assessment is divided into several parts: etiquette, poetry and calligraphy, food, embroidery, clothing, and medical knowledge, totaling six stages. Moreover, not everyone can participate in the assessment. Shuxuan selects twelve people based on their usual performance. There are four prizes for the twelve people being assessed, so whether or not you win a prize is very important.
The first round of assessment was on etiquette, which was performed by people from the Book Pavilion, followed by questions from the Headmistress, and the beauties answered.
The first woman to step onto the stage was Su Qiao, the daughter of the Minister of Works of the Great Zhou Dynasty. She was sixteen years old, petite and exquisite, and I felt a pang of tenderness upon seeing her. I became somewhat nervous as soon as I stepped onto the stage.
Normally, she would definitely perform very well, but now that His Highness the Crown Prince and the Left Prime Minister are watching, it's inevitable that she'll feel nervous.
However, she quickly adjusted her mindset and began answering questions based on the performance, which were all predictable and unlikely to result in any mistakes.
Hai Ling and Feng Qian watched with little interest, and the two of them chatted quietly and casually.
They didn't even watch the performance on stage. Not only them, but also Crown Prince Feng Zixiao and others were getting impatient.
Fortunately, the first round of assessments ended quickly, and all twelve beauties performed well. The second round of assessments, which included poetry and calligraphy, followed.
This round is very important, as it will reveal the talents of these beauties. Moreover, it's all improvisation, so the twelve will soon be ranked. However, Hai Ling and Feng Qian are not interested in this, so they exchanged a glance, ignored the performance that had already begun on stage, and prepared to go for a walk.
Before Hailing could take two steps after getting up, she heard a clear and melodious voice from the high platform.
"Your Highness, please stop."
In an instant, all eyes fell on Hai Ling and Feng Qian.
Now, Hailin can't help but attract attention.