Chapter 957: Private Meeting

"Good evening, Knight Han Mi Er Dun of Lei Jiede."

Xia De did not know the young Prince Na Sai Er Ka Wen Di Xu. This was a young royal gentleman wearing a black tuxedo and being polite. And Prince Na Sai Er, who had the iconic fiery red hair of the Ka Wen Di Xu family, obviously knew Xia De. After the salon hostess Lei Qianya chatted with Xia De casually at the door, he took the initiative to talk to Xia De.

Of course, this young prince was quickly snatched away by A Jie Li Na. As the princess most favored by the king, A Jie Li Na's status was obviously higher than Na Sai Er, who did not participate in political affairs and had no power. But A Jie Li Na didn't say a few words to Xia De either. After all, he couldn't block the door, which would affect the guests behind.

Just as Xia De thought, because Princess Ring Ring Mage Li Te had encountered some accidents in Huntington and the Lake View Manor in public occasions, the church directly arranged Shushi for protection tonight. It was not easy to arrange a few strangers who obviously didn't match the atmosphere in a salon with only thirty-odd people, so the church disguised them as staff of the Divination Association.

Judging from the number of people, that should be the full 7-person team of the orthodox god 【Lady of Creation】, also known as the 【God of Creation and Destruction】. These people did not appear directly in the room where the salon was held, but were waiting in the next room. Because they all gathered together and frequently used strange techniques as if they were investigating, Xia De could confirm their location.

Lu Wei Ya should be waiting for Xia De's news in the room on the third floor, and the servants in the salon were all arranged by Lei Qianya. Seeing that nothing happened for the time being, after Xia De entered the room, he pretended that he was really here to participate in the reading salon.

This was originally a divination room of the Divination Association. Now the divination-related utensils were moved to both sides of the room. The fireplace in the room was lit, and soft sofas were placed in front of the fireplace in an untidy manner.

There were tables with wine and desserts by the wall for guests to take at will. Besides sofas, there were also several square tables with round stools placed on both sides of the fireplace.

People who had already taken their seats were chatting with each other. Compared with banquets and balls, the reading salon had a bit less noise, at least everyone knew that this was a gathering of "cultured people."

Xia De didn't see anyone he knew for the time being. After picking a sofa at random and sitting down, he put the "Han Mi Er Dun Detective Story Collection" in his hand on the small table beside him, and picked up a prose collection called "Sunset of Dusk" from the table to read. Not long after he sat down, Princess Ring Ring Mage Li Te appeared with her entourage and maid.

After greeting Lei Qianya at the door, she entered the room. While chatting with the people accompanying her, she saw Xia De, who was holding a goblet and reading with his head down, at a glance.

Thinking of the afternoon of the heavy fog last week when she met Xia De at the Three Cats Hotel, Princess Ring Ring Mage Li Te already had her own ideas.

She whispered a few words to the lady accompanying her, then gestured to Sir Pulin, and the group took their seats next to Xia De. Although the sofas were not arranged neatly, some were still pushed together. There were not enough seats nearby, so after obtaining Xia De's consent, Sir Pulin sat down beside him.

Because of Xia De's outstanding performance at the Lake View Manor banquet, especially the title of "One Penny Detective," he became a social celebrity in this city. Guests from Ka Sen Li Ke naturally all knew Xia De, so before the salon started, they also invited him into the conversation.

Princess Margaret sat on the sofa in front of Xia De and took the initiative to start a conversation, talking about books she had read recently. While the Princess was speaking with people, Sir Pulin said enthusiastically to Xia De:

"Good evening, Mr. Han Mi Er Dun, what book are you reading?"

"Good evening, Sir."

Xia De closed the book and shook hands with the other party, then showed the book in his hand:

"This is a prose collection written by an unknown writer in De La Rui Ang more than 300 years ago. Many years after his death, the manuscript was discovered and published. Judging from the content of the prose, this writer was quite down-and-out during his lifetime. If he could have received royalties during his lifetime, that would be great."

"'Sunset of Dusk'? Yes, I have read this book. But if the writer could receive royalties during his lifetime, I am afraid he would not be able to write the articles we can see now."

This poet from Ka Sen Li Ke shook his head. After the greetings, he handed Xia De a note:

"Her Highness asked me to give it to you."

Xia De knew that Sir Pulin sitting beside him was definitely not a coincidence.

He avoided Sir Pulin's gaze and looked at the content of the note:

【Mr. Han Mi Er Dun, 6:55, the deserted stairs at the east corner of the second floor. You must come; I want to thank you for your help in the heavy fog last week.】

Xia De raised his eyebrows, looked at the princess who was talking to the poet Miss Liu Yisi, and then folded the note. Giving this note meant not only making an appointment to meet him in a few minutes, but also meant that Ring Ring Mage Li Te An Ru admitted that the person who collected the relic with Mr. A Lan Mai Di Xun that afternoon was her.

"Her Highness gave me a math problem, no application scenario, just a simple sequence solving problem."

He said to Sir Pulin with a smile.

"Her Highness is still brooding over the 'One Penny' problem at the Lake View Manor."

Sir Pulin looked up slightly at the Princess in front; Xia De could not tell if he knew the content of the note.

The Sir lowered his voice to remind him:

"Her Highness's math teacher, Miss Ai Ma Xi Er Wei Ya, has very strict requirements for her, so Her Highness attaches great importance to her math ability."

"I know Miss Xi Er Wei Ya; that is a very famous scholar."

Xia De answered in a low voice, took out his notebook from his pocket, and clipped the note into the notebook:

"The last math problem was actually a thinking trap. Her Highness didn't need to compete with me at all. Wisdom has never been a tool for comparison. Perhaps I should take the initiative to admit that I cannot answer this question."

He was thinking about what reason to use to get up and leave.

"No, no, no."

Sir Pulin immediately shook his head:

"Gentlemen will not take the initiative to admit defeat for this reason. This is an insult to Her Highness instead. Moreover, wisdom has always needed a carrier to express itself. The problem you raised at the Lake View Manor banquet was quite wonderful. As long as one falls into the logical trap you preset, it is quite difficult to climb out."

Literati and writers of this era are usually also proficient in mathematics. Xia De does not understand the reason for this, but Sir Pulin in front of him is clearly that kind of person. Before this, Xia De's understanding of this gentleman was limited to "poet," "nobleman," and "Ringed Shushi," and the information provided by Miss Danister did not detail this gentleman's personality.

And having the opportunity to talk at close range this time, Xia De discovered that Sir Pulin of the "Moon of Guidance" is a quite talkative and wise gentleman. He can converse with Xia De on any topic, and his knowledge covers, but is not limited to, literature, politics, geography, history, and mathematics.

Even judging from the identity of a Shushi, this gentleman could definitely be called learned. On the topic of mathematics, his attainments were not lower than Princess Ring Ring Mage Li Te, and on the topic of politics, he could also understand the words Xia De said to his neighbor Mr. Shi Misi at the Lake View Manor banquet.

Xia De was intrigued by Sir Pulin, so he decided to wait until Princess Margaret moved before getting up to leave.

Sir Pulin was also very interested in Xia De. During their conversation, Xia De also learned about his experiences from Sir Pulin's own mouth. This gentleman came from a close family of the Anjou royal family. Although the family was quite wealthy, he left the city where the Pulin family resided very early to study in the city of Willendale.

Although he had generous living expenses, during his studies, in order to understand the life of the lower-class people and experience the hardship of labor, he worked as a copyist in the church to subsidize his living expenses.

Early independence allowed him to arrange his life and studies according to his own ideas. Unlike Xia De, who had an "illiterate" level of education, this gentleman who had just turned thirty had four degrees: literature, mathematics, law, and theology. Besides the identity of a poet, he was also a scholar. Of course, these identities were covered up because of his noble status, and people paid more attention to his background rather than his own efforts.

Speaking of this, Sir Pulin shook his head with great regret:

"The wise have never been blinded, but unfortunately we all know that there have never been any wise men, only flawed mortals."

"Saying this sentence sounds very much like a wise man."

Xia De said with a smile, catching a glimpse of Princess Margaret getting up and leading her maid toward the door. So, while Sir Pulin was shaking his head in modesty, he tilted the cup in his hand slightly and accidentally spilled the fruit juice on his leather shoes:

"Oh!"

He put down the cup embarrassedly:

"What bad luck. Fortunately, it didn't spill on the carpet. I think I need to go to the washroom to deal with it; it should be easy to wipe off. Sir, let's continue our chat when I get back; you really are very knowledgeable."

"Yes, there is plenty of time to continue chatting tonight."

The middle-aged poet from the south got up to make way for Xia De. Xia De walked toward the door with a very normal expression. First, he asked for a handkerchief that could wipe shoes from the servant at the door, then exchanged pleasantries with the princess and princes at the door, and returned to the corridor.

There were less than seven minutes before the salon started, and almost all the invited guests had arrived. The second floor of the Divination Association was very quiet at night, and the association did not arrange extra staff to disturb the gathering of nobles.

Walking through the corridor where the gas lamps were very bright, Xia De came to the deserted stairs on the east side as the note said. A First-Ring maid was carefully keeping watch. Seeing Xia De walking over, the maid walked a little further away to prevent hearing sentences that shouldn't be heard. And the princess with light golden hair was standing under the gas lamp at the entrance of the stairs, waiting for Xia De.

That gas lamp's glass lampshade was a spherical shape, and there was an oil painting of a diviner using a crystal ball on the side. I don't know what this indicates.

"Good evening, Mr. Han Mi Er Dun."

Ring Ring Mage Li Te An Ru extended her hand wearing white lace gloves to Xia De.

Xia De smiled:

"Good evening, Ring Ring Mage Li Te... no, Miss Ma Li."

The two hands held together. Looking at Xia De at close range again, Ring Ring Mage Li Te An Ru subconsciously didn't look at his eyes. She thought this was an instinctive fear caused by subconscious fear of a powerful Shushi. ===== CHAPTER 958 =====