Chapter 16

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

The Guangwen Hall test was held every October.

It was a test for every student in the school. The especially outstanding students would be able to enter the talent exhibition. Most importantly, there would be many scholars watching that day, and the princes would also be watching from the side. If there were good students, they might be able to enter the official career path.

In short, it was always a good thing to show off their talent to others. Therefore, every year, everyone tries their best to get famous.

In the second year, Shen Yue was the most talented. Every year, she would be the only one who could perform well in the test. Although Shen Qing was not as good as Shen Yue in poetry, she was ranked at the top in terms of mathematics.

The person at the bottom was Shen Miao. She did not have any talents, and she knew nothing about mathematics and poetry. Every time she made a fool of herself on the day of the test, it was very difficult for her to pass the test, let alone show her talent. In her previous life, Shen Miao was most afraid of the annual test. However, looking at Shen Yue and Shen Qing on the stage, she was envious.

Now that she looked at it again, she felt that it was just a fight between children. She had seen all kinds of situations, and she really did not care about the test.

She glanced at Feng Anning and said, “I’ve never thought about competing for a ranking since I’m already at the bottom. What’s there to compete for?”

Feng Anning was slightly stunned. She did not expect Shen Miao to say the truth so openly. She sized up Shen Miao carefully and asked, “Did you really get hurt so much that your temperament changed?”

Shen Miao seemed to have changed into a different person overnight. She was calm, honest, and generous. She actually had a calmness that was not expected of someone her age.

“Yes.” Shen Miao smiled and didn’t say anything else.

Perhaps it was because youths of this age would instinctively feel respect or envy towards people who were more mature than them. Shen Miao’s attitude actually made Feng Anning treat her better.

After the math lesson was done, the students went to the garden outside the Guangwen Hall to rest and play. The girls were all playing chess or discussing new poems in the school, but suddenly they heard a sound outside.

“What’s that sound?” Yi Peilan turned around.

“Let’s go out and take a look,” Jiang Caixuan suggested. She pulled Shen Yue up and said, “Let’s go and see what’s going on.”

Shen Miao had no intention of joining in the fun, but Feng Anning turned around after taking two steps. She thought for a moment and grabbed Shen Miao’s hand. “Let’s go and see it together!”

Shen Miao was a little surprised because Feng Anning had never liked her. While still in a daze, she was already dragged out of the school by Feng Anning.

Outside, many students had already gathered at the door. When they saw Feng Anning pulling Shen Miao over, they all looked at her in surprise. Shen Yue frowned, but she did not say anything. When Shen Qing saw this, she snorted. Ever since she found out that Shen Miao also liked the Duke of Ding, she did not even bother to pretend to be friendly with her.

However, what was surprising was not this. Just as Cai Lin squeezed out of the crowd, she saw the people outside and shouted in surprise, “It’s Young Marquis Hou!”

Young Marquis Hou? Shen Miao looked out.

Outside the red gate of Guangwen Hall stood a red horse. The horse’s skin was shiny and smooth, and it was obvious that it was a rare horse. The horse kicked its front hooves proudly, and its elegant figure attracted everyone’s attention.

However, it was not as dazzling as the person on the horse.

The young man sat upright on the back of the horse. He was wearing a narrow brocade robe with black clouds embroidered on it and a dark purple mink coat. His right hand was casually playing with the whip in his hand. He had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and his facial features were extremely handsome. The corners of his mouth were slightly curled into a faint smile, but his eyes were very cold.

A girl in the crowd immediately blushed. Without caring about etiquettes, a girl boldly folded a handkerchief and threw it at the boy. Ming Qi had always been an open-minded nation, especially when it came to the rules of the boys and girls.

The handkerchief landed in the young man’s arms. He reached out to take it and smiled. The girl who threw the handkerchief immediately rubbed her chest and blushed.

The next moment, the young man’s mischievous smile disappeared in an instant. The handkerchief fluttered to the ground and landed under the hooves of the red horse.

He sat up straight. He looked both aggressive and attractive at the same time.

What a cold and evil person.

Yi Peilan muttered, “It’s Young Master Xie.”

Shen Miao raised an eyebrow. It was the Young Marquis of the Xie family, Xie Jingxing.

The families in Ming Qi today had more or less earned their titles by fighting alone with the late emperor since the founding of the country. After generations of people, some families only had names left, but their fortunes were all gone, and some were getting ever more prosperous.

The Shen family had been leading troops to war for several generations and was recognized as an honest family, but the Xie family had a large number of soldiers, so even the current emperor couldn’t do anything to them.

Perhaps it was because the Xie family had always been rebellious. For example, they refused the order to retreat while in a war, saying, “When soldiers are on the battlefield, they have a right to decide for them what to do.” However, the emperor was always helpless against the Xie family because they were invincible.

The Shen family and the Xie family were enemies to begin with. Of course, it was because the late emperor deliberately estranged them and sowed discord between the two families, so that he could keep both of the families in check and stabilize the imperial court. The political opinions of Shen Xin and Marquis Xie had never been the same. Shen Xin could not stand the fact that Xie Ding was radical and treacherous on the battlefield, and his methods were not orthodox. Xie Ding could not stand the fact that Shen Xin had to read military books when fighting a war. He was old-fashioned and did not know how to be flexible. Other than quarreling in the royal court, the two families had no contact. The late emperor was obviously happy to see this.

After Xie Ding’s wife passed away, he did not marry. He only had a concubine who gave birth to two sons. In other words, Xie Jingxing had two younger brothers. Perhaps it was because Xie Ding felt sorry for his son not having a mother since he was young, so he tried his best to make it up to him. He doted on Xie Jingxing and made him a lawless hooligan.

However, even so, Xie Jingxing was still a brilliant person. Other than being stubborn and cold by nature, he was smart, good-looking, and had a good family background. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many girls who secretly admired him.

Unfortunately, Shen Miao sighed in her heart. Such an outstanding young man ended up being stabbed in the heart by ten thousand arrows and skinned alive.

Perhaps because the pity and sympathy in her eyes was too obvious, the young man suddenly looked at her, his eyes as deep as the ocean.