Chapter 17

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Shen Miao lowered her head and pretended to be shy.

Xie Jingxing died when he was 26 years old.

The Fu family wanted to punish the Xie family. The more time passed, the more muddle-headed and incompetent the imperial family of Ming Qi became. They were not thinking about how to develop the country, but how to protect themselves. The big families were a threat. The Shen family had been honest and well-behaved, but they were still beheaded, so naturally the Xie family, known for their rebellious attitude, would be the first in the list to be eradicated.

When the Xiongnu invaded, the Xie family led their troops to war. General Xie, who had been cocky on the battlefield his entire life, was finally wiped out. Xie Jingxing waited at the capital for his father to return, but in the end, he waited for the arrival of a coffin.

When he was buried, the people of the capital came out to send him off. The entire country cried and mourned. This was a huge taboo for the royal family.

Not long after, Xie JIngxing was appointed by the emperor to go to war in place of his father.

This was not the first time Xie Jingxing had been on the battlefield. Just like the Xie family, the talent he displayed on the battlefield was enough to make enemies tremble in fear. However, He felt that there was something fishy about his father’s death and the emperor asking him to go to war before he could properly bury his father.

Xie Jingxing still accepted the imperial edict and went to the battlefield. Then, he was defeated. That day, he was exposed to the enemy’s target and was stabbed in the heart by ten thousand arrows. Not only that, for some reason, his corpse was taken away, and the Xiongnu skinned and dried it, leaving it on the city gate tower as a warning.

The tragic ending was played out again, and the entire Ming Qi was in grief.

The father and son died on the battlefield. The people could only see the ferocity of the Xiongnu and the heroism of the general, but they could not see the conspiracy.

At that time, the late emperor had already passed away. Fu Xiuyi ascended the throne and took over the affairs of the imperial court. He felt regret for what happened to the Xie family and conferred an honorable title on them.

Shen Miao still remembered how sad Shen Xin was when he found out that Xie Jingxing was dead. She thought that her father shouldn’t have been sad when the Xie family was in trouble. Now that she thought about it, Shen Xin probably felt sad because he knew he’d end up the same.

As soon as the Xie family fell, the Shen family would be the next to fall.

What was laughable was that at that time, Shen Miao was still bent on getting the Shen family into the competition between the princes for the crown prince.

Shen Miao didn’t have any feelings for the Xie family, but at that time, she sighed at the fate of this young man. Such a talented and outstanding son should have left a mark in history, but who knew that he would die in such a way. Moreover, when knowing that he wouldn’t be able to return in one piece, he still went to war.

Perhaps it was to protect the dignity of the Xie family and prove that the Xie family would rather be destroyed than defeated. Xie Jingxing was someone who would do something even if it was impossible to do.

He was a very upright and brave person.

While Shen Miao was lost in thought, Cai Lin squeezed out of the crowd and handed a small cloth bag to Xie Jingxing. She said respectfully, “Young Marquis Hou, this is the medical book you asked me to find.”

The fact that this little tyrant of the school was so respectful to someone made people gape in shock. However, on second thought, it was true. Compared to Cai Lin, Xie Jingxing was even more of a tyrant in the capital. The Xie family was even more of a tyrant among tyrants. Thinking about it, it was understandable why Cai Lin treated Xie Jingxing like that.

Feng Anning whispered into Shen Miao’s ear, “What do you think of Young Master Xie compared to the Duke of Ding?”

Shen Miao choked. She was not used to Feng Anning suddenly being so close to her. She said seriously, “I think Young Master Xie is better.”

In her opinion, a black-hearted person like Fu Xiuyi could not be compared to a young man like Xie Jingxing. When Wanyu and Fu Ming were studying the history of the Ming Qi families, they read the part about the Xie family and secretly told her that they felt that Xie Jingxing was a good man and that it was a pity that he died.

Feng Anning was a little surprised. After a while, he said, “It seems like you’re really heartbroken.”

Xie Jingxing took the bag and tied it to the saddle. He glanced at Cai Lin and turned to leave without saying anything.

The horse stirred up dust, but it still could not hide the charm of the youth on the horse.

Cai Lin was a little disappointed, and the girls around her all looked disappointed. They probably wanted Xie Jingxing to stay longer. Strangely, Xie Jingxing was the only noble child who was famous among the girls and was not envied by the boys. Perhaps it was because of his different style of doing things that made people envious.

Shen Miao plunged in thought. If the Xie family collapsed, the Shen family would also face the same ending. Since the two families were enemies, was there a way to ease the tension? If the emperor wanted to make a move, he might have to consider if he had the ability.

Saving the Xie family and saving Xie Jingxing would give the Shen family more leverage.

The Shen family was honest and upright, and the Xie family was domineering. The first one the royal family dealt with was the Xie family. She might be able to make a deal with the Xie family.

……

Xie Jingxing rode all the way and finally stopped his horse in front of a tavern.

He got off the horse and walked into the innermost part of the tavern. In the room, the young man in white smiled at him. “Third Brother.”

“Take it!” Xie Jingxing threw the bag over. “Don’t bother me with this kind of stuff in the future.”

If it weren’t for the fact that Gao Yang asked him to look for a medical book, he wouldn’t have gone to look for Cai Lin, let alone be surrounded by people like a fool. At the thought of that handkerchief, he patted his clothes in disgust.

Gao Yang knew that Xie Jingxing had always been obsessed with cleanliness. He smiled and teased, “With your personality, you should move around more. Some of those students are about the same age as you. You should learn from them.” He paused and smiled mischievously. “Maybe there are also cute girls. You’re just about the right age to get married. Why are you always alone?”

Xie Jingxing turned his head impatiently, thinking of the pair of eyes he had just seen.

Her clear eyes were filled with deep pity and helplessness, and the look on her face stunned him.

He had followed his father everywhere when he was young and had fought in wars and killed people. He had a pair of sharp eyes. That girl probably wanted to pretend to love him, but unfortunately, she did not know that her eyes were as deep as a pool of stagnant water.

It was really interesting.