Shen Miao lowered her head, putting on an appearance of shyness.
Xie Jingxing died in his twenty-second year.
The previous Emperor had intended to punish the Xie family. The Ming Qi imperial family, as time passed, grew increasingly muddleheaded and incompetent. Rather than focusing on diligent governance and national development, they spent their days thinking of self-preservation. The prestigious aristocratic families were all perceived as threats. As Fu Xiuyi had said, even the honest Shen family was a target; naturally, the disobedient Xie family was an even greater thorn in the previous Emperor’s side.
When the Huns invaded, the Xie family was dispatched to war. General Xie Ding, who had commanded armies freely on battlefields all his life, ultimately suffered complete defeat. Xie Jingxing waited in the capital during the New Year for his father’s return, only to receive a coffin instead.
Xie Ding’s death was not the end. During his burial, the commoners of the capital spontaneously came to pay their respects, with the entire nation plunged into mourning. For the imperial family, this was taboo.
So not long after, the young Xie Jingxing was appointed to take his father’s place on the battlefield.
It wasn’t Xie Jingxing’s first time on the battlefield. Like all members of the Xie family, his military talent was enough to strike fear into the hearts of enemies. Yet knowing that Xie Ding’s death was suspicious, this imperial edict was essentially pushing Xie Jingxing toward a dead end.
Xie Jingxing still accepted the edict and went to battle, only to be defeated. Exposed to enemy fire that day, he met the fate of being pierced by countless arrows. Not only that, his body was somehow captured by the enemy; the Huns skinned it, left it to dry in the wind, and displayed it on the city tower as a warning.
The tragic outcome played out once again, plunging Ming Qi into national grief.
With father and son both lost on the battlefield, the common people only saw the Huns’ cruelty and the generals’ heroism, unable to perceive the turbulent undercurrents of conspiracy beneath.
By then, the previous Emperor was on his deathbed. Fu Xiuyi took over court affairs and expressed regret for the Xie family’s tragedy, posthumously bestowing titles upon the father and son. While the honored Xie father and son were already deceased, the court’s consolation unexpectedly benefited that concubine and her two illegitimate sons.
Shen Miao still remembered Shen Xin’s profound grief upon learning of Xie Jingxing’s death. She had originally thought that since the Shen and Xie families were bitter rivals, her father shouldn’t have been saddened by the Xie family’s misfortune. Thinking about it now, she suspected that even then, Shen Xin must have felt a sense of “when the rabbit dies, the fox mourns”—recognizing a shared fate.
The balance had been disrupted. With the Xie family’s fall, the Shen family would follow next.
How laughable that at the time, she had been single-mindedly dragging the Shen family into the murky waters of succession struggles.
Shen Miao had no particular feelings toward the Xie family, but she had once sighed over this young man’s circumstances. Such a brilliant young man should have left an indelible mark on Ming Qi’s history, yet who could have known he would exit the stage in such a manner? And even knowing that the imperial edict was a summons to death, he still went.
Perhaps it was to preserve the Xie family’s dignity, to prove that the Xie family’s proud spirit remained undiminished to the end. But to knowingly pursue the impossible revealed the extraordinary character beneath Xie Jingxing’s rebellious exterior.
He must have been an exceptionally upright and brave person.
As Shen Miao contemplated this, she saw Cai Lin push through the crowd, respectfully handing a small cloth package to Xie Jingxing: “Young Master, these are the rare medical texts you asked me to find.”
For such a young tyrant to show such deference to someone—it was enough to make one’s jaw drop. But on second thought, it made sense; compared to Cai Lin, Xie Jingxing was an even greater tyrant in the capital city. The Xie family was the tyrant among tyrants. Thinking this way, Cai Lin’s attitude toward Xie Jingxing became understandable.
Feng Anning whispered in Shen Miao’s ear: “How do you think the young Xie master compares to Prince Ding?”
Shen Miao was taken aback, still unaccustomed to Feng Anning’s sudden friendliness. She answered seriously: “Young Master Xie is superior.”
Not just superior—in her view, how could a black-hearted villain like Fu Xiuyi even be mentioned alongside a youth like Xie Jingxing? When Princess Wanyu and Fu Ming were reading the official Ming Qi histories, they reached the section about the Xie family and secretly told her they thought Xie Jingxing was a man of great integrity whose death was truly regrettable.
When even one’s children speak highly of a young man, he must indeed be exceptional.
Feng Anning was somewhat surprised and, after a moment, said: “It seems you are heartbroken.”
Shen Miao couldn’t be bothered to explain. Just then, they saw Xie Jingxing on horseback take the package and casually tie it to his saddle. He glanced at Cai Lin without a word, elegantly raised his whip, and turned to leave.
The horse kicked up rolling dust, but it still couldn’t obscure the young man’s grace atop his mount. He was like the rising sun, naturally radiating brilliant light.
Cai Lin looked somewhat dejected, and the surrounding young women made no effort to hide their disappointment, likely hoping that Xie Jingxing would stay longer. Strangely, Xie Jingxing was the only aristocratic youth whose reputation among young women did not provoke jealousy from other young men. Perhaps it was his distinctly different conduct that truly inspired admiration.
Shen Miao concealed the deep thoughts in her eyes. With the Xie family’s downfall, the Shen family would also face catastrophic disaster. Since the relationship between the two families was one where “when the lips perish, the teeth grow cold,” could this relationship not be eased somewhat? If the imperial family wished to make a move, perhaps they would have to carefully weigh whether they could do so.
Saving the Xie family, saving Xie Jingxing—doing so would add another bargaining chip for the Shen family.
The Shen family was honest and kind-hearted, while the Xie family was arrogant and domineering. The imperial family would target the Xie family first. Perhaps she could make a deal with the Xie family.
…
Xie Jingxing rode until he finally reined in his horse before a certain tavern.
He dismounted and walked straight to the innermost part of the tavern. In a private room, a handsome young man in white clothing smiled upon seeing him: “Third Brother.”
“Take it!” Xie Jingxing threw the package over to him: “Don’t ask me to do these things in the future.”
If Gao Yang hadn’t asked him to find those rare medical texts, he wouldn’t have gone looking for Cai Lin, much less stood around like a fool at the Guangwen Hall for people to gawk at. Thinking of that silk flower, he felt even more disgusted and brushed off his clothes.
Gao Yang knew his junior disciple had always been fastidious, and smiled slightly, teasing: “With your temperament, you should get out more. Some of those students are around your age; you should learn from their vitality and spirit.” He paused, a mischievous smile appearing on his face: “Perhaps there might even be some lovely young ladies. You’re at the right age—why spend your days all alone?”
Xie Jingxing was used to his senior disciple’s outwardly proper but inwardly frivolous nature. He turned his head away impatiently, but his mind drifted to a pair of eyes he had seen earlier.
Eyes clear as a young beast’s, yet containing deep sympathy and resignation. That expression had given him pause; later, the owner of those eyes had lowered her head, seemingly out of shyness.
But who was Xie Jingxing? From a young age, he had traveled north and south with his father, fought in battles, and killed men, developing a pair of discerning eyes. That girl probably wanted to pretend she was infatuated with him, but unfortunately, she didn’t realize her own eyes were as still as dead water, without the slightest ripple of emotion.
It was truly interesting.