"Shen family girl, does the Jing Dianshi have a grudge against you?"

Shen Miao looked at the young man in front of her quietly.

His features were beautiful, yet he exuded a commanding presence. Despite his cynical demeanor, he possessed a composure that transcended his years. It wasn't his outward appearance that betrayed it; it was as if following him gave her a sense of security, a sense of support even if the sky fell. Even in her previous life, whether in Qin or the imperial harem, she had never met such a perceptive person. With a single sentence, he could see to the very heart of everything.

Such a brilliant person died young, it is really a pity that such a talented person died young.

Regret flashed across her eyes, and when she spoke again, her tone was calm: "Yes."

"You've laid out this chess game in a circuitous way." Xie Jingxing's eyes were filled with scrutiny. "You've gone through so much trouble just to get Gao Yan into officialdom. Are you trying to disrupt the Ming Qi officialdom?"

Even though Shen Miao had lived two lives, she couldn't help but feel a little surprised. If Xie Jingxing's previous performance was just too smart for her, and he understood everything at once, now this person seemed a little scary.

Ordinary people take one step at a time, while smart people take one step and look ten steps ahead. Xie Jingxing's seemingly ordinary question seemed to have a thousand-mile vision. Such a straightforward and unconcealed question made her feel a little unsure of how to respond.

After a moment, she replied, "What does this have to do with the young marquis?"

"This Marquis doesn't care about the Mingqi officialdom, but I can't touch the Lin'an Marquis." His tone was a warning: "If you set your sights on the Lin'an Marquis's residence, don't blame me for being rude."

Shen Miao glanced at him. Xie Jingxing had always seemed to loathe the Lin'an Marquisate and loved to go against his father, but now it seemed that he wasn't completely disgusted with it. He was probably still holding the Lin'an Marquisate close to his heart. Otherwise, in his previous life, he wouldn't have ended up being pierced by thousands of arrows just to preserve the reputation of the Lin'an Marquisate.

Xie Jingxing's suspicion that she would attack the Xie family was understandable. The Shen and Xie families had always been at odds with each other, and now that she was doing something incomprehensible, it seemed to others that the Shen family might be trying to trip up the Xie family.

"Lord Xie, rest assured." She spoke calmly, her tone as if she were discussing the weather. "The Xie and Shen families don't interfere with each other, so naturally, no trouble will arise. What Lord Xie is worried about will not happen. Life is short, and things change. The Xie family now regards the Shen family as their enemy, but they don't know that one day in the future, they will stand together through thick and thin, sharing the same hatred and enemies."

"Are you trying to show your goodwill to me?" Xie Jingxing raised his eyebrows.

“Yes,” Shen Miao said calmly.

Xie Jingxing sized up the young woman before him. From his birth until now, he had met countless women. When he was young, those women wanted to be close to his father, but later, they began to be close to him. Among these women, there were those as charming as flowers, those as beautiful as a city, those skilled in swordsmanship, and those skilled in strategy.

Xie Jingxing had seen thousands of smart people, but none of them surprised him as much as the person in front of him.

Perhaps it was the intuition of someone who had experienced the fierce fighting of swords on the battlefield, but Xie Jingxing could smell the scent of blood from this girl. It was like a pool of stagnant water, but beneath it lurked a huge, ferocious beast. While it seemed calm on the surface, it was merely waiting for an opportunity to strike. When it finally broke through, it would surely unleash a bloody storm.

Although this seemed a bit ridiculous, how much trouble could a girl from the boudoir cause? But Xie Jingxing never underestimated his intuition.

The young girl, shrouded in a lotus-green brocade cape, her pretty face frosted, even this lush plum forest seemed to resemble a nine-foot palace. Noble, lonely, decisive, and a bottomless abyss.

"The Shen family actually has smart people." His words were quite sarcastic, but he still said seriously: "In that case, just go ahead and do it. Just treat today as a good show, don't let me down." He stood up straight and was about to turn around and leave.

“Thank you, Lord Marquis.” Shen Miao called him.

"Anything else?" He stopped and asked without turning his head.

“The two half-brothers of the Xie family will also come on stage for inspection today.” Shen Miao said calmly, “Is Lord Xie just going to let it go like this?”

The Xie family's two illegitimate sons, Xie Changwu and Xie Changchao, born to Concubine Fang, were both currently in Grade 2. In reality, Xie Jingxing was also a Grade 3 student at Guangwen Hall, but he naturally acted freely and unrestrained, and Guangwen Hall couldn't control him, so they let him run wild. Otherwise, Xie Jingxing would have been taking a test today alongside his two Grade 2 illegitimate brothers.

In his previous life, Xie Jingxing hadn't participated in the inspection, allowing his two half-brothers to steal the spotlight. To be fair, Xie Changwu and Xie Changchao were also quite capable, ranking among the best in the martial arts category. This was how they caught the emperor's eye, and later, Fu Xiuyi intentionally promoted them, assigning them to work alongside him.

Shen Miao had always wondered how the Marquis of Lin'an, father and son, could have met such a fate in their previous life. Although the imperial family ultimately provided compensation, it was Fang's mother and son who were the ones who were shielded. In fact, upon closer consideration, there were doubts. For example, in the previous life, the downfall of the Shen family was largely due to the contributions of the second and third branches. This suggests that the Xie family might also be experiencing internal problems.

"You don't want me to go up and compete with them?" Xie Jingxing turned around and asked in surprise, "Just like you compete with your sister?"

“Aren’t Lord Xie and I in the same situation?” Shen Miao ignored the mockery in his words and simply said, “The ones who stab you the most are precisely those closest to you. I naturally understand that someone of Lord Xie’s noble status would disdain to be petty with a bastard’s son. But a thousand-mile dam can be breached by an ant hole. This seemingly insignificant thing is like a poisonous snake lurking in the shadows.” She spoke each word clearly, a tone that was clearly a warning, but her eyes were as clear as a child’s: “We must nip them in the bud. We must prevent them from ever sprouting.”

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!