Chapter 107 Assessment
"I hope Your Highness will take good care of yourself from now on, eat well and sleep well..."
"Why the rush? Is the Xiao family unable to afford to raise their daughter? Are they sending you to Jiangnan?"
"No, that's not right. Xiao Yuyao is one thing, but why are you going too?"
The eldest princess stood up anxiously, snatched the jade comb from Xiao Yuxuan's hand, and slammed it onto the dressing table.
"Your Highness, your hand—"
Xiao Yuxuan exclaimed in surprise, wanting to check if the princess's hands were red from clapping, but was stopped by the other party.
"Yu Xuan, tell me the truth, have your parents been scolding you again? Why should you have to leave the capital with Xiao Yu Yao for the wrong things she did?"
The eldest princess was more than half a head taller than Xiao Yuxuan, and her usually gentle and doting face was now full of noble dignity.
In a daze, Xiao Yuxuan realized that the person standing in front of her now should be the carefree and elegant Princess Ningyang, riding her horse through the streets.
"Your Highness—"
Her voice carried a hint of admiration and reverence, without her even realizing it.
"Your Highness, please don't be angry. Yu Xuan hopes that Your Highness is happy every day. As for the Xiao family... well, Yu Xuan is almost of marriageable age. After I find a husband and get married, Yu Xuan will live her own quiet life behind closed doors and will definitely not let Your Highness worry anymore..."
Her hesitant gaze was both obedient and soft. She knew that she looked most adorable and docile from this angle. Sure enough, the princess's displeasure lasted only a second.
"well……"
She lovingly stroked Xiao Yuxuan's hair.
"What a cruel twist of fate! If you had been born into an ordinary family, such a thing would never have happened to you."
"Even an upright official finds it hard to settle family disputes. Before Yu Xuan returned to the Xiao family, she was always struggling to make a living. Now that she can eat her fill and stay warm, and is even fortunate enough to be favored by the Princess, she is already blessed by several lifetimes."
Xiao Yuxuan lowered her eyes and sincerely expressed her gratitude.
"Don't belittle yourself like that. You are kind by nature and deserve the best. It is the Xiao family that has held you back, confining you to scheming and preventing you from seeing the vastness of the world."
"Speaking of which, I had no idea what kind of life you lived before. Didn't the Xiao family claim to be an ordinary family? How come you were still starving and cold? Since you're not going to the academy today, just tell me..."
The eldest princess, holding Xiao Yuxuan's hand, ignored the half-finished hair combing and went straight outside for breakfast, acting quite willfully.
Aunt Meng shook her head and sighed helplessly. They're really becoming more and more like children. If Miss Xiao Wu doesn't go to the girls' school, why doesn't the Princess go either?
Xiao Yuxuan could not possibly tell the princess about her despicable and shameful past. She only said that her family was poor, her adoptive parents worked hard labor all year round, and she occasionally made some embroidery to supplement the family income.
When the story reached the point where the fire that engulfed her adoptive parents was mentioned, the princess instinctively gripped her hand tightly.
"So, your brother is truly your savior? That's an immense favor we must repay."
In her haste, the princess used the word "we," as if she and Xiao Yuxuan were now a family.
Xiao Yuxuan was slightly taken aback, but the Princess was completely oblivious and continued speaking:
“Come, write his name down for me, and I will go and find out how he is doing now. No matter how much gold or silver he wants, I will pay for it.”
"He probably doesn't know yet that you're a member of the Xiao family. You can't be too careful when you don't know someone's feelings. What if he finds out later and tries to take advantage of your kindness, ruining your reputation?"
It's amazing that the Princess could come up with this idea in such a short time. Xiao Yuxuan chuckled.
"Your Highness, it's alright. He would never do such a thing. I believe him."
"You're too young. People's hearts are treacherous, not as simple as you think. Lanxin, come and serve the brush and ink."
Without further ado, the eldest princess demanded that she write down her brother's information and preferably draw a simple portrait to make it easier for her servants to find him.
Xiao Yuxuan had no choice but to pick up her pen, suspend her wrist, ponder for a moment, and then slowly put pen to paper.
A moment later, the eldest princess picked up the paper and praised it:
"What a handsome young man, this scar... what a pity."
The man in the portrait is handsome and refined, with an extraordinary air about him. With just a few strokes, Xiao Yuxuan brought a jade-faced gentleman to life on the paper.
However, a hideous scar on one side of his eyebrow ruined three parts of his gentle and refined demeanor, giving his face an air of both righteousness and wickedness.
"You said he's quite knowledgeable and skilled in martial arts? If he's willing, I could give him a leisurely military officer position... Sigh, let's find someone first."
The eldest princess handed the portrait to her servants, and after describing the portrait in detail the age, life, and height, she turned to Xiao Yuxuan.
"By the way, the Dragon Boat Festival is just around the corner. There's no rush. Why don't you go to Jiangnan after the festival?"
"Furthermore, since you have studied at Yuxiu Academy for a day, you will be a student of the academy for life. Before you leave, I will also give you a good test to see how well you have learned during this time. Don't go to Jiangnan and tarnish the reputation of our academy."
The princess said all this simply because she wanted to spend more time with her. Xiao Yuxuan's heart softened, and she naturally agreed.
"It's just that I always spend the Dragon Boat Festival with my family. I don't know if it's still convenient for Yuxuan to come out."
"It's alright, it's alright. There will be dragon boat races on the Bian River that day, and all the prominent families in the capital will be going to watch. Your family will naturally be going too. I'll send someone to fetch you from there to come and play with me for a while. Minying will be there too."
“In that case, Yu Xuan will respectfully comply.”
The next day, the female students at the school became excited when they heard that Xiao Yuxuan was going to take the exam ahead of schedule.
"Xiao Yuxuan? Is she the one who transferred to Class D not long ago? Wasn't her sister expelled? What's she doing here?"
"Do you know what her sister did wrong? I heard that the Eldest Princess... no, the Dean was furious and threw Xiao Yuyao's things out of Class A that day."
"I don't know. There's been no news from the Xiao family. But the storytellers in the neighborhood are making up all sorts of outrageous stories. They're saying that Xiao Yuyao and Xiao Jue had a secret affair and got engaged, which led to one dropping out of school and the other breaking off the engagement. They're making it sound so convincing."
As the students talked, the conversation inevitably turned back to Xiao Yuyao.
The news of Xiao Yuyao dropping out of school has been big news in the academy these past few days, and everyone is speculating and gossiping about it.
Amidst the scrutinizing gazes and malicious whispers of the crowd, Xiao Yuxuan walked step by step to the longbow prepared for the students' assessment.
"You have only been enrolled for a short time, and archery is not something women are good at. As long as you meet the standards in three of the following aspects: drawing the bow into the bow, aiming and fixing your aim, releasing the bow forward and then releasing it backward, pausing the movement, and retracting the bow and finishing the pose, you will be considered qualified."
The person in charge of teaching archery was an elderly man in his eighties, who calmly watched Xiao Yuxuan.
"When holding the bow, the base must be stable, and you must not sway..."
Before he could finish speaking, he saw the young girl in her tight-fitting clothes steadily pick up the longbow, raise it, lock her shoulder, and try to draw it to a full moon.
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