He struggled to his feet, and Xiangyang, looking as if he hadn't guessed what he was up to, said, "You must be the Fourth Young Master. I... I am your page. My surname is Ming, and my given name is He."
Xu Jingying discreetly hid the tinder in his sleeve.
Although he was young, he knew how to win people's hearts.
Since a person is alive, they may be useful to you in the future.
Xiangyang, covered in dirt, walked towards him and said with a smile, "Young Master? What happened to you?"
Hearing someone call him "Young Master" for the first time without any sarcasm, Xu Jingying winked at him. "Your name is Minghe?"
“Yes!” Xiangyang said, looking around.
The yard was really messy; the grass in the corners was overgrown, and the few things that were there were not put away.
"Young Master, you should go read your book," Xiangyang said, picking up the firewood he had just been about to burn. "I'll tidy up the yard first."
Xu Jingying looked at him with some suspicion, but eventually turned around and went back to reading.
He was an unloved young master in a large compound, and the only thing that made people look at him differently was his ability to study.
He was going to take the imperial examination for the title of Xiucai in two days, but he had no teacher and didn't know his own level, so he naturally dared not slack off at all.
Xiangyang's clothes were really terribly rotten, and his scalp was itchy; he probably had some lice or something on them.
Fortunately, the weather is hot now, so Xiangyang took off all her clothes, washed them with water, and then hung them on the rack to dry.
Then, Xiangyang started bending over and pulling weeds.
Xu Jingying looked towards the courtyard while reading, somewhat puzzled by his actions.
Fortunately, the yard wasn't big, so it didn't take much effort to do all this.
After using a little more water to wash himself, Xiangyang finally felt much more relaxed.
Wearing straw sandals, I went into the sun to see the boy.
It's already so dark there's hardly any light left, but Xiao Jingying is still studying hard.
Xiangyang went over to take a look and was surprised to see that he was reading the Book of Documents.
Reading this is probably unnecessary for now.
But it must be said that this young man... can actually read the Book of Documents!
Who is this genius?!
"Young Master, can you read the Book of Documents?" Xiangyang couldn't help but ask.
Xu Jingying had already smelled the lingering sour odor emanating from him since earlier, but he didn't know what to say about it.
To his surprise, this servant had no sense of propriety at all, not only getting closer and closer to him, but also interrupting him with his words.
Xu Jingying felt annoyed, but he didn't show it too much.
Even if he was precocious, he couldn't completely hide his thoughts.
Xiangyang's soul was, after all, over twenty years old, so he naturally noticed it.
Xiangyang didn't seem to mind, but quietly moved a little further away and said, "Young Master, it's getting dark. Reading again will definitely hurt your eyes. Why don't you take a break today?"
Xu Jingying couldn't even understand the Book of Documents yet, so he naturally wanted to study it as soon as possible. Therefore, Xiang Yang's good intentions were seen as meddling in his affairs.
But he didn't say anything, nor did he scold him. He just asked with a smile, "Brother Minghe, can you read too?"
When Xiangyang heard him call him "brother," even though he knew that the young man was just scheming and wanted to win him over, he couldn't help but feel happy.
But to be honest, he calls me "brother" really nicely.
"I wouldn't call myself literate," Xiangyang said. He could only guess a few characters by their shapes. "I just know that this book is called the Book of Documents because I used to work in someone else's house and could tell from the characters that it's called the Book of Documents."
Xu Jingying thought that made sense.
Children from poor families wouldn't know how to read.
Xu Jingying smiled, but then ignored him.
Knowing he wouldn't listen, Xiangyang didn't say anything more. When he was reading, Xiangyang would stay by his side, grinding ink for him when he ran out, and boiling water for him when the tea got cold.
Xu Jingying couldn't believe that his stepmother would kindly send him such a person. He remained on high alert, not even daring to sleep, fearing that his stepmother had sent this person to kill him.
But in front of Xiangyang, no matter how deep his thoughts were, they couldn't be that deep. He couldn't stay up all night and finally fell asleep in the middle of the night.
Seeing that he had finally fallen asleep, Xiangyang sighed, then leaned closer to the child and poked his pert nose, saying, "Young master! Still won't go to sleep! What, are you afraid your brother will eat you up?"
Despite the laughter, Xiang Yang still struggled to gently lift Xu Jingying up, and it took a lot of effort to finally carry him to the bed and then pull the blanket over him.
Just then, Xu Jingying suddenly woke up, his eyes wide open, his pupils trembling, looking at Xiangyang who was covering him with a blanket.
With gentle eyes, Xiangyang placed her hand on his forehead, patted it soothingly, and whispered, "Sleep."
In a daze, Xu Jingying felt a strange sense of peace.
He didn't try to figure out who the person was. His tense nerves relaxed under the soothing words, and he closed his round eyes and fell into a sweet sleep.
Xiangyang sat on the edge of the bed, gently patting him and coaxing him to sleep.
Then, he went to the woodshed, found a haystack, and asked Xiao Guai to set a time for him to sleep.
The next day, Xu Jingying overslept. The moment he woke up, he suddenly remembered what had happened the day before, which startled him so much that he sat up and curled up into a ball.
He fumbled around on his body and found that he was perfectly fine and still alive.
"Young Master, dinner's ready!" Xiangyang brought in a bowl, placed it on the table, and then came into the inner room to call him, "Young Master?"
Xu Jingying, still holding herself, just looked at him like that.
"What's wrong?" Xiangyang walked over and asked with concern, "Did you have a nightmare?"
Xu Jingying couldn't believe he had any good intentions.
All the servants in this mansion looked down on him, just like everyone else.
His few acts of trust were met with nothing but mockery.
It's all the same! He doesn't trust anyone!
The person in front of me is the same.
"Young Master?"
Just as Xiangyang was about to reach out, Xu Jingying put on an innocent look and said, "Brother Minghe, let's go eat together."
"Huh?" Xiang Yang was surprised.
Masters and servants never eat together.
But this young master, whether out of timidity, insecurity, or something else, actually said he wanted to have dinner with him.
But Xiangyang was not an ancient person, nor a servant, so naturally he would not refuse.
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