Minghe met his gaze and felt that his eyes were a little strange.
Xiao Jingying took his hand and got off the carriage.
But after getting off, Xiao Jinying did not let go of his hand.
Instead, he simply took Minghe's hand and headed towards the Xiao residence.
"!!!" Minghe followed him, looking at their clasped hands.
What?! What's going on?!
Seeing that Minghe was walking slowly, Xiao Jingying frowned and pulled him hard.
Minghe stumbled and fell forward. Just when he thought he was going to fall flat on his face, Xiao Jingying's strong hand caught him around the waist.
The people of the Xiao family were so shocked by what they saw that they were speechless.
Although Xiao Shan relayed these matters here, he was ultimately ordered by Prime Minister Xiao to keep them quiet.
Besides, at most he's just a...bed-climbing servant, isn't he?
Even a favored concubine... or even the principal wife, has no right to disregard etiquette and shame and hold hands like that in public.
"What are you dawdling about?" Xiao Jingying asked, gripping his waist.
Minghe noticed the gazes around her and felt uncomfortable, so she struggled a little.
Xiao Jingying didn't force him and let go of his hand.
"We're moving too fast!" Minghe said.
Xiao Jingying frowned and left.
Since they were in someone else's residence, Minghe could only hurry to follow him.
When Xiao Jin won, his uncle, Xiao Qi, specially ordered a few more dishes to be added to the meal.
It may seem ordinary, but it is not.
Just now, a servant came over and told him what happened at the door.
Xiao Qi remained calm and composed, pretending not to know anything about it, and didn't even glance at Minghe.
He knew Xiao Jingying's shrewdness and naturally believed that he wouldn't do anything outrageous, so why should he bother with him and annoy him?
"Jingying, it's been a while since you've been here." Xiao Qi chatted with him casually and led him to sit down.
Minghe followed Xiao Jinying and stood beside him.
Xiao Jingying glanced at him and said, "Sit down and eat."
Even Xiao Qi, upon hearing these words, suddenly glanced at Minghe.
Not only was he shocked, but Minghe was also shocked.
"Hmm..." Minghe found a chair. "Yes, sir."
Xiao Yun's mind raced, and he took a deep breath before suppressing it, finally managing to steady his expression.
Since Xiao Jingying had made this move, Xiao Qi had no reason to treat Minghe as a servant anymore. However, looking at Minghe, a man like him, his expression was rather distorted.
He turned to Minghe and asked in as friendly a tone as possible, "What's your name?"
“Reporting to Your Excellency,” Minghe glanced at Xiao Jingying, “this servant’s name is Minghe.”
Xiao Jingying picked up some food with his chopsticks, looking completely detached.
Xiao Qi thought to himself, "He is quite composed, quite different from ordinary servants. Perhaps it is this very quality that caught Xiao Jingying's eye."
Xiao Jingying secretly snorted coldly.
This kid, who usually acts all obsequious in front of him, speaking in affected and pretentious ways, and always trying to sound incredibly loyal, is now standing tall and straight in front of his uncle.
Strip away that flattery, and you really do look like the same person.
Xiao Qi asked Minghe a few more questions, including where he lived, who else was in his family, his age, and what he did at Xiao Jingying's residence.
It was precisely because he asked that it showed he valued Xiao Jinying's ideas, even to the point of having no bottom line and disregarding worldly conventions.
This also demonstrates Xiao Jingying's current status within the Xiao family.
No one can control him.
After spending half the meal, Xiao Qi still couldn't believe that Xiao Jingying would dote on such a man, so he mustered his courage and casually asked, "You... are you good at studying?"
Minghe knew he was testing her, especially since it was happening in front of Xiao Jingying.
He dared not hide it from Xiao Jinying, and Minghe would not hide it from Xiao Jinying either.
“I am good at studying,” Minghe said frankly. “Some time ago, the master vouched for me, and I just passed the preliminary examination.”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Qi felt a sense of relief, as if he had just realized it. He also showed more respect for Minghe, this "scholar," and asked, "In a few months, it will be time to take the imperial examination for the title of Xiucai, right?"
Minghe: "Yes."
Xiao Qi looked at him with great importance, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "You must be a person of outstanding literary talent to have caught the eye of your lord! Study hard! If you can enter officialdom in the future, you can also assist your lord well... Don't worry, our Xiao family will definitely not treat you unfairly in the future!"
Minghe is not worthy of the phrase "exquisitely written".
He wanted to say that Xiao Jingying had called him a pig yesterday.
He even caught Xiao Jingying's eye...
Xiao Jingying clearly had to look at him sideways, otherwise he really couldn't bear to look at him.
Minghe was already full when she arrived, and besides, sitting here, she didn't feel she had the right to pick up her chopsticks.
Xiao Jingying ate a meal with impeccable manners, then said to Minghe, "Let's go."
Xiao Qi stood up to see him off.
After leaving the Xiao residence, Minghe couldn't help but ask Xiao Jingying, "Sir, do you think I'm a promising talent who will surely become a pillar of society in the future?"
Xiao Jingying was simply deaf; he couldn't understand how this kid had the nerve to say such things.
He glanced at Minghe sideways and said in a sinister tone, "If you were deliberately going against me last night and deliberately not studying properly, then you might actually be a so-called pillar of society."
“…” Minghe turned her head away and ignored him.
In modern times, although he wasn't the smartest one, he was still praised as he grew up.
His grandfather once said that having Yangyang in his family was a sign of good fortune, like the ancestral graves emitting auspicious smoke.
Moreover, he lived up to expectations and was the only student from the village to go to university.
How come he's not even as good as a pig in Xiao Jingying's eyes?
It's not that he's not smart, but Xiao Jingying's idea is utter nonsense.
In ancient times, passing the imperial examination for the title of Xiucai was almost as difficult as passing the university entrance examination.
Expecting a complete novice to pass the imperial examination and become a scholar in just a few months is simply a joke.
"Come here!" Xiao Jingying called to him again.
Minghe ignored him.
Xiao Jingying wondered who gave him the audacity.
After a moment of silence, Minghe finally gave in and turned to Xiao Jingying, saying, "Sir, it's not that I can't take the Tongxiucai exam. If you really value me and want me to study hard, then I will study hard."
Xiao Jingying felt relieved that what he said sounded like human speech.
"Just give me a few years!" Minghe gritted her teeth, determined to give it her all. "This servant will definitely succeed!"
"How many years?!?" Xiao Jingying, who had just thought he was speaking human language, interrupted him with a sinister tone, "How many years do you want to take the exam?!"
Minghe: "...Uh..."
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