Shen Miao stared at him motionlessly.
She had warned Xie Jingxing before, and naturally prepared for him to go on stage, but she hadn't expected this to happen. She felt a bit amused and helpless. It was as if Xie Jingxing had deliberately come to her rescue, but that wasn't the case.
Xie Changwu hadn't expected Xie Jingxing to suddenly burst out. He had been trying to curry favor with the Cai family today, figuring that since Shen Miao had already offended them, if he could embarrass Shen Miao and teach her a lesson, the Cai family would naturally be more favorable to him. While Shen Miao did appear to be quite skilled in archery, the strength gap between women and men was enormous, not to mention that Cai Lin's failure was due to his underestimation of his opponent.
But Xie Changwu was not a person who underestimated his enemy. If possible, he would even do some subtle tricks on the arrow. Anyway, Shen Miao was not a person who practiced martial arts regularly, so he would definitely not be able to see it.
He had such a good plan, but he never expected his brother to appear in the middle of the situation.
Not only were the two Xie brothers stunned, but the rest of the audience was also stunned. If Lin'an Hou were here today, he would have been stunned. Xie Jingxing had never participated in the annual inspections, but despite this, everyone knew that he was a strong candidate in both civil and military disciplines, especially in the military. Although he had not participated in competitions, he had participated in the army several times and his performances had always been impressive. If it weren't for his excessive attention, which inevitably aroused the fear of the royal family, Xie Jingxing's reputation on the battlefield was even comparable to that of a veteran general.
However, his refusal to participate in the annual inspections wasn't to allay the imperial family's fears. It was simply because he was a careless person, as if he had a rebellious streak, or perhaps he was deliberately going against his father; in short, he looked down upon the inspections. Because of his absence, everyone turned their attention to the two illegitimate sons of the Lin'an Marquis's mansion, Xie Changwu and Xie Changchao. They also worked hard and consistently achieved first-class honors in the annual inspections.
But this year, the most cynical young marquis of the Xie family competes with two outstanding half-brothers. Who will win?
Although Xie Jingxing's reputation was well-known, people were always more accustomed to accepting what they saw. Xie Jingxing had never showcased his talents in Dingjing City. The women could only hear of this young man's brilliance from the few words of their masters, but since hearsay is not always true, they were still somewhat skeptical.
Although those young men envied Xie Jingxing's freedom and ease, they were also somewhat jealous. Now that they saw they might be able to dampen Xie Jingxing's arrogance, they were all happy. Furthermore, the two Xie brothers were known for their good relationships and had many friends who were close to them, so the young men all sided with Xie Changwu and Xie Changchao.
The girls, however, had already blushed at Xie Jingxing's handsome appearance. He also had a remarkable bearing, a heroic aura that was completely different from the soft and languid temperament of the dandy young men of Dingjing City. He was like ice with a touch of blood, yet his perpetually devilish smile only made him even more charming. Therefore, the girls were completely focused on Xie Jingxing.
Shen Miao took in the expressions of everyone present. They probably all thought that Xie Jingxing's challenge to his two younger brothers was just a whim, a sign of the noble young master's temper. However… Shen Miao smiled faintly. Xie Jingxing was not someone to be trifled with. Now that he had already taken the stage for this test, there was no way he was going to let his two younger brothers escape unscathed. The difference between Xie Jingxing and her was that, despite appearing arrogant, she had a methodical approach and knew that she had to take a gradual approach to achieve her goals.
But Xie Jingxing, probably relying on the Lin'an Marquis Mansion behind him, was fearless.
But behind him, is there only the Lin'an Marquis Mansion?
While she was thinking, Xie Changwu from the audience said, "Brother, this... I'm afraid it's not good."
"What's wrong with that?" Xie Jingxing glanced at Shen Miao, then at Xie Changwu, and suddenly smiled. He said, "Or do you think Shen Miao is more challenging than me?"
With a burst of laughter, everyone below laughed.
Xie Jingxing continued to scrutinize Shen Miao critically: "She has no internal energy and no martial arts skills, yet you chose her for archery. You are also a martial artist, but you chose a woman who is so weak that she can't even tie a chicken. I, your brother, cannot understand it." He suddenly raised his lips to smile, his voice low and magnetic: "But the little girl is not bad looking. If you chose her based on her looks, then she is worthy of the name."
At this, the tense young men began to laugh, some even casting ambiguous glances at Shen Miao. Indeed, Shen Miao had now shed her silly image, her features seemingly radiating. She was naturally pretty, with a sweet, innocent look, yet incredibly calm. This contrast was irresistible. It was just that her previous image was too stubborn to change. But Xie Jingxing's words seemed to have lifted the lid, and the young men unhesitatingly agreed that Shen Miao was a very special little beauty.
The girls were upset. Xie Jingxing's words were clearly a compliment to Shen Miao's appearance. Shen Yue and Shen Qing's expressions changed. Although they both admired Fu Xiuyi, there were so many handsome men in the world, not just one. A young man like Xie Jingxing was unique in Dingjing City, and even in the entire Mingqi. Yet, such a young man was praising that idiot, which made Shen Yue and Shen Qing, who were already very proud, jealous.
Yi Peilan frowned and muttered, "Young Master Xie, are you blind? How could you think Shen Miao is pretty?"
"She must have been bewitched by some method used by Shen Miao." Bai Wei bit her lip and stared at the young man on the stage. "Shen Miao is truly shameless. She used to pester Prince Ding, and now she's pestering Young Marquis Xie."
Shen Miao was unaware of their discussion, but even if she knew, she would have just laughed it off. This was because she knew that Xie Jingxing's purpose in saying this was neither to tease her nor to help her out, but to force the two Xie brothers into action in a way that they could not refuse.
To be fair, the two Xie brothers naturally didn't want to fight Xie Jingxing. Regardless of who would win, Xie Ding had always favored his legitimate son. So, what would Xie Ding think of a illegitimate son challenging his legitimate son on the testing platform? He would only think it was a fraternal feud. And Xie Ding, being partial, would definitely be dissatisfied with the two brothers.
Therefore, Xie Changwu and Xie Changchao would definitely try to find a way to refuse, but Xie Jingxing was also a clever man. He didn't force them, but directly provoked them.
Yes, it was rather strange that Xie Changwu was unwilling to challenge Xie Jingxing, yet wanted to challenge the powerless Shen Miao. His selfish motives were clearly displayed before everyone.
In order to dispel everyone's idea and prove that he was not trying to get close to the Cai family, Xie Changwu had no choice but to go on stage and compete with Xie Jingxing. This was a helpless move, but after he agreed, his plan to use Shen Miao to get close to the Cai family was also thwarted, which meant he lost.
He stood up with a stiff upper lip: "Since my brother has spoken, there is no reason for me not to obey."
Xie Jingxing would never give him the chance to blame himself. On the battlefield, whoever he wanted to lose would definitely lose mercilessly.
"One person is not enough," he raised his eyebrows, "Third brother, let's go together."
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