"Take everything away." Lei Yun waved his hand, and several people came up and cleared the bowls and chopsticks off the table, instantly becoming unusually busy.
Jiang Bai felt a little flustered. Although this place was the Imperial Academy, she was still unfamiliar with the area and should go with Le'er.
She then stood up and left her seat, saying, "I'm going to check on Le'er."
"Okay," Zhao Yi replied.
Wang Xuan's gaze remained fixed on this spot. Seeing where Jiang Bai had left, he felt uneasy and also left, taking a side path towards Li Mi's location.
The path was nearby, and as soon as he went there, he saw Li Mi and Zhao Xile struggling. Zhao Xile was young, and although she looked well-behaved, she was also quite good at being a troublemaker.
When Li Mi tried to pull her away, she bit him hard, dragging out what should have been a quick resolution.
"What's wrong with you?!" Wang Xuan roared as he approached.
Li Mi was startled, and the others dared not utter a sound and all retreated.
Li Mi looked around and lowered his voice: "Cousin, this little thing is amazing. Look at my hand."
He held out his hand to Wang Xuan to see; the back of his hand was covered in messy marks, and many places were bleeding.
“This little bitch is just as despicable as her brother!” With that, Wang Xuan took two steps forward and pulled Zhao Xile up.
Wang Xuan was much stronger than Li Mi, and his large size created an unintentional sense of oppression that made Zhao Xile panic.
Zhao Xile was suspended in mid-air by her, and could only shout loudly.
Jiang Bai was skilled in martial arts and had excellent features. He could hear Zhao Xile's cries from afar.
"Le'er?!" Without much hesitation, Jiang Bai went to the source of the voice.
Knowing she had witnessed this scene behind the artificial hill, her mind went blank, and she couldn't suppress her anger. "Those two beasts!"
She took a handkerchief from her bosom and covered her face, then casually styled her hair into a man's hairstyle. Fortunately, she usually liked to wear a tight-fitting outfit under her loose clothes for convenience when doing business.
Once she takes off her outer garments, you can't tell she's still a woman at all.
She soared up and kicked Wang Xuan and Li Mi in the back, sending them flying and crashing to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Zhao Xile was also startled by her, and as soon as Wang Xuan let go of her, she ran away.
Jiang Bai hugged her tightly and whispered in her ear, "Mother is here."
Zhao Xile's crying stopped abruptly. Her large eyes stared blankly at Jiang Bai. She wanted to reach out and pull off the veil covering Jiang Bai's face, but she was afraid that her mother would be exposed, so she remained silent and breathed softly in her mother's arms.
Wang Xuan was helped up by Li Mi, and angrily pointed at Jiang Bai: "Who are you? How dare you kick me!"
"How dare you interfere in my affairs?!"
Li Mi was just using the tiger's might to intimidate him, but seeing that the person opposite him seemed to be quite skilled in martial arts, he said, "This is the young master of the Wang Imperial Censor's family. You'd better not interfere."
"Otherwise, you won't even know how you died."
Throughout her life, Jiang Bai was least afraid of being threatened.
She also dislikes being threatened the most.
"The people I want to protect, are you all?"
She gently placed Zhao Xile under the eaves: "You just wait here obediently, turn around."
Jiang Bai ruffled her hair: "Good girl."
Zhao Xile bit her chin to keep herself from making a sound, nodded obediently, and turned around.
She looked up slightly and could see another swallow's nest, not too big or too small, under the eaves. Inside, the baby swallows were peeking out, chirping and waiting to be fed. Their mother had not yet returned.
Behind him, a man's screams rang out, but Zhao Xile seemed not to hear anything.
Before long, someone patted him on the shoulder: "Alright, let's go."
She wanted to turn around, but Jiang Bai stopped her, saying, "There's nothing to see, so as not to offend Le'er's eyes."
Zhao Xile pointed to the swallows' nest on the eaves: "Their mother must be coming back soon."
"Of course, their mothers went to find food for them."
Jiang Bai picked up Zhao Xile and lightly touched the ground with his toes, leaving the place.
Behind him, Li Mi was already unconscious, Wang Xuan's legs were curled up in a strange position, his face had turned liver-colored, his eyes were bulging out of their sockets, and he was in so much pain that he couldn't speak.
The third round of the competition has begun in the front hall of the Imperial College.
Zhao Yi looked around but couldn't see Zhao Xile anywhere.
Even Jiang Bai didn't come back.
Seeing this, Lei Yun said, "I'll send people down to search. The Imperial Academy isn't that big; it can't be lost."
"Thank you for your trouble, General."
On stage, He Yu had already called out Zhao Xile's name, but Zhao Xile still hadn't appeared.
The people below whispered among themselves.
"Could it be that Zhao Xile left the Imperial Academy because he didn't like the third match?"
"What are you saying? The gates of the Imperial Academy have been closed. No one can leave until the competition is over."
"Where did she go? Or is it that she knows nothing about calligraphy and painting and has found a place to hide, too afraid to participate and embarrass herself?"
There were all sorts of people saying different things, but Princess Anping snorted coldly, and only then did they shut up.
"You, come here," Anping ordered the frightened man beside him.
"Go find out where that little girl went and why she hasn't come back yet."
Having been in the palace for so long, she was already used to many tricks. If the young girl was alright, that would be fine, but she was afraid that some people were malicious and had ulterior motives.
Such a cute, funny, and smart little girl is a rare find.
"Zhao Xile." He Yu called Zhao Xile's name for the third time.
The other contestants have already taken the stage, but Zhao Xile has not yet arrived, and time cannot be wasted.
If she didn't come, the other contestants would inevitably have some complaints, but if it started now, Zhao Xile would have unknowingly missed this opportunity.
"We can't keep waiting for her if she doesn't come."
"Yes, he's just a child. He has no manners at all. How can he want to go to the Imperial Academy like this? His mind is not fully developed yet."
He Yu's grip on the list tightened slightly. He also wanted to see if Zhao Xile could continue to create miracles in the third match.
I have never seen such an outstanding child in all these years.
Just then, Xiao Cui appeared, leading Zhao Xile. "Zhao Xile is here!"
Zhao Xile still had faint tear tracks on her face, but when everyone looked at her, her eyes remained calm.
Jiang Bai quietly returned to his seat.
Zhao Yi asked, "What happened?"
Jiang Bai's face darkened slightly, and there was still a trace of blood on his fingertips. Although it was very small, the two were quite close, and Zhao Yi still noticed it.
"We'll talk about it when we get home."
Zhao Xile stepped onto the stage: "I'm sorry, I accidentally tripped and fell just now, so I changed my clothes."
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