Chapter 45: His Questioning

“Miss.” Gu Yu and Jingzhe stood in front of Shen Miao warily. This young man was dressed in luxurious clothes and was extremely noble and beautiful, making people wonder who he was. However, he was a stranger after all. Gu Yu and Jingzhe were afraid that something would happen.

“Gu Yu, Jingzhe, guard the forest entrance,” Shen Miao said.

“But Miss…” The two of them were a little hesitant.

“Go.” Shen Miao frowned slightly. For some reason, she was very good at giving orders. Every time she ordered her maid to do something, she would carry a powerful aura that made people not dare to refute.

Jingzhe and Gu Yu could only retreat to the entrance of the forest.

“You’re interesting.” Xie Jingxing leaned against the tree trunk and looked at her playfully. He was a noble young master, but his gaze was as sharp as a blood blade on the battlefield, and his calm tone was cold. As expected of someone who had been to the battlefield.

“Marquis Xie, what do you want to say?” Shen Miao asked. She didn’t think Xie Jingxing came for an idle chat. Although he was young, he was very smart. Since the Old Marquis couldn’t discipline him, he was even more wild.

“That cripple, Prince Yu, seems to have taken a liking to you,so I wanted to say a word of congratulations to you,” he said flatly. However, calling Prince Yu a cripple was considered extremely offensive. However, when Xie Jingxing said it, there was a trace of disdain and mockery, as if Prince Yu was just a dirty thing.

He was indeed very haughty.

Shen Miao was deep in thought, but she did not show it on her face. Xie Jingxing suddenly took a step forward. He was extremely tall, and Shen Miao was covered in his shadow. The purple-clothed youth leaned over slightly and whispered into her ear, “You really knew long ago.”

The fragrance of bamboo came from the young man’s body. His voice was deliberately lowered, and it sounded magnetic. Shen Miao looked up. That handsome face was in front of her, and the corners of his lips were slightly curled, adding a hint of evilness to his smile.

However, she was not really a young girl anymore. She lowered her eyes slightly and said, “So what if I know and what if I don’t?”

When Xie Jing Xing saw that she remained nonchalance, he did not bother to continue to put on an appearance of a rich playboy and did not have even a trace of protective feelings for a female as he pushed her away. There was a piece of paper in his hands as he smiled a bit frivolously, “Knowing but not being anxious about your own matter but worry for the Second Young Master of the Shi family?”

Shen Miao abruptly moved her line of sight and stared at him fixedly as she could not help but be a bit brutal with her tone, “Is Marquis Xie being too meddlesome?”

“It’s just a piece of paper, but you’re so nervous.” Xie Jingxing returned to his usual frivolous self. “What kind of relationship do you have with the second young master of the Shi family? Why are you helping him? Or… are you up to something?”

Shen Miao’s face was as calm as water as she stared quietly at the paper in Xie Jingxing’s hand. The paper was thin, but it was a heavy stone in her heart.

She spent a lot of time writing this ‘Circulation of Law’ from her memory. In her previous life, Pei Lang was discovered by Fu Xiuyi because of this essay. From then on, he was accepted by Fu Xiuyi as an aide to help Fu Xiuyi build his empire.

Now, before he could show his talent, Shen Miao had to cut off all possibilities. She had to make sure Pei Lang never worked for the royal family.

The second son of the Shi family, Gao Yan, was a new noble family that came from a large family with an ancient inheritance in the capital. If the Royal Family wanted to suppress the old families, they naturally had to support the new families. The Shi family was the most prominent among the new ones. The eldest son of the Shi family, Gao Jin, was really talented. Later, when Fu Xiuyi ascended the throne, he was greatly supported. Because of this, the Shi family became more and more domineering, and this Gao Yan… even coveted her daughter, Wanyu.

If not for the fact that she was still the head of the imperial harem at that time and Fu Xiuyi had not started to deal with the Shen family, Wanyu would probably have been killed too. This Gao Yan was not as talented as his brother and was extremely vain. He always liked to speak of his elder brother’s achievements like it was his own. He was petty and vengeful. In her previous life, Gao Yan had never entered the imperial court. In this life, the Shi family had not reached its peak yet, and Gao Jin had just entered the imperial court. Shen Miao thought she might as well help Gao Yan enter the imperial court too.

She gave Pei Lang’s “Circulation of Law” to Gao Yan because she knew that every year, Gao Yan would ask the servant to spend money to buy an exam paper from outside. Today, she asked Gu Yu to sell this essay to Gao Yan. With Fu Xiuyi’s personality, he would definitely do anything to recruit Gao Yan. And Gao Yan was a vain person, so he would definitely not tell him that he didn’t write this essay.

Replacing a talent with a fool for Fu Xiuyi was Shen Miao’s idea. Unexpectedly, Xie Jingxing came out of nowhere and ruined her plan.

Xie Jingxing finally smiled and said lazily, “You don’t have to look like you hate me so much. This one was copied by my servant. The real one is still in the hands of Gao Yan.”

Shen Miao was slightly stunned. She did not expect this to happen. She looked at Xie Jingxing and was silent for a moment before asking, “Young Marquis, you’re too kind.”

“It’s not that I’m kind, but I’ve always been praised for being not meddlesome.” Xie Jingxing’s eyes turned cold.

Just as Shen Miao was about to speak, she heard Xie Jingxing’s voice again. “Now, can you tell me why you gave this essay to Gao Yan?”

Shen Miao sighed in her heart. Although she wanted to tie the Shen family and the Xie family to the same boat, it was not the right time now. Shen and Xie had been at odds with each other for a long time and could not be resolved overnight.

She did not trust anyone. She had her own path to walk. Be it Xie Jingxing or the Xie family, they were just a chess piece in the world. No one would explain the reason to a chess piece.

“I thought that you must have an affair with him. That’s why you helped him.” Xie Jingxing smiled mischievously and sized up Shen Miao. Her eyebrows were extremely beautiful, but they were as sharp as the wind and frost in the Northwest Desert.

“Also, if you want to help Gao Yan, you have to help the Shi family. However, instead of helping Gao Jin, you helped the good-for-nothing, Gao Yan. It’s obvious that you have evil intentions.” He smiled maliciously, but his words hit the nail on the head.

“Shen girl, do you have a grudge against the Shi family?”