A Young Man

"So it's you."

A handsome young man walked out of the bamboo forest. He was also wearing an ivory robe with silver thread on the sides. Compared to the white meat ball, he was dressed extremely elegantly.

He stopped in front of Shen Miao and looked down at her.

This young man was extremely tall, and Shen Miao barely reached his chest. It was as if he was looking at a child. The corners of his mouth were habitually curled into a mischievous smile, but because of his handsome face, it was not repulsive at all. If it were an ordinary girl, her heart would probably be racing and her face would be red.

However, Shen Miao was not an unsophisticated girl now. She glanced at him and did not say anything.

The young man smiled, and an exquisite short knife appeared in his hand. He aimed the end of the sheath at himself and raised Shen Miao's chin with the handle, forcing her to look up.

Shen Miao had no choice but to look at him.

The young man was about 18 or 19 years old, but he had sharp eyebrows and starry eyes. His eyes seemed to be filled with autumn water, and his faint smile was very attractive. However, the depths of his gaze made people tremble. It was a pair of sharp eyes that could almost see through people's hearts. No matter how playful he looked on the exterior, he was probably as hard to penetrate as a piece of rock on the inside.

She took a deep breath and took a step back, moving away from the knife and saying gently, "Young Marquis Xie."

Xie Jingxing smiled and said in an ambiguous tone, "Do you know me?"

"There is no one in the capital who doesn't know Young Master Xie's name," Shen Miao said indifferently. Her words seemed to be filled with sarcasm, but when she said it, she was surprisingly serious, making it difficult to distinguish her tone.

"I don't know you." Xie Jingxing glanced at her and then at the trembling meat ball on the ground. "You asked Su Minglang to send a message to his family."

"A message?" Shen Miao looked at him and suddenly smiled. "I'm just teaching him a way to not be reprimanded by his father. Young Marquis Xie, you're thinking too much."

"Thinking too much?" The young man ruminated on these words. Suddenly, he leaned forward, almost forcing Shen Miao to the huge tree trunk behind her. His expression was unreadable, but his tone was very clear. "If I didn't think too much, I would have been deceived by you."

Shen Miao frowned.

Although Ming Qi wasn't a strict nation, it was still considered inappropriate for an unmarried man and a woman to do such a thing in broad daylight, especially when it was taking place in the Guangwen Hall. If anyone saw them, she did not mind if her reputation was ruined, but she was afraid that Shen Xin would be embarrassed because of her. In her previous life, the Shen family was destroyed because of her. Only then did she see through her parents' good intentions. In her next life, she would protect the family. How could she allow others to say anything bad about the Shen family?

At this thought, Shen Miao said impatiently, "Young Master Xie, what exactly do you want?"

Xie Jingxing looked at the girl in front of him.

He had always believed in his tuition and he had been right most of the time. This was all trained from living for more than ten years in the army. He had killed people on the battlefield, fought with scheming people in the capital, and dealt with evil relatives back at home. He seemed to have grown up arrogantly not because of luck, but because he never took anything lightly.

Although others couldn't tell, he could tell for a fact that Su Minglang was enlightened by someone.

However, he did not know what the purpose of doing it was.

He planned to meet this person.

However, when he really saw this person, he was surprised.

Xie Jingxing thought that the person who had this wisdom was either the son of some royal court or a young man who was about to become an official. However, when he saw this person, he almost thought that Su Minglang was deliberately playing tricks on him.

The girl in front of him was not tall and only reached his chest. Her face was not attractive and was at most cute. She looked to be only 11 or 12 years old. She had a round face, round eyes, and small lips. She stood there alone like a lost deer in the forest. However, standing there straight and dignified, she spoke at a slow and measured pace, as if she was a concubine raised in the palace.

Looking up and down, Xie JIngxing felt that she was just an ordinary little girl until they exchanged a few words.

She looked childish, but her tone was calm. Not only did she not show any panic, but she even looked impatient. This was the first time this happened to Young Master Xie. When other women saw him approaching like this, they would already be red with embarrassment, but she looked indifferent and bored.

She was probably too young and didn't know anything. But why did she know what to say to the Su family?

He placed one hand on the tree trunk behind Shen Miao. From the distance, he looked like he was about to hug Shen Miao. Xie Jingxing lowered his head and leaned very close to Shen Miao.

"You're not afraid of me."

"Young Marquis Xie is not a man-eating demon. What's there to be afraid of?" Shen Miao said indifferently. "If there's nothing else, I'll have to go back to the school." With that, she was about to leave.

"Stop." Xie Jingxing raised his hand. Shen Miao's hair brushed past his palm, making him feel like ants were crawling on it. He retracted his hand and took a few steps back to lean against the tree. He crossed his arms, looking arrogant again.

"What is your purpose of warning the Su family?"

His words were as sharp as his eyes. He never attempted to hide his sharpness and impulsiveness.

Shen Miao sighed in her heart.

Xie Jingxing was smarter than she thought. He could find this place with just a word from Su Minglang. In her previous life, she only thought that he was someone who didn't care about politics.

When dealing with smart people, honesty was always the wise approach.

"Nothing else. I was just trying to protect myself."

With that, she bowed to Xie Jingxing and turned to leave.

Xie Jing understood what she meant.

Behind her, the young man smiled and played with the knife in his hand.

"Su Minglang, what's her name?"