Shen Miao just sat there, staring at him motionless.

She had reminded Xie Jingxing about what to expect, so she was naturally prepared for him to take the stage. However, she never imagined that the situation would turn out this way, leaving her in a rather awkward and conflicted mood. It seemed as if Xie Jingxing had deliberately come to save her from the embarrassment, but that wasn’t actually the case.

Xie Changwu himself hadn’t expected Xie Jingxing to burst out like that. He had come there today mainly with the intention of winning over the Cai family. Thinking that since Shen Miao had already offended them, if he could make her lose face and teach her a lesson on their behalf, the Cai family would surely develop a favorable opinion of him. Although Shen Miao did seem quite skilled with a bow, there is naturally a huge difference in strength between a woman and a man, especially since Cai Lin had lost because he had underestimated his opponent.

But Xie Changwu was not someone who would underestimate his opponents. If possible, he might even have done something subtle to the arrows; after all, Shen Miao wasn’t someone who practiced martial arts regularly, so she surely wouldn’t notice anything amiss.

With such clever plans in mind, he never expected his elder brother to suddenly intervene.

Not only were the two Xie brothers stunned, but everyone else in the audience was also shocked. If Lord Linan had been present today, he would probably have been equally astonished. Xie Jingxing had never participated in these annual competitions before, yet everyone knew that he was quite capable in both literature and martial arts. Especially in martial arts; although he hadn’t competed formally, his performance during several military campaigns had impressed everyone greatly. If he hadn’t been so conspicuous, it might not have drawn the imperial family’s suspicion, as his reputation on the battlefield was no less than that of many veteran generals.

However, his absence from these competitions wasn’t because he wanted to avoid the imperial family’s concerns. It was simply because he was a man who didn’t care much about formalities, as if he had a rebellious streak in him, or perhaps he deliberately opposed his father’s ways. In any case, he simply disdained to participate in such competitions. Because of this, everyone’s attention turned towards the two illegitimate sons of Lord Linan’s mansion: Xie Changwu and Xie Changchao, who managed to win several first-place awards every year.

But this year, with Xie Jingxing, the most cynical young master of the Xie family, competing against these two outstanding illegitimate brothers, who would win?

Although Xie Jingxing had a good reputation, people were still more accustomed to what was right in front of their eyes. He had never displayed his talents in Dingjing City, so the women could only hear about his brilliance from their husbands’ accounts, but words alone couldn’t dispel their doubts.

Those other young men, while admiring Xie Jingxing’s carefree demeanor, also felt a bit jealous. Now that there was a chance to humble him, they were somewhat delighted. Moreover, since the two Xie brothers were known for their good manners and had many friends among the young people, most of them favored Xie Changwu and Xie Changchao.

As for the young ladies, they had already blushed at Xie Jingxing’s handsome appearance. His extraordinary demeanor, which was quite different from the soft and delicate nature of the nobility in Dingjing City, exuded a kind of fierce elegance, as if he were covered in a layer of icy coldness, yet his mischievous smile only added to his charm. Therefore, the young ladies all favored Xie Jingxing wholeheartedly.

Shen Miao took in the expressions of everyone present. It seemed that they all thought that Xie Jingxing’s decision to challenge her two younger brothers at this moment was merely a momentary whim, perhaps a sign of a nobleman’s temper flaring up. However… Shen Miao smiled slightly. Xie Jingxing was not someone to be trifled with. Since he had stepped onto this arena, there was no way he would let her two half-brothers leave unscathed. The difference between her and Xie Jingxing was that, although she appeared arrogant on the surface, she still had a plan; she knew that she needed to proceed slowly if she wanted to achieve her goal.

But Xie Jingxing, perhaps relying on the support of the Linan Marquis’s mansion behind him, seemed fearless.

But was there really only the Linan Marquis’s mansion backing him?

While she was pondering, Xie Changwu from below spoke up: “Big brother, this… I’m afraid it’s not a good idea.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Xie Jingxing glanced at Shen Miao, then at Xie Changwu, and suddenly laughed. He said, “Do you really think Shen Miao poses a greater challenge than me?”

With a burst of laughter, everyone below joined in.

Xie Jingxing continued to scrutinize Shen Miao: “Without any internal strength or martial arts skills, you still choose archery as your challenge. You’re also a person who practices martial arts, yet you dare to compete with a girl who has no real fighting ability at all… I simply can’t understand that.” He then smiled, his voice low and magnetic: “But indeed, the girl is quite attractive. If you were to compete on looks alone, then you truly live up to your reputation.”

With that, the young men around began to laugh, some even casting ambiguous glances at Shen Miao. Indeed, now that Shen Miao had shed her previous foolish image, her features seemed to be shining. She was naturally pretty, with a cute and innocent appearance, yet she also possessed an extraordinary calmness that made it hard to take one’s eyes off her. It was just that her former image was so entrenched that it took some time for people to adjust to her new look. But Xie Jingxing’s words seemed to lift that veil, and the young men readily agreed that Shen Miao was indeed a particularly beautiful girl.

However, the girls were not pleased. Xie Jingxing’s words were clearly a compliment to Shen Miao’s appearance. Shen Yue and Shen Qing both changed their expressions; although they both had their favorites (Fu Xiuyi), there were so many handsome men in the world, and Fu Xiuyi was not the only one. A young man like Xie Jingxing was truly unique in Dingjing City, and indeed throughout Mingqi. For such a man to praise that “foolish” Shen Miao made Shen Yue and Shen Qing, who were already quite proud of themselves, feel extremely jealous.

Yi Peilan frowned and muttered, “Has Young Master Xie gone blind? How could he think Shen Miao is beautiful?”

“She must have used some trick to bewitch him,” Bai Wei said, biting her lip as she stared intently at the young man on stage. “Shen Miao really knows no shame; she used to pester Prince Ding relentlessly, and now she’s pestering Young Master Xie.”

They didn’t know that Shen Miao was aware of their discussions about her, but even if she did, she would just laugh it off. Because she knew that Xie Jingxing said those things not to tease her or to save her from the situation, but rather to force her two brothers to step onto the stage in a way that they couldn’t refuse.

Nói một cách công bằng, hai anh em nhà Xie tự nhiên không muốn đối đầu với Xie Jingxing. Chưa nói đến việc thắng thua, nhưng Xie Ding luôn yêu quý con trai ruột của mình; khi con trai riêng và con trai ruột cùng nhau thách thức nhau trên sân khấu thi đấu, Xie Ding chắc chắn sẽ nghĩ gì? Chỉ có thể là họ không hòa thuận với nhau mà thôi. Và Xie Ding, người luôn thiên vị, chắc chắn sẽ không hài lòng với hai anh em đó.

Vì vậy, Xie Changwu và Xie Changchao chắc chắn sẽ tìm cách từ chối, nhưng Xie Jingxing cũng là người khéo léo; ông ấy không ép họ, mà thẳng thừng kích động họ.

Đúng vậy, Xie Changwu không muốn thách thức Xie Jingxing, nhưng lại muốn thách thức một người yếu ớt như Shen Miao… Thật là kỳ lạ. Lòng ích kỷ của ông ấy gần như được bộc lộ rõ ràng trước mặt mọi người.

Để xua tan suy nghĩ đó của mọi người, để chứng minh rằng mình không có ý định liên kết với nhà Cai, Xie Changwu buộc phải tự mình lên sân khấu và thi đấu với Xie Jingxing. Đó là hành động bất đắc dĩ, nhưng sau khi ông ấy đồng ý, kế hoạch của mình nhằm sử dụng Shen Miao để liên kết với nhà Cai cũng đã thất bại… Điều đó có nghĩa là ông ấy đã thua.

Ông ấy cố gắng mạnh mẽ đứng dậy và nói: “Nếu anh trai đã ra lệnh, làm sao em có thể không tuân theo được?”

Xie Jingxing đâu có cho ông ấy cơ hội để than phiền; trên chiến trường, người nào bị ông ấy khiến thua, chắc chắn sẽ thua một cách không khoan nhượng.

“Một người thì không đủ,” ông ấy nhướng mày: “Em trai thứ ba, cùng lên nào.”

——

Xong phần biện hộ! Tiếp theo là chụp ảnh tốt nghiệp~\(≧▽≦)/~