At the thought of this, the two brothers gritted their teeth in hatred. Xie Changchao shook his arm. That day, when Xie Jingxing stepped on his shoulder, he hurt so much that his arm was still in pain. He said, “Second Brother, I heard that Shen Xin and his wife entered the palace today. This time, they made military contributions. I’m afraid His Majesty will reward Shen Qiu.”
The Shen and Xie families had always been enemies with each other. It was not that Xie Changwu and Xie Changchao regarded Shen Qiu as an eyesore because the political stance of the Shen and Xie families was different. In fact, they regarded all the young talents in the capital as their opponents, and Shen Qiu was undoubtedly the most outstanding among those young talents. Although Xie Jingxing was also very outstanding, he had not become an official after all. Moreover, with Xie Ding protecting him, he could do anything they wanted. However, Shen Qiu was different. If Xie Changwu and Xie Changchao became officials, everyone would probably compare them to the sons of the Shen family.
What Xie Changwu and Xie Changchao hated the most was being inferior to others.
“What are you afraid of?” Xie Changwu said disdainfully, “He’s just a military man who only knows how to fight and kill. He knows nothing about the affairs of the imperial court. In the Shen family, only Shen Xin has outstanding military achievements, but what can he do? Now that the Shen family is at the end of its rope, it looks good, but in the end…” He suddenly stopped talking.
“Second Brother is right.” Xie Changchao smiled. “It’s the Shen family’s fault for being neutral. In this world, if one chooses a neutral stance, they will only be hated by both sides. It’s all thanks to the Shen family, at least in the future, we will have one less opponent.”
If anyone else heard their conversation, they would probably be shocked. After all, Xie Changwu and Xie Changchao were all smiles outside, and the Xie family did not side with any prince over the competition for the throne. However, what Xie Changchao and Xie Changwu said just now hinted that they had already sided with a prince behind the Xie family’s back.
“The Shen family is nothing to be afraid of. We have one at home.” Xie Changchao suddenly turned in another direction. That was the courtyard where Princess Yuqing used to live, and it was also the courtyard where Xie Jingxing lived now. He thought of the way Xie Jingxing pointed the spear at his head at the test field and felt a burning fury. A moment later, he said, “That bastard is getting more and more arrogant.”
He actually called Xie Jingxing a “bastard” in private. Usually, when he saw Xie Jingxing, he would be very respectful to him.
“That’s right.” Xie Changchao went along with what Xie Changwu said and said, “He’s been much more well-behaved recently, so Father values him more. Could it be that a strategist is helping him?”
For so many years, Xie Jingxing had been stubborn and did not enter the government. Although he was a headache, his choice of not entering the imperial court made the two brothers happy. However, even so, when people mentioned Young Marquis Xie, they were full of praise for his heroic acts on the battlefield. Not only that, no matter how Xie Jingxing went against Xie Ding, Xie Ding treated Xie Jingxing with all his heart. On the contrary, his attitude towards his two illegitimate sons was neither cold nor warm. As a result, their jealousy towards Xie Jingxing became stronger and stronger.
In the past, as long as Xie Jingxing was in the capital, something big would happen every few days. However, ever since the incident at the test venue, he seemed to have changed. He lived in seclusion every day and was busy with something. However, such an abnormal silence obviously made Xie Ding very happy. He even felt that Xie Jingxing was finally getting serious with his life.
It was precisely because of this that Xie Changchao and Xie Changwu were even more nervous.
“Who cares if he has a strategist?” Xie Changwu sneered. “One day, he will be stepped on by me. That woman was a princess back then, but she still didn’t end up well, let alone her son.”
