“What do you mean?” Shen Miao asked.
Xie Jingxing would not say such a thing for no reason.
Xie Jingxing raised his eyebrows and looked at her. “Shen Yuan is Prince Ding’s man.”
Shen Miao was slightly shocked and did not speak.
“Before Shen Yuan got into trouble, he talked to Prince Ding in secret.” Xie Jingxing said, “The Shen family is now at odds with each other. Other than dealing with your father, what else can they do?”
“Impossible!” Shen Miao cried out.
Xie Jingxing stared at her, as if he wanted to see through Shen Miao. He asked, “Why?”
Shen Miao’s palms were slightly wet, and her heart was in a mess. Shen Xin wasn’t supposed to be the target this early. The royal family would only start to deal with him a few years later, because at this point, they had no reason to justify targeting Shen Xin. Shen Yuan worked for Prince Ding, and the two of them were extremely cautious people. They would not make a move unless they were extremely confident. For example, in her previous life, she only found out at the end that the second and third branches were also involved in scheming against Shen Xin, and Shen Yuan must have only collected all the sufficient evidence at the very end.
However, the evidence Shen Yuan collected should be insufficient at this time. Why did Fu Xiuyi choose to make a move now?
How did things turn out to be so different?
She looked up and met Xie Jingxing’s thoughtful gaze. Shen Miao’s heart skipped a beat. Xie Jingxing was quick-witted, so he probably could tell something from her expression. At the thought of this, she smiled and said, “Shen Yuan is my second brother. Why would he want to harm my father?”
Hearing this, Xie Jingxing smiled meaningfully and said, “Shen Miao, do you really take me as a fool?”
“Since Young Marquis Xie told me this, how will Prince Ding deal with my father?” Shen Miao said seriously.
Xie Jingxing shook his head.
Shen Miao did not have much hope to begin with. Even if Xie Jingxing knew, there was no reason for him to tell her. The Xie family was also involved in the affairs of Ming Qi. If they chose a side rashly, they would also be implicated. If she was Xie Jingxing, she would also choose to remain silent.
However… Shen Miao sized up Xie Jingxing’s official uniform and asked in confusion, “What brought you to the palace?”
Xie Jingxing said lazily, “I came to request to go to war.”
“General?” Shen Miao was stunned for a moment and subconsciously asked, “To war?”
Xie Jingxing smiled but did not say anything. Shen Miao suddenly looked at him. “To the Northern border? To fight off the Xiongnu?”
This time, Xie Jingxing asked in surprise, “How did you know?” The matter of the Xiongnu in the northern border was a secret. Before the edict was issued, Shen Xin might not even know, let alone Shen Miao. Xie Jingxing had always been curious about where Shen Miao got all her information from. She even knew about the secrets in the palace. This made Xie Jingxing even more surprised.
Shen Miao looked at him in a daze, her heart in turmoil.
In the land of the northern border, the constant harassment from the Xiongnu had never been settled. However, the terrain of the northern border was complicated, and the people of the northern border were ferocious and brave. Emperor Wen Hui only sent small armies to engage in skirmishes with the Xiongnu but never wanted to face the Xiongnu head-on. Later, the Xiongnu became even more aggressive. Emperor Wen Hui had no choice but send Xie Ding to war. The Xie army was brave, but they were all wiped out on the battlefield. At the end of the year, Xie Ding was sent back as a corpse and the entire country was in grief. The next spring, Xie Jingxing went to war on behalf of his father. The army was defeated like a landslide and he was shot by thousands of arrows and hung up by the Xiongnu as a warning to Ming Qi.
Xie Jingxing died when he was 22 years old. Now, he was only 19 years old.
Shen Miao felt suffocated for a moment. It was unlikely for the emperor to want to deal with the Xiongnu at this time. Xie Jingxing requested to go to war, and Xie Ding was probably still kept in the dark at this moment. From the looks of it, Xie JIngxing’s request must have been granted.
