The examination of Guangwen Hall is held every October.

  The assessment is a test for every student in the school, and exceptionally excellent students will be able to enter the talent show. What's more important is that many great Confucians and officials will watch on the same day, and the prince will also be watching from the side. If there are good students, they may get the opportunity to enter official career because of this.

  In short, showing off one's talents to others is always a way to show off. That's why every year during the school examination, everyone tries their best in hopes of getting a good title.

  In the second year of national junior high school, Shen Yue's academic performance was the most outstanding, and she could always stand out in the annual school examination. Although Shen Qing was not as good as Shen Yue in poetry and literature, her math skills were among the best, and she could always get a good ranking in this subject.

  If it's said that I'm a total failure, then Shen Miao is the one who always comes in last. I don't know how to play the piano, chess, painting or calligraphy, and as for math and logical reasoning, I'm completely clueless. Every time the school exams come around, I'm so nervous, not just about showing off my talents, but even passing the tests is a huge challenge. In my past life, Shen Miao's greatest fear was always the annual school exams, watching Shen Yue and Shen Qing confidently take the stage, she couldn't help but feel envious.

  Now looking back, I just think it's all childish bickering and jealousy, she hasn't seen any major setbacks, and really doesn't take it seriously.

  She glanced at Feng Anning and said, "Ranking? I've never thought of competing for any ranking. Being at the bottom, what's there to compete for?"

  Feng Anning was slightly stunned, she didn't expect Shen Miao to so bluntly say out the truth about being left behind. She carefully examined Shen Miao and asked: "You aren't really hurt that badly, are you? Is that why your personality has changed so much?"

  Shen Miao seemed to have changed overnight, calm and composed, open-minded and straightforward, with a stability that was not typical of her age. This change in temperament was even more apparent because they were sitting at the same table.

  "Yes." Shen Miao smiled and didn't say anything else.

  Perhaps it's because at this age, young boys and girls instinctively feel respect or admiration for people more mature than themselves. Shen Miao's demeanor actually made Feng An Ning unconsciously soften her attitude towards her a bit.

  After finishing their studies, the students went to the garden outside Guangwen Hall to rest and play. The girls were all in the classroom playing chess or discussing new poems they had written, when they heard what sounded like a startled horse rushing past outside.

  "What's the noise?" Yi Pei Lan turned her head around.

  "Let's go out and take a look." Jiang Cai Xuan suggested, pulling Shen Yue: "Come on, let's see what's going on."

  Shen Miao had no intention of joining the crowd, but it was Feng An Ning who took two steps forward and then turned back, thought for a moment, and grabbed Shen Miao's hand: "Let's go take a look together!"

  Shen Miao was somewhat astonished, as Feng An Ning had always looked down on her, let alone such intimate behavior. She was still bewildered, but had already been pulled by Feng An Ning out of the school.

  Outside, many students had already gathered at the door. They saw Feng Anning pulling Shen Miao over, and they all cast puzzled glances. Shen Yue's eyes flickered slightly, but she didn't say a word. Instead, Shen Qing snorted coldly from her nose when she saw the situation. Ever since she found out that Shen Miao also had feelings for Ding Wang, she couldn't even be bothered to pretend to be harmonious on the surface.

  But what was surprising was not this. Cai Lin had just squeezed out of the crowd and saw someone outside shouting in surprise: "Xiao Hou Ye!"

  Thank you, young master? Shen Miao looked out.

  Outside the crimson gate of Guangwen Hall, a sorrel horse was standing upright. The horse's coat was shiny and smooth, and at first glance, it was a rare and precious fine steed worth a thousand gold coins. The horse slightly raised its front hooves with an air of pride, its elegant figure attracting everyone's attention.

  But after all, it's not as dazzling as the one on horseback.

  The young man sat upright on the horse's back, wearing a narrow silk robe with dark cloud patterns embroidered on it, and a deep purple sable cloak draped over him. His right hand lazily played with the whip in his hand, his sword-shaped eyebrows and starry eyes were extremely handsome. The corners of his mouth were slightly hooked, as if smiling but not quite, while his eyes were very cold.

  Among the crowd, a young girl immediately blushed and, regardless of the occasion, boldly folded her handkerchief into a flower and threw it into the boy's arms. The people of Mingqi have always been open-minded, especially when it comes to the rules for boys and girls, they are very tolerant.

  The silk flower fell into the young man's arms, and he picked it up with a smile. The girl who threw the silk flower immediately covered her chest, her face flushed, as if she had already lost her senses.

  The next moment, the boy's mischievous smile vanished. The silk flower floated and fell to the ground, landing under the hoof of a bay horse, trampled into a ball.

  He lazily straightened his back, born with an extremely strong sense of aggression, but because of his handsome face, he amplified that charm to the extreme. He was born to be a presence that people couldn't take their eyes off of.

  What an apathetic and despicable person!

  Yi Peilan murmured: "It's Young Master Xie of the Xie family."

  Shen Miao raised an eyebrow, Young Master Xie of the Xie family, Xie Jingxing.

  The current prominent families of the Ming Qi, many of whom are descendants of those who helped the previous emperor establish the country and gain merit. After generations, some families only have a name left, with nothing inside. Some families, however, have become more prosperous, producing talented individuals like flowers in bloom.

  There are officials like the Feng family, and there are generals like the Shen family. If it is said that the Shen family has been a military family for generations, they have always been honest and reliable in battle, and are recognized as sincere people. As for the Xie family, who hold powerful troops, but inside and out are all unscrupulous people, even the current Emperor cannot help but be helpless against them.

  The Xie family has always had a few rebellious bones in their body. The things they did were all unscrupulous, for example, ignoring the orders from the capital city thousands of miles away and retreating, but instead going against the grain and pursuing a victory. In the end, they even beautified it as "the general is outside, the military order can be accepted or not accepted." But the Tian family always had no choice but to tolerate the Xie family because the Xie family was invincible in battle.

  The Shen and Xie families have always been in opposition, with the late emperor intentionally creating divisions and provoking them to balance each other out and stabilize the court. Shen Xin and Xie Houye's political views were also never in harmony. Shen Xin disapproved of Xie Ding's impulsive and cunning tactics on the battlefield, which he considered unorthodox. Xie Ding, on the other hand, disapproved of Shen Xin's reliance on military books and his outdated, rigid thinking, which he saw as inflexible. The two families had no dealings with each other except for their arguments in court, and it was clear that the late emperor was pleased to see this state of affairs.

  After Xie Ding's wife passed away, Xie Ding did not take a second wife. He only had one concubine, who gave birth to two sons, meaning that Xie Jinghang had two younger half-brothers. Perhaps because Xie Ding pitied his eldest son for losing his mother at a young age and wanted to make up for it, he spoiled Xie Jinghang from a young age, eventually raising him into someone with an arrogant and lawless personality.

  Even so, Xie Jinghang is still a brilliant and elegant person. Except for his slightly stubborn and cold nature, he has excellent talent, intelligence, appearance, and family background, all of which are among the best. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many girls secretly admiring him.

  What a pity, Shen Miao sighed in her heart. Such an outstanding young man ended up with a tragic ending of being pierced by countless arrows and having his skin flayed off to dry in the wind.

  Perhaps it was the pity in her eyes that was too obvious, but the young man suddenly looked over, his deep, starry eyes flashing slightly, looking at her with an inexplicable gaze.

  Digression

  Is my son handsome? Handsome! Not! Handsome!