After her mind was read, the spoiled brat became the darling of the whole group.

The assassination attempt caused turmoil in the imperial court for three days.

The emperor was furious and ordered a thorough investigation, but those remnants of the previous dynasty were so clever that they hid in the capital and could not be found no matter how hard they searched.

What angered the emperor even more was that some court officials dared to send assassins to kill Prince Jin on his way back to the capital. After killing a number of minor officials, they were unable to find the mastermind behind the assassination, which made the emperor furious and he cursed the court officials as useless.

Coincidentally, the autumn imperial examinations are just around the corner.

The Central Committee needs an injection of fresh blood.

In addition, among the princes, the seventh prince, who was originally not favored, suddenly became the emperor's favorite after the hunt.

Prince Jin was injured and recuperating in his residence. At a time when the court was short of personnel, Luo Hanfeng offered advice to the emperor, dealt with several groups of disobedient officials, and arrested several groups of treacherous ministers who secretly colluded with the remaining factions. He became the emperor's most valued son besides the crown prince.

The favor shown to the Seventh Prince has caused great anxiety among the spoiled young masters who had bullied him in the past, who fear that the Seventh Prince will seek revenge on them.

Xie Ansheng hadn't expected the Seventh Prince to gain favor so quickly, so naturally he wouldn't risk offending the Seventh Prince over such a trivial matter as Xie Xing. He could only return to his residence to warn Xie Xing not to offend the Seventh Prince in the future.

Xie Xing knew this would be the outcome, so he wasn't surprised.

During these three days, Xie Yuhe was so busy that he was rarely seen, and he didn't even have time to take care of his own wedding.

Xie Tongchen is in the military camp.

As for Xie Yuze—

He became a master of impartiality.

Neither her childhood friend nor this newly found sister are easy to deal with; both of them need someone to keep an eye on them.

Xie Yuze was afraid that the two of them might cause some trouble in places he wasn't aware of.

So every morning he would go to Xie Mingzhu's place to buy her things and make her happy, and in the afternoon he would go to Xie Xingyuan's place to play chess with her, and then his face would be painted like a turtle.

Xie Yuze is numb.

If this continues, he's going to go crazy.

Just then, a friend invited him to go out for food, drinks, and fun.

Xie Yuze couldn't be without his two younger sisters, so he had a sudden inspiration, clapped his hands, and took both of them with him.

By then, Xie Xing's injuries had almost healed. She was wearing a rose-red dress, and Caiyue had styled her hair into a beautiful bun with a red hairpin on top. Her fair cheeks were rosy, and she looked extremely charming and beautiful.

Compared to the energetic Xie Xing, Xie Mingzhu looked much more haggard.

The fact that she was a princess of the previous dynasty was a huge blow to her.

"Mingzhu, are you alright?" Xie Yuze asked with concern when he saw Xie Mingzhu's haggard appearance.

Xie Mingzhu shook her head, looking preoccupied, but smiled at Xie Yuze: "It's alright, Third Brother. Perhaps you were frightened a while ago and haven't recovered yet."

Upon hearing this, Xie Yuze said, "Would Mingzhu like to go back and rest for a while?"

The General's Mansion is safe. Even without him watching over it, everything should be fine, right?

Xie Mingzhu smiled gently: "It's alright, brother. Going out for a walk might be better for me."

The Supreme Pavilion.

"The ultimate pleasure-seeking place" is generally a place where wealthy young men and women in the capital seek pleasure.

The State of Chu had a developed economy and many places for entertainment.

Among them, the Jishangge Pavilion was located throughout the Chu Kingdom. Its advantage was that, unlike brothels which were only for men's entertainment and had a bad reputation, the Jishangge Pavilion was an elegant place.

Everyone in the pavilion, whether male or female, has their own special skill.

The Six Arts of a Gentleman: playing the zither, playing chess, calligraphy, and painting.

Of course, its popularity among noble families and young ladies is not solely due to these reasons. An even more important reason is that the Supreme Pavilion has a large flow of people, allowing for the collection of a wealth of information. Those who wish to become famous only need to participate in the Supreme Pavilion's annual ranking competition and submit their information to the Hundred Knowledge Pavilion for public announcement, which will make their reputation spread far and wide.

When the delicate young lady of the Yin family first arrived at the Supreme Pavilion, a mere gust of wind blew up the veil covering her face, revealing half of her face. Everyone in the Supreme Pavilion witnessed her stunning beauty, and the title of the most beautiful woman in the Chu Kingdom spread.

As for Xie Mingzhu, she surpassed many young ladies in the poetry competition with her talent in poetry and calligraphy, winning first place and being hailed as the most talented woman. When she came of age, suitors almost broke down the threshold of the General's Mansion.

Upon entering the Supreme Pavilion.

Everyone then recognized Xie Mingzhu.

"Isn't that the most talented woman in the General's Mansion?"

"Just as rumored, he is knowledgeable, reasonable, and naturally elegant!"

"Who's next to her?"

Everyone turned their attention to Xie Xing, who was standing next to Xie Mingzhu.

Xie Xing was looking around curiously when she noticed so many people staring at her. She moved slightly away from Xie Yuze to block their view.

"Does the General's Mansion have such a beautiful woman?"

"Could this be the young lady from the General's Mansion who was just found?"

Upon hearing this, the interest in everyone's eyes clearly faded.

"I heard that when this person was first found, he made quite a fool of himself."

"What good is beauty if it can't compare to a single hair on Miss Mingzhu's head?"

"Yes."

“Miss Mingzhu is the one who should be married and brought home as the mistress of the house. This one... would be quite good as a concubine.”

The group at the other table started joking around.

Upon hearing the voice, Xie Yuze's expression turned cold, and his sharp gaze went straight to that table.

The people at the table who were talking were dressed in fine clothes, their faces clearly flushed from the effects of wine and women, and their eyes gleaming with lust. They exchanged a knowing smile.

Xie Yuze immediately went over, kicked the table over, grabbed the collar of the man who had just said he wanted Xie Xing to be his concubine, and said coldly, "How dare you talk nonsense?"

"I'll kill you!"

The man also came from a respectable family. Even with Xie Yuze grabbing him by the collar, he made no attempt to hide his arrogance: "Oh, is our Xie family's third young master angry?"

"You want to stand up for your country girl?"

“I’m not wrong. Your sister isn’t some country bumpkin. The joke she made on her first day back was known throughout the capital. I wouldn’t even take a woman like that as a concubine.”

"boom!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Xie Yuze punched the man in the face.

"Ah!" The man screamed, covering his face.

Chaos erupted instantly. The people at the man's table stood up and moved away from Xie Yuze, fearing they would be caught in the crossfire.

The man in the general's mansion is a hot-tempered little tyrant; they can't afford to mess with him.

"Xie Yuze!" The man was furious, not expecting Xie Yuze to actually dare to make a move. "You dare hit me?"

Do you know who my father is?

Xie Yuze slapped him across the face: "I'm your father, shut your stinking mouth."

Chang Rongxuan's face was bruised and swollen from the slap. He covered his face, pointed at Xie Yuze, and shouted angrily, "You, you just wait!"

"I'm going back to the manor right now to tell my father. My aunt is the most favored Consort Rong. If you've offended me, you're finished!"