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

Chapter 108 Isolating Her

Her eyes darted around, glancing at the menacing Xie Yuze and then at the fierce Xie Tongchen, before she silently picked up the tea on the table.

[Let's fight! Let's fight!]

Her heart was filled with a little joy.

Xie Tongchen: "..."

Xie Yuhe smiled slightly, ignoring them, and turned to Xie Xing to say, "Don't worry about them. Although your second and third brothers have indeed grown a bit older, they are still like children."

Xie Yuze: "..."

The two withdrew their fists, each snorted coldly, and sat back down.

Xie Xing felt a little regretful that he didn't get to see the two of them fight.

However, she was curious as to why Xie Tongchen and Xie Yuze's relationship had suddenly deteriorated.

Aren't these three always good brothers?

After finishing his tea, Xie Yuhe began to speak slowly: "In this capital, there is a list of handsome men. I wonder if Xing'er knows about it?"

Xie Xing nodded.

Xie Yuhe chuckled lightly: "Prince Jin is unparalleled in appearance, with the looks of a beautiful woman, like a celestial being banished from heaven. Countless women in the capital fall in love with him at first sight, and some even fall ill from lovesickness and die in melancholy."

"It is said that seeing Prince Jin once is a mistake that will ruin your life."

Xie Xing listened with interest, "Then who is ranked second?"

She already knew that Prince Jin was handsome, but she was rather curious about the other people on the list.

Xie Yuhe choked.

I never expected Xie Xing to ask this.

He said helplessly, "The second-ranked family is the Duke of Wen's Mansion, Wen Yan."

Gentle words?

Just as Xie Xing was about to ask more questions, Xie Yuhe subtly shifted the topic back to Jun Lanjin:

“Prince Jin is not interested in women, and countless women have failed to win his favor, yet he treats you exceptionally well. Xing’er, have you ever wondered why?”

Xie Xing blinked.

She wasn't stupid; from Xie Yuhe's words, she could naturally tell that Xie Yuhe wanted to know about her relationship with Jun Lanjin.

Xie Xing paused for a moment and said, "Brother, I don't think Prince Jin treats me any special way."

"Huh?" Xie Yuhe was taken aback, his questioning gaze falling on Xie Xing.

Xie Xing smiled, revealing shallow dimples on both sides of his cheeks, and said, "When Prince Jin was startled on horseback earlier, my horse and I arrived in front of him. Logically, I represent the General's Mansion, and Prince Jin would not stand by and watch him die."

"This is one of the reasons why Prince Jin saved me."

Xie Xing raised a finger and continued, "The reason why Prince Jin treats me slightly differently from other women is because I was the only one who saved the prince during the autumn hunt. If Prince Jin is not heartless, he will naturally treat me better than other women."

“This is the second one.”

"Thirdly..." Xie Xing's eyes curved into a smile, "I am obedient and clever, but you all just flatter me."

Xie Xing's words were reasonable and well-founded.

Xie Yuhe subconsciously felt that something was wrong, but couldn't quite put his finger on it.

He naturally couldn't tell Xie Xing these reasons, but the bigger reason was that he could hear Xie Xing's heartfelt words.

"So, Xing'er has developed feelings for Prince Jin?" Xie Yuhe asked tentatively.

Xie Yuze glanced at Xie Xing.

Needless to say, Xie Xing had been staring at Prince Jin for a long time and couldn't take his eyes off him, so he was obviously fond of him.

Sure enough, Xie Xing retorted, "Is there any woman who doesn't like Prince Jin?"

Aside from her personality, she was outstanding in every way—appearance, family background—and even Xie Mingzhu herself couldn't resist such temptation.

Xie Yuhe coughed lightly, covering her mouth, "But for you, Prince Jin is probably..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but Xie Xing already understood what he meant.

She didn't reply.

Instead, he thought to himself with a strange feeling: [Something's odd. Why isn't my brother concerned about who Xie Mingzhu likes? Why is he asking me instead?]

System: [If they knew that Xie Mingzhu and Luo Hanfeng had started to develop feelings for each other, the sky would probably fall.]

As soon as the system finished speaking, a click was heard.

Xie Xing stopped thinking, and saw the teacup in Xie Yuhe's hand shatter with a crack.

Meeting Xie Xing's gaze, Xie Yuhe casually placed the broken teacup on the table, slowly wiped away the marks with a handkerchief, and said in a low voice, "This cup looks quite old, yet it's so fragile."

Xie Tongchen: "..."

Xie Yuze: "..."

The carriage traveled all the way to the palace.

The palace banquet was held in the palace's rear garden, organized entirely by the Empress. It was noon, and the bright sunlight was shining down.

Many ministers and their families had already arrived in the back garden, and the noble ladies from prominent families sat in their respective groups.

Some sat in the pavilion, while others admired the flowers in the back garden, and the place quickly became lively.

A gentle breeze carries the fragrance of lotus flowers from the pond, and clear spring water flows through it, making it look extremely elegant.

Perhaps because she had seen some close female friends, Xie Mingzhu's smile became genuine.

She said to Xie Xing and Xie Jiaojiao, "Shall we go sit over there?"

Xie Jiaojiao naturally agreed.

She cultivated a good relationship with Xie Mingzhu in order to befriend these noble ladies from prominent families.

However, the thoughts she heard from Xie Xing today made her care too much.

She glanced at Xie Xing: "Fifth Sister, why don't you come with us too?"

Before Xie Xing could speak, Madam Xie said, "He can also interact with playmates of the same age."

"Go ahead."

Madam Xie's words were not to be refused.

Over there, Xie Yuhe wanted Xie Xing to join them, but the rules were strict, and female relatives could not freely appear in the front hall with male relatives.

Xie Yuhe then asked Xie Yuze to keep a close eye on Xie Xing's side.

The matter of the envoy from the Southern Kingdom stealing the map is of great importance and cannot be ignored.

Xie Xing and Xie Jiaojiao followed Xie Mingzhu to a pavilion.

Several young ladies from prominent families were already seated in the pavilion.

"Mingzhu!" One of the girls, dressed in a long emerald green dress and adorned with jewels, ran towards Xie Mingzhu with delight and an affectionate smile. She playfully scolded:

"It's been a long time. I usually send you invitations, but you never come."

Xie Mingzhu said softly, "My cousin came over today, so I was delayed."

As she spoke, she turned to the side and introduced her to everyone: "This is my cousin, Xie Jiaojiao."

"This is my younger sister, Xie Xing."

"This is Lin Qingyue, the daughter of the Minister of Revenue."

"Greetings, Sister Qingyue." Xie Jiaojiao greeted Lin Qingyue with proper etiquette.

Xie Xing also bowed in greeting.

"Oh my, this little sister is really lovely." Lin Qingyue glanced at Xie Xing, then happily took Xie Jiaojiao's hand.

"Look at her skin, so smooth and supple. It's true what they say, the beauty of the Jiangnan region is nurtured by nature."

Xie Jiaojiao smiled shyly, "Sister, you flatter me."

Lin Qingyue then took the opportunity to pull Xie Mingzhu and Xie Jiaojiao towards the young ladies from prominent families sitting behind them.

"Look, who's here?"

That immediately made it lively.

The girl's sweet laughter could be heard continuously.

Xie Jiaojiao sat in the crowd, her gaze hesitantly turning towards Xie Xing.

Xie Xing stood alone outside the pavilion and blinked.

As expected, she was isolated.