CHAPTER 149: CHAPTER 149: YE QINGRONG, THE FEMALE LEAD

"Mr. Yu is the grandfather of Empress Xiao’ai. His two sons are her father and the second son, who is the grandfather of Gu Fourth Son and Third Miss Gu," Li Mu said.

Tang Xiaobai looked outside the carriage at the trees and people retreating behind them, and softly asked, "Who should have the ’Xunzi Explanations’?"

Li Mu replied, "There is no one left from the branch of Empress Xiao’ai’s biological father, Duke Pengcheng. It should be kept with the second Yu family, but you should ask Gu Fourth Son for specifics."

When Tang Xiaobai mentioned Gu Yuan, she suddenly remembered seeing him in Yankang Village the other day.

At the time, she thought he was looking for evidence, but thinking from another angle, he might have been destroying it.

"This matter is getting more complicated," Tang Xiaobai laughed.

But she didn’t have the energy to think about this anymore, so she called out "Ah Xiao" and suddenly asked, "Do you remember me talking about Pei Jiu reading ’Xunzi’?"

Li Mu hummed an acknowledgment and said, "’Xunzi’ states that people can oppose destiny and use it to their advantage."

Tang Xiaobai was slightly excited.

The little ancestor was happy to listen to Pei Xuan explain ’Xunzi’ with her, which made her quite happy.

’Xunzi’ expounds on a materialistic view, advocating that man can overcome nature, opposing fatalism, and arguing that human nature is inherently evil, needing rules to bind it.

This series of viewpoints is contrary to the current flourishing Qing studies on the relationship between heaven and humans and the theory of anomalies.

Pei Xuan had studied ’Xunzi’ in great detail and was so excited when he saw her reading it, indicating how much he agreed with ’Xunzi’s’ viewpoints.

As someone from an influential and capable aristocratic family, it’s not unreasonable for him to want a change since his political ideals are not aligned with the current emperor.

"Pei Jiu won’t stay at the academy for long, so seize the time to study ’Xunzi’ with him," Tang Xiaobai whispered.

Li Mu’s lips curved into a slight smile as he responded with a hum, unable to contain his pride.

Despite her young age, she showed that she knew how to spot valuable talents that might be useful, ensuring she can become a wise empress in the future!

Tang Xiaobai didn’t know his thoughts and continued planning the upcoming timeline.

Today is March 1st, and the original plot is about to begin.

Tomorrow, the results of the imperial exam will be announced, and the day after, the top scholar will parade through the streets; it’s also the day Xue Tenth Son and Ye Qingrong will meet for the first time.

This means Ye Qingrong would arrive in the Capital City either today or tomorrow.

She needs to keep a close eye on Miss Tang...

As she thought about this, she suddenly heard the sound of a horse galloping past her outside, which made Tang Xiaobai’s heart skip a beat. She asked, "Who is riding a horse?"

"It’s Miss Tang."

Tang Xiaobai quickly climbed out of the carriage and happened to see Li Xingyuan dashing out from Qinren Street’s West Gate. Upon seeing her, he urgently asked, "Where is Miss Tang?" But he couldn’t find any trace of Tang Jiaojiao.

"She headed south," Li Mu said.

Li Xingyuan immediately ran off.

Tang Xiaobai suddenly had a very ominous feeling: "Quick! To Mingde Gate!"

...

When Tang Xiaobai arrived by carriage, she felt she might have been a step too late—the situation had already reached a stalemate.

A dense crowd gathered at the city gate, but she could still spot Tang Jiaojiao, the sole rider on horseback, at a glance.

Having rushed out, Tang Jiaojiao hadn’t changed into riding attire; her red clothing was like flowers, and her scarf was like clouds. Her raven-dark hair was loosely tied on one side, exuding unmatched charm and beauty.

With her left hand holding the reins and her right hand seemingly casually flicking the whip, she lowered her gaze to look at the chaos below her with a disdainful cold smile on her lips.

Normally, Tang Xiaobai would gladly admire her sister’s beauty for a while longer, but now—

She glanced at Tang Jiaojiao and then shifted her gaze to find Tang Jiaojiao’s opponent.

It wasn’t difficult to find.

The heroine, indeed, had an aura.

Even though she stood lower than Tang Jiaojiao, once out from the crowd’s obstruction, Tang Xiaobai could spot Ye Qingrong easily.

Her distant brows, peach blossom eyes, flowing cold illumination, and naturally charming visage.

The heroine is always the most special one, her dress different from others too.

Not donning the currently popular flowing dresses nor the bright colors of red, purple, orange, or yellow.

She wore an ensemble of snow blue, cinched at her waist like a willow, with a semi-translucent veil over it, and even her hair was simpler styled, emphasizing her clean and noble, uniquely refined demeanor.

Indeed, she is the heroine, indeed a beauty that can captivate a city!

At this moment, faced with the arrogant hauteur of Miss Tang, the new arrival in the Capital City, the heroine showed no fear.

Even as she raised her head to look at people, Ye Qingrong showed no sign of being cowed, remaining calm and composed, with only a hint of coldness in her eyes: "I don’t care who you are; since you’ve disturbed my mother, you must dismount and apologize!"

In stark contrast to Tang Jiaojiao’s crisp and jade-like voice, Ye Qingrong’s voice had a soft, medium-low timbre; the end had a slightly raspy texture, carrying a sweet and wild allure that made Tang Xiaobai’s skin prickle.

But in terms of aura, neither Miss Tang would lose; a sarcastic laugh escaped her, and she slowly said, "I don’t care who you are; since you’ve disturbed my horse, you must kneel and apologize!" As soon as she finished speaking, the whip she’d been swinging casually was finally aimed out.

Should it be futilely watching Miss Tang be scolded for returning home?

Or should she stand by helplessly as Miss Tang got into an irreversible fight with the heroine?

Torn between rationality and emotion, Tang Xiaobai chose to cover her eyes.

But when the whip was swung, the expected sound of air ripping didn’t occur.

"Impudent!" Tang Jiaojiao shouted angrily.

Tang Xiaobai was dumbfounded.

"It’s okay," the little ancestor whispered soothingly beside her.

Tang Xiaobai hastily withdrew her hand and saw Miss Tang’s right hand, that held the whip, had her wrist seized.

She struggled so hard that her face turned red, but she couldn’t budge at all.

Her gaze turned to the face of the righteous gentleman who stopped Miss Tang’s assault, and Tang Xiaobai immediately fumed, "Let go of my sister!"

How could she have forgotten?

The male lead was still here!

This plot is frankly about using a vicious female side character to push the male and female leads into acquaintance!

How could Li Xingyuan let Miss Tang harm Ye Qingrong!

Scoundrel!

Tang Xiaobai saw that he looked her way, but his hand still hadn’t let go, making her even angrier: "Ah Xiao!"

Before her voice fell, a long whip flew out like a snake’s tongue, aiming straight at Li Xingyuan’s hand.

Li Xingyuan’s eyes narrowed as he saw the whip, hesitating slightly, leaving a blood-trail an inch long on the back of his hand.

He glanced at the wound on his hand, then looked up at the long whip in Li Mu’s hand, his gaze cryptic, remaining silent.

Tang Xiaobai didn’t have the time to care about him, jumping from the carriage to Tang Jiaojiao’s side.

Her stature was small, and she hopped up, wanting to see Tang Jiaojiao’s wrist but couldn’t, so she anxiously asked, "Sister, did he hurt your wrist?"

Tang Jiaojiao awkwardly hid her hand and frowned, asking, "Why are you here?"

"I was heading home and saw you running out alone, so I decided to follow," she replied, and half-turned to give a cold smile toward Li Xingyuan, "We at Duke Yan Mansion called you here to help outsiders bully our Miss Tang, didn’t we?"

Li Xingyuan finally snapped back to reality, hastily saying, "I didn’t—"

"Don’t explain to me! Save that for my older brother," Tang Xiaobai glared at him fiercely, then turned back around, lifting her face, to gently smile at Miss Tang, "Sister, you’ve been startled. Let’s go back first; I will handle this!"