Xu Hengyi was a little stunned. "Sent to your side, for what?"
A thought flashed through his mind, so unbelievable that he subconsciously dismissed it.
Xie Jiang didn't scare him. "To be at my beck and call."
She hadn't deliberately concealed her gender before; people in the Four Southern Provinces all knew she was a woman.
Major clans sent their outstanding young men to her side. With a wiggle of his toes, anyone could guess what ulterior motives they harbored.
To fill her harem, whisper in her ear, and scheme for their families – these were still considered benevolent.
To use male beauty to lure her into making mistakes when she was young, and even to lead her to her death step by step, their ultimate goal was to eliminate her completely.
He Zhifei, Su Yang, and the other dozen or so youths all knew why they were sent to her side. It was said that He Zhifei, unable to bear his brother coming to his death, tragically replaced him to sacrifice himself for a greater cause.
Su Yang was coerced into being sent to her side because of his awkward status in the clan and his exceptionally handsome face.
It was precisely because of this that Su Yang's resistance was particularly fierce, and he was determined to see her dead.
When did He Zhifei and the others change their attitudes? Xie Jiang didn't pay much attention; they couldn't cause any major trouble under her nose.
Perhaps it was the passage of time that revealed people's true hearts. Not only did the youths' attitudes change, but so did the major clans of the Four Southern Provinces.
From enduring humiliation in silence and daring not to speak out at first, to later sincerely submitting and vying to pledge allegiance.
Regardless of whether those youths were willing or not, they no longer regarded her as a monstrous threat.
In the past few years, several had requested to leave early, while some were willing to continue staying by her side and work for her.
He Zhifei had never requested to leave, and Xie Jiang had never asked him if he wanted to go.
Even if He Zhifei wanted to leave now, Xie Jiang would not let him.
Who wouldn't like a capable and unobtrusive subordinate? No matter what task Xie Jiang assigned to He Zhifei, he could complete it flawlessly. If Xie Jiang were to have a sudden whim to become emperor one day, He Zhifei would undoubtedly be the prime minister.
That Su Yang had not left was something Xie Jiang had not expected.
Su Yang's attitude had become increasingly clear. It seemed he genuinely intended to become her consort?
Or perhaps he directly desired the position of empress.
Xie Jiang did not think that Su Yang had been abused too much by her, causing him to develop a mental disorder and fall in love with her. She merely believed that Su Yang was quite ambitious and wanted to use the power of her harem to control the entire Su clan.
"Are there many young men from noble families sent to your side? Besides Young Master He and Su Yang, are there others?"
"About a dozen or so."
"What are these clans thinking, sending people to your side for your dispatch? Why not send them to your elder brother?" Xie Tangqing was the head of the Xie clan; wouldn't following Xie Tangqing offer a better future?
Xu Hengyi thought of something and lowered his voice, saying in her ear, "Aren't those people trying to instigate you to seize power with your elder brother?"
Xie Jiang nodded. "Possibly."
Xu Hengyi immediately advised, "You absolutely must not listen to them! What's so good about being a clan head? It's exhausting, like a mule! And you have to kill your own kin! Your Highness Fifth Prince, don't you agree? We can't do things that involve killing our own kin, can we?"
Xia Zeshi was forced to nod, but this was Xie Jiang's family matter; they shouldn't interfere too much, should they?
Xu Hengyi continued to persuade, "Your father passed the position of clan head to your elder brother when he was so young. Being a hands-off manager is so carefree. You can travel whenever you want, with no worries. You should learn from your father, be open-minded, and don't always fixate on the little bit of land at home."
Seeing his earnest persuasion, Xie Jiang decided to tease him. She frowned and said with a troubled expression, "But my family's fortune is really too much. I can't resist the temptation."
Xu Hengyi suspected she was showing off her wealth. "You're already the Marquis of Nanhai, what are you still fighting for in terms of family assets? Building your own achievements is so much more rewarding!"
Xie Jiang looked displeased. "Building one's own achievements is too tiring."
"Aren't you on good terms with your elder brother?"
"When did I ever tell you that I was on good terms with my elder brother?"
"..."
Xu Hengyi thought about it. Xie Jiang hadn't said that, but the implication was that there was a lot of brotherly affection, wasn't there?
Remembering Xie Jiang's attitude towards Xie Taihong, Xu Hengyi couldn't help but suspect, "Are your family relationships quite complicated?"
This fellow must have imagined something else. Xie Jiang sighed cooperatively.
"It's hard to put into words."
"Did your father do something wrong to your mother, or something wrong to you?"
"What makes you say that?"
"You don't even glance at your father, but your father acts so submissively in front of you. It's clear he feels guilty towards you..."
"You have such insight, you can even see these things?"
Receiving Xie Jiang's praise, Xu Hengyi immediately swelled with pride. "Of course. Who do you think I am? What can't I see?"
Xia Zeshi was momentarily unable to distinguish whether what Xie Jiang said was true or false.
He originally thought Xie Jiang was just teasing Xu Hengyi, as she had done so more than once.
Every time, Xu Hengyi was amused and would inevitably fly into a rage after realizing it, but more often than not, he didn't realize it at all.
Xia Zeshi was also confused about how much of what Xie Jiang said was true and how much was false.
Thinking about the relationship between Xie Jiang and Xie Taihong, he had never seen such a father and son. The more he looked, the more complex the reasons seemed.
As for Xie Jiang's talk of fighting for family assets, the Xie clan was a prominent family that governed the Four Southern Provinces. It was perfectly normal for Xie Jiang, as a direct descendant of the Xie clan, to have thoughts of competing for it.
"Your father really did..."
As soon as Xu Hengyi spoke, he shut his mouth.
Perhaps it was Xie Jiang's painful past, and he shouldn't ask any more questions.
"He did do something wrong to me. If he doesn't act submissively in front of me, he feels uneasy, probably worried about being struck by lightning." Xie Jiang's words were spoken with remarkable calmness.
Xu Hengyi felt that Xie Jiang was truly strong. Although it was a painful past, she spoke of it so calmly and ordinarily.
"Alas, every family has its own difficulties. I thought with your personality, you would be very doted upon at home and live a carefree life, but I didn't expect..."
"In any case, no matter what your family situation is, don't be easily instigated by those people. They have malicious intentions and want to profit from it. Stay away from subordinates like Su Yang too; you can use him, but don't get too close. Have you heard of 'cherish virtuous officials and keep villains at a distance'?"
Xu Hengyi was genuinely worried about Xie Jiang, always feeling that she was indifferent to everything, dared to think and do anything, and might make a mistake if she wasn't careful. As a good friend, he naturally had to be concerned.
Xie Jiang didn't know how many good deeds she had done in her past life to have such a good friend in this life.
The next day, after breakfast, Xie Jiang was sitting cross-legged on the stone bed, meditating and practicing her skills. Wen Feng, who had left not long ago, reappeared before her with a joyful expression.
Accompanying Wen Feng were Prefect Huo and Clerk Wang. It turned out that during the morning court that day, His Majesty had summoned the envoy from Lan Yong and subsequently ordered her release.
Wen Feng had specifically returned to escort her out of prison.