A Beauty Named Xiao Mei

"No matter what, I should go take a look first!"

Xiao Han got up, washed up, and had a simple breakfast. The moment he stepped out of the courtyard residence, he bumped into someone entering through the gate.

"Ow!"

A voice as pleasant as a yellow oriole's reached Xiao Han's ears.

Xiao Han looked the other person over. She wore a light green gauze robe adorned with spring orchids and trimmed with gold thread. She gave off an air of purity tinged with a touch of charm. Combined with her delicate features, the girl possessed a uniquely beautiful grace.

"Xiao Mei!"

Xiao Han had seen plenty of beautiful women and had strong resistance to such things. Yet Xiao Mei, dressed up so exquisitely today, was not inferior to Xiao Xun'er in appearance at all.

If they truly had to be compared, Xiao Xun'er was like a lotus rising from the mud, while Xiao Mei was like an elegant spring orchid.

"Brother Xiao Han, you're awake?" Xiao Mei looked at Xiao Han with pleasant surprise.

"Mm."

Xiao Han nodded. Before his mother had left, he had learned that Xiao Mei was the only one in the clan who had come to visit him.

This girl must have entered his courtyard residence to see him.

"Mm." Xiao Han nodded and praised her, "A beauty like a spring orchid, too shy to offer herself before being plucked; its fragrance rides the breeze and dew, unseen deep among wild grass. Cousin Xiao Mei, you look truly lovely today."

"Brother Xiao Han, you're making fun of me!" Xiao Mei blushed.

What did Xiao Han mean by that? Was he confessing to her with a love poem? Still, those words sounded so beautiful, far better than anything those wandering poets wrote. Who would have thought that Brother Xiao Han was not only exceptionally gifted and eloquent, but also so talented in literature?

Xiao Mei shyly glanced at Xiao Han.

With that one look, it was like a mother-in-law looking at her son-in-law—the more she looked, the more pleasing he became. Mm, Brother Xiao Han is very handsome too. How did I never notice before?

"Sister Xiao Mei, what are you thinking about? Want to go out with me?" Xiao Han invited.

"Ah, where are we going?" Only then did Xiao Mei wake from her fantasies.

Xiao Han flicked Xiao Mei's forehead irritably and scolded with a smile, "You silly girl, what were you thinking about just now? I said I'm going to Xiao Family Market. Do you want to come with me?"

"Brother Xiao Han, are you inviting me?" Xiao Mei looked at Xiao Han with surprise.

The Xiao Clan appeared calm on the surface, but factions had gradually begun to emerge within it.

The Xiao Clan's leader, Xiao Zhan, was still young and vigorous, filled with ambition. He planned to add several elder seats in order to weaken the power of the Three Great Elders.

The Three Great Elders were nearing seventy, with one foot already in the grave. Naturally, they wanted to secure more power for their descendants. They fiercely opposed this decision.

Xiao Han might not have known that the Second Elder had said last night that Xiao Han possessed good talent and a clever mind, and that he already intended to marry Xiao Mei to him.

"Yes." Xiao Han nodded and asked, "What, you don't want to go?"

"I do." Xiao Han was someone Xiao Mei found extremely satisfactory.

This was the Battle Qi Continent, where marriages had always been decided by one's parents. Since she had an opportunity to cultivate feelings with him, Xiao Mei naturally could not have wished for more. She went along with it and said, "I've been cultivating hard for so long these days. I want to go out for a walk too!"

"Good." Xiao Han was delighted. With such an opportunity before him, how could he not seize it properly?

According to the storyline of Battle Through the Heavens, Xiao Mei was a very loyal person. In the end, Xiao Yan abandoned her, yet she nostalgically returned to the Jia Ma Empire.

Xiao Yan still had not recovered his former talent, at least in the eyes of the Xiao Clan.

Strike while he was down and finish him off.

Xiao Han understood such a principle. With that, he reached out and took Xiao Mei's hand.

Xiao Mei was so startled that she tried to pull her hand back, only to find it tightly held in Xiao Han's grasp. Both shocked and delighted, she cried softly, "Brother Xiao Han!"

"An older brother holding his little sister's hand—what, is that not allowed?" Xiao Han grinned. Seeing that Xiao Mei said nothing, he boldly led her by the hand and swaggered out of the Xiao Clan's main residence.

Xiao Han and Xiao Mei were a golden boy and jade girl, naturally drawing heated discussion from the Xiao Clan members.

Xiao Mei's face turned scarlet at those remarks. She kept her head lowered the entire time, not daring to meet the eyes of the Xiao Clan members. She did not even dare look at the servants.

Even after leaving the Xiao Clan's main courtyard, Xiao Mei did not realize she had already come out. Her mind was completely blank.

Xiao Han was also very proper and did not challenge the limits of what Xiao Mei could bear. He merely held her hand.

"Sister Xiao Mei, are you very hot?" As they walked, Xiao Han was the first to break the silence, suddenly asking with a teasing smile.

"Ah, I'm fine. It's not very hot!" Xiao Mei replied instinctively.

"Is this the first time someone of the opposite sex has held your hand?" Xiao Han continued.

"Mm." Xiao Mei nodded. Then she suddenly realized something and looked at Xiao Han. Noticing the teasing expression on his face, she froze slightly. Afterward, she stomped her foot in annoyance, stepped on Xiao Han's foot, and scolded with a smile, "Brother Xiao Han, you're awful. You're making fun of me!"

As Xiao Mei laughed and scolded him, two faint dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth. Combined with her naturally charming temperament, even Xiao Han was somewhat entranced. He blurted out unconsciously, "Xiao Mei, you're so beautiful!"

"Brother Xiao Han! You're making fun of me again!" As a young girl, Xiao Mei was extremely pleased to be praised by the man she liked.

"Brother Xiao Han!"

Suddenly, Xiao Mei's gaze became incomparably serious. She continued, "Brother Xiao Han, you should know about my past, right?"

"The past? What past?" Xiao Han paused before asking, "Do you mean the matter concerning Xiao Yan?"

"Yes." Xiao Mei clarified, "Brother Xiao Han, I was still young at the time. Grandfather wanted to strengthen ties with the clan leader through marriage, so he kept trying to match me with Brother Xiao Yan. Fortunately, because of Brother Xiao Yan's cultivation issues, Grandfather eventually gave up on that idea and stopped forcing me like that. Brother Xiao Han, nothing ever happened between Brother Xiao Yan and me. Today really is the first time someone of the opposite sex has held my hand."

The Xiao Clan's main family had over a thousand people, equivalent to a village in China. Although Xiao Mei was the younger sister of Xiao Yan and Xiao Han, their blood relation lay beyond three collateral generations. Even in China, they could become lifelong partners, let alone on this ethically backward Battle Qi Continent.

"Hehe..." Xiao Han chuckled. "Are you being so close to me because of your grandfather, the Second Elder?"

"No, Brother Xiao Han." Xiao Mei anxiously explained, "Perhaps I would have submitted in the past. But after seeing Nalan Yanran's bold actions yesterday, I realized that my talent is not bad either. I think I also have the right, like Sister Nalan, to pursue my own happiness. Yes, Grandfather and Father did have that intention last night. But I agreed to go shopping with you because I wanted to. It has absolutely nothing to do with them! Today really is the first time someone of the opposite sex has held my hand. If I had no feelings for you at all, I would never have let you hold my hand!"

Ding-dong