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21 The Second Young Master of the Xie Family

When Xie Mingyuan called, Xie Chengjing had just returned from his morning exercise. He was wearing a military uniform with pine-green epaulets adorned with gold branches and a gold star. His features were strong and his expression was solemn, exuding an imposing aura. Even when answering a call from his own nephew, his presence remained undiminished.

After Xie Mingyuan explained his meaning, Xie Chengjing remained silent.

In fact, Xie Mingyuan had always been a little afraid of his uncle, who was only in his early thirties, especially when Xie Chengjing stared at him quietly without saying a word. This feeling started when he was still a little boy and Xie Chengjing was still a young boy. He had never seen this uncle smile more than a few times.

However, he knew that if he tried to contact his father, Xie Chengsheng, it was uncertain whether his father would even answer the phone, and he would definitely not agree to his request.

Xie Mingyuan was born into a free and unrestrained life. Growing up, he was constantly disciplined by his father for his mischievousness, but his father never seemed to correct him. He was born into the Xie family, a clan that had fought and fought since before the founding of the People's Republic of China, producing several generals. His great-grandfather was one of the ten marshals of the PRC, and his grandfather, Xie Anbang, though too old to advance further, was the current Vice Chairman of the Communist Party of China and the president of the Central Party School. In such a powerful military and political family, Xie Mingyuan wanted to distance himself from the infighting and even severed ties with his father, Xie Chengsheng, but to no avail. Finally, his cold-hearted second uncle said, "He's unwilling. Forcing him won't support the Xie family." Xie Mingyuan was then exiled to Shanghai by his father, and as the eldest grandson of the Xie family, he essentially lost his inheritance rights.

Xie Mingyuan arrived in Shanghai at the age of 20. His father, Xie Chengsheng, who was extremely disappointed in him, and his mother, Hu Jingfang, who also came from a prestigious family, were unwilling to see him off. In the end, his second uncle, Xie Chengjing, was the last direct descendant of the Xie family he saw in Beijing. Xie Chengjing remained silent throughout the journey, his expression so cold that he seemed to be escorting a prisoner rather than seeing off his nephew. He only said to him at the end: "If you don't want this burden, you don't have that right. Mingyuan, take care."

Now, Xie Mingyuan, who doesn't want to bear that burden, is shamelessly asking his uncle for that right.

However, Xie Mingyuan still spoke up, "Second Uncle, she's the girl I like. I don't want everything about her to be dug up, to be talked about, to have no privacy, no freedom. Second Uncle, this is the first and last time, please!" He paused, then continued, "And also, please give me a copy of the information you found about her. Thank you, Second Uncle."

In Xie Chengjing's memory, this was the first time his nephew had shown him such a pleading attitude. He hummed in agreement and then hung up the phone without waiting for Xie Mingyuan to say anything more.

Lieutenant Wang Lu had been with Xie Chengyuan for many years and was a few years older than Xie Chengjing. The two of them weren't usually very formal with each other. Knowing that it was Xie Mingyuan calling, he casually said, "He and the eldest son basically don't keep in touch anymore. He only calls you occasionally. Actually, I think Mingyuan is quite filial. He never misses a call for you during holidays."

Xie Chengjing tightened his grip on his phone for a moment, then nodded slightly.

In his memory, his nephew Xie Mingyuan had always been carefree, seemingly indifferent to everything, including the first right of inheritance in a large family like the Xie family. This was the first time he had ever appeared so entangled with a woman.

When Xie Mingyuan mentioned his second uncle Xie Chengjing, he always showed envy, because Xie Chengjing seemed to be born for this military and political family. He became a major general at the age of thirty-one, but he never seemed to feel tired of these things and always seemed invincible.

Little did they know that this second uncle, a prodigy with outstanding military talent, actually envied him, the abandoned son of the family, and his unrestrained and carefree life.

Despite being born into the same prestigious family, Xie Mingyuan enjoys a carefree life that is almost the complete opposite of Xie Chengjing's.

When Xie Chengjing was born, his father, Vice Chairman Xie, was already 41 years old. Xie Chengjing's mother was not in good health to begin with, and as a 39-year-old mother, she barely managed to give birth to Xie Chengjing. She survived for a while thanks to good medical care, but passed away before he was even a month old.

Xie Chengjing was born with the reputation of being the cause of his mother's death. His father, Xie Anbang, was already the secretary of the military region's party committee at the time, holding a high position and wielding great power. He was extremely busy every day and had very little time or energy to care for Xie Chengjing. Meanwhile, his older brother, Xie Chengsheng, was already 17 years old and a senior in high school, laying the foundation for his future political career. Naturally, he couldn't afford to take care of his younger brother much.

However, Xie Chengjing didn't feel the need for their concern. Among those spoiled children of families, there were countless纨绔 (spoiled brats), while he could grow up well on his own and be more outstanding than anyone else!

Although Xie Anbang focused on cultivating his eldest son, Xie Chengsheng, Xie Chengjing was indeed very politically gifted, even surpassing Xie Anbang himself. Xie Chengjing, however, had already studied parts of junior and senior high school material on his own during elementary school. With Xie Anbang's tacit approval, he received specialized training in the military during middle school, entered the Imperial University of Beijing at 16, graduated early with both undergraduate and graduate degrees, and officially joined the army at 21 while simultaneously pursuing a doctoral degree. Many scions of wealthy families in Beijing joined the military, but only one dared to risk his life like Xie Chengjing. After all, in the eyes of others, they could rise through the ranks without military merit; why risk their lives?

Over seven years, Xie Chengjing earned one first-class merit and two second-class merits for his work in drug enforcement, classified missions in the South China Sea, and suppression of terrorism. After a serious injury to his left arm, he was transferred back to the military region. After a year of rehabilitation in a sinecure, he was promoted to major general. Now 31 years old, in China's seniority-based society, he just needs a few more years to accumulate experience, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will become a lieutenant general. Although others may secretly laugh at him for being foolish enough to risk his life, there's an undeniable hint of envy in their comments about him.

In the eyes of others in the capital, Xie Chengjing was young and successful, even more radiant than his elder brother, but only he knew that he had nothing.

The current head of the Xie family is the patriarch Xie Anbang, and the recognized successor is the eldest son Xie Chengsheng. After Xie Mingyuan left the capital, although Xie Chengsheng had a 19-year-old second son Xie Mingxin, he was a science and engineering student who was not very politically astute. He could develop in the General Armament Department, but there was not much of a future for him. Therefore, Xie Chengsheng's de facto successor was Xie Chengjing.

Only the three of them can mobilize all of the Xie family's resources.

Two members of the Xie family were quite famous in Beijing, practically the talk of the town. One was Xie Mingyuan, who valued freedom over power, and the other was Xie Chengjing, known for his "ruthless" nature. Some even envied him, saying he was devoid of emotion. This wasn't entirely their fault; Xie Chengjing only showed respect to his own father. Sometimes he even doubted whether he had any feelings at all. But at this moment, Xie Chengyuan had no such doubts, because he was very curious about the woman his nephew Xie Mingyuan was so devoted to.

After swiping his phone a couple of times, Xie Chengjing saw Su Tong's photo.

In the brightly lit dance studio, the sun shone down brilliantly. A girl in a flowing, snow-white ancient costume sat quietly in the sunlight, her long, black hair tied high behind her head. Her features were exquisite, her eyebrows and eyes like paintings. Her fair skin was covered with fine beads of sweat. Her eyelids were lowered as she looked at the ground, her long, raven-feather-like eyelashes seemed to tremble gently with her breath, and there was an indescribable feeling about them. Her limbs were stretched out naturally in her sitting posture, and her waistline was so thin that it seemed as if it would break. She was bathed in a warm yellow halo of sunlight. She was completely unlike those female celebrities in their photoshoots. She was so beautiful that one could hardly bear to disturb her.

Xie Chengjing's eyelashes fluttered involuntarily, then he put down his phone and calmly instructed Lieutenant Wang Lu: "Check this girl's information. Don't let anyone else or any organization find it. If you do, prohibit it from being published on any online or public media platform."

Wealthy people can quickly obtain information about someone by hiring private investigators or gangs that specialize in buying and selling information. However, for a family like the Xie family, which can almost mobilize some state machinery, the time required is extremely short. The next day, all of Su Tong's information was placed in front of Xie Chengjing. It was a thick stack of documents, which contained 26 years of a girl's life.

From Su Tong herself, including which hospital she was born in, when she was born, and which doctor was in charge, to what Su Tong did recently in her hometown, when she went out and where she went; to the people around Su Tong, all the relatives on both sides of Su Tong's parents' side, all the close or distant friends around her, and even things that Su Tong herself might not remember, everything was recorded clearly.

Xie Chengjing himself was aloof and didn't like to talk, but it wasn't that the people around him were all like that. Xie Chengjing flipped through Su Tong's information page by page, not realizing how long he had been looking at it, but when he looked up, he saw Wang Lu next to him looking at him with a look that said, "Why are you looking at this so seriously? There must be something you're not telling anyone @￥%..." Subconsciously, he put down the information and stared at Wang Lu.

Wang Lu coughed, his expression turning serious as he changed the subject, saying, "Um, Second Young Master, Xie Chenghui, a member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Committee, has asked several times, saying he really hopes you can attend his youngest son Xie Mingde's wedding, which is on Friday."

Xie Chengjing had an excellent memory. He hadn't paid much attention when he heard it last time, but he still vaguely remembered the bride's name. The names of Su Tong's relatives, which he had just seen in the documents, flashed through his mind, and he asked, "What is Mingde's wife's name?"

“Su Wen.” Wang Lu answered and then added, “Although she works in the entertainment industry, she has never been very famous. She is also a relatively clean-living girl, and her family has some connections in W City.”

"Okay, you can make the arrangements."

Xie Chengjing said it casually, but Wang Lu stood there dumbfounded. He had only mentioned it to Xie Chengjing because Xie Chenghui had been pestering him so much. He never expected that Xie Chengjing would actually agree, and he couldn't hide his astonishment.

"It won't take long anyway," Xie Chengjing said before leaving.

I'll go if I want to; there's no reason to explain it.