The Xie Family was very large. To be more precise, it was not just a mansion but a whole estate. The first time Xie Nandu came here, she already disliked it greatly. It was because as you walked further in, the atmosphere grew colder, as if immersed in the depths of winter, making it difficult for people to like it.
Such a family was filled with too much internal strife; far from the comforting sound of books at White Deer's Xie Clan.
That was why Xie Nandu rarely came here. Most of the time, she would be studying at the academy.
If it were not for certain reasons tonight, she probably would not have returned here.
When they arrived at the main hall, there were already several maids arranging all kinds of fragrant dishes on the large round table. The table was spacious, but there were only a few chairs.
After setting down the dishes, the maids withdrew one by one, leaving only a few standing by the side, waiting to serve.
The profound heritage of a century-old noble family was inadvertently revealed at this moment.
By the time Chen Chao silently sighed with vicissitudes of emotion, an elderly man dressed as a wealthy patriarch walked out from inside. Leaning on a dragon-headed cane, he seemed to have a slight limp. He was not particularly tall, but not short either. His face had a somewhat prosperous appearance, with a few wrinkles lining his face, although not too many. This old man bore some resemblance to the Vice-chairman of the Heavenly Imperial Institution that Chen Chao had previously encountered, but there were essential differences between them.
The two gave off different impressions.
The old man first looked at Xie Nandu with some dissatisfaction and said, "Lass, why are you never home for a visit? Always studying at the academy, be careful not to turn into a wooden block from all that studying."
Although the old man's words carried a hint of reproach, there was even more of the affection of an elder towards a junior.
Chen Chao who was adept at understanding people's hearts, could not detect the slightest trace of insincerity in the old man's words. It seemed like it was his genuine sentiments.
However, he certainly would not believe the emotions behind those words.
After all, an old man of this age had too much life experience; far beyond what a teen like him could comprehend.
"So, you're that youngster?" "Not bad, the things you've done in the Divine Capital these few days haven't brought shame to Great Liang. It's not in vain that our Xie Family saved you."
The old man smiled as he spoke, his voice very calm. But it still conveyed one thing: you should remember and be grateful for the fact that our Xie Family saved you back then.
This feeling did not evoke disgust but rather, a sense of it being the natural order of things.
However, Xie Nandu frowned and was not very satisfied with this.
She had told Chen Chao more than once that if he wanted to thank someone, just thank her.
Back then, it was she who made a deal with the Xie Family using their apology. She was the one who paid the greatest price, not anyone else.
Chen Chao nodded and said, "Since I was saved by the Xie family, it's only natural to be grateful."
He displayed great humility, appearing quite different from the Chen Chao by the lakeside.
The old man nodded in satisfaction and said, "Let's eat. The food is getting cold."
After the simple pleasantries, they took their seats at the table. There were only a few people at the round table. Other than Xie Ling who brought them in, there was only the old man and two women who did not speak. Then, there was Chen Chao and Xie Nandu.
Looking at the delicacies on the table, Chen Chao was indeed feeling hungry. But it was his first time eating in a wealthy household, he did not know the proper etiquette. So he was simply in no rush to pick up his chopsticks.
The old man glanced at Chen Chao and said with a smile, "Serve him some scallops brought from the South Sea."
As soon as he spoke, a maidservant immediately picked up the chopsticks and picked out some scallops for Chen Chao. However, she did not place them directly in Chen Chao's bowl; instead, she prepared the scallops elsewhere before presenting the meat in front of Chen Chao.
Chen Chao took the chopsticks made of white jade and silently lamented in his heart.
After eating a piece of scallop meat, Chen Chao could not help but silently marvel at its exquisite flavor. However, he also thought that if he were to eat this way for every meal, it would probably take two to four hours. By that time, the dishes would have gone cold, which would defeat the purpose.
Although he had such thoughts, Chen Chao did not speak. He just silently savored the taste of the scallop meat in his mouth.
"This scallop meat was delivered from the South Sea and it was still alive until the very end. The manpower and resources expended for this are enough to feed an ordinary family in the Divine Capital for a year," the old man said with a smile as he looked at Chen Chao.
"And this is merely an ordinary ingredient. The other things that come in and out of the Xie Mansion every day cost much more than the scallop meat."
Listening to the old man's words, Chen Chao also could not help but say with vicissitudes of emotion, "Even a thousand-year family can't live a more extravagant life than this."
The old man listened to this and appeared quite satisfied. He said, "You have caused quite a storm in the Divine Capital recently. If you can achieve a good ranking in the Myriad Willow Convention, I believe there are many places in the Divine Capital that would like to get close to you. There are plenty of suitable young ladies in those places. At that time, if you find someone to your liking, you can get along with them too."
The old man said this casually, but Chen Chao pondered the meaning behind his words seriously. What did he mean by "someone to your liking" and "other places"? Chen Chao's head began to ache. Dealing with this old man in front of him was much more difficult than dealing with the student in the academy or the foreign cultivators.
This was a genuine old fox.
Chen Chao shook his head and said, "This junior is dedicated to cultivation and serving the country. I don't pay much attention to matters of romance. However..."
He hesitated, then glanced at Xie Nandu, expressing his intention as clearly as possible.
The old man looked at Chen Chao and fell silent for a while before lamenting, "I thought those rumors in the Divine Capital were true."
The old man was pretending to be oblivious. How could he possibly not discern Chen Chao's implied meaning?
He just did not want to hear or accept it.
Chen Chao was stunned. Turning his head to look at Xie Nandu, he thought to himself: aren't you going to help me now?
Xie Nandu did not react.
Chen Chao braced himself and said, "Rumors in the world can be true or false. It's really difficult to say for sure."
The old man chuckled and was not in a hurry to speak either. He just had a maid pour him a cup of wine before saying with a smile, "This wine is called 'Hundred-Year Short.' It means that this wine must be buried underground for a hundred years after it's made before it can develop some flavor. If it's unsealed too early, it loses its taste."
The implied meaning was too obvious.
"I heard that you served as the warden in Tianqing County in earlier years and often ventured deep into the mountains to kill demons for a living?"
The old man looked at Chen Chao again
Chen Chao was just about to respond, but he suddenly noticed the last few words that the old man said: kill demons for a living.
The Great Liang Dynasty's wardens killed demons in order to protect the region. It was not that they killed demons for a living. But, Chen Chao was indeed someone who made his living out of killing demons. He killed demons for their demon beads and the demon beads were exchanged for skygold currency. This sort of thing was not too secretive. If someone wanted to investigate, it would be easy to find out.
Chen Chao replied calmly, "As the warden of a region, I naturally had to eliminate demons in order to protect the area and the safety of the people. This junior often entered the mountains for this purpose."
Having others know about it was one thing, but whether he admitted or denied it was another matter.
As for the truth of the matter, that was a different story altogether.
The old man said, "Indeed, you had noble intentions. Otherwise, how could you have provoked foreign cultivators for the sake of the imperial court?"
"Actually, if it weren't for my frequent ventures deep into the mountains, I'm afraid that I wouldn't have encountered... Nandu on that night."
It was Chen Chao's first time calling Xie Nandu's name and he felt a bit awkward.
The old man fell silent for a moment and suddenly said, "This South Sea scallop meat has gone cold, why haven't you taken it away?"
His voice was colder than the chilled scallop meat itself. The maids hurried over to remove that plate of scallop meat. But at that moment, Chen Chao smiled and said, "This junior came from the countryside, I'm not so particular. I wonder if I could have some more?"
The old man replied, "Cold food doesn't taste as good as before."
Chen Chao shook his head and said, "Sometimes, eating is about filling one's stomach. If you truly enjoy something, whether it's cold or not, it won't change your perspective. It's still something you love."
The old man said, "Perhaps eating cold food will upset your stomach."
"This junior had a strong constitution since young. I've eaten crabs, fish, and shrimp from the river, and wild fruits from the mountains. I should be fine eating this scallop as well."
Chen Chao reached out and used his own chopsticks to pick those scallops up without asking for anyone's help.
This feeling made him feel quite good. Compared to before, it was more than satisfactory.
He also took the opportunity to pick up some of the other dishes.
These were all things that he wanted to eat before.
He no longer had the previous sense of restraint .
He became more casual.
The old man glanced at the maid. The maid naturally withdrew to the side in silence.
The old man was silent for a long time. He just quietly watched Chen Chao eat. The table was very quiet. Xie Ling was the same as during the imperial banquet, he did not make any sound the whole time.
"Young man, you claim to be from the countryside, but I'm afraid that it's not necessarily so, right?"
"How can an ordinary youth stir up storms in the Divine Capital? Since you've arrived in the capital, haven't you been involved in every single incident?" "On the night of the imperial banquet, Her Majesty the Empress even summoned you too. This isn't an ordinary occurrence. Young man, shouldn't you be honest about things in this situation?"
After an unknown period of time, the silence at the table was finally broken by the old man once again. This time, he bore down menacingly, devoid of his previous gentle nonchalance.
Chen Chao lifted his head and said seriously, "This junior grew up by the Wei River since young. There's nothing particularly special about me."