When the carriage returned from Xie Family to the academy, there was already someone waiting at the entrance of the courtyard.
Chen Chao jumped off the carriage and looked at the middle-aged steward standing in front of the small courtyard. There was a complex emotion in his eyes, especially when he noticed several large boxes behind the steward.
The middle-aged steward came up and said with enthusiasm, "Commander Chen, this is a small gift from Xie Family to you. I hope that Commander will shine at the upcoming Myriad Willow Convention and bring honor to our Great Liang."
His smile was faint but it looked very genuine. Most importantly, he seemed unaware of the events that had transpired in the Xie Family.
Chen Chao clasped his hands and asked rather seriously "May I ask which member of the Xie Family sent this gift?"
The Xie Family was large and there were many voices, so their attitudes naturally varied.
The middle-aged steward smiled and replied, "It's from the Third Master. In terms of seniority, he's actually Miss' third uncle."
Chen Chao was unaware of the specific details of the Xie Family and the other party did not seem to insist on informing him. In any case, it was enough to have this explanation.
Chen Chao nodded and did not refuse the gift from the Xie Family. He also seemed to have already forgotten the unpleasantness from before at Xie Family. He simply smiled and said, "Then, I thank Third Uncle for his generosity."
This choice of address was rather subtle.
The middle-aged steward was a bit stunned. Even he had not expected Chen Chao to use this form of address to refer to the Third Master. However, being from a prominent family himself, he quickly regained his composure. After clasping his hands with a smile, he left the place.
It was only at this moment that Xie Nandu walked out of the carriage.
"Do you have a good relationship with that Third Uncle?"
Chen Chao casually asked as he sized up the gifts.
Xie Nandu shook her head. "He doesn't have much influence in the Xie Family. Although the family head of the Xie Family has authority over major matters, the many businesses of the Xie Family are managed by different offices. He only controls a few streets in the southern part of the city and he's dispensable in Xie Family."
Chen Chao smiled. "So, this Third Uncle of yours is definitely placing a bet."
Hearing "Third Uncle," this form of address, coming out of Chen Chao's mouth again, Xie Nandu frowned.
Chen Chao continued, "Actually, I am curious too. Will you stay in the academy or go to Xie Family in the future?"
The academy and Xie Family were very different. But actually, regardless of where, there was still a need to compete.
To become the dean of the academy, one must compete with the dean's other disciples. To become the family head of the Xie Family, one must compete with other descendants of the Xie Family.
A girl like Xie Nandu, unless something unexpected happened, would not be engulfed in the dust of history.
"I am not interested in either place, but there will be choices to make."
What Xie Nandu wanted had never been the Xie Family or the academy. What she wanted was a northern expedition, marching towards the north with the soldiers of the Great Liang Dynasty, reclaiming the land that once belonged to the human race. The desolate north which spanned tens of thousands of miles was once a territory of the human race.
For this goal, both the academy and the Xie Family were of great assistance to her.
Chen Chao knew about her dream and said, "If that's the case, you should strive for both the academy and the Xie Family. However, even if you have both, I don't think it's possible for you to accomplish this on your own. After all, this task is incredibly difficult. Even if there's a beginning, what about the ending? Who can predict it?"
The human race launching an expedition north was a colossal undertaking. Although the current Great Liang Dynasty was still considered prosperous, pushing forward with this matter would likely require the assistance of the foreign cultivators. Even with internal stability and harmony within the Great Liang Dynasty, it would be very difficult for humanity to succeed, because the demon race was too powerful.
Xie Nandu was well aware of the difficulties involved, but she just smiled and said, "Where there's a will, there's a way."
After saying these words, she turned and walked into the courtyard, looking extremely dashing.
Chen Chao called out from behind her, "There are so many things, are you not helping me carry them?!"
The following days passed as usual. The incident at the lakeside had spread and the foreign cultivators who had come to the Divine Capital became rather dissatisfied with Chen Chao again. Many young cultivators were intrigued by the idea of humiliating Chen Chao at the upcoming Myriad Willow Convention. In the Great Liang Dynasty, there were also many people eagerly waiting to see Chen Chao make a fool of himself. This young man who had come from a remote place like Tianqing County to the Divine Capital had killed cultivators without authorization in the beginning. But he did not die and then caused so much commotion, garnering the attention of countless people. There were even rumors that he had been summoned by the Empress.
With so many incidences, jealousy, and similar emotions naturally pervaded the atmosphere.
The emotions of young people often had little to do with the overall situation. They might deviate from the norm at this age, but it was not necessarily indicative of their future behavior.
Young people needed tolerance, but they also had to bear the consequences of their actions.
However, this was to be expected from youths and also within reason.
During this period, Chen Chao was not slacking off either. While Xie Nandu continued reading by the window every day, he increased the frequency of his body tempering. As a result, he often did not appear in the academy but instead spent his time in the small courtyard near the Left Guard's office. The courtyard used to be peaceful and secluded, but since his visit to Xie Family, there had been more visitors here.
Many prominent families in the Divine Capital wanted to establish a good relationship with him.
It was difficult for Song Lian to appear in front of the courtyard every time to guard Chen Chao. But when he was unavailable, he would carefully arrange for a powerhouse to protect Chen Chao. Of course, he entrusted the matter of refusing guests from entering the courtyard to Weng Quan.
Weng Quan was a chatterbox and Chen Chao normally did not fellow very much. However, his talkative nature proved to be a rare advantage in this situation. The guests from various prominent families in the Divine Capital were all existences that could not be provoked. But they wanted to meet Chen Chao, which put him in a difficult position. Attending their banquets would be even more dangerous for him.
This was where Weng Quan's role became apparent. He would not refuse those people outright; instead, he would engage them in lengthy conversations at the entrance. He had a lot to say and most of it made little sense. He could chat about anything and everything and few people could endure more than an hour of his chatter. When they could not tolerate it any longer, they naturally excused themselves and left.
This was naturally what Chen Chao wanted to see, but Weng Quan found it rather frustrating.
Sitting outside the courtyard, Weng Quan looked at the pile of gifts next to him with some boredom. He thought to himself that it would be more interesting to be at the Left Guard's office, there were at least colleagues who would listen to him blabber away. Little did he know that he had been assigned to guard the gate for Chen Chao; a decision unanimously approved by the entire Left Guard's office. No one wanted to listen to his meaningless chatter about everything under the sun.
If not for that everyone took into account that they were colleagues, Weng Quan would probably have been beaten up long ago.
The sound of horse hooves resounded.
Weng Quan who was feeling a little bored lifted his head and discovered that the approaching horse carriage belonged to the academy. His spirits lifted, thinking that the rumored girl from the Xie Family must have arrived. His gaze filled with a sense of amazement and envy. According to the rumors, that genius girl had been staying in the academy without stepping foot outside. In the entire Divine Capital, there was probably only this boy who could make her leave her house and seek him out of her own accord.
With these thoughts in mind, Weng Quan felt even more admiration and thought that he would exchange a few words with Deputy Commander Chen when he came out.
Soon, a young girl jumped off the carriage, her face beaming with joy, looking very cheerful.
Weng Quan was taken aback and thought that the girl in front of him did not look like the rumored girl from the Xie Family. Could the rumors be wrong?
Although he had such thoughts, when he saw the girl about to rush into the courtyard without any hesitation, Weng Quan quickly approached and reached out his hand to stop her. "Miss Xie, Deputy Commander Chen is currently in closed-seclusion. I'm afraid he cannot see you."
Hearing this, the girl was taken aback. She immediately looked at Weng Quan with a puzzled expression. After a moment, she said somewhat unhappily, "Don't you recognize me?"
This person was naturally Zhu Xia. On the day she entered the Divine Capital, the Left Guard was responsible for escorting her, and Weng Quan was naturally among them too. However, he had never seen Zhu Xia's appearance from beginning to end, so how could he recognize her? Upon hearing Zhu Xia speak, he realized his mistake and quickly apologized. At the same time, he could not help but marvel in his heart at Deputy Commander Chen's luck with romance. He stayed in the courtyard of that girl in the academy, but he also attracted the interest of other women.
Truly a role model for us all.
While Weng Quan was lost in thought, his shoulder was suddenly tapped. Chen Chao arrived behind him at some unknown time. Looking at his absentminded appearance, he frowned and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Regardless, he vaguely felt that this guy in front of him was thinking about random things.
Before Weng Quan could speak, Zhu Xia excitedly said, "Chen Chao, let's go, hurry! The honey dates at the honey date shop on South Street are running out. If we still don't manage to buy them today, I'll cry."
Although the scenery in the Divine Capital was not as beautiful as Mount Xi, Zhu Xia had been extremely satisfied with the food in the Divine Capital since she arrived. They had things that were not available at Mount Xi. Cultivators focused on their cultivation and did not have many materialistic demands. When Zhu Xia came to the Divine Capital a few days ago, she enjoyed many delicious foods. She had tried the honey dates at the shop on South Street a few days ago and liked them very much. However, she had not been able to try them again in the past few days. Today, she made up her mind to go out early, so she was naturally in a hurry. However, looking at Zhu Xia's current state, it was unclear whether the cultivators did not like external things because there was simply nothing delicious or for some other reason.
Chen Chao looked at Zhu Xia in front of him and frowned slightly. He thought to himself that he had previously agreed to accompany her around, but now, I've clearly shut my doors and refused visitors. How can you still act like you don't understand?
However, since she had come to visit, Chen Chao did not refuse. He just smiled at Weng Quan and said, "Go inform Commander Song that I'm going out for a stroll with Saintess Zhu Xia of the Myriad Heaven Palace."
He looked at Weng Quan, the meaning in his eyes very clear.
Weng Quan lamented, "So, she's the saintess who was carried away by Deputy Commander Chen that day."
Hearing this, Zhu Xia's face turned slightly red. On the day he carried her away, many things had happened.
It could not be explained clearly in just a few words.
Chen Chao felt somewhat helpless and looked at Weng Quan as he said seriously, "Hurry up and go."