This sentence was very nonchalant, but the Great Liang emperor no longer had the thought of eating afterward. The eunuchs and palace ladies in the Imperial Study remained silent, lowering their heads and not daring to make a sound. They were aware of the empress' condition and they also knew about the relationship between the Emperor and the Empress. So now, they dared not even utter a word.
The Great Liang emperor had never thought of that day.
But the empress did not care when that day would come.
Many years ago, she already knew that the day would come.
Rather than fearing the arrival of that day, it was better to face it calmly.
The emperor remained silent for a long time and it was unclear what he was thinking. Finally, he said softly, "The Nation Teacher passed away a few years ago. Now, you're going too. What's the point of leaving only Us in this world all by Ourself?"
The empress smiled and replied, "Your Majesty naturally has to do what Your Majesty needs to do. Whether I'm here or not, Your Majesty should go and do those things."
The Great Liang emperor sighed and did not speak.
There were many things in the world that even he, the Emperor, could not change. Just like now - birth, old age, illness, and death. Even the most powerful cultivators might not be able to do anything about it too, unless they were those rumored immortals.
The Great Liang emperor suddenly said, "In Year 11 of Tianjian, there was a rumor in Ying Prefecture that an immortal had descended. We also sent people to look for them, but couldn't find them. It's really quite disappointing."
But the empress replied, "Even if there were immortals, is there really eternal life?"
The Great Liang emperor said, "We just can't bear to part with you."
The empress also nodded and said, "I also can't bear to part with Your Majesty."
The Great Liang emperor gripped her hand and stopped talking.
The empress looked at the Great Liang emperor and said, "I want to meet that child again after the Myriad Willow Convention."
The Great Liang emperor did not object, he just nodded and said, "Okay."
……
……
The first summer rain in the Divine Capital came unexpectedly and also extremely quickly. One moment it was clear and sunny, the next it was pouring with dark clouds gathered overhead.
Chen Chao sat by the window, smelling the special scent of rain hitting the soil. Then, he turned to look at Xie Nandu.
She was reading a book by the window.
Looking at the sudden downpour, Chen Chao sighed somewhat sadly and said, "There shouldn't be anyone else coming today, right?"
These few days, a storm raged in the Divine Capital. Countless officials were on edge, especially the Left Guard. Countless people were investigated, even Commander Song Lian was also on tenterhooks every other day. This kind of life was unbearable, even for Song Lian. However, Chen Chao had been relatively peaceful. Apart from officials who occasionally came to ask about the events that happened on that day, there was not much else. Furthermore, those officials were generally very polite. Although he was not particularly happy about it, he could not be impolite to them either.
Today's heavy downpour meant that he might be able to have a peaceful day.
Xie Nandu put down the book. Rubbing her eyes, she glanced at Chen Chao sitting under the window and said, "If you didn't save her, you might be in the Court of Judicial Review's jail listening to their stories."
Chen Chao frowned and said, "I shouldn't have followed them that day. But if I hadn't gone, that girl might really have died, which goes against my conscience. It was really dangerous that day. I encountered an old man who was high-level Great Beyond Realm and was almost killed by him. Fortunately, that Mr. Wei came in the nick of time... And if I did end up in the Court of Judicial Review, why wouldn't I be the one telling them stories?"
Listening to the nonsense that the young man in front of her was rambling, Xie Nandu did not feel bored. She just said, "Senior Brother is a good person."
Chen Chao said, "Yes, if he had come half a step late..."
Xie Nandu shook her head and said, "There's no if."
How could someone as clever as her not be able to discern the underlying meaning in Chen Chao's words? She quickly refuted him.
"Mr. Wei is naturally a good person, but I feel like he doesn't like me."
Chen Chao felt a little depressed. He was clearly very reasonable and he was also very polite when facing that Mr. Wei. But for some reason, he felt that Mr. Wei did not like him.
"You're not a woman, why should Senior Brother like you? In other words, even if you were a woman, Senior Brother might not necessarily like you too."
Xie Nandu was very calm.
Chen Chao frowned and said, "Are you saying that Mr. Wei doesn't like men or women?"
"Maybe I'm saying that you're ugly."
"... ..."
"I didn't think that you learned how to crack jokes too."
"I didn't"
"Your words are really hurtful."
"Kidding."
Chen Chao smiled and did not say anything. Instead, he asked, "Have you finished reading the book?"
Xie Nandu shook her head. "I was delayed by some other things a few days ago."
Hearing this, Chen Chao was a bit surprised. Based on his understanding of the girl in front of him, if she was going to do something, she would not give up halfway, nor would she do other things in the middle of it. He was quite curious about what other things could make her put aside the Myriad Willow Convention and do something else.
"What were you doing a few days ago?"
Chen Chao had been busy tempering his body a while back and had not returned to the academy for a long time. He had also been helping Song Lian to get a wife. After finally completing these tasks, he was now involved in Zhu Xia's matter
But now, he was finally back at the academy.
Upon hearing his question, Xie Nandu said calmly, "I was practicing swordsmanship."
"Practicing swordsmanship?"
Chen Chao wondered if he had heard wrong. How could Xie Nandu be practicing swordsmanship?
He stood up in surprise and turned his head to look at Xie Nandu. Then, he saw a small wooden sword hovering quietly in front of the window..
Chen Chao was stunned.
How could he have imagined that this so-called practicing swordsmanship was actually really practicing the sword?
Looking at that small and exquisite flying sword, Chen Chao said in shock, "You really found find to practice swordsmanship?!"
Xie Nandu nodded and said, "While it's true that I found time, I'm just starting out and not very familiar with it. After the Myriad Willow Convention, I'll spend more time on it."
As she spoke, she was a little eager. This emotion rarely appeared on her, but she was really happy about practicing swordsmanship.
Chen Chao stared at Xie Nandu and said seriously, "I heard that it takes at least half a year to a year to practice swordsmanship to the point where you can control a flying sword."
When he was reading books with Xie Nandu here before, Chen Chao had read several introduction books on sword cultivators. They clearly stated that it would take several months for sword cultivators with exceptional talent to birth sword qi within their bodies and control a flying sword. For sword cultivators with average talent, it might take a year.
But when did Xie Nandu start practicing swordsmanship?
It should have been less than a month. After all, Chen Chao was still spending time with her every day a month ago. But in less than a month, when he saw this girl again, she had already become a sword cultivator. Furthermore, she was also a sword cultivator who could control a flying sword.
Heaven knew that this was also too fast.
Xie Nandu frowned and said, "What's so strange about this?"
She seemed indifferent and her matter-of-fact tone rendered people speechless.
Chen Chao lamented, "They all said you were a genius before, but I didn't feel it. But now, I finally know that you really are a genius, and also the most exceptional kind."
Xie Nandu nodded and said, "That's right."
Chen Chao was also stunned by this young girl's confident demeanor.
With a slight stirring of her mind, the flying sword slowly landed on Xie Nandu's book. Judging by this stable state, it seemed that Xie Nandu had not just started learning how to control a flying sword, but had already gained considerable experience. She appeared to be extremely familiar with it.
The impact of this scene on Chen Chao was overwhelming.
When he first met Xie Nandu in Tianqing County, he never thought that this girl would be a genius like the ones in the books, or those characters who could be written into history books. Later, when he arrived in the capital, he changed his view a little, but that was all. Only at this moment, did he truly realize how freakish this girl in front of him was.
Chen Chao looked at Xie Nandu and said seriously, "You're really abnormal."
Xie Nandu smiled and said, "If that's your way of complimenting me, I'll take it. Otherwise, I'll use you as a practice target the next time I practice my sword."
Chen Chao said sincerely, "Of course that was a compliment."
Xie Nandu nodded and said, "Great, I'll look for you next time I practice my sword."
The corners of Chen Chao's mouth twitched. Why was it different from how he imagined it?
