Many rumors were spreading outside. But, it was not true that Xie Nandu was not well-received by her peers in the Xie residence.
But it was true that Xie Nandu did not like the Divine Capital's Xie Clan.
There was no backlash, it was just that the environment here made her feel very uncomfortable. There was too much plotting and scheming, and too few genuine things.
Although she was long prepared, these things still made her feel rather uncomfortable.
Compared to the Divine Capital's Xie Clan, the White Deer's Xie Clan was a large family clan too. But there was much lesser darkness and a lot more sunlight.
……
……
The horse carriage slowly rode out of the academy, attracting countless people's gazes. The academy's students watched that horse carriage leave. They knew that it was the Xie Clan's horse carriage and also knew who was in the cabin. Hence, they took a few more looks. It was just that no one spoke. They only started discussing one after another when they heard the hoof sounds gradually go away. They had far too many things to say about this Xie Clan girl. It was just that they could not say it in front of her.
Huangzhi stood in the crowd and suddenly cried out, "Miss Xie, Nanxing Huangzhi has admired you for a long time!"
The voice was extremely loud, attracting the eyes of many academy students. They all heard it, but the young girl in the carriage could not necessarily hear it.
Besides, even if she heard it, so what?
The horse carriage left South Lake and kept advancing along the streets of the Divine Capital. The sound of horse hooves gradually became very clear for people to hear. This meant that it was getting closer and closer to the Xie Clan's manor.
The Xie Clan liked tranquility, so the manor was in a secluded part of the Divine Capital. There were no residents around here. Most of the places were uninhabited; the houses were empty. But it did not mean that there were no owners. The land deeds and title deeds of these manors were all in the hands of the Xie Clan.
The horse carriage passed through a quiet street before finally arriving at a door. This was the Xie Clan's side door.
The Xie Clan's main door would not open more than a few times in a year. In this Divine Capital, there were only that handful of people who could make the Xie Clan open its main door. If they did not come, the front door would not open.
After the horse carriage stopped, Xie Nandu walked out of the cabin. The guards did not do anything and she just walked right in.
Liu Ye followed behind.
The Xie Clan's manor was huge. The land that it occupied practically covered an entire street. After more than 200 years, although there were Xie Clan descendants who continuously branched out, there were even more Xie Clan descendants who remained here. The family stood at more than 100 people.
However, since the Xie Family was currently the only major family that could contend with the Wei Family in the imperial court, it was normal to have such a scale.
Xie Nandu walked across a long corridor, passing through courtyard after courtyard and attracting countless people's gazes. When passing by countless people, she sometimes had no choice but to stop and greet the other party. But after bowing, she would walk straight ahead and practically would not engage in small talk with people.
"Miss, where are you going?"
Seeing as Xie Nandu was already heading towards the most important place in the Xie Family little by little, Liu Ye's heart could not help racing. That place was not somewhere that a maidservant such as her could go.
The further into the Xie Family's most important place, the more the old men staying there could not be offended.
"Wait here for me."
Xie Nandu did not turn her head. She just finished saying this and stepped into the courtyard ahead.
Liu Ye stopped and quietly sidestepped, waiting by the side. She did not dare to speak anymore and secretly sneaked a glance at the old locust tree in front of her.
It was very tall.
Xie Nandu passed through the courtyard and walked through another serene corridor and finally arrived before the ancestral hall.
An ordinary-looking old man who was wearing gray cotton clothes was sitting on an old chair. He was in front of the door. Glancing at Xie Nandu, there was no emotion in that pair of turbid eyes.
Xie Nandu ignored him and turned to walk towards the side of the ancestral hall.
There was a small house here.
There was a willow tree in front of the door.
But, the person who held the greatest authority in the entire Xie Family was staying in that seemingly ordinary house.
Xie Nandu arrived before the door. Going under the tree, she was silent for along time.
She slowly clipped the sliver hairpin in her hand back onto her head.
Yes, there was also this silver hairpin that came together with that letter. She thought that she could only see this silver hairpin again after a long time. But she did not expect that the silver pin returned to her hands again after just a few days.
That guy was not dumb, he knew what this silver pin meant to her.
When this silver pin was sent to the Divine Capital, she understood his situation too.
So when she figured it out, Xie Nandu immediately left the academy and came here.
"I have something that I want Ancestor to help with."
Xie Nandu opened her mouth. She said want, not request, nor was it a plea.
The difference was huge. This young girl was also very courageous. In the entire Xie Family, there was probably no one else who dared to speak to the old man inside here like this.
This sentence made the old man at the entrance of the ancestral hall somewhat interested. There was some interest on that old face and an added hint of a smile. He worked hard to open his turbid eyes and looked over there. He had been here for many years and had never met such a special girlie before.
"Why?"
An elderly voice came from inside the house. That Xie Family ancestor said one word, but it was not just one question.
Xie Nandu said calmly, "Because this is what the Divine Capital's Xie Family owes me."
She only answered this question.
Hearing this, that old man at the entrance of the ancestral hall gleaned an inkling. Only then, did he realize that it turns out that the girl in front of him was that girlie who came from White Deer.
Hence, he recalled that ancestral shrine that was far away in White Deer and felt rather emotional. Everyone had the same ancestor, but now, it was already different.
"Although your words are a little laughable... there's some truth too."
The Xie Family's ancestor did not talk too much nonsense and just said, "You originally could have saved this bit of apology and used it at a more suitable time."
Everything that Xie Nandu had experienced before arriving in the Divine Capital was tacitly approved by them, these old men. They wanted to see whether or not Xie Nandu had the qualifications to come to the Divine Capital. And starting from when Xie Nandu arrived in the Divine Capital safely, this meant that not only did she obtain the recognition of the Divine Capital's Xie Clan, but it also meant that the Divine Capital's Xie Clan would offer her some compensation... or reward.
That would be the apology from them, these old men.
That bit of apology would definitely be something very useful at a crucial time. But how could they have imagined that this young girl wanted to use this apology after just a few days?
She did not hesitate and directly stated her demand, "I want him to live."
The sound of pages flipping came from inside the house. After a while, the Xie Family's ancestor said with vicissitudes of emotion, "That bit of apology isn't sufficient to go and help an outsider like this. Moreover, that young man's matter is indeed a little troublesome."
A little troublesome. Not that he could not help, it was just that it was not worth it.
The price was too great and the reward was too little.
Xie Nandu mused for a moment and changed her request very quickly, "Then, let him arrive in the Divine Capital alive."
……
……
As early as when that wooden bird went to the Divine Capital, there were two horse carriages that already slowly drove into Commandery Qingshan.
The guards were seated on the horsebacks and let out a long sigh of relief.
The journey from Tianqing County to Commandery Qingshan was not considered dangerous. It was just that thinking of traveling from Commandery Qingshan to Wanshan County afterward made them somewhat dazed. It would not necessarily be safe and sound along the way.
In the cabin.
Mi Ke was wearing official robes. Not the one before, but the official robes belonging to a county chief.
Madam Mi said sincerely, "My lord looks much better in this official robe than the one before."
Speaking of which, this Madam Mi was also a major family's young lady back then. After marrying Mi Ke, she had always abided by her duty. Even if Mi Ke had remained stagnant in his magistrate position for many years, she did not have any dissatisfaction too. Now, seeing hope after many years of perseverance, her eyes actually brimmed over with hot tears for a moment too.
Mi Ke smiled and said softly, "Why are you crying, my lady? You never even cried during those hard days, why so today?"
Mi Ke reached out to wipe away Madam Mi's tears and felt somewhat emotional too.
He wanted to say something more, but for a moment, he actually felt a multitude of feelings and could not say anything.
The carriage slowly stopped. Outside the cabin, a guard opened his mouth and said, "Your Excellency, we've arrived at the warden office."
Mi Ke lifted the curtains and walked out of the cabin.
Commandery Qingshan's warden office was located in the middle of the downtown area. At this moment, there were many civilians passing by this place. When they saw a horse carriage stop in front of this government office and a man wearing official robes walk out from inside, many of the common people naturally stopped to look.
There were guards in front of the warden office in the first place.
At this moment, seeing Mi Ke who was dressed in official robes walk out, they were a little surprised.
But when they saw the official robes on Mi Ke, they knew that his official rank was equal to their own warden. So they prepared to salute and ask.
Without waiting for them to speak, Mi Ke lifted his head and used a voice that he had never used in his life to shout with all his might, "This official was originally Tianqing County's magistrate. Now, I'm Wanshan County's county chief, Mi Ke! I learned that Tianqing County's warden, Chen Chao, killed four foreign land cultivators without authorization and specially came to inform Warden Li!"
The moment these words came out, the entire street became as quiet as death.
The few guards exchanged glances.
The guards in front of the warden office were also the same.
Then, the common people started discussing and became increasingly clamorous.
Inside the warden office, Warden Li who was sitting in the main seat also heard the voice outside the door. His expression became rather ugly. In a charcoal stove next to him, there was a letter that was currently slowly turning to ashes.
