Presumably, not many people could face up to that question directly. Even if Chen Chao's mind was much tougher than youths of the same age, it was still difficult for him to say the answer frankly.
Even recalling it now, he would feel a bit uncomfortable.
Surviving in this world was not an easy thing in the first place.
Xie Nandu looked at him, shook her head, and said softly, "It's okay."
There were many meanings to this sentence, but it was hard to say just what was okay.
Chen Chao remained silent.
Xie Nandu looked at him. That pair of eyes were a little more emotional and very gentle, somewhat like the way an elder looks at a junior with love and concern.
This kind of gaze reminded Chen Chao of the Empress whom he had met that night. He said rather helplessly, "At your age, looking at me with such eyes, I feel a bit uncomfortable."
"Well, that makes sense." Xie Nandu smiled and said, "It's late, I'm turning in for the night.
After saying this, she walked towards the house. But only after taking several steps, did she turn her head and look back at Chen Chao, saying, "If you have some free time these few days, you can go to the Xie Family."
The invitation from the Xie Family had already been sent since that morning by the South Lake. But Chen Chao had been ignoring it these few days because it was not the right time yet. However, after experiencing what happened at the imperial banquet last night, the timing was now ripe.
Chen Chao asked, "You're not going with me?"
Xie Nandu shook her head and said, "The Myriad Willow Convention is coming soon, I still have many books to read. There's not enough time."
Hearing this, Chen Chao asked a little hesitantly, "How confident are you in becoming the top scholar in the literary examination?"
Xie Nandu looked at him with some puzzlement in her eyes, as if she did not understand why this young man would ask such a question.
Chen Chao said, "Sorry, I really don't know why you are so confident... and even a little proud."
The young girl's pride was understandable. After all, she had been considered a genius since young in her family. Even the Divine Capital's Xie Family personally asked for her to come to the Divine Capital to study. After arriving at the Divine Capital, she was exempted from any exams to enter the academy. After entering the academy, she became the disciple of the dean without any setbacks. It seemed that her life has been smooth sailing except for the journey from White Deer to the Divine Capital.
Since her life has been so successful, why shouldn't she be proud?
But this was the Myriad Willow Convention after all, a competition among the most outstanding young people of the current generation. Logically, it would be more appropriate to be a little humble. However, the girl in front of him was still so confident and proud. If it were someone else, Chen Chao would have naturally thought that they were too arrogant. But he could not bring himself to think the same way about the girl in front of him.
This seemed very reasonable.
Xie Nandu responded matter-of-factly, "It's merely because I've only been cultivating for a short time. If I had enough time, I'd naturally participate in the martial exam. Why waste time on the literary examination?"
Chen Chao sighed in admiration, "Only you can say such words."
Xie Nandu nodded satisfactorily and did not say anything more. She turned around and entered the house.
Chen Chao silently watched her back view and said nothing.
But after Xie Nandu returned to her house, he sat back in his chair. Then, he gritted his teeth and rolled up his sleeves, revealing his blood-soaked arm.
In that previous battle with He Yi, there were many injuries that were insignificant, which he deliberately accepted. But there were some injuries that he did not want to accept, but still received.
In that competition, He Yi was defeated miserably. But it was not easy for Chen Chao to win either.
Pressing two acupoints, he stopped the bleeding that was still flowing. Chen Chao said a little self-deprecatingly, "Who the hell asked you to hang in there stubbornly? Is it impressive to hold on in front of a girl?"
Feeling the disorder of his internal qi, Chen Chao's face turned red as he recalled how he intentionally or unintentionally took off his top last night. He thought to himself that even if it was a little intentional, it could still be considered suave, right?
After saying this, he glanced at the color of the sky, then got up and left this small courtyard.
……
……
At daybreak, Chen Chao was already in a loft next to the low-rise houses, where he met with the Commander of the Left Guard.
"I really doubt that Your Excellency thinks about this every day. Otherwise, how could you be so positive?"
Prior to the imperial banquet, Chen Chao had promised Song Lian that he would continue helping him. Now that the imperial banquet was over, he still stuck to the agreement and came.
Song Lian who changed into ordinary cloth clothing as usual looked at Chen Chao and said with a sigh, "There will definitely be many people who want to find you today and give you things. But you're willing to accompany me here. It shows that you still have some respect for me."
Chen Chao laid it bare without any mercy: "Don't say that. Although Your Excellency is my superior, I won't just agree with everything you say."
Hearing this, Song Lian was slightly annoyed and said, "Why weren't you like this when you were in Tianqing County?"
Chen Chao looked at the woman who had gotten up early to wash clothes and said casually, "I needed Your Excellency's help back then, of course I had to be more humble. But now, it's Your Excellency who needs something from this subordinate, so it's naturally a different story."
Hearing such a casual answer, Song Lian was somewhat displeased and said, "You took my money, isn't it natural that you help me handle things?"
Chen Chao turned to look at him and said, "If it wasn't for taking Your Excellency's money, why would I be here today?"
Song Lian was a little speechless.
Chen Chao sighed and said, "It seems that Your Excellency's nephew has some truth in what he says."
Song Lian did not ask what his nephew said, but asked rather nervously, "How did you know that he is my nephew?"
Although he did not show any favoritism when Weng Quan was selected to join the Left Guard back then, since there was this relationship, how could he not take extra care of his nephew after Weng Quan joined the Left Guard? If this news were to spread, he would undoubtedly be criticized.
Chen Chao looked at the woman who was washing clothes and was currently thinking about how to quickly establish some connection with her. In response to Song Lian's question, he replied, "Of course he said it himself."
Song Lian slapped his thigh in anger and said, "He's really a blockhead!"
Hearing this, Chen Chao turned his head and looked at Song Lian, thinking to himself that you guys really were a family.
Who knows what Song Lian remembered, he sighed and said, "My younger sister was very foolish in her early eyes and insisted on marrying a fishmonger in South City. I couldn't stop her, so I could only let her go. Later, she lived a pretty good life with that boy, who cared for her well enough. But their happiness was short-lived. After giving birth to that child, my brother-in-law suddenly fell ill and passed away after a few years. These few years, my brother and I have taken care of them and didn't let them suffer any hardships. But my sister didn't have the fate to live a good life either. A few years ago, when the child finally grew up, she followed my brother-in-law and passed away..."
"That silly boy has some talent and has learned from me for a few years. He entered the Left Guard in a fair and honest way too. As his uncle, I didn't help him by pulling any strings."
Chen Chao waved his hand and interrupted Song Lian, saying, "This subordinate won't tell anyone about your relationship, just speak your mind directly, Your Excellency. Talking so much, why are you behaving like a woman?"
Song Lian frowned again. He did not know why he always got angry when he was with this young man.
Chen Chao rubbed his nose and said, "I thought of an idea."
Song Lian knew he was definitely talking about himself and the woman, so he became a little interested and asked, "What idea?"
Chen Chao pointed to the woman and said, "To understand a woman's thoughts, the best way is actually to ask her what kind of man she likes."
"What kind of rubbish idea is this?"
Although Song Lian was not very familiar with the affairs between men and women, he also felt that this approach was inappropriate.
Chen Chao nodded and said, "Of course, asking directly definitely won't work, because not all women are like her."
The 'her' here was naturally referring to Xie Nandu.
There were indeed not many women in the world like Xie Nandu. If you asked her and she answered, it would definitely be her true thoughts.
Of course, she might not answer as well, but she would never lie.
Or maybe, she just would not lie to him.
Chen Chao was absorbed in thought.
"I've decided to help Your Excellency ask what she thinks."
As Chen Chao walked down the loft, he said, "Wait for my good news!"
