Chapter 76: Imperial Banquet

The Myriad Willow Convention occurred once every ten years, but it was not always held in the Divine Capital. In the two hundred plus years of the Great Liang Dynasty, it was the first time being held in the Divine Capital, so it was also the first time for such an imperial banquet.

The ten youngsters who were attending the banquet were naturally informed by the respective places they belonged to. As one of the four people from the academy, Xie Nandu was naturally notified long ago. Furthermore, it was even her senior brother Wei Xu who personally told her. In addition, whether it was the Heavenly Imperial Institution or the several great families, there were naturally people who would go and notify them too.

Chen Chao belonged to the Warden Office and the person responsible for informing him was naturally his direct superior, Song Lian.

Given Song Lian's current obsession with the girl of his dreams, it was not surprising that he had forgotten about it.

But for Chen Chao, this was not a good thing

However, what else could he say or do in this current situation? Could he point at Song Lian's nose and scold him? Even if the latter was no longer his immediate superior, his cultivation realm that was genuine was still there. Even if Chen Chao was in the right, he might not be able to gain any advantage too.

"I really got to hand it to you, Lord Song!"

Chen Chao gritted his teeth and turned around to leave.

While Song Lian smiled and said, "I said in a few days, but I didn't specify on what day."

Chen Chao was expressionless and could not be bothered to pay attention to him and left on his own.

Song Lian called out from behind, "Remember to continue helping me after you enter the palace!"

Chen Chao ignored him and returned to the academy with a helpless feeling. This time, he was in no mood to look at the weeping willows on both sides of the lake as he walked by.

When he returned, it was right in the thick of twilight. Xie Nandu had just finished reading a book and was rubbing her forehead when she reached for a piece of dried fruit.

Seeing Chen Chao walk over, Xie Nandu raised an eyebrow.

Chen Chao got straight to the point and asked, "Why didn't anyone tell me about the imperial banquet in a few days?"

Xie Nandu replied, "You should be asking the Warden Office about that."

Chen Chao raised an eyebrow and said, "I thought you would have mentioned this."

"Since someone will tell you, why would I waste my breath?" Xie Nandu drank her tea and said with a slight smile, "Don't you know about it now? It's not considered late either."

Chen Chao frowned and said, "If I had known earlier, I could have made some preparations."

Xie Nandu shook her head and said indifferently, "It's just some young people getting together to eat and exchange pleasantries. It's not a big deal. What do you need to prepare?"

"I'm not talking about this." Chen Chao's expression was a little solemn. He remembered something else.

"They call it an imperial banquet, but in reality, the emperor may not actually attend. It's like how the Myriad Willow Convention is supposed to be a gathering for young talents, but those truly first-rate geniuses won't come to the Divine Capital too."

Although Xie Nandu had been studying in the small courtyard these days, she knew about many things too.

Chen Chao asked, "Why?"

Xie Nandu smiled and said, "It's naturally because they look down on us. Holding it in the Divine Capital and not attending is a form of silent contempt."

Although Xie Nandu was smiling when she spoke about these things, Chen Chao could not sense any joy from her expression.

Chen Chao said softly, "This kind of thing is naturally not my first time. But it seems difficult for people to get used to it as well."

Xie Nandu said, "Some things cannot be obtained simply by praying for them, such as dignity."

Chen Chao remained silent, showing his agreement with Xie Nandu's words.

This was a tacit approval too.

Xie Nandu turned to ask, "Are you scared to attend the imperial banquet?"

There were definitely many people who shared his thoughts, wanting to see a day when the Great Liang dynasty would no longer have to worry about the mood of those foreign cultivators. However, they did not know how long it would take to see that day..

Or if that day would never come.

It was like in the previous dynasties and the dynasties before.

......

......

The day of the imperial banquet arrived quickly.

As night fell, four horse carriages rode into the academy and went to different places respectively. One of them stopped in front of Xie Nandu's small courtyard.

A clean-shaven eunuch arrived before the door and said, "The Emperor has decreed for Miss Xie to attend the banquet at the palace."

The door was opened very quickly, but instead of that young girl, a young man in black clothes with a saber at his waist and a pair of lovely eyes walked out.

The eunuch was taken aback but did not speak.

Soon, Xie Nandu who was dressed in a green shirt came out. After greeting the eunuch, she got on the carriage. Chen Chao wanted to follow closely behind, but the eunuch stopped him and said, "The Emperor's decree invited Miss Xie."

His tone was not cold, but the message was clear.

Chen Chao withdrew his hand awkwardly and asked, "Just her alone?"

The four carriages were meant to pick up four people from the academy. They naturally had nothing to do with him.

The eunuch did not speak, let alone inquire about Chen Chao's identity. He simply waved his hand and walked away. The carriage also slowly headed into the distance, the sound of horse hooves gradually fading.

Chen Chao stood where he was, feeling his face burning.

He had been slapping other people's faces these days, but today he got slapped. He naturally felt a little embarrassed.

Fortunately, there were not many people by the lake at the moment. Otherwise, Chen Chao would have felt even more embarrassed.

Luckily, the embarrassment did not last long. Soon, a simple horse carriage came from a distance. The driver was actually an old acquaintance.

He was the Divine Capital Left Guard's Weng Quan.

"Deputy Commander, this subordinate is under orders to escort you to the palace!"

Weng Quan got off the carriage and saluted Chen Chao. At present, Chen Chao was already the Deputy Commander of the Left Guard. Even though it was a nominal position, proper etiquette should still be observed.

Chen Chao covered his forehead and said, "Why is it you again?!"

Weng Quan smiled and said, "Lord Commander said that I'm acquainted with the Deputy Commander, so it's perfect for me to come."

Chen Chao sized up the carriage and said rather unhappily, "Since I am now the Deputy Commander of the Left Guard and I'm also attending the palace banquet, why is the carriage so simple? Does the Left Guard not have better carriages?"

Weng Quan immediately explained, "The Left Guard naturally have better horse carriages. It's just that this subordinate thought the Deputy Commander must be a nostalgic person, so I chose this carriage."

Chen Chao vaguely felt that something was wrong with the first half of his explanation. At this moment, after hearing him say finish, he frowned.

He was somewhat incredulous as he said, "Are you saying that this carriage is still that one made from the manure cart?!"

Weng Quan nodded and said as a matter of course, "That's right!"

Chen Chao did not speak. He stood by the lake, the corners of his mouth twitching, and he cussed.

He was very curious how a measly Left Guard office could have both Song Lian and Weng Quan, these two great geniuses, at the same time.Diiscover new stories at novelhall.com