Chapter 495: All Flowers Have Meaning

Chapter 495: All Flowers Have Meaning

During this period, many young cultivators had flocked to the Divine Capital, mostly using it as a passage to the Northern Frontier. However, since they were passing through the Divine Capital, these young cultivators wanted to see the city, reputed to be the largest and grandest in the world. As a result, the streets were now filled with young cultivators, even more than during the Myriad Willow Convention.

This influx of cultivators had kept the Left and Right Guards busy, as they were responsible for the security of the Divine Capital. The arrival of these young cultivators became a potential source of instability, and they could not afford to be careless.

However, Song Lian and the officials from the Left Guard soon noticed something peculiar. The usually arrogant cultivators from the foreign lands had become much more restrained upon entering the Divine Capital. A bit of thought made it clear why: the recent actions of the Emperor had been incredibly intimidating. Now, under the watchful eye of this Emperor, these cultivators dared not act too presumptuously.

This realization allowed Song Lian to breathe a sigh of relief. After all, if things could be handled easily, why complicate them?

Chen Chao had not been idle either. Although his tasks with the Ministry of Works were completed, Wen Yue had come looking for him several times, insisting that before leaving the Divine Capital, Chen Chao should introduce him to the sapling he had promised. Although Chen Chao knew that the siblings had arrived in the Divine Capital, he did not know their exact address. So, he spent the past few days having the Left Guard investigate and finally obtained their precise location.

It was not that the Xie Family could not handle such matters, it would indeed be faster and could yield results in less than half a day. However, relying on them for every small issue would only increase the debt owed to the Xie Family.

Thus, Chen Chao generally preferred not to ask for their help. He even realized later that the reason the Great Liang Emperor was so quick to offer the Thousand Year Glacial Stone was likely due to similar considerations.

But even so, if Chen Chao had to choose again, he would still do the same. Without that stone, he would not have been able to reforge his broken saber.

Moreover, he did not particularly resent his uncle either.

......

......

The siblings, Erhu and Chunyue, found a place to stay in the Divine Capital with the help of that middle-aged woman. It was a small courtyard, not too remote but certainly not in a bustling area, and the rent was reasonable too. Despite this, they had underestimated the Divine Capital. They initially thought that once in the city, Erhu would find suitable work to sustain them, but he faced numerous obstacles and could not find a decent job. When the middle-aged woman found out, she suggested that Erhu help out at her trading house. However, after going there a few times, the usually resourceful young man started to feel weary.

In the small town, Erhu had been resourceful out of necessity, but now that they were in the Divine Capital, he found it exhausting to interact with people like this every day. Within half a month, he quit that job and took up a laborer position at a rice shop, though it did not pay much. Fortunately, the siblings had some savings, which prevented them from going hungry.

However, they could not live off their savings forever. Chunyue considered finding work, but Erhu vetoed the idea, which often made her worry about her brother.

Chen Chao did not beat around the bush and got straight to the point, "I inquired about your situation before and found that it's not going too well. Staying in the Divine Capital isn't easy, right?"

Chunyue nodded and said softly, "Things are too expensive here. I'm already thinking about going back."

Chen Chao smiled slightly, not saying much more. It was actually similar to traveling: the places you want to go are probably where others have already grown tired of staying.

"But it's okay. If this not-so-good-looking guy here takes a liking to your brother, I can help him get a job in the Ministry of Works. Then living in the Divine Capital will be manageable, but it still depends on what your brother wants."

Chen Chao patted Wen Yue's shoulder and asked with a smile, "Is that right?"

Wen Yue raised an eyebrow, "Surnamed Chen, say clearly, who's not too good-looking?"

Chen Chao laughed and asked back, "What do you think?"

In this courtyard, there were only three people. Chunyue was a genuine budding beauty, and Chen Chao was actually not bad looking either. The only one who fell short in appearance was likely Wen Yue.

Wen Yue was expressionless, "It's a good thing you don't use a sword, or I'd have to beat you up."

Chen Chao nodded and smiled, "Right, right."

Watching these two banter, Chunyue relaxed considerably.

But she could not find a way to join the conversation and could only silently observe Chen Chao. She had noticed when this Sir Chen entered that he seemed to have grown taller since the last time they met.

He also seemed to have become even more handsome.