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Not only Chen Chao, but even Xie Nandu had not expected the Empress to be so straightforward and eager in her proposition.
For many women, marrying into the imperial family was a dream come true. But Xie Nandu certainly did not belong to that group.
She remained silent for a moment and did not respond.
She was curious. With the recent buzz and rumors in the Divine Capital, did the Empress not know about certain stories?
However, she quickly spoke up and declined, "Your Majesty, it's not appropriate."
She spoke frankly, without much room for diplomacy. If it were any other woman, they would probably not speak so bluntly. But Xie Nandu was not an ordinary woman.
She said what she had to say and did not feel that it was inappropriate.
Instead of getting angry, the Empress asked, "What's not good about it? Do you dislike my son? You haven't even met him yet, why reject so quickly?"
The Empress was known for her good temperament, so she naturally would not get angry over such matters. However, she was still curious.
Xie Nandu shook her head and did not answer.
"I heard before that you actually already have a young man you like, and coincidentally, that young man likes you too?"
While the Empress was speaking, she was actually looking at Chen Chao, which made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.
The young man mentioned in that sentence was naturally him.
Furthermore, it was very clear that the Empress intentionally asked in this manner.
Chen Chao thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, this subject has admired Miss Xie for a long time."
This might be the first time Chen Chao had expressed his feelings so directly.
When the Empress listened to this, she was not surprised either. She simply looked at Chen Chao and asked, "You aren't deceiving me?"
Chen Chao said with a bitter expression, "How could I dare to deceive Your Majesty?"
The Empress then looked at Xie Nandu and asked, "And you, lass, do you really like him too? I want to hear the truth. If you say some lies just to avoid my son, I won't be happy."
Xie Nandu glanced at Chen Chao and said with a hint of a smile, "I like him a little."
This was the truth.
This was also the first time Xie Nandu expressed her feelings so directly, without any beating around the bush.
Chen Chao was somewhat surprised, with a hint of a smile on his face.
He never expected that the elephant in the room between them, which was never brought up, would be laid bare now. However, it did not seem very awkward.
He had asked by the lakeside before, followed by the questioning by the lakeside during the literary exam. Now, there was a result in the palace.
"In that case, it seems that I have been presumptuous."
The Empress looked at the young man and woman, smiling, "As the saying goes, it's better to demolish ten temples than to destroy a marriage. Since that's the case, I can't be the person who separates the pair of mandarin ducks either."
This statement actually carried a lot of weight.
The words tonight would spread.
Her Majesty the Empress said that she would not interfere in their relationship. If there were others in the future who wanted to separate these two, they would have to consider the Empress' opinion.
In many cases, the Empress' opinion actually represented the will of the Emperor too.
In the Great Liang Dynasty, how many people dared to disregard the will of the Emperor?
Perhaps the question of who Xie Nandu would marry in the future would truly be up to her own decision.
After all, apart from all these, she was also the dean's disciple.
The Empress showed no signs of anger. Her previous remark seemed to be just a casual mention, not something she took seriously.
Chen Chao vaguely felt that something was off, but he could not quite figure out what it was at the moment.
After exchanging some idle talk with Xie Nandu, the Empress asked them to leave the palace.
"Girl, wait outside, I still have a few words to say."
Xie Nandu nodded slightly, bowed, and left. The Empress watched her back view just like that, her eyes filled with contentment and satisfaction.
Only after Xie Nandu left, did the Empress turn to Chen Chao and said somewhat exasperatedly, "Such a fine girl. Since you liked her, why didn't you say so before?"
She was experienced and could easily see that when Chen Chao spoke earlier, it was probably the first time he had openly expressed his feelings.
This lad might have a sharp tongue in other aspects, but when it came to this matter, he appeared somewhat clumsy.
Chen Chao lowered his head and said softly, "I have also been waiting for the right moment."
How could he tell the Empress that he had not been prepared to say it because he was not sure of the other person's feelings. As for his own feelings, he was not quite sure either.
But when the Empress mentioned wanting Xie Nandu as her daughter-in-law, Chen Chao realized his own feelings.
It turned out that he truly liked her.
"What are you waiting for? What's there to wait for? If both of you have mutual interest, just say it clearly. Must you play guessing games to make it interesting? If you wait and it's not clarified, and she ends up marrying someone else, won't you regret it for the rest of your life?"
The Empress slowly sat down in the corridor, staring at Chen Chao with some dissatisfaction.
"Your Majesty lectured rightfully so."
Chen Chao kept his head lowered, not daring to look up at her.
The Empress looked at Chen Chao and spoke softly, "She's a wonderful girl. There are many people in our Great Liang Dynasty who are unworthy of her. But since she likes you, it cannot be said that you are unworthy of her. What is the rarest thing in this world? Isn't it mutual affection between a man and a woman? When you like her and she happens to like you as well, it is the hardest thing to come by."
"Young love that can last until the end is also extremely rare. In any case, I've seen too many cases where two people love each other when they were young, but ended up growing tired of each other."
The Empress sighed, as if she had remembered something, and spoke softly, "Child, since you've achieved so much, put in a little more work. Maybe you won't make a name for yourself, but at least you should be true to yourself."
Her voice was gentle, but her concern was evident in her words, and Chen Chao could sense it.
At this moment, she was speaking not as the Empress, but in another capacity.
She seemed more like an elder at this moment.
"The most important thing in the martial exam is to ensure that you survive. As for the bet you made at the lakeside, if you really lose, I'll ask His Majesty to help cover it up for you."
The Empress looked at Chen Chao with a hint of reluctance in her eyes.
"Your Majesty, I won't lose."
"Great, that how I like to see you. It's really simi..."
Her voice abruptly stopped and the Empress shook her head, saying softly, "Staying alive is the most important."
Chen Chao slowly raised his head and looked at the Empress, whose complexion had already turned extremely pale. Then, he could not help but say, "Please take care of your health as well, Your Majesty."
"I am well aware of my own health."
The Empress looked at Chen Chao, the emotions in her eyes very complicated. But they eventually faded, leaving only a sense of heartache. She looked at Chen Chao and murmured, "Good child, good child."
There were tears shimmering in her eyes.
The Empress waved her hand, and soon, a palace maid came over. She looked at Chen Chao and smiled, "After the martial exam is over, make a trip to the palace, I will cook a meal for you again. Judging by your appearance, I don't think my culinary skills have deteriorated."
Chen Chao stood on the spot and was silent for a long time before bowing seriously and bidding his farewell.
……
……
After arriving outside the door, Xie Nandu had been waiting here for a long time.
Chen Chao glanced at her, his face slightly flushed.
Thinking back to what he had said earlier, he realized that it had been quite bold.
Xie Nandu did not mind and simply said, "Is it really that difficult to express your feelings for someone?"
Hearing her words, Chen Chao recalled the stories that had happened between them in the past. He furrowed his brows and finally said with relief, "It's not that difficult to express it, but how did it turn into just 'liking you a little' when you say it?"
Xie Nandu looked at him, a bit puzzled, and asked, "What's unusual about that? 'A little' is 'a little.'"
Chen Chao asked, "When will it be 'completely'?"
"Who knows? Maybe one day, I'll stop liking you, and that's it. Do we have to force ourselves to like or not like someone?"
Xie Nandu shook her head and smiled, "There's no such logic."
The two of them soon arrived outside the palace and boarded the carriage. Xie Nandu sat inside the carriage before asking again, "At that time, when I asked you by the lakeside, what were you thinking?"
That day, she was in the carriage too, asking the young man in front of her if he liked her.
Chen Chao exclaimed in frustration, "Do you have to ask so explicitly?!"
Xie Nandu remained silent and just rolled up her sleeves.
It was this action that left both of them stupefied.
Because at some point, a jade bracelet had appeared on her wrist.
Judging by its quality, it was an excellent jade bracelet.
But it was not there when Xie Nandu entered the palace earlier.
"It was given by Her Majesty."
Xie Nandu thought for a moment. Her wrist had felt different before, but she had not paid much attention to it. It turned out that the Empress had been putting the bracelet on her.
She carefully examined her wrist and smiled, saying, "It's quite beautiful."
Chen Chao also looked at the jade bracelet, his eyes showing some mixed emotions.
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Not only Chen Chao, but even Xie Nandu had not expected the Empress to be so straightforward and eager in her proposition.
For many women, marrying into the imperial family was a dream come true. But Xie Nandu certainly did not belong to that group.
She remained silent for a moment and did not respond.
She was curious. With the recent buzz and rumors in the Divine Capital, did the Empress not know about certain stories?
However, she quickly spoke up and declined, "Your Majesty, it's not appropriate."
She spoke frankly, without much room for diplomacy. If it were any other woman, they would probably not speak so bluntly. But Xie Nandu was not an ordinary woman.
She said what she had to say and did not feel that it was inappropriate.
Instead of getting angry, the Empress asked, "What's not good about it? Do you dislike my son? You haven't even met him yet, why reject so quickly?"
The Empress was known for her good temperament, so she naturally would not get angry over such matters. However, she was still curious.
Xie Nandu shook her head and did not answer.
"I heard before that you actually already have a young man you like, and coincidentally, that young man likes you too?"
While the Empress was speaking, she was actually looking at Chen Chao, which made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.
The young man mentioned in that sentence was naturally him.
Furthermore, it was very clear that the Empress intentionally asked in this manner.
Chen Chao thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, this subject has admired Miss Xie for a long time."
This might be the first time Chen Chao had expressed his feelings so directly.
When the Empress listened to this, she was not surprised either. She simply looked at Chen Chao and asked, "You aren't deceiving me?"
Chen Chao said with a bitter expression, "How could I dare to deceive Your Majesty?"
The Empress then looked at Xie Nandu and asked, "And you, lass, do you really like him too? I want to hear the truth. If you say some lies just to avoid my son, I won't be happy."
Xie Nandu glanced at Chen Chao and said with a hint of a smile, "I like him a little."
This was the truth.
This was also the first time Xie Nandu expressed her feelings so directly, without any beating around the bush.
Chen Chao was somewhat surprised, with a hint of a smile on his face.
He never expected that the elephant in the room between them, which was never brought up, would be laid bare now. However, it did not seem very awkward.
He had asked by the lakeside before, followed by the questioning by the lakeside during the literary exam. Now, there was a result in the palace.
"In that case, it seems that I have been presumptuous."
The Empress looked at the young man and woman, smiling, "As the saying goes, it's better to demolish ten temples than to destroy a marriage. Since that's the case, I can't be the person who separates the pair of mandarin ducks either."
This statement actually carried a lot of weight.
The words tonight would spread.
Her Majesty the Empress said that she would not interfere in their relationship. If there were others in the future who wanted to separate these two, they would have to consider the Empress' opinion.
In many cases, the Empress' opinion actually represented the will of the Emperor too.
In the Great Liang Dynasty, how many people dared to disregard the will of the Emperor?
Perhaps the question of who Xie Nandu would marry in the future would truly be up to her own decision.
After all, apart from all these, she was also the dean's disciple.
The Empress showed no signs of anger. Her previous remark seemed to be just a casual mention, not something she took seriously.
Chen Chao vaguely felt that something was off, but he could not quite figure out what it was at the moment.
After exchanging some idle talk with Xie Nandu, the Empress asked them to leave the palace.
"Girl, wait outside, I still have a few words to say."
Xie Nandu nodded slightly, bowed, and left. The Empress watched her back view just like that, her eyes filled with contentment and satisfaction.
Only after Xie Nandu left, did the Empress turn to Chen Chao and said somewhat exasperatedly, "Such a fine girl. Since you liked her, why didn't you say so before?"
She was experienced and could easily see that when Chen Chao spoke earlier, it was probably the first time he had openly expressed his feelings.
This lad might have a sharp tongue in other aspects, but when it came to this matter, he appeared somewhat clumsy.
Chen Chao lowered his head and said softly, "I have also been waiting for the right moment."
How could he tell the Empress that he had not been prepared to say it because he was not sure of the other person's feelings. As for his own feelings, he was not quite sure either.
But when the Empress mentioned wanting Xie Nandu as her daughter-in-law, Chen Chao realized his own feelings.
It turned out that he truly liked her.
"What are you waiting for? What's there to wait for? If both of you have mutual interest, just say it clearly. Must you play guessing games to make it interesting? If you wait and it's not clarified, and she ends up marrying someone else, won't you regret it for the rest of your life?"
The Empress slowly sat down in the corridor, staring at Chen Chao with some dissatisfaction.
"Your Majesty lectured rightfully so."
Chen Chao kept his head lowered, not daring to look up at her.
The Empress looked at Chen Chao and spoke softly, "She's a wonderful girl. There are many people in our Great Liang Dynasty who are unworthy of her. But since she likes you, it cannot be said that you are unworthy of her. What is the rarest thing in this world? Isn't it mutual affection between a man and a woman? When you like her and she happens to like you as well, it is the hardest thing to come by."
"Young love that can last until the end is also extremely rare. In any case, I've seen too many cases where two people love each other when they were young, but ended up growing tired of each other."
The Empress sighed, as if she had remembered something, and spoke softly, "Child, since you've achieved so much, put in a little more work. Maybe you won't make a name for yourself, but at least you should be true to yourself."
Her voice was gentle, but her concern was evident in her words, and Chen Chao could sense it.
At this moment, she was speaking not as the Empress, but in another capacity.
She seemed more like an elder at this moment.
"The most important thing in the martial exam is to ensure that you survive. As for the bet you made at the lakeside, if you really lose, I'll ask His Majesty to help cover it up for you."
The Empress looked at Chen Chao with a hint of reluctance in her eyes.
"Your Majesty, I won't lose."
"Great, that how I like to see you. It's really simi..."
Her voice abruptly stopped and the Empress shook her head, saying softly, "Staying alive is the most important."
Chen Chao slowly raised his head and looked at the Empress, whose complexion had already turned extremely pale. Then, he could not help but say, "Please take care of your health as well, Your Majesty."
"I am well aware of my own health."
The Empress looked at Chen Chao, the emotions in her eyes very complicated. But they eventually faded, leaving only a sense of heartache. She looked at Chen Chao and murmured, "Good child, good child."
There were tears shimmering in her eyes.
The Empress waved her hand, and soon, a palace maid came over. She looked at Chen Chao and smiled, "After the martial exam is over, make a trip to the palace, I will cook a meal for you again. Judging by your appearance, I don't think my culinary skills have deteriorated."
Chen Chao stood on the spot and was silent for a long time before bowing seriously and bidding his farewell.
……
……
After arriving outside the door, Xie Nandu had been waiting here for a long time.
Chen Chao glanced at her, his face slightly flushed.
Thinking back to what he had said earlier, he realized that it had been quite bold.
Xie Nandu did not mind and simply said, "Is it really that difficult to express your feelings for someone?"
Hearing her words, Chen Chao recalled the stories that had happened between them in the past. He furrowed his brows and finally said with relief, "It's not that difficult to express it, but how did it turn into just 'liking you a little' when you say it?"
Xie Nandu looked at him, a bit puzzled, and asked, "What's unusual about that? 'A little' is 'a little.'"
Chen Chao asked, "When will it be 'completely'?"
"Who knows? Maybe one day, I'll stop liking you, and that's it. Do we have to force ourselves to like or not like someone?"
Xie Nandu shook her head and smiled, "There's no such logic."
The two of them soon arrived outside the palace and boarded the carriage. Xie Nandu sat inside the carriage before asking again, "At that time, when I asked you by the lakeside, what were you thinking?"
That day, she was in the carriage too, asking the young man in front of her if he liked her.
Chen Chao exclaimed in frustration, "Do you have to ask so explicitly?!"
Xie Nandu remained silent and just rolled up her sleeves.
It was this action that left both of them stupefied.
Because at some point, a jade bracelet had appeared on her wrist.
Judging by its quality, it was an excellent jade bracelet.
But it was not there when Xie Nandu entered the palace earlier.
"It was given by Her Majesty."
Xie Nandu thought for a moment. Her wrist had felt different before, but she had not paid much attention to it. It turned out that the Empress had been putting the bracelet on her.
She carefully examined her wrist and smiled, saying, "It's quite beautiful."
Chen Chao also looked at the jade bracelet, his eyes showing some mixed emotions.
