"Thank you, Miss Jiaojiao, for your kind invitation. However, I am a man after all. It is very inconvenient for me to live in the Prime Minister's Mansion."
Zhuzhu shook her head and refused. The folk customs here were not open. Living in the inner residence of the Prime Minister's Mansion as a "foreign man" would affect Chen Xuejiao's reputation.
She has already informed her eldest sister's whereabouts, and will stay in the capital for a while, trying to make some money before going to find the Tianyun Sect's worship gate.
"It doesn't matter, I...I don't care." Chen Xuejiao understood Ni Si's concerns, and her affection for him deepened.
Although she obviously had a life-saving favor for her, she did not think about extorting a favor, but instead worried about her reputation. Chen Xuejiao thought of the children from aristocratic families she had met before, and whoever saw her always found various excuses to create some separate encounters. She wanted to To gain her favor, no one ever thought about the issues that would affect her reputation.
This was the first time that someone was unwilling to live in the prime minister's house for the sake of her reputation.
After what happened to the Ye family, Chen Xuejiao no longer had a good impression of the children of the aristocratic family.
You are getting married anyway, so why not choose someone you like.
The sons of those aristocratic families said they would treat her well all their lives, but in fact they all kept a bunch of concubines at home.
After seeing the lifelong love between her parents, Chen Xuejiao vowed never to find a romantic man as her husband, but to find a man who was upright and upright like her father.
Although she still didn't understand what kind of person Ni Si was, Chen Xuejiao relied on her own intuition to believe that he was completely different from those arrogant and luxurious aristocratic family members.
Zhuzhu shook her head and refused: "I still want to find my eldest sister. I won't stay in the capital city for a long time."
"You want to leave?" Chen Xuejiao suddenly became anxious, "You can't leave."
"Why?" Zhuzhu was puzzled. Could it be that the Chen family wanted to avenge kindness and force themselves to stay?
"You hugged me twice in broad daylight. You must be... responsible." Chen Xuejiao's face turned red and she gritted her teeth to tell the reason.
Zhuzhu:......
"Miss Chen should understand that I did this out of necessity and did not intend to take advantage of her." Zhuzhu couldn't help but feel a little confused. How could she, a woman, be responsible!
"But the people in the inner city and the outer city, as well as the city gate guards, have seen that I have lost my reputation for a long time. If I don't marry you, I'm afraid I can only spend my whole life scrawling with the Green Lantern Ancient Buddha." Chen Xuejiao finished. Looking at Zhuzhu eagerly, "Master Ni, don't you want to take responsibility?"
"I..." What should I do if I feel like I'm being relied on? "It's not that I don't want to be responsible, it's that I can't marry and have children."
"Why can't you get married and have children?" The more Ni Si refused, the more Chen Xuejiao identified "him".
Zhuzhu saw that Chen Xuejiao didn't believe her words, so in order to prove that she was not a scumbag, she had no choice but to step forward and take her hand and put it on her chest, "I am a girl just like you."
Chen Xuejiao:......
It took her a long time to come back to her senses. The familiar soft touch under her hands told her that Ni Si was not lying, so she finally fell in love with him. Did she fall in love with a girl?
God is so unfair to her!
"Then why are you dressed like a man?" Chen Xuejiao was dissatisfied, which made her feel aroused when she saw such a handsome young man for the first time.
"I have a last resort..." Zhuzhu told Chen Xuejiao what happened to Lingfengcheng and Shuiyuecheng. "This is also the reason why eldest sister and I were forced to separate."
"That Taoist Priest Xuanji is so disgusting. I never thought we would experience the same thing."
Chen Xuejiao immediately turned her dissatisfaction into sympathy: "Speaking of it, I'm not as good as you. You were able to escape from the foundation-building monks alone, but I caused the lives of my personal maid Xiaodie and my old servant Uncle Ping. "
Zhuzhu said: "I was just lucky enough to find an opportunity. This is why I later chose to dress up as a man. I hope Ms. Chen can understand."
"Of course!" Ni Si's appearance is even more beautiful than hers, and it is really not easy for her to walk around as a daughter. Chen Xuejiao has had the same experience as her, and she understands it, but she still has some regrets. It would be great if Ni Si was really a man. .
"What's your real name?"
"..."
"Ni Sizhu."
Chen Xuejiao frowned in displeasure: "Why are you swearing?"
"That's my full name." Zhuzhu was speechless, "You can call me Zhuzhu."
Chen Xuejiao:......
"What are you going to do next?" Although it was a pity that Zhuzhu was not a boy, Chen Xuejiao's cordial attitude towards her did not change. Instead, she cared about her future life.
"I want to go to Tianyun Sect, do you know where it is?" Zhuzhu asked. After all, practicing alone is not a long-term solution. She needs her master to teach her and resolve her doubts. She happened to hear that her eldest sister went to Tianyun Sect. It would be better to go to Tianyun Sect to become an academic apprentice.
"Tianyun Sect is in Wuji Spiritual Mountain. Although it is inland, it does not belong to any country. Mortals and monks who have not cultivated at home can't find it at all. Therefore, they are called Wuji Spiritual World by mortals. You are looking for you. Sister still wants to join Tianyun Sect?" Chen Xuejiao asked.
"I want to find my sister, but I also want to worship the mountain gate." Zhuzhu told her bluntly.
"It's not that I don't think highly of you, Tianyun Sect may not be that easy to enter. They not only look at the disciples' cultivation aptitude, but also test the disciples' state of mind and understanding." Chen Xuejiao said truthfully, "Even the handyman disciples have to pass numerous tests. "
"I know, you have to give it a try to know if you can succeed." Zhuzhu was mentally prepared. If she failed to pass the Tianyun Sect trial, she would go to other sects. It would be better than being completely confused. The practice is much better.
"Since you are well prepared, I won't advise you. Tianyun Sect will only open the mountain gate every ten years to accept disciples of all levels for entrance trials. At that time, people can find the location of Wuji Lingshan, and only those who pass the trial can Even if you officially join the sect, the best ones in the trials will be favored by the sect's seniors and accepted as disciples, and that will be considered as a step to success."
Chen Xuejiao's eyes also showed a look of yearning, "Actually, I have also thought about practicing as a disciple of Shanmen, but my father only has one daughter, and my mother passed away. If I leave, it will be too difficult for my father to be left alone. Alone."
"If my father were still alive, he would definitely support my choice." Thinking of her father Ni Xinzhi, her eyes were slightly red. Although her father looked majestic, he was actually very open-minded. In such a closed mountain city, he still supported She and her sister pursue the dream of immortality.
She felt that if Prime Minister Chen really loved his daughter, he would definitely support Chen Xuejiao's decision.
"My father...should be able to do the same." Chen Xuejiao thought for a moment. Her father always supported her in any choice she made, but she never said anything about it.
"Then tell your father the truth. No parent doesn't want their children to live well."
"But now that I'm gone, my father is the only one left..."
"How do you know whether it's your father who can't live without you, or you who can't live without your father?"
Zhuzhu smiled and continued: "No one can accompany each other for life, as long as the friendship remains unchanged, it is enough. Besides, it's not like you won't see each other again in the future."
"You are right." Chen Xuejiao calmed down, "Looking at the Beginning of Summer next year, Tianyun Sect will accept disciples once every ten years. We will go together then."
"Didn't you say that the third prince and my sister only joined the Tianyun Sect two years ago? It should take several years before the Tianyun Sect accepts disciples!"
Unexpectedly, Chen Xuejiao shook her head: "The royal families of various countries have access to Tianyun Sect or Guanhai Sect, because they pay tribute to the two major sects every ten years and seek the protection of the two major sects. At the same time, the two major sects are protecting the royal families of various countries. At the same time, we will also use the back door for them to recruit two well-qualified royal disciples to join the sect every ten or twenty years. They can become inner disciples without passing the examination, so they don't have to wait until ten years."
"I see, thank you for clearing up the confusion." It's good to be the daughter of a powerful official. She has much better information than people from small towns like them.
"It will be a long time before I go to Tianyun Sect to become a disciple. You can stay at my house first and we will go together then." With someone to keep her company, Chen Xuejiao felt that leaving home was not so reluctant and sad.
Zhuzhu thought for a while but shook her head and refused. Although she didn't have to worry about eating, drinking and sleeping in the Prime Minister's Mansion, it was relatively inconvenient to travel.
She already knew the news about her eldest sister, and Zhuzhu also wanted to find out the whereabouts of the missing Ni Sitao. After all, they had been together day and night for more than a year, and she knew that Ni Sitao's maternal ancestral family was in such a bad situation, so she couldn't help but worry about her.
