Chapter 23: To stay as a loser
Yu Chen crossed his arms defiantly as Xianwu forcefully pushed him out of bed, insisting that he should sleep on the floor.
"This is my house, my bed, Xianwu. I can sleep on the other side. Why do you want me to sleep on the floor?" Yu Chen was unable to understand what suddenly happened to Xianwu which led him to leave his home in the middle of the night.
"Did your father again beat you up?" Yu Chen asked.
"No," Xianwu answered bluntly.
"Then?" Yu Chen arched his eyebrow.
"I punched Yujin," Xianwu asserted, "though I wished I could do that to my father," he muttered.
Yu Chen sighed and pulled Xianwu up, thus making him sit. "It is dinner time. So, let's have dinner before we go to bed," he opined and told Xianwu he would sleep in the other room.
"I have no appetite," Xianwu asserted.
"Why will you not have dinner because of your half-brothers? They must be enjoying themselves. I will also not eat if you refuse to have dinner," Yu Chen stated. "Mother has made glutinous rice balls. Don't you want to taste them?"
Xianwu got down from the bed and hung his arm around Yu Chen. "You are right. I should not stay angry," Xianwu remarked. They headed to the private dining room, where, upon Yu Chen's instructions, the servant set dishes on the floor table.
"I wish I had a normal family, a peaceful life," Xianwu said.
"You can have one after marrying someone," Yu Chen stated. "You are twenty-five. When do you plan to get married?" Yu Chen began eating, gesturing to Xianwu to eat as well.
"I want to marry a woman who is currently not within my reach," Xianwu asserted. "However, I think because of my father, her life may get ruined," he added.
Yu Chen was surprised to know that Xianwu already had a woman in his mind. "Who is the woman?" He smirked as he began teasing Xianwu.
"I cannot tell you at the moment. But she is someone, who does not like me a bit," Xianwu stated.
"Who? How can she not like such a gentle soul like you?" Yu Chen suddenly turned furious and advised Xianwu to not long for such a woman.
"Perhaps I failed to make a good first impression in her eyes," Xianwu said and chuckled. He resumed eating and urged Yu Chen not to ask any more questions regarding that.
"I will not, but make sure to introduce her to me after you clear the misunderstandings with her. I should be the first person to know who is the woman whom my one and only friend wants to marry," Yu Chen stated. Xianwu nodded his head and told him he had to meet the Crown Princess tomorrow.
Yu Chen stopped eating. "Really? Why?" he inquired.
"Umm… the Crown Princess did not clear to me. But I think she does not know who I am," Xianwu replied.
"That is understandable. The Crown Princess meets so many people in a single day. So, it is almost impossible for her to remember every single person," Yu Chen answered. Xianwu was a bit upset to know that he introduced himself to Jia Li, but she easily forgot his name.
"Tomorrow is your first day at work. Many will try to look down on you, but I know with your intelligence you will prove to everyone that the civil services examination does not decide the future," Yu Chen did not forget to give some encouragement to Xianwu. In the Ministry of Revenue, the others might not try to befriend Xianwu, which was concerning for Yu Chen.
"Sometimes it is necessary to stay as a loser," Xianwu replied and brought the bowl near him.
"I will try to shift the department. It is going to be hard, but I will do my best to get appointed in the same department as yours," Yu Chen stated.
"I will wait," Xianwu said.
~~~~~~~~
Jia Li, before going to bed, decided to practice once. She went to the private garden in her manor and practiced the same way Chen Xin had taught her. Though her entire body was aching, she managed to practice for an hour by herself. She practiced hands and feet movements in which she was weak.
Jia Li paused as she suddenly recalled Xianwu, who pinned her to the wall last evening and showed her how weak she was in front of a man.
"But who is? He didn't either tell me in the morning," Jia Li twitched her lips in annoyance and settled on the swing. "My Grandmother is up to something. Only Wangjie is dear to her," she mumbled. Pushing her feet off the ground, she moved the swing forward while thinking about how she would find out about her grandmother's evil scheming against them.
"Everyone knows Chen Xin, else he was good for the spy job. But I cannot ask him for every single work. I need to find someone loyal from the palace," Jia Li murmured and rested her feet on the ground.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone