Xie Niushan was a bandit, so he would say things as it was.
The coachman could not help but sympathize with Xie Qiao, who was in the carriage when he heard that.
Xie Qiao had never thought Xie Pinghuai was such a terrible kid. He seemed rather sensible when they had met earlier, no?
Regarding Xie Xi…
Xie Qiao could guess it without having Xie Niushan telling her what the girl had done.
Xie Xi was slow, so she had definitely caused quite some trouble.
"Daughter, let's not talk about anything else. Even if you're a dimwit, as long as you don't show it, your face will be our family's reputation!" Xie Niushan said in pride.
Xie Qiao's eyelids twitched..
Could she not carry such a burden?
Xie Qiao sighed. It was not an easy task to be an official's daughter. It was definitely not as free as being a Taoist master.
"Father, after you're done with your errand today, speak as little as you can no matter where you go," Xie Qiao reminded out of nowhere.
"What?" Xie Niushan thought he had misheard.
"Your cheekbones are flushing today, Father. They're bright, and you look like you're going to make a fortune. You're an official, so you shouldn't go to the gambling den. The fortune shouldn't be there, but somewhere else that you're going today. However, it's easy to have the fortune taken away. So talk less and observe more today, then fortune will come," Xie Qiao explained slowly.
Xie Niushan wanted to curse.
'That d*mn old Taoist master! He turned my daughter into a swindler!?
'Listen to what she's saying! Does she sound like a lady at all?'
His poor daughter. If not for the fact that she had a lethal destiny, would she have been raised by that old Taoist master? If Xie Niushan was to raise her himself…
He was stunned and too embarrassed to continue thinking.
He knew that he did not know how to raise a child. If he had to raise Xie Qiao, he might have raised a demon.
"Don't say things like that when you're at the academy," said Xie Niushan.
"Sure," replied Xie Qiao. "I wonder what you ate today, Father. Your mouth stinks. I could smell it when you were a meter away from me."
Xie Niushan immediately exhaled to check his breath upon hearing that. He could not stop sniffing.
However, he did not smell anything after doing that for a while. "It's not stinky?"
"Your breath may not stink, but it doesn't mean your body doesn't," Xie Qiao said calmly.
Although Xie Niushan was not well educated, he got what she meant.
He kept quiet all of a sudden.
Indeed, it had been days since he last took a bath.
Soon, they arrived at the Royal Academy.
As soon as Xie Qiao got off the carriage, she was shocked by the academy before her.
It was indeed fortunate that the academy had great support. It was shockingly huge. There were a few side gates at the academy, while the main gate would only be opened for major events.
The tall walls seemed to have blocked the outside world, creating another world within. The side gates seemed pretty majestic too, and people were guarding the gates.
As it was the day of the monthly registration, a couple of other families were at the side door.
They got off the carriages when they arrived at the gate.
Those who got off were mostly 10-year-old children. They came as soon as they hit the eligible age.
Among the many of them, Xie Qiao was the only lady who was 15 or 16.
She was attention-seeking.
People started queuing to get in.
As a parent, Xie Niushan could enter the academy, but he could only send her to the gate. He could not join the examination Xie Qiao had to sit for at the academy.
"Why are you here again, Master Xie?" A teacher saw Xie Niushan when they went in. His eyelids twitched.
He could never forget the scene where Xie Niushan carried 10,000 taels of silver to send his two children to the academy!
People sent items as the custom to become a student. Even if one were to give silver, they would give silver notes!
It was a different case for Xie Niushan. He had brought taels of silver directly. He had even made a fuss that he was buying the qualification to send his children in!
If this lady that he brought qualified, would that not mean…
The teacher's facial expression suddenly changed.
Would he relive the scene of Xie Niushan bringing taels of silver!?