Forgotten Legend of the Bloodied Flower

"Sister, over here," A woman called out to Madam Qu.

Madam Qu's eyes lit up. "You're here too."

"I was invited." The woman smiled. She glanced to the back and looked at the two of them. Nan Xin was a familiar face, but Nan Hua was not. "This is?"

"Nan Family Main Daughter, Nan Hua," Nan Hua introduced herself properly. The person in front of her had similar countenance with Madam Qu, dark eyes and sign of aging… she should be older than Madam Qu. The thick makeup didn't do a good job to cover up those marks.

The woman's eyes flashed. She smiled. "Madam Lei."

Lei?

Nan Hua's mind spun a bit before recalling that Fei Yang Kingdom had another small Lei Family. The same words when speaking can be different when it was written as there were several similar surnames.

Lei surname belonged to several families.

And among those nobles in the Capital City, it only belonged to a rather small scholar who came from merchant family. (Remember, the social strata stated that merchant was amongst the lowest. Even though they have enough money, they would have a hard time climbing the social ladder unless they were terribly rich)

"You can go and talk to your friends." Madam Qu looked at the two children and waved them off.

"Yes, Mother." Nan Xin had spotted some ladies whom she was quite a good friend with. With Madam Qu naturally unwilling to protect her that much, it was only natural that Nan Xin worked on her own in order to be able to find more people who would be willingly support her.

It was not easy, but she had a few friends.

Nan Hua glanced at the group then moved away, finding a rather inconspicuous spot. With her lowering her presence, it was hard for people to notice her even if they were looking in her direction.

"Where's your sister, Nan Xin?" one of the ladies asked curiously.

"She's just here…" Nan Xin was stunned when she saw that Nan Hua had disappeared. The hall was not big, so it shouldn't be hard for them to find Nan Hua if they looked around the area.

"Did she escape because she was afraid?" One of them laughed.

"I have been waiting to meet with Nan Xin's sister for a long time. I didn't think that I wouldn't even have the chance to."

Nan Xin's face flushed, yet there was smile in her eyes. She kept on looking around for Nan Hua while listening to her friends dissing her sister. Since they were all only ladies here, they didn't wear a veil, which would make it easier for them to recognize each other.

After scurrying all over, Nan Xin saw Nan Hua stood near a small white flower. People would think that she was admiring the flower if not for her always indifferent and cold face.

"Nan Hua is over there, before the white flower."

"Ah, that's lily flower."

"Would you introduce your sister to us, Nan Xin?"

"Of course." Nan Xin beamed and walked in Nan Hua's direction. There were a few ladies who were following her as they were curious as to what Nan Hua looked like after not meeting her for so many years.

With Nan Hua not evens staying in the Capital City, they couldn't even see her during the mandatory events.

"Sister," Nan Xin called.

Nan Hua raised her head and looked in Nan Xin's direction.

At that moment, the ladies felt like they were blinded. Nan Hua was not wearing any remarkable accessory or heavy makeup, yet her face was so stunning that they were wondering if they were seeing things.

Jealousy brewed deep within their eyes.

Heaven was not fair!

How come they have average countenance yet someone else was born with such beauty that could possibly bring down nation?

"What is it?" Nan Hua asked slowly. Her voice was cold and indifferent, yet they carried traces of charm that made people felt that they had to listen to her.

Nan Xin put on a smile. "These are my friends. They want to know you, so I bring them here."

Nan Hua swept her glance to the four other ladies near Nan Xin. She could guess that these ladies were all concubine daughters since they wanted to stay with Nan Xin. After all, main daughters didn't usually associate themselves with concubine daughters because of some reasons.

"Nan Hua, Nan Family Main Daughter," Nan Hua introduced herself.

The first person was stunned then quickly curtsied. "Lei Xiao Yi, Lei Family Main Daughter."

Oh, Madam Qu's niece.

The other three also quickly introduced themselves and they refused to state their status, only saying which number they were. (Note: Nan Hua is the first daughter, but by her saying that she was the main daughter, it implied that she was the one and only main daughter, which is the daughter of the main wife and not a concubine of that family)

Lei Xiao Yi smiled at Nan Hua. "I have heard a lot of things about you, First Young Miss Nan. I heard that Wind City is very different from the Capital City. Would you like to share some things with us?"

Nan Hua glanced at Lei Xiao Yi, who was smiling at her. It seemed that this girl knew how to hide her real purpose better than Nan Xin.

"I rarely went out, so there's not much I can say about Wind City. I spent my time to take care of my Aunt who had just recovered from her childbirth," Nan Hua looked at Lei Xiao Yi and replied softly.

"I have heard that as well." Lei Xiao Yi put her hand in front of her mouth, looking surprised. She showed a smile of pity. "Does that mean that you don't have time to learn anything during your stay there, First Young Miss Nan?"

"There are still some time to learn about some necessary skill. However, this one is untalented and didn't seem to have much progress despite learning for a long time. Did you come here to mock this one because of my skill, First Young Miss Lei?" Nan Hua countered.