Forgotten Legend of the Bloodied Flower

They were all confused and it was impossible to ask directly.

Old Madam Long greeted her friends one by one before looking around the room. At this time, Nan Hua was standing not far from them, waiting for Old Madam Long to finish talking with the other old women. She was not that tactless to disturb them when they were talking so happily with each other.

Upon seeing Nan Hua, Old Madam Long's eyes lit up. She walked forward. "Hua'er, have you been well lately?"

"Grandmother," Nan Hua greeted politely. She nodded. "Yes, I'm well."

"That's good." Old Madam Long grabbed Nan Hua's hand and patted it tenderly. She knew that Nan Hua had been staying in Nan Shu Cheng's Residence for the past month. Because of this matter, she had been fretting from time to time.

What if Nan Shu Cheng kept on targeting Nan Hua?

What if she didn't like to stay there?

But upon seeing that Nan Hua was well, Old Madam Long put her heart at ease. Since it would be hard to invite Nan Hua to her residence, she still could pay a visit to some banquets where Nan Hua would be.

"Grandmother, you should have more rest." Nan Hua looked at Old Madam Long. With Old Madam Long's condition, it wouldn't do her good to stay outside and have so much exercise.

"In that case, you should come to visit me." Old Madam Long looked at Nan Hua unhappily.

Nan Hua felt a bit helpless when facing Old Madam Long's request. She nodded obediently. "I'll ask for Father's permission later, Grandmother."

"That's better." Old Madam Long beamed.

Her maidservant who helped her up had long gotten used to Old Madam Long treated Nan Hua better than her own grandchildren. On the other hand, the other ladies were all dumbfounded when they saw this scene. They felt as if Old Madam Long truly genuinely treated Nan Hua as if she was part of Long Family.

Who didn't know that Nan Hua was not of age yet?

Yet looking at the way things were progressing, they felt as if Nan Hua was already treated as part of Long Family. Old Madam Long was so fond of her that she was smiling so widely and openly.

If her real granddaughter was here, what would her reaction be?

On the other side of the hall, a woman was staring in their direction with her hand trembling. If not because of her poor countenance, she would have surely barged to her grandmother, asking why.

But she didn't dare to.

Not after she had lost so much face.

'You won't be able to laugh for much longer.' The woman snorted and looked away, suppressing the raging anger that was brewing deep within her heart.

Old Madam Long really wanted to talk more with Nan Hua, but at that time the eunuch had come and announced Empress Dowager Mei and Princess Hu's arrival. Everyone quickly followed etiquette to bow down and greeted the two of them.

They were all being very respectful.

"Many thanks for coming here." Empress Dowager Mei was smiling. She swept her gaze across the hall and talked about some matters regarding the flowers. The ladies were all trying to get close to her and responded well, though they were all mostly only acting because they have no interest to appreciate flowers at this period of time.

Smiling and flattered Empress Dowager Mei as if they were late, they wouldn't have a chance.

Nan Hua was standing at a considerable distance from Empress Dowager Mei and had no intention of getting close to her. Old Madam Long was sitting right beside her because she couldn't stay standing for a long time.

"It's quite surprising that there can be a flower banquet at this kind of time." Old Madam Long sighed.

"We all need something to amuse ourselves, Grandmother."

"Does it only possible through Flower Seeing Banquet?" Old Madam Long shook her head and patted Nan Hua's hand. "To be unable to see through the surroundings just showed poor comprehension and intelligence."

Nan Hua chose not to comment.

She knew that Old Madam Long was chiding Empress Dowager Mei's lack of intelligence. In fact, Old Madam Long even wondered how could someone as excellent as Emperor Yang Zhou come from a woman like this? Not to mention that his father, Emperor Xuan, was not any better.

For the child to inherit the grandfather's intellect instead of his parents was truly a blessing from the Heaven.

Or Fei Yang Kingdom would never be able to stand tall and probably suffer worse fate of being destroyed by the other kingdoms because of their inability to protect their land.

At this time, Empress Dowager Mei swept her gaze and landed on Nan Hua. Her eyes glinted as she walked over.

Nan Hua bowed the moment Empress Dowager Mei came over. "Nan Hua, First Young Miss of Nan Family, greets Her Highness Empress Dowager Mei."

"Rise." Empress Dowager Mei was smiling widely. "I haven't heard anything about you, Young Miss Nan. Have you been well?"

"Many thanks for your concern, Your Highness. This one is staying in her father's home and had been well." Nan Hua was careful in her speech, selecting each words to say.

"That's good." Empress Dowager Mei nodded. "Have you thought about the….."

"Your Highness, did you try to ignore me on purpose?" Old Madam Long interjected from the side.

Empress Dowager Mei's lips twitched. Her gaze turned dark when she saw Old Madam Long sitting right beside Nan Hua. "It's been a while, Old Madam Long. I presume you have been well."

"I'm still alive." Old Madam Long stared back and smiled. "And my life has been quite interesting lately. There are a lot of additional insects coming over because of a certain big insect's words."

Nan Hua blinked her eyes.

Old Madam Long was very daring… to compare Empress Dowager Mei to an insect. There wouldn't be anyone who dared to do that in the entire Fei Yang Kingdom aside from her.