Forgotten Legend of the Bloodied Flower

But that was for the future that Nan Hua didn't even bother to follow.

She had other things to care about.

When they reached Yi Shang Temple, Madam Qu basically recovered enough to berate all the monks and demanded explanation. She was so angry that the road was unsafe that it literally put her life at risk.

Nan Hua was too lazy to listen to Madam Qu's unreasonable demand that she chose to enter the temple first. On the other hand, Nan Xin was still barely recovering from her fright even after waking up.

"Both of you are sisters, but it seems that the difference in attitude is quite large," a voice commented from the side.

Nan Hua glance and saw Shangguan Die stood there. Due to the scars on her face, Shangguan Die had long gotten used to wear veil almost all the time. It would prevent others from freaking out when they saw her and at the same time, hide the degree of her healing.

"It's been a while, First Young Miss Shangguan," Nan Hua greeted politely.

Shangguan Die smiled. "Indeed. It's been around a month and half's time. I didn't expect to see you so soon either."

"I got lucky."

"Come with me and have some tea. It's so boring here that my activities all day is nothing but chanting." Shangguan Die sighed. Being the active girl she used to be, it was quite a torture for her to stay quiet in this temple.

There was no one who openly provoke her aside from some misdeed from her servants. Thus, her fiery temper had been curbed a bit.

"In that case, I'll intrude on you, First Young Miss Shangguan."

"Please, call me with my name directly. I will think that you're unwilling to be my friend if you decline."

Nan Hua nodded. "I understand, Shangguan Die."

"Good, Nan Hua."

Nan Hua: "…"

She was sure that she hadn't given permission for Shangguan Die to call her name directly. However, she chose not to bother with this trivial matter. From the moment she decided to help Shangguan Die, she knew that it would be impossible for others not to lump the two of them together.

And Shangguan Die in front of her was not the same reckless girl as before, so Nan Hua didn't mind.

As they walked to the garden, Nan Hua noticed the decrease of maidservants around Shangguan Die. It seemed that during the past month, Shangguan Die had already decreased the number of spies around.

"Come to think about it, do you know how to make tea?" Shangguan Die asked curiously.

Nan Hua nodded. "I learned it."

"In that case, how about if I see you make the tea and taught you a bit?" Shangguan Die asked. Even though she was known as a very short tempered young lady, her skill was still considered top notch. If not because of that, there was no way she would have lasted so long having a war of words with Princess Yue back then.

The two of them were considered at the top of their skill, which was why others didn't dare to intrude the two of them.

Nan Hua thought for a moment then nodded. "In that case, please instruct me, Shangguan Die."

"I will." Shangguan Die smiled.

Nan Hua looked at the table. Tea making started from preparing all the necessary items and ingredients, including teapot, teacups, strainer, and so on. First, Nan Hua rinsed the teapot and teacups before she heated some water. Her move when she prepared them was not slow but it was filled with elegance as if coming out of the painting.

Shangguan Die's eyes widened when she saw the scene. It was out of her expectation that Nan Hua could move with such elegance.

If Nan Hua heard what Shangguan Die thought, she would simply answer that she imitated her aunt. Acting didn't only require them to have precise expression but also body language. In order to be able to perform the person they would be, they had to match the body language and their posture.

Thus, learning was not considered that difficult for Nan Hua.

Nan Hua proceeded to put the tea leaves into the teapot before she poured the hot water into the teapot. She stayed silence for a few seconds before removing the water to remove dust and the impurities on the surface of the tea leaves. After washing it, refill the teapot with boiled water, cover it, and stayed for a few seconds to preserve the aroma.

After it was done, Nan Hua poured the tea out while holding her sleeves. Traditional Chinese clothes (hanfu) had long sleeves. Naturally, one had to hold it in order to make sure that it would not get wet when they were making the tea.

After she had done, Nan Hua then offered the teacup to Shangguan Die with both hands.

Shangguan Die smiled and accepted the tea. She carefully sniffed the aroma without making it obvious. They only needed to put the cup in front of them but didn't directly drink it. It had sweet smell and the color was clear. Slowly, Shangguan Die took a sip of the tea, slowly but surely to savor the taste.

"Your tea is not bad." Shangguan Die smiled. "However, I would suggest you to learn some techniques. There are moves that could make you look even more pleasing to the eye."

"Pleasing to the eye?" Nan Hua asked.

Shangguan Die nodded. She chuckled. "Why do you think art of tea is considered difficult? Aside from the fact that you need to calculate the time properly, you have to make sure that your move is elegant enough and not an eyesore in front of other people's eyes."

Nan Hua mulled and looked at the process. Indeed, she could remember that her aunt seemed to be exuding some kind of aura that made one wanted to continue looking at her when she made it.

On the other hand, Nan Hua herself only looked quite good but didn't have such attraction.

"Please teach me."

"Naturally~."