Forgotten Legend of the Bloodied Flower

<Morning after the palace battle, Nan Shu Cheng's Residence>

"Miss, are you awake?" Xiao Yun asked in a low voice. She sensed some movements from inside and thus tried to ask.

"I'm awake."

Nan Hua didn't have any problem with sleeping while sitting. She could even sleep when she was standing, much less when she was sitting like this. It was indeed not the most comfortable position, though.

"Master Nan had ordered that Miss may return to your quarter for breakfast," Xiao Yun said in a low voice.

"Mhm."

The door opened and Xiao Yun walked inside. She didn't know where Nan Hua went last night and had no intention of asking those questions. Helping Nan Hua to wash up, Xiao Yun proceeded to help Nan Hua stood up and led her outside. It was normal for maidservants to lead their miss or help them out. And since Nan Hua was supposed to be 'weak,' this should be a good show in front of others.

Nan Hua walked out of the ancestral room and looked at her surroundings. Nan Shu Cheng's Residence was decorated nicely but many plants around the ancestral room had long died. This place was often forgotten and not many people came.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she noticed Nan Shu Cheng stood not far from the stone path. He looked in her direction with icy gaze as if he was looking at his enemy rather than his daughter.

After thinking for a moment, Nan Hua curtsied. "Father."

Nan Shu Cheng's eyes flashed. He snorted. "Have you learned your lesson?"

Nan Hua didn't answer and merely stared back at Nan Shu Cheng with her clear gaze. There seemed to be nothing that her black obsidian eyes concealed, yet at the same time, it looked as if it contained the secret of the world. Clear yet deep and hard to guess. No emotion could be detected.

Looking at Nan Hua, Nan Shu Cheng snorted. Whenever he looked at her, he always seemed to be able to see a shadow behind her. The shadow of his deceased wife who used to be the person who stayed by his side but had died because of him.

His fingers clenched into a fist.

"Stay inside and be obedient. You will only make things difficult for yourself if you go against me." Nan Shu Cheng snorted.

When Nan Hua first came to Nan Shu Cheng's Residence, he was being very careful because he wanted to avoid rumors. Now that Nan Hua had stayed here for a few months, it was time for him to put her in place.

Nan Hua looked at Nan Shu Cheng and asked in neither loud nor small voice, "Would you pay attention after all these years?"

Her words contained grievances that seemed to stem from the bottom of her heart, but the tone she used was so flat and indifferent. It caused a mismatch that could disturb even the calmest heart.

And Nan Shu Cheng was not an exception.

Looking at the daughter in front of him, he could see the images of his deceased wife. She was looking at him with stubborn and indifferent gaze, one that he was unfamiliar with. No matter what he did before, she would always look in his direction with love and concern, trying to coax him while being stubborn.

They had many quarrels in the past because of her stubborn personality. Nan Shu Cheng himself both hate and love this personality of his wife. Most of the time, he would finally relent and follow her words when he had mulled it over and knew that it would be the best for him.

Since when….?

Since when he didn't even follow any of her words anymore?

Nan Shu Cheng couldn't remember. He closed his eyes and snorted, turning around to walk the stone path where he came.

Watching Nan Shu Cheng left, Nan Hua didn't have any emotion. There was never any hope or expectation, so naturally there wouldn't be any disappointment. She merely tugged Xiao Yun, reminding her to continue walking.

For Nan Hua, Nan Shu Cheng was nothing more than a father in name. He could act as if he was her father, but she would treat him not any better than stranger. And with more images recovered, Nan Hua started to see more of his action towards the young Nan Hua.

How he continuously destroyed the young Nan Hua's expectation.

How he punished her in the name of disciplining his daughter whilst making things difficult for her.

How he forced her to listen to what he did to her mother.

And with each image Nan Hua recovered, she could faintly understand how the original story went that way. Seeing how Long Qian Xing treated her so warmly and kindly, it would be hard for anyone not to be moved. And with him being the original Nan Hua's fiancé, it was only natural that she would treat him as hers.

She didn't want to give him up to anyone.

But looking at those images, Nan Hua didn't think that the original Nan Hua would ever truly love Long Qian Xing.

Growing up in that kind of environment would certainly affect the original Nan Hua's judgement towards men and probably made her distrust them.

Seeing how a man could treat his wife so… the original Nan Hua might not even have any expectation of her marriage. All she wanted from that marriage was the high status and also the protection Long Qian Xing would give her.

After all, the original Nan Hua still stayed in Nan Shu Cheng's Residence and couldn't leave.

Old Master Nan in the original story couldn't do anything because his failure at the joint war put him in difficult position. He could only watch from the side as his granddaughter lost everything following the downfall of the entire Nan Family.

And when the original Nan Hua finally died, only Old Master Nan and Nan Luo were grieving.

And Nan Hua's death also signified Feng Ao Kuai's death.

Nan Hua's eyes glimmered when she thought about this. The original Nan Hua was close to Feng Ao Kuai? When did it actually happen?