Forgotten Legend of the Bloodied Flower

Empress Dowager Mei could feel her body turned cold. She looked at the person in front of her coldly but couldn't say anything else.

The image of that flower alone could make her recall so many things she had long wished to have forgotten. The betrayal, the pain, and everything had eaten her up that she felt mad.

And she had showed this unsightly look in front of so many ladies.

"I'm not feeling well today." Empress Dowager Mei gritted her teeth. "Imperial Sister Yan should continue."

"Imperial Sister Mei should rest. It's not good to push yourself too much." Empress Dowager Yan looked genuinely worried. Her gaze was also filled with worry and concern when she looked at the other party.

This kind of gaze only made Empress Dowager Mei's heart turned colder.

"I'll stay at the side."

Empress Dowager Mei huffed and walked to her seat. She actually planned on making things difficult for these ladies so that they wouldn't be able to pass and showed their talent easily. But who would have thought that things wouldn't end so well for her that she fell for their trap so quickly?

However, who should she blame for using her weakness?

When dealing with an opponent, it was a normal thing to use their weakness and exploited it for their benefit.

With Empress Dowager Mei out of the picture, Empress Dowager Yan began to control the situation and asked them to start showing their talent. The first that they would test would be music.

Soon, the girls began to play zither one by one.

"They're playing well." Nan Hua could see that many of these girls had learned music wholeheartedly. This allowed them to be very good in whatever they were doing. The music was really nice to hear.

"Hua'er can treat it as they're giving performances." Long Qian Xing smiled. He thought to himself that it was like an open area concert.

Nan Hua's lips twitched a bit.

Why did she feel that Long Qian Xing was actually trying to find methods to amuse himself and brought her along with him to enjoy it?

She hummed lightly.

"Can Brother Long play zither?"

"Me?" Long Qian Xing was a bit surprised when asked that question. He did learn music in his original world, but those musical instruments were naturally different from the one in this era. Since he come here, he did learn a bit… but his focus has been martial arts most of the time.

"I can play a bit. If Hua'er wants to listen, I'll play for you in the future." Long Qian Xing chuckled.

"Which music instrument do you play, Brother Long?"

"I can play the flute quite well." Long Qian Xing looked at the zither and smiled bitterly. "But I don't think I can play zither that well."

He did learn how to play zither from his grandmother. However, he didn't really have much talent and didn't spare that much time to learn. As a result, he could barely play melodious song.

In other words: it was already good enough if he could keep within the same range of note.

Nan Hua learned how to play zither because of her aunt. She tilted her head to the side. "I'll play the zither for you, Brother Long."

Long Qian Xing's eyes deepened when he heard the girl's voice. He smiled warmly. "Okay."

The two of them were talking to each other, not paying any attention to the people who were busy with their performances. These girls were all so nervous because they didn't know who the Emperor would pick in the end, so they tried their best to make sure that they performed more than their peak.

Nan Xin was not an exception. She was feeling nervous as she looked at the other girls who walked to the front. Listening to the song they played, she felt her confidence was diminishing bit by bit.

Turning her head to the side, her eyes were gradually filled with hatred.

In this kind of time, Nan Hua still has the time to drink tea and chat with Young Commander Long?

Right now, she really wished that Nan Hua was here and participated alongside them. It would only make it fair for her to suffer the same fate of waiting nervously and not just staying at such a distance and enjoyed the show. The two of them were only engaged to each other and not married, but they were already so close.

Meow.

The sound of cat startled Nan Xin. She turned her head to the side and saw Empress Dowager Mei was holding a beautiful white colored cat. From the way it looked like, Empress Dowager Mei loved her cat so much.

The cat purred as Empress Dowager Mei brushed the fur.

At this moment, Nan Xin even felt that a cat lived better than human.

"Next, Nan Xin, the second daughter of Nan Family."

Nan Xin heard her name called and walked to the front. She looked at the two Empress Dowagers in front of her and curtsied, introducing herself and the song she was about to play in clear and soft voice.

Meow!

The white cat in Empress Dowager Mei suddenly stirred. Its eyes were staring in Nan Xin's direction.

"What is it, Sweety?" Empress Dowager Mei frowned. Her cat was usually very docile and rarely disturbed. She liked the cat because a cat was much easier to take care rather than children. Besides, a cat could never betray her.

What a joke. How could a cat possibly betray someone when they couldn't even speak?

Hiss!

The cat hissed lightly. Its eyes were following Nan Xin as the young girl sat before the zither to start playing. There was some kind of smell that it was familiar with, making it want to get closer.

Empress Dowager Mei looked at her white cat in confusion when the white cat suddenly sprang forward from her lap. It reached towards Nan Xin and the claws immediately reached towards Nan Xin's hips.

"KYAAAAAAAAA!"