Forgotten Legend of the Bloodied Flower

But of course, Nan Hua didn't truly say it to Long Qian Xing.

The rest of the morning was spent with them watching the noble girls showing their talent one by one. After music, it was painting. With just two events, more than half of the girls who came were eliminated one by one.

It was already long enough for the day.

"There's a lunch break." Long Qian Xing looked at Nan Hua with regret. If only it was not inappropriate in front of others, he would like to eat with Nan Hua. But since there were a lot of people here, he better not tries to cross the limit.

"Brother Long, I'll be going for a while." Nan Hua curtsied. She thought for a moment before adding, "I'll be back soon."

"Okay."

Long Qian Xing watched as Nan Hua walked away. He sighed to himself and really wished that the custom was not so complicated. For him to ask her coming here was already breaching the line a bit.

If not because Emperor Yang Zhou gave his permission personally, Long Qian Xing wouldn't be able to do this like today. He sighed internally and walked towards the inner garden where the other Imperial Family members gathered.

Prince Yang Lu looked at Long Qian Xing and greeted the other party once more, "Young Master Long, are you going to eat with us?"

"Your Highness." Long Qian Xing cupped his fist. "There's a separate table at the other side of the room. This one wouldn't dare to share the same table with you, Your Highness."

"I see."

The matter of etiquette and custom had long been ingrained in their body for so many years. It was their way of life and naturally couldn't be changed easily. They were also very familiar with the annoying methods of those who were living as part of the Imperial Family.

Mu Fei Xin looked a bit disappointed when she didn't see Nan Hua anywhere. She actually wanted to chat more with Nan Hua because it was rare for her to meet with someone who didn't look at others based on their status.

Besides, she hadn't had the chance to talk a lot with Nan Hua before.

"Please excuse this one, Your Highness." Long Qian Xing cupped his fist and retreated to the side, taking the empty table for him.

Prince Yang Lu looked in Long Qian Xing's direction for a moment then retracted his gaze. Even now, he could never understand what was inside the young commander's mind. He had already interacted with Long Qian Xing a few times in the past because he had seen the other party studying with his brother.

But he didn't have much of impression of Long Qian Xing.

All he knew was that this was a youth who liked to smile and seemed polite with others. It was only later on he realized that Long Qian Xing was actually a very talented young man who could possibly become a general in the future.

He didn't understand why his grandfather would pick Long Qian Xing to be by his Imperial Brother's side.

After all, the two of them were still very young back then.

Would Emperor Huan <Prince Yang Lu and Emperor Yang Zhou's grandfather> could know that Long Qian Xing would definitely succeed in the future?

That's absurd.

Putting his thoughts away, Prince Yang Lu led Princess Mu Fei Xin to the designated table. He looked at the two Empress Dowagers who sat at the other table and his lips curled up to form a faint mocking smile. These two acted as sisters but they were no different from enemies in truth.

What a good Imperial Family.

…

The ladies who hadn't managed to pass the first two contest and didn't have sufficient skill all returned first. But unlike Nan Xin who was basically thrown out, they were still treated with respect by the guards. The maidservants even consoled them and said that it was not their time.

The other ladies were gathered in one of the garden to have lunch together. The maidservants had prepared the food and all they had to do was to sit down and ate.

Nan Hua looked at the table filled with lavish food and took a seat at the side.

Most of the times, the noble ladies' seat would depend on the status of their father. Even though Great General Nan was very powerful and basically the one and only grand duke in the kingdom, Nan Hua's father was mediocre. It was because of this that her seat was more often than not at the middle.

"First Young Miss Nan, may I have this seat?"

Raising her head, Nan Hua saw a young girl around the age of 15 or 16 not far from her. She was dressed in pink colored brocade dress and looked a bit mature. However, her youthful face revealed her real age easily.

This was not the first time Nan Hua saw this young lady. She had appeared a few times in the past when Nan Hua participated in the banquet. However, the two of them hadn't talked with each other.

They only 'bumped' to each other.

"The seat is empty, please take a seat Third Young Miss Xiao."

Third Young Miss Xiao, Xiao Qiang, smiled gently when she heard Nan Hua's words. Xiao Family was an official family and their ranking was much higher than Nan Shu Cheng. However, their family was very low key and had no interaction with Nan Family before.

After all, the division they were focused in was also different.

<Note: Nan Shu Cheng worked in Ministry of Justice>

More and more girls picked their seat. It was not completely assigned based on their status like banquet, but these girls still picked their seat around the area where their father's status were.

It was just habit.

Or perhaps it was the custom that was cultivated deep in their bones.

Nan Hua thought that there wouldn't be anyone else, but her eyes narrowed when she saw Princess Hu appeared. It seemed that things wouldn't be so peaceful.