Chapter 682: Petty Tricks
Chapter 682: Petty Tricks
"Are you also coming, First Sister?" Nan Xin's face stiffened when she saw her first sister had prepared a carriage and also getting ready. Even though Nan Hua was wearing a veil, she was dressed so beautifully that it would definitely attract some attention.
Nan Hua hummed lightly and then boarded the carriage without bothering to look at her half sister. It was as if there was no one around her.
Seeing this, Nan Xin's mood dropped. She thought that Nan Hua would not come at all, but things didn't go in accordance to her expectation. The first sister she thought would only be able to stay at home actually ended up coming to the palace too.
How could it be?
Nan Xin's eyes gleamed in ruthlessness. She felt that Nan Hua was not supposed to be coming at all!
"Miss, we will be late if we don't depart soon," Nan Xin's servants reminded.
"Let's go."
Pushing all of her thoughts inside, Nan Xin got into the carriage. She thought about what she could do to inconvenience Nan Hua and looked at the maidservant in front of her. No matter what, she would make sure that she succeeded.
And Nan Hua's presence was very displeasing.
In Nan Hua's carriage, Nan Hua was simply closing her eyes as if she was resting. Only the servants knew that she was not really resting. When Nan Hua closed her eyes, her other senses would be sharper, giving her better view of her surroundings.
"Miss, Second Young Miss Nan didn't seem to be happy." Xiao Yun remarked.
Nan Hua slowly opened her eyes. Her black obsidian eyes looked very clear without any ripples whatsoever. "She won't be able to do anything."
If Nan Xin dared to target Nan Hua, she would not be so polite and definitely returned the favor. Of course, if Nan Xin didn't do anything, Nan Hua was too lazy to bother with that person.
When trying to become as ordinary and unremarkable as possible, it was still possible for her to garner some attention here and there. While she would not inconvenience herself to steep so low because it would attract attention, doing some things in the back was very easy.
That way, those who dared to scheme against her wouldn't be let off so easily.
"Yes, Miss is amazing." Xiao Yun smiled.
Mu Yan looked at her Miss and added, "Please be careful, Miss."
"Mhm."
Nan Hua closed her eyes once more. There was no need for her to bother with any other things. A lot of carriages were heading towards the palace today, so it would definitely be very crowded. Nan Hua had no intention of interfering with those who wanted to hurry and chose to just go in normal pace.
As the carriage arrived, Nan Hua alighted. The same rules still apply as they had to walk towards the inner palace. This time, Nan Hua could see a lot of girls were walking ahead of her.
Everyone was dressed very well in order to attract more attention. It was as if they wouldn't be able to win if they didn't dress up well. At the same time, sparks began to fly as they greeted each other.
It was a battlefield.
A different kind of battlefield, but it was still a battlefield in a sense.
Nan Hua was expressionless as she walked on the road. When they reached the entrance to the inner palace, there were already several maidservants there. They had prepared a lot of fragrance pouch and all ladies have to pick one when they wanted to enter.
"We have to pick one of them?"
"Are there any differences?"
The maidservant smiled. "The fragrance inside the pouch is the flower embroidery at the very front. You have to pick one of them when you enter the inner palace and tie the fragrance pouch at your hips."
Nan Hua looked at the fragrance pouch and thought about the flower seeing banquet. Old Madam Long had told her that there was once a banquet like that in the past in order to see the girls' talent in many different field. It was simply disguised as flower seeing banquet where they would be asked to pick the fragrance pouch first.
The selection didn't mean much, but the type of flower they picked would determine their taste. After all, every single one couldn't possibly have the same taste in the smell they liked so much.
'Which one should I pick?'
Nan Hua looked at the series of pouch in front of her before her eyes landed on the white colored pouch. There was a beautiful white flower embroidered at the front. Nan Hua recognized the flower as snowdrop, the flower that symbolized innocence and purity.
Her hand moved and took the fragrance pouch. She looked at the maidservant. "I'll pick this one."
The maidservant smiled. "May I have your name, Miss?"
"Nan Hua, the first daughter of Nan Family Residence." Nan Hua paused for a moment. "I'm here because Young Master Long invited me to watch the Empress Selection."
In other words: she was not actually participating in the Empress Selection itself.
Hearing Nan Hua's words, the maidservant was a bit surprised. However, she quickly calmed down and nodded. "In that case, you may go inside now, First Young Miss Nan."
"Thank you."
Behind Nan Hua, Nan Xin's eyes glowed dangerously. She picked the same type of fragrance pouch as Nan Hua then walked closer to Nan Hua, purposely bumping onto the other party as she bypassed her.
The other girls looked at her for a moment then went on their own way. After all, there were a lot of girls who were also feeling impatient right now. Though, some who came from higher ranked nobles looked down on girls like this.
Nan Hua's hand moved faster than Nan Xin. She looked at her half-sister and shook her head internally.
It was 100 years too early for Nan Xin to play tricks in front of her.