Bab 2: The Useless Girl
The festive atmosphere was brought about by the brightly lit colorful lanterns accompanied by musical instruments being played in the background. Jun Hua watched the splendor and the throngs of people in the big hall. Her eyes scanned the crowd and splendidly memorized all their faces. But because she was too focused on them, she forgot the proper etiquette in greeting the imperial family. It made her commit a lot of mistakes.
Behind her, Xia secretly cursed inside her mind. Her miss is standing before these officials and her mistakes... would surely cause them to look down on the Jun family even more.
Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do. Jun Hua paid no heed to the concealed disdain directed to her and chose to take a seat in a quiet corner. She was diligently observing all the people who came to the celebration while Xia could only stand by her side with worry.
"The Lin family has arrived."
The eunuch's announcement made the girl lift her head once more. She could see a group of people coming in.
At the front is a middle-aged man with scholarly aura, Lin Tang, Jun Hua's father. Walking beside him was his wife, Chun Maora. Behind him were his two concubines and four children – two sons and two daughters. In this rare occasion, only the official wives and concubines who bore children were allowed to take part.
Jun Hua stared at them indifferently. She didn't have much recollection of this man, but she knew that he was her father. All these years, he never once visited her, not even when the Jun family's adoptive son, Jun Min, achieved greatly on the battlefield. He continued on with his facade.
"Xia, do you know what kind of people I hate so much?"
"Miss…?"
Jun Hua stared at Lin Tang. "It is the kind of man that neglects his wife for another woman and throws aside his own daughter."
Knowing that Jun Hua is talking about her father, Xia didn't dare say anything. She had followed her miss for five years and naturally she had come to know a lot about her life before she came into the Jun family. It was the kind of life that she herself wouldn't want to experience.
Jun Hua's presence was easily forgotten, however, at that moment a particular young lady girl walked towards her. Jun Hua stared at the girl with a frown. What could she possibly want from her?
"Jun Hua, why don't you join the others?" a very small girl asked with a smile. Jun Hua raised her head and saw a fifteen-year-old girl standing before her. This girl was incredibly attractive with fair skin and red cherry lips. Her dimples on both sides of her cheeks were showing and her long eyelashes framed a pair of eyes, which curved into a crescent moon whenever she smiled.
It took Jun Hua sometime before remembering the girl's name, Lin Yuan. She was the first daughter of the Lin family, however, a concubine born. Considering her age, it won't be long before she would be married away. All girls dreamt of marrying their perfect man and Jun Hua's adoptive brother was among those on top of their lists.
Jun Hua pursed her lips. How could she not know this girl's real intention? But it won't do her any good if she refused outright.
"Jun Hua thanks Sister Lin Yuan, but Jun Hua is not used with parties," Jun Hua answered softly. Her small voice may have been hard to hear but was truly pleasing to the ears.
Lin Yuan was stunned when she heard that melodious voice. Jun Hua's voice was very soft and endearing. Coupled with her fair skin and lovely eyes, even Lin Yuan had to admit that this girl was astonishingly beautiful. Those so-called attractive girls in front of Jun Hua were nothing to compare.
"How about I introduce you to my friends?" Lin Yuan asked.
"But I don't want to trouble Sister Lin Yuan."
Lin Yuan smiled softly. Although her original purpose was to get closer with Jun Hua in order to get close to her adoptive brother Jun Min, she could not help but feel that this girl was quite adorable. She resisted the urge to pinch the girl's cheeks and held herself, afraid of tarnishing her status.
"Silly girl, what trouble could it be? Come on, let me show you around."
Jun Hua wore a helpless expression and obediently followed Lin Yuan. The other young men and women who saw them thought that Jun Hua was indeed a weak girl. Look! She keeps on following her half-sister throughout the party with such obedience.
Jun Zhenxian pretended that he didn't hear those comments. He had to hold himself back from refuting these people, for if not, he would surely shout to the whole world about the brilliance of his granddaughter. But he couldn't do just that, otherwise, their lives and plans would be in jeopardy.
"Zhenxian, you seem even more robust now," a sound of laughter reached the old man's ears.
Jun Zhenxian smiled wryly, "Nanglong Souka, you old dog. Why are you bothering me instead of playing with your grandson?"
Nanglong Souka laughed. "That troublesome grandson of mine is busy."
"Busy talking?"
Nanglong Souka choked a bit. Jun Zhenxian sighed. He could clearly see that Nanglong Soujin was busy talking with Prince Yan and completely ignoring his grandfather. It was just natural since he was already an adult, but Jun Zhenxian knew that his old friend still felt left out with that.
"Anyway, has your grandson prepared himself?" Nanglong Souka stared at Jun Zhenxian.
Jun Zhenxian brows rose and asked, "What for?"
"The emperor will test all generals of the younger generation. Naturally, your grandson is included. All of them will be summoned into the palace tomorrow."
Jun Zhenxian frowned. Normally, the rank of generals could not be obtained by younger people. However, in this kingdom alone, there were already three people who had attained it even before they were married. Though one of them had just been married, he was still in his early twenties which meant he was considered as among the younger generation.
Coincidentally, these three young generals also came from the three leading military families in this kingdom. Jun family once ranked first among them, but it declined severely over the years, which had left them with only two capable people. One of them belonged to the younger generation.
"Seems like, the emperor is still hell-bent on making my family fall," Jun Zhenxian sighed.
Nanglong Souka just shrugged. "Once you pass by this calamity, your family will thrive. Of course, it doesn't mean it would always be peaceful."
"The emperor will soon arrive; you better go back to your seat."
"Alright, thanks anyway."
Jun Zhenxian sighed and looked at the dragon throne. The emperor would arrive last, being that this was his party. The eyes he used to look at the chair were undoubtedly cold. Jun Zhenxian knew that in this kingdom, his family had far too many enemies and the person sitting at the highest position was one of them.
Hadiah
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