Concubine Mei looked tired while Madam Qu was staring at her fiercely. If looks could kill, Concubine Mei might have died many times over under such heavy scrutiny.
At that moment, Nan Shu Cheng came. With him appearing, the ladies no longer quarreled with each other and maintained a harmonious appearance. After all, Nan Shu Cheng had already enough of trouble around him.
If they put on a bad expression, Nan Shu Cheng would just punish them.
He was already in a bad mood long enough.
They proceeded with the usual pleasantries and exchange some words. After it was settled, everyone was waiting for Nan Shu Cheng to start their dinner.
"Before we started, I would like to say something." Nan Shu Cheng swept his gaze across the people in front of him. "There'll be a small banquet to celebrate my 35th birthday this time."
Nan Hua blinked her eyes. She had completely forgotten that her father was 21 years older than her. What she remembered was that he would have his birthday in two days' time.
"And this time, I'll be inviting more people to come," Nan Shu Cheng paused for a moment. "I have been promoted once more, so I would like to use this chance to celebrate it with my friends. I hope all of you will behave on the day."
The ladies' eyes perked up.
They knew what it meant for Nan Shu Cheng to be promoted. Finally! They were already dead tired from maintaining that solemn mood and staying so careful. Now they could relax a bit because Nan Shu Cheng was no longer in heavy pressure and not in a bad mood all the time.
With the court upheaval, it seemed that Nan Shu Cheng managed to seize this chance to get promoted once more.
It was a happy news for them all.
Madam Qu was also smiling happily. Even though she was unhappy that the power was still in Concubine Mei's hand, she was still happy that Nan Shu Cheng persevered. If he was demoted, there was high chance that they would be moved outside the Capital City.
Now, the crisis was over.
Time for her to make her move.
Concubine Mei smiled yet she could sense the cold gaze that Madam Qu was giving her. Her heart thumped for she understood that it wouldn't be long before Madam Qu made her move. She had been very quiet all this time.
Was she waiting for Nan Shu Cheng's position to stabilize?
If that was true, Concubine Mei had to be more careful.
Nan Hua was calm. She was silently thinking inside her mind. When she first came to this world, Nan Shu Cheng was a fourth ranked official but then he got demoted because of some problems (mainly because of her and her mother). He had managed to regain his position as fourth rank official two to three years ago when Nan Hua was away from the Capital City because the news died down.
With this promotion, it meant that Nan Shu Cheng had become a third ranked official. Speaking of which, Nan Shu Cheng worked in Ministry of Justice. There were a total of six ministries, each of them were responsible for different matters and had a lot of different people.
Ministry of Justice had a lot of people from Du Family.
Thinking about this, Nan Hua's eyes flashed. The reason why her mother's family had a downfall might have some kind of relationship with her father. It seemed that the investigation would have to add some additional course.
If the people from Dark Moon Organization knew that their workload increased just because Nan Hua realizing this, they might not know whether to cry or laugh.
"Yes, I understand," Concubine Mei answered with a smile.
Nan Shu Cheng nodded. "Good. I have prepared some wine for us. It's not much, but I would like to celebrate my promotion in advance."
Being a third grade official meant a lot. After all, there were only two more ranking in front of him before he become the Minister. Above the minister there were the prime ministers, which meant that Nan Shu Cheng might had a chance of that position in this life.
But that chance was quite slim considering that he didn't really have any remarkable qualification.
The dinner passed by in cheerful atmosphere.
Nan Hua returned to her room and noticed that Xiao Yun was pouting. She looked at her servant, thinking that Xiao Yun seemed to be more and more expressive when they were only the two of them lately.
"What is it, Xiao Yun?"
"Miss…. Why are you still so calm?" Xiao Yun pouted unhappily. "He's getting promoted meant that he's not going to treat you well. Why are you not trying to do anything to hinder his path?"
"Why should I?" Nan Hua turned around and began to take off her hairpins. In the original story, Nan Shu Cheng was also a third rank official. Though, Nan Hua was not sure when he got promoted. "The higher he climbs; the more despair he would feel when he's dragged to the ground."
Xiao Yun was stunned but then realized the meaning of Nan Hua's words.
She felt chills from the bottom of her heart. What was crueler that letting the other party thought that they were already invincible and had reached a height that allowed them to be haughty, then forcefully dragged them to the very bottom? At this moment, Xiao Yun genuinely felt that Nan Hua was so ruthless.
Of course, Nan Hua would not explain that she was also too lazy to settle her account with Nan Shu Cheng so early. It would be better to let him gloat around.
"You can leave now."
"Yes, Miss."
With so many guards following Nan Hua's around, she would never be able to do any high intensity training. However, her grandfather had told her that her body was approaching its limit and that she had to rest for a period of time. This was also the reason why she agreed to come to Nan Family Residence.
Since she was not allowed to train harshly, why not used this chance to observe Nan Family Residence from inside?