That gaze caused goosebumps to appear on Concubine Mei's back. She quickly raised her head and replied, "My lord, it's not like this, I…"
"Go back." Nan Shu Cheng turned around, not wanting to waste any time to deal with this matter. He was planning on leaving good impression in front of the other officials. How could he possibly let them wait for long?
"That's…"
"Starting from tomorrow, hand over the management back to Fei Jiao." Nan Shu Cheng didn't even turn to look at Concubine Mei as he beckoned for the others to follow him inside.
Nan Xin's eyes turned watery as she tugged her father's sleeve. "Father, Mother didn't do it on purpose. It was the servants…."
"Let them go back to Household Department." Nan Shu Cheng yanked his hand away. "Don't bother me with such small matters."
Madam Qu watched with satisfaction. This was precisely the reaction that she was hoping from Nan Shu Cheng. With gloating eyes, she casted another look towards Concubine Mei then walked away.
Concubine Mei crouched on the ground, her eyes were filled with hatred. Before they walked in just now, they had already argued with each other for some time then Madam Qu pushed her down. Who would have thought that such action would break her dress so easily?
And Nan Shu Cheng's reaction…
Did he really only have Qu Fei Jiao in his heart and not others?
Inside her heart, Concubine Mei could faintly remember the days when Nan Shu Cheng treated her well. He would pamper her and gave her whatever she wanted. However, that day had long passed. In the past decade, when did he pamper her even for a second?
He was always either busy with work or spent his time with Qu Fei Jiao.
Concubine Mei's fingers gripped her clothes tighter as she allowed the servants to help her up. This time, Madam Qu won. However, since she still has the power for one more night, she would make sure that Madam Qu pay dearly for what she had done.
Tep. Tep.
Nan Xin followed behind her father with her head lowered. No one could see her expression at all.
Nan Hua appeared not long after the commotion ended and naturally joined in. Nan Shu Cheng only cast a glance at her before ignoring her once more. It seemed that he didn't have much care for her in the slightest bit.
After Nan Shu Cheng greeted the people in the hall and gave a short speech, they were all seated in their respective position. Nan Hua, Nan Xin, and Nan Hou Xiang were all seated together in the table prepared specifically for them.
The atmosphere was tense.
The three of them have different mother and naturally, there was also the hidden competition between them. Not to mention, the fact that they were all of similar age signified that their mothers were competing very fiercely back then.
"You should eat more, Second Sister," Nan Hou Xiang said in a low voice, only enough for them to hear.
Nan Xin, who was previously lowering her head, had now raised her head. She was staring at Nan Hou Xiang as a glint appeared in her eyes. "I don't need your reminder, Second Brother. I know very well what I'm supposed to do."
"But don't think that this will end here." Nan Xin snorted.
Nan Hou Xiang didn't even bother to reply. It was as if Nan Xin didn't exist in his eyes and that he was located at a place where Nan Xin could never reach. His arrogant attitude stemmed from his heart, his pride as the heir of Nan Family.
Of course, that was only in terms of political.
After all, Nan Luo would be moving his career up through military path rather than the political one.
Seeing that Nan Hou Xiang didn't even bother with her, Nan Xin's eyes turned another shade colder. She really wanted to see how Nan Hou Xiang would be able to keep up with that overbearing and harsh fa?ade that he was putting up when Madam Qu fell out of favor.
When that time comes, she would make sure to serve some good punches for her half-brother.
Nan Hua listened to their conversation without any intention of interfering. She silently ate the food in front of her while looking around. They were located in a separate side, one that was filled with children. It seemed that Nan Shu Cheng wanted them to interact more with the children of other officials more than anything else.
Once Nan Hou Xiang finished eating, he wiped his mouth and stood up. "I'll be going now."
Nan Xin showed a fake smile. "Take care, Second Brother."
Nan Hua only nodded.
After Nan Hou Xiang had left, Nan Xin turned to look at Nan Hua and smiled faintly. "First Sister, how about if I introduce you to my friends? There are a lot of them and they will be delighted to be able to interact more with you."
Glancing to the side, Nan Hua could see Nan Xin was looking at her with expectation. It looked as if she was genuinely impatient to introduce Nan Hua to her friends.
"There's no need."
"But…" Nan Xin was troubled.
At this moment, a young girl had already moved forward and greeted the two of them cheerfully. "Mu Fei Jiu greets First Young Miss Nan and Second Young Miss Nan."
"Nan Hua greets Fourth Young Miss Mu," Nan Hua greeted back.
With the two of them already greeting each other, Nan Xin had no other choices but to follow suit. "Nan Xin greets Fourth Young Miss Mu."
Mu Fei Jiu nodded and looked at Nan Hua. "I have missed you greatly, Sister Hua. Did you forget about your promise to visit me in my place?"
"I remember." Nan Hua nodded. She then added, "My father didn't give permission for me to visit you."