806 Nan Family Trial and Result (4)
So, Concubine Mei could calm down and wait while praying within her heart.
But Nan Xin was not as patient as her mother. While clutching her mother's sleeve, Nan Xin's eyes turned red. She had visited various doctors all over the kingdom in order to cure her face, but not all of them had succeeded so far.
This was driving her crazy.
And now that the entire Nan Family crumbled, Nan Xin's heart turned cold. She really wanted to say that she hadn't done anything wrong, but would they even bother to listen to her?
Women's status was low.
It was even more so in this world where they didn't have even the right to speak when they were facing a trial like this. All she could do was sob and wait for the final result.
And now, seeing that Nan Hua was unscathed, she felt extremely uncomfortable. She wanted to pull Nan Hua so that her older sister would be treated worse than her. But the guards were watching them intently.
There was even a sword hovering near her.
How could she possibly have the courage to try anything in this case?
She was already so scared right now.
Scared and angry.
As the young miss of the Nan Family, when had Nan Xin faced such a situation when death felt so close to her?
No matter how unwilling she was within her heart, she knew it was impossible for her to do anything. She could only stay in her place, hoping that things wouldn't turn so bad for her while hating her father for everything.
If only he was not so greedy and ambitious, would things actually turn out this way?
They would be just fine!
But Nan Xin knew that no matter how many times she cursed and blamed her father, it would not change anything. She was helpless in this matter and could only watch as things unfolded in front of her.
'I have to get away.'
'I don't want to die.'
The two thoughts swirled within Nan Xin's mind, threatening to break through. She clutched her fingers and lowered her head, trying her best to stay low and avoid attracting attention.
It was because she knew that if she were to attract more attention to her direction, there was simply no hope for her to survive.
She still wanted to live.
A long life that was very far from this despicable scheme that threatened to pull the entire Nan Family down.
"Xin'er, it's fine." Concubine Mei sensed her daughter's movement and her hand clutched her daughter's palm. No matter what, she would not allow her daughter to make a mistake at this juncture.
If they made the wrong step in front of everyone, wasn't it the same as dragging themselves into the mud.
"I know, Mom."
Nan Xin looked at her mother and then lowered her eyes again.
For a moment, she felt aggrieved.
Why did she have to be born from a weak mother who had no position in the Nan Family? If only her mother was more powerful, she would have long had an engagement and possibly could get away from this trial.
Being humiliated in front of so many officials…
She didn't need to be a genius to know that her reputation would be destroyed. Even if she wanted to stay in the Fei Yang Kingdom, there was no place for her anymore.
"Nan Hua…"
"Don't speak." Concubine Mei frowned.
Nan Xin shut her mouth, but her eyes were filled with unwillingness.
Why did Nan Hua could be protected by others and avoid this humiliating situation while she had to stay here like this?
It's not fair.
Why did others have to be able to get what they wanted so easily while she had to work so hard and still fail?
Just what did she lack?
She had done everything possible and worked harder than everyone.
Nan Xin was aggrieved.
But no matter how unwilling she was, she had to accept the fact that Nan Hua was treated differently even though she was part of the Nan Family. In this trial, everyone could see the difference in treatment and no one dared to speak.
Not when they were still in front of everyone and when the trial was still ongoing. Even if they wanted to speak up, they had to wait until the time allowed them to.
Nan Hua watched everything while walking beside Long Qian Xing. The expression of these people was very clear in her eyes, telling her how unwilling they were. At this moment, she felt it was like a show in front of her while she was merely a spectator who was uninvolved in anything and would not even be implicated.
But how was it possible?
As long as her surname is still Nan and the fact that Nan Shu Cheng is her father still exists, she will always be involved. No matter how much they tried to twist the issue, her name would be mentioned in passing.
Be it deeply involved or merely in passing.
It didn't matter.
The rumors wouldn't be so harsh against her, but the reputation of having such bad family members with crimes piled on his head would never wash out. It would follow her for her entire life.
That was the fate she had to live with.
But Nan Hua was different from the other women in this era. She didn't care about these false reputations and so on. For her, as long as she could protect her family members, what was the use of these vanity reputations and so on?
There were still many cards in her hand, and as long as she used them well, she would be able to live well.
If she wanted to be respected, she just had to show that she was worthy of that respect.
"Nan Shu Cheng, do you have anything to add?" The eunuch asked once more.
Nan Shu Cheng snapped back from his reverie. He struggled to look forward toward his father, who stood motionless at the side. At this time, he couldn't make out the expression on his father's face.
Old Master Nan looked so calm.
So calm that it was actually very scary.
In their youth, Old Master Nan always hoped for his son to succeed him and it took Nan Shu Cheng a long time to make him change his mind. He could remember asking his mother to plead with his father in order to let him enter the examination to become an official.
When he finally got the agreement, he leapt in joy like a little boy.
His mother would smile warmly and support him, helping him study and spending most of her time with him.
However, she was soon sick and left when Nan Shu Cheng was in his teenage age. He couldn't show his success in passing the examination to his mother and only brought it in front of her grave. Back then, he could remember he struggled hard not to cry in front of her name plate.
His relationship with his father had been lukewarm.
Old Master Nan always had high expectations for Nan Shu Cheng, especially regarding the military. It was something that Nan Shu Cheng could never understand because he thoroughly disliked waving swords and fighting at the frontline.
In his opinion, only those uncultured would do that.
But his father always beat him, saying that the military was important for a kingdom to stand. Without an army, there was no way that a kingdom could stand tall and protect itself from those others who wanted a piece of them.
Nan Shu Cheng endured.
And thankfully, Old Master Nan allowed him to be an official, as Nan Shu Cheng truly didn't have any talent in martial arts. Forcing his mediocre son into the frontline might end up cutting his lineage.
With no other choice, Old Master Nan then allowed Nan Shu Cheng to take part in the Imperial Examination as an official.
But Old Master Nan could not be genuinely happy for his son.
Even when Nan Shu Cheng passed, Old Master Nan still congratulated him, but he was not exactly pleased. After all, Old Master Nan was brooding over the fact that his descendant couldn't follow in his footsteps to the military.
Nan Shu Cheng could sense it.
Even though his father never said it upfront, he had seen that Old Master Nan was not very happy when he became an official. However, Nan Shu Cheng didn't care that much because he felt that this would be the best field for him.
As he entered the palace and faced the intrigue of these old foxes, Nan Shu Cheng had to admit that he was having some difficulties. However, he promised himself that he would proceed on this path.
Without him knowing, he slowly became a person who kept on moving forward on this path and even followed the same tricks these officials did.
He had become a person whom his father hated.
