Jun Hua ended up staying quite late to learn about embroidery techniques from Xiao Yun. The little girl didn"t know how to teach, but she showed Jun Hua how to do various techniques and let her learn by herself. Xia could not force her Miss to stop and only managed to persuade her after it was really late at night.Although she didn"t have enough sleep, Jun Hua still managed to wake up early in high spirit. She was used to not having enough sleep so just lacking a bit would not hurt her at all.
"You seem to be in high spirits. Don"t you know that today Teacher Xun is going to butcher us in training how to properly walk?" Fan Lanying expression was obviously not good. She was not sleep deprived, rather she was worried about today"s lesson which she did not have good mood for.
Fan Lanying"s reminder caused Jun Hua moods to dampen as well.
"Let"s just hope we can survive."
All the girls lined up and started to walk the way Teacher Xun did. She was walking in a very dignified manner, yet her steps was weird in Jun Hua"s eyes. As expected though, she could not follow it properly and swayed from time to time.
In contrast, most of the n.o.ble girls were able follow Teacher Xun"s lead easily. They walked dignifiedly and elegantly. Lin San was among one of the best and she was certainly proud with herself. Lin Yuan was only average, but it was still quite good.
In the end, Teacher Xun could not bear to look at how Jun Hua walked around and told her to stay behind. Even Fan Lanying was far better than her.
"Miss Hua, do you realize that your way of walking is still wrong?"
Jun Hua nodded embarra.s.singly. "Yes, I know it Teacher Xun. Please instruct me closely."
"Then, you better follow right after me," Teacher Xun said coldly. From that morning until late at night, Jun Hua was tormented by Teacher Xun"s teaching to walk properly. This kind of walk was hard for Jun Hua who only learned the simple steps from Madam Mu. However, she soon grasped how to do it correctly. After an entire day of practicing, she finally did it correctly.
Teacher Xun was highly surprised with Jun Hua"s progress. She had seen for herself how Jun Hua could not even walk straight but after a day of the lesson, the girl had already mastered the moves. The way she moved was still a bit stiff but it was already accurate enough as she could walk straight without swaying.
Fan Lanying and Jun Hua sneaked out during dinner to eat in the garden. Their servants prepared the table as the two of them ate cheerfully.
"It feels so good to get away from those girls. I cannot stand seeing their faces anymore," Fan Lanying said while grinning. "But really, your progress is too much. How can you be better than me after just one day of learning?"
"You should call it an intensive learning," Jun Hua said.
"Still, you"re really amazing. Maybe because of your family"s good comprehension, they can produce so much genius," Fan Lanying said with envy.
Jun Hua was surprised by her friend"s statement, but she just laughed it off. While it was true that there were geniuses in her family, most of them have already fallen into the traps of their enemies. Even before she was born, her family had started declining. The once glorious prestige was only something in the past and the current genius of the Jun family was in fact just a little girl.
Fan Lanying stared at the moon. That night a full moon shone and it looked really beautiful, lighting up the whole place.
"Looking at this moon reminded me of a tale my mother used to tell me," Fan Lanying smiled. "She always said that the first day she married my father, it was a full moon."
Jun Hua raised her head. "Maybe you will get your chance soon."
Fan Lanying sneered. "I have held back for a year, do you think I could pa.s.s this year"s examination? There are already a lot of mockeries I heard about me."
Jun Hua remembered that Fan Lanying was older than her by one year. She didn"t know the reason, but Fan Lanying entered the school a year later than usual. Unlike her though, Fan Lanying started from the first cla.s.s when she was fourteen years old.
"Why not? You"re not the worst in cla.s.s, anyway," Jun Hua grinned.
Fan Lanying smiled in return. "Considering that both of us are the worst in cla.s.s, I wonder why we are chosen."
"It"s because of your family."
A soft voice reached their ears. Jun Hua and Fan Lanying turned their heads to see a beautiful woman walking towards them. Her face was very pretty, but as she was wearing a veil her features were hidden. Her dress was fluttering along with the night wind as she walked towards them.
"Jun Hua (Fan Lanying) greets Princess Hui."
Seeing the two of them kneeled respectfully, Ming Hui laughed dryly. "Don"t be so stiff, just continue your banters."
Now Jun Hua was rendered speechless by this princess" conduct. If, at first she was kind towards her because she was dressed up as Jun Min, what was the reason for her kind behavior today? She had not met her before and Jun Min only mentioned Jun Hua once when they coincidentally meet while buying the hairpin.
Not only Jun Hua, Fan Lanying was also surprised by the princess" behavior. They were completely strangers, but the princess acted as if they were close friends.
Seeing the confusion in their eyes, Ming Hui smiled. "Both of you are interesting. Why are you eating outside like these? Aren"t you worried about the chilly night?"
Fan Lanying shook her head. "I"m used with training so this kind of wind is nothing to me."
Jun Hua was already wearing a cloak, so she didn"t know what she should say. Ming Hui also didn"t bother to pressure her into answering.
"How do you find the lessons here in the palace?"
"Boring," Fan Lanying blurted out. "I don"t mean any disrespect, but I hate learning this kind of things."
Jun Hua nodded her head in agreement.
Ming Hui laughed at their response. "Both of you are really interesting. Normally, girls would love to get the chance to learn, but you don"t seem to like it."
Fan Lanying shrugged. "I just find these things useless. I want to become a general in the future, so I don"t like learning these matters."
"It"s tiring," Jun Hua reasoned out too. When Ming Hui heard the soft voice of Jun Hua, she was stunned a bit. When the girl spoke normally, her voice was pleasing to ears but when she was talking in a softer voice, the sound became very alluring and gentle.
Ming Hui turned her head to Jun Hua. "Your voice is really beautiful."
"Thank you for your praise," Jun Hua herself did not quite understand. Which part of her voice was good? From the side, Xia wanted to bury her head in her palm as she realized that her Miss could not recognize that her voice was truly pleasing to ear. Like a soft wind caressing one"s skin.