20 Second Miss, ChunHua

"Second Miss!"

A disheveled female servant trailed after a well-dressed youth. The servant carried a basket of fresh steamed buns. Her sweat ran down her neck, and the hems of her skirt were muddied. She panted for air before running in front of her polished master. Her master was ChunHua, the Second Miss of the manor. Although her name implied spring flowers, her current face expression looked nothing resembling the loveliness of her name. ChuaHua wore five gold hair sticks in her hair, and her outfit was light pink speckled with cherry blossoms. She had almond-shaped eyes and a tight frown.

"Second Miss! Please wait for this servant. The master said you can'-"

ChunHua turned her head sharply, the gems on the hair sticks sparkled in the sun as she glared at the servant chasing her. She scoffed before shoving the servant to the ground. The basket was knocked to the ground, a single white bun rolled out. ChunHua watched the food roll out before slapping the servant in anger.

"Hmph! Master this! Master that! I'm your master. Father probably won't be in power for long anyway! Shut up!"

The female servant looked appalled, "Please, Second Miss! Don't say things like that so loudly, what if-"

"Second Sister, what are you doing being so loud in this morning?" A gentle voice called out softly. Lan'er strolled out gracefully, a servant followed closely behind while carrying a basket full of roses bloomed in ranges of pink and red.

ChunHua swirled around to see Lan'er. She gritted her teeth, how hateful. She loathed seeing her third sister alive sometimes. Even though her own status should be higher than the person in front of her, her father's doting favor told everyone how special her third sister was. It was so unfair! She still managed to put a sweet expression on her face and patted her shelves as if she never slapped her servant moments before. She nodded politely to Lan'er before sending a harsh glare towards the trembling servant on the ground.

"Nothing. My servant was misbehaving before, I had to teach her a lesson."

Lan'er nodded, but her gaze never moved from the bruising slap mark on the servant as ChunHua spoke. She stretched behind her and drew out a pink rose. She played with it in her hands, twisting all the rose petals with blemishes off. She smiled gently before asking, "Hua'er, where are you heading?"

ChunHua's eyes flickered to the rose with discomfort, "I'm going to see Eldest Sister."

Lan'er froze.

Her hand clenched, closing around the rose. The thorns dug deeply into her palm. A trickle of blood dripped down her wrist.

"Is that so?"

Her eyes were coldly staring at her Second Sister. Lan'er took in the sight of the steamed bun on the ground. She turned the rose around once more before she sighed lightly.

"Chunhua, that's no good. She's very ill, and you have a weak body. I'll visit her for you."

ChunHua glared at Lan'er, no longer hiding any of her pretenses.

"Why are you blocking my way?! Why are you helping her now?! You're not any better than I am, you want her dead too, don't you?! Stop playing the good sister. She'll die off very soon anyway!"

Above them, Hongyue gnawed on the chicken leg in her hand while she watched the play unfold. She had planned to enjoy the meal quietly in her own section of the manor but who told them to be this loud in the morning. She was in a good mood, so she decided to watch while hidden in a tree. She squinted her eyes as ChunHua hollered at Lan'er. She nodded wordlessly in agreement. Why are you helping me so much? Why now? Hongyue glanced at her greasy hands. It's too late to act now, your sister already died.

Hongyue's eyes roamed back to the steam bun on the ground before she sighed quietly. This ChunHua seemed to be a mere pawn as well. Her eyes narrowed. Just how many rats are after this life of hers? Live well my butt, you probably left this body so I would have to deal with all your problems! She finished the rest of the chicken. Good thing, I do enjoy playing around, or else you would have died 10 times over already. She lazily threw away the chicken bone. Hongyue wiped her dirty hands on her face and into her hair. In an instant, the goddess turned into back into the trashy Eldest Miss image everyone knew.

Hongyue rubbed the bark of the tree scaping bits of brown remains and smeared that onto her face as well. She pushed herself off the tree carelessly and stumbled down the tree. Cuts quickly formed as branches sliced into her soft flesh.

A loud thump alerted both ChunHua and Lan'er. ChunHua's eyes quickly lit up before turning dark. Lan'er felt confused. How did her powers not inform her of her eldest sister's presence?