A life of ups and downs is pure joy

After the morning court session, Gong Heyu hurriedly finished his meal in the Hehuan Hall, then got up and returned to the Imperial Library Hall, where there was still a mountain of official business waiting for him to deal with.

Su Jin sat alone quietly in the main hall, her eyes casually sweeping over the busy palace maids coming and going.

Suddenly, her thoughts drifted back to the dinner party held at the Prince's Palace that day, and the graceful figures of the dancers emerged clearly in her mind.

"I've been learning dance since I was a kid, too! I wonder if this body of the original owner will allow me to rediscover that familiar body language."

"Look at the other beauties in this palace. Each of them possesses unique skills. Some are good at playing the pipa, and some are proficient in playing the flute. As a latecomer who has traveled through time, I absolutely cannot be outdone by these ancient women!"

Su Jin murmured softly as he pondered to himself.

"However, I have no idea what skills the original owner possesses. I imagine she comes from a prominent family and is well-versed in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting."

Su Jin frowned and tried hard to recall every detail about the original owner, but in the end found nothing.

"Oh, this is such a headache! But the other day the Lord actually asked me why I no longer wanted to paint. If there's no one around right now, why don't I just try to pick up my brush again?"

Su Jin has always been a man of action. As soon as the idea came to her mind, she immediately called her personal maid Wan Dong and many palace maids.

Soon, Wan Dong and others took out the four treasures of the study one by one and arranged them neatly according to Su Jin's instructions.

At the same time, an exquisite guqin was brought in and placed on the table. After everything was ready, Su Jin waved his hand without hesitation, signaling them to leave for the time being.

Wan Dong tiptoed to the door, squinting his eyes slightly, trying to peek through the narrow crack to see what the distinguished master inside was doing.

However, the crack in the door seemed to be deliberately against her and was tightly closed. No matter how hard she tried, she could not see anything.

Helplessly, she had to slowly turn her head, but suddenly found that the palace maids in the yard were staring at her intently, and a look of embarrassment immediately appeared on her face.

She cleared her throat and spoke in a calm manner.

"Don't just stand there, hurry up and get back to your work. The princess specifically told us not to be disturbed."

As soon as he finished speaking, the palace maid Xing'er walked up quickly and spoke softly.

"Sister Wandong, have you noticed that this is the first time the princess wants to play the zither since she recovered from her illness?"

Yue'er beside her also quickly agreed.

"Yes, yes. The princess is usually listless and has no interest in these things. I think she has recovered from her illness and her body and spirit are gradually recovering, so she is in the mood to tinker with the strings."

After hearing this, Wan Dong nodded thoughtfully, then waved his hand to signal everyone to disperse.

"Alright, alright, everyone disperse first. If the princess has any instructions later, we will be at your service."

After saying that, she turned and walked away, leaving a group of palace maids whispering to each other.

At this time, many people gathered in the Imperial Library, but the atmosphere was completely different.

Xiao Qiannan stared quietly at the man in front of her, with endless concern in her eyes, and asked softly.

"Second brother, after so many years, are you living well in the palace?"

The second elder brother who once loved a free and unrestrained life is now wearing a gorgeous yellow robe and trapped in this palace as deep as the sea.

Whenever Xiao Qiannan thought of this, she couldn't help but feel an indescribable complex emotion welling up in her heart. It was heartache, regret, or perhaps something even deeper...

"It's a different life... Fortunately, Qiye has been by my side all these years. It can be considered as having an old friend by my side."

Gong Heyu spoke in a gentle tone, gently stroking Xiao Qiannan's head and slowly shaking his head.

Xiao Qiannan couldn't help but recall the past years and said with emotion.

"Back then, you hated the bureaucratic red tape the most. Daddy insisted that you study in the palace with your elder brother, the Crown Prince. I remember that you and your sixth brother would often climb over the palace wall and sneak out to play."

"Who would have thought that until now, you would be the only one trapped within these high palace walls."

After saying this, she sighed, her eyes filled with love and affection for her brother.

Lin Mo quietly gazed at the brother who was once a young and frivolous genius doctor and a bohemian who roamed the world.

Compared to the past, he is now not only more calm and reserved, but also has the maturity that a king should have.

Looking at his senior brother in front of him, Lin Mo lowered his head involuntarily, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised, revealing a faint and relieved smile.

Ning Sijue, who was standing aside, saw all of this. He looked at his close friend and praised him sincerely and heartily.

"Don't worry. With your second brother's abilities, whether he was the wandering miraculous doctor, the elegant and dashing second son of the Xiao family, or the majestic and heroic young king today, he can handle every role with ease."

"What about Sixth Brother?"

Xiao Qiannan suddenly turned around, a playful smile appeared on her face, and asked in a soft voice.

Ning Sijue raised the corners of his mouth slightly, revealing a gentle smile, and answered softly.

"I am, of course, an idle person! Every day, I just need to leisurely drink a cup of good wine and listen to the sweet little music, and I feel that life is wonderful!"

Hearing this, Xiao Qiannan was not happy. She snorted and retorted with a pout.

"Hmph, Sixth Brother, you're wrong! You're Aunt's daughter, and you hold an extremely noble status. How could you allow yourself to be so depraved? No matter what, you absolutely cannot lose to that bad guy Ning Chengxian!"

Ning Sijue looked at the little girl in front of him who looked unconvinced and couldn't help laughing. He reached out and gently scratched Xiao Qiannan's nose and joked.

"Oh, our Nan'er has really grown up now. Not only does he know about the affairs of the world, but he also understands the principles of family and country. It seems that you have really grown a lot in the years you have been in Tianmen in Tongan!"

Xiao Qiannan blushed slightly at Ning Sijue's words, but soon regained her serious expression. She looked at Ning Sijue with a firm gaze and spoke slowly.

"Sixth brother, only if you firmly hold the supreme position in the future, An Cai and I will be able to return to Jinhan to visit my mother, father, and grandmother. They must all miss me very much..."

As she spoke, Xiao Qiannan's eyes gradually became moist, and her gaze drooped, revealing a deep sense of homesickness.

Ning Sijue took in all of Xiao Qiannan's emotional changes, and a feeling of pity welled up in his heart.

He walked up, patted Xiao Qiannan's shoulder gently, nodded solemnly, and comforted her.

"Don't worry, Nan'er. Sixth brother promises you."

Everyone looked at each other, their eyes seemed to convey some silent message, and then they nodded in unison, indicating that they understood each other.

At this time, Gong Heyu seemed to have suddenly thought of something important, frowned, and asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Ajue, speaking of which, how did Big Brother get ambushed?"

Ning Sijue was silent for a moment when he heard this question, as if he was carefully sorting out the relevant clues and plot in his mind. After a while, he slowly raised his head and answered with a firm and deep gaze.

"If we were to discuss the person with the greatest suspicion, it would probably be that one person. After all, the third and fourth sisters... In the past, she had been quite tolerant, but ever since her brother's passing, the struggle between her and the Queen Mother could no longer be concealed, and it had developed into a fierce, open confrontation."

As Ning Sijue spoke, he shook his head slightly, a hint of worry showing on his face.

Then he continued.

"I had anticipated that Afan and I might encounter various unexpected events and plots on our journey to Dayan, so we took many thorough precautions beforehand. However, I never expected that those with ulterior motives would actually turn their attention to Brother Yi, who was heading to Yinan!"

"Alas... Ultimately, it's because I didn't think it through carefully enough and failed to take into account all possible situations, which led to Xiao Yi suffering such an unprovoked disaster."

Ning Sijue's words were full of self-blame.

"Big brother was infected with this poison because of my sister-in-law. Ever since she tragically died at Dugu Cliff, he has been immersed in deep self-blame and unable to extricate himself."

Xiao Qiannan responded solemnly, her voice trembling slightly, and the tears in her eyes had begun to swirl uncontrollably, as if they were about to burst out in the next second.

Especially when she learned that if it was not for the sake of her marriage with An Cai, her elder sister-in-law would have been willing to compromise and tolerate Tao Baiwan becoming his co-wife, the bitterness and pain she endured was only borne silently by that poor woman alone.

When she thought of this, the guilt in Xiao Qiannan's heart surged like a tide, drowning her in an instant.

"This is all my fault! If I hadn't been so stubborn and insisted on breaking off the engagement, perhaps all the things that followed wouldn't have happened, and my sister-in-law wouldn't have fallen off the cliff and died. It's all my fault. I was so willful and ignorant..."

Xiao Qiannan became more and more excited as she spoke, and her emotions were out of control. While denouncing her own mistakes, she raised her hand and slapped herself hard in the face.

Gong Heyu, who was standing by, was quick-witted and quickly reached out to grab her wrist tightly, stopping her from continuing to hurt herself.

At the same time, Lin Mo also hurried forward and held down Xiao Qiannan's struggling body.

"Nan'er, this matter really has nothing to do with you. Stop torturing yourself like this!"

Lin Mo's eyes were filled with tears, but he still suppressed his sadness and took the lead in comforting Xiao Qiannan.

"It's so hard to get together with old friends, why do you always talk about things that make people cry? It makes everyone feel bad!"

Jia Xu looked at the sad faces of the people and the aunt and daughter-in-law crying in each other's arms. He really couldn't bear to continue such a heavy atmosphere, and finally couldn't help but speak.

"That's right, that's right. There's already an antidote for the poison in big brother's body. Although sister-in-law's body hasn't been found yet, she might still be alive and well. We should think more positively and think more about things that can make people happy!"

Xiao Fan also quickly followed suit.

At this moment, Lin Mo secretly glanced at Gong Heyu who was sitting beside him in silence.

When mentioning Huan'er's passing, Gong Heyu's eyes surprisingly didn't show even the slightest hint of sadness. He just sat there quietly, his face expressionless, as if he didn't even know the woman named Huan'er.

Seeing this scene, Lin Mo's heart couldn't help but move.

There must be something wrong here! You know, Gong Heyu loves Huan'er so much, how could he react so coldly? Even if they haven't seen each other for several years, even if he really forgot Huan'er, he wouldn't be so calm, right?

Therefore, after careful consideration, Lin Mo became more and more convinced of his judgment - at least Huan'er must still be alive now!

And it is very likely that he was secretly rescued by Gong Heyu. That is why he is so calm and composed at this moment, without any sadness on his face.

There is another person who has the same keen insight and delicate mind as Lin Mo, and that person is Ning Sijue, who has been silently observing everything.

Over the years, whenever he came quietly to look for Gong Heyu, what he saw was Gong Heyu who was completely out of control.

At that time, Gong Heyu frantically sent people all over the world to search for the woman who had unfortunately fallen off the cliff. There were even several times when he himself could not contain his inner anxiety and impulse, and desperately wanted to go out and look for her himself.

However, every time he failed to take a single step out of Jinhan City, he would be forcibly taken back into the city.

Time passed, and now when I met Gong Heyu again, I was surprised that he didn't mention a word about looking for that woman.

It was as if the person who had once left a deep impression on him and driven him almost crazy had been completely erased from his life.

Lin Mo spoke slowly with a smile on his face.

"Brother, last time, it was really thanks to Princess Jianing who spoke well of us in front of the young prince. Since then, Nan'er and I have been thinking about finding a suitable time to visit her and express our gratitude to her in person. But who would have thought that Princess Jianing actually lived in the palace!"

Lin Mo paused for a moment, then added with a smile on his face.

"As the saying goes, it's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. I wonder if Nan'er and I can visit her today?"

After saying that, he looked at Gong Heyu with a slightly tentative look, waiting for his response.

After hearing this, Gong Heyu nodded slightly, smiled knowingly, and replied.

"Jianing lives in Hehuan Palace. Let me let Qiye lead you there. As it happens, she probably hasn't gone to look for her sister yet."

These words were really beyond Lin Mo's expectations.

Hearing this, Xiao Qiannan quickly wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks and interrupted with curiosity.

"Who is Princess Jianing's sister?"

Gong Heyu answered calmly, "It's Wei Lan."

As soon as Gong Heyu finished speaking, he called Qiye over.

After a while, Qiye pushed the door open and walked in with brisk steps.

After he bowed slightly to Gong Heyu, he led Lin Mo and Xiao Qiannan towards the Hehuan Palace.

Ning Sijue, Xiao Fan and Jia Xu stayed in the Imperial Library, chatting leisurely with Gong Heyu and sipping tea.