Water Reflects Peach Blossoms

“…” Unable to believe what she heard, Shangguan Qian’s expression froze.

"cough!"

Gong Yunzheng, who was drinking tea, couldn't help but choked on the tea. She covered her lips with a handkerchief, comforted her brother who was about to pat her on the back, and got up and walked out.

She really didn't expect her brother to say this.

But it suited her very well.

She stayed outside for a while and Shangguan Qian also came out.

"Mr. Jiao said he wanted to drink sweet soup." The smile on her lips was shallow and pure, like a flower swaying in the wind, making people unable to help but shelter her from the wind and rain.

Shangguan Qian walked up to Gong Yunzheng and asked with concern, "Is the Second Miss feeling better?"

"I just choked, it's nothing serious." Seeing that she wanted to have a long talk with her, Gong Yunzheng lowered his eyes slightly: "Didn't you say that Brother Shangjiao wanted to drink sweet soup?"

"That's just an excuse to not let me hear their conversation." Shangguan Qian was understanding. "Men always have their own careers to attend to. I know better than to disturb Master Jiao."

"Instead of making sweet soup, a useless task that the young master uses to appease me, I'd rather chat with the second young lady."

She stood outside the room chatting with her.

Gong Yunzheng remained calm and said, "The Corner Palace is quiet and cool. Sometimes you need to learn how to pass the time on your own."

Seeing Shangguan Qian looking at her with joy, she took her to the pavilion in the corner palace, which was far away from the room where Gong Shangjiao and Gong Yuanzheng were meeting.

Following behind her, Shangguan Qian's eyes darkened slightly, and she sighed inwardly that there was really no one easy to deal with.

Yun Weishan was really lucky to meet someone as stupid and gullible as Gong Ziyu.

She secretly complained, but outwardly displayed a curiosity about everything, a newcomer to the palace. "Second Miss just said she wanted to learn to pass the time on her own. Is the Zheng Palace also deserted?"

Thinking of his brother, Gong Yunzheng's eyes softened: "Zheng Gong is quiet, but not lonely."

"Because of Master Zheng?" Shangguan Qian suddenly realized: "You two siblings have a really good relationship."

Sitting down in the pavilion, Gong Yunzheng picked up the tea set on the stone table and began to make tea. Shangguan Qian supported her cheek with one hand and watched with a smile.

Until Gong Yunzheng handed her a cup of tea, she took it and sniffed it gently: "It has a clear and delicate fragrance. The Second Miss's tea-making skills are the best I have ever seen."

She took a sip and put down the teacup: "I have something I want to ask the Second Miss."

Pouring himself a cup of tea, Gong Yunzheng said calmly, "Please speak."

"I want to be nice to Master Jiao, but I don't know how to be nice to him." Shangguan Qian said with a look of disappointment on her face. "Today's lunch... Master Jiao didn't refuse my courtesy, but I can see that he doesn't have much use for it."

"The Second Miss and Young Master Jiao have a deep brotherly bond. Could you please help me?"

Gong Yunzheng said, "You are the future mistress of Jiao Palace. Apart from Brother Shang Jiao, you are the only one in Jiao Palace. Your food, clothing, housing and transportation are all taken care of by servants. Even if you do nothing, you are still the future mistress of Jiao Palace."

Shangguan Qian smiled bitterly: "But if Mr. Jiao's heart is not with me, what's the point of having an empty title?"

"I've never been involved in love affairs, so I can't help you. But the palace has rules—" Gong Yunzheng put down the tea set in his hand and told Shangguan Qian: "Once a man in the palace marries a woman, he can only have this one woman for the rest of his life. Unless his wife dies or he only has daughters, he can never remarry. Even if he does, the status he gives her can only be a concubine, never his main wife. Just like after the death of Madam Lan, the wife of the former Zhiren, Madam Wu Ji, who he remarried, could only be his concubine."

"If nothing unexpected happens, as long as Miss Shangguan is alive, Brother Shangjiao will only have you as his wife."

"The most important thing for the palace is to pass on the legacy of offspring, not love between men and women."

"It doesn't matter whether his heart is with you or not."

Shangguan Qian hesitated: "What if... Mr. Jiao has someone he likes outside?"

"Don't worry." Gong Yunzheng's expression was gentle, but the words he spoke were chilling: "The Council of Elders will help you take care of everything."

This rule is to prevent the palace disciples from being deceived by assassins outside and thus bring disaster to the palace.

However, now... the Bladeless Assassin has come to the house to seduce people.

Shangguan Qian was silent and said, "Respect each other like guests."

Gong Yunzheng nodded: "It is not easy to achieve these four words, but it is also simple because of the rules of the palace."

"What about the ladies from the palace?" Shangguan Qian was curious. "I know that brides from the palace are chosen from martial arts sects that are on good terms with the palace, but I've never heard of a lady from the palace getting married."

Gong Yunzheng looked at the beautiful face of the woman opposite him, saying, "Ms. Shangguan, you only need to know the things that concern you. As time goes by, you will be able to know the rest without anyone telling you."

Stunned by the other party's words, Shangguan Qian's smile faded, and it sounded a bit forced: "That's true."

Seeing that she had no other questions, Gong Yunzheng picked up the teacup and drank tea.

She thought of her sister Zi Shang who was in love with Jin Fan.

The women in the palace have lived in the depths of the valley filled with miasma since birth. Although they drink Angelica dahurica and Golden Grass tea all year round, they have been exposed to the miasma for more than ten or twenty years. No matter how healthy their physical condition is, it is extremely difficult for them to get pregnant.

So it doesn’t matter whether the young ladies in the palace can get married or not.

Even if they get married, there is no precedent of marrying out, and they always invite the woman to marry into the family.

Sister Zi Shang likes Jin Fan so much, I wonder if she can ever see the day when she gets what she wants.

Madam Wu Ji was right. Who among those living in the palace didn't suffer? There was always at least one kind of suffering, either physical or mental. Some people even suffered both—both physically and mentally.

All suffering, in the final analysis, is caused by Wu Feng.

There is a deep hatred of blood and sworn hatred.

The enemy was right before her eyes, and God knew how much effort she had put in to talk to her in a gentle voice.

Every time he spoke to her calmly, her heart felt like it was being cut by a knife.

Her hatred roared in her heart, but she looked calm on the surface, and her inner feelings were extremely disconnected from the words she spoke.

Putting down the teacup in his hand, Gong Yunzheng said softly, "It's almost time for my nap. Bye."

"Goodbye, Second Miss." Shangguan Qian stood up to see her off.

On the third night after Gong Yunzheng visited Ming Wu Ji, something happened in the Council of Elders.

Elder Yue was murdered in the hall of the Elders' Council. There were bloody words left by the murderer on the screen. The one who discovered Elder Yue's body was... Qinglan, Gong Yunzheng's personal maid.

In the middle of the night, there was a knock on Gong Yunzheng's door. She opened the door and saw Gong Yuanzheng, who was dressed neatly and looked anxious, and the Huang Yu guard who came to take people to the Elders' Council for questioning.

"Sister!" Gong Yuanzheng was very worried because it was about his sister. "It was Elder Yue. He died in the Elders' Hall..."

But the murderer disappeared, and the first person to discover Elder Yue’s body was Qinglan, who appeared in the Elders’ Council for no reason.

Now Qinglan is under suspicion. If his sister is implicated, he...

In an instant, Gong Yuanzheng made a difficult decision.

Before going to the Elders' Council, he returned to his room and hung the old hidden weapon bag around his waist again, as he had not carried it with him for the past two days because a new hidden weapon bag was being made.