Water Reflects Peach Blossoms

He had met Gong Yunzheng in the Elders' Council where Yun Que was being interrogated, and he suddenly had a bad feeling that it was she who had asked him to come here.

"Second miss?"

The young man, dressed in white and as elegant and gentle as the moon, remained expressionless and asked tentatively, "What is the purpose of the Second Miss inviting me here with a letter?"

Gong Yunzheng said in a gentle voice, "I've already made the reasons very clear in my letter."

"I don't understand what the Second Miss is talking about." Young Master Yue thought she was trying to trick him. "I only came to this appointment late at night to see who would dare to accuse me."

Gong Yunzheng smiled faintly, and the light made her already gentle face even more beautiful.

"If you didn't understand, you wouldn't be here." She said bluntly, "You only come here to see me if you care enough to not allow even the slightest accident to happen."

Master Yue: “…”

Seeing that his thoughts were exposed in one word, Master Yue moved his slender fingers slightly in his sleeves, lowered his eyes and said nothing.

Gong Yunzheng spoke clearly and calmly, "Young Master Yue has lived in the mountains for years, with little contact with the outside world. Yet, he's bolder than everyone else in the palace combined. He even had the audacity to show kindness to the assassin without a front, trying to help her fake her own death and escape."

Gong Yunzheng still left some room, saying only that Master Yue had good intentions towards Yun Que, not that he was attracted to her.

A slight change appeared in his always calm and rational eyes, and Master Yue asked directly, "What do you want?"

Seeing Gong Yunzheng remain silent, he managed to keep his composure even in this dangerous situation, and rationally analyzed, "If the Second Young Lady didn't want my plan to succeed, she wouldn't have asked me to come here. Instead, she should have reported this to the Council of Elders immediately. I'd probably be there right now, being interrogated by three elders."

"I do need your help with something." Gong Yunzheng took out a box from his sleeve and handed it to Master Yue: "Please take a look at the contents of the box first, Master Yue."

Young Master Yue took the box.

He opened the dark box with strange carvings and pulled out wooden plaques covered with inscriptions. After reading the contents, his face darkened. "This medicine can open up a person's meridians in a short period of time, but due to its powerful effects, anyone who takes it will only have half a month left to live."

Gong Yunzheng asked, "Master Yue, are you sure?"

Master Yue asked in return, "What do you want this medicine for?"

Everyone in the palace knew that Gong Yunzheng's heart meridian was damaged and she couldn't practice martial arts. Even if her meridians were opened up by this medicine, she would be in danger and would not live long.

What use does she have for this medicine?

Gong Yunzheng: "I won't ask Master Yue about the purpose of Yun Que's plan to separate Wu Feng, and Master Yue shouldn't ask me what this medicine is for."

She spoke bluntly.

Young Master Yue was not the type to be bullied, so he immediately said, "You don't ask because you already know."

"I'm just guessing." Gong Yunzheng looked into Young Master Yue's eyes. "Elder Yue has always been very concerned about you, Young Master Yue. He's also very interested in your research into medicine. I recently heard him say that you seem to have developed a drug that can make a person lose all breath, but it's still in the experimental stage."

His heart tightened, knowing that she had seen through his entire plan. Master Yue said solemnly, "I can make this medicine, but the ingredients in the prescription are rare, and the preparation is even more difficult. It will take time."

"how long?"

"About two years."

"I can wait." Gong Yunzheng lowered his eyes and assured Master Yue, "I won't say a single word about Master Yue's plan to anyone else."

Master Yue still felt something was wrong, so he added, "After I help you refine the medicine, you must completely erase this matter from your mind and pretend it never happened."

Gong Yunzheng curled her lips and said, "That's natural."

When Gong Yunzheng was about to leave, Master Yue suddenly said, "Wait."

"I want to ask, how did you know my plan?"

Only he and Yunque knew about his plan, and he never told anyone else a word. How did Gong Yunzheng know about it?

Young Master Yue was puzzled.

Seeing his eagerness to learn, Gong Yunzheng slowly said two words: "Jewelry."

Master Yue's eyes widened suddenly, and he was about to refute immediately.

Gong Yunzheng spoke before him: "Although it was made in the back mountain, the person who made your jewelry there should be a man. He knows nothing about women's jewelry and has never made women's jewelry since he was a child. I found the blueprints for women's jewelry in the interlayer of the supply box that was sent to the back mountain."

"The only woman in the back mountain is Yun Que, so the jewelry was naturally given to her."

Master Yue moved his lips: "Have you been keeping an eye on the back mountain?"

Gong Yunzheng shook his head. "I'm responsible for recording and counting the supplies in the back mountain, so I'm naturally aware of your daily expenses."

"Is it because of Skylark?"

"People without a front are cunning and insidious, so of course we have to be more careful."

"Yu Que is different from Wu Feng's assassins!" Unable to bear hearing Yun Que's bad words, Master Yue immediately retorted: "She is kind and has always wanted to live a simple life. She is just a poor person controlled by Wu Feng."

"If the Second Miss had come into contact with her, she would know that what I said was true, and she would also know that not all Wufeng were bloodthirsty and cruel."

Gong Yunzheng felt that he was being misled: "All the female assassins without a sword think the same way, and they all say the same thing to you. How much can you help?"

As Master Yue suddenly raised his astonished gaze, she asked, "If Yun Que were a man, would you still have felt pity for her when you first met her?"

"The one you like is not Yun Que, but any Wu Feng woman who appeared before you and was poisoned by smoke and whom you rescued with your help."

"Any female assassin with a tragic life story, no control over her fate, and a kind heart who has done many evil things can inspire your chivalrous heart that wants to save people from danger when you first leave the mountains."

"Because of an assassin organized by a group that once slaughtered the palace gates, he betrayed his family."

"Mr. Yue, you don't think you'll be treated kindly for this, do you?"

Gong Yunzheng's words left him speechless.

If Gong Yunzheng hadn't needed him to make medicine, he and Yunque would have been taken to the Elders' Council.

Young Master Yue was very aware of this.

……

After Gong Yunzheng left, Master Yue stood there for a long time in silence.

Gong Yunzheng was too smart. Two years ago, he was able to guess that he had fallen in love with Yunque based on just a jewelry blueprint, and then he deduced his plan to help Yunque fake his death from the medicine mentioned by Elder Yue.

Gong Yunzheng can see through people's hearts too clearly.

She could see the sharp words in his heart at a glance, making him ashamed to look up in front of her.

Just like now, with just one word from him, she was able to come up with so many things.

Two years ago, his plan ultimately failed.

Gong Yunzheng kept her promise, but he was the one who neglected to protect Yunque. On the third night, Yunque was taken away from the palace gate by Wufeng's men.

This incident is still a pain in his heart.

The sarcastic words Gong Yunzheng used against him two years ago were like a thorn stuck deep in his heart.

The guilt towards Yunque and the shame towards Gongmen in the past two years have tormented him every moment.