Water Reflects Peach Blossoms

It's spring again.

"Expedition..."

"Brother, don't try to persuade me anymore. I don't want to do the coming-of-age ceremony."

Seeing his younger brother, who was already in his twenties, so insistent, Gong Shangjiao promised him, "I'll go talk to the three elders. The palace is now peaceful, both inside and outside, so don't push yourself too hard."

Gong Yuanzheng looked at Gong Shangjiao, feeling relieved that the coming-of-age ceremony wouldn't be held. "I understand, brother."

After his younger brother left Jiao Palace, Gong Shangjiao, who was sitting by the ink pool, looked at the calm water, unable to recover from the sight. A page of the book on the table was blown across by the wind outside the window, and he suddenly woke up, his deep eyes looking towards the door.

A sound of light footsteps approached, and Gong Ziyu appeared at the door.

He no longer disliked Gong Shangjiao as much as he did three years ago. He sat opposite Gong Shangjiao very naturally, picked up the teacup and poured himself a cup of hot tea.

Gong Shangjiao smiled and said to him, "You won't let yourself be wronged."

Gong Ziyu also smiled and said, "Of course I can't let my brother, Master Jiao, pour tea for me. It's better for me to do it myself."

"I met Brother Yuanzheng on the way to the Corner Palace. Is he still unwilling to hold the coming-of-age ceremony?"

When this was mentioned, Gong Shangjiao lowered his voice: "Sister Yunzheng hasn't woken up yet. I think she doesn't want to."

Gong Ziyu paused while drinking tea and put down the cup: "Brother Yuanzheng's temper has become increasingly cold in recent years."

He said, "Except for daily affairs, he is rarely seen outside the Zheng Palace. He may still say a few words to us, but the servants and maids serving in the Zheng Palace... are trembling with fear."

"It's been three years, and Yunzheng hasn't woken up yet. No wonder Yuanzheng's temper is getting worse and worse." Gong Shangjiao felt unhappy, and he had no good way to deal with his brother's increasingly withdrawn personality.

Gong Ziyu asked: "Is there any way?"

The moment his eyes met Gong Shangjiao's, he paused and said with a hint of self-mockery, "We used all the methods we could back then. We're lucky that my sister is still alive."

Gong Shangjiao said solemnly, "Yuanzheng is well versed in pharmacology. With him taking care of Yunzheng, I'm sure he can find a way to wake her up."

……

Zheng Palace.

When Gong Yuanzheng returned to the Zheng Palace, he found that the maids who had taken care of his sister were all waiting outside. His handsome face turned cold, "Who told you to come out?"

Seeing Master Zheng getting angry, the maids bowed their heads and explained, "The eldest lady is inside, and Qinglan is also inside."

Gong Yuanzheng walked in and saw Gong Zishang wiping his sister's hands with a wet towel and Qinglan standing beside her behind the screen.

Gong Zishang was startled by the sudden noise. When he saw Gong Yuanzheng, he put down the towel in his hand and said, "I'm here to see Sister Yunzheng."

Noticing that Gong Zishang was a little afraid of him, Gong Yuanzheng was stunned for a moment, then softened the coldness on his face: "I know that if Sister Zishang can come to see me more often and talk to me, I won't be so lonely."

Gong Zishang also agreed: "Talk more, maybe Yunzheng will wake up sooner."

Gong Yuanzheng was silent for a moment: "Sister hasn't woken up for so long, it's because of my poor medical skills."

Inwardly, Gong Zishang slapped himself for poking the little venomous kid in the heart. He comforted him, "Don't think like that. Sister Yunzheng is safe and sound thanks to you."

"Those are what I should have done." Gong Yuanzheng's eyes fell: "But I couldn't wake my sister up. Ultimately, it's my incompetence."

After Gong Zishang left, Gong Yuanzheng sat in Gong Zishang's seat, looking at his sister lying on the bed with a peaceful face, as if she was sleeping. He first took her pulse and then tucked the quilt for her.

Qinglan went out.

Gong Yuanzheng sat on a stool, looking at his sister's sleeping face. He chatted with her casually, "Today's temperature is a little warmer than yesterday. I went to see the peach trees. Many of them have sprouted and formed buds. I think they will bloom in a few days."

"Sister, do you want to see those peach blossoms this year?"

"My brother said I've reached adulthood, and the Elders' Council wants to hold a coming-of-age ceremony for me, but I want to wait until my sister wakes up..."

He talked a lot until his throat felt obviously dry, then Gong Yuanzheng stopped talking.

Three years ago, Gong Yunzheng collapsed in the martial arts training ground in the backyard of the Zheng Palace, and Gong Yuanzheng hugged her and cried uncontrollably.

He thought his sister would leave him, but God took pity on her and left her with a glimmer of hope. The medicinal properties of the three Izumo lotus flowers were not gone, but protected Gong Yunzheng's heart meridian and saved her life.

For three years, Gong Yuanzheng has been trying to find a way to wake his sister up. He has tried medicinal baths, acupuncture, medicinal steaming, and all kinds of medicines he has researched. He even used up all the rare medicinal materials in the Moon Palace, but his sister still can't wake up.

After a long moment, Gong Yuanzheng sighed, "Sister, what method can I use to wake you up?"

"Gong Ziyu said that my temper has been getting worse recently, and the people working under me are miserable. Actually, I don't mean to get angry at them. I just... can't help it when they do something stupid."

"I really hate them interrupting me. I'm increasingly reluctant to talk. Even Sister Zishang is a little afraid of me, saying that I've become much colder..."

"Sister, can you please wake up?"

"Wake up and control me, control my bad temper... Help Sister Zishang teach me a lesson for scaring her..."

At the end of his speech, Gong Yuanzheng couldn't stop crying.

He thought he was still so useless. He couldn't hold back his tears three years ago, and he still couldn't hold back his tears now.

My sister clearly said that he looks ugliest when he cries...

……

Gong Yunzheng felt as if she had had a very long dream. In a trance, she opened her eyes as usual when she woke up early, but this time her eyelids were particularly heavy and difficult to open.

Looking at the familiar bed curtains above her, she wanted to get up, but she felt so weak that she couldn't even move a finger.

Suddenly there was a sound of something heavy falling to the ground.

Gong Yunzheng turned his head and saw a maid carrying a basin of water running out in a panic, calling Qinglan's name.

"Qinglan." He silently repeated the name, and before long, Gong Yunzheng saw Qinglan's familiar face appear in his sight.

"How long have I slept?" Gong Yunzheng asked.

Her voice was hoarse and very unpleasant.

Qinglan fed her some water and said, "Three years, you slept for three years. Fortunately, you are awake now."

Finding herself slowly regaining control of her body, Gong Yunzheng asked Qinglan to help her get out of bed. She walked outside the room and saw a large tree that blocked the entire courtyard. The light filtering through the leaves made her eyes feel sore and uncomfortable.

Unable to bear it any longer, Gong Yunzheng squinted his eyes and asked, "Where's Yuanzheng?"

"Someone has been sent to inform Master Zheng." Qinglan replied.

"I want to go see the peach tree in Zheng Palace." Gong Yunzheng said gently, "I've always wanted to see it, but unfortunately I didn't wait until the flowers bloomed."

As soon as she finished speaking, she heard a crisp bell ringing behind her.

Gong Yuanzheng, who possessed martial arts skills that were beyond the reach of anyone else, used his lightness skills to rush back to Zheng Palace in just a few breaths.

"sister?!"

The familiar voice of his brother made Gong Yunzheng look back. In the sunlight, his brother's face, which was a little rounder than before, had grown up completely, and his face and eyes were filled with a smile of extreme joy.

He looked at her in disbelief, looked her up and down several times, and took her pulse before making sure that she was really awake.

"Yuan Zheng." Gong Yunzheng looked at his brother tenderly: "You've grown up."

Gong Yuanzheng said happily, "Sister, I'll take you to see the peach trees."

"Tell me what has happened in the palace over the years."

"Okay. Brother Ziyu, Sister Zishang, and Xue Zhongzi in the back mountain have all received the news, but they are not as fast as me, so they will arrive in a while."

"I haven't seen them for a long time. The time I was in a coma felt like a very long dream."

"What did your sister dream about?"

"It was a mess. But I saw my parents. They told me to come back because Yuanzheng would cry without his sister, and it would hurt me to see him cry."