The Cloud Feather of the Red Chamber: A Marriage Arranged with Gong Yuanzheng at the Start

In the Lin residence, Gong Yuanzheng leaped across the back garden carrying a bowl of medicine.

Elder Hua stroked his not-so-gray beard, his expression somewhat indescribable.

He always felt that the current Gong Yuanzheng had been replaced.

I had never shown such a respectful expression when bowing to these elders at the palace gates.

Most of the time, they would simply bow with a blank expression, occasionally even showing disdain.

Is this still the same unruly Gong Yuanzheng?

Gong Yuanzheng is now even more well-behaved than Xue Gongzi, the most obedient child in the back mountain.

Elder Hua couldn't help but rub his eyes, and when he met Young Master Hua's curious and puzzled gaze, he became even more annoyed.

"What are you daydreaming about! Get back to practicing your martial arts!"

Young Master Hua hurriedly raised the long sword in his hand.

Just after finishing her breakfast, Jia Min received a report from a servant.

"Madam, Young Master Zheng has arrived."

Jia Min's expression was quite complicated. For several days in a row, Gong Yuanzheng had been preparing and delivering her daily herbal medicine.

In order to detoxify and regulate Jia Min's body, Gong Yuanzheng used very precious medicinal materials.

Many of the medicinal herbs were cultivated by Gong Yuanzheng himself and cannot be bought in pharmacies.

The method of decocting medicine is also special. Instead of putting them all into the pot at once, the medicine is added to the pot separately according to the color change of the decoction during the decoction process.

This medicine could only be prepared by Gong Yuanzheng himself. The kitchen was quite a distance from the backyard. Jia Min suggested preparing the medicine in the small kitchen, but Gong Yuanzheng said that smelling the medicine too much would affect his appetite.

He would prepare the medicine in the kitchen every day and then use his light-footed skills to deliver it to the kitchen.

"Let him in."

The servant immediately went down to announce the arrival, and soon saw a tall, handsome young man walking briskly towards them.

A faint smile played on Jia Min's lips. "Walk slowly, no rush, be careful not to fall."

Gong Yuanzheng smiled and said, "Mother-in-law, I'm fine. The medicine is at the perfect temperature now, please drink it."

The head maidservant beside Jia Min quickly took the medicine bowl. Just as he had said, she could tell the medicine was at the right temperature just by touching the bowl.

However, the maidservant keenly noticed that Gong Yuanzheng's fingertips were somewhat red, clearly from being burned.

After finishing her medicine, Jia Min looked at Gong Yuanzheng. The handsome young man still had a hint of trepidation on his face, and Jia Min couldn't help but smile brightly.

"It's so kind of you to prepare this medicine for me so early in the morning. You haven't had breakfast yet, have you? Go and eat something quickly, or you'll get hungry."

Gong Yuanzheng quickly said, "I am a junior, it's nothing for me to prepare medicine for my elders."

Then, he said with a smile, "Mother-in-law, let me take your pulse first."

Jia Min did not refuse and extended her wrist for him to take her pulse.

After carefully taking his pulse, Gong Yuanzheng smiled with a hint of surprise.

"Mother-in-law, the poison in your body has been completely eliminated. You will no longer need to take medicine starting tomorrow."

"I'll write down a few recipes in a bit, and then we can just eat some medicinal cuisine every day."

During the pulse diagnosis, Jia Min carefully examined the young man before her.

Hearing this, Jia Min smiled and nodded. She knew that Gong Yuanzheng's medical skills were superb, but she did not expect them to be this amazing.

However, in just the last few days, she felt much better than before, and Lin Ruhai also looked much stronger than before.

With such looks, such character, and such abilities, he could easily be her son-in-law.

Just thinking about what Gong Yuanzheng did still makes Jia Min feel unhappy.

The story begins seven days ago.

Gong Yuanzheng's dramatic kneeling not only startled Lin Ruhai and his wife, but also nearly choked Gong Shangjiao, who was drinking water.

Before Lin Ruhai could react, Jia Min became furious. What did this mean? Was she being forced to acknowledge this son-in-law?

"Young Master Zheng, I dare not accept such a generous gift. You have the Emperor backing you. If this angers you and another imperial decree is issued, our Lin family cannot afford it!"

Upon hearing this, one could tell how deep Jia Min's resentment ran.

But all of this is what Gong Yuanzheng deserves to suffer.

The marriage was already a done deal, but you had to pull this stunt.

Whose daughter gets married on her coming-of-age ceremony? They are raised with utmost care and affection, and no one is willing to marry her off immediately. They usually keep her at home for a year or two before she gets married.

You, on the other hand, forced someone to marry you with a royal decree.

Now that he's being bullied by his in-laws, he deserves it!

Lin Ruhai was also dissatisfied. He walked to Jia Min's side and helped her sit down at the head of the table.

"Young Master Zheng, you shouldn't kneel. If you get injured, Young Master Jiao will be heartbroken."

Gong Shangjiao coughed lightly and, under the stunned gazes of Lin Ruhai and Jia Min, placed a whip on the coffee table.

"The expedition was indeed conducted in a manner that was not in accordance with proper etiquette, and it was due to my failure as the elder brother to properly supervise him."

"Lord Lin and Madam Lin, you are our elders, and it is only right for you to discipline your juniors."

"He deserved this beating, Lord Lin, please."

Lin Ruhai and Jia Min: "..."

Having lived for decades, I've never used a whip to discipline anyone. Is your Gong family so ruthless in disciplining people?

Seeing that the two of them had not made a move, Gong Shangjiao took it upon himself to whip Gong Yuanzheng three times, each lash drawing blood.

Jia Min was so frightened that her face turned pale.

Thinking of this, Jia Min's face showed more worry.

"Is the injury on your back alright?"

Gong Yuanzheng was flattered and said, "It's all alright now, don't worry, mother-in-law."

Jia Min's expression softened slightly. She nodded, glanced at the well-behaved boy in front of her, and said gently, "It's getting late. Go and have some breakfast first."

Gong Yuanzheng nodded obediently, bowed, and left Jia Min's courtyard.

Watching Gong Yuanzheng's retreating figure, Jia Min sighed softly. In truth, she was no longer so opposed to Gong Yuanzheng becoming her son-in-law.

This young man was the complete opposite of her ideal son-in-law; she had always believed that her daughters would marry into scholarly families.

She never even considered becoming in-laws with those military families.

She had always thought that Yue'er and Yu'er would live a life of mutual respect and courtesy with their husbands, just like she and Lin Ruhai.

Unexpectedly, by a twist of fate, the daughter married a person from the martial arts world.

Initially, she wanted to annul the engagement, but Gong Yuanzheng intervened to save her and Lin Ruhai, and later he also helped treat Yu'er and Qingyu.

The Lin family can never repay this debt of gratitude.

However, the thought of letting her daughter marry into the family out of gratitude was a hurdle that Jia Min couldn't overcome.

These days, she coldly observes Gong Yuanzheng's behavior.

Although the etiquette wasn't perfect, it was still appropriate and respectful, a thousand times better than the roughnecks she had imagined.

More importantly, at his age, he didn't even have a concubine.

This alone puts him ahead of many others.

In aristocratic families, it's almost impossible for a man to not have a maidservant by the time he reaches that age; many of them already have concubines. The fact that he hasn't had a son born out of wedlock is the greatest respect one can show to one's legal wife.

By the time Jia Min reached that age, she had long since come to terms with her aunts and other such matters.

But she also had her girlish moments of longing and dreamed of being with her husband for life.

But reality told her that this was impossible.

Everyone said Jia Min was lucky; Lin Ruhai's backyard was very clean, with only two concubines.

Jia Min's gaze was somewhat distant. She instructed Cong Fu, "Tell me immediately when Master returns to the mansion."

Cong Fu agreed, noticing a change in Jia Min's expression. As Jia Min's head maid, Cong Fu guessed what Jia Min was thinking and smiled, "Congratulations, Madam! Congratulations, Madam!"

Jia Min raised her long eyebrows slightly, looked at her and asked with a smile, "Tell me, what's the source of this joy?"

Cong Fu replied with a smile, "Of course, congratulations to Madam on having such a good son-in-law."

"The eldest son-in-law is also a handsome man, no less so than the young masters of the capital, and he also has excellent medical skills!"

"Now that the eldest son-in-law and the young master are both favorites of the new emperor, their future prospects are sure to be bright. Isn't this a great thing?"

Jia Min smiled too. Indeed, with the new emperor's ascension to the throne, Gong Shangjiao was granted the title of Marquis, and although Gong Yuanzheng was not granted the title of Marquis, he was still a figurehead before the new emperor.

The Gong family's foundation is weak now, but in a few decades, they may well make a name for themselves in the court.

From this perspective, Gong Yuanzheng's last shortcoming is also gone.

Gong Yuanzheng is so attentive to Yue'er. Looking around, which noble family's son can do as much as Gong Yuanzheng?

Cong Fu recalled Gong Yuanzheng's reddened fingertips and said, "When I received the medicine just now, I saw that Young Master Zheng's fingertips were all reddened."

A hint of heartache flashed in Jia Min's eyes. "This child is too honest. Have someone send some burn ointment over quickly."

At this moment, Jia Min forgot that Gong Yuanzheng himself was a doctor, and the one thing he had no shortage of was all kinds of ointments.

If it were the old Gong Yuanzheng, he probably wouldn't have heard this conversation. After learning the secret manual from the back mountain, Gong Yuanzheng's internal strength had also improved a lot, and he heard Jia Min and the maid's conversation clearly.

He couldn't help but smile; all his hard work these past few days had finally paid off.

At least he's won over his mother-in-law. As for Lin Ruhai, he believes that with his brother's help, Lin Ruhai will eventually accept him as his son-in-law.

Satisfied, I passed by the back garden and encountered Young Master Hua, who was diligently practicing the Three Styles of Mirror Flower under Elder Hua's supervision.

Seeing the disjointed moves, Elder Hua's anger rose uncontrollably.

Gong Yuanzheng saw this, his eyes darted around, and his smile deepened. He immediately flew forward and took the sword from Young Master Hua's hand.

"You're practicing that move wrong, it should be like this!"

As he spoke, he demonstrated the entire Mirror Flower Three Forms from beginning to end.

Young Master Hua exclaimed in admiration, "Young Master Zheng is truly amazing. He has mastered the skills so well in such a short time."

Gong Yuanzheng did not speak, but simply smiled and returned the sword to Young Master Hua.

Not long after he left, he indeed heard Elder Hua's angry roar.

"You've mastered the Mirror Flower Three Forms so well in such a short time during your expedition! Look at you!"

Young Master Hua felt wronged. Martial arts were not his forte; his forte was developing weapons.

Gong Yuanzheng was even happier to hear this, grinning with his bright white teeth as he walked briskly toward his residence.

Lin Ruhai and Gong Shangjiao returned to the mansion only after the sun had set.

Lin Ruhai is extremely busy these days. He has received orders to return to the capital to replace the retired Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

Now, he needs to quickly organize the salt administration and the dark web in Yangzhou and hand them over to the newly appointed Salt Inspector.

Gong Shangjiao followed him in order to find out all the forces in Yangzhou.

After all, his mansion was located in Yangzhou.

Lin Ruhai, who was handling business in his study, was very surprised when Jia Min came to see him.

"Why is Madam still awake so late at night?"

Jia Min handed several sheets of paper to Lin Ruhai.

"The dowry we prepared for Yue'er before was a bit meager. Now that the Gong family has sent so many betrothal gifts, Yue'er's dowry naturally cannot be the same as before."

Lin Ruhai shared the same thought; some time ago, he had wanted to discuss this matter with Jia Min.

First, I was too busy to discuss it with Jia Min; second, I was worried that Jia Min was still angry, so I didn't bring it up.

If Jia Min brings it up herself, it means that she no longer harbors anger towards Gong Yuanzheng, which is a good thing.

Compared to Jia Min, Lin Ruhai was much more rational.

The imperial decree has been issued, and the marriage cannot be changed.

They were all meritorious officials, and His Majesty allowed the Lin family to vent their dissatisfaction with the imperial expedition, but not excessively.

The three lashes from Gong Shangjiao have already provided an explanation.

If the Lin family continues to make things difficult for the imperial expedition, it will be seen as a sign of dissatisfaction with the emperor.

Lin Ruhai never made things difficult for Gong Yuanzheng again. Jia Min's so-called difficulties were nothing more than a show of displeasure, which amounted to nothing.

Afterwards, Lin Ruhai cursed Gong Shangjiao in his heart more than once for being shameless and for striking first, leaving the Lin family unable to vent their anger.

After reviewing the dowry list, Lin Ruhai pondered for a moment, "The shops in Yangzhou are preparing five rooms for Yue'er."

"Give all those shops in the capital to Yue'er."

"There are still quite a few antique treasures in the warehouse. Let's get a few more for Yue'er."

Such a grand gesture even caught Jia Min's attention.

There are still Yu'er and Qingyu in the family. Yue'er has been given so much property. What will happen to Yu'er and Qingyu in the future?

Lin Ruhai looked at his wife, "My lady, please rest assured, His Majesty is currently preoccupied. In a few days, the old Emperor's disciples..."

Jia Min immediately understood Lin Ruhai's meaning: when the time came, he would buy some farms and shops, and Yu'er and Qingyu would naturally be settled.