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

Gong Zishang's face turned deathly pale, and she knocked over her teacup, splashing tea all over her clothes.

In the eyes of those people in the Feather Palace, wasn't she just offering herself up for free?

Lin Qingyue handed her her handkerchief, "Sister Zishang, the mountain air is cold, please wipe yourself."

Gong Zishang trembled as she took the handkerchief, clutching it tightly in her hand, her face a mixture of pain and sorrow.

Looking back on her time with the people of Yu Palace over the years, every single time she had to eagerly run up to them and act all cute and charming.

What did they gain? The utter disregard for the Shang Palace from all sides.

Gong Ziyu, thinking of Gong Ziyu, Gong Zishang closed her eyes.

She admitted that she had her own selfish motives when she first got to know this younger brother, but after several years of getting to know him, she had long regarded him as her own brother and was absolutely devoted to him.

Because of his grudge against Gong Yuanzheng, she also had many complaints about Gong Yuanzheng and Gong Shangjiao.

He could maintain a semblance of politeness with Gong Shangjiao, but when he met Gong Yuanzheng, they simply ignored each other.

She had originally thought that Gong Ziyu was pure of heart and kind by nature, and didn't understand these trivial matters. Now it seemed that he was just carefree and didn't care at all.

Imagine someone who frequents brothels and red-light districts; how could they possibly be completely ignorant of these things?

This good younger brother, if he had just given Jin Fan a few instructions, Jin Fan's attitude towards him would not have been so terrible.

For ten years, she spent ten years trying to please them, turning herself into a joke.

Gong Yuanzheng is right, she is a fool!

She was completely unaware that the people from Yu Palace were treating her so disrespectfully.

They were all secretly laughing at her; even the guards gave her attitude at will.

Lin Qingyue brewed her another cup of tea. "Jin Fan is Hongyu's bodyguard, so he has the right to be arrogant."

Gong Zishang then realized that she had actually spoken her true feelings aloud.

She stared blankly at Lin Qingyue. Was she speaking to Jin Fan?

But then she changed the subject.

"However, a guard is still a guard. No matter how arrogant he is, he cannot be completely disrespectful to the master of a palace."

This statement is quite blunt. The "master of a palace" here refers not only to Gong Zishang, but also to Gong Shangjiao and Gong Yuanzheng.

In the video clips she saw, Jin Fan, a guard, attacked Gong Yuanzheng more than once, and called out Gong Yuanzheng and Gong Shangjiao's names behind his back.

Without hesitation, Lin Qingyue tried to sow discord between Gong Zishang and Gong Ziyu.

"These are just things that the master indulges. Sister Zishang, have you ever seen Jin Fu being disrespectful to you?"

Gong Zishang moved her lips but didn't speak, but her expression said it all.

Jin Fu treated her with the utmost courtesy.

One was her beloved younger brother whom she regarded as family, and the other was her seemingly harmonious cousin.

She had never noticed such a huge difference before.

She prided herself on being the most clear-headed person in the palace, but unexpectedly, she turned out to be the most unsuccessful and confused person in her life.

She couldn't help but burst into laughter, laughing so hard that she trembled and tears streamed down her face. All her resentment, bitterness, and regret were contained in her laughter.

Lin Qingyue watched quietly as Gong Zishang vented his anger.

After ten years of confusion, Lin Qingyue ripped through it all, so it was only natural that she would break down.

Qiulan walked over carrying a can of tea leaves, and was somewhat bewildered to see Gong Zishang smiling like that.

"Miss, what happened to Miss Zi Shang?"

Lin Qingyue simply shook her head gently. "It's nothing."

Gong Zishang quickly composed herself, wiped away the tears on her face with Lin Qingyue's handkerchief, and looked at Qiulan with a smile, "I'm fine, I just heard a joke, and this joke was really too funny!"

Qiulan was even more confused. How come she didn't know that her mistress could tell jokes?

Lin Qingyue took the tea leaves and whispered instructions to Qiulan:

"Qiu Lan, take Sister Zi Shang to get dressed up again."

Looking at Gong Zishang, he instructed, "Change into my double butterfly cloud-patterned thousand-water skirt."

She was smaller than Gong Zishang, and only one dress, specially made to be larger, was intended for her coming-of-age ceremony next year. The red double butterfly cloud-shaped dress suited Gong Zishang better.

Qiu Lan's expression changed slightly, and she looked at Lin Qingyue as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Lin Qingyue glanced at her indifferently, her eyes conveying a strong warning.

What about the dress for coming-of-age ceremony? If someone were to go to the Shang Palace to retrieve the dress, it would likely cause another uproar.

Qiu Lan silently swallowed the words that were already on the tip of her tongue, and looked at Gong Zishang.

"Miss Zi Shang, please come inside with me to change your clothes. It's freezing cold, don't catch a cold."

Gong Zishang stood up, somewhat lost in thought. "Qingyue, I'll go change my clothes first."

Lin Qingyue watched her enter the room with a smile. Before she could say anything, a servant came forward to clean up the messy table.

The servants of Zheng Palace were very perceptive. Before, when Gong Zishang was still there, they were afraid of disturbing their master and did not come forward. As soon as Gong Zishang left, they immediately cleaned the table and replaced it with new tea sets.

A cold wind blew, and Lin Qingyue looked up to see that snowflakes had started falling from the sky.

She stood up, walked to the railing, reached out and caught a snowflake that was gently falling. The bone-chilling cold made her quickly pull her hand back.

Lin Qingyue was somewhat lost in thought; the snow here was colder than that in Yangzhou.

At first, only a few snowflakes fell sporadically, but in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a heavy snowfall had begun.

The clean and tidy ground was immediately covered by snow, and even the medicinal herbs were completely hidden by the heavy snow.

Lin Qingyue couldn't help but feel anxious. Just then, several servants from the Zheng Palace brought over a brazier. Pointing to the herbs, she asked, "What should we do with these herbs? Won't they freeze in this heavy snow?"

The servant bowed and replied, "The herbs in Zheng Palace have all been improved by Young Master Zheng and are not afraid of the severe cold."

So that's how it is. Lin Qingyue withdrew her hand, sighing inwardly. Gong Yuanzheng truly deserves to be called a once-in-a-century herbal medicine genius. Before he even reached adulthood, he was already able to improve and cultivate medicinal herbs.

However, since he could cultivate even extinct herbs like the Izumo Lotus, improving ordinary herbs was naturally a piece of cake for him.

Upon seeing that red cloud-patterned dress, Gong Zishang couldn't bear to wear it.

This dress was the most exquisite and beautiful she had ever seen.

The color was as bright as a rosy sunset, and the hem and cuffs were trimmed with gold thread. The cuffs were decorated with delicate cloud patterns, and the skirt was embroidered with orchids and butterflies fluttering among the flowers.

Gong Zishang dared not touch it. Having been in contact with gunpowder and knives for many years, her fingertips had developed thin calluses. She was afraid that the calluses on her hands would scratch the dress.

Qiulan pouted, looking somewhat unhappy. "This was specially commissioned by Madam a year in advance by a renowned embroidery master from the capital, so that Miss could wear it on her coming-of-age ceremony."

Gong Zishang was surprised; the clothes were specially made for her coming-of-age ceremony, no wonder they were so gorgeous.

Her clothes wouldn't dry anytime soon, and she couldn't go back to the Shang Palace to get more clothes. It would be too impolite to meet the Thirteenth Prince in wet clothes.

She had no choice but to wear these clothes.

Gong Zishang instructed Qiulan, "Help me change first."

Seeing her reluctance, Gong Zishang smiled and comforted her, "Don't worry, when Qingyue comes of age, I will definitely give her an even more gorgeous and exquisite one."

Qiulan carefully picked up the dress, and couldn't help but mutter, "This is a token of Madam's affection..."

Although the voice was soft, Gong Zishang, having learned some martial arts, naturally heard it clearly.

A girl's coming-of-age ceremony is extremely important. Qingyue's mother really dotes on her, starting preparations a year in advance.

What about her coming-of-age ceremony? How was it held?

No more than six months after Wu Feng's invasion, the palace gates were still draped in white mourning clothes.

Her mother died early, her father was paralyzed, and the heavy burden of the Shang Palace weighed heavily on her.

That day, she was busy until late at night before she remembered that it was her birthday...

Thinking of this, Gong Zishang's hatred for Mingwu Ji intensified.