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

Lin Qingyue was stunned for a moment, but quickly realized that the Emperor Emeritus had passed away.

In her memory, it was the retired emperor who issued the decree allowing the concubines to visit their families, but he died before they could even do so.

Gong Yuanzheng casually put the letter aside; the death of the Emperor Taizong did not have much impact on them.

Now we can't take our time returning to the capital; we have to hurry.

Gong Yuanzheng felt a little regretful; he had wanted to take Lin Qingyue for a stroll on the shore, but now it seemed that the opportunity was gone.

He is now considered a high-ranking official in the court, and the imperial decree to confer a marquisate upon him has already been drafted. It is just waiting for him to arrive in the capital before the decree is issued.

In his letter, Gong Shangjiao said that it would be best for Gong Yuanzheng to go to the capital as soon as possible.

If people were to see him traveling with a beaming smile, he would probably be impeached by those censors again.

Although they weren't afraid of these memorials, too many of them would eventually become annoying.

Gong Yuanzheng couldn't help but roll his eyes. Once you get involved in the imperial court, this is the only thing you're not free to do.

How idle are these censors? They spend all their time finding fault with others!

The ships no longer sailed slowly, but sped towards the capital.

Yangzhou was too far from the capital. By the time Gong Yuanzheng and Lin Qingyue arrived, the retired emperor—no, he should now be called the late emperor—was already gone.

He was being buried at the time.

Gong Yuanzheng was dumbfounded. Why was he in such a hurry to come back?

Lin Qingyue sighed.

The emperor made no attempt to conceal his disgust for the late emperor; less than a month after the body was laid in state, he directly placed it in the mausoleum—an unprecedented act.

In the past, when an emperor passed away, his body was kept in state for at least two months.

Some senior officials raised strong objections, but the emperor was very upset and said directly that this was the late emperor's own request.

He lived a life of extravagance, so he dared not be wasteful after his death; his funeral was kept simple.

The old minister was left speechless.

However, the emperor granted a general amnesty and issued an imperial edict that all noble families were forbidden from holding banquets and playing music for a year, and commoners were forbidden from getting married for three months.

Gong Yuanzheng became depressed. If he had known he would be buried so soon, why did he rush on the journey?

It would be better to take a leisurely boat trip.

Lin Qingyue held his hand reassuringly, "Don't be angry, let's go back to the manor first, Sister Zishang is probably getting impatient."

When facing Lin Qingyue, Gong Yuanzheng naturally couldn't muster any anger, and could only curse a few times in his heart.

The two then changed to a horse-drawn carriage and headed to the mountain villa.

Before they even reached the door, they saw Daiyu and Qingyu waiting outside.

These two now regard the palace gate as their second home, spending more time there than at the Lin family home.

Strangely, Lin Ruhai did not object to this at all, and did not restrain the siblings' behavior in the slightest.

As for Qingyu, the male heir who would one day uphold the Lin family's honor, he no longer restricted his studies and ambitions, but only required him to be sensible and reasonable.

He didn't even object to Qingyu going to sea with Young Master Xue.

Lin Ruhai seemed to have no desire for Qingyu to embark on an official career.

"Big sister, big brother-in-law!" Daiyu and Qingyu rushed over as soon as they saw the carriage.

Judging from the siblings' skills, they've both mastered quite a bit of light-body kung fu.

Qingyu was intercepted by Gong Yuanzheng halfway, while Daiyu threw herself into Lin Qingyue's arms.

The two sisters hadn't seen each other for about half a year, so they were naturally very affectionate.

Qingyu hadn't seen Lin Qingyue for almost a year and was anxious to get to his older sister's side as soon as possible, but his brother-in-law stopped him.

In desperation, he directly used his martial arts. Gong Yuanzheng raised his eyebrows slightly and took the opportunity to start fighting with Qingyu.

After a few moves, Qingyu was unable to defend himself and glared angrily at Gong Yuanzheng.

"Brother-in-law, you're bullying me!"

Gong Yuanzheng smiled and hugged him. "Good lad, you've got such skills at such a young age, not bad! Did Xiaoxue teach you all this?"

When the topic of martial arts came up, Qingyu's face immediately lit up with joy.

"Yes, Brother Xiaoxue's martial arts skills are amazing! I learned them from him!"

When Xue Gongzi was mentioned as having high martial arts skills, Gong Yuanzheng was somewhat unconvinced and was about to retort that his own martial arts skills were even higher than Xue Gongzi's.

He swallowed the words back immediately, wondering what would happen if Qingyu heard that his martial arts were even better and wanted him to teach her.

He just wanted to spend more time with Yue'er.

Let Young Master Xue teach them!

Gong Yuanzheng said with utmost sincerity, "Xiaoxue's martial arts are really good, but Daxue's are even better. You should learn from them and become the most powerful martial artist in the future!"

Everyone outside the painting knew exactly what he was planning.

Gong Zishang shook his head repeatedly, "People's hearts have changed. Yuanzheng, how can you deceive a child like this? Doesn't your conscience hurt?"

Gong Yuanzheng completely ignored Gong Zishang. What was there to be in pain about? There was nothing to be in pain about.

Young Master Xue didn't care. He quite liked this little brother and enjoyed playing with him!

Qingyu looked at Gong Yuanzheng with some suspicion. He was no longer a three-year-old child and was not so easily fooled.

"Brother-in-law, I heard that your martial arts skills are better than Xiaoxue's..."

“Those are all rumors.” Gong Yuanzheng’s smile became even more sincere.

"My martial arts skills are less than one-tenth or one-third of Xiaoxue's."

Qingyu scratched her head in confusion. These words were said by Brother Shangjiao. Could it be that Brother Shangjiao was bragging for his brother-in-law?

Lin Qingyue finished catching up with Daiyu, but Gong Zishang was nowhere to be seen for a long time.

Lin Qingyue felt a bit worried, which wasn't like Gong Zishang at all. She casually asked, "Where's Sister Zishang?"

Daiyu's expression immediately turned strange, startling Lin Qingyue.

"What's wrong, Yu'er? Has something happened to Sister Zishang?"

Upon hearing this, Gong Yuanzheng also turned his head.

"No." Daiyu's expression was complicated; she hesitated to speak.

"Big sister, you'll know when you see Master."

Lin Qingyue entered the manor with a suspicious look on her face. When she saw Gong Zishang, who was half-lying on a soft couch watching the play, she finally understood why Daiyu had hesitated to speak.

Gong Zishang is pregnant!

"If she's pregnant, then so be it," Lin Qingyue said calmly. Gong Yuanzheng was only momentarily stunned before regaining his composure.

He stepped forward and said to Gong Zishang, "Let me take your pulse."

Gong Zishang didn't hesitate and reached out her hand to Gong Yuanzheng.

Lin Qingyue sat down next to Gong Zishang and carefully looked at her stomach.

Unable to contain her curiosity, she asked, "Sister Zishang, who is the child's father...?"

Gong Zishang smiled gently and raised a finger, saying, "The Buddha said: It cannot be spoken."