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

At the palace gates late at night, a woman dressed in black is running at top speed.

The fluttering hem of her skirt resembled a black butterfly breaking free from its constraints and taking flight.

She was stunningly beautiful, yet cold as ice. She quickly reached the entrance of a passage and pressed the switch without hesitation.

As the stone gate slowly rose, a clear sense of ease and joy appeared on the woman's face.

Soon, her smile vanished, replaced by astonishment and disbelief.

A hand wearing a black glove rested on the stone gate.

As the stone gate rose, a pale and handsome young man wearing a headband appeared at the entrance of the passage.

The night was quiet and still, but the crisp sound of the bell was abrupt and jarring.

He walked out of the passage step by step, his tall figure exuding a powerful aura that completely enveloped the woman's form.

The woman looked at him warily and slowly backed away.

The man's pale, handsome face bore a sinister, sickly smile, like a leopard that had been waiting for a long time finally catching its prey.

He approached the woman step by step, his voice laced with mockery.

"Where do you want to go?"

Lin Qingyue suddenly woke up and opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a silk curtain embroidered with exquisite patterns.

Through the curtains, one could vaguely see a tall man fiddling with flowers.

A delicate and elegant floral fragrance wafted into my nose; it was the scent of magnolia blossoms.

Upon hearing the sound, Gong Yuanzheng immediately turned around, strode to the bedside, lifted the bed curtains, and smiled brightly, his whole body radiating joy.

"you're awake?"

Lin Qingyue stared blankly at Gong Yuanzheng. The image of him in her dream and the image of him in front of her slowly overlapped and then separated.

The same face, yet they look like completely different people.

Both are laughing, but one laughs as bright as the sun, while the other laughs like a madman.

When Gong Yuanzheng saw her in a daze, the smile on his face faded a bit, and his eyes showed more worry.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and reached out to wipe the sweat from her forehead.

"What's wrong? Were you dreaming?"

"Hmm." Lin Qingyue also came to her senses. She quickly sat up and subtly dodged Gong Yuanzheng's hand.

Gong Yuanzheng's eyes darkened slightly, but he quickly concealed his emotions, took the cloak that had been heated by charcoal fire from the side, and draped it over Lin Qingyue's back.

"You didn't take off your clothes before going to bed, so you still need to pay attention to keeping warm and be careful not to catch a cold."

As he spoke, he leaned forward and very naturally took her hair, which was being held down, out of the cloak and straightened it.

This action almost pulled Lin Qingyue into his arms.

Long, slender fingers ran through her smooth, flowing hair, and a faint scent of roses wafted into her nostrils. Gong Yuanzheng took a deep breath, his arms tightening slightly. He longed to hold her tight like this.

Lin Qingyue's eyes widened in shock. In both her lives, this was the first time she had ever been so close to a boy.

Her nose was almost touching Gong Yuanzheng's chest.

She hurriedly pushed Gong Yuanzheng away, and couldn't help but shrink back.

Gong Yuanzheng withdrew his hand following her force. Seeing her retreating movement and the slightly panicked look in her eyes, he secretly warned himself that haste makes waste. He couldn't be impatient, and he couldn't frighten her.

He already knows the answer he wanted to know; the rest will have to be dealt with gradually.

With a natural gesture, Gong Yuanzheng placed his hand on the quilt, his eyes filled with worry, and asked cautiously, "Did you have another precognitive dream? What did you dream about?"

Lin Qingyue pulled her cloak tighter and looked at Gong Yuanzheng with a complicated expression.

Seeing that gaze, Gong Yuanzheng couldn't help but want to look in the mirror and wonder if there was something on his face.

"you."

"What?" Gong Yuanzheng immediately realized that she had dreamt about him. His smile had just begun when he heard Lin Qingyue say:

"And there are clouds as garments."

The smile that had just risen was forcibly suppressed. Dreaming of him was enough, why add Yunweishan to it?

unlucky!

Lin Qingyue didn't notice Gong Yuanzheng's expression and continued to describe the scene in her dream.

“She was trying to escape from the palace gates. You stopped her at the same passageway yesterday and asked her where she wanted to go.”

Lin Qingyue tried hard to recall, and realized there were more than just that; there were others as well.

This is a mashup video she saw in her past life. The dream she just experienced was the last part of that mashup video; there was a lot more content before that.

Lin Qingyue couldn't help but tap her head; it had been too long, and she couldn't remember it for the time being.

What impressed me most was that Gong Yuanzheng changed into many outfits in the video, and every single one of them was very nice.

Seeing her looking worried, Gong Yuanzheng took the hand she used to tap her head and comforted her:

"Don't think about it if you can't remember. We already know a lot."

Lin Qingyue's gaze naturally shifted to Gong Yuanzheng, and when her eyes fell on his clothes, some fragmented memories immediately flashed through her mind.

"It's this outfit." Lin Qingyue pointed to his clothes, then looked up to meet Gong Yuanzheng's gaze, her eyes clearly reflecting his puzzled expression.

"It was this very dress that you wore, which caused the poison in Yun Weishan to transfer to your own body in order to detoxify her."

Gong Yuanzheng: "???!!!"

He gave a disdainful laugh. "Impossible. I would never risk my life to test poison for Gong Ziyu's woman."

Lin Qingyue squeezed the blanket around her, her face showing hesitation, as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself, silently wondering to herself, "Is it possible that you like her?"

But seeing Gong Yuanzheng's expression, Lin Qingyue silently swallowed her words.

Gong Yuanzheng keenly noticed that Lin Qingyue's expression was strange. Seeing that her eyes were wandering and she dared not meet his gaze.

Feeling a tightness in his chest, he suddenly clenched his fist at his side, a strong killing intent rising in his eyes as he looked at Yun Weishan.

No, we can't kill him yet. He'll definitely make his move as soon as we wipe out Wu Feng.

Suppressing the surging killing intent in his heart, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and smiled again.

"Get up first. Brother told us to have dinner at the Corner Palace. Let's go there first."

Lin Qingyue nodded and was about to get up when she saw Gong Yuanzheng sitting motionless on the edge of the bed.

"Young Master Zheng..."

"Yue'er, your name is Gong Zishang, Sister Zishang, why do you call me Young Master Zheng?" Gong Yuanzheng interrupted her, a hint of grievance on his face.

"We're engaged, why are you being so polite to me? Don't you want to marry me?"

Lin Qingyue's breath hitched. Yes, she really didn't want to marry him, and he wasn't her destined partner.

But the look in his eyes when he looked at Shanggong Yuanzheng was clearly full of grievance and sorrow.

Lin Qingyue felt a sudden chill for no apparent reason. Her instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm told her that if she didn't answer this question well, she would be in big trouble.

She quickly explained, "No, I'm just not used to it yet."

After a pause, she tentatively called out, "Expedition."

Gong Yuanzheng smiled with satisfaction. He took Lin Qingyue's hand and intertwined their fingers. "We'll be getting married in a few months. You need to get used to it soon."

Lin Qingyue forced a smile and looked outside. "Where's Qiulan? Why isn't she here?"

"I sent her to the clinic," Gong Yuanzheng replied casually. "She doesn't know anything about pharmacology, so I sent her to the clinic to learn some so she can take better care of you."

Lin Qingyue looked at Gong Yuanzheng in confusion, wanting to ask but not daring to. For the first time, she felt a little regretful about choosing Gong Yuanzheng as her marriage partner.

She was too impulsive. She only watched a few video clips before rashly marrying him. If she had known, she should have chosen Gong Huanyu. Being a widow wouldn't have been so bad.

Gong Yuanzheng, unaware of her inner struggle, placed her boots by the bedside, his smile unchanged.

"Qiulan isn't here, so I'll help you get dressed."

Lin Qingyue: "......"

What if I regret it even more...?

Inside the clinic, Qiulan was trembling as she held the medical book in her hands, unable to concentrate on a single word.

In my mind, my conversation with Gong Yuanzheng kept replaying.

Half an hour ago

Qiulan sat on the soft couch, propping her head up with her hand, feeling drowsy.

A gust of cold wind swept by, and Qiu Lan shivered. When she opened her eyes, she saw Gong Yuanzheng holding a large bouquet of magnolia flowers, looking at her expressionlessly.

Qiu Lan looked at Gong Yuanzheng in horror, "Young Master Zheng..."

Gong Yuanzheng put down the bouquet in his hand and looked at Qiulan with a cold gaze. "Come out."

Would Qiulan dare disobey? No, she stumbled off the soft couch and followed Gong Yuanzheng outside.

I had just stepped out of the room when the door behind me slammed shut.

Qiulan shuddered.

"Hand out."

The simple words made Qiu Lan want to cry. Facing Gong Yuanzheng's expressionless face, she tremblingly raised her right hand.

A tiny, dark worm landed in her palm.

Qiulan's pupils dilated violently, and she instinctively wanted to scream and shake off the insect.

Gong Yuanzheng swiftly struck her pressure points, his smile eerie and sinister.

"Shh, don't scare it. It's timid. If it's frightened, it will stab into your skin without mercy."

Qiulan's tears flowed like a burst dam, and she could no longer control them.

"You must answer whatever I ask you truthfully, otherwise I will immediately have her stab you in the stomach and make your intestines rupture, do you understand?"

Qiulan blinked frantically.

Gong Yuanzheng released her pressure points, and Qiu Lan immediately collapsed to the ground, her right hand raised in the air, trembling uncontrollably.

Gong Yuanzheng half-squatted on the ground, looking at the girl on the ground, and coldly asked, "Does your young lady have someone she likes?"

Qiulan shook her head frantically, tears streaming down her face, "Miss, I... I don't have a lover..."

With his initial depression slightly relieved, Gong Yuanzheng continued, "Have your master and mistress arranged any marriages for her?"

Qiulan was almost sobbing uncontrollably, and her right hand trembled even more violently.

"No, no, young master, he's been ill for a long time, and Madam... Madam hasn't had time to visit him..."

Having gotten the answer he wanted, Gong Yuanzheng put the insect away with satisfaction and looked at Qiu Lan, who was lying on the ground crying.

"These next few days, you'll stay at the clinic and learn more about pharmacology. You know what you should and shouldn't say, right?"

Having said that, without waiting for Qiulan's reaction, he stood up and instructed the guard beside him:

"Take her to the clinic."