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

How did you learn about the Wind Palace?

Elder Yue stared sharply at the three of them.

Yuki Shigeko remained calm. "Does that matter?"

"How can it not be important? Of course..."

"Elder Yue," Xue Chongzi interrupted him directly.

"I'm here today to retrieve the martial arts manuals of Feng Palace. Given the current state of the palace, I don't have time to discuss these meaningless matters with you."

Elder Yue wanted to continue speaking, but Elder Xue stopped him and gestured for Elder Hua to hand over all the secret manuals to Xue Chongzi.

As early as when Elder Yue and Xue Chongzi were arguing, he had Elder Hua go to the secret room to retrieve the secret manual.

The manual was already in Xue Chongzi's hands, so Elder Yue naturally wouldn't try to snatch it. He just looked at the manual and sighed, "The Wind Palace's techniques should have been practiced by Lady Zhi Ren."

Young Master Xue spoke his mind, "Now that the blade-wielding expert is a woman, it's perfect for her to train!"

With just one sentence, Elder Yue stormed off in anger.

Elder Hua frowned as she watched his retreating figure.

Young Master Hua looked at his father with a puzzled expression. "Father, I feel like Elder Yue is acting strangely, and..."

He frowned, his confusion deepening. "Moreover, he's really biased towards Yu Gong."

Elder Hua glared at his son, "Don't pry into the affairs of your elders."

Young Master Hua immediately shut up.

Elder Xue looked at Elder Yue's retreating figure and shook her head. "Now that things have come to this, there's nothing left to hide from you."

"The sword techniques of the Snow Palace, Moon Palace, and Flower Palace are all offensive, while the sword techniques of the Wind Palace are auxiliary and can be combined with any of the Snow Palace, Moon Palace, and Flower Palace sword techniques to form a dual sword technique."

At this point, Elder Xue sighed. If that incident hadn't happened, Lady Zhiren would have remained the successor of the Wind Palace forever, and the palace wouldn't have fallen into such a state. It was truly a cruel twist of fate.

"If Zi Shang wants to practice, he should start as soon as possible. Shang Jiao has learned the sword techniques of the Snow, Moon, and Flower Palaces. If he encounters Wu Feng one day, the two of them working together will be no match for the Four Directions Demons."

Looking at the manual in his hand, Xue Chongzi looked up at Elder Xue and said, "If these manuals had been brought out earlier, perhaps so many people wouldn't have died in Jiao Palace, Zheng Palace, and Shang Palace ten years ago."

"Xue Chongzi!" Elder Xue's voice grew louder, and his eyes held a warning as he looked at him.

But under Yukishigeko's calm gaze, that wariness quickly vanished, replaced by weariness.

Elder Xue seemed to have lost most of her spirit. "The palace is now in a precarious state. It's best to say less about this in the future."

Is it enough to just keep quiet? That's nothing but burying your head in the sand and deceiving yourself.

If these secret manuals were to be taken outside, the resentment of Gong Zishang, Gong Shangjiao, and Gong Yuanzheng towards the three elders would only intensify.

Elder Xue understood this principle perfectly well, and he gave Xue Chongzi a deep look.

"From this day forward, unless required by the palace, the three of us will never leave the Elders' Council!"

Young Master Hua panicked a little, "Father..."

Elder Hua looked at his tall and strong son and said, "Practice the Three Forms of Mirror Flower well. If you don't understand anything, go ask Gong Shangjiao. I can't teach you anymore."

"Develop more weapons, and the palace gates will be handed over to you from now on."

After saying that, he turned around and went back to his room.

Yuki nods, his expression not changing much. "I will pass on the message to Zhiren."

Having obtained the manual, the three did not linger and quickly arrived at the Blade Master's Hall.

After listening to Xue Zhongzi's retelling, Gong Zishang remained expressionless. Her martial arts talent was not high to begin with, and even if she practiced day and night, how much could she learn?

Flipping through these manuals, Gong Zishang sighed softly, "How long will it take you to research martial arts that can counter them?"

Xue Chongzi silently stared at Gong Zishang. It had taken him four years to create the Three Styles of Snowfall swordsmanship. Now, if he were to study a martial art to counter Feng Gong, it would take at least several decades.

Gong Zishang knew she was making things difficult for her. She closed the book and said, "I will practice in my spare time. How much I can learn depends on fate."

"Xue Zhongzi, your most urgent task is to train the Hongyu Guards."

“I plan to arrange for Hongyu to participate in the daily patrols of the front mountain.”

Xue Zhongzi nodded, "No problem, I will send some of the Red Jade Guards to the Blade-Holding Hall when I get back."

He paused, then asked, "What about Ziyi? Aren't you keeping an eye on her anymore?"

"Her martial arts skills are so high, and we don't have the manpower and resources to keep an eye on her. If she finds out again, it might be difficult to fool her."

"If we alert the enemy and ruin the important task of annihilating the three demons outside, we will have a hard time explaining it to the imperial court."

"I will arrange for guards to increase patrols in Old Dust Valley."

"I will set up new traps and hidden weapons in all the secret passages leading from the front mountain to the valley, and I will coat them with the latest poisons developed by the expedition."

At this point, she looked at Young Master Hua, "Young Master Hua, from now on, every afternoon, you will come to the Shang Palace, and we will develop new weapons together."

Young Master Hua readily agreed.

By the time everything was discussed, it was already late at night. The three men on the back mountain, all skilled in martial arts, showed no signs of fatigue.

Gong Zishang could not hide her exhaustion. Since the day she became the Blade Master, she had never slept in a bed. She had been dealing with the affairs of the palace, and when she was tired, she would just lie down on her desk.

Leaving aside the backlog of previous issues, the new defense arrangements at the palace gates alone consumed most of her energy.

"I'll inform Shangjiao and Yuanzheng about the secret manual tomorrow. You two can go back now."

Xue Zhongzi noticed her exhaustion and, without saying anything more, rose to take his leave with Xue Gongzi and Hua Gongzi.

The next day, Gong Zishang arrived at Jiaogong around lunchtime, and as she expected, Gong Yuanzheng was having breakfast there.

"Didn't I give you the recipe? Why are you still coming to the Corner Palace to freeload?"

Upon seeing Gong Zishang, Gong Yuanzheng couldn't help but retort to her.

Jin Fu, being very perceptive, brought out new bowls and chopsticks and also notified the kitchen to quickly prepare two more desserts.

Gong Zishang snorted and sat down. He was just a little brat who wasn't even an adult yet. She was in a good mood today and didn't want to bother arguing with him.

"These desserts were also made by Zhiren Palace yesterday. I've come to try them. If my chefs don't make them as good as those from Jiao Palace, Shangjiao, I'll have to switch chefs with you."

Gong Shangjiao couldn't help but chuckle.

Gong Yuanzheng rolled his eyes. What a greedy woman!

He pointed to the wooden box that Gong Zishang had placed on the table, "What is this? Why did you bring it over so early in the morning?"

Before Gong Zishang could speak, Gong Shangjiao guessed what was inside and interrupted Gong Yuanzheng's questioning.

"Don't talk about business at the dinner table; have breakfast first."

Gong Yuanzheng obediently began to drink his porridge. If his brother said not to talk about it, then he wouldn't talk about it.

The three of them had almost finished their breakfast, but Lin Qingyue was still nowhere to be seen. Gong Zishang looked at Gong Yuanzheng with some concern.

"Brother Yuanzheng, where's Sister Qingyue? I haven't seen her."

Upon hearing her mention Lin Qingyue, Gong Yuanzheng smiled slightly.

"Yue'er needs more rest. I'll go and wake her up later."

Then, looking at Miyazaki, he said with a hint of anxiety:

"Brother, we've finished breakfast now. Let's talk about this wooden box. What is it? I still need to go and make some medicinal porridge for Yue'er."

Gong Shangjiao felt nothing; it had only been a few days, yet he had already gotten used to his younger brother squatting in the kitchen.

Be content; at least your brother didn't forget to have a meal with you.

Gong Zishang secretly regretted that he should have come later. He thought that if he had mentioned the secret manual, the two brothers would have been furious, especially Gong Yuanzheng.

I had originally thought that if Qingyue were here, she could comfort Gong Yuanzheng.

Taking a deep breath, Gong Zishang pushed the wooden box forward. "This is a secret manual of the Wind Palace. Elder Xue told me to practice it. If you and I join forces to deal with the Four Directions Demons, our chances of winning will be much greater."

Gong Shangjiao's face remained calm and expressionless, showing no sign of anger.

He had long known how biased the elder was; he was used to it.

The more he learned about these things, the more disappointed he became.

He is also a person of flesh and blood, who can feel pain, loss, and distress.

Gong Shangjiao sighed softly, "Sometimes, I wonder, what's the point of all that I've done?"