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

Inside the Elders' Hall, after listening to Gong Zishang's words, the three elders fell silent, a rare occurrence.

After a long silence, Elder Xue slowly spoke, "Zi, Zhi Ren, is this your intention or Shang Jiao's intention?"

Gong Zishang smoothed out the wrinkles in her clothes and looked at the three elders with a smile, "Does it matter? You go if I say so, but you won't go if Shang Jiao says so?"

"If that's the case, then that's what I mean."

Her words made Elder Yue frown. "Zishang, do you really have to talk to us like this now?"

Gong Zishang found it boring. They had already gone this far and were completely shameless. Did they still expect things to be the same as before?

"The three elders should pack their things properly. We'll set off together in another hour."

Seeing that Gong Zishang was about to leave, Elder Xue called out to her, "Zhi Ren, it's not that we don't want to go out, but that we can't."

Gong Zishang gave a slight, mocking smile.

"Elder Xue seems to have misunderstood something. I am not discussing this with you, but informing you."

"Eliminating Wufeng would be good for the entire palace. Why can't you do your part?"

Gong Zishang's words made Elder Yue frown even more. He wanted to reprimand her, but when he thought of the current situation, he suppressed all his anger.

The Elders' Council has done its best for the Feather Palace, but it has indeed failed the Merchant Palace, Horn Palace, and Zheng Palace. It is only natural that they have grievances.

What you sow, you reap.

For decades, he held a high position, but now he has suddenly fallen from grace. Such a drastic change makes Elder Yue's already aged face look even more weathered.

Elder Xue smiled bitterly, "Zhi Ren, we really can't go out. The three of us old folks still need to guard the back mountain."

Gong Zishang showed some impatience, "Xue Chongzi is on the back mountain, what are you afraid of?"

Elder Xue knew that if she didn't tell the truth, the palace might really have nowhere for the three of them to stay in the future.

It's not that we haven't considered using force to suppress them, but now the fledglings have grown into eagles, and they can't be bullied at will.

More importantly, the palace gates can no longer function without Gong Shangjiao and his group.

Elder Xue simply couldn't imagine what terrible things would happen to the palace if Gong Shangjiao were to leave with Gong Zishang and Gong Yuanzheng.

He avoided Gong Zishang's gaze, "There's something I haven't told you yet."

"The people behind the palace gate have another extremely important task: to guard the mutated people in the back mountain. This is a secret that only Zhi Ren knows."

At this point, Elder Xue's voice lowered. Gong Zishang had already become a Blade Master, but they hadn't told her about it, which clearly meant they didn't consider her a true Blade Master.

Gong Zishang had obviously thought of this as well, and she couldn't help but sneer, "Three elders, you are really quite boring!"

If you don't want her to be the one wielding the blade, just say so. If you don't want to relinquish power, then don't actually relinquish it. Hiding your true intentions and saying one thing to her face and another behind her back—you've truly mastered the art of it.

Elder Xue forced a smile and continued, "Xue Chongzi's martial arts are indeed high, but if the Yiren (a powerful group of people) were to rebel, he alone probably wouldn't be able to stop them. Once the Yiren leave the back mountain, the entire world..."

"There's no need for the elders to worry about that. Whether we can control these superhumans is our own business." Gong Zishang impatiently interrupted Elder Xue, having completely lost her patience.

"If you do not appear at the city gate in one hour, Shang Jiao, Yuan Zheng, and I will leave the palace immediately!"

After saying that, ignoring their drastically changed expressions, Gong Zishang left the Elders' Council without looking back.

A cold wind blew, and most of the anger in her heart dissipated. Gong Zishang closed her eyes and took several deep breaths before she could completely calm down her inner rage.

Walking back to the Blade Master's Palace, she suddenly turned to look at Jin Mao. "Jin Mao, if I leave the palace, will you go back to the back mountain, or will you leave with me?"

Jin Mao's face was cold and his tone was steady, yet as heavy as Mount Tai: "Once a guard who wields a blade, always a guard who wields a blade."

This is the rule of the palace. Therefore, no matter what Gong Shangjiao, Gong Yuanzheng and Gong Zishang discussed, he, Jin Shu, Jin Huai and Jin Cheng would keep it to themselves and never mention it to anyone.

Gong Zishang laughed, his smile now carrying a hint of his former mischievousness. "Sigh, Qingyue tricked me so badly."

"What do you mean by being able to do whatever you want once you become a Blade Master? I don't even have time to go to the Guard Camp right now."

Gong Zishang looked up at the sky and sighed, "Jin Mao, when do you think I can go to the Imperial Guard Camp?"

Jin Mao: "..." He didn't want to answer the young lady's question, not at all!

Thinking about her current workload, Gong Zishang felt like she was going to go bald.

The defenses and patrols on the front mountain have been completely rectified. She originally planned to carefully plan the defense of the Old Dust Valley that night, but the Elder Council presented her with another problem—the strange people on the back mountain.

This is also a time bomb; who knows when it will suddenly explode?

She really couldn't understand what these people were thinking. Since they knew these superhumans were in danger, why didn't they deal with them sooner?

Don't you feel anxious about keeping it? What's wrong with you!

We must find a way to resolve the issue of the extraordinary person and eliminate this scourge as soon as possible.

She didn't want to wake up in the middle of the night to be told that there had been a riot in the back mountains.

I need to find some time to go to the back mountain and see what's going on with this strange person.

There's always work to be done.

Gong Zishang couldn't help but feel a little resentful. She originally thought that by becoming a Blade Master, she could enjoy watching the male guards practice martial arts shirtless. However, she didn't expect that not only could she not see the male guards anymore, but she also had one bad thing after another.

Qingyue didn't lie to her about one thing: with so much going on in the Blade Master position, Gong Shangjiao couldn't bear to see Gong Yuanzheng suffer like this...

With a belly full of grievances, Gong Zishang first arrived at the Shang Palace.

The weapons and hidden weapons that Gong Shangjiao took out have been sent to Zheng Palace for poisoning. Now we still need to prepare some mechanical weapons for the secret passages, which is no small project.

Young Master Hua frowned, scribbled and revised the blueprints, but he was still not satisfied with any of the changes.

Gong Zishang stood behind him for a long time, then picked up a brush and quickly copied Hua Gongzi's original drawing on another piece of white paper, making only minor changes to a few details.

Young Master Hua's eyes lit up immediately. He held the blueprint as if it were a priceless treasure. "Zhi Ren! You are really amazing! With your modification, this crossbow has become even more exquisite."

Gong Zishang covered her mouth and chuckled, "You're not bad either. You're the best weapon maker I've ever met."

Young Master Hua smiled brightly, feeling that there seemed to be something wrong with what he said, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Good luck, do your best! The hidden weapons in the secret passage are all yours." Gong Zishang smiled and patted Hua Gongzi's arm.

The playboy nodded vigorously.

Gong Zishang smiled and withdrew her hand. This kid looks thin, but his muscles are quite hard. What should I do? I miss the young men from the guard camp so much.

"Oh, by the way, Elder Hua and the others are setting off with Shang Jiao today. If you have time, you can go and see Elder Hua off."

Young Master Hua asked in confusion, "My father and the others are also going out with Young Master Jiao. Why?"

Gong Zishang blinked. "The elders also want to contribute to eliminating Wufeng."

Young Master Hua suddenly realized, "Yes, now that we're in the back mountain, it's good that they go out with Young Master Jiao. They can even help Young Master Jiao. It's great."

Gong Zishang's smile froze for a moment. "Children like this should stay in the palace. It's too dangerous outside; it's not suitable for you."

At this moment, Gong Zishang suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for Young Master Yue, who had left home. He was facing the most "cunning" member of the royal family; he hoped he wouldn't be tricked into losing his shirt.

How pathetic, he deserves it!

Young Master Yue, who was on his way, suddenly sneezed. He frowned in surprise. He hadn't caught a cold. What was wrong?

Looking back at the road he had come from, Young Master Yue felt a pang of melancholy. He had been away from home for so long, and he wondered how his father was doing.

He never imagined that in just a few days, he would be reunited with his father outside.