Stealing the Pen: Kirin's Primordial Lotus

The next morning, before it was completely light, hundreds of people had gathered at the palace gate. The crowd was bustling and noisy.

Gong Hongyu was dressed in gorgeous clothes, standing tall at the palace gate. He looked serious and focused, carefully explaining various matters to his eldest son Gong Huanyu. The youngest son Gong Ziyu was listening to his father's teachings obediently, nodding in agreement from time to time.

In sharp contrast, Gong Zishang stood alone not far away. She looked a little lonely without her family around to ask about her well-being. However, at this moment, Gong Shangjiao came up and handed her some items. Although the two of them did not have a very harmonious relationship on weekdays, blood is thicker than water after all, and at this moment Gong Shangjiao still showed his concern for his sister.

On the other side, Gong Yuanzheng was also very busy. Originally, Gong Shangjiao had carefully prepared a lot of luggage for him, but Zhuo Yixuan said that everything had already been arranged in Tiandu, and if there was anything missing or missing, it would not be too late to purchase it later.

Although Gong Shangjiao felt a little regretful, he still reminded Gong Yuanzheng again and again: "When you go out, be sure to pay attention to your own safety. Always pay attention to weather changes and add or remove clothes in time to prevent catching a cold and getting sick. If you are wronged outside, don't keep it in your heart, and be sure to tell your family. No matter what the final result is, I will do my best to take you home!"

Gong Zishang silently looked at the well-loved Gong Huanyu brothers and Gong Yuanzheng who was surrounded by the crowd, and a trace of sadness welled up in her heart. She didn't want to look at this scene any longer, so she turned around and quickly got into the carriage that Gong Shangjiao had prepared for her, curled up in a corner alone, with a lot of thoughts in her mind.

Gong Zishang slowly reached out her hand and gently stroked the gorgeous carriage, with a bitter taste in her heart. She smiled helplessly and muttered to herself: "I didn't expect that even this carriage was prepared by my brother who has always been at odds with me. And my brother Gong Ziyu, whom I have always cherished and loved the most, has never thought about my situation."

Gong Zishang's age is quite special among her brothers and sisters. Although she is younger than Gong Huanyu, she is slightly older than the others. It can be said that she witnessed the gradual growth of Gong Shangjiao, Gong Ziyu and Gong Yuanzheng.

Among them, Gong Ziyu and her relationship was the closest. However, now that things had come to this, the person who had carefully prepared everything for her was not him... Never mind, it's better not to think about it. In fact, I should have understood long ago that Gong Ziyu was a selfish and cold person, wasn't he?

At this moment, a clear shout broke Gong Zishang's thoughts. "Miss!" Hearing the voice, Gong Zishang suddenly came back to her senses and subconsciously tightly grasped the hand of the only loyal maid beside her - Bi Tao.

She looked sad, with tears welling up in her eyes. She said with trembling lips, "Bitao, now, you are the only one who is with me. Ever since my mother left me, father seemed to have completely changed. Back then, I was the precious daughter that my parents loved and cherished. But who would have known that after the horrific massacre five years ago, father..." At this point, Gong Zishang could no longer suppress her inner grief. She choked and sobbed, tears streaming down her face.

Suddenly, a knock on the door broke the quiet atmosphere in the carriage. Bi Tao was slightly startled. She carefully reached out and pushed open a corner of the carriage door and looked out. When she saw who was coming, she couldn't help but exclaimed softly: "Master Jiao!"

Gong Zishang, who was sitting in the car, heard the shout and raised her head in a hurry, wiping the remaining tears from the corners of her eyes with her sleeves. After calming down a little, she stared at Gong Shangjiao outside the car door with wide eyes and said unhappily: "Gong Shangjiao, what are you doing here?" However, as soon as she said it, Gong Zishang realized that her tone was a bit stiff and unfriendly, but it was too late to take it back.

Gong Shangjiao, who was standing outside the car, didn't seem to take Gong Zishang's bad attitude to heart. His face was as calm as water, and he replied calmly: "I just came to ask if the young lady needs anything on this trip? If so, I can arrange it for the young lady as soon as possible." After saying that, his eyes gently swept across Gong Zishang's slightly haggard face.

In fact, Gong Shangjiao knew very well that the relationship between him and Gong Zishang had never been close. The two of them rarely interacted with each other on weekdays, and sometimes even had some frictions because of some trivial matters. However, Gong Shangjiao had long been accustomed to these things, and naturally would not care too much about Gong Zishang's cold attitude towards him at this time.

Gong Shangjiao took out an exquisite purse from his bosom, handed it to the maid beside him, and instructed: "There are one thousand taels of silver notes and some change in it. Let the young lady keep it on the road for emergency use." After saying that, he did not stay any longer, turned around and left with steady steps, leaving only his slender figure gradually disappearing from everyone's sight.

"Miss..." Bitao held the heavy purse in both hands and turned to look at Gong Zishang, her eyes revealing a hint of doubt and concern.

"Put it away!" Gong Zishang remembered that every time Gong Shangjiao came back from a business trip, he would be followed by a carriage loaded with gifts.

Gong Zishang thought of the cartloads of precious gifts pouring into the palace like a tide. Now the 1,000 silver notes and some small change given by Gong Shangjiao were probably just a drop in the bucket for him. Even with these things, he didn't know if they were enough to cover the pocket money he gave to Gong Yuanzheng.

The mighty convoy always attracts a lot of attention. In addition to the normal revenue of the palace gate, two of the carriages will be sent to the Shang Palace and the Yu Palace respectively, and the majority of the rest will go directly to the Zheng Palace. Because of this, the mountains of rare treasures in the Zheng Palace have long been known to everyone.

Speaking of the little bully in the palace—Gong Yuanzheng, Gong Shangjiao is undoubtedly his most solid backing for him to be able to act so unscrupulously today.

Whenever Gong Yuanzheng caused any trouble at the palace gate and was caught and brought to the Council of Elders for questioning, Gong Shangjiao would rush to the scene as fast as lightning.

Then, he would smile, bow repeatedly to the respected elders, and sincerely say: "Hey, elders, please don't be angry! After all, my brother Yuanzheng is still young and ignorant of many things."

Or maybe he looked guilty and blamed himself, "Alas, it's all my fault for not disciplining him. Brother Yuanzheng suddenly lost his parents, and I was often not by his side in the palace, so he had no one to guide him properly. This is all my fault!"

Or, "Zheng Palace now only has brother Yuanzheng as its only heir. I hope the elders will be more tolerant and not be too harsh on him."

Whenever Gong Zishang thought of this, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly. It seemed that whenever Gong Yuanzheng got into trouble and was taken to the Council of Elders to be punished, Gong Shangjiao's rhetoric was almost becoming a fixed pattern.

And the phrase "Brother Yuanzheng is still young" was like a catchphrase, frequently uttered from Gong Shangjiao's mouth. Over time, even Gong Zishang could recite it by heart.

Although she seemed calm on the surface, Gong Zishang actually had mixed feelings towards Gong Yuanzheng deep in her heart. On the one hand, she envied Gong Yuanzheng from the bottom of her heart because he had a brother who treated him like a treasure and took good care of him. This brother always took full responsibility for the mistakes Gong Yuanzheng made without hesitation and gave him endless tolerance and love.

On the other hand, Gong Zishang deeply sympathized with Gong Yuanzheng's tragic life experience. In that brutal massacre, Gong Yuanzheng not only lost his parents, but also lost all his Zhenggong clan members.

If he had not been protected by Gong Shangjiao and survived under his protection, Gong Yuanzheng would have been dead long ago, and the Gong Yuanzheng lineage would have been extinct long ago. Even if he had survived by chance, he would have been an even more marginal person in the palace than her.

When everyone got on the carriage, Zhuo Yixuan jumped onto the horse with a swift and agile figure, holding the reins tightly in his hands, and shouted loudly: "Get ready to go!" With his command, the sound of horse hooves resounded through the sky, as exciting and powerful as a war drum. The sound of horse hooves gradually faded away, and the carriage behind him began to slowly turn its wheels, gradually catching up with the pace of the team in front.

At this moment, Gong Hongyu and the three elders stood quietly at the palace gate, gazing affectionately at the figures of the children who were about to embark on their journey. Their eyes were filled with reluctance and earnest expectations.

Among them, Elder Xue attached the most importance to rules and etiquette. Yesterday, because there were still outsiders present, he was not able to ask about his doubts. Now that everyone had left, he finally couldn't help but turned to Gong Hongyu and asked, "Zhi Ren, why did you agree to let Gong Zishang go with you yesterday? This is really against the rules."

"Lao Xue, Zi Shang is very talented in the field of forging. Besides, Jiang Lanming must have a close relationship with the Zhuo Mansion. No matter what, the people of the Zhuo Mansion will definitely take her to meet Jiang Lanming." Elder Hua is also a senior blacksmith himself, and naturally he has heard of Jiang Lanming's great reputation.

"Well, just as Elder Hua said. Zi Shang has perfectly inherited her father's extraordinary talent in forging. As long as Jiang Lanming sees her talent with his own eyes and understands her unique talents, he will surely teach her some unique skills without hesitation. When the time comes, Zi Shang will return to the palace with the essence taught by Jiang Lanming..." Gong Hongyu paused for a moment, but did not finish his words. However, the other three elders present had already understood.

"Haha, it turns out there is such a deep meaning in it! After all, our Lord Blade Wielder is meticulous, strategic, and far-sighted!" One of the elders couldn't help but admire sincerely.