Сhарtеr 14 (11/17)
He сlоsеd thе lid оf the brocаdе box. "Lеt's go."
Aftеr stеррing оut, Gоng Yuanzhi follоwed behind, but before leаving, hе cоuldn't helр glаnсing bаck аt thаt brосаde bоx...
When Gong Shаngjuе and Jin Fu rеturned to the rоom and fоund the dragоn lаntеrn missing frоm thе tаblе, leaving оnlу the brосаde bоx, hе аsked, "Wherе is thе lantеrn?"
Jin Fu replied, "Yоung Master, dоn't wоrrу. It was рrobably tidiеd аwаy bу sоmе uninfоrmеd sеrvant."
"Gо find it!"
Just thеn, Gong Yuаnzhi arrivеd carrуing the rеlit drаgоn lantеrn, thе оld lаntern now fully rеstored by him. Gong Yuanzhi wаs delighted as hе handed thе dragоn lаntern tо Gong Shangjue. Filled with anticipation and a hint of pride, he said, "Brother, I've fixed all the broken parts!"
Gong Shangjue coldly rebuked him, "Who allowed you to take matters into your own hands?"
Gong Yuanzhi was taken aback. "I... I just saw that the dragon lantern was old, so..."
"You think new is better than old?"
Gong Yuanzhi didn't know how to respond. Standing there feeling wronged, he fidgeted awkwardly, his eyes gradually reddening.
Gong Shangjue softened a little. "You may leave for now."
That night, Gong Yuanzhi sat on the steps outside the door for a long time, his eyes red. He felt wronged, but even more, he felt heartbroken. Jin Fu walked over and sat down beside him, softly explaining, "The stain on the tail of that dragon lantern is ink smudged when Younger Brother Lang first learned to write poetry. The broken dragon whisker was snapped when Younger Brother Lang tightly gripped it during a nightmare. To Young Master Jue, those are traces left by Younger Brother Lang, his only remaining mementos..."
Gong Yuanzhi said, "I understand. We won't repair the old one; we'll keep it as it is. I'll make Brother a new one later."
"Clothes are better new, but people are better old. Please try to understand, Young Master Zhi."
"My devotion to Brother is singular, neither new nor old, unchanging as always."
Having said that, Gong Yuanzhi stood up and left.
In his memory, that restored dragon lantern overlapped with the one before him now.
Gong Shangjue's gaze fell on Gong Yuanzhi's hand, his fingers still wrapped in bandages. He recalled the day he saw Gong Yuanzhi's fingertips bandaged and medicated, and asked him, "What happened to your hand?"
At that time, Gong Yuanzhi had been intently weaving a dragon-shaped lantern for his brother when he accidentally cut his finger. Ignoring the pain, he put the bleeding finger in his mouth and never stopped, continuing to weave the bamboo strips. But he didn't tell Gong Shangjue, merely saying, "I cut it on some dried, hard herbs while handling medicinal plants. It's a minor injury, nothing serious."
Gong Shangjue raised his hand, wiping away the tears before they could fall. Then, he tightly grasped Gong Yuanzhi's hand, holding it firmly.
In Shangguan Qian's room, a dim candlelight glowed. First, she lit a basin of charcoal, then opened the front window of the room. The front window faced the courtyard corridor, allowing passing servants to see inside. Next, she stuffed several pillows and some clothes under the quilt, making it look as if someone was sleeping inside. After a moment's thought, she let down half of the bed curtain, the light gauze partially obscuring the view, making it even harder to discern clearly.
Then, Shangguan Qian removed her outer robe, revealing a set of night clothes underneath. She pulled up a black cloth to cover her face, then slipped out through the back window in a flash.In the valley, Gong Ziyu walked with his hands clasped behind his back, a flower-patterned cord tied around his wrist just like Yun Weishan’s. The two continued forward along the street, with Yun Weishan glancing left and right, and him doing the same. Yun Weishan then dropped all pretense, openly scanning the crowd for the contact figure, even deliberately muttering, "The young lady really knows how to run off—haven’t seen her all along the way. Jin Fan too, having too much fun to think of returning." Gong Ziyu said, "Gong Zishang has been sneaking off on her own for quite a while now… I feel for Jin Fan."
"I thought you hadn’t noticed."
"Her little tricks. They’re all written on her face."
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