My Journey To You – Esther Yu, Zhang Linghe

On a clear winter morning, Gong Ziyu woke up in the Wanhuatower of Jiuchen Valley. The purple-clad girl attending to him urged him to hurry back, not to delay the palace's wedding for the new brides today. At the same time, in Lixi Town outside Jiuchen Valley, a mother and daughter were bidding farewell at home when two Wufeng assassins suddenly burst in, knocking them unconscious. The Wufeng assassin Yun Weishan changed into the bridal attire and transformed into one of the palace's prospective brides from Lixi Town. Her only goal in infiltrating the palace was clear—to become the wife of Gong Huanyu, the young master of the palace, and gather palace intelligence.

Gong Ziyu left the Wanhuatower and rode back to the palace in a carriage with the guard Jin Fan. On their way, their carriage collided with the medicine shop owner from one of the palace's outposts, who had ridden in from Jiuchen Valley. The heavily injured medicine shop owner informed Gong Ziyu that their outpost had been attacked by Wufeng. He had pretended to be dead to eavesdrop on Wufeng's revelation that there was an assassin planted among the new brides to be sent in tonight. Gong Ziyu was shocked and quickly reported this news to Gong Hongyu, the leader of the palace, and the young master, Gong Huanyu.

However, Gong Ziyu was unaware that the message "there is an assassin among the new brides" had intentionally been leaked by Yun Weishan, a part of Wufeng. Wufeng had sent in more than one assassin into the palace, deliberately spreading the news to sacrifice one spy to ensure the safety of the others. Gong Hongyu, experienced and wise, decided to kill all the new brides upon hearing this news, causing a conflict with Gong Ziyu who couldn't bear the thought of innocent lives being unjustly taken.

Yun Weishan, Shangguan Qian, Miss Song, and other brides were detained in the palace dungeon. Gong Ziyu went to plead with Gong Huanyu and informed him that although Gong Huanyu had decided not to execute all of them, he still intended to interrogate the new brides using palace poison. Gong Ziyu was well aware of the potency of palace poison, so he secretly arrived in the dungeon with Jin Fan to lead the brides out through a secret passage and rescue them.

On the escape route, Yun Weishan began to question Gong Ziyu's motives, and they almost got discovered by patrolling guards. Fortunately, Gong Ziyu came up with a clever plan to avert the danger. After a tense escape, they thought they had successfully avoided capture, but at the entrance of the secret passage, they were caught by Gong Yuanzhi.

To protect the brides, Gong Ziyu fought Gong Yuanzhi and finally revealed the truth. It turned out that he had planned to use the "escape through the secret passage" as a ploy to lure out the Wufeng assassin. In a twist of fate, Gong Yuanzhi's poisoned weapon forced Wufeng, the assassin, to reveal his true identity, and he was subsequently apprehended by Gong Huanyu.

Gong Ziyu believed he would receive praise from his father for capturing the assassin. However, the next day, he learned that Gong Hongyu had anticipated his impulsive actions and had set a trap to catch the assassin. Instead of gaining his father's trust, Gong Ziyu faced criticism, further straining their already rocky father-son relationship.

On the other side, with the assassin captured, Yun Weishan and the others proceeded with the bride selection process. In various evaluations, Yun Weishan stood out, earning the highest praise.

Inside the Wanhuatower, Gong Ziyu was suddenly found by a group of Yellow Jade Guards. Upon returning to the palace, Gong Ziyu, unprepared for the news, learned that his father and brother had been killed by Zheng Nanyi. With the palace unable to remain without a leader, the elders initiated the "absentee inheritance" system, and Gong Ziyu immediately inherited the position of the Bladebearer.

Although Gong Ziyu had never been interested in power, he couldn't believe that his father and brother had been easily killed. He decided to use his new position as the Bladebearer to uncover the truth. He began by asking if there were any other incidents at the palace on the night of the tragedy, and he became intrigued by reports of someone being poisoned in the women's guest courtyard.

Gong Shangjue, who had gone out for reconnaissance, arrived at the Zheng family compound and discovered it was abandoned. He prepared to relay this information back to the palace, but he saw the announcement that Gong Ziyu had become the new Bladebearer and immediately set off to return to the palace.

With the protection offered by Shangguan Qian the previous night, Yun Weishan realized that Shangguan Qian was also a spy for Wufeng. They decided to reveal their true identities to each other. Shangguan Qian was actually a higher-ranking agent than Yun Weishan. In order to continue receiving the antidote to the Death Oath every half month, they agreed to shift their target to the current Bladebearer, Gong Ziyu. However, their immediate concern was how to handle the exposure crisis caused by Miss Jiang's poisoning.

Shangguan Qian analyzed that they needed to make the palace find a "result" in their investigation to put an end to suspicion. Together, they devised a plan for "voluntary exposure." Gong Ziyu and Jin Fan went to the medical hall to investigate the poisoning incident in the women's guest courtyard and inadvertently discovered that Gong Yuanzheng was having a secret conversation with the pharmacy steward.

Gong Ziyu, who had just lost his father, felt empathy for Yun Weishan's grief over her deceased father. Not only did he forgive her for breaking the rules of the palace, but he also personally escorted her back. After Gong Ziyu returned Yun Weishan to the female guest courtyard, he ordered an investigation of the courtyard to uncover the truth about Miss Jiang's poisoning. Regarding Gong Ziyu's inquiry, Shangguan Qian and Yun Weishan had already prepared themselves. They collaborated seamlessly, ensuring that the palace authorities would find a conclusion while leaving themselves untainted. During this brief alliance, Yun Weishan deduced that Shangguan Qian's target was not the Blade Bearer or the Young Master but rather Gong Shangjue.

Jin Fan was tasked with investigating the medical pavilion's pharmacy, and Gong Zishang unsurprisingly followed him. During their investigation, Gong Zishang's interference caused Jin Fan a lot of headaches. Although they couldn't find any leads regarding the Hundred Herbs Extract, they did discover suspicious medicinal ingredients.

With a change in the Blade Bearer, a new marriage needed to be arranged. Yun Weishan became Gong Ziyu's bride as she had wished, while Gong Shangjue stayed with Shangguan Qian. Subsequently, Gong Shangjue insisted that the Blade Bearer's death was the work of an imposter assassin disguised as a bride, and he would investigate the identities of the two brides again for caution. The elders approved, greatly surprising Yun Weishan. Furthermore, Gong Shangjue questioned Gong Ziyu's qualifications to be the Blade Bearer, casting doubt on his noble bloodline and morality. He argued that Gong Ziyu couldn't be the Blade Bearer. Gong Ziyu retorted and demanded Gong Shangjue to clarify his purpose for leaving the palace on the night of the Blade Bearer's assassination, openly expressing suspicion towards Gong Yuanzheng. The two of them were at an impasse for a while.

The day after, the investigation results of the new bride were announced. Shangguan Qian's identity remained unchanged, while Yun Weishan's identity did not match. As for the doubts about Gong Shangjue, Yun Weishan insisted that she was born in Lixi Town and raised in Lixi Town, debunking Gong Shangjue's false claims. Gong Ziyu, taking advantage of the situation, brought in Jia Steward and accused Gong Yuanzhi of his crimes in front of the elders. When Gong Yuanzhi tried to defend himself, Jia Steward suddenly released poisonous smoke in the hall. At the critical moment, Gong Shangjue saved the elders, and Jia Steward was killed by Gong Yuanzhi's concealed weapon. Although Jia Steward was dead, Gong Shangjue did not shield Gong Yuanzhi and personally escorted him to the dungeons. He then went to investigate Jia Steward's identity and ultimately discovered that Jia Steward surprisingly possessed Wufeng's token. The elders reminded everyone that the Gong Clan must unite and not give Wufeng an opportunity to sow discord among them. Restoring order within the Gong Clan was of utmost importance. After discussions, they decided that Gong Ziyu needed to complete three rounds of trials for candidacy within three months. After everyone left the Blade Hall, Gong Shangjue and the elders were informed that on that night, there might have been a leak related to the "Limitless Flowing Fire," prompting him to investigate.

Although the turmoil involving Jia Steward seemed to have been resolved, and Gong Yuanzhi was released, both Gong Shangjue and Shangguan Qian still didn't believe that Jia Steward was affiliated with Wufeng. They were certain that there was more to the Blade's murder than met the eye. During a conversation with Yun Weishan, Shangguan Qian even mentioned that the Gong Clan had a hidden figure known as "Wu Ming" for many years, and that person could not possibly be Jia Steward.

Gong Yuanzhi promptly discovered the loss of his pouch and suspected Shangguan Qian to be responsible. He ordered a search of Shangguan Qian's room, and indeed, a brocade pouch was found. However, it didn't contain hidden weapons but rather a white jade pendant. It turned out that Shangguan Qian had already left the prepared pouch on the grass outside the palace gate. She communicated with Yun Weishan using Wufeng's secret code, instructing Yun Weishan to retrieve the brocade pouch. Ultimately, Yun Weishan returned it to Gong Yuanzhi with the help of Gong Ziyu.

Shangguan Qian used the exposed white jade pendant to recount her past with Gong Shangjue. While Gong Shangjue seemed moved on the surface, he still couldn't let go of his suspicion towards all outsiders.

Yun Weishan arrived at the Feather Palace, taking meticulous care of Gong Ziyu's daily life. Since Gong Ziyu had suddenly lost his family, he often woke up from nightmares at night. Yun Weishan provided comforting support, and their bond quickly grew stronger.

Before Gong Ziyu went to the back mountain for the Three Realms Trial, he inquired about the trial's details from Jin Fan. Although Jin Fan came from the back mountain, he had sworn never to mention anything about it. However, when Gong Ziyu entered the back mountain, Jin Fan became deeply worried. Yun Weishan noticed Jin Fan's unease and skillfully extracted information about the trial's potential life-threatening dangers. She intended to go to the back mountain to assist Gong Ziyu. Yun Weishan wanted to use her martial skills to convince Jin Fan that she could protect Gong Ziyu. However, during their confrontation, she inadvertently revealed her proficiency in the top-tier swordsmanship of the Clear Wind Sect, raising Jin Fan's suspicion.