Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved
Chapter 159 Update 1

Chapter 159: Chapter 159 Update 1

Zheng Nianru closed her eyes, the warm water surrounded her body, and the scent of roses filled the room. Candle flames flickered, and suddenly, a wick exploded with a light pop, making the air come alive in an instant. It mingled with the lively water, showcasing her delicate skin under the candlelight, smooth as porcelain.

Xue Liu was momentarily spellbound, forgetting the water she had scooped up, hanging in mid-air.

Zheng Nianru only lifted her eyes, which shimmered with a layer of mist. The thin vapor twined around her eyelashes like the most enchanting siren in the water, capturing one’s soul with a single glance.

"Commandery Princess, you are truly beautiful," Xue Liu couldn’t help but blurt out spontaneously.

Xue Liu couldn’t say why, but she always felt that the Commandery Princess had changed, a difference she seemed to have discovered all of a sudden, like a crystal-clear snowflake, so beautiful that she dared not touch it.

At the words, Zheng Nianru let out a light laugh and playfully splashed the water in her hands onto Xue Liu.

"Ah, Commandery Princess, you’ve gotten your servant’s clothes all wet," Xue Liu complained, dropping her scoop and trying to shake off the water from her clothes.

"Aren’t they finished yet?" Nanny Yun, unable to restrain her curiosity due to the noise inside, asked Fu Dong, who stood guard at the door.

Fu Dong shook her head. Today was Xue Liu’s turn to serve, and she had always been slow-paced. The Commandery Princess indulged her slowness, so she was anxious, especially since Nian Xia had come back and reported on the day’s events.

Only the Commandery Princess could remain so calm and unhurried in her bath, without fear of the Eldest Princess barging into the mansion and slaughtering everyone in Qishun Building?

Nanny Yun paced back and forth, several times she wanted to enter, but each time she held back at the door.

"What did Prince Duan say?" Nanny Yun had returned late because she had spent the past few days searching for a very rare embroidery thread for the Empress Dowager Yan Ping’s birthday gifts. Seeing Fu Dong’s confused expression, she instantly grew anxious. "Did Prince Duan really feel at ease letting the Commandery Princess come back? Does he not know the temperament of the Eldest Princess?"

The notoriety of the Eldest Princess was well known even to them in Qishun Building. Outsiders only knew of the Princess’s absurd deeds after acquiring her Prince Consort, but tales of the Eldest Princess’s childhood filled the palace. To this day, servants in the palace steered clear of her Qinhua Hall.

As Nanny Yun fussed, the door finally opened. Fu Dong quickly stepped forward, wrapping the Commandery Princess’s damp hair with a dry towel, looking worried but not daring to speak.

Nanny Yun approached cautiously, waving a fan.

Zheng Nianru looked at Nanny Yun. Was there something?

"Commandery Princess, about that matter with Yin He, shall we go ahead with it?" Nanny Yun spoke up and cursed herself for mentioning Yin He. No matter how important Yin He was, it paled in comparison to the incident that afternoon.

Zheng Nianru’s gaze dropped, and she fell silent. She had considered this issue, and indeed, Yin He turned out to be more useful than she had anticipated. But whether to act on it, she hesitated. Although she found Yin He to be very obedient, it was a different kind of obedience from Nanmen Yu’s. Yin He always had a mysterious air that was elusive to grasp.

Seeing this, Nanny Yun moved on from that topic, as Yin He was still behaving for the time being.

"Commandery Princess, why provoke the Eldest Princess? The Eldest Princess saw you slip out of the palace with her own eyes," continued Nanny Yun. The Eldest Princess was not someone to be trifled with. She was highly favored by both Her Majesty the Empress Dowager and the Empress. Just one word from her to Her Majesty the Empress Dowager, and all their efforts could be wasted.

Zheng Nianru glanced at Nanny Yun. In the past, she would have thought the same and would have depended heavily on Nanny Yun, asking ’What should I do?’ Nanny Yun would say that only the Crown Prince intervening could protect them.

Indeed, thought Zheng Nianru, Zheng Congyuan could protect them, and depending on him day after day would only increase her reliance on Zheng Congyuan. Such psychological dependency would make a person feel that they couldn’t live without the other person.

Zheng Nianru didn’t ask, and Nanny Yun couldn’t help but speak up, concerned.

"Commandery Princess, should I have someone go to the Crown Prince’s Mansion to notify them?" Nanny Yun thought over and over, and this seemed to be the safest method. It wouldn’t do to delay; they must go and inform them tonight.

"Nanny Yun, I want to try another method," Zheng Nianru suddenly spoke up. Perhaps she could try to solve some problems herself.

Zheng Nianru realized that sometimes she could do certain things, and even if she acted on a whim, it didn’t seem to result in anything too bad. For instance, today, she felt that she hadn’t been at a disadvantage.

Nanny Yun was startled, about to say something, when Xing Yu came in carrying a plate of pastries.

"Commandery Princess, these were sent by Qi Jin, they’re freshly made from the small kitchen," Xing Yu said cheerfully, placing the plate on the table.

Zheng Congyuan had returned? Zheng Nianru was taken aback. Even if he had returned today, he should be at the palace reporting on his duties now. Moreover, inviting Master Huo Yi’s closed-door disciple was an extremely difficult task; Zheng Nianru remembered that in her previous life, it took three requests to finally prevail upon the Mage.

Zheng Nianru had no recollection of Master Huo Yi’s closed-door disciple. It seemed he was the youngest disciple, but with exceptional talent, he had become the closed-door disciple, holding a higher position in Qiandao Temple than Master Ling Yi.

However, all six of Master Huo Yi’s disciples were well-known, each with a halo of fame. In Zheng Nianru’s eyes, their miraculous deeds, so plentiful, became commonplace, and so, she actually couldn’t recall such a Mage at all.

"Xing Yu, call Yin He in," Zheng Nianru commanded.

A flicker of hesitation crossed Nanny Yun’s eyes, as if she wanted to say something but then thought better of it. At the very least, Nanny Yun was gradually realizing that the Commandery Princess, who always used to heed her advice, now seemed to have her own thoughts. Whether those thoughts were good or bad, the way they were expressed was not in consultation with her but as commands, from someone of high status—imperious, without room for hesitation or retort.

When Yin He entered, he saw the young lady clad in a pink single-layer garment on the couch, surrounded by the others, like a fairy amongst flowers, her long hair cascading from the corner of the couch to the floor, with Xue Liu wrapping it in a piece of pink silk.

Yin He bowed respectfully, approaching the couch with calm composure, his gaze never overstepping the bounds. He extended his hand, the brilliant pink scattering light at the tips of his fingers, the smooth skin warmed by the heat of his youthful palm, his movements controlled with precision.

Yin He had been quick to learn whatever he wanted. The sixth eunuch from Chenhe Hall had nothing left to teach him, and the seventh’s expertise in hairstyling only had a few styles he hadn’t mastered. He was also close to perfecting sword dancing and playing the guqin, taught by the eighth.

The room slowly quieted down, Yin He’s actions as graceful as a dance, harmonious and complete. Zheng Nianru, with her eyes closed, found herself summoning Yin He more frequently these past days.

"Yin He, come out with me later," the matter concerning Zheng Tianxin still had to be dealt with. Nanzheng’s Palace was not a place she could stay for long; she would marry. But to marry smoothly, she needed to help Prince Duan get past Empress Dowager Yan Ping.

"Yes," replied Yin He, his response clipped, betraying no emotion.

...

"Your Highness—" Aren’t you going back?

Unable to hold back, Qi Zhu spoke up. His Highness had already been standing outside Qishun Building for quite some time. Aren’t you going back?

No, what he should have asked was, aren’t you going in?

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