Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved
Chapter 167 Update 1

Chapter 167: Chapter 167 Update 1

Steward Hu was momentarily startled before Xue Liu was the first to spot him standing outside; she opened the door.

"Steward Hu?" Xue Liu asked uncertainly, and Steward Hu hurriedly withdrew his gaze which had been looking around.

"Ah, Miss Xue Liu, this is my first time here, and I’m not familiar with the place. I looked for a while and didn’t dare to confirm—" Steward Hu said, his tone carrying a hint of pity even while speaking to Xue Liu. Fu Dong, Nian Xia, Xue Liu, and Xing Yu were all very clever and sincerely good children. It was just that Nanny Yun—he sighed—not knowing what Prince Duan was thinking, to place such a person by the Commandery Princess’s side.

"Please come in, Steward Hu," Xue Liu promptly invited Steward Hu inside, "Is Steward Hu here to see the Commandery Princess? Does the Crown Prince have something to tell her?" That didn’t seem right either; Qi Yu and Qi Jin were the ones who usually came as they were fast and familiar with the place—why would Steward Hu personally make the trip?

"Yes, yes, the Crown Prince instructed this old servant to make the trip personally as the matter is of some importance. I couldn’t entrust it to those two young lads, Qi Jin and Qi Yu," Steward Hu said right away, glancing around at the dilapidated exterior of Qishun Building.

In fact, he had volunteered for this task himself. When the Crown Prince was giving orders to Qi Ling, he just so happened to be present. There was a new chef at Qishun Building who wasn’t familiar with matters here, and Qi Yu was in a hurry when he took him over. He figured he ought to personally see to things to be at ease.

Zheng Congyuan had merely glanced at Steward Hu and allowed it.

Steward Hu insisted on making this trip because he felt that the way Qi Ling and the other three handled matters was not reliable.

And the matter at hand was not difficult to guess—the people at the Crown Prince’s Mansion all knew about Prince Duan’s visit. The Crown Prince went straight to Qishun Building after returning from Qiandao Temple. Whatever he wanted to ask or say, Steward Hu could mostly guess.

Even though the Crown Prince usually prided himself on his composure, when faced with such matters, he inevitably showed a young man’s temperament.

Now, seeing that the Crown Prince appeared to be thinking of backing down by sending Qi Ling to invite the Commandery Princess to watch polo, Steward Hu instantly thought that if Qi Ling and Qi Zhu were sent, they likely wouldn’t succeed.

"Miss Xue Liu, I haven’t seen you for a few days, and you seem to have grown quite a bit. Your dress—is it newly made?" Steward Hu said with a beaming smile.

"Steward Hu, it has been a long time since I’ve seen you too, and I really missed you. What, is that something tasty you’ve brought?" Xue Liu could smell the fragrance wafting from the food box in Steward Hu’s hands even from a distance.

"You little glutton. It’s a new chef—the one Qi Mang brought back this time. He placed one with you and the other in the Crown Prince’s Mansion. The dishes they make are of fresh variety, but as for taste—I’m not sure if it will suit your Commandery Princess’s palate," Steward Hu said as the food box was already being taken by Xue Liu.

Steward Hu watched Xue Liu smiling cheerily, with not the slightest surprise at his appearance, but shouldn’t it be...

"Steward Hu, please hurry in. The Commandery Princess hasn’t slept yet—oh, right, this is your first time to our Qishun Building, this way..." Nanny Yun, who came out to meet them, was taken aback by the sight of Steward Hu, but ultimately did not say anything.

She had caught a word or two about that day’s incident—it was the Commandery Princess who took the initiative to tell her, and she understood what the Commandery Princess implied.

If Prince Duan were able to find someone reliable for the Commandery Princess, then yes, this indeed might be the right time...

"What matter brings you here personally, Steward Hu?" Nanny Yun greeted him with a cheerful smile.

"Nanny Yun, the Crown Prince has given an order, and since Qi Ling and Qi Zhu are occupied with some other matters, this old servant thought it best to come in person," said Steward Hu, whose attitude was very accommodating, showing the proper demeanor since he was making a concession.

Nian Xia whispered something to Zheng Nianru, who slight frowned upon hearing it. In her memory, Steward Hu had never visited her at Qishun Building before.

"Let him in," Zheng Nianru didn’t know Steward Hu’s purpose for this visit, but she believed Zheng Congyuan understood her words. Since he understood, if he had truly been provoked by her, it shouldn’t have been Steward Hu who came.

Zheng Nianru smiled helplessly. The Zheng Congyuan from her past life who would rather die than take this step, she couldn’t expect him to be led by the nose just by her few words.

As Steward Hu turned around the front of Qishun Building, he was once more astonished by the sight before him. The stark contrast between the ruin and luxury left Steward Hu momentarily bewildered. Although the blackwood’s luxury wasn’t dazzlingly ostentatious, only a butler of his level could appreciate its true value at a glance.

Finally, Steward Hu realized that many of the items said to be sent to the palace from the Crown Prince’s Mansion’s treasury had ended up here.

Steward Hu once again confirmed the weight the Commandery Princess held in their hearts.

"Commandery Princess, I’m worried about the new cook. I didn’t get the chance to personally remind him, so I made the trip myself. Also, Commandery Princess, the Crown Prince asked if you would be interested in the lake excursion the day after tomorrow..."

"Steward Hu, the lake excursion the day after tomorrow is the Crown Prince’s arrangement for the nobility from the Aristocratic Families outside the capital. I shall not join the excitement," Zheng Nianru said, picking up a pine nut crisp from the plate. Light and not greasy, Steward Hu indeed put much effort into this area; the chefs he found were all first-rate, and Zheng Nianru even took some of them to the Harem after using them for a while.

However, it was these chefs that led Ju Nanyi to suspect Zheng Congyuan.

Taken aback, Steward Hu realized this meant she wouldn’t go, and the finality of her reply left no room to persuade her otherwise. Steward Hu didn’t immediately know how to respond. The brief awkwardness made the grand hall eerily quiet.

"Steward Hu, is there anything else?" Nanny Yun spoke up, signaling to Steward Hu with her eyes.

"Then I will take my leave first," Steward Hu suddenly came to his senses. Why would the Commandery Princess not go?

...

"Cousin, why won’t you go?" Zheng Haoyuan wouldn’t take no for an answer; he had excitedly reserved a painted boat especially for Zheng Nianru.

"Boating hols no interest for me," Zheng Nianru said as she worked on her Floral Design, feeling like something wasn’t right. What was missing?

She genuinely disliked boating. If you had a near-death experience falling into a lake, you wouldn’t enjoy it either—this feeling was the strongest on board a boat.

"Cousin, I heard that in addition to boating, many sons and daughters of the Aristocratic Families from the Imperial City have been invited. I heard the Empress Dowager is so pleased that she’s even holding a poetry contest and has gifted a Glass Type purple jade bracelet as the prize."

Zheng Nianru turned to look at Zheng Haoyuan.

Zheng Haoyuan smiled sweetly. He knew the cousin, no matter how much she disliked boat trips, would be attracted by the purple jade bracelet known as the ’Shadow of Nanzheng’."

Zheng Nianru put down her brush, still unsatisfied. She stopped painting, lay back on the wooden couch, and closed her eyes.

Zheng Haoyuan reclined comfortably on the wide wooden couch, his robe’s hem just a fist’s distance from Zheng Nianru, not close yet intimate. He fiddled with a palace tassel hanging from the couch and watched Zheng Nianru through the dappled shadows cast by her smoke-purple robe.

The atmosphere was warm and peaceful, and he yearned to reach out and touch this loveliness.

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