Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved
Chapter 20 Punishment

Chapter 20: Chapter 20 Punishment

Empress Dowager Yan Ping was slightly startled, the girl whom she had never taken to heart before, now caught her eye for the first time.

"Empress Dowager, Fu Dong and Nian Xia were given to me by my father, they are not my people. If the Empress Dowager wants someone, she needs to speak to my father." Zheng Nianru lowered her head, her voice weak with fear, yet as if she had no choice but to speak up for her sisters.

Seeing this, Empress Dowager Yan Ping snorted coldly in her heart; what presence could a person who has never left the Qishun Building have?

Nanny Yun immediately fell to the ground with a plop.

"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, you are a great Bodhisattva, please have mercy on our Commandery Princess. Our Commandery Princess has been without parents since she was young, and now she only has these two maids who have been with her since childhood. Once they leave, almost all the chores of cleaning and cooking in Qishun Building must be done by herself. Your Majesty, with your compassionate heart, the Commandery Princess cannot be without these two maids..."

"How dare you, what gives you the right to speak here?" Nanny Du harshly interrupted Nanny Yun’s words.

"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, you can’t do this, if Prince Duan finds out..."

Empress Dowager Yan Ping immediately felt irritated. What was she thinking, bringing up these two palace maids for no reason; all this talk about Prince Duan again and again...

"Forget it, let’s return to the Imperial Palace—"

"Lift the palanquin." Nanny Du immediately had her attendants help Empress Dowager Yan Ping into her palanquin.

Nanny Yun quickly got up, making sure the Empress Dowager had really left before she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Fu Dong and Nian Xia’s pale faces slowly came back to reality.

"Commandery Princess, let’s go back." Let’s never leave the Qishun Building again, no, let’s never set foot in this Imperial Palace again.

...

Qi Jin and Qi Yu had already been kneeling outside the Crown Prince’s Study Room for two shichen, and the passing guards and servants didn’t dare to let out a loud breath.

The Crown Prince was usually the easiest to serve. Chief Steward of the Crown Prince’s Mansion, Steward Hu, had no airs about him and apart from the eunuchs from the palace and the guards from the Primus Camp outside, there were not many attendants in the Crown Prince’s Mansion and they had simple identities. As long as they did their duties well, the atmosphere within the Crown Prince’s Mansion was very peaceful and harmonious.

Qi Ling, Qi Zhu, Qi Jin and Qi Yu were the attendants closest to the Crown Prince and had also grown up with him since childhood.

Qi Ling was attentive; he was responsible for all the Crown Prince’s daily living arrangements. Qi Jin and Qi Yu were skilled in martial arts and protected the Crown Prince’s daily safety. The four of them could be said to be the Crown Prince’s right and left hands.

But now, two of these right and left hands had been kneeling outside for a long time, creating an air of tension throughout the Crown Prince’s Mansion.

Qi Ling tried many times to plead for leniency, but seeing the Crown Prince quietly looking at the reports, he held his tongue.

He could only hope that after this ordeal, the pair would learn to restrain themselves and change their ways for the better.

...

Zheng Nianru lay lazily on the couch, a branch of peach blossoms slanted on the table in front of her, which she had chosen after a long deliberation. The blossoms were elegant, with deep and light red hues bursting forth, adding vibrancy to the entire room.

Zheng Nianru was feeling listless. Lately, she liked to gaze outside the window, reminiscing about the past. Although her life in the Qishun Building was austere, the more time passed, the more she found herself longing for those moments.

But now she had no reason to persevere.

The arrival of Empress Dowager Yan Ping made her realize a problem; only by leaving the Imperial Palace could she break free from the entanglements of her past life. But what did she want? It seemed the Empress Dowager didn’t offer the comfort and freedom she had imagined at the start. She should have a plan, or rather, where should she go next?

Prince Duan’s Mansion?

That was Zheng Nianru’s best choice, yet Empress Dowager Yan Ping would certainly not agree to it. Without her as a pawn, Empress Dowager Yan Ping would no longer be able to suppress her father, and if her father turned against her once, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t do it again.

So she couldn’t return to Prince Duan’s Mansion even if she wanted to, and had to think of another way to put both the Empress Dowager and her father at ease.

Zheng Haoyuan quietly climbed onto the bed. The wooden bed was not large, and it was quite crowded with two people on it, but the young boy didn’t seem to mind. His chubby hand plucked a peach blossom and crushed it in his palm into a ball and then into juice, the tart scent of fresh herbs permeating the air.

"Cousin, that palace maid went mad, frightened into madness by herself. Naturally, her words can’t be taken seriously anymore," Zheng Haoyuan said, not mentioning that the madness wasn’t completely self-induced; the servants had been careless in their duties and accidentally drove her insane.

"Thank you for this matter," Zheng Nianru said lazily.

"About that underground fighting ring..." Zheng Haoyuan’s eyes lit up.

"I’ll take you there when you can go out," Nian Xia said, bringing in some pastries. Zheng Haoyuan’s eyes sparkled as he grabbed two. "Sister Nian Xia, the pastries you make are even tastier than those from Mother Consort’s palace."

"Fourth Prince, please have some more." Nian Xia pushed the plate closer. After all, the Commandery Princess didn’t eat any, and it wasn’t her who made them. The chefs from Qishun Building had been sent by the Crown Prince, and who knows how many chefs had been changed before the increasingly fastidious Commandery Princess was finally satisfied.

"Cousin, the Disciples of Chang Zhen have found the dry well, so naturally they could find the place afterward." Zheng Haoyuan was very worried. The mages from Qiandao Temple were extremely sinister, "Master Huo Yi’s disciples are very powerful. Of course, Master Huo Yi is the most powerful, knowing things from thousands of miles away, can determine life and death, and even foresee the future."

"Master Huo Yi?" Zheng Nianru paused for a moment, then suddenly had a bold idea.

If anyone in the Imperial Palace could persuade the Empress Dowager and Empress to smoothly move her out of the Imperial Palace, Master Huo Yi’s words would definitely carry significant weight.

Back then, Master Huo Yi said her destiny was solitary and ominous, and that she would bring disaster to the nation and the people. It seemed he was not someone easy to speak with, nor someone who could be easily used. But how would she know without trying?

...

"Why are you following me?" Zheng Nianru suddenly stopped and spoke to the empty air behind her.

The sky was dimming, and in the neglected Qishun Building, the plants were lush and shadows loomed, the dense atmosphere startling Fu Dong by Zheng Nianru’s side.

Who was the Commandery Princess talking to?

People from the Crown Prince’s Mansion had just left after making a delivery, and the servant who came was the one who often visited, bringing pineapples from the south.

Fu Dong instantly turned to check, but there was no one there.

"Commandery Princess." Please don’t scare me, there’s nobody here.

Zheng Nianru walked a few more steps forward, then stopped among a clump of low bushes, pulling out a figure. Fu Dong immediately wanted to step forward, but after recognizing the person, she stood still.

The Hostage hadn’t left? Had he been hiding in their courtyard all this time?

Zheng Nianru looked at the youth, who didn’t try to hide, stubbornly refusing to look at Zheng Nianru. If he was caught, he was caught; he wasn’t even sure why he hadn’t hidden, almost as if he was waiting to be captured.

"Are you tracking me? Why?"

The youth looked away, refusing to speak. With the Crown Prince, the Fourth Prince, and so many other people surrounding her, he was naturally dispensable, not even comparable to a single blade of grass from Qishun Building.

"Did you have something to do with the body in the well?" Zheng Nianru suddenly spoke up. At first, she thought it was the Crown Prince’s doing, but it didn’t seem like his usual style. Zheng Nianru suddenly turned her attention to the young man before her.

She knew it; Nanmen Yu was definitely hiding his true capabilities.