Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved
Chapter 22 Retrospection

Chapter 22: Chapter 22 Retrospection

On one side of the Southern Garden in the Imperial Palace, there was an abandoned courtyard, hidden behind the solemn red walls of the main entrance of the Imperial Palace and barely noticeable. Only a side gate connected to the Imperial Palace, with guards standing watch day and night. The entire perimeter of the courtyard was the fortress-like wall of the palace, and the guards stood their posts for twelve Shichen Chinese Hours without rest.

San He, limping, was busily making a fire and cooking, but their food supply was running low again. San He was somewhat anxious. His master had returned early yesterday, locked his room upon arriving, and had not emerged since. Had he been injured again?

Worried, San He, although the barely closed door could no longer be called a wooden door, could vaguely see Nanmen Yu lying on the bed through the broken holes in the door. San He didn’t smell blood; could that be considered a good thing?

"Master, please have some food," San He said after checking three times, seeing that Nanmen Yu, lying on the bed, still had not moved, unable to hold back from speaking out.

The young man didn’t respond, staring blankly at a patch of the old wall beside the bed, without getting up. The mottled and peeling mud wall slowly morphed into a blurry figure.

A sudden impulse surged through the young man’s heart, wishing to release something, but the next moment, he abruptly pulled the blanket over his head, burying his head in the crook of his arm, clinging to the remaining warmth.

Nanmen Yu restrained himself from thinking, but the images kept reappearing in his mind, one after another, making him not even want to move, preferring to just lie there continuously.

"Master—" San He persisted from outside the door.

Nanmen Yu, with his head buried in his arms, didn’t want to listen, didn’t want to respond. Yet, he also wanted to burst out and run with all his might until he was utterly exhausted, to keep his mind from thinking.

Nanmen Yu suddenly sat up, and San He outside the door finally breathed a sigh of relief. The young man quickly pulled on his clothes.

"Master, I just made some porridge this morning, and there’s some..." San He didn’t finish his sentence when Nanmen Yu had already entered the kitchen. Calling it a kitchen was an overstatement; it was really just a shack with walls that let the wind through and a roof that barely provided shelter. The aroma of rice porridge wafted from the earthen stove. Nanmen Yu drank one bowl of porridge, then another, and by the time he looked again, only a thin layer was left at the bottom of the iron pot.

"Did you get enough?" Nanmen Yu regretted a bit. Their food supply was limited, and if he ate more, San He would go hungry.

"Enough, enough, enough—" San He quickly replied, taking his own bowl to serve himself, slurping loudly as he drank.

San He was a eunuch. At the age of eight or nine, a severe illness nearly took his life. The palace thought he was dying, and threw him into a mass grave before he was even dead. It was Nanmen Yu who carried him back, and since then, he had become Nanmen Yu’s closest attendant, taking care of him.

"Master, let me come with you to find food," San He said somewhat reluctantly. Though it appeared his master had not been injured, some injuries might not be visible, perhaps internal, otherwise, he wouldn’t have slept for such a long time.

"No need. You rest well and heal. One day, we will leave this place," Nanmen Yu said earnestly. Yes, he not only wanted to leave, but he also wanted to take her out openly.

...

Noble Consort Wen smashed everything that could be smashed in her sleeping quarters. Eunuch Kang Ning, not daring to breathe loudly, had fresh blood flowing from a temple hit by a vase, and he didn’t dare to wipe it away.

"Your Highness, calm your rage, please. It’s all this servant’s fault." Eunuch Kang Ning knelt and crawled over, prostrating at Noble Consort Wen’s feet.

"It’s this servant’s stupidity for not checking in advance. It was this servant who made Your Highness lose face. Even if this servant died now, it would not be a pity. Please, Your Highness, take care of your health. This servant will go now... will go..."

"Come back—" Noble Consort Wen sighed. She was not an unreasonably harsh person. After venting her anger, she bore no grudges. Besides, initially, Kang Ning had wanted to scout ahead, but she did not want to waste time. It was a spell from a Disciple of Chang Zhen; how could she not trust it? Later, they carefully examined the dry well and dug up some small, fragmented bones. This meant that someone had moved the corpse before they arrived.

Clearly, someone was setting a trap for them.

However, even so, she couldn’t let this issue reach the Empress Dowager again. Missing the first opportunity was what infuriated her the most.

"Kang Ning, who do you think it was?" Noble Consort Wen asked Kang Ning. They had both witnessed the skills of Qiandao Temple firsthand.

"This servant is foolish." Your Highness, we underestimated that person in Qishun Building. This matter must involve other issues; otherwise, why would the people in Qishun Building target Yu Lihuai?

"We must not act rashly now. Check if someone has been watching Bushou Palace these past few days."

"Your Grace, it’s this servant’s fault for being so foolish and troubling you. This servant will make sure to handle it well," Eunuch Kang Ning said emotionally.

Noble Consort Wen glanced at Kang Ning.

"You may leave. Apply some medicine on your wound before you go."

"This servant will take his leave first."

"Kang Ning, did you mention that the Fourth Prince saved a ’hostage’ from Nanmen State?" Noble Consort Wen suddenly remembered this and Eunuch Kang Ning immediately stopped, stepping forward.

"This servant dare not deceive Your Grace—the Fourth Prince did indeed meet the hostage from Nanmen State, and they almost came to blows. But being of similar age, it turned into a ’fight and become friends’ situation. The Prince has taken a liking to visiting Qishun Building, so it is very likely he met him there," Eunuch Kang Ning thought for a long time and could only come up with this explanation since Eunuch Ho Sheng personally confirmed that the Fourth Prince knew Nanmen Yu. There could be no other reason.

Upon mentioning Qishun Building, Noble Consort Wen’s gaze darkened. How could she let such a lowly person corrupt the Fourth Prince?

"Where is the Fourth Prince?" Noble Consort Wen immediately asked, agitation rising again.

"Your Grace, please calm your anger. The Prince is at the rebellious age and shouldn’t be forced. Plus, a child’s nature is to seek novelty; once the novelty wears off, maybe he won’t even return there without us having to say anything," Eunuch Kang Ning immediately added, noticing the Empress’s temperament and her somewhat excessive severity toward the Fourth Prince.

Noble Consort Wen took several deep breaths, nodded her head in agreement, and waved her hand, signaling Eunuch Kang Ning to leave cautiously.

...

Zheng Haoyuan carefully brought his treasure, allowing only his trusted aide and manipulable Eunuch Shun Zi to stealthily head towards Qishun Building.

"Fourth Prince, what is so secretive about this?" Xing Yu curiously looked at the big wooden box that Eunuch Shun Zi was holding, covered with a dark cloth that obscured its contents.

Xing Yu sneakily attempted to lift the cloth and peek, but was stopped by Zheng Haoyuan, who personally carried the box through the dilapidated front of Qishun Building to a side door. Stepping inside, the dilapidation outside contrasted starkly with the cleanliness and elegance of the sleeping chamber, like opening Pandora’s box, changing everything colors.

"Cousin, I’ve brought you some great stuff," Zheng Haoyuan said mysteriously, presenting the large wooden box to Zheng Nianru like a treasure.

Zheng Nianru showed little interest; in her years as the Empress Dowager, she had seen so many oddities that nothing could surprise her anymore, but still, she gave face and slightly lifted her eyelids.

"What great stuff is it? A spider? A wolf cub? A tiger cub? Or some big turtle?"

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.