Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved
Chapter 239: First Update

Chapter 239: Chapter 239: First Update

Song Gao, leading his men, worked fervently. The water buffalo had been chosen, and construction had begun on the shacks atop the manor, with the measurements taken for the thatched bedding and seeds already sowed.

Song Yuan kicked the grass frame beside Song Gao with impatience. He truly took himself to be the one in charge.

"Why did you kick that?" It had not been easy to earn the Prince’s favor, and it would be even better to catch the Monarch’s eye while at it.

"What’s the use fussing over this? The Empress Dowager has already issued an imperial edict. How are we to explain this to the Princely Heir?" Song Yuan’s eyes blazed with anger. Just as they saw a glimmer of hope, this curveball was thrown. The Princely Heir had returned to Nanmen and the situation was not progressing smoothly. In the midst of mediating the various powers, it was not hard to imagine the desperate situation.

Yet the Princely Heir still persisted in sending letters. Only, both of them had been entrusted with a heavy responsibility, and now they had no solution at all.

"What imperial edict?" Song Gao looked up, sensing something was amiss.

"It’s an imperial edict from the Empress Dowager arranging a marriage, betrothing Commandery Princess Chao Ren to the heir of the Zong Sheng Aristocratic Family," said Song Yuan despondently, recounting all that he had learned—the Heir Zong was on the verge of death.

"Isn’t the Commandery Princess supposed to—" Song Gao panicked but then realized—this was an arranged marriage by the Empress Dowager. Although they dared not act rashly and had naturally not infiltrated the palace, they were aware that Empress Dowager Yan Ping did not favor the Commandery Princess; and in this matter, the Commandery Princess was utterly helpless. If she had any say, how could she allow others to marry her off to a dying man?

"What do we do now?" Song Gao calmed down and glanced at Song Yuan.

Song Yuan was aware that even if the Princely Heir were present, the problem would be tricky. This was an imperial edict from the Empress Dowager, and Prince Duan had no room to resist, even less so the Commandery Princess. Even though the Commandery Princess might be willing to wait for their master, she was not in control of her own fate. Moreover, at this critical juncture, it was vital not to distract the Princely Heir.

"What can we do? Even if Prince Duan is reluctant, it changes nothing." Song Yuan’s countenance was one of despair. His sun-baked, blackened skin made it impossible to guess he might be a Nanmen Death Soldier, let alone his age. "We will definitely fail to complete our task, and the only thing left to do is to offer our deaths as an apology."

Failing to complete the task, how could they have the face to return to Nanmen?

"Since we’re bound to die, we might as well take a gamble," Song Gao suddenly said, his voice calm as he stared at the vast stretches of barren soil before them.

"What do you mean? You’re not thinking of taking the Commandery Princess and returning to Nanmen with us, are you?"

Song Gao shook his head. If it were that simple, the Princely Heir could have taken the Commandery Princess with him when he left. Why then would he have left the two of them behind? Clearly, the Princely Heir did not want the Commandery Princess to go to Nanmen unceremoniously, without status or recognition.

"Let’s take a gamble—heir Zong is about to die, isn’t he?" Song Gao said. Song Yuan, taken aback, looked at him. "Why didn’t I think of that? This is easy to handle. He’s bound to die anyway, might as well make him a cushion for our downfall. Besides, with our strength, dealing with a dying man is hardly difficult."

Song Yuan nodded in agreement. Indeed, why hadn’t he thought of it? If heir Zong were to die, the Commandery Princess would no longer be able to marry, and all their problems would be solved.

"Right, they really think we’re just some field-tilling servants. Today, we’ll show them the strength of us, the Nanmen Death Soldiers," declared Song Yuan, suddenly filled with fighting spirit, brushing off any notion of their own demise.

They intended not only to kill heir Zong but if the Empress Dowager dared to matchmake one, they would eliminate them one by one. And when the Princely Heir ascended to the throne of Nanmen, they would return with honor to claim the Commandery Princess.

The two immediately threw down their farming tools and changed into black clothes, merely waiting for night to fall—there was no need for masks, as their skin had long since tanned to a dark hue. They confidently made their way into Prince Duan’s Mansion.

From the study garden of Prince Duan’s Mansion, one could clamber over to Heir Zong’s courtyard. They had already inquired thoroughly about the layout, and since their goal was to murder, not to engage in process, their task was much simpler.

They were Death Warriors, bred for and from death, crawling out of heaps of corpses; they never fancied fancy techniques or methods. Achieving their goal equated to victory.

In the pitch of night, two shadows flitted like bats, swift in their movements, they vaulted over the courtyard wall without pause. The courtyard before them was secluded and dim. The two exchanged glances—why did it feel so eerie?

Song Yuan shook his head. Look, the light is on, there must be someone inside.

The two crept towards the garden in silence. The layout and design of this garden followed that of the Prince’s Mansion, with an evident continuity, even the species of the old trees weren’t much different. The only distinction was that here, the trees were denser, obscuring the main house behind them, which revealed just a faint gleam of light.

Song Yuan leapt onto an ancient tree first and finally got a clear view of the situation inside the main house. There were people inside; the dancing shadows of the light indicated that there were quite a few of them. They were likely in the right place.

Song Yuan nodded down at Song Gao. The two of them, one above and one below, immediately pounced towards the direction of the main house. The Guileful Methods they had learned as Nanmen Death Soldiers meant that even sprinting in the darkness could appear to ordinary eyes as a tree, a bird, or a cat or dog.

Hence, when the servant standing watch at the door in Heir Zong’s courtyard saw something, it was nothing more than a gigantic eagle flying past, and then he spotted another one.

Song Gao was the first to reach the main house. This surprising ease did not lead him to let down his guard. He only moved to act upon seeing shadows under the lamp inside the room. Following that, he gestured a signal to Song Yuan and stepped over the threshold towards the interior.

Up to this point, both felt that once they entered the room, Heir Zong’s death was certain; anything within ten meters of them never escaped.

So, my apologies, Heir Zong, let us escort you on your journey down the Yellow Springs Road.

With a single step inside, Song Yuan had already sensed something was amiss. It was already too late, and there wasn’t even a chance to warn Song Yuan following him. The two stepped into the darkness as if off a cliff, the next step plunging them into an abyss.

In this critical moment, Song Gao exerted all his strength, grabbing hold of Song Yuan, who also realized the danger. A burning sensation surged up from beneath their feet, as though they had stepped on flames.

"Ambush, retreat—" It was then that Song Gao finally bellowed a command, pulling Song Yuan to make their retreat. But darkness surrounded them, and their figures continued to fall. The heat of the flames grew more intense, and they felt as if their skin was about to be scorched.

However, they soon realized that this burning sensation differed from a true flame, and the sensation of falling was also peculiar. Song Gao immediately suspected they had fallen into a Formation, as rumoured.

"Close your eyes—" Amidst the struggle, Song Gao’s voice came out with difficulty, his skin felt as if it was ablaze, ready to melt, and agony spread throughout every part of his body.

Song Yuan immediately closed his eyes. Given that he was a step behind and by then also realized that they hadn’t actually fallen off a cliff, he understood. They might not have encountered such a Formation before, but they had heard of it and knew some basic evasion techniques.

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