Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved
Chapter 259: One More

Chapter 259: Chapter 259: One More

Prince Duan looked at Yunqian, and didn’t move. The man would be his son-in-law in the future, so naturally, he wanted to get some clear answers.

Seeing this, Yunqian knew he couldn’t hide it anymore and could only step back to formally say,

"Prince, I was assisting Lord Ju in handling a matter, which is somewhat related to Qiandao Temple. But Prince, it’s quite late..."

Prince Duan snorted coldly and naturally wouldn’t reveal his true intentions. Moreover, since the two men’s statements didn’t match, it was natural that they were hiding something from him, but both of them managed to do so without a trace of guilt or faltering.

"Thank you, Princely Heir, but we pursued them to the outskirts of the city and couldn’t find any clues, so we returned and were just about to go back when we happened to meet Prince Duan," Ju Nanyi said very calmly. They had found some clues, but those clues had quickly broken off and moreover, the clues weren’t like those they had encountered before.

"In that case, let’s have a cup of tea together." Prince Duan actually wanted to spend more time with Heir Zong to understand some of his habits in advance. Seeing this opportunity, how could he let it go, so he asked.

Upon hearing this, Yunqian could only agree and glanced at Ju Nanyi.

They hadn’t caught up? Although the group of people had different clues from those controlled by Qiandao Temple’s Ghost Shadows, Yunqian still carefully discerned traces of Ghost Shadow’s energy mixed within the traces from Weixing Mountain. He couldn’t be mistaken about that.

While Yunqian was busy pondering this, the group had slowly made their way into the villa.

In the villa, besides Song Gao and Song Yuan, many more house servants had been hired, but Prince Duan had only heard about these matters from Housekeeper He and had not interfered.

At that moment, a house servant rushed frantically to report to Song Gao and Song Yuan that a group of people, looking like government officers, had come to the villa.

Song Gao and Song Yuan had just finished bandaging their wounds when they heard this, their hearts instantly sank. Had they been discovered? They exchanged glances and decided to meet the visitors calmly. When they saw Prince Duan approaching the villa with Yunqian and a group of government officers, their faces instantly turned cold.

What now?

Escaping was not an option. If they fled, they would basically have no chance to approach Prince Duan in the future, which meant that staying in Nanzheng would be meaningless, and they could not explain it to their master.

Song Yuan looked at Song Gao, they couldn’t just die here; if need be, they would fight to the death and perhaps even kill Yunqian. Prince Duan would then have to weigh their master’s position, and they might as well kidnap the Commandery Princess and take her back to Nanmen.

Song Gao immediately gave Song Yuan a look, advising against rash actions, and to watch the situation first. Moreover, they had already made some preparations while bandaging their wounds: the iron from Hoe was smeared with his blood, and all traces of spells had been cleared. Besides suffering a bit, Song Gao was confident he could still bluff his way through.

Song Gao then immediately began to remove the outer coat covering his bandaged wounds, exposing the sweatshirt underneath. Song Yuan instantly panicked, but it was too late; Prince Duan and his entourage had already reached the doorway.

"Prince—" Song Gao and Song Yuan immediately transformed into the frantic demeanor of inexperienced small villa housekeepers, their peasant-like appearances and even the act of being housekeepers seemed a bit stretched.

Yunqian glanced at Ju Nanyi, suspecting the bandit had been injured even though he wasn’t sure where. Nonetheless, it was certain that someone had been injured, and coincidentally, this person in front of him was injured. Could it really be such a coincidence?

Ju Nanyi disagreed, arguing that even if there had been injuries, they wouldn’t have been so conspicuously displayed for everyone to see.

"Get up. Since I was passing by, I just decided to see how well you have tended to things." Prince Duan said, glancing at the manor. Unexpectedly, the rustic aura emanating from the maintenance by these two was quite noticeable.

"Yes, yes, Prince, please come this way," Song Gao and Song Yuan immediately and clumsily invited everyone to enter, showing a hint of fear when they saw Zong Yunqian, Ju Nanyi, and the government officer following behind.

All of this appeared very normal; there were no doubts concerning their stature or movements.

"Prince, who are these two?" Zong Yunqian couldn’t give up and pretended to ask in shock.

"They are house servants born into my household. They’re not very bright, but they naturally possess great strength and are excellent workers," Prince Duan immediately replied. How could he reveal the identities of these two to outsiders? Moreover, why would an outsider ask about the identities of two servants? Prince Duan couldn’t help but become alert. What had Zong Yunqian heard?

Impossible, Zong Yunqian couldn’t possibly recognize Song Gao and Song Yuan.

Upon hearing this, Zong Yuanqian immediately dispelled the doubts in his mind. Moreover, no matter how he looked at them, they did not resemble assassins. The habits formed from long-term labor and the calluses on their faces and hands couldn’t be faked.

"I just never expected that there would be people who are so proficient in labor under the Prince," Zong Yunqian suddenly recalled having seen these two before when he first met Prince Duan. It seemed he had been overly suspicious.

"Hmm, this is..." Zheng Bo noticed at first glance Song Gao’s arm, which was exposed outside the sweatband and still stained with blood, and furrowed his brow.

"Prince, it’s nothing serious. It’s just that today while working, I got a chunk of flesh knocked off by a plowhead—" Song Gao said as he stepped forward, wanting to show it to Prince Duan. His expression clearly conveyed his intent to demonstrate merit in front of the Prince, who had long overlooked them.

"What are you looking at? Lead the way, heat up some water, and bring a pot of tea," Prince Duan immediately ordered. As he mentioned looking at the wound, Housekeeper He quickly dragged Song Yuan outside, thinking to himself how foolish they were for not hurrying to make tea.

Song Yuan finally ushered everyone into the manor.

It truly was a manor, and even the tables and chairs inside were made of wood, simple and rough, yet robust and grand. The house was also tidied up neatly, but it could only be described as a very ordinary manor.

Song Yuan personally wiped the two best chairs with his sweatband for Prince Duan and hurried to bring several long benches from other rooms. Zong Yunqian and Ju Nanyi sat down, and in an adjacent room, a row of wooden beds was faintly visible.

Prince Duan was well aware of the original state of this manor, which was almost uninhabitable due to leaks. Now, not only had it been neatly repaired, but even the furniture was well made. If these two truly were servants from his household, it truly would be very good.

Unfortunately, they were two ungrateful wolves that could not be tamed.

The house servant brought boiling hot water, and the tea leaves were carried by Housekeeper He. Although the tea cups were a bit lacking, in the rustic and simple atmosphere of the manor, a more delicate tea cup would not seem fitting.

Zong Yunqian was no longer suspicious by now but seemed to relish the idle chat. Following Prince Duan, he commented on the Goat Horn Lamp a few times, noticing Prince Duan’s affection for it. Everything in the manor seemed devoid of any further suspiciousness, which made him feel even more paranoid.

Ju Nanyi spoke very little, and obviously, in this harmonious atmosphere, he felt somewhat uncomfortable, a discomfort that made him want to quickly change the subject and leave as soon as possible.