Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved
Chapter 264 Second Update

Chapter 264: Chapter 264 Second Update

The news of Zheng Nianru’s departure from the palace was not widely known, and everything was conducted with great discretion. Yet such subtlety could not fool the watchful eyes of the prominent aristocratic families—the Shiping Aristocratic Clan was the first to receive the news.

Nanmen Yuyan was slightly taken aback. Was this the Crown Prince’s strategy?

Although the Shiping Aristocratic Clan did not show off its power, it possessed something that other families couldn’t match—the control of all sorts of intelligence. Public and private networks intertwined in complex patterns but corroborated each other. In the past, all of this was in Lady Zou’s hands, but since she had come to the Zheng Capital, Lady Zou had been intentionally or unintentionally revealing these details to her only legitimate daughter, Nanmen Yuyan.

"Mother, what exactly does Prince Duan have..." This was what Nanmen Yuyan couldn’t figure out. Information about Prince Duan was the only missing piece in all intelligence strands, as if he genuinely had no connections at all.

But the Shiping Aristocratic Clan didn’t believe that, and neither did Lady Zou. Given the Crown Prince’s respect for Prince Duan and the efforts of Noble Consort Wen’s Fourth Prince and the Wen Family’s Wen Zan to curry favor with Princess Chao Ren, it was clear that Prince Duan was not a simple man, not a leisurely prince without any power.

"Should we—" Nanmen Yuyan began, knowing there were forces they dared not touch, and information they dared not delve into, like the Crown Prince’s Hidden Guard and the Wen Family’s Loyalists. Each of these forces was formidable, and Nanmen Yuyan’s most reasonable speculation was that Prince Duan also had such a group in his hands, comparable in strength to those of the Crown Prince and Noble Consort Wen.

"Yuyan, you must understand that your future role will be that of the Crown Princess Consort and later, the mother of the nation. You need to see the bigger picture and not always focus on minute details. A mere Commandery Princess like Chao Ren cannot influence Nanzheng at all, nor will she affect your position as the Crown Princess Consort. Instead, we should pay more attention to Princess Helin and the Tang Family of Wuxing—they’ve been almost living at Xingqing Hall these past few days, and their intentions are quite transparent."

Now that the Zong Sheng Residence had lost hope, the best options left were few, and these two households, due to their delays over the Zong Sheng matter, had missed several good opportunities to form alliances with other aristocratic families.

Nanmen Yuyan nodded shyly upon hearing this.

"I understand, Mother." Nanmen Yuyan thought of that name.

"However, the Empress Dowager has already decreed to ask for your birth records. But don’t worry; I have secretly had someone calculate it. Your compatibility with the Crown Prince is a match made in heaven; no one is more suited for him than you."

Lady Zou spoke with a laugh—no matter how often they came, the Empress Dowager was still sending gifts daily to their Shiping Aristocratic Clan, and even the Empress had sent presents.

"Mother is right." Nanmen Yuyan put aside her doubts. Indeed, no matter what irregularities she felt about that commandery princess, it was only a minor issue that wouldn’t alter the path she was destined to follow. Moreover, she could afford to be more generous, adopt a forgiving attitude, which would undoubtedly win her favor with Prince Duan later on.

Upon hearing this news, Princess Helin’s eyes turned red. She did not question how the news reached her ears, nor did she care to guess. With so many aristocratic gentry clans looking to mock her, and the Zhang Family of Hejian speaking so ill of Princess Chao Ren, how could Zong Yunqian possibly fancy such a person?

In her grief, Princess Helin sent off all the servants in the courtyard. Why was Zheng Nianru so fortunate? Why was it that her birth chart was compatible with Zong Yunqian, enough to save him? Why not someone else, any other lady from an aristocratic family? She wouldn’t have been as upset then.

It was infuriating that someone who couldn’t even show her face in public had climbed above them. Would they have to accommodate her in the days to come?

...

Zheng Nianru’s possessions were neither too many nor too few, but she did not wish to take so much with her. Instead, she packed her favorite things and left the rest, along with a letter, to the eunuch from the outer court.

The eunuch was startled, unaware of when he had been exposed, but now he could do nothing but accept the letter.

In her previous life, she had made great efforts but failed to leave the palace. And in this life, due to the Princely Heir Zong, she had effortlessly left the palace due to a twist of fate.

Zheng Nianru felt that her summary was not wrong, she did not engage with Ju Nanyi, and in this life, she had no relationship with Ju Nanyi at all, yet she still left the palace, and the process was even smoother.

Besides not engaging with Ju Nanyi, Zheng Nianru also had no intention of truly marrying Zong Yunqian. She was simply waiting for Zong Yuanqian to achieve his goal, and then she would rescind this marriage agreement with him. Her past experiences had taught her that Qiandao Temple was not a force to be trifled with either.

Therefore, Zheng Nianru felt that in this lifetime, she had walked a very smooth path, and it was vastly different from her previous life.

As for Zheng Congyuan, Zheng Nianru smiled and cast aside those concerns, which made her task much easier. If Zheng Congyuan sought her out again, she wouldn’t just scare her slightly, but would shamelessly and without limits push Zheng Congyuan’s boundaries, trying her best to test both the person and her heart.

Yin He looked at the empty courtyard, temporarily unable to comprehend what had happened. However, the eunuchs in the outer courtyard, deeply moved, discussed with one another, hoping to be assigned another favorable task.

Little Xiaozi patted Elder Can on the shoulder, although thinking Elder Can looked somewhat unsightly and not understanding why such an old eunuch was still assigned tasks in the palace, but after all, they served the same master.

"Alas, you all are from the Fourth Prince’s side, and with the Princess gone, at least you have a stable place to go, unlike us."

Elder Can blinked in astonishment, finally figuring out the ins and outs of the situation.

The Princess Chao Ren had left? She had left the palace to return to Prince Duan’s Mansion? And they, as eunuchs, were to stay in the palace, unable to leave?

Before Elder Can felt overwhelmed by the situation, he suddenly realized something was amiss with his young master and immediately understood where the problem lay.

"Young Master, we’re not eunuchs, we can leave the palace right now."

Yin He looked at Elder Can as if he were a fool. He wanted to leave the palace, and who could stop him? But even if he left the palace, how could he reach her?

"Young Master, should we see if Prince Duan’s Mansion is hiring anyone?" Elder Can said urgently, unable to think of any other solutions, but stabilizing the young master was the most important thing at the moment.

Yin He looked at Elder Can, puzzled. Didn’t Elder Can suffer enough from pretending to be a eunuch?

"Why does he only hire house servants? Can’t he hire something else?"

"Young Master, Prince Duan’s Mansion can’t hire anything else." They could not hire a son-in-law as long as Zong Yunqian was not out of the picture.

Without hiring a son-in-law, what else could they hire, an ancestor?

"Young Master, I do think there is another solution, a permanent one." Elder Can suggested, having harbored this idea for more than a day or two.

"Speak quickly—"

"Why not just take the Princess directly back with us? Once we reach the Northern Border, no one will be able to snatch her from the Young Master’s hands."