Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved
Chapter 288: Second Update

Chapter 288: Chapter 288: Second Update

Zheng Nianru returned to her courtyard, and the whole place suddenly bustled with activity. In one day’s time, the damaged tiles on the roof had been repaired. Although they looked frightening in the night, the damage within the main house was limited. Since Zheng Nianru had few people, and the side rooms were empty, it didn’t really matter.

Nanny Yun personally wrung out a washcloth. Fu Dong had already been the first to tell her what happened in the carriage. Nanny Yun sighed inwardly but couldn’t bear to say anything more.

Having been that age herself, she naturally knew that in the innocent thoughts of youth, even if one knows something is forbidden, it’s hard to resist doing something outrageous.

Nian Xia carefully wiped Zheng Nianru’s hands, looking at Nanny Yun. "You should say something, Nanny. Today’s events seem to be just the Commandery Princess acting on a whim, and that Heir Zong, really, of all the things he could’ve done, he had to do it in front of the Crown Prince."

"Commandery Princess, the bath is ready for you. Please bathe first and let Nian Xia give you a good massage. You..." Nanny Yun said patiently. Before she could finish, Zheng Nianru had already turned and headed toward the side room connected to the main house.

Prince Duan’s Mansion might be old, but it was an estate from the previous dynasty—the traces of a past that had been luxuriously decadent and rotten with indulgence could almost be unraveled from the house itself.

Take, for example, the bath connected to the main house. The floor was paved with uniform jade tiles, and the pool was also carved from a single piece of jade, nearly nine feet long. Blue patterns floated in the white jade, looking even clearer and more brilliant in the water.

But boiling water was needed to fill the pool. It required more than a dozen buckets of hot boiling water combined with more than a dozen buckets of cold water. Zheng Nianru liked her baths hot, demanding even higher temperatures, though jade does not withstand high heat well, not like the Warm Pavilion in the palace. It was necessary to keep adding hot water to maintain the bath’s warmth.

"Commandery Princess, one must look forward," Nanny Yun said as she scooped up water to gently wet Zheng Nianru’s long hair. That black hair was like ink, glistening even under the dim light.

Nanny Yun sighed at how lovely the hair was, identical to Lady Ru’s back in her day. And the Commandery Princess herself was even more beautiful, with a noble and cold elegance these days. Any man would fall for it.

Nanny Yun could see it, even if it wasn’t acknowledged, she was quite sure of it.

Zheng Nianru remained silent. She knew what Nanny Yun meant and was gradually understanding that her inexplicable anger was due to Zheng Congyuan, who she thought was upset because of Zong Yunqian’s gesture.

Zheng Nianru almost wanted to laugh. In her previous life, she had thought Zheng Congyuan didn’t love her as much as she loved him, always feeling that it was his lack of affection that led her to give up, leading her to hesitate.

But now, she was more certain that it was not that Zheng Congyuan did not love her, but that he was well aware of what that love would entail.

Zheng Nianru felt it, and she knew, even without Zheng Congyuan, she could still live. At the very least, she had lived for so many years, and not all of them were devoid of joy.

So, it had taken her a previous lifetime to understand something—that every single decision she had made in her past life was almost certainly wrong.

She should not have had any involvement with Ju Nanyi, and there was no need for rebellion. Nanzheng State would only fare worse in her hands. Even if Ju Nanyi devoted himself to government affairs, trying to turn such a situation around would ultimately be futile.

"Nanny Yun, I understand, but some things can’t just be let go by saying so," Zheng Nianru said slowly. In fact, she didn’t even know which way could truly sever her relationship with Zheng Congyuan.

On hearing this, Nanny Yun felt a pang in her heart, but her movements became even more gentle.

"Where’s Yin He?" Zheng Nianru asked as she lay on the couch. After sitting in a carriage all day, she indeed felt like her bones were falling apart. Now that Yin He was here, Zheng Nianru naturally recalled her benefits.

"Commandery Princess, Prince has sent Yin He out to handle some matters," Nanny Yun reported from the side. Naturally, it wasn’t that Prince Duan had no one else to use, but he certainly didn’t feel at ease with two men in Nian Ru’s courtyard. So, it was only to be expected that he would find a way to send them away.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Nianru didn’t say anything. The matter of Yin He merely cast a fleeting shadow before her eyes. She hadn’t even figured out her own life, so naturally, she had no energy to concern herself with the lives of others.

As for why Yin He had clung to her, Zheng Nianru had some guesses. It was because of the incident in the cave that day. With that in mind, things would be much easier. Once Yin He naturally understood matters between men and women, and his heart was untied, he probably wouldn’t continue to follow her around.

Only then did Nian Xia step forward, slowly massaging, as Zheng Nianru felt drowsy and heavy, nearly falling asleep.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps, neither hurried nor slow, which Zheng Nianru recognized instantly. She had waited for these footsteps in the study so many times that she thought she was dreaming.

"Your Highness—" Nanny Yun was so frightened that she knelt down with a thud.

"Your Highness—" Fu Dong followed suit and knelt, while Nian Xia stood there in a panic, unsure if she should continue or not.

"You all may leave—" Zheng Congyuan’s voice rang out, catching Zheng Nianru a little off guard. This wasn’t a dream. She lifted her head, and there stood a man in a cyan-grey brocade robe within the candlelight.

Fu Dong and Nian Xia glanced at Nanny Yun, who took the lead in excusing herself. Zheng Nianru’s gaze was fixed solely on the man before her.

It had been ten days since she last saw him. Even so, Zheng Congyuan looked exactly as she remembered, down to the hairstyle and the hairpin from her memories.

"Brother Crown Prince—" Zheng Nianru spoke up, thinking of the day’s events. Though they seemed almost negligible compared to the rebellious plots and the shadows of swords she would face later, or even the assassination attempts she would experience after she became the Empress Dowager.

But seeing the person before her, Zheng Nianru suddenly felt all the grievances she didn’t consider to be grievous amplified into immense injustices. She hadn’t yet acquired that position; how could she possibly sleep?

Tears were already welling up in the corners of Zheng Nianru’s eyes. The detailed list of her helplessness, fear, distress, was too vast to put into words. Only by inscribing them into Zheng Congyuan’s heart could she find solace.

"Nian Ru, don’t be afraid—" Zheng Congyuan couldn’t say anything else. Seeing those eyes, he knew, he just knew it would end like this. If he didn’t come, she would surely cry all night.

"Zheng Congyuan, if you’re capable, never come back," Zheng Nianru said, but in the next second, she had already thrown herself into the man’s embrace. How could she not be afraid? What she had done that day was so out of line, all with the intent of making him never dare to set foot in her place again.

"I’m here, don’t be afraid. I will settle the score with the one who hurt you," Zheng Congyuan said, extending his hand, thinking and then just gently patting the young girl’s back, not daring to go any further.

Zheng Nianru could feel it, sensitively aware of every minute action of Zheng Congyuan. She didn’t even have to think to understand what he was avoiding.

Zheng Nianru had no intention of letting go. Clinging more tightly, she was relentless, her hands starting to move without restraint. Zheng Congyuan tried to stop her, but the more he resisted, the less willing she was to relent. Her head buried in his neck, she felt the throbbing pulse of his blood vessels.

"Nian Ru, don’t do this—" Zheng Congyuan said in a defeated tone, her soft hair brushing against his neck, throwing everything into disarray.

"Zheng Congyuan, you know what I want. If you dared to come, it means you can give it," Zheng Nianru said persistently, her eyes blurred with emotion. Either drive him away for life so they would never be entangled again or sink together regardless of life and death, regardless of everything else in the world.

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