Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved
Chapter 30 Second Prince

Chapter 30: Chapter 30 Second Prince

"Commandery Princess, whose carriage and horses are those, so grand and imposing!" Xing Yu’s eyes widened as she looked with envy at the procession that had already begun to move, her exaggerated cry drawing the attention of Xue Liu, who also showed a look of envy.

Nanny Yun stuffed a food box into Xue Liu’s hands, one lazier than the other, then turned back to count the luggage again.

"Commandery Princess, is this the Princess’s guard of honor?" Nian Xia couldn’t help but ask.

"How could it be the Princess’s guard of honor? Didn’t you see at the very front, it’s Noble Consort Wen’s," Fu Dong shook her head.

Zheng Nianru saw her subordinates were all attracted by this grand procession. She had been uninterested, but now she also looked over.

In the middle of the wide road, a huge carriage moved forward slowly. Zheng Nianru could not even do justice to its extravagance with the word "big." How to put it, the carriage felt like a moving house, with a compartment two meters tall and three meters long front to back – one could not just lie down inside but also walk around.

Moreover, on both sides, palace maids and eunuchs each held a censer, with the aroma of medicinal herbs pervading the air, while behind the carriage, twelve palace maids carried flutes, pipes, ocarinas, and mouth organs, their subdued music like the slow pace of the carriage, calming the hearts of those who heard it.

Noble Consort Wen, though with the rank of Noble Consort, would definitely not dare to show off so publicly.

Although the carriage was ostentatious, the eunuchs accompanying it on either side were not all high-ranking, which also indicated it was not Noble Consort Wen’s carriage.

If it wasn’t Noble Consort Wen’s guard of honor, nor any Princess’s, then whose could it be? Even Zheng Nianru became curious at this moment.

"Commandery Princess, which Princess could possibly have such an imposing guard of honor? The Eldest Princess? Or the most favored Princess Hong Ying?" Nian Xia relaxed her body, leaning on the carriage, and watched enviously as the carriage slowly moved forward.

Zheng Nianru smiled faintly. The Princesses did not have such imposing guards of honor, and even if she became the Empress Dowager with absolute authority, she never had such extravagance.

Yet, Zheng Nianru really couldn’t guess who was in the carriage. It seemed she had no recollection of such a person. Was there a concubine who enjoyed such favor at this time?

Suddenly, Zheng Nianru thought of someone— the Second Prince.

This Second Prince, like a night-blooming cereus, left an impression on Zheng Nianru only through the old people in the palace who praised him exceedingly. Even in their words, the only person in Nanzheng State who could rival her beauty was not any woman but this Prince.

Those who had seen him said that the Second Prince had a face that could transcend into immortality or fall into demonhood. As a woman, he was more alluring than any female, and as a man, he was one of the rare beauties in the world.

It was just that, this Second Prince died very young.

Suddenly, Zheng Nianru sat up, gripping the low table inside the carriage tightly.

She seemed to remember something, that Second Prince had died in the Traveling Palace, exactly during this ritual ceremony.

...

Taking advantage of the brief rest, Noble Consort Wen had already abandoned her own carriage and entered the Second Prince’s carriage.

In Noble Consort Wen’s eyes, such an eye-catching procession, beyond any standard, was never too extravagant for her own son.

Before entering the carriage, an affectionate expression could not help but surface on Noble Consort Wen’s face.

She, who had always taken pride in her son, found that from the moment he was born, his visage could elicit every ounce of compassion in your heart, melt all your shadows, and make you willingly give everything in this world to him. When the Emperor was still in good health, he even entertained the thought of changing the heir. Why couldn’t he? Her son, the Second Prince of Nanzheng State, could have been just like the Crown Prince, possessing the knowledge and strategy required to command and control.

In the center of the carriage, a black and white tiger skin was spread out over a low divan, and the young man lying on the tiger skin had shiny, straight black hair, was clad in white silk robes like snow, and had skin even whiter than snow; his pure pupils and enchanting eye shape miraculously blended together like the spiritual aura of misty Wushan clouds.

"My son." Noble Consort Wen’s gaze fell upon the man in the carriage, whose face almost melted her heart, her son’s appearance being all the beauties she could imagine.

"Mother Consort came so early?" Zheng Muyuan’s voice was low and carried a sense of weakness due to insufficient blood and energy.

"Fu Xin, how are you feeling?" Noble Consort Wen’s heart tightened with worry, her eyes full of concern, like any mother who dotes on her child.

"Thank you for the concern, Mother Consort, I feel very well," Zheng Muyuan tried to get up, but Noble Consort Wen quickly stepped forward. The young man in black was quicker, helping Zheng Muyuan up before Noble Consort Wen could. "Mother Consort need not worry, with Yin He here, nothing will happen to me."

Noble Consort Wen slightly raised her head but did not dare to look at the young man. The young man in black wore a black hood, his entire face hidden in darkness, indiscernible. As the young man in black drew closer, Noble Consort Wen felt a chilling fear, her skin crawling. Ever since she saw him eat a centipede alive, and knew that he was accustomed to venom and slept in a den of scorpions, Noble Consort Wen never dared to look the young man straight in the eye.

If it weren’t for the fact that this young man was personally recommended by Master Huo Yi and indeed miraculously brought Fu Xin back to life, she would never want to keep such a person by Fu Xin’s side.

"That’s good then. If there’s any discomfort, let someone inform me immediately," Noble Consort Wen dared not stay longer. Though the carriage was comfortable, and she was concerned for her own son, the presence of the young man in black made her feel as if her whole body was crawling with venomous insects and fierce beasts.

After Noble Consort Wen departed, tranquility returned to the carriage.

"Can’t you stay?" Zheng Muyuan suddenly spoke up, his voice broke the quiet and cold stillness in the carriage, but there was no response.

Just when Zheng Muyuan was about to give up, the young man in black spoke.

"I have repaid all the favors I owed Master Huo Yi; there is no reason to stay any longer. Helping you this one last time was already beyond my duty," the voice of the young man in black was ice-cold, devoid of any warmth. He sat in the corner of the carriage, and a scorpion crawled out of his sleeve, circled around, and then leisurely made its way back.

Talented Lady Jing complained about the carriage’s pillow being too hard, complained about the road being bumpy, making her feel as though her bones were falling apart. She also complained about being neglected because she was not of a higher rank among the concubines. Not only had the number of palace maids and eunuchs who accompanied her been halved, but even the carriages had been reduced from three to two; she couldn’t bring many of her belongings, and what if everything in the Traveling Palace was not to her liking? How would she get through the month?

"My lady, did you know that the Second Prince is also going to the Traveling Palace?" The speaking maid’s eyes sparkled with excitement. The legends about the Second Prince were never publicly discussed, but among the palace maids and eunuchs, he was a popular subject of conversation.

For in the mouths of the palace attendants and eunuchs, the appearance of the Second Prince had been described so wonderously that some said just one look would make you unable to forget him, and some claimed that many palace maids would rather die than not serve at the Second Prince’s side.

"The Second Prince?" Talented Lady Jing was a little stunned; her previous complaints seemed out of place with this name, as if one belonged to the mortal world’s firework display, while the Second Prince was like the celestial stars.

Talented Lady Jing had once caught a glimpse of the Second Prince. On that day, the condition of the Second Prince was critical, and therefore strict protocols were lax. From a distance, she saw the bedridden Second Prince. With just one glance, she found him extremely delicate and shockingly stunning—the intense contrast was like a tender, flawless flower dipped in poison.

Talented Lady Jing didn’t understand why she felt this way.

"Who is the closest palace attendant to the Second Prince?" Talented Lady Jing didn’t know why she asked, but she felt compelled to ask.

Talented Lady Jing’s female servant quietly glanced around, ensuring no one else was nearby, before whispering mysteriously.

"My lady, the Second Prince does not have any close palace attendants; apparently, they were all poisoned to death." A new group would be replaced every two months, and this matter was kept very secret, with few inside the palace aware of it.