Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved
Chapter 333 - 321: One More Update

Chapter 333: Chapter 321: One More Update

"Yunqian? Duke of Qing still had a sliver of reason left, at this moment Prince Duan and his men had already searched around the Earth Spirit River numerous times, if there was news, the one right in front of him, Prince Duan, would be the most clear about it."

"Duke of Qing, there is still no news at the moment. The current here is rapid, and there are many tributaries downstream. It’s been three shichen already. If the Princely Heir is lucky, he should have swum ashore and returned home on his own."

"What?" Duke of Qing blinked in slight shock, "Yunqian really fell in? How can he not be found with so many people and the river only being so big?"

Prince Duan glanced at the Duke of Qing with displeasure. Anyone could have a say in this matter, but your Zong Sheng Residence had no place to speak. The whole incident had arisen because of Zong Yunqian.

All of a sudden, Duke of Qing could no longer care about anything else, it must be that they hadn’t searched properly, or to say, they hadn’t searched for Zong Yunqian at all.

"Prince Duan, such a serious incident has occurred, how could you not inform me! What are your intentions, how could Zong Yunqian just fall down from the mountain all of a sudden?"

"Duke of Qing, His Highness was present at the time, everything happened because of Zong Yunqian, if not for him, the Commandery Princess wouldn’t have fallen either," Zheng Haoyuan immediately spoke up.

"Duke of Qing, do you think my daughter Nian Ru falling in and your son falling in, who has a higher chance of surviving?" Zheng Boding was exhausted at this point, not even wanting to speak, a thought he was always afraid to admit had slowly formed in his mind.

Zheng Boding could only look downstream; that was the only hope, the only chance for Zheng Nianru to survive.

...

In fact, the swiftness of the Earth Spirit River had exceeded everyone’s expectations.

Dozens of li away, on the bank of a nameless wilderness river, a small campfire was weak and insignificant in the dark, as if it could be swallowed by the night at any moment.

This nameless wilderness river on the surface seemed unrelated to the tributaries of the Earth Spirit River, but there was an undercurrent beneath the Earth Spirit River that branched out from the riverbed. Due to the landslide of the Golden Spirit Mountain, the previous river channel had been concealed, so on the surface, this wilderness river seemed to have no connection with the Earth Spirit River, yet the water in the river was actually connected.

By the fire sat a person, in the flickering flames, another person lay beside the fire, eyes tightly shut, half of the clothes already dried. Zong Yunqian hesitated for a moment, then turned Zheng Nianru’s body over to continue drying the other side of the clothes.

Thus, Zheng Nianru’s face appeared clear and distinct in Zong Yunqian’s line of sight.

Zong Yunqian quietly observed; Zheng Nianru seemed as if she was sleeping, her facial features closed tight, her hair disheveled, more than half of her hairpins had fallen out, leaving only one in his hand, and another askew on her head. Yet even so, her face under the firelight was so beautiful it left one defenseless.

It was as if she, quietly sleeping there, could make one sense the beauty of time and feel that life was worth it all.

Zong Yunqian chuckled at himself; he had seen Zheng Nianru’s temperament and character, and yet in his daze, he could have such a delusion. Zong Yunqian averted his gaze.

Zong Yunqian felt that he needed to think properly about what was to come. His mother had mentioned this issue more than once. But this time, it was Zong Yunqian who actively wanted to change the outcome. He had to be accountable for his choice; if he was wrong, he had to accept the consequences and try to make it right.

Perhaps a thorough conversation with Prince Duan, clarifying his own thoughts, would be willing to accept all consequences.

Zheng Nianru’s fingers moved slightly, her eyelashes trembled, as if she was struggling in a nightmare. Zong Yunqian threw the remaining branches beside him into the fire. The light dimmed, and the next moment it seemed to draw energy, sending up higher flames.

"Don’t—," Zheng Nianru said with a short and hoarse voice. Zong Yunqian was taken aback, stepped forward, then suddenly remembered his intentions and stopped at a very restrained distance.

"You’re awake?" Zheng Nianru slowly opened her eyes, stared blankly for a moment, then suddenly remembered the situation after falling into the water, and looked at the night around her with some confusion.

"Where are we?" She remembered being sucked into an undercurrent, and before she passed out, she almost thought she would certainly die.

"I’m not familiar with the terrain here, and I don’t know where we are," Zong Yunqian said indifferently. Perhaps some things, he should talk to Zheng Nianru about first.

"Then are you stupid? If you don’t recognize the place, don’t you know how to call for help?" Zheng Nianru immediately said, vividly remembering that it was because of Zong Yunqian’s people that she had fallen in.

Upon hearing this, Zong Yunqian immediately looked at Zheng Nianru. Go call for help? Leave her, a woman, here alone? Who was the foolish one?

"What’s wrong? Shouldn’t you go call for help? Do you know how many people will be anxious to find us if they knew we had fallen in?" Zheng Nianru immediately looked back at Zong Yunqian, retorting. Did he think she wouldn’t know what Zong Yunqian would be thinking at the moment, thinking she would thank him for the grace of saving her life?

It was all Zong Yunqian’s fault to start with; they had said if he didn’t like it he could leave, why did he have to dismantle their viewing stand.

"You were unconscious; to be safe, I saved you first—" Zong Yunqian said, holding back, wanting to talk to her properly later. He, Zong Yunqian, had lived a carefree life and seen countless human miseries; he naturally wouldn’t waver in his resolution just because of a face.

Even if the world maligned him, he would stick to his decision.

"Why are you staring at me? If not for you, how would I have fallen in?" Zheng Nianru immediately remembered the helplessness and despair as she fell, thinking that this life, even compared to her last, didn’t measure up, and that she would die so senselessly, "Wasn’t it you who caused it?"

Zheng Nianru’s eyes were slightly red, and her look of extreme grievance, somewhat genuinely distressed yet also perceived as extremely wronged, instantly appeared pitiful, her lashes tinged with teardrops reflecting the firelight.

Zong Yunqian averted his eyes; he could not waver.

"Isn’t it your fault? We didn’t invite you, and we knew you were compassionate, like a bodhisattva from Qiandao Temple, we were just playing on our own, and you had to follow us, and I almost died."

"It’s my fault," Zong Yunqian blurted out, then immediately shook his head. What’s his fault, he...