Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved
Chapter 443 - 422: Second Update

Chapter 443: Chapter 422: Second Update

"No discoveries were made," Ju Nanyi said calmly, glancing at the woman in front of him, "The light inside the cave isn’t as good as outside. If the entrance were a bit larger, perhaps we would find something else."

Zheng Nianru didn’t doubt his words, turned around, and didn’t mind the narrow, dusty, and muddy entrance as Ju Nanyi still took off his outer jacket and wrapped it around Zheng Nianru.

"It really is quite spacious." Just as Zheng Nianru stood up straight, the light coming from the entrance revealed a very large cave; the walls were smooth and naturally formed, the ground was uneven with stones shaped into ripple-like patterns by flowing water, but there were also large flat stone surfaces, indeed large enough for a person to lie down on, just as Ju Nanyi had said.

"Commandery Princess, be careful—" Just two steps in, Zheng Nianru nearly lost her footing on the smooth rocks, but Ju Nanyi caught her in time, frowning slightly as he glanced at her in the dim light.

Her body temperature was so high, yet she didn’t seem to be in any discomfort.

"The dampness here indicates there must be water." Zheng Nianru’s attention was inside the cave, and because the temperature inside was even higher than outside, she actually felt a bit more comfortable at that moment.

"I’ll go find some water." Ju Nanyi didn’t ask any further questions; he just turned around, but before he did, he took another look at Zheng Nianru. He knew she wasn’t one to tolerate pain and discomfort quietly—if something was wrong, she would definitely complain. Therefore, Ju Nanyi could be certain she was not feeling unwell. But why was her body temperature so high, though not alarmingly so?

Could it be that poison? Ju Nanyi also smelled an unusual fragrance at the entrance, one he didn’t recognize.

Ju Nanyi quickly traversed the biggest flat area of the entire cave, following the gradually sloping stone surface step by step, but it didn’t take long before he found water inside the stone cave.

Ju Nanyi was not in the mood to explore further; he took out the bamboo tube he carried and after filling it with water, headed back. Before he reached the large rock they had been at before, he saw the figure lying on the rock in the dim light, and Ju Nanyi’s heart leaped violently. Not minding the uneven stones underfoot, he dashed toward Zheng Nianru’s direction, stumbling several times as if to fall to the ground, but the man did not care, not until he arrived at the rock and felt Zheng Nianru’s breathing did his own breath and heart start beating again.

The next moment, Ju Nanyi quickly realized something was wrong. The person before him seemed to have passed out, but at a time like this, the normally timid her wouldn’t have just fallen asleep. Without thinking, he reached out to touch Zheng Nianru’s forehead, which felt even hotter than before.

"Commandery Princess—" Ju Nanyi called out as the drowsy Zheng Nianru on the stone opened her eyes, looked at him, and then closed them again.

"Stop it, I’m tired—" The woman tried to wave her hand, but it only lifted slightly and then dropped again. Ju Nanyi’s heart slowly sank, and a rush of something flooded his mind, prompting him to leap onto the rock without a second thought.

"Commandery Princess, wake up, please wake up—" Ju Nanyi was even a bit frantic, looking around, then quickly suppressed his own panic. The Medicine Pill that Nian Ru had spat out was still intact, so even if it was poison, it couldn’t be severe; he couldn’t afford to panic. Right now, the only thing to do was to get out as fast as possible.

But outside, were those people still there, what exactly were their motives, Ju Nanyi was almost certain they were no ordinary thieves. Who was behind this, none of this was clear, so Ju Nanyi dared not act rashly.

"No, I want to—" Zheng Nianru’s mind was foggy, irritation rising from nowhere made her quite upset, especially since the bed beneath her was hard and simply not meant for sleeping.

Ju Nanyi slowly moved the woman’s head onto his lap, noticing that Zheng Nianru, who was previously burning hot, was now slowly becoming less scorching to the touch. Before he could even sigh in relief, it was apparent that the woman felt cold, as she curled up against herself, wrapping her body tightly.

Ju Nanyi felt that he couldn’t just sit and wait for death. Although the cave was a bit warmer than the outside, it was still very damp. Sleeping here for a night, one would fall ill even if they hadn’t been sick before.

"Nian Ru, wake up—" Ju Nanyi called out repeatedly. Zheng Nianru opened her eyes unhappily and sat up straight, fixing her gaze on Ju Nanyi. Why was he shouting for her? She was clearly exhausted and could hardly keep her eyes open...

Ju Nanyi draped his coat over Zheng Nianru. Luckily, he had been prepared and hadn’t thrown all the dry branches down. If they had to stay here for a night, they would need something to keep warm.

Ju Nanyi moved quickly, carrying the dry branches into the cave and bunching up the dry leaves. He took out something to start a fire and ignited it directly.

Zheng Nianru finally became a little more lucid.

"You’re a fairly high-ranking official, how is it that you’re carrying these things with you?" Zheng Nianru asked while holding the bamboo tube, which was not large, barely bigger than her palm. The tube was clearly worn smooth from constant use.

"I used to carry them often in the mountains, so it became a habit," Ju Nanyi responded, glancing at Zheng Nianru as if wanting to engage her attention further. "One can survive in the mountains as long as they have fire and water." As the fire grew, so did the warmth. Zheng Nianru took a sip of water which tasted a bit earthy, and she put it down.

Ju Nanyi found several stones inside the cave, and as he walked back, he saw Zheng Nianru leaning against the stone, falling asleep again.

"Commandery Princess—" This time Ju Nanyi was certain it must be the effects of the poison. Zheng Nianru’s forehead was burning up again. As the heat intensified, the woman began to murmur to herself, her consciousness growing blurry.

"Commandery Princess, wake up—" Ju Nanyi picked up the bamboo tube, intending to feed her some water, but Zheng Nianru had already started to shed the coat he’d put on her. Ju Nanyi was startled and reached out to stop her.

"Hot—" the woman’s voice was soft and watery. Ju Nanyi grabbed her wrist, and she was obviously displeased, struggling to pull away, bringing her burning-hot self against his arm even more.

Ju Nanyi was about to put out the fire immediately, but seeing that she had already thrown his coat to the side and was wearing thin clothes, he thought it was better with the fire—somewhat.

During his moment of hesitation, Zheng Nianru had already ripped off her thin jacket and tossed it aside, directly into the fire. Ju Nanyi was too late to retrieve it, as flames quickly leapt up the jacket.

"Hot, is it summer already?" Zheng Nianru’s eyes were hazy as if shimmering with moisture, oblivious to how seductive she appeared at that moment.

It was then that Ju Nanyi belatedly realized that Zheng Nianru might not have been poisoned by an ordinary substance. The woman wrapped around him like a snake, grabbing his injured left arm. The pain made it hard for Ju Nanyi to decide what to do, with one side being the intense pain keeping him alert, and on the other, the deadly tender sweetness.