Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved
Chapter 444 - 423: One More Update

Chapter 444: Chapter 423: One More Update

"Commandery Princess—" The man felt his mouth dry and tongue parched, yet his back was drenched in cold sweat. Pain tugged at his reason, and the dim light crazily amplified his desire.

And the woman, seemingly unaware, was inherently capricious. She couldn’t bear suffering or grievance, feared death and reveled in luxury. Instinctively wanting to comfort herself, she nibbled and gnawed to ease the inner heat.

"Nian Ru—" Ju Nanyi winced in pain, trying to pull the woman in his arms to one side, but she grabbed his injured left arm. The intense pain nearly made Ju Nanyi faint, while the woman, unaware of her own strength, tried to pull him closer, but failed to hold on. Her hand slipped, and she tumbled down onto the rocks below.

In the torment of fire and ice, Ju Nanyi was unable to react in time. As the person fell, he cried out in pain and hurriedly went down to search for her.

"Nian Ru—" Ju Nanyi, looking at the tearful woman, instantly felt guilty. He cursed himself for letting her fall; the groove beneath the rock was filled with water, and now her skirt hem, shoes, and socks were wet.

Ju Nanyi hurriedly tried to remove her sodden shoes and socks. Exposed to the medicine and now the cold, her pampered body could not withstand it.

Ju Nanyi’s heart was in turmoil, compounded by his guilt, and he did not notice that the woman’s hazy eyes were beginning to cling to clear-sightedness. Most of the drug had been vomited out, and the fall, along with the pain, brought back her reason. She saw Ju Nanyi hurriedly untying her shoes and socks.

Zheng Nianru, in a daze, instinctively pushed him away.

In this lifetime, she had no desire to be entangled with Ju Nanyi ever again. And now, she had just found hope and motivation to live on, not bound by such matters to any great extent.

Ju Nanyi was momentarily stunned, seemingly bewildered, as if his façade had been seen through in an instant, his ugly, hypocritical intentions laid bare.

Yet, she had never held conventional views on such matters—those bizarre and absurd notions that had once made Ju Nanyi almost consider her a madwoman.

But in the end, he too had repeatedly doubted himself, wondering if his own thinking was flawed. During his craziest moments, he even speculated whether Zheng Nianru’s ideas were simply incompatible with the context; if society accepted men behaving that way, might there be another world where women could do the same and also be accepted?

Ju Nanyi didn’t know what to do with himself for a moment, wondering if the person before him was truly Zheng Nianru.

However, reliving his life, the Zheng Nianru before him had still been confined in Qishun Building for many years, and the scant moral restraints could not have changed her mind within the few short months since she moved out of Prince Duan’s Mansion. He had experienced Zheng Nianru’s stubbornness.

So, she rejected him? Even under the influence of the drug?

Why? Ju Nanyi desperately wanted to ask. Why? Wasn’t she always adept at such things, invariably welcoming all comers, as long as they caught her eye, whether they were savory or foul?

So, she looks down on him, doesn’t she?

Ju Nanyi staggered, feeling ridiculous that this was the first thought that came to his mind.

Yet, fortunately, he still had a shred of sanity, sanity enough to know that couldn’t be the reason. He had spent time with her, knew that although she was somewhat perfunctory, they had had a few sweet years together, and children—children on whom he had pinned great hopes.

Zheng Nianru lifted her head, and the Ju Nanyi before her was a bit of a headache. In her past life, she had thought it was purely her own seduction of Ju Nanyi that led to such an ending. But in this life, she believed that if she still thought so, it meant she had lived the previous life in vain.

Ju Nanyi had taken a liking to her from the very beginning, even if it wasn’t true affection, at least it wasn’t dislike, giving her the opportunity in her past life.

But the current Ju Nanyi was somewhat unreadable to her, or perhaps, the push just now had wounded his pride?

Yes, it must be his pride that was wounded.

"I’m a bit cold—" Zheng Nianru spoke up, indeed feeling cold. Although the weather wasn’t cold enough to freeze drops of water, it was still challenging for Zheng Nianru, who wore only thin clothes. Where was her padded jacket?

The next moment, Zheng Nianru seemed to remember that she had thrown her padded jacket away herself.

A surge of guilt flooded Ju Nanyi; what was he thinking about, he had actually forgotten that Nianru before him was still wearing thin clothes. Ju Nanyi hastily took off his own padded jacket and handed it over to her.

"There’s no other way now, you’ll have to make do..." Ju Nanyi said, his heart melting into a mess. Her socks were wet, naturally, she would feel colder, "Your socks are wet, let me help you take them off and dry them by the fire..."

Ju Nanyi didn’t move rashly again, because the woman had instinctively refused just now. Perhaps, at this time, the woman hadn’t seen those unspeakable things in the Imperial Palace, nor had she been at the pinnacle of supreme power where no one could restrain her every word and deed; she hadn’t become as haughty and unadvisable as she would be later on.

Ju Nanyi even began to feel pleased. It showed his plan was still the right one, at this time she still had some of a young girl’s mindset.

Upon hearing his words, Zheng Nianru realized she might have overthought things. Up there just now, in that state, Ju Nanyi hadn’t broken her defenses. Although she wasn’t fully coherent, she wasn’t completely muddled, so Zheng Nianru still believed in Ju Nanyi’s gentlemanly conduct.

Zheng Nianru extended her foot upon hearing his words. Her socks were wet and covered with dark mud, which was indeed uncomfortable.

All the anger and collapse that Ju Nanyi had just felt were tossed aside in an instant, replaced by a tenderness so strong it seemed to ooze out of him, leaving him flat on the ground without an edge.

Ju Nanyi slowly set about removing her shoes, the sight of her translucent, rounded toes made him smile involuntarily. He turned and added some branches to the fire, making it blaze up even more.

"I’m afraid the firewood won’t be enough; I’ll go find some more." Ju Nanyi turned and left, knowing he couldn’t stay any longer, fearing he would lose control of his thoughts and even more afraid that Zheng Nianru would suspect him of harboring improper intentions.

Zheng Nianru didn’t respond as she began to feel drowsy again, returning to the stone surface feeling both hot and cold. The man’s padded jacket, carrying his body heat and oversized, wrapped her completely inside it, and she fell into a deep sleep.

When Ju Nanyi returned, he saw the endearing sight of her curled up into a little ball, and his lips couldn’t help but curl up into a smile, lightening his footsteps considerably.

Perhaps, in this lifetime, they could have a fresh start. Because of this chance encounter, he had a better opportunity than others to get closer to Prince Duan, to get closer to her.

"Mmm—" Ju Nanyi’s tranquil heart had not settled for long when the person on the stone surface began to groan and mumble again, like an unsatisfied little cat.