Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved
Chapter 458 - 437: One More Update

Chapter 458: Chapter 437: One More Update

Zheng Congyuan brushed off his sleeves and left. She was aggrieved, but was he too feeling aggrieved? In such a situation, if any normal man could remain so composed, could...

"Bang—" Qi Ling was startled by the sudden opening of the door. Instinctively, he lifted his foot, nearly obstructing his own master’s path, and hastily retracted it. A teacup flew directly towards his head.

Qi Ling’s instinct was to dodge, but a sudden thought made him hold still, and he took the hit. The teacup slid down along Qi Ling’s ear, and he immediately felt a warm liquid flowing down the side of his head.

Nian Xia, who was also outside the door, and had hurried over, was alarmed as well, looking at Qi Ling with sympathy. The next moment, she no longer concerned herself with Qi Ling and quickly entered the room.

Seeing Zheng Congyuan stride out the door and walk toward the courtyard exit, not merely pretending, Qi Ling quickly followed.

Qi Jin and Qi Yu, from a distance, although unsure of what had happened, had still heard something. They looked at Qi Ling questioningly, but Qi Ling did not answer, not even sure what to say.

Zheng Congyuan quickened his pace. After leaving Prince Duan’s Mansion, he was simply following his instincts, and when he finally came out of his anger, he realized he had walked some distance from Prince Duan’s Mansion.

"Your Highness, shall we return to the Crown Prince’s Mansion?" Qi Jin quickly asked. Zheng Congyuan shot a cold glance their way. He saw Qi Jin and the two others behind him leading horses and following him; the horses were impatiently kicking their hooves in the dark. The three of them looked at him, and even in the darkness, Zheng Congyuan knew they were suggesting he should return.

While he still could salvage the situation, having calmed down somewhat, Zheng Congyuan also cooled down, reassessing his earlier actions as nothing but childish. He clearly could have... could have...

But what could he do? He hadn’t thought it through before impulsively taking that step.

"Let’s go back—" Zheng Congyuan said coldly, took the reins of a horse directly, mounted, cracked the whip, and rode off into the dust, leaving three figures with a pitch-black silhouette behind him.

Qi Jin and Qi Yu looked worse than if they were crying, and Qi Ling shot Qi Jin a disdainful glance, thinking it would have been better not to ask at all.

Qi Jin opened his mouth to speak, but Qi Ling had already taken another horse and was quickly in pursuit.

...

"What has happened?" Prince Duan was walking into the courtyard when Nian Xia suddenly blocked him and his entourage.

"Nothing, Your Highness. The Commandery Princess had a nightmare—" Nian Xia said anxiously, constantly looking back at the house, wondering why no one was coming to help.

"Crash bang—" Once again, the sound of vases and porcelain smashing to the ground was heard. Prince Duan stuck his head out to look, but Nian Xia grabbed his arm with a flushed face.

"Prince, you can’t go in there—"

"Why not?" Prince Duan asked, puzzled. Housekeeper He had already grabbed Prince Duan by the arm.

"My Lord, didn’t you recall there was a set of fine jewelry in the storeroom you planned to find?" Housekeeper He said while pulling the prince back.

Nanny Yun had rushed over in a flurry, seeing Housekeeper He pulling Prince Duan back, and she finally breathed a sigh of relief but then looked at the house with concern again.

"Housekeeper He, what are you doing!" What could be more important than Nian Ru’s business?

"Prince, I specifically pulled you aside to talk." Housekeeper He pulled Prince Duan to one side before he started speaking.

"Why?"

"Do you still not understand why the Commandery Princess is angry?" Housekeeper He didn’t beat around the bush, somewhat worried that the Prince had become more forgetful than he was a few days ago, and had to remind him again, "It has been two days."

Prince Duan was stunned, but then he remembered. Ju Nanyi had spoken so nicely, but for two days, there had been no movement at all. How could he forget? He was also anxious.

"Prince, there’s nothing we can do about this. That Lord Ju... sigh..." Housekeeper He felt that he had misjudged Lord Ju. Or perhaps Lord Ju had heard something after returning home? Housekeeper He wasn’t his own master, naturally unable to see that the Commandery Princess was good in the Prince’s eyes in every aspect, clearly knowing that ever since the Commandery Princess returned to the Prince’s Mansion, he had noticed her.

"What, does he dare to disdain Nian Ru? If he dares to disdain Nian Ru, this Prince..." Housekeeper He immediately held onto his master, seeing how the Prince seemed to wish he could make a scene at the doorstep right then. Making a scene would only make things worse.

"Prince, Prince, please calm down. With the situation as it is now, we can only wait for Lord Ju to take the initiative to propose. If a dispute arises, it would be a big deal for the Commandery Princess’s reputation." Housekeeper He was a clearheaded person. He did not stop the Prince from rejecting Heir Zong’s marriage proposal; he also felt that Heir Zong was not a suitable match for the Commandery Princess. Considering her temperament and the slightly odd character that was nurtured since her upbringing in the palace without anyone to look after her, it was better to find someone from a less prominent family. Thus, while it might seem that Prince Duan initially wanted to find someone easy to manage for the Commandery Princess, Housekeeper He certainly played a role in it.

That said, Housekeeper He was genuinely considering the best for Prince Duan and the Commandery Princess. In fact, he was even more aware of some behind-the-scenes dealings than the Prince was, but Housekeeper He turned a blind eye, pretending not to know about matters he felt he wasn’t qualified to know or should know.

However, regarding Ju Nanyi, Housekeeper He thought it was time to fight for his Commandery Princess. Watching her grow up day by day, gradually becoming the focus of the Prince’s concerns, Housekeeper He felt it was necessary to marry the Commandery Princess off satisfactorily to put the Prince’s mind at ease.

"Prince, how about this? Let this servant secretly send someone to quietly inquire about the situation?" Housekeeper He suggested. He believed that Lord Ju wouldn’t refuse this marriage; he could tell that Lord Ju liked the Commandery Princess.

However, Lord Ju’s lack of action worried Housekeeper He that there might be another reason behind it.

"Then don’t delay." Prince Duan couldn’t wait a moment longer, that Ju Nanyi.

...

Ju Nanyi wasn’t the slightest bit inactive. After leaving the Crown Prince’s Mansion, Ju Nanyi returned to Yiren Street the next day, and Mother Ju’s cough was gradually getting better. She was surprised when she opened the door.

"Why aren’t you at..." Ju Nanyi hadn’t returned home for several days due to busy official duties. Mother Ju was somewhat surprised, and the next moment, seeing Ju Nanyi in a disheveled state, her astonishment turned into shock. She quickly pulled her son inside.

"What happened to you? Were you attacked by bandits?"

Ju Nanyi looked at his mother and felt guilty for a moment—for his willfulness, for his restless and unsatisfied state, for his stubbornness.

Before Ju Nanyi could say anything, he was pulled into the room by Mother Ju, who quickly handed him a set of clean clothes.

Ju Nanyi didn’t take them, and instead, slowly lifted his robe and knelt down straight.

Mother Ju was startled, her hand paused in midair without retracting. It’s not that she couldn’t bear Ju Nanyi’s kneel; she had struggled to raise her son and nurtured him to be capable as he was now. She could accept this kneel.

However, these past days, Ju Nanyi had been acting off. Who could understand better than a mother? She lived in fear every day, and what she feared most was this very moment.