Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved
Chapter 488 - 467 First Update

Chapter 488: Chapter 467 First Update

"Now is not the time for you to throw a child’s tantrum," Noble Consort Wen immediately said with a stern expression. Zheng Haoyuan became anxious and tried to stand up but was held down by Noble Consort Wen’s hands on his shoulders as she spoke with earnest gravity.

"Mother Consort, can’t we just content ourselves with being a Prince? Brother Crown Prince won’t..."

"Silence—" Noble Consort Wen couldn’t believe that Zheng Haoyuan still harbored such thoughts and abruptly interrupted him.

"Fu Gong, at this point, it’s not something that either you or I can decide. It concerns the entire Wen Family and our future. It’s not about whether we want to do it or not. Zheng Congyuan might spare our lives, but Empress Xiao won’t, the Empress Dowager won’t..."

"That won’t happen. Can’t Nanzheng State tolerate just one Prince? As long as I don’t harbor those ambitions, I just want to take good care of Mother Consort and don’t want you to be in danger."

"Fu Gong, you are still young. There are things you don’t understand, and you can’t fathom others’ hearts. Take your Imperial Uncle, for example. Is his life easy? Without Empress Dowager Yan Ping, he would have died ten or eight times over," Noble Consort Wen said urgently. "The matter has already reached this point. If you let slip even a little bit, not only your Mother Consort but you and everyone in the Wen Family will die. Once Emperor Jingzhi is dead, our situation will become even more..."

"I don’t believe it, I don’t believe it—" Zheng Haoyuan struggled and finally freed himself from Noble Consort Wen’s hands, then ran towards the outside of the palace.

"Your Highness..." The eunuch behind him was about to give chase when Noble Consort Wen looked up.

"Never mind, don’t chase after him. Let him think things through on his own. He needs some time," Noble Consort Wen said slowly, lifting her gaze to the stars in the distant night sky and remaining silent for a long while.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, where are you going?" Cang Er, who stood guard outside the hall—Noble Consort Wen’s people wouldn’t let him in—suddenly saw his master rush out and immediately followed. Seeing no one had caught up from behind, he became anxious.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, please wait for your servant—" Without guessing, Cang Er knew his master was in a bad mood. Although Noble Consort Wen and Fourth Prince were mother and son, it was clear their temperaments clashed; conflicts arose within a few words. Cang Er was no longer surprised, but he was worried. It was so late, what was Noble Consort Wen up to?

Cang Er chased through two halls and still hadn’t caught up with Zheng Haoyuan. What did Fourth Prince want to do outside the palace now?

Without time to ponder, Cang Er hurriedly followed.

"Fourth Prince, the palace gates are already locked. You can’t go out..." The guard at the palace gate hadn’t finished speaking when Zheng Haoyuan drew the guard’s sword and struck. Cang Er immediately intervened.

"Lord Yan, we have a palace token, have a..." Cang Er quickly searched for the token.

While the guard dodged and retreated, Zheng Haoyuan’s unauthorized departure from the palace was not infrequent; the guard opened a way by half-yielding. Zheng Haoyuan commandeered a horse and rushed out.

The guards couldn’t neglect their duty and immediately got a horse for Cang Er, who hurriedly gave chase. Lu Hu and others, who received the news and hurried to the palace gate, found that Zheng Haoyuan had already left the palace. Alarmed, they quickly followed suit.

...

Zheng Congyuan was somewhat baffled when he received the secret report in his hand, Qi Ling poured tea and noticed that his lord’s expression was unusual. However, this was news from Nanmen State; even if it were a significant matter, it would still be an issue for Nanmen State. The hostage from Nanmen State securing the throne had already become a certainty, a result they had foreseen a month earlier.

Furthermore, with the favor of heaven and earth, and the support of his maternal family, Nanmen Yu had proven his identity at a crucial moment. Now the call for his leadership in Nanmen State continued to rise. If there were any issues, it would be the Sixth Prince of Nanmen State desperately holding out, making his last stand.

Therefore, even Qi Ling could not think of a matter that would cause the Crown Prince to furrow his brow.

Zheng Congyuan had no intention of concealing anything from Qi Ling, and after all, the gathering of intelligence from Nanmen State was conducted through the hands of Qi Ling’s elder brother, so there was nothing to hide.

"The soon-to-be Emperor of Nanmen State is not in Lin Capital of Nanmen State," Zheng Congyuan said in a calm voice, not even sure himself what sort of doubts he was trying to express.

Qi Ling was startled but quickly calmed down. Such occurrences were not unheard of. At such a critical time, the Sixth Prince would undoubtedly resort to any means. If Nanmen Yu died, the situation could take a turn. So, Qi Ling thought that if he could figure this out, his lord must also be able to do so. So, what was his lord puzzled about?

"Do you remember, originally Nanmen Yu and Princess Chao Ren were acquainted," Zheng Congyuan suddenly spoke up, mentioning something Nanmen Yu had specially brought up in subsequent negotiations with Nanzheng State, that Nian Ru once saved him. However, Zheng Congyuan didn’t believe Nian Ru had saved him on purpose, but rather, she disliked seeing violence in front of her. Furthermore, during that time, Zheng Haoyuan was fond of frequenting Qishun Building—an incidental mention, a likely action for her to take.

Zheng Congyuan had just suddenly recalled this, and with the thought of Nian Ru, he had already set aside the secret report in his hand, Qi Ling’s guess wasn’t wrong; indeed, the affairs of Nanmen State did not warrant too much of his attention. He was simply suddenly feeling somewhat perplexed.

Zheng Congyuan suddenly stood up, and in an instant, Qi Ling guessed that his lord was about to go out. After all, these days had been busy, and moreover, to avoid raising suspicion and not provoke Prince Duan’s doubts, he had restrained himself from visiting Prince Duan’s Mansion.

Zheng Congyuan used the main entrance, and Prince Duan hurriedly came out to greet him. It was late at night, and Zheng Congyuan’s sudden visit surely meant something urgent must be happening.

Although Prince Duan was somewhat confused, he could still sense something was amiss and hurried out to meet Zheng Congyuan.

Prince Duan’s thinking was simple. Emperor Jingzhi did not have much longer to live, so the grudges and hatred of the previous generation were slowly dissipating with the decline of his health. Zheng Congyuan was indeed a wise ruler, deserving of the title of virtuous and good. Moreover, he watched from a distance and bore no disdain toward Nian Ru; in fact, he even took care of her because of his own reasons.

Even though Prince Duan couldn’t fathom the exact reason, the thought that Zheng Congyuan only had one sister, and that the Eldest Princess was indeed...

When Prince Duan saw Zheng Congyuan, all these thoughts vanished. The Zheng Congyuan in front of him was genial and wise, exuding a convincing presence in his every move.

"Your Highness, why have you come so late?" Prince Duan dared not think too much. His only thought was that this would be the support for him and Nian Ru in the future.

"Imperial Uncle, sorry to disturb you," Zheng Congyuan returned the salute, glanced at Qi Ling beside him, and Qi Ling shook his head slightly; those people hadn’t left nor moved, so it seemed that nine times out of ten they were Prince Duan’s men.

"Please, Your Highness—" Prince Duan felt something unusual. Qi Jin and Qi Yu, what are they looking at? The persimmon tree in their mansion didn’t bear fruit this year; he had no idea why, and it wasn’t visible.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.