Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved
Chapter 503 - 482 Two More

Chapter 503: Chapter 482 Two More

Nanny Yun and Fu Dong couldn’t go against Zheng Nianru’s wishes and had to hastily prepare a carriage, racing towards the Crown Prince’s Mansion.

The carriage was very cold, so much so that there wasn’t even time to bring a hand stove, yet Zheng Nianru scarcely felt it.

Zheng Nianru knew that Zheng Congyuan was plotting something, matters she had never understood in this lifetime—obscure and indiscernible. When she tried to contemplate them, everything was chaotic and disorderly. As she was not adept at such matters, naturally, she couldn’t spot anything amiss.

However, Zheng Nianru was certain that Zheng Congyuan wouldn’t give up his throne; Nanzheng State was a burden he bore. In her previous life, she couldn’t surpass him, and although this life offered her some chances of success, at best, she could only draw even.

Zheng Nianru didn’t know how Zheng Congyuan planned to cleanse her status and legitimately keep her by his side, but it certainly wasn’t by allowing Wen Jia to rebel.

Suddenly, Zheng Nianru’s mind stirred, feeling a seemingly impossible connection to herself.

"Commandery Princess, the Crown Prince must be in the palace. Even Prince has not been able to leave the palace. In three days, it will be the Grand Mourning, and the Crown Prince surely has many matters to attend to," said Nanny Yun.

However, before Zheng Nianru’s carriage could reach the Crown Prince’s Mansion, news of the two imperial edicts had already spread. Zheng Nianru paused, recognizing the same tactics. In her previous life, Emperor Jingzhi had also done such an absurd thing—wasn’t this forcing the Wen Family into rebellion?

"Fu Dong, let’s go back—" Zheng Nianru suddenly said.

Nanny Yun and Fu Dong were stunned, looking at Zheng Nianru in surprise. What was happening to the Commandery Princess?

"You were right earlier, Zheng Congyuan must be in the palace, but going there would be futile," Zheng Nianru said, having more important matters to attend to.

Her father’s military power was her last bargaining chip and now was also Zheng Congyuan’s last chip.

If the Wen Family were to take action, they would be closely watching every move Zheng Congyuan makes at this moment. By showing up, she would prematurely expose Zheng Congyuan’s forces and draw the attention of the Wen Family to her father.

The carriage quickly turned around and once again entered Prince Duan’s Mansion. Zheng Nianru felt that the most important thing now was to find out where those people in Prince Duan’s hands were. Right, the token.

Zheng Nianru had seen that token before.

As soon as Zheng Nianru returned, she went straight to Prince Duan’s study and barged in. Lin Sheng watched the Commandery Princess rummaging through the study, unsure whether to stop her or not. Had something happened to the Prince?

Lin Sheng immediately panicked.

"Commandery Princess, has something happened to the Prince?" Lin Sheng hurriedly followed her into the room and, seeing the mess, grew even more anxious.

Zheng Nianru glanced at Lin Sheng; this servant was loyal.

"Have you ever seen the Prince hide something? Where does he usually conceal his possessions?" Zheng Nianru didn’t beat around the bush. She remembered having seen it before, but, for some reason, her memories from her previous life were slowly becoming hard to recall.

Lin Sheng didn’t understand; the Prince had never been one to hide things.

After searching all around, Zheng Nianru had not found anything resembling a token, especially anything that could serve as one. She thought that she must enter the Imperial Palace to see her father, the Emperor.

However, before Zheng Nianru could leave the Crown Prince’s Mansion again, the Wen Family’s soldiers had already made their move. Residences of Prime Minister Lin and other major officials were immediately controlled, and five thousand troops surrounded the entire Imperial Palace tightly.

There was another version of the story about the imperial edict.

The prophecy...

Qiandao Temple had predicted a prophecy regarding the Zheng Imperial Family a few years ago, related to the future heir to the throne of Nanzheng. This was why Emperor Jingzhi had altered his will.

This rumor quickly spread throughout the streets and lanes, and the songs that were sung instantly caught on—the Wen Family’s soldiers had already taken control of the entire Zheng Capital.

However, what was strange was that there was no movement from Zheng Congyuan’s side at all, and the rumor got bigger and bigger. At first, most people did not believe it and even thought it was a cunning plan concocted by the Wen Family. Many people had even started to doubt the authenticity of the imperial edict.

But the next day, the Wen Family had already erected the Prophecy Tower of Qiandao Temple and even claimed to invite Master Huo Yi personally to disclose the truth of the prophecy.

Once this was announced, the entire Zheng Capital was abuzz with discussion. The Wen Family’s words did not carry much weight, but those of Qiandao Temple and Master Huo Yi certainly did, which made everyone wonder what exactly the Wen Family was up to, and whether there was any truth to their words.

Even more unexpectedly, the Crown Prince had no reaction to this at all. The Imperial Forest Guard within the palace was not numerous, and as Wen Family’s soldiers intruded into the palace, encircling Chenyuan Hall, nearly a thousand of the Imperial Forest Army now guarded the few palace halls around Chenyuan Hall. Meanwhile, Wen Family’s soldiers surrounded the entire hall but did not attack directly; they exerted silent pressure, forcing Zheng Congyuan to abdicate his position voluntarily.

From the outside, the Wen Family’s move seemed swift, leaving no chance for anyone to react. The time from when the fake edicts were disputed until troops were marched out was less than half a day; they had indeed taken the initiative.

And Zheng Congyuan still knelt before Emperor Jingzhi’s palisade coffin, his expression one of sorrow, still immersed in the Emperor’s death. Even Empress Xiao seemed the same, seemingly unaffected by the Wen Family’s soldiers that had already surrounded the entire Zheng Capital.

The group of ministers trapped within the palace, as well as Prince Duan and Prince Ling, were very anxious. They wanted to persuade the Crown Prince to think of a solution, but the Crown Prince valued filial piety above all. It could only be said that the Wen Family had seized this opportunity to strike, which was extremely sinister.

Prince Duan was also in a great hurry; the Wen Family’s troops had entered the city, and there was only Nian Ru alone in Prince Duan’s Mansion. If something went wrong, what would happen? At that moment, Prince Duan seemed to vaguely recall something about a rebellion that had occurred more than a decade ago.

Yes, when it came to rebellion, he had much more experience than the Wen Family. Back then, although half of his men had died, the other half emerged unscathed and retreated in full.

Having waited in the mansion for a whole day, Zheng Nianru finally could not sit still any longer and had to think of a plan.

Prince Duan’s Mansion was not sealed; the Wen Family had not taken it seriously. By the time Zheng Haoyuan remembered this matter and personally arranged for people to go to Prince Duan’s Mansion, aiming to protect it, Zheng Nianru had already changed into ordinary clothes and quietly slipped into the palace with Nian Xia and Xing Yu.

They did not take the small path that was connected to the Crown Prince’s Mansion; Zheng Nianru knew the Wen Family’s men must have been closely monitoring it.

Zheng Nianru vaguely remembered the route that Nanmen Yu had once taken her on. Fortunately, it was desolate and remote and had the terrifying pile of corpses, which allowed Zheng Nianru and her two companions to cautiously evade the encircling soldiers and sneak into the palace quietly.

The palace was already in chaos at this time, but because of the presence of the Imperial Forest Guard, all the palace maids and eunuchs were locked in the backyards of their respective palaces, from where pleas and cries came intermittently.

"Commandery Princess, I’m afraid we won’t be able to get in." There were soldiers everywhere, and although the Imperial Palace wasn’t a scene of corpses strewn everywhere, Zheng Nianru knew that once Zheng Congyuan refused to abdicate the throne voluntarily, the palace would undoubtedly become a river of blood.

It was almost identical to what had happened in her previous life.

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