Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved
Chapter 57 Assassination Attempt

Chapter 57: Chapter 57 Assassination Attempt

"Can you leave the city?" Zheng Nianru asked, knowing that Nanmen Yu could leave the city. But at this moment, she should ask to appear normal.

"I’m not in the Harem, so it’s not as strictly managed." Nanmen Yu told the truth, aware that doing so could expose himself, but he couldn’t help trusting the Zheng Nianru in front of him.

"That’s good, you leave the city tomorrow. There’s a refugee site on the outskirts, which I saw when coming back from the Traveling Palace. There were children with stark protruding spines, pitifully thin. Go and search for them. I only remember there were two children, about five or six years old, not hard to find. One of them has a brown serpentine birthmark that goes from his forehead to the tail of his eye," Zheng Nianru said, taking out a silk purse. Inside was a hefty bag of Silver, enough for Nanmen Yu to accomplish the task.

Nanmen Yu was momentarily stunned. Refugees... But he had seen her kill, she didn’t seem like someone with compassion.

Zheng Nianru stuffed the silk purse into the young man’s hand, she of course did not pity those people.

Instead, when she saw the refugees outside the city today, it reminded her of something. After she became the Empress Dowager, there was a rebellion, led by a man who had originally been a refugee. A brown serpentine birthmark on his head had been exaggerated into a divine dragon among the masses. This had brought great harm to Nanzheng State and to her. Zheng Nianru calculated that at this time, that man would’ve been a mere child, a toddler. Although later defeated, that man in his twenties faced death unflinchingly, with vigor and boldness, fearless of death. He spat and cursed her with glee.

"I’ve thought of some places to go. I feel like buying shops or tea houses in the city to provide a living would work, giving them food to eat, a place to live." That should prevent another rebellion, shouldn’t it?

Nanmen Yu was silent and couldn’t brag about not needing her money. He lacked Silver, and the bag of Silver she provided could do far more than what Zheng Nianru had suggested.

"Just save those two children?" Nanmen Yu asked.

"Yes, if they have family, take care of them too."

...

The task was not difficult. Nanmen Yu spent three days among the refugees outside the city, and with many eyes and ears from Nanmen’s clan who had lived among the refugees, he soon found the child Zheng Nianru had mentioned.

The two brothers, along with their parents and uncles, a family of five or six, had fled their home and were destitute.

By the time Nanmen Yu arrived, Uncle Jingmen had already bound the family and kept them in the storeroom of their newly purchased courtyard.

"Why bind them? Is everything clear?" Nanmen Yu felt something was off; she had intended to rescue people.

"Oh, Princely Heir, you don’t understand. These people are stubborn. They wouldn’t go no matter what we said, saying we were human traffickers, kidnappers," Uncle Jingmen was frustrated, showing Princely Heir the bite marks on his hand and his torn clothes.

Nanmen Yu then gave up. The shops had already been bought, but it would take some time to settle the people.

"Princely Heir, shall we go see the people?" Although Uncle Jingmen didn’t know what was going on, he would naturally comply with Nanmen Yu’s orders.

Uncle Jingmen had his clan bring the child, and Nanmen Yu indeed saw the boy’s distinct, oddly shaped brown birthmark on his forehead. It indeed resembled a coiled python, very conspicuous and odd.

No wonder Zheng Nianru could spot this child from the crowd at a glance.

"Let us go," said the child. Although young, his eyes burned with intense anger as he shouted at Nanmen Yu, who paid him no heed.

"Kid, we’re not trying to sell you. What about finding a place for you to work and eat?" Uncle Jingmen spoke up.

"You’re lying; we just want to be refugees." The child tried to break free from Uncle Jingmen several times and was eventually hoisted up; his hands and feet still struggled in the air.

Nanmen Yu knew explanations were useless, for once things were arranged, these people would naturally come to understand. Thus, he simply did not explain and let Uncle Jingmen lead the people away.

"Uncle Jingmen, summon several of the clan’s managers. I have something to say," Nanmen Yu declared. This idea wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment whim but rather something he had considered over many days. And the pouch Zheng Nianru had given him didn’t contain silver, but a whole pack of gold, enough not just to buy one shop but an entire street of shops.

...

Outside the city, in the refugee area, hundreds, even thousands of refugees from all directions had converged. The imperial court’s policies had some effect, and most of the refugees had already returned to their hometowns, but a significant number of the old, weak, sick, and disabled no longer had the strength to travel thousands of miles back to their homes.

The refugee area was not solely populated by refugees. In addition to them, there were criminals wanted by the official government, debt-dodging paupers, and people of all sorts from all walks of life hiding behind those earthy, yellow-faced visages.

Among them were farmers from Zejun County’s Pinghu Village; over sixty households had lost sons, daughters, and relatives who had been killed innocently. Pinghu Village was different from other villages, with a legacy of operating businesses and escorting goods for merchants. Over time, the villagers of Pinghu Village had become a close-knit family, more prosperous and united than those in other villages.

After over twenty young men and women were abducted overnight, the villagers of Pinghu Village made their way from Zejun County to the outskirts of Zheng Capital, only because the current Prefectural Governor of Zejun County was a disciple of the Crown Prince. They hoped to find an opportunity to tell the Crown Prince about the incident at Pinghu Village.

But unexpectedly, just as they started to uncover some leads, the disappearance of those children was found to be related to Governor Pei, involved in some unspeakable collusion both inside and out. In the next moment, the only two remaining children of Pinghu Village also disappeared, and they immediately searched the entire refugee area.

They simply said that a group of refugees had kidnapped the entire family.

The villagers of Pinghu Village immediately knew that these were no ordinary refugees. With swift actions, not leaving a single one behind, it was clear that they had been targeted specifically because of their identities.

Thinking of the more than twenty children who had died, along with the villagers of Pinghu Village who had suddenly gone missing, the villagers were overwhelmed with rage and made a bold decision.

If they had no recourse for justice, then they would hit big, letting all of Zheng Capital know of Pinghu Village’s plight.

...

That night, Zheng Congyuan left the Imperial Palace, utterly exhausted. After dealing with the burial affairs of the Second Prince and arranging the piled-up memorials on important matters from the past few days, half the night was already gone.

Zheng Congyuan squinted his eyes, finally having time to think about other matters. Perhaps he shouldn’t have lost his temper; she simply didn’t understand those things and just followed her own nature. Nor should he be angry, as that would only fuel her arrogance.

The carriage suddenly slowed, and Zheng Congyuan’s eyes snapped open, guessing who the opponent might be before even realizing the danger.

After all, during his years presiding over the imperial court, he had always considered a mellow atmosphere within the court.

"Bang—" A loud noise, and Zheng Congyuan’s body uncontrollably crashed against the carriage wall.

"Assassins—" Qi Yu shouted, and the sounds of unsheathing swords rang out.

"Bang bang bang—" Several long spears pierced through the air towards the carriage, going straight through it.

Zheng Congyuan felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder, his hands gripping a long spear.

"Protect the Princely Heir—" Qi Yu and Qi Jin’s voices shattered the night sky as their feet were littered with fallen arrows, two of which were stuck in Qi Jin’s leg.

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