Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved
Chapter 67 Eldest Princess

Chapter 67: Chapter 67 Eldest Princess

The Eldest Princess, Zheng Tianxin, had inherited Empress Xiao’s grace and nobility. Her eyes were the spitting image of Zheng Congyuan, and her skin was even whiter than snow. Her voluptuous figure was like a peony in full bloom. Just standing there was enough to capture one’s gaze, and few men who saw the Eldest Princess for the first time could control their wandering eyes.

However, upon a second glance, and especially after learning of the Princess’s deeds, they would quickly lower their heads and hurry away. Just like now, those who recognized the Eldest Princess quickened their pace, entering the private rooms that were available, or abandoning their unfinished meals to leave—oh no, to slip away through the back door in haste.

This peculiar atmosphere left those who did not recognize her somewhat baffled.

Zheng Nianru turned her head back, as if nothing had happened, and continued walking towards the second floor.

Nanny Yun and Xing Yu followed without understanding why.

"Make way, move aside—," the guard ordered brashly, clearing out a large portion of the hall’s patrons in an instant, leaving the owner of Riverfood Restaurant with a forced smile, wanting to cry but having to scurry back and forth to accommodate.

Zheng Nianru remembered that before she was married, the Eldest Princess was confined to the palace by Empress Xiao, rarely allowed to be seen even at grand royal banquets.

Only when the Eldest Princess reached marriageable age did she reveal her face at major ceremonies. Suddenly, there were countless princes and noblemen seeking her hand, yet Empress Xiao was unwilling to agree to any of them, stating that the decision rested on the Eldest Princess’s own desires. In the end, she accepted an offer from an utterly unworthy, background-less scholar who had just passed the imperial examination.

However, the Eldest Princess who appeared in Riverfood Restaurant was not accompanied by that scholar-turned Prince Consort, but by a strikingly handsome and elegant young man. The Princess’s peach blossom-like beautiful eyes were wholly fixed upon him.

Zheng Nianru didn’t even glance at them and went straight into the private room.

"Shall we go for a stroll after we eat?"

"No, let’s head back," Zheng Nianru replied without hesitation.

Upon leaving Riverfood Restaurant, Zheng Nianru sped up noticeably. Nanmen Yu could clearly sense that she wasn’t interested in talking and seemed unhappy.

But what had he done to upset her today?

Was it because he hadn’t taken the matter of that strange man seriously? Yet Nanmen Yu felt that even Zheng Nianru herself wasn’t concerned, as though she was merely shunning trouble. But if that wasn’t the case, then why?

Nanmen Yu didn’t want to guess, because guessing always led back to himself. Had she seen that he wasn’t a man suitable for her trust? Regardless of his status or position, he could bring nothing to her, and she regretted it. The novelty had worn off, leaving nothing but scrutiny and criticism.

Indeed, she was Prince Duan’s daughter, and no matter the circumstances, she would always have plenty of choices, each one better than being with him.

Nanmen Yu also escorted her to the desolate and secluded garden outside Qishun Building. He wanted to enter, and he believed Nianru wouldn’t stop him, but after all, it was her boudoir, and entering as if it were nothing would be no different from Zheng Haoyuan’s actions, with whom she had a blood relation.

His presence was even less justified.

"I still have some silver here; you could buy a couple more shops. It doesn’t matter what kind, nor do you need to rush to make money," Zheng Nianru said, glancing at Nanny Yun, who almost forgot about this matter and hurriedly searched her person for gold.

"Young Master, you have worked hard," Nanny Yun wasn’t a servant secluded in deep chambers. She strongly agreed with Zheng Nianru’s decision to buy shops. Having such a property was like having something to rely on. Secretly, Nanny Yun had her reasons for advocating the cause.

Nanmen Yu looked at Zheng Nianru but didn’t take the silver.

"I need to speak with you for a moment." Should he reveal something, to improve his standing? At least in her eyes, he shouldn’t just be a worthless Hostage who had even lost his maternal clan.

Zheng Nianru glanced at Nanny Yun, who, though unwilling, eventually led Xing Yu away. Fu Dong didn’t want to leave, but the Commandery Princess seemed to want her to go.

The air hung heavy with silence, and Zheng Nianru finally realized something was off with Nanmen Yu. That’s right, she had been so caught up in the reflections of her past life that the moment she saw the Eldest Princess, it dawned on her that the princess’s eventual downfall was a living lesson before her very eyes.

It’s just that in her previous life, she had not realized it, but now she was suddenly and vividly confronted by the Eldest Princess, unsettling memories roiling within her.

"Are you not pleased?" Nanmen Yu spoke up, seeing that Zheng Nianru showed no intention of speaking.

At his words, Zheng Nianru suddenly smiled, like a night-blooming cereus bursting into bloom in an instant, resplendent as a mythic shun flower, scattering all the gloom. The sun broke through the dense clouds, illuminating the earth and parting the dark curtains of the boy’s heart.

"I’m just feeling a bit melancholic with the sudden onset of spring." Zheng Nianru smiled, "But thinking of you makes me happy."

Zheng Nianru took a step forward, and the young man’s heart rose to his chest, a mix of unease and eager anticipation intertwining within him.

"Nian Ru." The youth’s voice carried a trace of panic, not wanting to appear too impulsive and risk being looked down upon, but more so because he wanted all of this to become undeniably real, to proudly be a part of his future life.

As Zheng Nianru took another step closer, the young man’s breath was fresh and sweet, like a lush meadow brimming with dew in the early morning. Zheng Nianru simply wanted to be near him, to lean in – after so many days of longing and being unable to let go – she leaned on Nanmen Yu, her slender shoulders gradually becoming solid and strong.

Nanmen Yu reached out and grasped Zheng Nianru’s hands first, his eyes quickly suppressing the turmoil within. He laughed inwardly at his own sensitivity and jealousy, which were akin to the grumblings of a woman confined to the inner chambers.

"Rest assured, I won’t let you down." Nanmen Yu said, no need to tell her all those details. As long as things progressed slowly and became reality, she would see it for herself one day.

Zheng Nianru was taken aback for a moment, disappointed? Then she remembered the gold and nodded her head.

Nanmen Yu, with reluctance yet determination, let go of Zheng Nianru’s hands, as if performing the ritual of a solemn promise, dispelling Zheng Nianru’s desire to come closer.

"I must be going. If you need anything, there’s no need to come to me directly. Just leave a mark there, and when I see it, I’ll come to you."

Zheng Nianru nodded, and Nanmen Yu turned and left, not giving himself a chance to change his mind.

Zheng Nianru didn’t want to linger in the heavy dew of spring either and turned to enter the Qishun Building.

But beneath the trees heavy with the deep dew of spring, Zheng Haoyuan stood frozen, like a bamboo shoot just emerging from the soil in the springtime, stiff and bewildered, unable to cope with everything outside the dirt.

The following Cang Er wished he could shrink into a tree; no, actually turn into a tree instead. What had he seen? The Commandery Princess from within the depths of the palace privately meeting with a man, and their conduct... their conduct...

Combining that with the many times he had come in the past few days only to find the princess absent, Cang Er dared not think further. Why did he have to agree to come in person this morning?

Zheng Haoyuan was still using a walking stick, and the pain coursing through his body seemed as if it was no longer felt. He thought that even if he were flogged dozens more times now, he wouldn’t feel it at all. He wished he could be beaten once more, with the thick stick landing viciously upon his body, breaking every bone, crushing his flesh, grinding it to pulp, and scattering his bones to the wind.

He didn’t want to see this scene; he didn’t want to...

A trickle of blood slowly started flowing, bright and piercing to the eye, and Cang Er trembled as the Fourth Prince bit his lower lip so hard it too was stained red with blood.

"Your Highness..." Cang Er spoke up desperately.

"Let’s go back—" What’s the point in staying? Go in and confront? What am I compared to her! What am I to her!