Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved
Chapter 91 Confrontation

Chapter 91: Chapter 91 Confrontation

Nanmen Yu finished his greeting and looked at Zheng Nianru. A moment of tenderness flickered in his calm eyes, but he quickly felt embarrassed and lowered his head as Xue Liu brought over a chair.

Nanmen Yu didn’t want to sit. What he actually wanted was to sit in Zheng Haoyuan’s seat, but Zheng Haoyuan seemed calm as if he hadn’t seen him at all.

However, under the facade of calmness, Zheng Haoyuan was gripping the lychee in his hand tightly. How could he be here? With so many poisonous snakes, couldn’t one of them have had the eyesight to let him get out alive?

"Nian Ru, I’ve noticed that there are suddenly more poisonous snakes in the Imperial Palace. You need to assign more people to stand guard at night," Nanmen Yu suddenly spoke up. "This is some realgar powder and other medicinal powders I found overnight. Sprinkle it around Qishun Building, and it should keep the snakes away."

Nanny Yun immediately took it from him.

"Thank you, Princely Heir." So he came for this.

Zheng Haoyuan suddenly looked up, staring intently at Nanmen Yu. What had he just called his cousin? Nian Ru, did he have the right to call his cousin by her name?

Zheng Nianru was also slightly taken aback, surprised by the change in the man. The previous shyness and inferiority seemed to have vanished altogether. Zheng Nianru knew that it was not her sensitivity that was changing, but that something had indeed changed.

In the past, when she rejected Nanmen Yu, he returned to Nanmen State and took control of its power within less than three years, and Nanmen State’s strength had soared dramatically. These things didn’t happen overnight.

Nanny Yun also felt that today’s Nanmen Yu seemed different, but he had never before appeared so openly in Qishun Building. Even if he had something to attend to, he would let the eunuch at the door pass a message and wait outside.

Nanmen Yu had already stood up to leave, as if his only purpose in coming was for the medicinal powder he’d brought.

Nanny Yun had already handed the medicinal powder to the eunuch under her command, ordering him to see to it right away.

"In past years, these venomous insects and ferocious animals did not appear at this time. Why have they all come out this year? However, I did indeed see one this morning," Nanny Yun mused to herself.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Haoyuan felt as if he had a guilty conscience, and the lychee rolled out of his hand. Cang Er, in a panic, tried several times to pick up the lychee but failed.

Zheng Haoyuan inwardly cursed the fool.

"Cousin, my head hurts—" Seeing Zheng Nianru looking over, Zheng Haoyuan quickly pulled back his hand, deciding to ignore the fruit and tugged at Zheng Nianru’s clothing to lean on her instead.

Fu Dong’s heart suddenly tightened, and she hurriedly handed over a pillow.

"Fourth Prince, here is a pillow for you to rest on."

Zheng Haoyuan didn’t want the pillow; he was pulling on Zheng Nianru directly.

"Cousin, I want to go out and play."

Zheng Nianru glanced indifferently at Fu Dong and the others on the ground. Xing Yu lowered her head guiltily; she had only talked about the fun things outside but hadn’t mentioned that the hostage from Nanmen State had taken them out.

"If you’re not feeling well, you should go back to the palace to rest. There will be plenty of chances to go out and play later," Zheng Nianru replied, not thinking too much of it, just assuming that Zheng Haoyuan was playful and curious about things outside the palace.

Zheng Haoyuan’s eyes darkened immediately. What a bad excuse to come up with, complaining about a headache.

Zheng Haoyuan returned to the palace, intending to smash things again, but he found that the items he had broken the day before had not yet been replaced. He couldn’t find anything to throw and noticed a wooden box on the table. The box was plain and didn’t seem like it belonged to his palace.

Zheng Haoyuan picked it up to smash it, but suddenly his hand froze in mid-air, a puzzled expression on his face, and he slowly put down the box.

Eunuch Shun Zi, who had hurried in, immediately knelt on the ground when he saw Zheng Haoyuan holding the box.

"Fourth Prince, this is a gift sent by the hostage from Nanmen State through his servant," Eunuch Shun Zi quickly said.

"Foolish, how could you bring something with an unknown origin here to the prince?" Cang Er was anxious. After all, Shun Zi wasn’t a disciple of the Mage and could manage such a thing. Anything that could be handed to the prince, he said, was about to take it.

But Zheng Haoyuan stood still, lost in a vague daze. Cang Er was startled and stepped back, waiting on the side.

Eunuch Shun Zi withdrew.

After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Zheng Haoyuan appeared to muster the courage to open the wooden box. Inside, he saw a black jade ring lying quietly within. There was no lavish packaging, but the box itself was smoothly shaped, and the grain of the wood resembled a painting, enough to indicate the jade ring was a treasure.

Cang Er saw the item and paused slightly, as if it seemed familiar, as though he had seen it somewhere before.

Zheng Haoyuan had already taken the item in hand, and that profound, heavy sensation became even more intense. It felt as if it wanted to extract something from within Zheng Haoyuan, who realized that the negative forces within him seemed to fear what was in his hands. In an instant, his mind cleared, and his usual irritability and unease gradually stabilized.

"Who sent this?" he asked, vaguely recalling that Eunuch Shun Zi had mentioned someone’s name.

"Your Highness, it was the hostage from Nanmen State," Cang Er faithfully replied, finding his master’s disposition a bit strange; it was as if he had become a different person in an instant. But Cang Er couldn’t tell if this was good or bad, nor did he have anyone to discuss it with.

Zheng Haoyuan was somewhat lost in thought. Was it because there was no one to find in his palace that he had to go to Qishun Building to find him?

But why would he possess something from Master Ling Yi’s hands?

No, that’s not right. This isn’t the jade ring from Master Ling Yi. Master Ling Yi’s ring was much larger, and the patterns on that ring were far more intricate.

Although Zheng Haoyuan had only glimpsed it once, he remembered it clearly. But this jade ring felt very similar to the one Master Ling Yi had.

Why had he sent this item to him, what did he know? Zheng Haoyuan was supposed to kill him, and yet this object, Zheng Haoyuan could feel, was a good thing—a thing better than any amount of gold, silver, or jewels for him.

Zheng Haoyuan attached the item to the silk ribbon holding up his jade pendant at his waist, and the sensation of clarity felt as though it enveloped him. The refreshingly clean feeling allowed Zheng Haoyuan’s thoughts to also settle down.

Returning from the Traveling Palace, Zheng Haoyuan was not unaware that something was wrong with him. The previous state of madness and inability to control himself only occurred when provoked. But now it had escaped his control.

He had quietly sought the Imperial Physician and the mages of Qiandao Temple, but nothing was found.

Yet, Zheng Haoyuan was certain that Zheng Muyuan had definitely planted something within him.

The appearance of this jade pendant helped Zheng Haoyuan abruptly realize that this was his true self—utterly composed, able to quietly consider all matters.

"Call Yan Cheng here," he instructed, and Cang Er immediately withdrew.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Yan Cheng had hurried over. Was it because of some unfinished matter from last night?

Usually, they would stick around the Fourth Prince and not leave, but the Fourth Prince had never actively sought them out before.

When Yan Cheng arrived, he couldn’t discern anything different about Zheng Haoyuan. Zheng Haoyuan coldly glanced at Yan Cheng and found some reason to believe Yan Cheng’s words.

Nanmen Yu was not as simple as he seemed on the surface; behind him seemed to be some mysterious power.

Therefore, they had not acted rashly, but rather waited for the right opportunity to strike.

But instead of provoking a counterattack from Nanmen Yu when he attacked, he received this gift as a gesture of goodwill. Why?

Zheng Haoyuan stood up the next moment.

"Follow me to a place."

Yan Cheng was taken aback but immediately followed him. Were they leaving the palace now?

"Where does Your Highness wish to go?"

"To that shop just outside Nanmen Yu’s residence." Since Nanmen Yu was making a gesture of goodwill, it clearly meant that he wouldn’t kill him. So, what did he have to fear?