Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved-Chapter 511 - 490: Second Update

"Cousin, where are we going?" Zheng Haoyuan looked up at Zheng Nianru, allowing her to lead him out of the palace.

Eunuch Cang Er felt certain that he was doomed, utterly and thoroughly doomed. He had actually followed the Fourth Prince out of the palace at such a critical time when the identity of the Fourth Prince was so crucial.

But Eunuch Cang Er dared not advise against it, as advising was death, and not advising was also death.

"Eunuch Cang, are you unwilling to follow?" Xing Yu saw Eunuch Cang looking back every three steps, feeling displeased. However, she also did not understand why the Commandery Princess wanted to take the Prince away. What was she doing taking the Prince away at this time? It was far too dangerous for the Commandery Princess to do this.

The next moment, Nian Xia and Xing Yu seemed to consider a problem, although they were not clear about the current situation. They knew that the Wen Family had started an uprising, naturally wanting to support the Fourth Prince to ascend to the throne. But what if the Fourth Prince disappeared?

"How could that be?" Eunuch Cang Er didn’t even have to think before he immediately replied, knowing that saying he didn’t want to follow would mean he’d be the first to die.

Xing Yu looked at Eunuch Cang Er somewhat sympathetically, feeling that the Commandery Princess was doing all this for the Crown Prince. But, Commandery Princess, this is too dangerous. How could several women, defenseless as they are, kidnap the Fourth Prince?

As she was mulling this over, Xing Yu hoisted Eunuch Cang onto her shoulder and climbed up the tall city wall. When she had hoisted up the last one, Eunuch Cang, all of them had already made it beyond the city wall.

"What place is this?" Zheng Haoyuan curiously surveyed his surroundings. The dilapidated houses looked like they could collapse at any moment. He had been in the palace for many years and had never seen such a place within the palace walls.

"I don’t know, it might be an area abandoned by the former dynasty," said Zheng Nianru. This was actually not far from where Nanmen Yu used to live. Zheng Nianru avoided that area because it was where dead bodies were piled up. After climbing over it once, she didn’t want to climb it a second time, which led her to discover this route.

"Where are we going then?" asked Zheng Haoyuan again.

Zheng Nianru didn’t know either. Her taking Zheng Haoyuan away had been entirely impulsive. She didn’t know what would happen next. In her previous life, she had not had much contact with him and only knew of the tragic end he met.

"How about we go to my place first?" Zheng Nianru thought for a moment; right now, that was the only place she could go to.

Zheng Haoyuan immediately bowed his head; how could he be unwilling? His enlightenment had come almost instantaneously, as if overnight, he had come to understand many things he hadn’t understood before or hadn’t dared to think about.

So what did the ancestral teachings matter? Zheng Congyuan had even agreed to support the Wen Family’s rebellion, so what was breaking a mere ancestral teaching? Thinking this way, there was naturally no obstacle between him and his cousin.

Of course, all this would have to wait until everything was over, until the people from Qiandao Temple came, until all the dust had settled. He would see Zheng Congyuan’s true face, who was clearly not the Child of Heavenly Selection. Then, her eyes would shift to him.

"Let’s go," a very inconspicuous horse-drawn carriage was, despite its plainness, incredibly conspicuous amidst the tense atmosphere where everyone was on edge. But Eunuch Cang noticed that the carriage took very secluded paths, deliberately avoiding all conspicuous places, and headed straight for the outskirts of the city.

To Prince Duan’s Mansion? Eunuch Cang finally understood that when the Commandery Princess said her place, she meant Prince Duan’s Mansion.

Prince Duan’s Mansion was a good choice; common folks would never think of it.

"Cousin, do you know about that prophecy from Qiandao Temple?" Zheng Haoyuan did not care about other matters; he only wanted Zheng Nianru to know about the prophecy.

"I’m not interested," Zheng Nianru shook her head, "I never believe in that prophecy from Qiandao Temple, have you forgotten I even took you to the rooftop to peek at that..."

"Master Ling Yi."

"Yes, Master Ling Yi preaching the sutras," Zheng Nianru continued, mimicking Master Ling Yi’s manner, chanting woodenly and causing Nian Xia and Xing Yu in the carriage to giggle.

Eunuch Cang sat in the corner of the carriage; at such a critical time, he naturally dared not sit outside, for fear that if he were spotted, the assassins would arrive before help could.

Zheng Haoyuan also laughed, but he felt a headache coming on—what should he do if his cousin didn’t believe in these things?

"Cousin, the mages at Qiandao Temple do have some real skills," Zheng Haoyuan said, though it seemed this statement wasn’t convincing enough on its own to be believed, "Do you still remember what happened to my second brother?"

Zheng Nianru was surprised that Zheng Haoyuan would bring up Zheng Muyuan, the Second Prince who had died early; after his death, she had never heard Zheng Haoyuan mention him.

"My second brother had a purpose in what he did," said Zheng Haoyuan slowly, "and he almost succeeded. Four years ago, my second brother was dead, and it was the mage named Yin He who resurrected him. Master Yin He was personally sent by Master Huo Yi from Qiandao Temple."

Zheng Nianru paused slightly, unsure why Zheng Haoyuan was bringing this up now.

"Fu Gong, your second brother is dead," Zheng Nianru said.

Zheng Haoyuan looked up at the young lady before him.

"No, he almost lived again, and it was under my identity," Zheng Haoyuan said slowly, these were things he learned only later; after Zheng Muyuan died, he gradually discovered some deeply secretive matters, "If it weren’t for you, maybe, the current Fu Gong would have been replaced by someone else."

Zheng Nianru paused slightly, and for some reason, she found it very easy to believe what Zheng Haoyuan said; maybe the Zheng Haoyuan from her past life was different from this life’s—naughty, yes, but a naughtiness befitting the scion of an aristocratic family, not like the rumors of his past life, nor like what she had seen after entering the palace.

So, Zheng Nianru believed him, but even with memories of her previous life, she had never thought that Qiandao Temple could control everything; at least, they couldn’t in her past life.

Otherwise, how could she have eventually taken the position of Empress Dowager, had her son ascend the throne, and yet ended up with her entire house annihilated?

If Qiandao Temple could foresee the future, they should have foreseen their own destiny first.

"Cousin, you don’t believe," Zheng Haoyuan’s heart sank, yes, she didn’t believe, it indeed wasn’t easy to convince anyone.

"No, I believe," Zheng Nianru said, startled, as thoughts she had never before considered suddenly leaped into her mind; she had never liked dwelling on these messy matters, and the affairs of Qiandao Temple had only been a few sparse words and names in her memory, never truly entering her mind.

"You should believe, the prophecies of Qiandao Temple are real, pertaining to the future heir to the Nanzheng State throne, the Child of Heavenly Selection," Zheng Haoyuan said slowly, "Moreover, the prophecy has already excluded Zheng Congyuan; the future heir is not yet of age to wear the crown, so it cannot be Zheng Congyuan."

"Not Zheng Congyuan?" Zheng Nianru questioned, then who could it be—who else in this world was more qualified to sit in that position? Zheng Nianru looked towards Zheng Haoyuan before her; he had no intention for the throne, this wasn’t her wild guess, but knowledge from both lifetimes that Zheng Haoyuan’s heart had never been set on the imperial seat.

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