CHAPTER 568: CHAPTER 547 FIRST UPDATE

"Princely Heir, why not we return to the Northwest first?" Gu Dao stepped forward. They had come all the way from the Northern Border, facing several assassination attempts, yet to this moment, they had not figured out the identity of their pursuers. It was only after they disguised themselves like this that they managed to arrive at Zheng Capital safely.

Zong Yunqian, his face grimy and serious, pondered over the fact that not a single piece of news concerning Qiandao Temple had followed them from the Northern Border. Mages from the Districts and Counties had vanished without a trace, leaving no one to question.

Zong Yunqian had an inkling that something had gone amiss. He felt even more certain his master had intentionally sent him into Misty Mountain Town. What on earth had happened?

"We’re not going back. We must make another trip to Qiandao Temple." Zong Yunqian made his decision in a heartbeat. He had come away from his first foray into Qiandao Temple empty-handed and could not understand how the Ghoul Ravine dwellers were inside Qiandao Temple. Where then had his master gone?

Many questions weighed on Zong Yunqian like a net over his head, suffocating him. He knew something major must have occurred, so now, finding his master and his senior martial brothers was of the utmost importance...

Gu Dao and Xi Feng exchanged a glance, urgency in their eyes. They couldn’t allow the Princely Heir to be in danger, but he simply wouldn’t listen to them.

...

Chende Palace was the hall closest to Chenyuan Hall. It had been renovated two years prior, and now it served as the residence of the Empress of Nanzheng, with the highest standards, even surpassing the Empress Dowager in splendor.

But no one commented, for Empress Xiao had been honored with the title of Empress Dowager and moved to the Eastern Garden, located near Empress Dowager Yan Ping. Ever since Empress Xiao had moved in, no one from the Eastern Garden had emerged. It wasn’t that Empress Dowager Yan Ping did not wish to leave, but the place was swarming with people from Ghoul Ravine who restricted everyone’s every move.

Ju Nanyi personally oversaw the arrangements of Chende Palace, as meticulous as a man’s style tends to be, which even Zheng Nianru had to admit.

The drapes and bed canopies inside Chende Palace were in soft tones, even her favorite colors. The wood grain on the furniture was perfectly aligned and symmetrical, with natural patterns that were hard to come by in all of Nanzheng. Zheng Nianru marveled at Ju Nanyi’s innate talent for such matters, thinking that if she hadn’t known of his family’s situation, she might have mistaken him for being born into an influential noble family.

What was truly remarkable was the subtlety of the man’s efforts. While the coincidence in furniture could be excused, since sets like these indeed existed in Nanzheng’s Palace, the delightful and finely crafted artifacts displayed everywhere were eye-pleasing, few but exquisite, even capturing Zheng Nianru’s discerning eye.

This surprised Zheng Nianru somewhat. However, in the memories of her previous life, she hadn’t paid attention to these details initially. The courtyard provided by her father had everything styled to her liking. She never inquired about Ju Nanyi’s preferences. Later on, she paid even less attention and did not realize that Ju Nanyi had been so thoughtfully considerate.

"Commandery Princess, this place is truly beautiful." Fu Dong and Nian Xia caressed the soft, thin bed curtains. Seen from afar, the drapes resembled layers of mist, and what was more precious was that the colors resembled smoke – faint from a distance and denser up close, like the dawn or the dusk.

Zheng Nianru did not refute this; such bed curtains were indeed rare. She didn’t remember if there were any in the Imperial Treasury, but even if there were, it only served to prove the meticulous attention of the person who had decorated the space.

"Enough admiring," Zheng Nianru sat down. This outcome was not pleasing to her, but since it had come to this, she understood that it wasn’t a matter of her simply getting angry and having things her own way.

Ju Nanyi had made it very clear, given the current situation and drawing on the experiences of the previous life, there was indeed no room for resistance.

Zheng Congyuan had placed all his military bets on the Wen Family Army, aiming to annihilate them in one fell swoop and prevent future troubles. According to Ju Nanyi, everything had been meticulously planned, and the course of events was almost entirely under Zheng Congyuan’s control.

Therefore, the sudden emergence of Ghoul Ravine caught everyone off guard, and even now, Zheng Nianru only learned that the youth, Master Yin He from Ghoul Ravine, was able to appear in Nanzheng’s Imperial Palace because he had eliminated most of Qiandao Temple’s influence and the majority of the military forces of the Northwest Border. It was precisely because of these accomplishments, and the speed at which they were achieved, that allowed him to appear before Zheng Congyuan at such a pivotal moment.

With such strength, he naturally would not take Zheng Congyuan seriously. To this day, there has been no news of Master Huo Yi or Master Yu Sheng, which is sufficient to prove that Ju Nanyi’s words were not an alarmist overstatement.

What Zheng Nianru couldn’t understand was how, if Master Yin He was so formidable, he had not appeared in her memories from her past life, not even leaving a faint impression?

Thereupon, Zheng Nianru thought of the Other Palace, where she had saved Zheng Haoyuan. If she hadn’t saved Zheng Haoyuan at that time, or if from the beginning she hadn’t saved that damned youth in the cave, then would it be possible that...

Ju Nanyi noticed that the expression of the woman in front of him seemed a bit off. Had she thought of something? The information he could track about the youth started from the Other Palace. When Zheng Haoyuan disappeared, what exactly had happened in the mountains behind the Other Palace?

"Empress, have you thought of something?"

Zheng Nianru was pulled back from her thoughts by Ju Nanyi’s voice, and then she shook her head. What could she do? Whether she acted or not, what could she change? Why should she burden herself with such a sin?

"How is the Emperor?" Zheng Nianru couldn’t ponder further. These past few days, Zheng Congyuan had been in and out of consciousness, asleep more often than awake or in a confused state. Now was the time to have a proper talk with Zheng Congyuan.

"The Emperor is somewhat agitated at the moment; after all, some matters require time. Your Majesty, please understand..." Ju Nanyi said smoothly, masking any emotion in his voice.

...

In the past couple of days, Zheng Congyuan’s condition had improved. Ju Nanyi placed the crucial memorials on the bedside table. He had already reviewed them once, leaving only the very important ones that he could not decide upon.

"Regarding the construction of the Ancestral Hall, Master Yin He mentioned, from where does Your Majesty believe the necessary silver taels should be allocated?" The Imperial Treasury was depleted, and there wasn’t much to draw from, barely enough to keep the imperial court functioning.

"There’s no need for that, take care of it as you see fit," said Zheng Congyuan, closing his eyes. The more awake he became, the less he wanted to be; he was even more cognizant than Ju Nanyi of the current predicament and could not accept it.

"How is she?" Zheng Congyuan opened his mouth reluctantly; he dared not ask, yet the thought plagued his mind, consuming all his energy.

"The Empress has settled in Chende Palace and seems to have accepted..." Ju Nanyi started to say, but was interrupted by Zheng Congyuan’s raised hand, signaling him not to continue. He did not want to hear it.

"Your Majesty, the Empress did it to save you, naturally, she is willing to do anything..." Ju Nanyi insisted, even though Zheng Congyuan did not want to listen, he still mentioned it, seeing the pained expression on Zheng Congyuan’s face, "Does Your Majesty wish to summon the Empress?"

"Forget it—" Zheng Congyuan closed his eyes in agony; he had no face left to see her.