CHAPTER 581: CHAPTER 560 SECOND UPDATE

"Lord Ju, although this palace does not understand anything about spells, I still grasp some basic truths. You don’t even know how this disease was contracted, so what are you talking about treating it?" Zheng Nianru looked at Ju Nanyi, that was simply foolishness to the extreme.

Ju Nanyi stopped speaking, for if he were to be honest, the lady’s words were not entirely without reason. Everything they had done was merely a matter of luck.

Furthermore, he hadn’t even decided whether he wanted to save Zheng Congyuan or not.

To save, for what purpose, and not to save, also for what reason.

"Lord Ju, do you have any objections?" Zheng Nianru saw Ju Nanyi had stopped speaking and instead took the initiative to ask.

"Your servant has none," Ju Nanyi replied calmly.

"Then you may leave—"

Seeing that Zheng Congyuan had not spoken, Ju Nanyi led his people out.

Only Zheng Nianru and Zheng Congyuan’s people remained in the room. Fu Dong and Nian Xia were cautiously picking up the fragments on the ground. This was the hot spring pool inside Chenyuan Hall, where the temperature of the water was extremely high. Condensed water vapor floated in the air, and the already clean ground was slowly blanketed by the vapor.

In the midst of the silence, Zheng Nianru was in no rush to speak. She waited for Fu Dong and Nian Xia to finish tidying up before signaling them to leave.

Nanny Yun was somewhat worried because Zheng Nianru had become more and more enigmatic to her. In the past, Nianru would often talk to her, but now, it had been a long time since they had.

Nanny Yun didn’t know when it had started to slowly become like this, but she was helpless. The Empress had not asked her to stay, so she took the initiative to step outside, and then she saw Qi Zhu who had also come out.

"Why did you come out?" Who’s looking after the Emperor?

"Her Majesty ordered me to come out." The Emperor didn’t stop me, how could I not come out? Qi Zhu said aggrievedly. However, he also didn’t know what Her Majesty wanted to talk to the Emperor about.

The room had fallen into complete silence, and Zheng Nianru, lost in thought, was staring at the water vapor above the hot spring pool without speaking, as if pondering something.

"Do not blame Ju Nanyi, it was I who forced him," Zheng Congyuan spoke up, trying to alleviate the atmosphere. But now, no matter what he said, he could not hide the restlessness in their hearts, and that day was getting closer and closer. Zheng Congyuan’s haste, what else could it be for?

"That matter, we have to face it eventually, might as well talk about it openly now," Zheng Nianru turned around, since Zheng Congyuan had spoken first, breaking the awkwardness, then let it begin, otherwise why was she here?

Indeed, Zheng Congyuan’s breath quickened upon hearing this, and his expression lost its earlier calmness.

"Fu Xun brother, have you ever thought about how far we could go if we followed the constraints of the secular world?" Zheng Nianru was not in a hurry, as she had thought about this question many times. She found no way to solve it, which is why she considered leaving him. He came up with a way that led to where they were today.

So, for a situation that was doomed from the start, what more could they do?

"If we had not met, you would be the Crown Prince of Nanzheng State, and then ascend to this throne. However, the Empress sitting in that place would definitely not be me," Zheng Nianru said with a smile.

Zheng Congyuan’s gaze deepened, focusing on Zheng Nianru.

"This is an accident—" Zheng Congyuan began slowly, struggling to keep his voice steady and to appear less distressed.

"It’s not an accident—" Zheng Nianru turned to look at Zheng Congyuan. In her previous life, there was no Yin He, the internal strife was still under Zheng Congyuan’s control, but in the end, he did not ascend to this position. Thus, as if there was a predestined fate, maybe they truly did not have that kind of destiny.

However, Zheng Nianru did not believe in that; she just wanted to be with him.

"Congyuan—" Zheng Nianru lowered her voice, not wanting to argue with him, but simply to talk. If possible, could they consider a different approach?

Zheng Congyuan looked at the woman before him, his gaze gradually softening. Having spent so much time with Zheng Nianru, he could tell when she was sincerely looking at you.

These past days, although the woman’s words had been gentle and pure, they lacked the sincere intention of this moment. Nian Ru had something to say to him?

Zheng Congyuan’s heart suddenly tightened. These days, he had neglected her, always unwilling to face the current situation and unsure how to talk to her.

"Nian Ru, don’t be discouraged. There’s always a way. If it really comes down to it, we could..."

"Leave the Imperial Palace? Escape to a place where no one can find us?" In her previous life, that might have been possible, as long as he was willing to let go of everything. And, with the Wen Family’s rebellion, he could have staged a scenario that no one would suspect.

Zheng Nianru was not smart, but even she, with her limited intelligence, came up with a good solution that Zheng Congyuan rejected.

"What about Nanzheng? And everyone in the palace? Now that Zheng Haoyuan is already dead, once you leave, the Nanzheng Imperial Clan will have completely changed," said Zheng Nianru.

"And also..." Zheng Congyuan hesitated slightly.

Zheng Nianru had already shaken her head.

"Will Ghoul Ravine let my father off?" She had underestimated Yin He, the youth. Her previous life’s habit of ignoring everyone, thinking she could do whatever she wanted, had become second nature, believing that she could look down on everyone.

After all, in her previous life, she succeeded, with Ju Nanyi protecting her every step of the way.

"And now you are controlled by him; leaving him would put your life at risk." Although Zheng Nianru didn’t know for certain, she was also a bit suspicious that the young man might be deceiving her.

Zheng Congyuan’s expression began to darken subtly; what Zheng Nianru said was the truth. Everything had to start with his ability to break free from Ghoul Ravine’s control.

But now, he had no confidence at all, he couldn’t even give Zheng Nianru hope. Moreover, he wasn’t prepared to take Zheng Nianru with him.

"I have already asked Ju Nanyi to..." Zheng Congyuan had just started speaking.

"So it was Ju Nanyi you meant to take me away." Zheng Nianru realized and, without waiting for Zheng Congyuan to speak, as if she already understood his thoughts, "Then what..."

Zheng Nianru looked at the man before her. No matter what the outcome, she and he could not be together.

"Then the people of Ghoul Ravine would kill you, and wipe out Nanzheng. And, do you really trust Ju Nanyi that much to take me away?" Zheng Nianru looked at Zheng Congyuan, "Besides, what’s the point of living if I can’t be with you?" All resulted in the same. She had thought more than he had, at least in this life, she had already discarded the possibilities that had already happened and knew more clearly what she wanted.

"Nian Ru, you can’t think like this, you were just dragged into this..." Zheng Congyuan became a little anxious.

"It’s not being dragged in, rather, it all started because of me. If I had not acted to save Zheng Haoyuan, then I wouldn’t have met Yin He, and in this life, there would’ve been no connection between him and me, then your plan would’ve worked out very smoothly, wouldn’t it?"

"So, to see the clear outcome, what I want is to be with you, even if..."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Congyuan looked at Zheng Nianru in shock, no, he did not agree...

"Perhaps, I might even learn from him how to remove this thing from your body." Zheng Nianru looked at Zheng Congyuan, then spoke again, "Fu Xun, brother, you don’t know, I once had a dream, a dream of us in a different story."