CHAPTER 567: CHAPTER 546 SECOND UPDATE

"This was the Crown Prince’s plan, the one the Emperor had once devised. If it weren’t for the appearance of Master Yin He, the current situation..." Ju Nanyi immediately spoke up, despite not knowing Zheng Congyuan’s plan. However, with Ju Nanyi’s intelligence, from what Prime Minister Lin knew, and from the actions of Qiandao Temple, he quickly figured it out.

Moreover, in Chenyuan Hall, Zheng Congyuan abandoned everything else resolutely, just to have Zheng Nianru, which confirmed his suspicions.

One could say that all of this was brought about by Zheng Congyuan’s own doing. He could have controlled the Wen Family quietly, but instead, he deliberately led them to start a rebellion. He even exploited the prophecy of Qiandao Temple and the talk of the Child of Heavenly Selection, to place the entire Nanzheng in jeopardy. Zheng Congyuan even risked himself, all to make Zheng Nianru’s ascent to that position seem just and natural.

Without such major upheaval, how could the ancient precedents be shaken, allowing people to accept such a result?

All was nearly achieved, if not for the emergence of Master Yin He and Ghoul Ravine.

So, what Ju Nanyi stated was the truth, yet not the whole truth.

Zheng Nianru lowered her gaze, knowing that coming from Ju Nanyi’s mouth, she believed it even more. Zheng Congyuan had always reassured her, and she knew he had a plan, one so complex she didn’t even want to think about it, simply waiting for the final outcome, with a selfish desire to save Zheng Haoyuan.

Now, Zheng Nianru could no longer distinguish whether it was her actions that had changed fate, but no matter what she did, there would be no possibility between her and Zheng Congyuan.

So, the Empress...

Should she be grateful to Ju Nanyi for still leaving her with thoughts to the very end? Or to Master Yin He for tacitly acknowledging her and Zheng Congyuan?

Zheng Nianru wanted to laugh, this Master Yin He seemed to see through more than the Ju Nanyi before her, only such an eccentric madman could be so stubbornly insane.

"I understand now—" Zheng Nianru stood up, realizing that what she knew was similar to what she had surmised. Isn’t there still a month left? She had plenty of time to prepare her emotions. Besides, the thing she had already done in her previous life wasn’t even pretentious now, at most, she simply lacked the interest of a hunter and had become the prey of another.

Nanny Yun brought the cloak, carefully draping it over Zheng Nianru. Fu Dong carefully offered the soup, but Zheng Nianru waved her hand, indicating for it to be put aside, as she lacked the appetite. Even if she could come to terms with it, it didn’t mean she would be happy.

"Commandery Princess, the bed in the subsidiary palace has been prepared. Would you like to rest there for a while?" Nian Xia asked softly. The palace worked expediently, and in just one day’s work, aside from the lingering stench of blood in the air, there was no trace to be seen in the entire hall. The palace maid was extremely cautious, as if she never found Zheng Nianru’s presence there inappropriate.

"Commandery Princess, you have taken care of his highness all night. Why not rest for a while? We will be here," said Qi Zhu, stepping forward. At that moment, only Qi Zhu, Qi Jin, and Qi Yu were allowed in the palace. Qi Jin had the others hide directly, deciding to wait and see what would happen in the future.

Zheng Nianru nodded and stood up. She indeed needed a good rest, to think of nothing at all. Sometimes, memories of her past life and events of this life intertwined, the more she tried not to think about them, the more they would suddenly leap into her mind.

Even now, she felt her current state was akin to her previous life when she had seized the throne and placed Zheng Congyuan under house arrest; he was so close yet out of reach. She thought she could be free but it was just the beginning of something else.

Nian Xia did not leave, she glanced at Qi Zhu, and while Nanny Yun and Fu Dong were busy coaxing the Commandery Princess to rest, she stepped forward directly to Qi Zhu.

"Can’t we take his highness and the Commandery Princess away together?" It would be better than being trapped in this palace.

Qi Zhu glanced at Nian Xia, who was unaware of the situation outside the palace, nor did she know about the Ghost Shadows raised in the three empty halls of the Imperial Palace.

"The guards have all been changed, and escaping is as hard as sprouting wings. Besides, even if the Crown Prince could leave, what about the Empress Dowager and the Grand Empress Dowager?" Qi Zhu spoke slowly; the Crown Prince was not an unfilial person. There was still the land of Nanzheng to think about and the heavy responsibility on the shoulders of the Nanzheng Imperial Clan. That’s why His Highness pondered over and over again before choosing the best plan in the end.

But, no one is to blame for this situation. Qi Zhu knew that even if they hadn’t planned it this way, the inevitable was bound to happen. The Wen Family had been colluding with Ghoul Ravine for a long time, and even if Master Yin He’s intention was to target the Commandery Princess, Ghoul Ravine certainly had different plans.

Ghoul Ravine was pleased to see such outcomes happen and might have instigated everything from the beginning.

The earth-shattering changes and the tragic death of Qi Ling made Qi Zhu grow up a lot overnight, and his once jovial nature had completely retracted.

However, how could their master bear to let the Commandery Princess suffer because of him...

This was what Qi Zhu worried about the most.

Nian Xia was taken aback. Qi Zhu stopped her with his question; were they really trapped?

"Who would have thought that Yin He would turn out to be such an ingrate. If I had known, I would have left him to freeze to death in that cave," Nian Xia said indignantly.

"Sister Nian Xia, don’t be so angry. Things have come to this point; we can only take it one step at a time. Besides, we haven’t reached a dead end yet. Thankfully, we’re all still alive."

Upon hearing this, Nian Xia thought of the deceased Qi Ling and fell silent, her expression downcast.

...

A sudden heavy snowfall blanketed the entire Zheng Capital, burying all traces of the rebellion. The streets slowly grew crowded again, and amidst the simplification of the year-end festivities, the city, in its wintry whiteness, made the red decorations even more vibrant.

The enthronement ceremony and the ceremony to honor the Empress were both kept simple. The people of Zheng Capital only knew that the Crown Prince had seamlessly become the Emperor of Nanzheng. The Wen Family was exterminated for their rebellion, with their soldiers either disbanded or captured.

Everything seemed to have returned to normal, except that Qiandao Temple seemed to have disappeared overnight from Nanzheng State, replaced by a new state religion that still resided within Qiandao Temple as if nothing had changed.

However, one person, unnoticed by everyone else, quietly arrived at Qiandao Temple.

It was only that he had gotten lost in the mountains for a month. By the time he reemerged, everything had changed drastically. This "madman" with a face full of beard and matted hair strode through the streets of Zheng Capital, followed by two equally ragged and filthy individuals. As they stumbled through the city streets, the passersby, unable to avoid them in time, could only curse their bad luck.

The three men stumbled along, unbothered, and after making their way through the entire capital, they finally stopped in a secluded, dilapidated house.

"Princely Heir, we haven’t found any news or any messages left by our sect," Gu Dao reported, stepping forward. They had long become accustomed to the smell on themselves and were unbothered by it. The news they had gathered along the way left them with no concern for anything else.

The one leading them was none other than Zong Yunqian, who had vanished while pursuing leads to the Northern Border. He slumped to the ground, despondent upon hearing the update.

He had gone to the Northern Border simply because he received a secret letter from his master, asking him to handle a confidential task. But he got lost as soon as he entered the area, and by the time he struggled out, he found that Qiandao Temple had disappeared into thin air. He couldn’t contact any of his fellow disciples, not even those in the Districts and Counties. Where had everyone from Qiandao Temple gone?