CHAPTER 576: CHAPTER 555 FIRST UPDATE

Everyone in the hall tacitly avoided mentioning that matter. Ju Nanyi too had no desire to discuss it, maintaining a brief peace.

Ju Nanyi bowed to take his leave, not wanting to witness such a scene; Zheng Congyuan did not ask him to stay, which to Ju Nanyi’s view, added to his displeasure.

What was the current state of Nanzheng State? Anyone with the slightest concern for the affairs of state should not indulge in personal affections at such a time. Could it be that Zheng Congyuan was content with her really going to Qiandao Temple?

After stepping out of the great hall, Ju Nanyi had to personally verify the effectiveness of mages gathered from all corners and the various eccentrics sought after.

"Lord Ju--" The voice behind him made Ju Nanyi’s body go rigid. The title was oddly unfamiliar to him, but the voice was etched deep in his bones. Ju Nanyi didn’t want to stop. Why should he? What right did she have to make him stop?

Fu Dong saw that the man ahead had stopped and sighed in relief. She realized that Lord Ju seemed quite distant from their Commandery Princess. Naturally, this wasn’t hard to understand. Lord Ju had gone through great lengths, almost rescuing Nanzheng State from calamity, yet The Emperor had given up such a good opportunity for their Empress.

Even though Yin He’s arrival later on diluted the hatred everyone held against their Empress, Fu Dong could still understand; it was already commendable that Lord Ju was respectful towards their Empress.

"Lord Ju, please wait—" Zheng Nianru spoke up, her pace quick because she had matters to discuss with Ju Nanyi. Originally, she had planned to discuss them with Zheng Congyuan, but seeing the dark circles under Zheng Congyuan’s eyes, Zheng Nianru knew that his outward calm was feigned, and he was eager to find a way out of the current dilemma.

Now Ju Nanyi wanted to leave, but the voice was clearly heard; to continue walking would be rude. He stopped solely to maintain his gentlemanly conduct, not at all because his body subconsciously responded to the memory ingrained in his mind.

Ju Nanyi looked down, determined not to meet the gaze of the person before him. He was simply behaving as a subject should, it had nothing to do with anything else. However, his internal defenses weren’t fully fortified when a vague scent carried by the cool breeze, weaving through the intricate snow plum vines, penetrated his heart.

"Lord Ju, are you busy?" Zheng Nianru asked hesitantly, after all, the matter at hand required Ju Nanyi’s involvement. She didn’t trust anyone else with it.

Ju Nanyi was irritated. When had she become so polite?

"Empress, is there a matter?" The words he spoke, however, were very calm, calm with a sense of detachment.

Fu Dong understood the man’s mindset all too well, somewhat worried that he would outright disrespect her own mistress. She subconsciously tightened her grip on her sleeve, even looking at Ju Nanyi somewhat pleadingly.

"Your servant..."

"Lord Ju, come with me to Chende Palace—" Zheng Nianru had already spoken, cutting off Ju Nanyi mid-sentence, and turned to leave.

Lord Ju was taken aback as he faced a blast of cold air head-on, the fragrance mingled with plum scent no longer subtle. What could Ju Nanyi possibly say? Wasn’t she always like this?

Nonetheless, it meant she no longer treated him as an outsider.

Fu Dong looked pitifully at Ju Nanyi, wishing she could apologize on behalf of her mistress. Her face was full of entreaty, yet she dared not speak. Fortunately, the next moment, Ju Nanyi moved, actually turning to follow Zheng Nianru’s steps.

Fu Dong was taken aback as he looked at Lord Ju’s retreating figure, for some reason feeling... could it be that Lord Ju... was ill?

"This is an invitation from Nanmen State." Zheng Nianru wasn’t polite at all, not even offering tea before directly tossing the invite over.

Ju Nanyi paused slightly, his first thought being, how shameless Nanmen Yu was; he explicitly sent the invitation to Prime Minister Lin, yet surreptitiously he sent another to Zheng Nianru.

Building a plank road in the open while secretly passing through Chen Cang, utterly shameless.

"Does Lord Ju find it inappropriate for Nanmen State to come forward at this time?" Zheng Nianru immediately asked. Although Ju Nanyi was reserved, after so many years of acquaintance, she could instantly tell that he was displeased.

"Your Highness, right now it really isn’t suitable for Nanzheng to have any contact with other nations," Ju Nanyi stated truthfully, besides, Nanmen Yu’s intentions were impure from the start, absolutely insidious.

"However, don’t forget that there are many people in Nanmen State who are deeply knowledgeable in those secret spells, such as the Nanmen Death Soldiers who are experts in these techniques," Zheng Nianru said, trying to sound as if she were discussing the matter, since Ju Nanyi was a more reliable person to handle this than anyone else.

Seeing that Ju Nanyi remained silent and seemed to be hesitating.

"Ghoul Ravine and Qiandao Temple originally came from Xiyu, Lord Ju must be aware..." Zheng Nianru started, not sure how much Ju Nanyi knew about these spells and Qiandao Temple at this moment. Even tracing back further, Nanzheng State had originally been in a similar situation to Nanmen State, only that the Sun Sect became popular and the populace was obsessed with spells, which led to a great famine over three or four years. Moreover, with the Zheng State Royal Family constantly exploiting the people, rebellions occurred, and it was then that the Nanzheng Imperial Clan ascended to their position.

Ju Nanyi remained silent, his gaze wandering over the smooth, mirror-like tiles, when suddenly a flood of memories he shouldn’t have had surged into his mind. These memories slowly gathered into a kind of resentment, filled with various emotions, but Ju Nanyi quickly grasped their common thread.

That was, why was this life different from the last? Since he was given the memories of his previous life, why not give him a chance to start anew, rather than present such a situation.

"This palace believes that Lord Ju is not the kind of person who is timid and fearful..." Zheng Nianru watched Ju Nanyi with cold eyes. Of course, there was a difference between this life and the last, it was normal that she could no longer command him as before.

"Or perhaps, Lord Ju thinks that the Young Master of Ghoul Ravine is a person who keeps his word, he really would..."

Ju Nanyi raised his head irritably, his inner resentment with nowhere to escape, his gaze turning frosty with accusation and unwillingness.

"Why does the Empress think Nanmen State would do us such a big favor, and what capital do we have to trade with Nanmen State?" Ju Nanyi was restless and uneasy. In his past life, Nanmen Yu fought for many years, and there were several times when Nanmen Yu could have taken down Nanzheng State but played cat and mouse instead. What was the purpose behind the drawn-out battles over those years with Nanzheng, which depleted the Imperial Treasury?

Ju Nanyi remembered the days of wind, frost, and bloodshed on the Western Border, every drop of sweat was for Nanzheng State’s struggle to survive, for her secure life in the rear palace, until he was seriously injured and fell into a deep ravine. When he finally returned, he learned that Zheng Nianru had personally supervised the battle at the front line. He had always thought it was because she was concerned for his safety, braving danger to come and look for him herself.

Although he didn’t know how Nanmen Yu met Zheng Nianru in the Cold Palace, that part of secret history couldn’t be verified. He attributed those inexplicable actions of Nanmen Yu to his current speculation, which seemed to shed light on them all at once.

So naturally, he had to ask clearly, why did they think Nanmen State would help them, or rather, why did she think so?

Was it based on the scenes he had once witnessed with his own eyes?