CHAPTER 577: CHAPTER 556 SECOND UPDATE

Zheng Nianru frowned, puzzled by the problem Ju Nanyi faced before him. What was it that couldn’t be discussed? Moreover, compared to his previous life, she had already been much nicer to Nanmen Yu this time around, so naturally, the events of their past life wouldn’t repeat.

Of course, Ju Nanyi knew nothing about this, not in his previous life and not even more so in this life. Oh, Zheng Nianru suddenly remembered, Ju Nanyi did know after all, and even in this life, to completely sever ties with him, she had deliberately staged an act in front of Ju Nanyi.

This damn it.

Zheng Nianru instantly understood the man’s sudden resentment and reproaches. Were these grievances for Zheng Congyuan? Did he feel that, as a subject of Nanzheng, he couldn’t bear to see a past scene where she, the Empress, had been involved with a neighboring country’s King in an unspeakable act?

Ju Nanyi, aren’t you meddling too much?

"I once saved the life of Hostage of Nanmen State." Zheng Nianru didn’t want to argue with him; after all, wasn’t this situation more advantageous? Besides, she was now the Empress of Nanzheng State, what’s done was done, what could Nanmen Yu do about it now?

Ju Nanyi was infuriated by the woman’s dismissive attitude, his few words light and breezy. Saving a life? The Empress’s grace in saving lives seemed to flow smoothly, from a young Ghoul Ravine master to the King of Nanmen State.

Ju Nanyi’s chest heaved with emotion, so it was out in the open—he acknowledged that she and Nanmen Yu had a relationship from the very beginning and even from the previous life...

Just thinking about the previous life made Ju Nanyi feel his blood rushing to his head, and even though he dug his feet hard into the ground, he could barely stand steady.

"Empress, although our Nanzheng State is currently in a difficult situation, there is no need for the Empress herself to intervene in these matters. The Empress has already broken one ancestral rule of the Nanzheng Imperial Family, do you still intend to break the rule that forbids the Harem from entering politics?" Ju Nanyi coldly said, giving enough face to Zheng Nianru by not mentioning outright the scene he had witnessed at the start. If she was self-aware, she would know to immediately keep quiet and not bring up the matter anymore.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Nianru snorted coldly in her heart, thinking she had given him enough respect to speak to her like that.

Seeing her indifferent expression, Ju Nanyi wondered, why couldn’t he speak up? If she was capable, she shouldn’t have caused so much trouble initially. Even the scene from that day sounded particularly grating to Ju Nanyi now. Since she was unafraid of death itself, it showed how much she cared, so why did she get involved with that Nanmen Yu...

Ju Nanyi stepped forward, waving his hand, and suddenly the letter that was on the table before him was in his hand, still speaking coldly.

"It’s better for the Empress to stay out of this affair; this is also for the protection of Her Majesty’s reputation." As he spoke, Ju Nanyi picked up the letter, which was glaring to the eyes, best to disappear from sight.

"What are you doing?" Just as Zheng Nianru was about to speak, she saw Ju Nanyi intending to tear the letter and hurriedly asked.

"This thing isn’t suitable to be kept here by Her Majesty..." Ju Nanyi continued, his hand moving to tear the annoying object, however, a delicate fragrance suddenly assailed his nose, Zheng Nianru had already rushed up, unceremoniously going to snatch the letter from Ju Nanyi’s hand.

"You’re out of line—" While trying to grab it, Zheng Nianru already spoke in great anger, Ju Nanyi was simply rebellious, having been Prince Zhennan in his previous life, he had never seen him with such audacity.

Ju Nanyi suddenly felt as if he was standing under a plum tree, its ghostly fragrance instantly penetrating every pore. Though different from the scent in his memory, it enormously enriched his recollections, rendering his whole body momentarily numb. Yet, the strength of a man always surpasses that of a woman. Zheng Nianru hadn’t expected Ju Nanyi not to dodge, and her body collided with Ju’s shoulder, her long fingernails grazing the man’s jaw as she snatched the note from his hand.

"Rustle—" The string of small pearls, each the size of a fingertip, adorning Zheng Nianru’s sleeve, clung now to the man’s shoulder and collar. A dropping sound, crisp and clear, echoed as a pearl fell.

An empty haze filled Ju Nanyi’s mind, his eyes capturing only the shimmering, illusive reflections of the pearls, numbness spreading from his shoulder across half his body.

"Your servant begs leave to retire—" Ju Nanyi immediately bowed his head, hiding the confusion in his eyes. He didn’t wait for Zheng Nianru to speak, nor for anything else to change in the moment, fleeing from the Chende Palace as if he would fly straight out of the Imperial Palace.

Zheng Nianru watched Ju Nanyi leave as if fleeing from plague, sneering disdainfully. His self-righteous demeanor was unpleasant; if he were made to relive his disgraceful past life, Ju Nanyi would probably wish he could kill himself.

Fu Dong watched Ju Nanyi flee with worry, silently sighing. This had truly offended Lord Ju. But how could she have anticipated that the Empress would suddenly take action? Even if it was for The Emperor, for the sake of Nanzheng State, she should have shown some restraint.

"Change clothes—" Fu Dong quickly pulled her wandering thoughts back, belatedly remembering that her lady’s garments had been damaged in the scuffle, and immediately fetched new attire.

Nanny Yun and the others had just returned when they saw Fu Dong bent over, searching for something on the ground, and Nian Xia smacked her on the bottom.

"Shush, what are you doing, Commandery Princess is already asleep—" Fu Dong pretended to strike Nian Xia, pointing towards the inner room indeed there was silence.

"What are you looking for?" Nian Xia curiously watched Fu Dong, as if there were gold on the ground.

"Two pearls from the Empress’s sleeve are missing. They should have dropped right here." Fu Dong said, slightly frustrated, having already searched twice. These identical Southern pearls were not easy to find, especially those with such luminous roundness. The few strands they had were just enough. There was no surplus.

"I told you before, those pearls are easy to lose, such tiny things. Why bother looking? The Empress might not wear this dress again anyhow." Nian Xia was indifferent; although those pearls were rare, the Empress had plenty of rare things, one more or less made little difference.

"They should be right here." Fu Dong, unwilling to give up, continued her search.

"Nian Xia, come help." Nanny Yun called. They had just returned and were already slacking off. They had brought so many things from Prince Duan’s Mansion that needed meticulous sorting; all must be accounted for to please the Empress.

Also, why did the Prince suddenly give the Commandery Princess a plaque? The plaque looked strange, with odd patterns, neither gold nor jade, looking quite peculiar. What use was it?

Nanny Yun shook her head, feeling that the Prince’s intellect was fading ever more.

When Ju Nanyi was disrobing at night, two pearls unexpectedly rolled out from somewhere in his sleeve, clinking onto the chair, ringing clear as if falling into a jade dish, under the night’s candlelight they appeared immensely magnified. The man’s face flushed momentarily, as if witnessing his own disgraceful heart, a disgraceful past.