Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved
Chapter 105: Trade-offs

Chapter 105: Chapter 105: Trade-offs

Zheng Nianru came to Prince Duan’s Mansion early the next morning, and to her surprise, Zheng Boding had indeed kept Nanmen Yu at Prince Duan’s Mansion and showed no intention of releasing him.

"Why have you come so early in the morning?" Zheng Boding did not expect to see his own daughter at the gates of Prince Duan’s Mansion, and he was even more astonished to see Nanny Yun and Xing Yu following right behind her.

Zheng Boding had no time to say anything else; he hurriedly pulled Zheng Nianru into Prince Duan’s Mansion, questioning how she had come and whether she had been discovered, then uneasily instructed the butler to scout the situation in the Imperial Palace.

"I naturally missed Father." Zheng Nianru was absent-minded, and in the days to come, she would not spend much time at Prince Duan’s Mansion. Although not large, Prince Duan’s Mansion was the most ancient and historically significant royal mansion in the Zheng Capital. The sea-buckthorn tree trunks in the main hall, hundreds of years old, entwined their roots bizarrely, and the ancient trees cast shimmering spots of light beneath their lush canopy as several servants swept the fallen leaves with bamboo brooms.

As Zheng Nianru stepped into the courtyard, a cool breeze carrying the scent of time passed through, and she looked up at the sky between the ancient trees.

Zheng Boding intended to urge Zheng Nianru inside, but he couldn’t help stopping in his tracks, filled with emotion. After all these years, Nianru was visiting Prince Duan’s Mansion for the first time, returning to her own home.

Even if it was the first time, Prince Duan was still anxious. How could she come back, how could Nianru come back, which path did she take? Was it safe, or was it just her capriciousness?

"How did you manage to come out?" Zheng Boding didn’t have time to ask anything else; he just looked and looked.

"I didn’t come from the Crown Prince’s Mansion." Zheng Nianru looked towards Zheng Boding. Although not yet forty and despite the harrowing years as a prince, Zheng Boding never lacked food or clothing. The sorrow on his dignified face could not obscure the innate nobility, and standing in front of Zheng Nianru, traces of his past vigor were still discernible.

"Then you, you..." was it through Nanmen Yu’s connections? That boy hadn’t deceived; he responded to each query without reserve, his submissive demeanor nearly fooled him again.

"Father, rest assured, the route I took was unnoticed." Zheng Nianru looked around left and right. Didn’t Father have even one female servant at his mansion?

"I’m asking you, what are you doing here?" Zheng Boding brought the conversation back, thinking of what Zheng Nianru might be planning at this moment; he almost wished to kill Nanmen Yu right away.

"I naturally missed Father," Zheng Nianru turned her head, affectionately holding Zheng Boding’s arm as she spoke.

"Don’t play dumb." He hardly believed it, but felt pleased inside nonetheless. "You’re always talking about it, is it because of that Nanmen Yu?"

"Father, Nanmen Yu is but a hostage from Nanmen State, astute in his tasks and convenient to use. Moreover, I saved his life; if I chose to kill him now, it wouldn’t be improper," Zheng Nianru said nonchalantly, not wishing to add trouble. If she could kill Nanmen Yu, she wouldn’t take such a circuitous route. But was it possible to kill him?

It was impossible before, and now with those people arriving, it was even less feasible.

"A girl shouldn’t be consumed by thoughts of violence every day," Zheng Boding became uneasy again but he guessed correctly that Nianru had never entertained such thoughts. It was all Nanmen Yu’s nefarious intentions. Fortunately, he discovered it in time; otherwise, would he not have allowed that boy to...

"Father, have you had breakfast yet?"

"No, you’ve upset me."

"How can that be? Getting angry with your daughter over an outsider is not worth it," she said. "If you fell ill from anger, wouldn’t it be my fault?"

"An outsider? Is he really just an outsider? Then promise your father that you will no longer associate with this person and clear up anything that involves him. I’ve already taken care of those deeds and shops for you," he said.

"Hmm, okay." So quickly? She still had use for those deeds.

"Good. I’ve dealt with this matter. You should stay well in the palace and wait patiently. Father has his own plans," Zheng Boding breathed a sigh of relief, realizing he had worried too much. Nian Ru, being uninformed of worldly affairs, had been deceived by Nanmen Yu.

Zheng Boding immediately concluded that these ideas must have been the devilish schemes concocted by that youngster Nanmen Yu.

"So, does Father plan to release Nanmen Yu?"

"I have no plans to release him." How could he feel at ease without a proper chastisement?

"Father, your daughter will accompany you for breakfast." Zheng Nianru immediately took Zheng Boding’s wrist, coaxing him further, as Nanmen Yu’s master was no easy target. If he had the audacity to visit her Qishun Building, then he would surely have the nerve to come to Prince Duan’s Mansion.

But why hasn’t he come now?

Zheng Nianru guessed that it was because she seemed more vulnerable now.

However, Zheng Nianru was prepared to be magnanimous and not fuss over these small favors. If these small kindnesses could avert war with Nanzheng State in the future, then the possibility of her not becoming the Empress Dowager, yet having significance in Nanzheng State, would greatly increase.

"Uncle Han, I think we should wait a bit longer." Tan Zong somewhat disagreed; although the Commandery Princess had not outright asked for it, she had been cautiously trying to persuade Prince Duan to release Nanmen Yu.

What they had done yesterday was indeed too impulsive. After all, she was a Commandery Princess of Nanzheng State, and they had not formally proposed marriage. Intruding into a young lady’s residence uninvited was certainly not a wise move.

"Wait for what? Didn’t you hear what that kid said just now?" Uncle Han’s chest heaved; he felt that what they did yesterday was a matter of last resort but also justifiable, as their Princely Heir had been very humble and polite.

Tan Zong couldn’t be sure. The kid from yesterday truly had an extreme arrogance; they simply couldn’t get a word in edgewise. So now, with this Commandery Princess again interceding, it indeed seemed somewhat illogical.

"Really not releasing him?" Zheng Nianru asked once more, Zheng Boding’s stubbornness and obstinance exceeding her expectations.

"Of course not." Even if I were to release him, I wouldn’t let you know.

Zheng Nianru realized she had to consider another possibility: Nanmen Yu’s power had already grown beyond their control. When he returned to Nanmen State, it took him less than a year to become the Monarch of the Nanmen State, and that wasn’t even the most important part; the most crucial aspect was the exponential growth of Nanmen State’s power.

Zheng Nianru contemplated a fact: as a child of Zheng Boding, if she truly married Nanmen Yu and there was a possibility of it, then she would be killed by Empress Dowager Yan Ping even before leaving Nanzheng State.

Having rebelled once, Prince Duan, with the backing of Nanmen State, would inevitably rebel a second time. This is what Empress Dowager Yan Ping believed, and she wouldn’t trust otherwise, even if Prince Duan had no desire to rebel.

Therefore, courting favor should be done the way she used to do it, stealthily, so that once others returned home, only gratitude would remain for her.

"Then just kill him." Since they cannot curry favor, might as well kill him and be done with the trouble that would follow, sparing herself future headaches.

Zheng Boding was about to speak again when he suddenly looked at Zheng Nianru somewhat strangely; the Zheng Nianru before him had mentioned killing Nanmen Yu twice, which puzzled him, as she appeared serious, as if earnestly contemplating the issue.

"Why kill him?" asked Zheng Boding.

"Because keeping him alive is troublesome." And very troublesome at that, it would affect all her plans. Even if she had some fondness for Nanmen Yu, that fondness was not enough to make her drop everything else. Even if she wished to avoid any involvement with Zheng Congyuan, she couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing him again.

Moreover, she couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing Zheng Boding again.