Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved-Chapter 514 - 493: First Update

Chapter 490: The First Update

Time dripped slowly by, and the patience of those watching Prime Minister Lin mourn the Former King in Chenyuan Hall had started to wear thin. The Crown Prince remained motionless, allowing the Wen Family to surround Chenyuan Hall, and even Prime Minister Lin acted in the same manner.

For a time, no one knew what play the Crown Prince was really performing.

Moreover, many officials had received news that their residences were now besieged by the Wen Family’s people, which made everyone in Chenyuan Hall anxious.

The guard came again, just like the last time, blending in with Zheng Congyuan’s guards inside the Chenyuan Hall, walking openly and attracting almost no attention. After all, more than ten of Zheng Congyuan’s Hidden Guards and the Imperial Forest Guards were pacing in and out of Chenyuan Hall as well.

But Prime Minister Lin still recognized him instantly, especially when the guard walked straight toward Qi Ling. Although Qi Ling did not speak to the guard, he stepped aside to make room, and the guard moved forward, his stature and silhouette no different from Qi Ling’s and Qi Zhu’s.

Zheng Congyuan continued to kneel, his vigilance was his duty, and at the moment, it served as the best excuse.

"Your Highness, the news from the Northwest Border is late. Shall we continue with the plan?" According to the plan, they should have received news from the Northwest Border an hour ago, which was the deadline given by the Crown Prince to Lord Ju. But there was still no news from Lord Ju.

All the spies planted along the way to the Northwest Border had not sent any messages either. Everything was ready, and they were just waiting for news from Lord Ju.

But Lord Ju was always steady in handling matters. If nothing unexpected had happened, there definitely would have been a message by now. So, something had changed, and the Northwest Border was of great importance.

Zheng Congyuan was slightly startled; Ju Nanyi’s work had always been reliable. Although he had only taken the Fire Order Squad with him, Zheng Congyuan believed he had full control over those who would meet them along the way.

"Your Highness?" The guard, noticing someone looking their way, naturally knew he could not linger long. The Crown Prince had not engaged Qi Jin and Qi Yu at his side, not wishing to startle the snakes in the grass.

"Continue with the plan," Zheng Congyuan spoke. If it were someone else, he might have hesitated, but now it was Ju Nanyi; if he couldn’t manage it, then there was no one else in Zheng Congyuan’s ranks who could.

Besides, some things naturally couldn’t wait until one was a hundred percent certain.

"Contact Qiandao Temple, and proceed to Zheng Capital as scheduled." The guard nodded immediately and slipped away quietly.

"Your Highness, about Prime Minister Lin..." Qi Ling stepped forward, Prime Minister Lin had already noticed them once before. Last time, the Crown Prince had told them not to mind, but now the matter at hand was of great significance.

"There’s no need to keep Prime Minister Lin entirely in the dark; there are some matters he still needs to attend to," Zheng Congyuan said before bowing down again to continue his kowtows.

...

Although the entire Zheng Capital was in a state of panicked alarm, there was still no sign of action. The commoners, amidst their panic, still had to continue with their lives. Gradually, from the initial shut-in state, they had begun to emerge slowly onto the streets again.

Apart from the Wen Family’s guards, who had taken over all the main roads, the back alleys and smaller streets remained as normal as ever.

With the imperial succession, on a larger scale, it was only a change of the person above their heads. They would still eat, drink, and go about their lives. On a smaller scale, life had to go on. Their current lives were already difficult enough; even if there was a change, it likely wouldn’t make life any harder than it was.

The troops stationed outside Zheng Capital, near Helin County in the Eastern Border, were led by Wen Qun, the eldest son of the fourth house of the Wen Family. They had stealthily set out from the Eastern Border half a month ago, secretly crossing over three districts and counties including Liulin County along the East Coast and quietly positioned half their military strength in Helin County.

Wen Qun was already growing impatient, his mood becoming increasingly agitated as they were now a day behind schedule, and there had yet to be any news. He cursed and grumbled incessantly within his tent.

"I knew these guys couldn’t be trusted; elder brother wouldn’t listen, insisting on forming an alliance with them." Wen Qun was not tall, in fact, he was the shortest among his brothers in the Wen Family, but he was far from light, muscle-bound and bursting with strength, a punch from his fist could flatten an enemy’s skull.

"General, the Marquis’s considerations are not without reason. These aristocratic families, slippery as they may be, are the most adept at seeking benefits and avoiding harm. Besides, after all these years, they are indeed in need of redividing their interests," his trusted aide stepped forward, "Changes are commonplace in military affairs. The current lack of news from the Aristocratic Families probably means they are still waiting to see how things pan out to make a clearer decision."

But if Qiandao Temple was a step behind, then everything would be delayed.

Wen Qun was all too aware of this, though the matters of Qiandao Temple were beyond their control.

His trusted aide took a step forward.

"General, to show our sincerity, why don’t we personally visit the Yan Lin Aristocratic Family?" suggested his trusted aide. At this, Wen Qun paused, finding the idea quite reasonable.

Although the Yan Lin Aristocratic Family was not a large clan, it was unlikely for major families such as the Zong Yun Aristocratic Family in Nanzheng State to get involved in the imperial court’s conflicts. They knew engaging in such affairs would only deplete their strength—a foolish act they would not commit. Once the imperial court stabilized, their influence would still be relied upon to stabilize court politics.

However, for up-and-coming families like the Yan Lin Aristocratic Family, they naturally aimed to continuously expand their influence amidst such turmoil, swallowing up smaller families under the guise of alliance, which provided justifiable reasons for their consolidation.

The Wen Family were not oblivious to their intentions; the more support they secured now, the better their odds of success.

"Hmm, a visit would be wise." Wen Qun was adept in battle and physically strong, but he fell short in scheming. He trusted his trusted aide deeply, nodding at this moment, for he himself couldn’t think of a better plan.

The idea to ally with the Aristocratic Families was also his third brother’s, and with the arrow already nocked to the bowstring, they had not considered retreat after making this move.

Wen Qun immediately arranged for a team, bringing along his trusted aide and a group of elite soldiers, and set off for the largest Aristocratic Family in Helin County, the Yan Lin Aristocratic Family. To the major clans, the Yan Lin family, which had prospered rapidly after fortuitously discovering iron ore on their meager plot of land—a stroke of luck from the heavens—had become all the more intimate with many factions.

Therefore, this trip was deemed essential by Wen Qun; iron ore was extremely important to them as well.

The Yan Lin Aristocratic Family had its own private army, a common practice among such families. The strength of such private forces varied, but the Yan Lin Family’s army was naturally quite powerful due to the iron ore.

Wen Qun gave his men a sign, and his trusted aide respectfully stepped forward to knock on the door.

The door was opened by a house servant of the Yan Lin Family. After a glance at the visitors, he immediately said,

"Honorable sirs, please wait a moment, this servant will go inform the Family Head."

With that, he hurriedly closed the main door, crossing the courtyard to the main hall. Inside the main hall, not only the Yan Lin Aristocratic Family Head and his relatives were sitting, but they were all held captive by a group of black-clothed people, the hall deathly silent, the atmosphere oppressively heavy.

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