Reborn as Powerful Minister's Beloved-Chapter 549 - 528: Second Update

"Zheng Congyuan, surrender now——" the Marquis of Zhenbei shouted, before him was the doomed force of Zheng Congyuan, which had never truly engaged in battle. When they encountered such an abrupt encirclement, a slight flaw had them immediately seized by the North Border Army.

Retreating step by step, another layer of bodies covered the ground, stacked upon each other, with the blood seeping along the ditches on both sides of the channel into the garden’s pond, which had already turned blood red.

Old Master Wen Kang didn’t leave, stopping the North Border Army that tried to send him back. How could he miss such a scene?

"Zheng Congyuan, what goes around comes around. Who would have thought your day would come?" Old Master Wen Kang couldn’t help but watch the now-besieged Zheng Congyuan with satisfaction.

The Marquis of Zhenbei didn’t speak, coldly watching the scene of countless deaths, thinking that the Wen Family Army could no longer afford such losses.

"Zheng Congyuan, as long as you surrender obediently, I can ensure the lives of you and your men," the Marquis of Zhenbei said coldly.

The Marquis of Zhenbei, Wen Qun, and other people were startled by his words, then felt it impossible. How could Zheng Congyuan possibly stand out on his own?

"Dream on, we swear to protect the Crown Prince to the death——" Prime Minister Lin led with a shout, and the crowd gathered around Zheng Congyuan, their expressions resolute and fearless.

No one noticed that someone had quietly slipped into the hall from behind.

"I’m not leaving. Where could I go?" Prince Duan looked at the people before him. How could he wander off now, especially since these past few days, he seemed to have remembered some things, although those fragmented memories couldn’t quite connect well.

Always some critical things wouldn’t come to mind during crucial moments, so how could he leave? Here, he might still figure some things out.

The man before Zheng Boding was anxious, but he had the Crown Prince’s orders, and didn’t expect to be immediately useful.

"Prince, are you really at ease leaving the Commandery Princess alone at Prince Duan’s Mansion?" the man immediately asked.

Upon hearing this, Prince Duan stunned for a moment, then immediately shook his head. How could he not worry? As long as he was here, the enemy wouldn’t think to target Prince Duan’s Mansion or Nian Ru, which was why he couldn’t leave. Otherwise, it would endanger Nian Ru as well.

"Prince, the Crown Prince knows what you’re thinking. He believes that while you’re here, the Commandery Princess won’t be in danger at the mansion. But look at the time— it’s chaos outside. What if the Commandery Princess runs out and encounters these treacherous officials? They won’t care about the Commandery Princess’s status," the man immediately continued.

Prince Duan turned his gaze sharply towards the speaking man, trying to read from his expression whether he was lying. But in the next instant, as if waking from a muddle, he suddenly grasped the man before him.

"You’re right, let’s go, quickly——" Something had dawned on him, the most critical thing. What if Nian Ru was in danger? The only way to save Nian Ru, why had he only thought of it now? No, there was no time to delay; he had to let Nian Ru know right away.

"Prince Duan, this way——" The man sighed with relief, his face bearing a five parts resemblance to Prime Minister Lin was shrewd, and he also knew this was the chance of survival his "father" had given him. As for the future...

The man wasn’t scared; the last words Prime Minister Lin left him were to protect Prince Duan well. Although he didn’t know why, in Crown Prince’s eyes, in Prime Minister Lin’s view, Prince Duan was so important, he trusted his "father."

This was just a minor episode amidst the chaos; nobody noticed that Empress Dowager Yan Ping personally supported the wet nurse by her side as she stepped out of the Chenyuan Hall for the first time, under dark, oppressive clouds that seemed to crush the entire Imperial Palace.

Empress Dowager Yan Ping walked forward step by step, followed by Empress Xiao and the concubines who had been imprisoned with her in the Chenyuan Hall. These concubines did not support Zheng Congyuan; in this rebellion, they knew all too well that their ends would not be pleasant. After days of fear and anxiety, death had become the foremost thought on their minds.

The guards slowly made way, and Empress Dowager Yan Ping steadily walked up to Zheng Congyuan’s side and firmly stood beside him.

"Fu Xun, if our Nanzheng Imperial Clan is to perish," said Empress Dowager Yan Ping, "we might as well burn down the ancestral temple. I will personally tell our ancestors that the Nanzheng Imperial Clan has fallen, fallen at the hands of the Wen Family." With that, she slammed her cane hard against the ground, her gaze burning intensely.

Upon hearing this, everyone was momentarily stunned. The expressions of Marquis of Zhenbei, Old Master Wen Kang, and others on the opposing side turned particularly ugly.

"Zheng Haoyuan is also of imperial blood, appointed by Emperor Jingzhi’s own edict," Old Master Wen Kang shouted, his face twisted with extreme displeasure.

"Zheng Congyuan, I give you the time it takes an incense stick to burn. If you surrender, we, the Wen Family, promise in front of all these civil and military officials that we will not take your life. And...," Marquis of Zhenbei looked around at everyone, "all past events will not be pursued."

"Wen Kang, Wen Jing. Over the years, we of the Zheng Royal Family have treated you generously, and yet you turn out to be insatiable wolves," the Empress Dowager said, pointing her cane directly at Marquis of Zhenbei.

"Let bygones be bygones? What letting bygones be bygones? Even if we live, we will surely be marginalized by your trusted followers. It’s better not to serve such officials," a senior official declared loudly.

The crowd knew this, of course, but it seemed, compared to living...

Empress Xiao quickly stood on the other side of Zheng Congyuan, fearlessly facing the people from the Wen Family.

The Xiao Family was naturally the first force to suffer. They had stepped forward first, hoping to ally with external forces against the Wen Family Army. According to the news that had been received, their fate had been very grim. It was the Xiao Family’s sacrifice that had allowed Zheng Congyuan to come this far, almost turning the tide of defeat into victory.

Now, however, their effort was about to go in vain. Empress Xiao was not without pain in her heart, but she also knew that at this point, it was as if heaven itself wanted the Nanzheng Imperial Clan to perish.

"Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, even if the Fourth Prince ascends to the throne, he will still respectfully address you as Imperial Grandmother. Why must you show partiality?" Old Master Wen Kang sneered, "Moreover, the child of Heavenly Selection today is not Zheng Congyuan."

"Hmph, don’t blame me for being blunt. I’ve never believed in that prophecy; it’s an impossibility. The future Emperor of the Nanzheng must be the Crown Prince," Empress Dowager Yan Ping said indignantly.

"Very well, if that’s the case, then it must be the will of heaven," noted the Marquis of Zhenbei, realizing further discussion was futile. The fate of the Nanzheng Imperial Family was no longer the most important matter; as long as Zheng Haoyuan ascended the throne, history would be rewritten by them—what was there to fear?

Just as Empress Dowager Yan Ping was about to speak, Zheng Congyuan slowly grabbed her arm, stopping her from going on. Then he looked up at the people from the Wen Family. freeweɓnovel-cøm

"Marquis of Zhenbei, were your words just now true?" Zheng Congyuan spoke, and everyone looked incredulously at him, wondering what the Crown Prince was intending to do. Prime Minister Lin’s face turned ashen. No, no, the Crown Prince must not think this way; he had sacrificed so much for Nanzheng, and without him, Nanzheng would have long fallen into ruin.

The Crown Prince must not admit defeat, must not willingly suffer for their sake.

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