Chapter 127 An unexpected surprise

"For your own sake?" Zhong Min had nothing to hide in front of Liu. Liu was a smart person and it was not surprising that she saw from the beginning that Xiao Mingzheng was interested in her. However, she didn't understand when she and Liu had any common interests.

Could it be that Liu still thought that she would become a person of the same status as her in the future, and stay in the Prince Mu's Mansion to compete with Liu and other women for that one man?

She said with a hint of amusement, "Your Majesty, you must have made a mistake. It's true that Jiang Xiyan will naturally belong to the Prince Mu's Mansion in the future, and she might even be the real mistress. But I'm just a visitor to the Prince Mu's Mansion. Even if she really has any misunderstandings or calculations about me, what does that have to do with Your Majesty? Your Majesty's so-called self-interest is really hard for Zhong Minna to understand."

Seeing Zhong Min's unconcern, Liu didn't seem unhappy at all. Instead, she continued patiently, "Miss Min'er is indeed intelligent, but she's never been interested in the women in the back garden. Although I'm not as intelligent as you, I believe I've seen more of the conflicts and thoughts among women than you, and I've thought more about them, so naturally I understand more."

As she spoke, Liu waved to the maids behind her, signaling them to step back. Seeing this, Xier glanced at Zhong Min and was smart enough to follow the maids and move away.

Seeing that there were no other people around, Liu continued, "Jiang Xiyan is definitely not a simple person. Looking across the entire Mu Palace's backyard, I'm afraid it's hard to find someone as cunning as her. She hasn't let Miss Min'er go even though she's not from the backyard yet. When she really becomes the mistress of the Mu Palace in the future, do you think someone like me can have a good life in this palace?"

She sighed softly, "I'm not as insightful as you, or as receptive to letting go as you please. I also know that the prince doesn't have any real feelings for me, and he only gave me my current position because of his brother. But, I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, I truly adore the prince, so I have no other extravagant wishes in this life. I just hope to be able to stay by his side like this, and that's enough. I dare not say anything else, but there is one thing I understand better than anyone else: eventually, the Mu Palace will have to welcome a legitimate princess, and if I could choose, I would naturally prefer it to be you, not Jiang Xiyan."

Having said this, she paused slightly, looked into Zhong Min's eyes and said, "If it were you, at least you would never take the initiative to harm anyone, but if it were Jiang Xiyan, everything would be hard to say."

Hearing this, Zhong Min smiled slightly self-deprecatingly and replied, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid you think too highly of me. I'm probably the woman in the world who can't stand having anyone share her husband with me. For me, it doesn't matter who I marry, but my first rule is that I will never share a husband with anyone else. So, not only is the prince unsuitable for me, I'm afraid there aren't many people in the world who are suitable for me."

When these words were spoken, Liu was stunned for a moment, and only came to her senses after a while. She had been unable to understand what had happened between the prince and Zhong Min, but now it seemed that she finally understood it.

"Miss Min'er, you...why are you doing this?" For a moment, she didn't know what to say. Zhong Min's frankness and courage made her once again have a deeper understanding of this girl.

"Your Majesty, there's no need to feel sorry for me. In my opinion, life is really short. What's the point of living such a short life if you can't live it to the fullest as you wish?"

Zhong Min smiled. "Besides, how do you know that I won't be able to find the lover I mentioned who shares my feelings in the future? However, Zhong Min naturally understands your Majesty's kindness. No matter what, I will be more careful to guard against those who should be guarded against. I'm sure you know my temper. If others don't offend me, I won't offend them. If others offend me, I will definitely offend them. Besides, maybe after the prince and Jiang Xiyan get married, I will soon be able to gain true freedom and leave here to live the life I want. Then, your Majesty, please take good care of yourself."

After saying that, Zhong Min said no more. He bowed slightly to Liu and then turned to leave. Xier saw him from afar and followed him without saying a word. A moment later, the two of them left here, leaving only Liu who was still standing there lost in thought and the two maids who didn't dare to speak out to remind them.

The next day, Zhong Min originally wanted to find a random excuse to slack off and let Xier take Jiang Xiyan around the palace. Later, Zi Yan reminded her, and in order not to leave any room for anyone to make excuses, she had to go again in person. Fortunately, Xier took on the most important job of explanation, otherwise she really wouldn't have that much passion to accompany that delicate and beautiful woman to visit the garden.

After two days of struggling, Xiao Mingzheng finally returned home on the evening of the third day. When Xiao Mingzheng returned, Zhong Min had just left Tingyu Pavilion. During dinner, Jiang Xiyan insisted that Zhong Min stay for dinner, and no matter how she tried to refuse, she would not give in. So Zhong Min had to take a few bites and then, claiming to be tired, was allowed to leave and go back to rest.

Before Tingyu Pavilion could completely disappear from view, Xiao Mingzheng and his men came over, exhausted. It looked like he had come straight here upon returning to the mansion. It seemed Jiang Xiyan's charm was truly extraordinary.

Seeing Zhong Min coming out of Tingyu Pavilion, Xiao Mingzheng quickly stopped and waited until she approached before saying, "So you're here. No one's staying in your room. The guards outside the courtyard only said you went out, but they don't know where you went."

Hearing what Xiao Mingzheng said, Zhong Min was a little surprised. She thought that Xiao Mingzheng would come directly to Jiang Xiyan after returning, but it turned out that he had gone to find her first.

"Miss Jiang insisted that I stay here to have dinner with her. Now that Your Highness is back, I'm glad I can relax and unwind." Zhong Min glanced at Xiao Mingzheng and continued, "By the way, Your Highness just said he came to see me. What's going on?"

"Can't I just go find you if nothing happens?" Xiao Mingzheng's expression showed no emotion, he just stared at Zhong Min's eyes intently.

Seeing this, Zhong Min smiled a little unnaturally. She looked around, then looked back at Xiao Mingzheng and said, "Your Highness, please stop joking. If there's nothing else, I'll go back first. Your Highness, you should go see Miss Jiang quickly. She's been talking about you a lot these past few days."

After saying that, Zhong Min bowed slightly to Xiao Mingzheng, then took two steps back, trying to pass by from the side.

"Who said I was joking?" Xiao Mingzheng grabbed Zhong Min's hand, preventing her from leaving. "Is Min'er really so heartless that she doesn't even want to say a word to me?"

Seeing Zhong Min's current attitude, Xiao Mingzheng felt very uncomfortable. He thought that after not seeing each other for several days, she should miss him more or less. However, he did not expect that this girl was unwilling to say anything more to him except for the two mandatory words, and even seemed to be avoiding him as if seeking refuge.

"Your Highness, you are too kind. Zhong Min is grateful for your care. How could I dare to be disrespectful to you?" Zhong Min was startled, but she quickly and calmly pulled her hand out of Xiao Mingzheng's grasp. "Your Highness will be away from home for a few days. Let's go see Miss Jiang first. I'm sure she has a lot to say to you. I'm also a little tired and want to go back and rest early."

After Zhong Min finished speaking, he left without even looking at Xiao Mingzheng. Seeing this, Xi'er and Zi Yan were both stunned. They just stood there motionless, not knowing whether they should follow Zhong Min or what.

Xiao Mingzheng's expression was naturally very unhappy at this moment, but he did not try to stop Zhong Min. Seeing the two bewildered maids standing motionless in front of him, he scolded them coldly, "Why don't you follow them!"

Xi'er and Ziyan finally came to their senses, quickly saluted, and hurried off to catch up with Zhong Min. Xiao Mingzheng turned around and watched Zhong Min's receding figure. He said nothing for a long time, until he could no longer see her. Then he sighed to himself and walked towards Tingyu Pavilion.

When Zhong Min returned to her courtyard, she saw Butler Liu waiting at the door with something in his arms. Seeing her return, he quickly came over to greet her.

"Miss Min'er, you're back!" He said as he handed the item in his arms to Zhong Min: "Look at this, what is it?"

Zhong Min saw clearly this time that what was in the arms was actually a cat, and the cat looked very familiar. After taking a closer look, he happily took it.

"Hey, why is it here with you?" Zhong Min seemed very excited. This cat was exactly the one Xie Feng had caught for her to test poisons on in the capital last time. However, after not seeing it for so long, it looked much better than before.

Seeing that Zhong Min really liked the cat, Butler Liu smiled and said, "Miss, you really like it. The prince is really good at predicting things. This is what the prince brought back when he just returned home. As for where he got this little cat from, I don't know, but the prince said that this cat is for Miss Min'er. I hope you like it."

Zhong Min petted the kitten and remembered what she had said to Xiao Mingzheng and Xie Feng that day: if the cat was lucky enough, she would bring it back with her when she returned to Muzhou as a reward. However, things had changed drastically. By the time she woke up, she had already left the capital. She was then repeatedly attacked, unable to even care for her own life, so how could she remember this little creature?

She hadn't expected Xiao Mingzheng to actually remember what she'd said that day, and actually take it seriously. She didn't know when he'd finally brought this little thing back. A faint pang of sadness suddenly filled her heart. Sometimes, she really wished Xiao Mingzheng wouldn't pay too much attention to her. Since he knew he couldn't give her what she wanted, why waste unnecessary energy on these things?

After carrying the kitten into the house, Zhong Min didn't speak for a long time. He just sat there quietly, stroking the little thing in his hand, his eyes looking aimlessly at the sky outside the window.

"Since you like it, then give it a name." After a while, a familiar voice suddenly sounded behind him.