Chapter 170 Goodbye Ning Zhiyuan

Did someone invite her upstairs for a gathering?

Zhong Min was completely shocked. Could it be that this unexpected and bloody encounter was really inevitable? Thinking about it, she didn't know many people in the capital, and even fewer people who were called "master" seemed to have a high status.

At this moment, a name naturally came to mind—Ning Zhiyuan. But the owner of this name wasn't someone she'd expected to meet. Putting aside other things, the reason for her sudden appearance in the capital was probably difficult to explain.

Ning Zhiyuan is so smart that it is impossible for him to simply believe that she broke into the capital without any purpose. Once this person has doubts, she will soon be close to the truth. This will not be a good thing for his own situation or the entire intelligence network that has just recovered.

However, even if she pretended to be ignorant and ignored the man's words, it would be useless. Since Ning Zhiyuan already knew that she was in the capital, he would definitely not pretend to be ignorant.

Now it seems that we can only take one step at a time and respond to each move as it comes.

"Who is your master and why does he want to see me?" She said calmly, trying to sort out her thoughts in the shortest time possible and think about various possibilities and how to deal with them.

The man still replied politely, "My master's surname is Ning, and we are old acquaintances. You will know it when you see him."

The man didn't say it completely, but he revealed his last name. In this way, Zhong Min had no way out. The other person had already made it clear. If he continued to pretend not to know him and walked away thinking he had recognized the wrong person, he would be trying to cover up his mistake.

"In that case, I must go meet this old friend." Zhong Min stood up and said to Chu'er beside him slowly, "Chu'er, eat first. I'll go upstairs to meet a friend. I'll be right back."

Chu'er and Zhong Min have been getting along better and better over the past few months. When Zhong Min glanced at her seemingly casually, asking her not to act rashly, she nodded in agreement with a very normal expression, without any abnormality.

Soon, Zhong Min followed the man up to the second floor and entered a private room that was decorated extremely exquisitely. Her previous expectation was not wrong at all. The so-called master who was going to see her was none other than Ning Zhiyuan.

"I was wondering who it was. It turned out to be Lord Ning Xiang. I didn't expect to meet him here. It's such a coincidence." Zhong Min smiled casually and sat down in the seat opposite Ning Zhiyuan without any hesitation.

Seeing Zhong Min dressed like a man and speaking and behaving in a very casual manner, Ning Zhiyuan smiled and said, "I didn't expect Min'er to be so attractive in men's clothes. I accidentally saw you come in from the window just now and almost didn't recognize you. I sent someone down to try my luck, but I didn't expect it to be you."

As he spoke, he waved to the attendants beside him, signaling them to leave. Soon, those people left as requested, and suddenly only two people were left in the spacious private room.

Honestly, he hadn't expected Zhong Min to show up in the capital. Although he'd known she'd left Prince Mu's mansion, she could have gone anywhere, but she shouldn't have returned to this troubled place. Could it be that she wasn't worried about being discovered by the court's secret services? Or was this simply her cleverness and courage? The more dangerous the place, the safer it was?

"Why is your Excellency here?" Zhong Min automatically ignored Ning Zhiyuan's compliments to her. This inexplicable guy has always been like this, as if he was afraid that she and others would not see that he was very interested in her.

Just talking about eating, Ning Zhiyuan shouldn't be so bored as to come here alone, and now there really is no one else here, so Zhong Min asked this question. It's better than coming in and saying hello and then not knowing what to say.

"I had an appointment with some friends to discuss something. When we were about to leave after the meeting, I saw you, so I asked them to leave first." Ning Zhiyuan kept smiling and answered in a good-tempered manner. As he spoke, he handed Zhong Min a cup of hot tea and continued, "You haven't eaten yet, right? I'll have someone make something for you right away."

"No need, thank you very much, sir. I have a friend downstairs, so I'm afraid we can't chat for long today. I have to go downstairs in a while." Zhong Min was naturally not interested in sitting here and eating with Ning Zhiyuan, so he directly rejected his suggestion.

Hearing Zhong Min's words, Ning Zhiyuan didn't force it. He nodded and said, "Okay, since you have friends, I'll treat you to dinner alone next time. By the way, why did you come to the capital? Did Prince Mu come? When did he come? How come I didn't know anything about it?"

He asked as if he knew nothing, and pushed the pastries on the table towards Zhong Min, indicating that if she was hungry, she could eat something first.

Zhong Min said calmly, "I've been in the capital for some time, but I didn't come here with Prince Mu. I'm now a free man, no longer a servant in Prince Mu's mansion. Your Excellency knows a little about my situation. Because of some minor troubles I've had before, I usually wear men's clothes when I go out. This way, I'm much safer."

"I wanted to help you that day, but you told me that even if you wanted to regain your freedom, you would have to work hard on your own. I didn't expect that you would get what you wanted so soon. It seems that the sword you blocked for King Mu that day was not in vain." Ning Zhiyuan said with a hint of meaning, but he deliberately mentioned something that happened a long time ago, wanting to see how Zhong Min would react.

Zhong Min snorted inwardly. Ning Zhiyuan had a good memory, but she didn't know what he was trying to achieve by saying all this. It seemed like he was just doubting her purpose for coming to the capital. If that was the case, she might as well just be blunt and say it, not bothering to beat around the bush.

"Your Excellency is right. If I hadn't luckily blocked the sword for Prince Mu that day, Zhong Min probably wouldn't have the chance to sit in front of you right now." She said self-deprecatingly, "In fact, I was expelled from Prince Mu's mansion because I offended the future Princess Mu. Although I was wronged, it was a blessing in disguise. Prince Mu only expelled me from the mansion because I blocked the sword for him that day and didn't pursue the matter further. I can count it as my luck."

Ning Zhiyuan looked quite surprised when he heard Zhong Min's words. After a moment, he said, "I didn't expect you to encounter so many things in just a few months. It seems that the future Princess Mu is no simple person. Otherwise, how could the prince treat you like this for her? If I remember correctly, the prince has always been very kind to you."

Zhong Min chuckled softly and sneered, "Your Excellency, why do you sound so indirect and indirect? Whether the prince treats me well or not, in the eyes of these people, Zhong Min is just a servant. It's fine if nothing goes wrong normally, but if something happens that offends these people, who would take a servant seriously?"

"Min'er, don't say that. I didn't mean anything else." Ning Zhiyuan shook his head slightly, not caring about Zhong Min's attitude. He continued in a gentle voice, "Your temper hasn't changed at all. You're like a hedgehog. No wonder you were framed and wronged. What happened? Why don't you tell me? Maybe I can help you."

"What else is there to say? It's all in the past. I'm free and happy now. I should really thank the person who framed me." Zhong Min said casually, as if he didn't want to talk about it anymore. "After leaving Prince Mu's Mansion, I really didn't know where to go. Then I thought about it and decided to go to the capital. So I came here without any reason. I wonder if there's anything else you find strange that you need my help with?"

Zhong Min didn't care whether Ning Zhiyuan would believe her explanation. It didn't matter to her. Unless she told the truth, anything she said would arouse suspicion. She just dealt with it lightly, knowing that she would be more cautious in the future. This meeting was a bit of a surprise to her. The capital wasn't a big city, but it wasn't small either. And with Ning Zhiyuan's status, she had never expected such a coincidence to happen.

Ning Zhiyuan naturally didn't question Zhong Min's explanation directly. Seeing that her tone was a little off, he didn't mention it anymore. Instead, he asked her with concern where she lived now and if she needed any help. Zhong Min naturally didn't tell the truth, only saying that she rented a place and was recently planning to start a small business with friends. She didn't have anything she couldn't handle for the time being, so Ning Zhiyuan didn't need to worry about her.

After saying a few more words, Zhong Min stood up and said goodbye, saying that her friends were waiting for her downstairs. Ning Zhiyuan didn't stay long and asked Zhong Min to leave her specific address so that he could visit her when he had time in the future.

After hearing this, Zhong Min said, "Your Excellency is truly too polite. My current residence is extremely humble. As a lord, how can I easily set foot in such places? I'd rather Zhong Min visit you another day when it's convenient for you."

"You don't want to tell me where you live, so I guess it must be inconvenient. In that case, I won't force you. But I've kept everything you said in mind. Why don't we set a time? If Min'er doesn't show up within ten days, I'll send someone to look for you." Ning Zhiyuan said half-jokingly and seriously, "The capital is not small, but it's not big either. I can't say I have other abilities, but it's easy to find someone."

"Since you are so kind, how could Zhong Min not come? I will go first, and you can do as you please." Zhong Min was naturally a little unhappy. Wasn't Ning Zhiyuan threatening me to go find him? It seemed like they didn't know each other very well, but he made it seem like close friends. It was a bit awkward just thinking about it.

Just as she was about to turn around and leave, she didn't expect Ning Zhiyuan to stand up and quickly block her way. Zhong Min frowned slightly and asked with a hint of confusion: "Is there anything else, sir?"

PS: Thanks to Pumpkin Seedling for casting the pink vote again~~