Chapter 68 A series of clever tricks

Zhong Min's pause again made everyone feel anxious. They couldn't wait to know who the gentle, charming and considerate person the prince was talking about was.

Although no one trusted Zhong Min, Zhong Min was always by the prince's side, so she naturally had more opportunities to find out what the prince was thinking than any of them. Moreover, in front of so many people, the little maid would not dare to talk nonsense about the prince's affairs. Therefore, everyone present was staring at Zhong Min with concern, waiting for her next words.

But after a while, the silly girl didn't speak again. Instead, she hesitated with an expression of hesitation. Seeing this, Zheng Ruyu couldn't help but blurt out to Zhong Min, "Who is the person that the prince is talking about? Tell me now!"

"This..." Seeing this, Zhong Min deliberately hesitated, looking worried, and did not reveal the answer for a long time.

Are you impatient? You're losing your temper like this. You're not a smart person. She felt deeply for Zheng Ruyu. It was because Xiao Mingzheng wasn't too interested in women, and he didn't spend much time with the women in the back garden. Otherwise, if there had been a real struggle for favor, Zheng Ruyu would have been killed long ago without even knowing it.

"What's the problem? Just tell the truth. I'm not asking you to reveal any confidential information!" Zheng Ruyu frowned, her face filled with impatience. Yet, at this moment, she hadn't noticed that Zhong Min had quietly and silently taken the initiative from her, and she was completely unaware that she was being led by the nose.

Zhong Min heard Zheng Ruyu speak again, then nodded hesitantly. Then, seemingly intentionally or unintentionally, she looked up at Liu, who had remained silent, and said with a smile, "This is the first time Zhong Min has seen Concubine Liu since he lost his memory. Seeing her today, she is indeed as the prince said, gentle, charming, kind and virtuous. Zhong Min has a rough personality, so if there is anything I do not do well in the future, please bear with me, Concubine Liu."

She spoke with extreme warmth, even actively incorporating a touch of flattery, and the last sentence clearly elevated Liu's potential future treatment and status. Naturally, her deliberate wait for the two concubines was enough to reveal her intentions.

When everyone heard this, they were immediately disappointed. Although they knew that the person the prince was referring to was not them, they still couldn't help feeling disappointed when they heard the answer. However, Liu was usually very gentle and kind, and her way of dealing with people was much better than that of Concubine Zheng. Therefore, although others felt a little disappointed and jealous, they did not have too much hatred.

However, Zheng Ruyu's mentality was not as good as those of the other concubines without official status. The moment she heard Liu's name, her eyes almost burst into flames. She had always hated Liu's pretense and hypocrisy, and believed that such an ordinary-looking woman was not worthy of being on equal terms with her.

And now, Zhong Min actually said that the person the prince loved most in his heart was definitely Liu and not her. This made her unable to accept it. For a while, in addition to being dissatisfied with Zhong Min, her jealousy and hatred towards Liu was even more intense.

"Congratulations, Sister Liu! We're truly envious of the prince for praising her so highly and caring about her so much!" Zheng Ruyu gritted her teeth and put on a generous expression as she said to Liu: "It seems we all need to learn a lot from Sister Liu, sisters, don't you agree?"

When everyone heard this, they naturally agreed, their tone filled with sourness and sarcasm, and Zheng Ruyu's jealousy was instantly ignited.

Seeing this, Liu finally spoke up. She smiled sheepishly and said to Zheng Ruyu, "Sister Zheng, you're joking. I'm untalented and unvirtuous, so how can I compare to you? In my opinion, the prince has a cold personality and would never say such a thing. It's probably because that little girl misunderstood something."

Liu was a sensible person. With just one sentence, she pulled herself out of the collective jealousy and isolation, and instead pushed all the responsibility back onto Zhong Min. In her opinion, regardless of whether what Zhong Min said was true or not, saying such words in front of these people at this moment was not necessarily a good thing for her.

Zhong Min smiled slightly after hearing this, thinking that Liu was indeed much smarter than Zheng Ruyu. However, as smart as she was, as long as she had the desire to win favor, she would be unable to resist the temptation no matter what.

Just as everyone's suspicious gaze shifted to Zhong Min again, she said with a grievance, "Madam Liu Fei, you're being overly suspicious. Zhong Min is just a mere maid. How dare you fabricate stories and speculate on your mistress's thoughts?"

"Miss Min'er, you misunderstood. I'm not saying you're lying. I just think the prince might have said something else, and you accidentally misunderstood it." Liu was a good talker. With just one sentence, she didn't accuse Zhong Min of anything bad, and allowed others to further eliminate their dissatisfaction with her.

Zhong Min pouted slightly, as if she was considering something over and over again. Then, she glanced at everyone before continuing to address Lady Liu, "Empress Liu, I can prove that what I said is true. However, since this is a matter of private concern to His Majesty, I can only reveal this to you. Please keep it a secret for me, Your Majesty. Otherwise, if His Majesty learns that I have disclosed something that should not be disclosed, he will definitely punish me."

As he spoke, Zhong Min had an expression as if he was ready to risk everything to prove himself. He ignored everyone else and walked straight up to Liu, whispering a few words in her ear.

When Liu heard this, she immediately blushed. She looked up at Zhong Min and said expectantly, "Is what you said true?"

"Of course it's true. Her Majesty will be able to see it then. How dare Zhong Min tell such a lie?" Zhong Min said as he looked at Zheng Ruyu intentionally or unintentionally. Sure enough, he saw that the woman's face was very ugly at this time.

"Thank you, Miss Min'er." This time, Liu was no longer in a rush to explain anything to the women who looked at her suspiciously and dissatisfiedly. Instead, she took Zhong Min's hand affectionately and said, "Miss Min'er will have to take care of the prince's affairs in the future."

"Your Majesty, you are too polite. This is what Zhong Min should do." Zhong Min was also clear-headed and said with a deliberately flattering look, "Your Majesty, just don't forget Min'er in the future."

The two exchanged pleasantries, oblivious to the others. Although Zheng Ruyu didn't know their specific conversation, she could guess it was about the prince, and her face darkened to its core. Although she and Liu were both concubines, their status was equal, she had long relied on her father and brother's influence to consider herself the boss of the harem. Now, seeing Concubine Liu hooking up with Zhong Min and ignoring her so much, she was furious.

But before she could utter a single sarcastic remark, Zhong Min told Liu that the errand the prince had assigned her had not yet been completed and that she needed to return immediately, lest she be reprimanded by the prince upon his return. Upon hearing this, Liu unexpectedly agreed with Zhong Min's words, telling her to return quickly and not delay her errand.

Zheng Ruyu was furious. This was her place, so why did Liu Shi decide for her to let that bitch leave? What made her even more angry was that Liu Shi actually took the initiative to speak up for that bitch and stopped her, forcing her to watch helplessly as that bitch left triumphantly.

What she didn't expect was that the other concubines all had their own thoughts at this time. Not only did they no longer agree with her, but they had an expression of waiting and speaking first. They suddenly ignored her and turned to flatter Liu.

Good, good! What a great Zhong Min, what a great Liu! Zheng Ruyu was so angry that her teeth were itching. She wanted to see what good things these two bitches could do together! Just wait and see, she would never let these two people have any good end!

After leaving Zheng Ruyu, Zhong Min walked straight back. After a while, she heard someone calling her from behind. When she turned around, she saw Xier calling and chasing after her quickly.

"Jin'er, wait!" Xi'er caught up with Zhong Min, panting and laughing as she said, "I'm truly impressed by you. You managed to make Concubine Zheng suffer so easily."

"Why did you come out again?" Zhong Min smiled, patted Xier on the back, and said, "It was your master who sent you this time, right?"

Xi'er felt embarrassed when she heard this and said with embarrassment, "You're so smart, I can't hide anything from you. She asked me to sound you out and see what you just said to Concubine Liu."

"But don't worry, I'm just following orders and making a show of it so I can get the job done. I won't make things difficult for you." Xier quickly said, "We are good sisters. I'm naturally on your side."

Xier's surrender and goodwill were meaningless in Zhong Min's eyes. No matter whether Xier really wanted to do so or had other purposes, for Zhong Min, as long as she did not take the initiative to harm her, it was enough.

"I just told Concubine Liu that the prince will be staying at her place for the next few nights. I told her to prepare well and strive to live up to the prince's expectations and conceive a little prince right away, so as to further enhance her status in the palace." Zhong Min gave the answer without saying anything else. He seemed to trust Xier very much, without any hesitation or doubt.

Xi'er was stunned when she heard this, and then asked hesitantly, "Jin'er, you told me so frankly, aren't you worried that I might tell Concubine Zheng?"

To be honest, Xier never expected that Zhong Min would tell her the answer so directly. She was not surprised that Zhong Min knew such a thing. After all, it was not surprising for a personal maid to know things that others did not know. She just did not expect that Zhong Min would trust her so much.

Zhong Min shook her head and said without any worry, "You are my best sister here. I naturally believe that you will not betray me. But Xier, this time I have to ask you to do me a favor."

"What is it?" Xi'er heard it and quickly said affirmatively: "Don't worry, as long as I can help you, I will do my best."