Chapter 74: I'm not good at anything

PS: Thank you to the fans of Weiweixiao for casting the pink votes, and thank you to all the friends who subscribed. The second update is here, I won’t be a scapegoat anymore, and will continue to beg for pinks, subscriptions, and support, ha!

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Hearing Ning Zhiyuan suddenly say that he had an unkind intention, everyone immediately focused their attention on him again. Although Ning Zhiyuan could not be said to be second to none in the court, it was not an exaggeration to say that he could call the wind and rain.

Besides envy, everyone was also filled with curiosity about this young Right Prime Minister, who had ascended to such a high position. For a moment, everyone present secretly speculated about what kind of request the Right Prime Minister would make of their prince.

"Prime Minister Ning, you don't have to be polite. Just tell me what you have to say. If you can do it, I will naturally not refuse." Xiao Mingzheng did not expect Ning Zhiyuan to be so direct. For a moment, he could not figure out what this person was trying to do.

After hearing this, Ning Zhiyuan glanced at Zhong Min, who was standing next to Xiao Mingzheng, and then continued with a smile, "Your Highness, to be honest, I heard that Your Highness never had a dedicated personal maid by his side before, but not long ago, he broke with the precedent and added a young lady named Min'er as his personal attendant. I wonder if what I heard is wrong?"

"Prime Minister Ning has always been well-informed and accurate in his information. How could he be wrong?" Xiao Mingzheng was obviously surprised by Ning Zhiyuan's question, but his expression remained unchanged. He said calmly and calmly, "It seems that Prime Minister Ning is very concerned about my affairs. He even knows such an insignificant matter."

Ning Zhiyuan understood Xiao Mingzheng's intentions upon hearing this, and explained calmly, "Your Highness, please don't misunderstand me. I have no other intentions. I'm just a little curious about Miss Min'er. Your Highness is wise and powerful, and you are a hero in the hearts of millions of my people. I don't know how many noble ladies in this world admire and love you. As for other things, I'm not really sure, but the news of this matter has spread among the princes and noble ladies in the capital. Many of them say that they envy Miss Min'er for being able to always be by your side, and say that if they had such an opportunity, they would rather trade places with Miss Min'er. It's conceivable that Miss Min'er must have many outstanding qualities, otherwise she would not have caught the eye of Your Highness and become your close attendant."

Zhong Min, listening from the sidelines, immediately felt that Ning Zhiyuan was a bit unreliable. Did the Right Prime Minister really have so much free time? Was he actually paying attention to such gossip like a gossipy woman? And what made her most bored was how this matter had been linked to her again?

It was obvious that this person had done it on purpose, deliberately choosing this moment to bring up this matter. She really didn't know what he was trying to do. However, at this moment, she naturally couldn't interrupt and could only wait and see how Xiao Mingzheng would handle the situation.

After hearing this, Xiao Mingzheng just smiled nonchalantly, and then said calmly: "I thought it was nothing, but it turns out that the Right Prime Minister is interested in my maid. If so, I can satisfy the Right Prime Minister's curiosity and let you see clearly what makes her so special."

After saying that, Xiao Mingzheng glanced sideways at Zhong Min, motioning her to come forward and resolve the matter herself.

Seeing this, Zhong Min couldn't help but curse inwardly. This Xiao Mingzheng really knew how to save trouble, just throwing the matter directly onto her. He was really confident that she wouldn't ruin his business.

If it were any other day, she would certainly not be so obedient, but at this moment, she could not afford to bargain at all. Even though she had no idea what she could do, she had no choice but to accept the order.

"Zhong Min greets the Right Prime Minister." She walked up to Ning Zhiyuan, bowed slightly, and said, "Your words just now really make Zhong Min feel ashamed. Zhong Min is just an ordinary maid. It's only by chance that I have better luck than others that I have the honor of serving the prince. I really don't have the extraordinary qualities that you mentioned. Zhong Min is stupid and I am afraid that I will disappoint you."

She had no idea what Ning Zhiyuan was up to, but judging by the current situation, one thing was certain: he had indeed shown an unusual level of interest in her, and his attention to her was indeed unusual. "Something extraordinary?" Ning Zhiyuan was clearly hinting at something. Could it be that word had gotten out about her building a security system for Xiao Mingzheng? Or perhaps something about her behavior during the past few months of external defense had caught someone's attention?

Even her intuition told her that Ning Zhiyuan was deliberately testing something. Otherwise, how could an ordinary maid like her attract the attention of the Right Prime Minister, and he would not hesitate to lower his status and deliberately bring up an irrelevant topic in front of everyone.

But at the same time, there is another point. The reason why Ning Zhiyuan adopted this approach also shows that no matter what Ning Zhiyuan suspects, at least for now, it is just speculation and suspicion. Perhaps his other purpose of this trip to Muzhou is to help the emperor verify those suspicions and guesses in his mind that have not yet been formally formed.

Therefore, Ning Zhiyuan's unusual behavior was superficially directed at her, but his real target was still Xiao Mingzheng. She was merely a breakthrough point for them to defeat Xiao Mingzheng.

"Miss Min'er, you're being too modest. The prince is such a hero. To be recognized by him and become his personal attendant, how could I possibly be ordinary and mediocre?" Ning Zhiyuan smiled calmly. "Besides, who in the world doesn't know that Muzhou is famous for its talented women, proficient in everything from music, chess, calligraphy, painting, playing musical instruments, singing, and dancing? Miss Min'er is clearly a hidden master. I wonder if we will be lucky enough to witness her beauty today?"

A glimpse of her beauty? Hearing that word, Zhong Min felt a little ashamed. Ning Zhiyuan was in such a good mood, even wanting to see her perform. That was a nice thing to say; the Right Prime Minister was truly giving a servant like her a lot of respect. If she truly had a talent like that, it wouldn't hurt to show it off openly.

But the problem is that she doesn't know any of the arts that Ning Zhiyuan mentioned just now, such as playing the piano, chess, calligraphy, painting, playing any musical instruments, singing, or dancing. Isn't this extremely difficult for her?

She hesitated slightly, but in a moment she felt all eyes were focused on her. Zhong Min subconsciously glanced sideways at Xiao Mingzheng, hoping that he could come forward to help her out at this time. After all, they were on the same side.

But what disappointed her was that Xiao Mingzheng didn't seem to have any intention of helping out. Instead, like everyone else, he looked quite interested, which really made her angry.

This Xiao Mingzheng is really dishonest. Others don't know her background, but he doesn't know it? Is it possible that he doesn't know that if she makes a fool of herself later, he will be the one to lose face in the end?

Seeing that Zhong Min didn't say anything, Ning Zhiyuan was not anxious or urged her. He stared at her patiently and waited, while the officials on the side began to discuss in a low voice.

Seeing this, Xiao Mingzheng said to Zhong Min, "Since Prime Minister Ning is so kind, you should dance a song to express your gratitude."

Zhong Min was utterly dejected upon hearing this. This Xiao Mingzheng was truly a fool. It would have been fine if he hadn't helped her out, but he'd dug a hole and pushed her into it. A dance? That sounded so simple, like a meal? Could it just happen?

"Your Highness, please forgive me. It's not that I don't want to dance, but I really can't dance." She had no choice but to tell the truth, hoping that Xiao Mingzheng would not make decisions for her again.

"If you can't dance, you can play the piano!" An official nearby kindly came to the rescue, but this person really overestimated Zhong Min's talent in art.

Zhong Min was stunned for a moment, then smiled at the "kind" man and said, "Sir, I can't play the piano either."

The kind official was also stunned for a moment. When Zhong Min said that he couldn't play the piano, he couldn't help but glance at Xiao Mingzheng who was sitting above him. Seeing that the prince didn't look unhappy at all, and even had a faint smile on his face, he said very kindly: "You can't play the piano either? It doesn't matter. Then sing a song. This is the easiest."

Sing? Zhong Min couldn't help but sigh inwardly. This kind-hearted man was really overly enthusiastic. She could only belt out a few pop songs whose lyrics she couldn't even remember. The singing style and style of this world were completely foreign to her. If she sang those songs, everyone present would probably think she was crazy.

"My lord... your servant..." She was really a little embarrassed, but this kind of thing is something that you can do if you can, and you can't do if you can't. It is not wise to show off your ability.

She forced a smile, gritted her teeth and said, "I can't sing either."

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire banquet hall fell silent for a moment. Everyone looked at Zhong Min with extremely complicated eyes, obviously not knowing what this woman meant.

If she couldn't play the zither or dance, that would be fine, but she couldn't even sing. This was truly incredible. Muzhou was known as the capital of northern music. Here, men and women, young and old, anyone who could speak could sing a few songs. How could there be a woman who couldn't sing?

If this woman was lying, then she was incredibly audacious to lie in front of the prince, Prime Minister Ning, and so many officials. This was disrespectful and a serious crime punishable by death. If it was true, then it was truly surprising. What on earth could a servant who couldn't do anything, who couldn't even sing a little song, have done to earn the prince a special promotion to a personal maid?

"What on earth can Miss Min'er do?"

Just as everyone was secretly speculating, Ning Zhiyuan, who had been silent the whole time, said to Zhong Min with an increasingly interested expression, "Knowing what ordinary people know, even if it's outstanding, really isn't that extraordinary. It seems Miss Min'er is indeed a hidden talent. I'm sure she will bring unexpected surprises to the prince and the others present."