Chapter 85 Don't Lose Your Identity

Soon, Zhong Min saw a girl of about sixteen or seventeen being led over by the guards.

The girl was very pretty, with willow-shaped eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, a cherry mouth, and especially her tall and delicate nose, which made her look extremely delicate. Her skin was fair and delicate, and her hands were long and soft, showing the beauty of a young lady who had never touched water since childhood.

The girl's hair was slightly messy, her clothes had a few scratches, and her face looked a little frightened, but she had to muster up her courage. This actually added a bit of fragile beauty to her, making people feel sympathy and pity for her.

She stopped about five steps away from Xiao Mingzheng and Ning Zhiyuan, and her beautiful eyes carefully looked at the people in front of her from time to time. After looking back and forth, she fixed her gaze on Xiao Mingzheng and Ning Zhiyuan, who were both well-dressed and elegant. Obviously, for a moment, it seemed that she could not tell who was the loudest person in the team.

Zhong Min couldn't help but smile. The girl before her instantly felt strangely familiar, though not in the way you'd feel with someone you knew in real life. It felt more like a scene from a TV show she'd seen before. A wealthy young woman, dropped from the sky, helpless in the wilderness, happened to meet a handsome, prominent man, and from there, love at first sight blossomed.

However, TV is TV after all, and reality is reality after all. In such a remote and desolate mountain area, a girl who is so beautiful and weak can actually survive intact after encountering villains and killing her entire family. She doesn't even have a single injury on her body, only her clothes are scratched in a few small places. This can really be called a miracle.

Although Zhong Min was not in a hurry to make any conclusion about the woman who suddenly appeared, it was obvious that she still had some doubts about her arrival. This was not only related to her profession, but also to her innate sensitive intuition.

Soon, the girl gave a very standard and elegant salute to Xiao Mingzheng and Ning Zhiyuan. Her demeanor and expression were that of a lady from a noble family, which made people's eyes light up. Everyone present was naturally attracted by this girl, especially the guards beside her.

However, the girl did not see the amazement in the eyes of the two nobles as she had imagined. Although Ning Zhiyuan stared at her with some interest, there was a lack of the interest between men and women in his eyes. It was more like a kind of curiosity and an interesting thing that happened to happen to him when he was bored and killing time.

As for the other one, he acted as if he had no feelings at all. When she saluted and spoke, he just glanced at her straight in the eye, without any extra emotion at all.

The girl suddenly became even more nervous, standing there at a loss, looking as pitiful as a frightened and aggrieved little rabbit.

Seeing this, Ning Zhiyuan took the initiative to break the somewhat awkward atmosphere and said to the girl, "Don't be afraid, young lady. Tell me who you are and what happened to you. If everything is true, it is not impossible for you to come to the capital with us."

Xiao Mingzheng originally had no intention of dealing with this matter directly. Seeing that Ning Zhiyuan took the initiative to take the matter as he expected, he just watched from the side as if it had nothing to do with him.

Seeing that someone finally paid attention to her, the young girl suddenly felt as if she had found a backbone. Her expression immediately became sad, and she said to Ning Zhiyuan, "Your Excellency, I don't know, my humble name is Chen Jiaxin, and I'm originally from Qingzhou. My family runs some business there, and we live a relatively prosperous life. But not long ago, relatives in the capital sent a letter through someone, saying that my father should go there to develop his career, saying that there are better opportunities there. When my father heard about the better business opportunities in the capital, he happily agreed and brought our family to the capital. Who knew that we would encounter bandits on the way yesterday? They, they..."

When Chen Jiaxin said this, she had already burst into tears, and the tears on her face kept falling like pearls. She was so sad that she couldn't say anything else.

The guards nearby were filled with sympathy, their expressions all filled with sadness. Zhong Min, noticing the girl wasn't going to continue, grew increasingly anxious. After trying to contain himself, he finally gave in and interrupted Chen Jiaxin, saying, "Don't cry. We know what happened next. Your entire family was killed by bandits, and you were the only one who escaped, right?"

Hearing Zhong Min's words, Chen Jiaxin quickly stopped crying, nodded sadly, and continued, "Originally, those people wanted to capture me and take me back to be their eldest brother's concubine, but I naturally refused. I took advantage of their inattention and found an opportunity to escape. For the past few days, I have been hiding everywhere, fearing they would find me and afraid of encountering other criminals, so I have been wandering around in this mountain. It wasn't until I met you tonight and saw that the guards were all wearing soldiers' clothes that I bravely approached and asked."

"Please be kind, my dear gentlemen. I only ask to be able to follow you to Beijing. Everything else will not have any impact on you. Please be kind and take me with you!" Chen Jiaxin said while wiping her tears, and she looked as if she might kneel down at any moment.

"Your Highness, this woman is truly pitiful. If it is convenient, could you please take her with you to the capital? She is a life after all. If you ignore her, it will be difficult for her to reach the capital alive." Ning Zhiyuan spoke to Xiao Mingzheng in a negotiating tone. In fact, for them, helping this woman was just a piece of cake, just a matter of a word, and it was nothing at all.

However, he was also aware of Xiao Mingzheng's current situation. For safety reasons, he naturally couldn't just let an unknown stranger into the group. As an accompanying member, he couldn't make the decision. Otherwise, if something unexpected happened, he wouldn't be able to bear the responsibility. Therefore, he only mentioned it casually and didn't say it too directly.

But for Xiao Mingzheng, although Ning Zhiyuan's words were tactful, since the Right Prime Minister had spoken like this, if he did not nod in agreement, he would probably have another crime to be charged with in the court: cold-blooded and heartless, and without humanity.

Although he didn't care about what those boring people said, he still had to be a little cautious at the moment. After all, the place he was going to was the capital, which was the place where those people liked to gossip.

"Since Prime Minister Ning has spoken, I naturally have no choice but to agree." Xiao Mingzheng didn't even look at Chen Jiaxin, but went straight to Ning Zhiyuan and said, "Prime Minister Ning is away from home and doesn't have a maid with him, so why not let this woman accompany the Right Prime Minister in his carriage?"

Xiao Mingzheng's mind was as quick as ever. Since it was Ning Zhiyuan who proposed it, he would just have to let people follow Ning Zhiyuan. As long as nothing happened, everyone would be safe and sound. If something happened, it would be Ning Zhiyuan's own fault, so he couldn't blame anyone else.

Ning Zhiyuan smiled slightly after hearing this, clearly understanding Xiao Mingzheng's intention. He nodded, not caring much about it, and agreed, "Well, then, since the prince has Miss Min'er to take care of him, the carriage will be too crowded with more people. Let this girl and Zhiyuan ride together temporarily, and let her go to the capital to look for her relatives on her own."

Chen Jiaxin was instantly delighted when she heard the conversation between Xiao Mingzheng and Ning Zhiyuan. The panic on her face vanished, and she breathed a sigh of relief, as if she had seen great hope. Then, her eyes widened, her lips parted, and she knelt down in front of Xiao Mingzheng and Ning Zhiyuan, as if she had suddenly realized something.

"I had no idea you two were the Prince and the Prime Minister. Please forgive me if I was disrespectful just now. Your assistance today is truly a blessing I've cultivated over several lifetimes. I have no way to repay you, so I can only kowtow to you two and express my gratitude."

As she spoke, Chen Jiaxin kowtowed three times to the two men. Zhong Min knew that with Xiao Mingzheng's personality, he would most likely turn a blind eye, but she didn't expect Ning Zhiyuan to actually watch Chen Jiaxin kowtow with a smile and didn't try to stop her.

"Okay, get up. Let's eat something together and rest early. We have to get up early and travel tomorrow. You must be hungry." After seeing Chen Jiaxin kowtow, Ning Zhiyuan asked her to get up. While speaking, he glanced at Xiao Mingzheng beside him. Obviously, he had guessed that Xiao Mingzheng would not say anything.

After hearing what Zhiyuan said, Chen Jiaxin stood up and thanked him again with gratitude. Then she looked up, obviously not knowing which way she should go. After hesitating for a moment, she walked towards Zhong Min and prepared to sit next to her.

"Miss, you should sit next to the Prime Minister. You will be riding in the same carriage with him for the next few days anyway, so it would be better to familiarize yourself with him first. Besides, I am a servant, and you look like a lady. It would be disrespectful for you to sit next to me." Zhong Min reminded with a smile, just as Chen Jiaxin was about to sit down.

Chen Jiaxin was immediately embarrassed when she heard this. For a moment, she didn't know whether to sit down or not. "I, I saw that you were the only girl here, so, I thought it would be more convenient to sit here."

"What's convenient or inconvenient? How can you be a questionable person as the Prime Minister? You're overthinking it, young lady." Zhong Minke said bluntly, "Although I'm the only woman here, I can guarantee that they won't do anything inappropriate to you."

"I, I didn't mean that." Chen Jiaxin was even more at a loss when she heard it. Her face flushed as she explained to herself in a low voice, and from time to time she looked at Xiao Mingzheng and Ning Zhiyuan beside her, looking helpless and pitiful, seeking help.