Chapter 87 No matter how many heads you have, they are not enough

The dance was truly remarkable. Zhong Min had to admit that this combination of beauty and talent was indeed very appropriate for Chen Jiaxin. From a purely aesthetic perspective, Zhong Min found it quite interesting to watch.

However, Chen Jiaxin was clearly unsatisfied with her performance, as the two nobles didn't seem as amazed as she'd imagined. Xiao Mingzheng, needless to say, simply glanced at her from beginning to end, his expression unchanged. Ning Zhiyuan, however, offered a few words of praise, but the compliments were unremarkable, evidently merely the usual kind of praise.

After all, these two have seen all kinds of people and all kinds of performances. No matter how exquisite their performances are, they will become just like this after seeing them too many times.

Zhong Min was not surprised at this result. Xiao Mingzheng and Ning Zhiyuan were not the lustful type, so if they wanted to make a breakthrough in this aspect, they estimated that unless she was truly stunningly beautiful, it would be difficult to attract their attention all at once.

Inadvertently, Zhong Min seemed to see a flash of disappointment in Chen Jiaxin's eyes, and just when she subconsciously wanted to explore for a moment longer, Chen Jiaxin immediately returned to normal.

She was quite an expert, Zhong Min secretly averted her gaze. This half-hour had only confirmed her judgment. If her initial intuition was the only basis, now it was more based on various details, the most obvious of which was the clothes Zheng Jiaxin was wearing.

That dress was not the ordinary dress that young ladies usually wore, but a specially made dance costume that had been carefully modified and concealed. It could not be seen at all if you didn't look carefully. But once she started dancing, if you paid a little attention, you could find that the hem was much larger than the usual clothes.

"Brother Xie, send two people to take turns watching that woman. Be careful not to let her notice." Everyone dispersed and went back to their tents to rest. Zhong Min took the opportunity to find Xie Feng and told him to be careful of Chen Jiaxin and not let that woman do anything dangerous.

When Xie Feng heard this, he said repeatedly: "Don't worry, sister. The prince gave instructions on this matter early in the morning. We will not take it lightly."

"The prince gave the order this morning?" Zhong Min was surprised. "When was that? Why didn't I see him speak to you alone?"

This Xiao Mingzheng is really like a god. He did it without anyone noticing. Even she, a living person, didn't notice that she was right next to him. It's really hard to accept.

Xie Feng didn't specify when Xiao Mingzheng had instructed him, but he said to Zhong Min in confusion, "Sister, do you think that Minister Ning and Chen Jiaxin are in cahoots? Did they plan to murder the prince on the way?"

After hearing this, Zhong Min shook his head slightly. Ning Zhiyuan naturally had bad intentions, but with his intelligence, he would not do it so obviously. What's more, since the court summoned Prince Mu to the capital, they must have had some safe way to deal with it, so that he would not do such a sneaky thing halfway and lose his identity.

"That's not the case. The Prime Minister probably doesn't know Chen Jiaxin, but he can naturally see Chen Jiaxin's intentions. The reason he did this is just to give her a push and take advantage of the opportunity. If Chen Jiaxin can really succeed, then he will naturally reap the benefits. If she fails, it won't be a big deal for him either."

She analyzed objectively, "In short, we can just send someone to secretly keep an eye on her. In my opinion, if she can't find an opportunity to strike alone, she'll definitely contact her accomplices and plot again. Right now, we're not afraid of her making a move, we're just afraid of her not moving."

"I understand. Don't worry. Big brother is here and he won't let you down." Xie Feng patted his chest vigorously with a confident look. Not to mention that they had been prepared for a long time, even if there was a sudden change, the back-up plan designed by Zhong Min before was enough to resolve various crises.

Early the next morning, Zhong Min got up from the tent, packed up briefly, and prepared to report to Xiao Mingzheng's tent to avoid people thinking that she, a personal maid, was lazy all day and not doing her job well.

Unexpectedly, as soon as I walked out of the tent, I saw Chen Jiaxin flitting around the several temporary stoves in front like a butterfly, looking diligent in helping out.

"Wait, who is so rude as to let Miss Chen do such rough work?" Zhong Min said as he walked over and grabbed Chen Jiaxin, stopping her from spinning around the pots of almost cooked rice porridge.

"Miss Min'er, I offered to help on my own initiative. Don't blame them." Seeing this, Chen Jiaxin quickly spoke up for the guards who lowered their heads nearby. "I can't help with anything else, but I can certainly help with this."

"That's not necessary, Miss Chen. They have their own rules. Although you mean well, if the prince sees them, they will definitely be punished." Zhong Min said in a matter-of-fact manner, "They are originally soldiers. There are some military rules that Miss Chen is naturally unaware of. Everything is handled by a specific person. If there is a mistake, the person in charge will bear the responsibility. The lightest punishment is thirty military sticks, and the most serious is immediate execution. In short, there is no mercy in military law."

Hearing Zhong Min's words, Chen Jiaxin looked a little embarrassed. She was just trying to help out of kindness, but Zhong Min was making a fuss out of nothing. What's more, she was just a maid, so it was a bit too much for her to be so meddling.

However, even if she was dissatisfied, Chen Jiaxin couldn't complain since they were all under her roof. She could only continue to speak to Zhong Min in a gentle voice, "Miss Zhong Min, you have a point. But I also have good intentions. Seeing them busy here so early in the morning, and since I have nothing to do, I thought I'd find some way to help out. That way, I'll feel better."

"Miss Chen, haven't you heard of good intentions leading to more trouble? You may feel better if you help them, but if they are punished, they will feel bad." Zhong Min was too lazy to talk to the woman any more and simply ordered her to leave. "Miss Chen, if you have nothing else to do, you should go see if the Prime Minister can help you. This place is really not suitable for you."

After saying that, Zhong Min said to the soldiers, "How dare you let outsiders touch anything? This is breakfast for everyone. If anything goes wrong, you won't be able to bear the consequences even if I kill you ten times!"

"Miss, you are right. I will remember your lesson and will never dare to do it again, never again!" Several soldiers admitted their mistakes and seemed to be in awe of Zhong Min.

Zhong Min naturally didn't say anything else. He waved his hand to signal them to continue with their own business. Then he turned around and left without looking at Chen Jiaxin who was standing there in a daze, feeling very aggrieved.

"Miss Min'er, wait a minute!" Chen Jiaxin hesitated for a moment, but finally gritted her teeth and chased after her. As she followed her, she said, "I don't know why you don't like me, but there's one thing I have to make clear. I really don't have any bad intentions, and it's impossible for me to do anything bad. There's no need for you to target me like this, and there's no need to be wary of me like a thief!"

"Miss Chen, you've misunderstood. I'm not one to judge people by their actions. Today, I'd say the same thing even if it were you, not the Prime Minister." Zhong Min paused and said nonchalantly, "Don't overthink it. It's not nice to be on guard against thieves. As the saying goes, a man of integrity fears no shadow. Miss, you're doing the right thing, so why should you bother with some harmless words?"

"Even if you don't admit it, I know you didn't like me from the first sight. My intuition is always accurate, but I really don't know what I did wrong to make you dislike me so much." Chen Jiaxin said with a desperate look: "I'm really not what you think. If there is anything about me that makes you dislike me, just tell me, I will definitely change."

Hearing Chen Jiaxin's words, Zhong Min couldn't help but laugh: "Miss Chen, why should you care about whether someone else's maid likes you or not? If you must think so, then just think that I am jealous of your beauty and talent, so I am targeting you everywhere, okay? Anyway, after a few days of going to Beijing, there will be no possibility of us meeting again. Why should you care about the thoughts of someone of my status? If you are really unhappy, then just stay where you should be. Don't make trouble all day long. It will tire you out and affect others."

It was really funny. He acted innocent in front of her and claimed that his intuition was accurate. When it came to intuition, who could be better than hers? If it weren't for Ning Zhiyuan speaking up, not to mention Xiao Mingzheng, even she would have eliminated all possible dangers on the spot.

She wasn't some savior, and even the slightest uncertainty wouldn't allow her to take the risk in order to complete her mission. This mission wasn't just about defense, it was about when she could leave Prince Mu's mansion and regain her freedom. So, no matter what, she wouldn't let anyone sabotage her.

After saying this, Zhong Min ignored how dark Chen Jiaxin's face had turned and left to do his own thing.

Over the next few days, Chen Jiaxin actually behaved much more docilely. Perhaps it was Zhong Min's words that day that had an effect, or perhaps it was because she knew she wasn't well-liked, so she became cautious and prudent, not daring to act rashly. But the closer she got to the capital, the stronger the sense of potential danger grew.

Zhong Min knew that Chen Jiaxin would definitely take action before going to Beijing, so he asked the people who were watching her to be more careful.

Around noon that day, the group stopped for a break in a small roadside grove. After Zhong Min disembarked from the carriage, he saw Xiao Mingzheng and Xie Feng discussing something nearby, so he took the opportunity to stretch his muscles nearby. He'd been sitting in the carriage for most of the day, and his bones were practically falling apart. Fortunately, it would only take a couple of days to reach the capital. Otherwise, he wondered what would have happened if he'd been sitting in the carriage for another half a month.

After the servants had cleaned up the place, Zhong Min sat down with Xiao Mingzheng, Ning Zhiyuan, and the others to eat some dry food. After a short rest, they set off. Just as he was about to stuff a steamed bun into his mouth, he heard panicked screams from the grove. Then, he saw Chen Jiaxin running towards them like crazy, shouting for help.