Chapter 11 House Arrest
"Looks like you're lucky! Luckily there's snow on the ground. Otherwise, on a normal day, you'd definitely break a few bones." The tall, thin soldier said proudly, "The prince is truly foresighted. He anticipated your escape. In my opinion, you should just be quiet and come back with us. Who is the prince? How could you possibly escape under his nose?"
Zhong Min was furious upon hearing this, but his intentions had already been exposed. He had no room for arrogance in front of these two young and strong soldiers, so he could only smile bitterly and say, "Don't worry, I won't run away again."
"That's good to know. It's a waste of effort to escape. Let me tell you this, even if you have the ability to escape from the two of us, you can't escape from the prince's Five Finger Mountain no matter what." The tall and thin soldier had a face full of certainty, especially when he mentioned the word "prince", it was as if he had a kind of admiration and worship from the bottom of his heart. Even his eyes, which were not big to begin with, were now shining, flashing a unique look.
Zhong Min naturally understood the soldier's mentality. Personal worship was a common phenomenon throughout history, especially in the feudal era that revered war and force. Clearly, Prince Mu must have many extraordinary qualities, otherwise he wouldn't have earned such heartfelt support and admiration from his subordinates.
At this moment, she had no intention of arguing with the tall and thin soldier. Fortunately, the two men did not seem to have any intention of making things difficult for her. They just acted in a businesslike manner and helped Zhong Min get back on the horse. The three of them then set out again to return to Prince Mu's Mansion.
With the previous experience as a lesson, Zhong Min no longer dared to make any small calculations. Not to mention that the horse was impossible to control, even if the horse was not in trouble, the two people escorting her would never give her any chance.
As darkness fell, they finally entered Muzhou City. Although the city gates were closed, the two soldiers held the entry token, so they naturally faced no obstacles. When they reached the gates of Prince Mu's mansion, Zhong Min finally had to face reality, dismounted, and followed the two men through the palace gates.
These two men seemed quite familiar with Prince Mu's mansion, likely serving as personal guards alongside Xiao Mingzheng. They took Zhong Min directly to a room in the palace's backyard and told her to rest there for the night, saying they would summon her when their prince returned.
After saying that, the two men left, but they left two guards guarding the door. No one was allowed to enter or leave without permission except for those who brought food and hot water to Zhong Min.
Seeing this, Zhong Min had no choice but to stay put for the time being. She was finally provided with food and drink, and of course, a change of clothes. The bed in the room also looked quite clean and warm. This showed that no matter how much Xiao Mingzheng doubted her identity, he at least acknowledged her contribution in helping him escape and return to the camp safely today. Apart from controlling her personal freedom, he did not abuse her for the time being.
However, for such a high-ranking person, everything is a one-sided matter. What if Xiao Mingzheng is unable to verify her true identity but still can't let go of the suspicion in his heart, would he rather kill the wrong person than let her go?
Thinking of this, Zhong Min couldn't help but frown and sigh inwardly. Even though she knew her current situation was quite unfavorable, she had no other options but to take things one step at a time.
Since it was pointless to dwell on it, she simply gave up. Today had been a thrilling and eventful day, and now that she was alone and quiet, she suddenly realized how sleepy she was. Furthermore, she was exhausted from falling off her horse and nearly falling apart.
She finished the food in front of her in a few mouthfuls, quickly wiped her face with the hot water that the person who delivered the food had just brought her, ran straight to the bed, and fell asleep.
She slept very soundly that day and didn't wake up until the next morning when someone pushed the door open and brought her water for washing and breakfast.
The delivery person didn't care whether she was up or not. He put the things down and left without saying a word. It was obvious that he had been warned in advance, which was why he was so cautious. Zhong Min didn't think much of it. After getting up and stretching his muscles, he swept away the breakfast in front of him without hesitation.
It’s good to be young. The body is in pretty good shape. I was tired all day yesterday and fell down like that. I recovered completely after a night’s rest. I am as good as ever, without any of the fragility that I imagined ancient women to be.
But it's not surprising. Originally, Jin'er was just a servant. With a master like Concubine Zheng, she was probably beaten a lot in her daily life, so she had already been trained.
There were no watches or clocks here. Zhong Min only knew that the lunch delivery person hadn't arrived yet, so it must still be morning. She didn't know how much time had passed, but as she sat in a chair staring blankly at the beams on the roof, she suddenly heard a noise outside the house.
Zhong Min quickly pricked up his ears and listened, only to hear someone trying to come in but being stopped by the guard at the gate.
"How dare you! I'm sent by Concubine Zheng. Why won't you let me in?" A familiar female voice rang out, "The person in there is Jin'er, the maidservant beside the Concubine. The Concubine just returned home and has something urgent to ask. She asked me to bring her over right now."
"Without the prince's order, no one can take people away. You go back and tell Concubine Zheng that you can take people away, but only without the prince's order." Obviously, the guards at the gate did not buy Concubine Zheng's account, and their tone was very harsh. It sounded very clear that in the Prince Mu's Mansion, they only obeyed the prince directly.
The visitor seemed a little annoyed, but he was helpless. He just muttered a few words and left. Soon, silence returned outside, as quiet as if there was no one at the door at all.
Zhong Min immediately recognized that the person just now was Xier, the maidservant beside Concubine Zheng. It seemed that General Cheng had returned safely early this morning and sent Concubine Zheng back to the palace.
Concubine Zheng was truly remarkable. After a night of freezing in the wilderness, she returned without resting and recuperating. Instead, the first thing she did was ask Xier to take her there. Her approach was truly swift and ferocious. Zhong Min recalled the moment she'd glanced back after setting off on horseback the day before, her face twisted with rage, and couldn't help but sigh.
If this woman gets angry, she will be no more ruthless than a man. Now that he has accidentally offended this evil woman, Concubine Zheng, it seems that he is in even more trouble.
Fortunately, Xiao Mingzheng put her under house arrest in disguise. Although Xiao's original intention was to prevent anyone from colluding with her to do something harmful to the Prince Mu's Mansion or to escape, this disguised house arrest actually helped her temporarily block the big trouble of Concubine Zheng. Thinking about it, it was a blessing in disguise.
However, Zhong Min's relief didn't last long, as a familiar and repulsive voice soon erupted from outside the door: "Who has the audacity to look down upon me like this?"
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