Chapter 139: Is it considered a fight?
On the surface, Zhong Min's words sounded innocent, but to Jiang Xiyan, they stung like thorns. Especially in front of Xiao Mingzheng, wasn't this tantamount to telling Xiao Mingzheng how vain she was, and how she had already considered herself a princess?
Although Xiao Mingzheng told everyone in the mansion to treat her with the courtesy of a princess, he did not tell everyone to address her with the title of princess. After all, the royal family is not as casual as the common people. Everything must be orthodox. Without the approval of the marriage proposal and the wedding ceremony, this honorific title cannot be used casually.
For a moment, she was very embarrassed and cursed Zhong Min in her heart, but she still had to force a smile on her face and quickly change the subject, so as not to feel extremely uncomfortable as if her braids were pulled.
"Sister Min loves to joke around. By the way, I originally wanted to invite Sister Min to dinner. After all, Xiyan doesn't have any other relatives or friends here. I've always felt particularly close to Sister Min since coming here, and I thought it would be even happier to have Sister Min with me on my birthday. But when I asked the maid to invite her this afternoon, I found out that Sister Min had gone out to play with General Luo. She came back so late, so I guess she must have had a great time, right?"
As Jiang Xiyan spoke, she secretly glanced at Xiao Mingzheng beside her. Seeing that his expression hadn't changed at all and he said nothing, as if he had tacitly accepted the maid's address to her as Princess, she breathed a sigh of relief. So what if the people around her called her Princess? As long as the prince acquiesced, who would dare to speak out?
"It's okay. I haven't been out for a while, so naturally everything seems new to me." Zhong Min subconsciously didn't want to talk too much about her outing with Luo Jiaxing in front of Xiao Mingzheng, so she turned to Jiang Xiyan and said, "Since it's the princess' birthday today, it should be grand. Why is it so simple?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xiyan looked at Xiao Mingzheng lovingly and said, "The prince originally said he would celebrate for me, but Xiyan feels that it shouldn't be too ostentatious. Firstly, the prince is busy right now, and secondly, I haven't been in the mansion long, so it's better to keep it simple. Anyway, as long as the prince is with me, the formality doesn't matter. I'm very satisfied with today's arrangement."
"Xiyan is so considerate. It's a blessing for me." Xiao Mingzheng didn't want to say anything at first, but seeing Jiang Xiyan staring at him so obliviously, he could only smile and say, "As long as you like today's arrangements, it's worth it. Butler Liu has put so much thought into it for several days."
As he spoke, he quickly glanced at Zhong Min, only to see that she looked neither happy nor angry. Suddenly, he felt an indescribable feeling in his heart. Perhaps seeing her unhappy face at this moment was actually a good thing.
Zhong Min arrived late and didn't see the foreplay arranged for the waterside dinner party at all, but judging from Jiang Xiyan's expression, she seemed to be very pleased. She had been wondering when Xiao Mingzheng had such a romantic mind, but when she heard that it was Butler Liu who did it, she actually smiled secretly in her heart.
Jiang Xiyan wasn't unhappy at all. In her opinion, as a prince, it was impossible for him to do all these things himself. It was great that he could let his servants go to such trouble. Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, she turned her gaze away from Xiao Mingzheng's face and turned to look at Zhong Min and said, "By the way, Sister Min, when is your birthday? How about this, the next time you have a birthday, I will arrange it for you and make sure it is a special and unforgettable birthday, Sister Min."
"Princess, it's thoughtful of you, but there's no need to bother. I don't even know when I was born, so I never celebrate my birthday." Zhong Min doesn't care about birthdays. Whoever loves can celebrate it.
"Oh, look at my memory. I forgot that Sister Min had long forgotten about the past. I made Sister Min sad for nothing." Jiang Xiyan looked apologetic, blaming herself as if she had done something wrong.
Zhong Min said with a smile, "Why should I be sad about this? Wouldn't it be better if I didn't remember my birthday? I'm eighteen every day."
Hearing this, Xiao Mingzheng's mouth curled up slightly, obviously amused by Zhong Min's words. Jiang Xiyan didn't know whether it was intentional or unintentional, but she actually caught Xiao Mingzheng's sharp eyes and caught his movement of involuntarily bending and then quickly retracting his lips. She felt extremely unhappy for a moment.
Xiao Mingzheng had been with her all night, smiling at her from time to time, but he had never smiled as happily as he did just now. She had always known that Xiao Mingzheng had feelings for Zhong Min that were special, but she had never expected them to be so different.
She couldn't even tolerate a woman like Liu, let alone someone like Zhong Min? Jiang Xiyan took a deep breath, but she wasn't in a hurry. She was a patient person, and the one who laughed last was the real winner. One day, she would uproot Zhong Min from Xiao Mingzheng's heart, so that Xiao Mingzheng would have only her in his heart!
"Sister Min is truly interesting. No wonder General Luo, so busy as he is, always thinks of her." Jiang Xiyan changed the subject, glancing at Zhong Min's head as she spoke, then exclaimed softly, "I've never seen Sister Min wear any jewelry on a normal day. The plum blossom jade hairpin she's wearing today is truly unique and looks like a new item. Perhaps she bought it while out and about today? Judging by the quality and workmanship, it must have been quite expensive. I once saw a similar magnolia hairpin in the capital, and they said it cost at least a thousand taels of silver. I thought it was too expensive, so I had to give it up."
After hearing Jiang Xiyan's words, everyone couldn't help but look at Zhong Min's head. Xiao Mingzheng actually saw Zhong Min the first time she entered the water pavilion, and he had some guesses in his mind, but he just didn't say anything.
Seeing this, Zhong Min had no choice but to answer. Jiang Xiyan spoke without revealing anything. Although she didn't say it explicitly, her meaning was obvious. If even Miss Jiang couldn't afford it, how could someone like her afford it herself? She had specifically mentioned Luo Jiaxing before, wasn't it obvious that she wanted to say that Luo Jiaxing bought it for her?
"Your Highness, you're joking. I don't have the money to buy these luxury items. Although they're not as expensive as you say, they're still not cheap. I saw it while shopping today. Brother Luo said it suited me well and that every girl should have one or two things of her own, so he bought it for me."
Zhong Min simply told the truth, "Originally, I was embarrassed to accept it, but since I've already given the money, they definitely won't return it, so I'm going to keep it for now. At most, when Brother Luo marries his wife in the future, I'll give him a gift with all my heart. It may not be worth as much as his money, but between friends, the thought is what matters most."
For some reason, Zhong Min subconsciously explained the relationship between herself and Luo Jiaxing more clearly. After that, she glanced at Xiao Mingzheng secretly, but saw that he looked normal. It seemed that she was really overthinking it.
"If General Luo heard Sister Min say this, who knows how heartbroken he would be." Jiang Xiyan said to Zhong Min with a joking look, "In my opinion, General Luo doesn't want to find a sister-in-law for Sister Min. Sister Min is too careless. Even I can see General Luo's intentions, but Sister Min still hasn't figured it out."
Zhong Min was stunned by these words. Luo Jiaxing had always been nice to her, but to call it a child-son relationship was a bit of an exaggeration. She smiled nonchalantly and retorted, "Princess, you misunderstood. Brother Luo and I have always been good friends. We're friends, but sometimes we're like brothers, just like with Brother Xie. It's not as complicated as you say."
"Really? Actually, I think Sister Min and General Luo are a perfect match." Jiang Xiyan said as she looked towards Xiao Mingzheng and said with a smile, "Your Highness, what do you think?"
When Xiao Mingzheng heard this, he couldn't help but look at Zhong Min. After a moment, he said, "Jiaxing likes gentle women."
Jiang Xiyan was the first to react after hearing these words. She smiled but said with a hint of accusation, "How can you say that, Your Highness? Sister Min may be straightforward, but she's not unkind!"
"Your Highness is right. Zhong Min is not the kind of gentle and submissive person. I'm just telling you the truth. Princess, don't worry that I won't be able to handle it." Zhong Min said as he stood up. "It's getting late. Zhong Min will go back and rest first. I won't disturb Your Highness and Princess from enjoying this beautiful time together."
Hearing about spending a wonderful time together, Jiang Xiyan's cheeks suddenly turned red like rosy clouds, dazzling people. At this time, she naturally would not keep Zhong Min any longer, but was thinking about making the next good night better.
Zhong Min didn't want to face Xiao Mingzheng and Jiang Xiyan any longer, so she quickly left with Xier and Ziyan. She couldn't bear to see their affectionate interactions, fearing stye, but she also didn't want to waste their time.
After returning, she immediately asked someone to bring her hot water and took a bath. She sat with Jiang Xiyan for a while. Her body was full of the smell of powder, which was really unpleasant. She hated such a smell on her body the most. If she didn't wash it off, she was afraid that she would not be able to sleep well all night.
After washing and changing into clean clothes, Xier used a dry white cotton cloth to dry Zhong Min's hair and combed it again. Her hair, which had fallen down behind her head and reached down to her buttocks, was extremely troublesome to wash. She had originally been reluctant to require help even for a bath, but with such long hair and such a bathing environment, it was really inconvenient without help. If it weren't for the excellent shampoo she had used last time, this hair would have been even more difficult to manage.
Not to mention washing it, just getting up and combing it every day is a lot of trouble. Although she always chooses the simplest hairstyle, it is still not as comfortable as the modern one. Just tie it up in a high ponytail, which is refreshing and easy.
Thinking of this, Zhong Min suddenly had an idea. He then pulled his hair twice and said to Xier, "Xier, go find me a pair of scissors. I want sharp ones."
"What do you want a pair of scissors for so late at night?" Xier was naturally confused when she heard this, and she didn't know what Zhong Min wanted that thing for.
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