Chapter 17 Response
Arrogant? Honestly, Zhong Min didn't think she was that arrogant. In the past, everyone, from friends and family to colleagues, praised her humility. Even her boss was impressed by her down-to-earth, unpretentious work style. She was just a little unfeminine, at best. So how did these people see her as arrogant?
Did she really have to be like the people of this era, not fighting back when beaten, not retaliating when scolded, smiling and silently enduring when being troubled for no reason, or even being forced into a desperate situation? Sorry, she really couldn't do this.
Calling someone a slave or a maid, or bowing a few times, was fine; it didn't cause any real harm, but enduring it at the critical moment was clearly not her style. Not to mention someone like her with modern thinking, even if they were native-born, she didn't believe they wouldn't have a few with some nerve or backbone.
"Your Highness's statement just now seems a bit biased. I consider myself a very reasonable person and never do anything excessive towards anyone. How can I be said to be arrogant?"
Zhong Min smiled faintly, his face frank. "If Your Highness feels that there is, perhaps it's simply due to my nature. However, I absolutely do not harbor the slightest disrespect towards Your Highness or anyone else. Even ants cherish their lives, and I am no exception. In life-or-death situations, when pressed, I naturally have some extraordinary thoughts and actions. However, there is absolutely no arrogance in my heart. I hope Your Highness will understand."
"It's just instinct?" Xiao Mingzheng disagreed and shook his head. "You've been a maid in Prince Mu's mansion for more than a day or two. Why didn't you think it was instinctive before?"
Hearing Xiao Mingzheng's words, Zhong Min sighed inwardly. There was no comparison between the two before and after. They were like two different people. However, she couldn't use the real reason as an excuse. Otherwise, Xiao Mingzheng would either think she was talking nonsense or tie her up like a demon and burn her in the fire.
"This isn't difficult to explain. It's a different time. Originally, I just wanted to live a peaceful life as a servant, regardless of anything else, seeking peace. But many things don't go as planned. Yesterday, the situation was critical, and I unintentionally said a few words. Although I didn't mean any harm, I knew that from that moment on, I had already aroused suspicion and trouble. Even if I continued to deliberately endure, it would be impossible to live a peaceful life as before. So, I simply returned to my true nature, which was a relief."
Zhong Min naturally knew that someone like Xiao Mingzheng would not believe such an explanation so easily, but this was the most appropriate explanation she could give.
"That is to say, the previous one was a disguise, and the one now is the real you." Whether he believed it or not, Xiao Mingzheng summarized the reasons Zhong Min had just explained quite pointedly. However, in his opinion, the real purpose of disguise was not to live a peaceful life, but to hide one's true identity.
"You can understand it this way, but I don't have any bad intentions. Your Highness is probably overthinking it." Zhong Min said with a smile. It was not difficult to guess what Xiao Mingzheng was thinking at the moment. Although simple explanations and emphasis did not have much effect, it was better to defend himself than to do nothing.
"Since you have no bad intentions, why did you run away on the way back home?" Xiao Mingzheng ignored Zhong Min's smile. In his opinion, it was obvious that this woman was worried that her identity would be exposed, so she was waiting for an opportunity to escape.
Seeing Xiao Mingzheng mentioned the escape, Zhong Min couldn't help feeling depressed. She had never experienced the frustration of being fooled but not being able to lose her temper at all, and now she had fallen into the hands of this lousy prince in front of her.
The two soldiers reported her escape to Xiao Mingzheng. Zhong Min wasn't surprised at all, so she didn't deny it. She simply admitted, "I did want to escape, but it wasn't because I was worried about exposing my so-called identity, as Your Highness had expected. I was simply afraid that if I changed too much, no matter how much I explained, it wouldn't dispel Your Highness's suspicions. So, I figured it was better to leave this troubled place."
"Do you believe such an explanation?" Xiao Mingzheng seemed a little impatient with Zhong Min's explanation, and seemed too lazy to waste any more words with the unidentified woman in front of him. So after he finished speaking, he waved to Luo Jiaxing, who had been standing beside him without saying a word, and then stopped talking.
Seeing Xiao Mingzheng's gesture, Luo Jiaxing naturally understood his master's intention. After a slight nod, he spoke to Zhong Min on behalf of his master, "Before returning to the palace, the prince had someone verify your identity. You entered the palace a year ago, and your original name is recorded as Li Jin'er, not Zhong Min. Not only is your family poor, but no one in your family has ever served in the military, let alone had the opportunity to learn to read and read military books. What you said yesterday is inconsistent with all of this. Therefore, it is best for you to tell the truth about your true identity. In consideration of your merits yesterday, as long as you confess now, the prince will certainly let bygones be bygones and forgive you."
"General, do you think you can conclude there's something wrong with me based solely on the records of my entry into the palace?" Zhong Min said calmly, "Even if that's true, it only means that some of the information I provided upon entering the palace wasn't true. However, such cases aren't uncommon. Furthermore, regardless of the circumstances, I haven't done anything detrimental to the palace or the prince for all this time. And considering what happened yesterday, isn't that enough to prove my innocence?"
"Whether you've done anything detrimental to the palace or the prince, who can truly say? The best we can say is that no one has ever discovered it. And yesterday's incident, after all, concerned your own life, which is why you offered your help." Luo Jiaxing glanced at Xiao Mingzheng's expression and continued, "I admire your intelligence and courage, young lady. I hope you won't harbor any more hope and confess the truth as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary suffering."
Zhong Min understood the implication clearly: if they didn't get a satisfactory answer today, there would be no mercy for her. It was clear that Xiao Mingzheng was a man of great ambition, and therefore possessed no ounce of mercy. Forget about a servant as insignificant as her. Even if it was someone close to him, if he discovered any wrongdoing, he would rather kill them than let them go.
She knew that at this moment, any excuse she made would not be credible in front of them, and the murderous intent gradually revealed on Xiao Mingzheng's face was enough to show that she was getting closer and closer to the edge of danger, and she might lose her life if she was not careful.
"General, are you going to torture Zhong Min?" She couldn't help but raise her eyebrows, thinking over and over in her mind how to respond in the most beneficial way for herself.
Luo Jiaxing heard Zhong Min's question and was about to agree, but Xiao Mingzheng said directly, "If you continue to speak with irrelevant words, I will immediately find you another place to think about the problem!"
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