Chapter 193 His Good
After Qin Ke left, Zhong Min brought Xier into the house. Seeing the food on the table, her eyes lit up, and it was obvious that she was hungry. Zhong Min smiled and asked her to eat first, and then poured her a glass of water. Seeing that Xier had eaten and drunk enough, the two of them changed places and sat face to face to start a formal conversation.
"Xi'er, why did you come here to look for me?" Zhong Min didn't beat around the bush and asked directly, "Did the prince send you here? Otherwise, you would never have known where I was on your own."
Hearing Zhong Min say this, Xier's face immediately darkened. She pouted and said angrily, "How dare you say that? Who said that you would take me wherever I went as long as I wanted? But look at what you did. Half a year ago, you suddenly left without even a word. You couldn't be more cruel. Did I do something wrong to make you leave without even saying a word? Is the sisterhood between us so insignificant in your heart?"
Xi'er felt increasingly aggrieved as she spoke, her voice choking with sobs. She was clearly displeased with Zhong Min's sudden departure. But then again, anyone would be upset if something like this happened to them. Everything was fine before, nothing had happened, and then he just left without even a word of explanation.
Seeing this, Zhong Min felt very ashamed. In fact, these days, she had been thinking about the people who had stayed with her in the capital, especially Xier, but there were some things that she could not control.
"I'm sorry, Xi'er. I'm sorry. It's my fault. I shouldn't have just walked away without saying anything." She quickly apologized to Xi'er, "I left in such a hurry, and it happened so suddenly, so I really didn't have time. I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, I..."
"Okay, okay, stop saying these three words. It's useless. The key is that you are not allowed to treat me like this again. You suddenly leave me and disappear without a trace. If you do this again, I will never forgive you." Xier interrupted Zhong Min's constant apologies. In fact, she knew in her heart that Zhong Min was not an irresponsible person. Some things were indeed unavoidable, so she did not really blame Zhong Min. She just hoped that the girl would not do such a thing again in the future.
Zhong Min couldn't help but laugh. Xier's words made her feel very warm in her heart. It felt really good to be valued and cared for by friends.
She nodded repeatedly and said reassuringly, "Well, Xier, don't worry, I won't do it again."
After hearing Zhong Min's assurance, Xier smiled with satisfaction, then took a deep breath and took the initiative to ask Zhong Min the questions he wanted to ask.
As Zhong Min had anticipated, Xier had learned of her current residence from Xiao Mingzheng, and how Xiao Mingzheng knew that wasn't a particularly puzzling question. In fact, ever since Zhong Min left, Xiao Mingzheng had actually sent people to secretly monitor Zhong Min and Qin Ke's movements, though they were extremely cautious and kept watch from a relatively distant location, minimizing Zhong Min's awareness while also allowing them to detect potential dangers in advance.
Zhong Min was unaware of all this, as Xiao Mingzheng was worried about what she would think if she found out, and might even leave and go somewhere else, completely losing contact with her. He was willing to respect Zhong Min's wishes and let her live the life she wanted, but he couldn't help but feel uneasy in this situation, so he secretly sent people to inquire about her and keep an eye on her movements.
Now, the reason why Xier came to Zhong Min was not for any other reason, but because the situation in Muzhou had changed dramatically. Xiao Mingzheng had some special considerations, so he asked Xier to come to Zhong Min at this time.
"Jin'er, the prince asked me to bring these to you. He said that as the war drags on, the place you're staying in will become increasingly unsafe. He told you to go south, saying it's farther from the northwest and the capital, and relatively safer." Xi'er opened a package she was carrying and took out a box, handing it to Zhong Min. "The prince said that you left so suddenly last time that you didn't take anything with you. These things will be useful in your future life."
Zhong Min hesitated for a moment, but still reached out to take it. She knew what was inside without having to guess. She just didn't expect that the man, who was now unable to take care of himself, was still thinking about arranging her future life.
She suddenly felt an indescribable sadness. After a pause, she gently opened the unlocked box in front of Xier.
Even though she already knew what was inside, Zhong Min couldn't help but be shocked by what was inside. Apart from a small stack of banknotes at the bottom, the box was almost entirely filled with priceless gold and jade ornaments. If she took any one of them, she would be able to rest assured for the rest of her life.
"Why so much?" she murmured. With the start of the war, military funds would naturally become even tighter. How could she possibly use so much money on her own? What was Xiao Mingzheng doing? Even if he knew she loved money, there was no need to give her so much at once. If it was less, she would have reluctantly accepted it, thinking it was just his payment for her previous work, but now it was so much, how could she accept it?
Xi'er, upon hearing Zhong Min's words, quickly explained, "The prince said that with the wars going on constantly these days, there's no telling when they could spread to other places. If the entire country gets out of control, banknotes can become nothing more than waste paper. That's why there are only a few banknotes here. Everything else can be exchanged for silver anytime, anywhere, so you won't have to worry about your future."
"He's really thoughtful!" Zhong Min said lightly. After thinking for a moment, he simply took out a few banknotes from the box. Then he handed the contents and the box back to Xier. "I'll keep these banknotes as my reward for helping him set up the security system and rebuild the intelligence network. As for the other things, I can't take them. You can return them to him!"
"Don't want it? Why? Jin'er, the prince specially asked me to bring this to you." Xi'er was naturally puzzled. With these, no matter where Zhong Min went in the future, she would have no worries. Why didn't this silly girl want it?
"Xier, do I have to take what he gives me? Remember, I have no other relationship with him. If it were you, would you take so many valuable things from an outsider?" Zhong Min asked Xier back, but deliberately made clear the relationship between her and Xiao Mingzheng.
"But Jin'er, don't you really know how the prince feels about you? Even we, the unrelated people, can see it clearly. Why do you have to be so cruel to leave without saying anything and cut off all ties with the prince?" Xi'er didn't know about Ruyi's situation. Not only Xi'er didn't know, but no one else knew either. So they couldn't figure it out. They didn't know what had happened between the two of them. They were fine before, but suddenly they left without saying anything overnight.
Hearing Xier's words, Zhong Min was stunned for a moment, but quickly came to his senses: "Xier, there are some things you don't understand, and it's not as simple as you think. I..."
She was suddenly at a loss for words, not knowing how to tell Xi'er. Seeing this, Xi'er sighed and said, "Yes, there may be some things that we don't understand, but there is one thing that not only I, but also everyone in the Mu Palace, or even anyone with eyes there, can see clearly: the prince truly loves you. You don't know that the room you live in the Mu Palace is still exactly the same as before. Someone cleans it every day, and there is no change at all, as if you still live there. No matter how busy the prince is, the first thing he does when he returns to the palace is to stay alone in that room for a while. He..."
"Okay, Xier, stop talking about this." Zhong Min felt depressed. Every word Xier said made her feel very uncomfortable. To be honest, she really didn't expect Xiao Mingzheng to be like this. However, everything was over. What was the point of continuing like this?
Xi'er, however, didn't let Zhong Min interrupt her and continued, ignoring her words. "There's one more thing you might not know. The prince sent Jiang Xiyan away instead of marrying her. Not only Jiang Xiyan, but all the women in Prince Mu's backyard were sent away. Everyone was very surprised at the time. General Luo asked the prince why he did this. Do you know what he said?"
Xi'er stared at Zhong Min intently, her expression unusually serious. Seeing Zhong Min keeping his head down, Xi'er didn't wait any longer and directly gave the answer: "The prince said that no matter how many women there are, they can't compare to one! Jin'er, at this point, don't you still understand the prince's heart?"
"Did he ask you to tell me all this?" Zhong Min breathed a sigh of relief and finally looked up at Xier.
"No, the prince never let me talk about this, and he even forbade me to reveal anything related to it to you. He said he was afraid you would feel burdened and didn't want to embarrass you." Xier shook her head and said, "And the prince also said that with the current war between Muzhou and the court unclear, he didn't want you to be involved. He would be satisfied as long as he knew you were fine. I couldn't help myself. I felt it was necessary to let you know some truths that you didn't know."
After hearing these words, Zhong Min didn't say anything else. She just looked ahead in a trance, not knowing what she was thinking. Seeing this, Xier didn't say anything else. Maybe it was time to let this girl think about it carefully.
"Xier, you should take the things back to him. I don't need so much. Besides, the war is tense. These can at least be exchanged for some military supplies." After a long time, Zhong Min finally spoke, but he still said the same thing as before.
Xier felt a little discouraged, but after thinking about it, she realized that she had said what she should say. As for how to choose, it was not up to her. After all, Zhong Min was the one in charge.
"No, I'm no longer a member of Prince Mu's Mansion. From now on, I'll be with you. Wherever you go, I'll go!"
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