Chapter 20 Learning the Rules
Whether it was true amnesia or fake amnesia was of no importance to the two maids. All they had to do was follow the prince's instructions and train Zhong Min to become a qualified maid.
Initially, the two thought this task would be effortless, but once they began, they realized they were completely wrong. It seemed Zhong Min had truly lost his memory, or else he wouldn't be so clueless as to not even know how to properly greet his master.
Not only that, the two maids also made the tragic discovery that Zhong Min not only did not know how to distinguish the basic requirements of various etiquettes, but also could not distinguish the most basic self-proclaimed names and other honorifics and titles. They originally thought that three days would not be enough, but now it seems that they have to hurry up, otherwise they will be punished if they fail to complete the task as required.
"Can you tell me what you can do?" The tall old woman was already furious with Zhong Min's "stupidity". If she hadn't considered that Zhong Min would be working for Mo Garden in the future, she would have probably started a fight with him.
Seeing this, Zhong Min felt a little embarrassed. It was not her fault that the two old women had bad tempers. If she were to be the instructor, she would probably be even more annoyed if she met someone like herself who didn't even know the most basic common sense.
"I'm sorry to both of you maids. I didn't mean to cause you any trouble. I really can't remember anything. Please bear with me." Zhong Min said apologetically. She was too embarrassed to tell the two maids that she only knew to call herself a slave, which was such a low level.
"Forget it. General Luo originally wanted us to teach her from the beginning, just like teaching a new arrival." Seeing that Zhong Min was quite polite, the short maid stepped in to smooth things over. After all, this girl would be working at Mo Garden someday, so there was no need to create any more obstacles.
Seeing this, the tall woman had no choice but to calm down and said nothing more. Seeing that Zhong Min was quite receptive to instruction, the two of them discussed it and decided to start with the basics. Although it was a bit troublesome and tiring, it was nothing compared to the risk of being punished for negligence.
Fortunately, although Zhong Min knew nothing, she was very smart. She learned everything after being taught once, and she could also learn some special rules and etiquette quickly and memorize them after being told. This made the two women feel much more at ease.
The next day, Zhong Min spent half a day memorizing the names of the various courtyards in Prince Mu's mansion, as well as the living conditions of some of the more important masters. Although there were many courtyards in the palace, fortunately there were only a few real masters, so it was not difficult to remember them.
Aside from Xiao Mingzheng himself, there was only Consort Zheng and a concubine named Liu in the mansion. The other concubines had no special status and were simply addressed as "young mistresses." It was at this time that she finally understood what Mo Garden was.
Strictly speaking, the Mo Garden wasn't a residential garden, but rather Xiao Mingzheng's private study. The garden consisted of a single two-story building surrounded by a large bamboo forest. It was said that Xiao Mingzheng disliked flowers and plants, but only bamboo, so aside from bamboo, there were no other flowers or trees there.
Zhong Min hadn't been lazy about the layout of Prince Mu's mansion, and she was quite attentive, even memorizing every little detail, even the corners that the two maids were reluctant to mention. This wasn't just professional habit, but also because if she wanted to find another opportunity to escape Prince Mu's mansion in the future, this common sense was extremely necessary.
For her, details determine success or failure. Therefore, in addition to memorizing it in her mind, in the afternoon, she actively asked two maids to take her around the mansion to familiarize her with the terrain, on the grounds that it would be convenient for her to know the way in the future.
After all, such an open and comprehensive reconnaissance opportunity wouldn't come along often, and with her style, she wouldn't waste it. Once she was familiar with the terrain, she'd just have to figure out the palace's security arrangements. That way, she could find a way to avoid detection and escape.
In Zhong Min's opinion, no matter what, only by leaving this place of trouble can she truly start a new life.
In addition to checking the terrain, she also observed the defense situation of the guards in the mansion. Unfortunately, time was limited and she did not visit all the places, so she could only roughly judge that there were quite a lot of defenders in the mansion. Naturally, she could not see any other specific deployments, personnel, rules, etc.
But she would have to find a way to figure all of this out in the future. Only when she knew everything about Prince Mu's Mansion could she design the best escape plan.
The two maids hadn't originally intended to take Zhong Min on a detailed tour. After all, knowing some places didn't really matter; it was enough to know the places she frequented during her duties, as well as some of her masters' living quarters. Zhong Min seemed to have a poor sense of direction, and fearing any problems later, they had no choice but to take her on a tour, repeatedly and patiently, to familiarize her with the area.
Seeing that she had already memorized the general idea, Zhong Min didn't want to stay around for any longer. Firstly, the two women were really tired. Secondly, if she stayed around for too long, it would be easy to arouse suspicion if she showed too much. So she thought of finding another opportunity to familiarize herself with the rest in the future.
At the end of the third day, the two maids diligently and responsibly examined Zhong Min from beginning to end. They were very satisfied with the previous questions and answers. However, in the end, after watching Zhong Min's salute posture again, the two maids always felt that something was wrong, but they could not figure out where the problem lay for a while.
"Mammy, is there something wrong with the way I salute?" Zhong Min was a little confused. She had demonstrated it several times, but the two maids seemed dissatisfied, but they couldn't explain why.
However, she could see that the two old women were not deliberately making things difficult for her. If they were, with her temper, she would have walked away long ago. There was no way she would have waited patiently for the two old women to finally agree.
It was truly bizarre. It was just a simple gesture, wasn't it? Right was right, wrong was wrong. What could be so difficult about it? How could two experienced maids be so unable to judge the right and wrong of such a simple gesture?
"It's not that it's wrong, but it just feels a little strange." The tall woman thought for a moment and said, "Show me how to bow again, and we'll take a closer look."
Hearing she had to do it all over again, Zhong Min felt a surge of anxiety. Even she knew her performance was flawless. How could such a simple gesture be so difficult for her? But knowing they meant no harm, she couldn't say anything. She simply nodded and prepared to try again, hoping this time she'd get it right. Perhaps if there were any issues, the two women would finally be able to point them out.
"Okay, Zhong Min will do it again. Please, two maids, take another look."
Zhong Min was about to try again when he heard a familiar voice from the courtyard gate: "No need to do it again, I know where the problem lies."
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