Chapter 37 Where's the Hurt?
Unexpectedly, she was caught red-handed. Zhong Min suddenly felt frustrated. She was obviously very cautious and careful just now, but she didn't expect that Xiao Mingzheng still noticed it.
"No, I didn't see anything." She shook her head subconsciously, and the ink stick in her hand moved quickly.
Xiao Mingzheng snorted expressionlessly, then shifted his gaze to the back of his right hand.
Seeing this, Zhong Min quickly followed his gaze and saw that a few drops of thick black ink had splashed onto his hand. He was shocked for a moment and thought to himself that he was so careless and had chosen this time to get into trouble.
Without thinking too much, she casually grabbed her sleeve and quickly wiped the ink droplets off Xiao Mingzheng's hands in two or three strokes, blurting out as she wiped: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I really didn't mean it."
Xiao Mingzheng didn't say anything, but his expression became even uglier. Seeing this, Zhong Min suddenly corrected him, "It's my maidservant, my maidservant..."
But Xiao Mingzheng still had a sullen look on his face. Zhong Min thought about the reason and thought that he hadn't wiped it clean enough. So he laughed dryly and vigorously wiped the few drops of ink on the back of Xiao Mingzheng's hand twice. "Well, wipe it clean this time."
"Can't you use a handkerchief?" Xiao Mingzheng finally couldn't help it and looked at Zhong Min with a look of disgust. How could this woman be so rude? Not only did she wipe it with the dirty sleeve of her clothes, but she also used so much force. If it was someone with softer skin, it would have been scratched.
"Ah..." Zhong Min was stunned for a moment. She didn't expect that a grown man would have mysophobia. But her clothes were not dirty, and she was not going to use them to wrap food. Was there any need for her to have such a disgusted expression?
"I don't have a handkerchief." She explained truthfully, and then immediately said, "How about I go get some water to wash you now?"
Zhong Min didn't really have one. Even if he did, he'd have to fish for such a small amount of ink from somewhere on his body and then wipe it off. How troublesome! Wouldn't it be quicker and easier to just wipe it off with his sleeve? Besides, a handkerchief isn't necessarily any cleaner than a sleeve.
"Forget it!" Xiao Mingzheng was too lazy to waste time talking to Zhong Min. Instead, he continued to ask the question that had been derailed by the ink drops: "What were you looking at just now?"
Seeing Xiao Mingzheng dragging the question back again, Zhong Min didn't dare to say that he hadn't seen anything. Xiao Mingzheng was not so easy to fool, and he had just upset him, so this time he had to be honest.
"Your Highness, last night I heard from Mr. Li that an assassin had entered the palace. I also heard that Your Highness had suffered a minor injury. I don't know exactly where the injury occurred, so..." She paused, smiled innocently, and continued, "So I took a closer look."
Hearing this, Xiao Mingzheng's originally gloomy expression gradually softened a little: "Don't stare at me anymore, it's just a little scrape!"
"Yes!" Zhong Min naturally obeyed the order immediately after hearing it. However, having a pair of eyes staring at you from behind does feel a bit uncomfortable. If it were her, she would probably find it unbearable.
Soon, Xiao Mingzheng ignored Zhong Min and continued to busy himself with his own things. Zhong Min also secretly breathed a sigh of relief and stopped looking around.
Xiao Mingzheng didn't come back that night. After a quick walk downstairs, Zhong Min finally gave up the idea of going out to check at night. She had noticed that at night, not only the entire palace, but even the area around Mo Garden itself was much more heavily guarded than during the day. This was just the visible sentries; the other invisible ones were probably even more stealthy in the darkness.
She suddenly had a bold idea: give up on escaping at night and look for an opportunity to escape during the day. Although it seemed too conspicuous during the day, after careful analysis, she actually had a better chance of escaping during the day.
Firstly, it was not convenient for her to go around the palace to investigate at night. Just finding a way to escape under the eyes of the sentries in front of Mo Garden was a big problem. During the day, she could come and go freely and no one would ask her any questions.
Secondly, the guards are naturally less vigilant during the day than at night, and it is easier to spot hidden sentries. In addition, the shift changes during the day are relatively more regular, making it easier to find loopholes and blind spots.
In the days that followed, Zhong Min, taking advantage of his free time, would find various plausible excuses to leave Mo Garden and carefully investigate. However, fearing suspicion, he kept his visits short and deliberately staggered the time of day. This not only obscured any patterns but also made it easier to see the guards' patrol patterns at different times.
Devotion paid off. After several days, Zhong Min finally made a breakthrough. She discovered that the small garden in the northwest corner of Prince Mu's mansion was the weakest area, and that there was a fixed period of about five minutes of vacancy every afternoon due to shift changes. However, there was a road outside the small garden that was more frequently visited, and there was a sturdy guard post not far from that road. Perhaps these two factors contributed to the lack of attention from the other side.
Zhong Min thought carefully and realized that climbing over the wall surrounding the small garden wouldn't be difficult. The challenge lay in avoiding anyone who might pass by and remaining unnoticed. Therefore, timing was crucial. However, she had already explored the location twice in the past few days and had successfully made some preparations.
Another point was how she could avoid being discovered and pursued after escaping Prince Mu's mansion, and how she could escape successfully. Otherwise, if she was caught again, she would probably die miserably.
Thinking of this, Zhong Min secretly encouraged herself. As long as she was heading in the right direction, she would be able to solve these problems. She didn't linger any longer, but turned and walked back to Mo Garden with a calm demeanor.
After walking for a while, she suddenly heard someone calling Jin'er from behind. The voice sounded familiar. Zhong Min stopped and turned around, only to see that it was Xi'er who was calling and walking towards her quickly.
"Jin'er, it really is you. I was just about to go look for you." Xi'er was holding a bundle, and no one knew what was inside. Seeing Zhong Min stop and look at her, she seemed a little restrained, but the smile on her face seemed quite happy.
Seeing Xi'er, Zhong Min naturally thought of the arrogant Concubine Zheng. Calculating the time, Concubine Zheng's house arrest was almost up for two months. But then Xi'er came running to find her, and she didn't know for whom she came.
"Xi'er, it's you." Zhong Min didn't dislike the little maid at all. She smiled slightly and said, "It's been a long time since I last saw you."
Seeing this, Xi'er smiled awkwardly again, and after a pause, she said, "Jin'er, don't take what happened before to heart. I didn't really want to help the queen harm you, but I'm just a servant, and I really..."
"I understand. We're all the same. As slaves, there are many things we can't control. Don't worry, I don't blame you. Besides, I'm fine now, right?" Zhong Min didn't pay any attention to it. Instead, she said, "By the way, you just said you were going to look for me. What's going on?"
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