Chapter 45: Frank
Upon stepping into Mo Garden again, Zhong Min felt as if his feet weighed a thousand pounds, as if he had no strength left. He barely had time to savor the joy of escaping heaven before he was reduced to his original form, even worse than before. Such a disparity would be difficult for most people to accept.
However, she did not expect that Xiao Mingzheng would actually wait in the study to interrogate her, instead of letting Luo Jiaxing directly send her to the torture cell for severe torture.
Everything in Mo Garden remained the same. Even the way Old Man Li and the two servants at the study door looked at her did not change at all, as if she had never left at all, or as if no one had noticed it at all.
Luo Jiaxing entered the study first, apparently intending to report to Xiao Mingzheng everything he had just seen and heard. Zhong Min, on the other hand, stood waiting at the door as usual, but her mindset was completely different now.
Perhaps Luo Jiaxing was right. Now she had no way out. Her only chance was to tell everything she knew as much as possible, and then find a way to save her life.
But at this moment, apart from the information that Xiao Mingzheng wanted to know but she really didn't know, what else could she exchange for her life?
She had been thinking about this all the way. She knew that for someone like Xiao Mingzheng, her life was not important, but if she wanted to live, she had to do something more valuable than death. She had to make Xiao Mingzheng believe that she was more useful to him alive than dead.
Thinking this through, Zhong Min seemed to calm down considerably. Especially when she heard someone calling her in from inside, her heart, which she had expected to beat wildly, unexpectedly remained calm. She smiled to herself, opened the door, then closed it again, and walked in slowly as usual.
She walked straight to Xiao Mingzheng's desk and stopped five steps away. Then, under the gazes of Xiao Mingzheng and Luo Jiaxing, she calmly nodded to Xiao Mingzheng. She did not perform any formalities as before, but only politely called him "Prince."
Seeing Zhong Min's actions, Xiao Mingzheng did not show much emotional change. He just sat upright and said majestically and concisely: "Li Jiner, do you have anything else to say now?"
"I told you, I'm just Zhong Min." Zhong Min no longer called herself a servant, but said with certainty, "No matter who I was before, ever since I fell two months ago, I've been just Zhong Min!"
Facing Xiao Mingzheng once again, she no longer needed to bear those superficial identities. After all, all the window paper had been broken, so she could do whatever she wanted. What a lousy prince, no matter how noble the identity was, just throw it aside, she didn't care.
"I'm not interested in your real name. I just want to know who you're working for." Xiao Mingzheng didn't care about Zhong Min's attitude. This was not the first time she appeared with such an expression. He knew very well in his heart that the Zhong Min at this moment should be the most real Zhong Min.
"Your Highness, do you want to hear the truth or a lie?" Zhong Min grinned, and suddenly felt how easy and comfortable his way of speaking was at this moment. The days of keeping a low profile for the past two months should have been gone forever.
"Zhong Min, don't be rude!" Luo Jiaxing couldn't help but worry about Zhong Min upon seeing this. He really didn't know what was wrong with this girl, why would she be so rude at this moment? Even if it was her nature, she should at least restrain herself a little at this time.
Seeing General Luo's words, Zhong Min knew that the good man was probably worried that she would further anger Xiao Mingzheng. However, at this point, even if she humbled herself, it would still be rage, regardless of her current attitude.
"General Luo, don't be nervous. Zhong Min simply wants to make things clear upfront. She means no disrespect." She glanced at Luo Jiaxing, her expression still calm and relaxed. Then she looked away and continued to look at Xiao Mingzheng, waiting for his answer.
Seeing this, Xiao Mingzheng didn't say anything, but he couldn't help but look at Luo Jiaxing beside him, and then said to Zhong Min: "You are a smart person, you don't need to be taught what to say at this time."
"It's not that Zhong Min doesn't want to tell the truth, she's just afraid Your Highness won't believe it." She spread her hands nonchalantly and walked over to a chair nearby. "Your Highness, do you mind if I sit down and talk?"
She was really tired. Since Xiao Mingzheng didn't intend to torture her directly, she naturally didn't want to treat her badly. What if it was the prince? At most, she would lose her life. What was the point of being afraid of him and respecting him?
Xiao Mingzheng didn't say anything, but simply extended his hand, indicating that Zhong Min could sit down. To be honest, he didn't know what was going on. Not only did he not feel any disgust towards Zhong Min's current rudeness, but he felt that such boldness and straightforwardness should be her nature.
Seeing this, Zhong Min smiled and thanked him. Then he sat down and said without further delay, "Whether Your Highness believes me or not, please listen to me first. After I finish, whether you believe me or not, and how to deal with me is entirely up to you."
"Actually, I haven't lied to you all this time. Ever since I fell on my head, I truly have no memory of anything that happened before. The name Zhong Min was simply something I gave myself later. Originally, I had no idea who I was. I just knew that this situation wasn't what I wanted."
She spoke slowly and unhurriedly, "I've already mentioned the ambush. It was only for self-preservation that I ventured out to rescue the prince. Although I anticipated the potential trouble this would bring, the circumstances at the time left me with no choice. That's why, after escaping the ambush, I wanted to flee and leave this troubled place."
"Unfortunately, I didn't succeed, because Your Highness is truly too powerful." Zhong Min smiled and continued, "Speaking of which, I've always believed my identity wasn't too complicated, so I was quite baffled by Your Highness's constant suspicion that I was a spy. However, gradually, I discovered something that's somewhat depressing: there might indeed be something fishy about my identity."
"One month ago, when I returned to my room, I suddenly discovered someone had quietly entered my room while I was away. After searching, I found a small note under my pillow. It said, 'Meet at the same place tonight at midnight.' I was confused at the time, thinking it was a deliberate plot by the prince to test me, so I ignored it. But a few days later, one night, someone actually slipped through the layers of defense at Prince Mu's mansion and entered my room silently..."
She spoke in detail, telling everything that the masked man in black had said during his sudden night visit. At this point, she felt that no matter how much she knew, confessing was the best choice.
"That's why I'm even more determined to leave this troubled place as soon as possible. Although I don't fully understand what happened, it's clear that my previous identity must have been a spy sent by some snobbish party to be by the prince's side. I thought this identity was dangerous enough, but I didn't expect it to be even more complicated. After I successfully climbed over the wall and escaped, I discovered that my previous identity seemed to be more than that."
Zhong Min sighed and shook his head. "Your Highness," he said, "if it were you, wouldn't you have left this complicated place as soon as possible? Unfortunately, when I tried to escape again, General Luo suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He also knew everything about my earlier conversation with the two mysterious men. So, my escape attempt failed once again."
"These are all I know now. Apart from that, I really don't know anything else. Believe it or not, it's up to Your Highness to decide." After she said the last sentence, she took a long breath and stopped talking. She just waited quietly for the final decision, and of course all the actions after her decision.
After she finished speaking, an unprecedented silence suddenly fell in the room. It was a kind of silence with a hint of oppression and an indescribable, inexplicable and unfathomable feeling.
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