Chapter 67 Who is afraid of whom?
After hearing Xier's worried explanation, Zhong Min didn't panic but burst out laughing.
Competing for favor? A love rival? Those women were so absurd that they could come up with such ideas. How idle and bored must they be to have nothing to do but stare at her all day? She truly felt sorry for them. If it were her, she would have been driven crazy by boredom.
"How can you still laugh? This time the Queen is much smarter than before. Didn't you see that she chose the time when the prince was not around and dragged other people into it as well? It's obvious that she has already thought of a way out. You should hide first." Seeing that Zhong Min was still laughing at this time, Xier thought that she didn't believe it, or didn't understand the seriousness of the situation, so she had to explain it more clearly.
Zhong Min stopped laughing and said nonchalantly, "Where can I hide? Since she's deliberately targeting me, how can I hide from her after fifteen days? Let her do whatever she wants. After all, I have nothing to fear from my own shadow. Let's see what she can do to me."
Seeing that Zhong Min really didn't take it seriously, Xi'er couldn't help but shake her head and sighed, "Why don't you understand? Even if she's unreasonable, she's the master and we're the servants. Even if you're the prince's personal maid now, if she wants to plot against you, she won't be afraid of not finding a pretext. What's more, the law doesn't punish everyone. If she instigates others to target you, even if the prince finds out, he'll just give her a warning, and he'll make a big deal out of a small matter, and you'll be the one who suffers in the end!"
"Alright, Xi'er, I know you're doing this for my own good, and I'll keep your kindness in mind. But don't worry, Concubine Zheng and the others can't do anything to me." Zhong Min, in turn, consoled Xi'er with a smile, "You should go back quickly. If someone sees you tipping me off, you'll be the one getting into trouble."
Xier wanted to try to persuade her, but seeing that Zhong Min was so confident and calm, and since she had been sneaking out for a while, she had no choice but to stop talking, nodded, told Zhong Min to be careful, and then hurried away.
Zhong Min watched Xi'er leave and couldn't help but shake her head. Zheng Ruyu really hadn't changed her ways. All day long, she was just thinking about how to cause trouble for her, wishing she could die sooner rather than later. It was truly despicable.
Well, since Zheng Ruyu wants to stir up trouble this time and wants to instigate other people to cause trouble together, then she will let this stupid woman fall hard.
Not long after, a guard came over and said he had been ordered to ask her to come over. Zhong Min didn't bother the guard, but simply asked a few questions and then followed him.
This was the first time that Zhong Min had been to the courtyard where Zheng Ruyu lived. At this moment, the main house was already full of people, and they all looked at Zhong Min who walked in calmly with resentful expressions on their faces.
Zhong Min glanced around calmly. Two elegantly dressed women sat at the front seat, while at least ten young women, each with their own unique beauty, sat on either side. The one above the front seat was naturally the courtyard's master, Zheng Ruyu, while the other was likely the mansion's concubine, Liu.
Liu was obviously not as pretty as Zheng Ruyu, but she had fair skin and a delicate beauty. Moreover, she looked much gentler than Zheng Ruyu, without that kind of arrogant and aggressive aura.
Seeing that Zhong Min was looking at her, Liu smiled at her in a very good-natured manner. Her expression was completely different from the expressions on other women's faces, and she didn't seem to have any hostility.
Seeing this, Zhong Min also smiled back. Regardless of whether Liu's smile was real or fake, since she had taken the initiative to show goodwill, she naturally would not ignore it.
"Zhong Min greets all the ladies." After returning Liu's smile, Zhong Min bowed slightly to the crowd, a symbolic gesture of respect, and then said to Zheng Ruyu, "I wonder what instructions Concubine Zheng has for calling Zhong Min here today?"
Let's get straight to the point. She is not good at playing tricks on others, nor does she like to waste time dealing with unimportant people, so she walked up to them without saying anything and got straight to the point.
"Oh, after not seeing you for a few days, Min'er has become more and more accomplished. Look at how arrogant she is. At first glance, she doesn't look like a servant at all. If you don't know her, you would really think she is some rich girl!" Zheng Ruyu smiled sinisterly. This time, she didn't get angry directly as she did before. Instead, she learned to curse and ridicule people in a roundabout way.
Hearing Zheng Ruyu's words, the people below naturally began to echo him, unwilling to be left out. Zhong Min only felt that everyone below was dressed up, and he didn't bother to see who was who. He only heard the women's sarcastic, mocking, and abusive voices from time to time.
"Yes, after all, she is the prince's personal maid, so she is naturally superior to others. Look at the way she saluted just now. If you didn't know better, you would think we had wronged her to do something."
"It is indeed a superior position, but it is a pity that no matter how high it is, it is still just a servant. Is it possible to fly to a branch of the family at most?"
"If you can't fly, you're just a sparrow. You're not destined to be a phoenix!"
"Oh, don't talk nonsense, even if you beat a dog, you have to look at its owner. Be careful, it might bite you in front of its owner when it gets back!"
"Bah, what a thing, a dog who relies on the power of others. No matter what, we are still the prince's concubines. Are we afraid of a dog? If this gets out, won't people laugh at us?"
…
Just as these women were cursing each other enthusiastically and Zheng Ruyu was watching with great interest, Zhong Min suddenly interrupted with a nonchalant smile, saying, "Ladies, you are talking so well and so lively. It reminds me of some interesting things from my childhood."
"Really? What's so interesting?" Zheng Ruyu looked at him with contempt, thinking to herself, just wait, Zhong Min, this is just the beginning.
Zhong Min spread his hands out of habit and said sincerely, "It's so familiar. The scene just now reminded me of those gossipy women at the corners of the streets, just passing the time chatting away their days."
"You lowly slave, you dare to insult us in a roundabout way? You're so arrogant! You're truly lawless!" Upon hearing Zhong Min's words, one of the women in the audience immediately slammed the table and angrily accused Zhong Min of her crimes: "You've committed treason, a wicked slave bullying his master. Your crime is truly unforgivable!"
"You're joking, madam. Zhong Min didn't say anything. Compared to what you just said, there wasn't a single curse word. I really don't know how it became an insult." Without waiting for others to respond and support the woman, Zhong Min directly spoke, "Could it be that you think gossip is always bad, or do you also think what was said just now was too indecent?"
"You..." Zhong Min's rebuttal immediately made the woman speechless. She kept saying the word "you" for a long time but did not say anything else.
Seeing this, the others naturally wanted to speak up in support. Unfortunately, Zhong Min once again spoke before one of the young beauties could speak. She said to Zheng Ruyu in a relaxed manner, "Madam Zheng, if you have summoned me here today for no important matter, then I'm sorry I can't accompany you. After all, I'm a servant, and I have to do my duty. I don't have the leisure time of you masters. I haven't even finished what the prince ordered me to do today."
"Why are you in such a hurry? The prince is not here anyway, so what's there to be afraid of later?" Zheng Ruyu would not let Zhong Min go so easily. Now she has learned her lesson. There is no need to deal with such a person herself. As long as all the women in the mansion hate her, then naturally there is no need to worry about her anymore.
"Alright, sisters, please sit down. Don't lose face over unnecessary things." Zheng Ruyu turned to the women below, who were already blushing. "You have to give face to the Buddha. You are all here with me today, so please give me, your elder sister, some respect."
When those people heard this, they snorted coldly at Zhong Min and stopped talking. However, the hatred in their eyes became even stronger. It was obvious that they were deliberately provoked by Zheng Ruyu's words.
"Min'er, I called you here today because I want to ask you about what happened to the prince outside a few days ago. You know, although we are all the prince's family members and we care about him, we don't want such a small matter to affect the prince's big things, so I called you here today." Zheng Ruyu acted like a hostess, as if demonstrating, as if declaring territorial ownership.
Such an expression seemed particularly ridiculous to Zhong Min. Family? Although Xiao Mingzheng wasn't completely familiar with him, it seemed from the past few days that the aloof prince didn't seem to care about the concubines in the back garden. Not to mention concubines and those women who weren't even concubines, for a man of great ambition, even his future wife probably wouldn't be that important.
"So that's what the Empress is after." Zhong Min naturally didn't reveal her inner thoughts. Well, if this woman wanted to fan the flames and make her the target of everyone's hatred and oppression, how could she let her do what she wanted? Zheng Ruyu must have prepared many insidious tricks. It seemed that she would be best to strike first and turn the defense into the offense.
Thinking of this, she smiled and said, "A few days ago, Zhong Min accompanied the prince to Lin County to comfort the people. The journey went smoothly and nothing unusual happened. After the prince finished his official business in Lin County, he did not go anywhere else to play, but directly brought people back. Speaking of which, Lin County is indeed a place with beautiful lakes and mountains. The scenery is pleasant. The prince originally planned to travel around, but..."
"But what?" Zheng Ruyu saw Zhong Min pause, a look of pity on her face, and couldn't help but ask, "Just tell the truth."
Seeing this, Zhong Min sighed slightly and could only continue, "The prince said that without a close friend, there's no point in playing. County Magistrate Zhu originally found a stunning woman for the prince to accompany him on his outings, but the prince flatly refused, saying that no matter how beautiful the woman was, she couldn't compare to the gentle, charming, and considerate woman in the mansion..."
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