Chapter 451: Have plenty of patience
When they arrived at the entrance of the courtyard, Zhuo Jun bade Liang Mingmin farewell.
Liang Mingmin glared at him. "Zhuo Jun, aren't you going to ask for my name and identity?"
Zhuo Zheng was disgusted by her look.
He smiled shyly. "It's not nice of me to ask for your name."
This was the only way to prove that he didn't know her identity and that he didn't ask for anything in return for saving her.
As expected, Liang Mingmin felt that Zhuo Zheng was a good person. "Although my name and identity is important, you're my savior. I don't have to be so careful with you."
"My name is Liang Mingmin, and I'm also from Northern City." she took the initiative to say.
Zhuo Zheng first nodded. "Miss Liang!"
Then, as if he had thought of something, he looked at her in shock. "You can't be Princess Zhen from Prince Jin's manor, right?"
Liang Mingmin was too famous in Northern City.
There were probably not many people who didn't know her name.
That was why he had put on this show.
It was because Zhuo Zheng's acting had no flaws and looked very sincere, so Liang Mingmin didn't notice.
She smiled and nodded with a bit of pride. "That's right, I'm Princess Zhen."
"How do you know me?" she asked.
Zhuo Zheng cupped his fists at her, "Greetings, princess. You are well-known in Northern City, and I have heard of it."
"How do I get famous?" Liang Mingmin asked curiously.
She had no doubts about this. After all, she was Prince Jin's legitimate daughter.
Wasn't it only right for her to be famous?
Of course, Zhuo Zheng wouldn't say that Princess Zhen was tyrannical and vicious.
It was common for her to bully others, and her reputation in the Northern City wasn't good.
"It's said that you have a noble status, are beautiful, and have a clear distinction between good and evil. You will eliminate evil and help the weak." he said, going against his conscience.
He felt like puking as he said it, especially the last two, which were actually the complete opposite.
"That's why I never thought that I'd be able to get to know you, princess."
Although he was complimenting Liang Mingmin, he gave off a neither humble nor arrogant feeling.
Liang Mingmin was taken aback. She reached out and touched her face. "I didn't know that I'm such a good person in everyone's opinion in Northern City!"
She didn't think that Zhuo Zheng was making this up to coax her. Instead, she felt that it was real.
Seeing her narcissistic look, Zhuo Zheng felt even more disgusted.
This woman was not only vicious, but she also had no self-awareness.
"That's right, you are very good, princess." he continued to suppress his disgust.
Liang Mingmin glared at him again. "You really know how to talk. How annoying!"
Zhuo Zheng wanted to vomit.
Unable to come up with any more words of praise, he could only force out a smile. "This is the truth. You have already arrived at your place of residence, princess. I shall take my leave!"
If he stayed any longer, he was afraid that he wouldn't even want to eat dinner.
Liang Mingmin was a little reluctant. "I haven't even repay you yet. Why don't you go in and have a cup of tea?"
Zhuo Zheng, I really had to thank you.
This woman was really shameless.
This was the first time she met him, a man, and she actually invited him into the house for tea.
She was not a woman at all.
"I'm really sorry, Princess." he said apologetically. "I still have something to do. I'll come back and ask for a cup of tea from you in the future if I have the chance."
"What's the matter?" Liang Mingmin asked.
What could be more important than accompanying her, a princess, for tea?
Zhuo Zheng forced a smile and said, "Madam Shi just told me to go to the county office to deliver something to Mr. Xiao. I've already wasted a lot of time. If I'm late, I won't be able to answer her."
Looking at Zhuo Zheng's helpless and bitter smile, Liang Mingmin couldn't help but feel her heart ache.
At the same time, he was happy that there was finally someone in the county who was not standing on the same side as that b*tch, Shi Qingluo.
As expected of the man she had taken a fancy to.
"This county magistrate's wife is too overbearing." she said after some thought.
"Since that's the case, I won't keep you. I'll personally visit you to thank you another day."
She already knew which inn Zhuo Zheng was staying at and was prepared to look for him tomorrow.
If she continued to pester him today, it would be a little abrupt and she was afraid that she would scare him.
It was better to take it slowly and make him obediently and willingly follow her.
She had plenty of patience for this kind of game that conquered men.
Her original intention to target Xiao Hanzheng was also replaced by her interest in Zhuo Zheng.
She was prepared to win Zhuo Zheng's heart first.
After all, not only did he look like what she liked, but he had also appeared when she was at her most helpless and heartbroken movement to save her.
He was like a light that lit up her heart.
If he knew that she also had feelings for Xiao Hanzheng, she was afraid that he would be unhappy.
Therefore, she would get Zhuo Zheng first and then get Xiao Hanzheng into her backyard in Northern City.
The reason why she didn't want to give up on Xiao Hanzheng was that his appearance and temperament were all to her liking.
He was also the best-looking man she had ever seen.
Xiao Hanzheng's protection of Shi Qingluo also made her jealous.
She wanted to get him so that she would be the one protecting him in the future.
Zhuo Zheng did not know that Liang Mingmin had the intention to step on both boats and continued to act. "Princess, you don't have to take what happened before to heart. I don't want anything in return. Quickly go back to the courtyard and take a rest. I'll take my leave first!" He said.
Liang Mingmin realized that Zhuo Zheng was much more caring and sweet-talking than her other male companions. She liked him more. "Okay, see you next time!"
Zhuo Zheng nodded his head without hesitation. "See you next time!"
Then, he turned around and left.
This made Liang Mingmin think even more highly of her.
It was rare for him to maintain his attitude just now even after knowing her identity.
It also showed that he didn't save her because of her identity.
Just now, when Liang Mingmin arrived at the entrance of the courtyard, she had ordered the guards to bring the ugly man and the others in.
Now, she watched Zhuo Zheng leave.
When his back view disappeared, she turned around and entered the courtyard.
The smile on his face instantly disappeared. "Give these people the harshest torture and find out their identities."
She narrowed her eyes again. "Then, make all of them into eunuchs!"
"Yes!" The guard didn't know what had happened, but he knew that the people who had been brought in were in trouble.
Soon, a man's scream could be heard from the courtyard.
The guards interrogated the ugly man and the others in a torturous way to got hold of identities.
When Liang Mingmin heard that these people were a gang of bandits, and meeting her today was coincidental, and she felt even more disgusted.
At this moment, the secret guards who had been following behind to protect Liang Mingmin also returned.
As soon as they entered, he knelt down and begged for her forgiveness.
They had originally been following the princess, but who knew that a funeral procession would suddenly block their way.
After a short delay, they realized that the princess was missing and they panicked.
In the end, they found out that the princess had been sent back to her courtyard, so they rushed back.
Liang Mingmin didn't have many people at her disposal right now, so even though she wanted to kill these people, she held back.
"I'll give you a chance to atone for your crimes. I've already written a letter to my father, asking him to send a team to exterminate the bandits. All of you, go and keep an eye on the mountain stronghold and investigate it. When the time comes, you will go with the people sent by father to slaughter all the bandits," she said with a fierce look in her eyes. And that ugly man's family, don't leave any of them alive."
The secret guards heaved a sigh of relief and immediately nodded respectfully. "Yes!"
Then, without taking breaks along the journey, he headed towards the location of the cottage the guards had sieved out from the interrogation.
Chapter 452: He's really good at it
What happened between Liang Mingmin and Zhuo Zheng was updated to Xiao Hanzheng quickly.
He had trained a few secret guards who were very good at tracking and scouting, so they had watched the entire process of Liang Mingmin encountering the bandits, to the time when Zhuo Zheng saved her and sent her back.
They were also the ones who had held Liang Mingmin's secret guards back and caused them to lose track of Liang Mingmin.
And the reason why those bandits had taken that path was that they had "coincidentally" met Liang Mingmin.
It was naturally Xiao Hanzheng's scheme.
After knowing that she had disguised herself as a man, Xiao Hanzheng knew that his previous plan could be carried out.
He immediately had got someone to pretend to be a passerby.
When the bandits passed by, that person pretended to casually say that a large caravan had arrived and he accidentally saw a large stack of silver notes in the leader's pouch.
This naturally attracted the attention of the few people who were here to target a "fat sheep", and they changed their original route.
Liang Mingmin was being watched, so her movements were all under his control.
Shi Qingluo suddenly sent Zhuo Zheng to deliver soap to Xiao Hanzheng.
Naturally, it was the secret guard who had secretly given Shi Qingluo a signal.
Therefore, everything was not a coincidence.
It was all arranged and planned by Xiao Hanzheng, and he would not expose himself.
As expected, the plan was flawless.
It did not arouse Liang Mingmin's and Zhuo Zheng's suspicions.
Both of them thought that it was a coincidence.
After Shi Qingluo finished listening to the secret guard's report, she waited for the guard to leave.
She looked at Xiao Hanzheng with her starry Eyes. "Brother Zheng, you're really amazing. Everything went as planned as you thought."
Her little hubby's play of a hero saving a beauty was really great.
"Thank you for your praise, my dear!" Xiao Hanzheng chuckled.
Shi Qingluo took the initiative to sit on his lap and play with his hair. "Are you trying to kill two birds with one stone by setting up those bandits to flirt with Liang Mingmin?"
Xiao Hanzheng lowered his head and chuckled. "My wife is so smart. The cottage they are at is not far from Heyang County and is particularly close to the cement road we are planning to build. They were very malicious and often rob and kill. In the winter, they will even pretend to be Ge people, then set fire and kill those in the nearby counties and villages. Their team is getting stronger and bigger. If we don't get rid of them, our cement road will bring them great convenience. Ambushing on the road would allow them to cause harm to many caravans. If they come here a few more times, those caravans will not dare to come to Heyang County to purchase goods after hearing the news. Even if the bold ones still come, there will definitely be casualties. That's why I've been planning on how to get rid of this group of bandits. Who knew that Liang Mingmin would come to me on her own accord?"
In his previous life, he had heard of this group of bandits in that cottage.
However, at that time, they were already very strong.
They even colluded with the Ge Kingdom, to burn, kill, and plunder everywhere. They even expanded their strength count.
After Prince Jin rebelled, Daliang had no time and energy to care about them.
As a result, this group of bandits became more and more arrogant.
That time, Ge Chunru sent Tao Liu to seduce an important general in the North, causing him to lose a city.
The Ge Kingdom had massacred the people in that city, and this group of bandits was the main force that had attacked their own kind.
They had taken up more than half of the 'credit' for the massacre.
Wherever the Ge people attacked, they would follow.
They were even more brutal and ruthless to the people in Daliang than Daliang's enemy.
It was just because Prince Jin did not take the bandits seriously. After a few unsuccessful annihilation attempts, they became more experienced.
He also lost the opportunity to eliminate them completely.
It also caused many people in the northern border to be killed.
This time, Xiao Hanzheng had been paying close attention to these bandits.
It wasn't that they didn't want to exterminate them, but they obviously didn't have enough manpower.
The location of those cottages in the mountain was relatively good.
It was the kind that was easy to defend but difficult to attack.
They still had to wait for Prince Jin and the Imperial court to send troops over.
It was also because of this that his men had their eyes on the bandits as soon as they entered the city.
He had also come up with a plan to kill two birds with one stone.
He paused for a moment before continuing, "Liang Mingmin is very doted on by Prince Jin. His daughter was almost successfully humiliated by a bandit. He might even bring her back to the village to continue to humiliate her. Of course, Prince Jin wouldn't tolerate it. He had to avenge his daughter. The people Prince Jin sent to exterminate the bandits will probably arrive soon."
Shi Qingluo nodded. "While the bandits' hideout isn't particularly strong, we can use Liang Mingmin to wipe them out. That's a good idea."
She also knew that their county's manpower was limited.
There were not enough bailiffs and guards to go and suppress the bandits.
It was a good idea to give Prince Jin the credit.
"Well, let's just wait and watch." Xiao Hanzheng chuckled.
No one in that group of bandits was innocent.
This included the family members of the bandits.
None of them were good people.
For example, the ugly man who had bullied Liang Mingmin before. His family had been involved in human trafficking.
Liang Mingmin wanted to get her people to kill them all, which was considered a good thing.
Shi Qingluo nodded his head.
"I'll bring Dumby along and take a look at a few villages in the next few days to see how the rubber flowers are growing." she added. "After that we can execute that plan."
Xiao Hanzheng nodded. "Alright!"
The next day, Liang Mingmin brought gifts to the inn to visit Zhuo Zheng.
It just so happened that Shi Qingluo had given Zhuo Zheng a day's off, so he went to visit Liang Mingmin.
Liang Mingmin had the intention of taking Zhuo Zheng in, while Zhuo Zheng was thinking about how to use Liang Mingmin.
As a result, the relationship between the two of them had become closer.
Recently, Liang Mingyu had been busy with the construction of the cement workshop and repairing the road, so he always left early and returned late.
Liang Mingmin wanted to eat restaurant food, but the restaurants did not sell her food.
Thus, Zhuo Zheng thoughtfully went to the restaurant to order some specialty dishes and brought them to Liang Mingmin's courtyard to have a meal with her.
His thoughtfulness caused Liang Mingmin to like him more.
Their relationship had improved by leaps and bounds, so Zhuo Zheng did not pay much attention to Shi Qingluo.
After another day, Shi Qingluo said that she was going to check the rubber flowers in the villages and asked Zhuo Zheng if he wanted to follow.
He had followed Shi Qingluo to many villages before to teach the villagers how to plant and breed.
It was dirty and tiring, and the road was difficult to walk, so he didn't want to go out.
Especially since Liang Mingmin had asked him out for dinner today and even said that she wanted to give him something.
Thus, Zhuo Zheng pretended that his stomach wasn't feeling well and asked for a day off from Shi Qingluo.
Shi Qingluo had not intended to bring him along in the first place.
She pretended to care for him and asked him to go visit the doctor. Then, she left in a carriage with Dumby.
She often went to the village to teach the villagers, and she would always bring her goose with her, so no one felt that her actions were strange or unusual.
Shi Qingluo went to the village that was further away first.
By the time they reached the last village, it was already afternoon.
This was also a village that was relatively close to the county town.
Shi Qingluo went to check on the rubber flowers.
Dumby couldn't stay idle and ran to the nearby mountain for a walk under the villagers' nose.
The villagers didn't feel that there was anything wrong with its behavior.
Because in the past, it would also wander around and go up the mountain by itself.
From time to time, it would come back with useful herbs in its mouth to give to Shi Qingluo.
Because of this, everyone knew that the county magistrate's wife's goose was smart and human-like, so they didn't care much.
When Shi Qingluo was done with her inspection, Dumby also came down from the mountain with a bunch of green plants in its mouth.
At the roots of the plant hung many fist-sized, mud-covered, earth-yellow fruits.