The Minister: Cold by Day, Hot by Night-Chapter 23: Held Back

Zhi Wan’s beautiful eyes dimmed.

Seeing her expression, Duan Ling was convinced Lu Zhan had a heart of stone.

’If I had a cousin like her,’ he thought, ’I wouldn’t care about any rules. I’d dote on her and give her whatever she wanted.’

Not wanting to make things difficult for her lady, Shuang’er spoke up. "Miss, the Princely Heir is right. I was indeed derelict in my duties today, so I deserve to be punished. When we return, the two matrons and I will go to the punishment chamber together to accept our punishment."

"But..." Zhi Wan was still hesitant.

Shuang’er immediately tugged on her sleeve, stopping her from saying more.

’I know she feels for me and doesn’t want me to be punished,’ Shuang’er thought. ’But since the two matrons are being punished, it makes no sense for me to be exempt.’

’If that happened, even though the order came from the Princely Heir, the two matrons would surely feel it was unfair. They would inevitably come to resent Miss.’

’Her situation in the Duke Mansion is already difficult; she can’t afford to make things worse.’

Zhi Wan understood this as well. Seeing the pleading look in Shuang’er’s eyes, she finally fell silent.

"Wanwan... Huh? Mr. Lu, you’re here too?" Just then, Ouyang Zhenzhu came skipping over, a large bundle of peach blossoms in her arms. She was very surprised to see Lu Zhan.

Duan Ling scoffed. "Hey, you silly girl, are you blind? I’m a living, breathing person right here, and you don’t see me at all?"

Hearing his voice, Ouyang Zhenzhu finally turned her gaze to him. She blinked and said frankly, "When you’re standing next to a priceless gem, it’s hard to notice anything else. My apologies."

Duan Ling was speechless.

’A priceless gem?’

’If Lu Zhan is the gem, then what am I?’

’That little brat. She might as well have just called me unmemorable.’

Duan Ling laughed in exasperation. He wiggled his fingers, wanting to pinch her cheek like he did when she was little, but in the end, he restrained himself.

"Let’s go," Lu Zhan said indifferently.

Hearing this, Duan Ling tried to persuade him. "We’re already here. Let’s stay a little longer. There’s still plenty of beautiful scenery we haven’t seen."

"Then you can stay and take your time looking," Lu Zhan said, giving him a cool glance.

Duan Ling choked on his words. "Fine, let’s go," he said sullenly.

"Miss Zhi Wan!"

Just as the two were about to leave, a joyful voice called out. They turned to see Fu Hongyi approaching with a group of people.

Lu Zhan’s brow furrowed slightly when he saw Fu Hongyi staring at Zhi Wan as if no one else existed.

Duan Ling, however, simply raised an eyebrow.

’So, that Fu Hongyi kid has his eyes on Lu Zhan’s little cousin?’

’He’s got some nerve, being so brazen right in front of her cousin.’

He glanced at Lu Zhan’s inscrutable, handsome face, and his eyes darted about. Feigning concern, he said, "Your little cousin is so charming. What if she runs into more unwanted suitors? I hear Lady Lu absolutely dotes on the girl. If she found out you ran into your cousin at the flower-viewing party but didn’t look after her, don’t you think she’d take it out on you?"

Lu Zhan shot him a cool look but said nothing, though a hint of annoyance flickered between his brows.

Duan Ling was relieved to see that he had finally decided not to leave.

’Sure enough,’ he thought, ’even a cold fish like the Lord Temple Minister has to show some deference when Lady Lu is brought into it.’

Zhi Wan felt a wave of annoyance at the sight of Fu Hongyi.

’Never mind that Wang Yanran and Zhang Linglong are already hostile toward me because of him. My backside is still aching, and all I want is to find a quiet place to sit down and rest. I really don’t want to deal with him.’

But she couldn’t neglect her etiquette. She could only offer a perfunctory nod. "Heir Fu."

Fu Hongyi didn’t seem to mind her attitude at all. In fact, it only made him feel she was even more different from other young ladies.

He suppressed the joy in his heart and finally noticed Lu Zhan and Duan Ling standing to the side.

He inquired politely, "Have you two just come down from the mountain?"

Duan Ling clapped him on the shoulder. "Hongyi, the scenery at this villa of yours is quite impressive. We’ve seen most of it already."

"I’m glad you’re enjoying it," Fu Hongyi said, then extended a cordial invitation. "The servants have prepared a luncheon at the villa. If you two have no pressing matters, please stay and have a few drinks with us."

Duan Ling was more than willing and was just about to accept when he heard Lu Zhan say coolly, "We’ll have to decline Heir Fu’s kind offer. My cousin took a fall a moment ago, and I need to take her back to the city for medical attention."

Duan Ling was stunned.

Zhi Wan was stunned, too.

Fu Hongyi, however, grew anxious. "Miss Zhi Wan, where are you hurt?"

Zhi Wan was embarrassed and didn’t know how to respond when a man’s cool voice cut in. "Heir Fu, thank you for your hospitality today. We’ll be taking our leave now. Cousin, let’s go."

Zhi Wan snapped back to her senses and nodded quickly. "Alright."

Duan Ling was a little disappointed. He had been hoping to enjoy the flower-viewing party a bit longer, but he never expected Lu Zhan to use Zhi Wan as an excuse to take the young lady away with them.

Seeing that Zhi Wan was leaving, Ouyang Zhenzhu had no desire to stay either. She and Shuang’er supported Zhi Wan on either side and followed the two men out.

Fu Hongyi watched Zhi Wan leave with a longing expression, but he had no grounds to ask her to stay.

The young ladies who had arrived with him also watched Lu Zhan with longing eyes.

They hadn’t expected to meet Lu Zhan at the Fu family’s flower-viewing party today, but he was gone before they even had a chance to rejoice.

A sense of disappointment fell over everyone.

When Lu Xin, who had learned that Lu Zhan had appeared in the Peach Blossom Forest, hurried over, she only saw the departing figures of Lu Zhan leading Zhi Wan away.

"Why did Eldest Brother come to the flower-viewing party today?" Lu Lan asked, quite surprised.

Lu Xin stared at Zhi Wan’s back, her heart filled with jealousy.

’My eldest brother has such a cold personality. He’s never warm, not even to his own cousins, yet he can be so kind to that orphan, Zhi Wan.’

It made her both jealous and indignant.

’But on second thought, it’s good that Zhi Wan is leaving. That way, no one can steal my spotlight.’

’That vixen, Zhi Wan, had captured all of Fu Hongyi’s attention the moment she arrived.’

’Now that Zhi Wan isn’t around to distract him, Fu Hongyi will finally notice me.’

Lu Xin felt a great sense of relief.

Zhi Wan was oblivious to Lu Xin’s thoughts.

By now, she had already followed Lu Zhan and the others out of the Fu Family’s Villa.

Seeking medical attention was just an excuse. Once they were out of public view, Lu Zhan had no intention of looking after Zhi Wan any further.

"Cousin, thank you for today." Seeing Lu Zhan about to mount his horse and leave, Zhi Wan hurriedly spoke up to thank him.

Lu Zhan glanced over at her. Seeing her sincere expression, he paused before giving a mild warning, "When you go out, bring more people with you. Don’t go off on your own again. You might not be so lucky next time."

"I understand," Zhi Wan replied meekly.

’I really was careless today.’

’But I never expected to run into Wang Zeren.’

’Thankfully, I ran into my cousin. Otherwise, I might have died at Wang Zeren’s hands.’

Ouyang Zhenzhu still didn’t know about Zhi Wan’s dangerous encounter. After getting into the carriage, she couldn’t help but ask, "Mr. Lu said you fell. Was that not just an excuse? Did something happen while I was away?"

Worried that telling the truth about Wang Zeren would cause trouble for Lu Zhan, Zhi Wan decided against it. She only said, "I really did fall, and it hurts quite a lot."

Hearing this, Ouyang Zhenzhu immediately grew concerned. "Where did you fall? Let me see!" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Blushing, Zhi Wan pointed to her backside. "I fell on this spot. But it’s not serious. It’ll be fine after I go home and rest."