The abstinent and powerful minister is cold and aloof during the day, but he adores her in his dream

Chapter 138 She is Lu Zhan's Beloved
Thinking of this, his eyes turned sinister and vicious. "Lu Zhan, don't blame me. Only if you die can I save my own life! Men, gather the troops and head to Panyun Manor! Send another team to the Lu family villa and bring Zhiwan to me!"

Fortunately, he had been secretly keeping an eye on Lu Zhan's whereabouts.

I know that he took the skinny horses he gave him and went to the Panyun Mountain Villa in the far suburbs for fun today.

The remote location provided him with the perfect opportunity to strike.

What kind of high-ranking official is he, a royal envoy appointed by the emperor? In his territory, even a dragon would have to kneel before him!

Liang Qixian was full of confidence.

……

In the dead of night, the loud bang of the explosion that blasted open Panyun Villa woke Zhiwan from her sleep.

She thought she had misheard, but the next moment, she heard the sounds of intense fighting.

She was startled and quickly shook Ouyang Zhenzhu awake.

"Pearl, there sounds of fighting ahead. There might be thieves breaking in."

"What's that fighting sound?" Ouyang Zhenzhu asked sleepily. "Did you hear wrong?"

"I didn't mishear, it's true." Zhiwan hurriedly got out of bed, put on her clothes, and then threw Ouyang Zhenzhu's clothes to her, "Hurry up and put them on!"

Startled by her display, Ouyang Zhenzhu was instantly wide awake and hurriedly got up and put on her clothes.

"Don't scare me. Even if thieves break in, aren't there Lord Lu and his men up ahead? Didn't Lord Lu and his men capture those vicious river bandits last time?"

"The thieves who came might not be ordinary thieves." Zhiwan clenched her fists.

Those who broke into the villa at this moment were probably Liang Qixian and his group.

They must have known that the account books were in my cousin's hands, so they decided to go all the way and kill him to destroy the evidence.

No matter how capable my cousin is, Yangzhou is Liang Qixian's territory after all. Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. Besides, if Liang Qixian were to become desperate and really bring people here, my cousin might not be able to handle it.

Zhiwan became increasingly anxious as she thought about it.

"Do you know something?" Ouyang Zhenzhu asked hurriedly.

Zhiwan shook her head, "I don't know the specifics either."

"What should we do? Will Lord Lu and the others be unable to hold them off?" Ouyang Zhenzhu said, gripping the fruit-peeling knife on the table. "Should we go out and take a look?"

Zhiwan was worried about her cousin, but upon hearing this, she nodded without hesitation, "Alright."

Just as the two were about to open the door, a familiar voice suddenly rang out from outside, "Miss, the young master requests your presence!"

Upon hearing this, Zhiwan asked with delight, "Chen Jiu?"

"It is indeed your subordinate," Chen Jiu replied respectfully from outside the door.

Zhiwan's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down. She immediately opened the door and asked, "Chen Jiu, what's the situation upstairs? Was it Liang Qixian who broke in?"

Chen Jiu nodded. "It was Liang Qixian. He gathered his men and wanted to kill the Crown Prince, but the Crown Prince had anticipated this and secretly mobilized the garrison troops. Liang Qixian has now been captured."

Upon hearing this, Zhiwan breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Is Liang Qixian desperate because he's here for the account books?"

“That’s right.” Chen Jiu nodded and added, “The Crown Prince asked me to escort Jiang Shi, who was disguised as you, to Jurong to retrieve the account books. When Liang Qixian found out, he sent people to follow us, intending to seize the account books, but his men were no match for us and failed.”

Fearing that the account books would fall into the hands of the heir apparent and he would be held responsible, Liang Qixian gathered his men, preparing for a desperate gamble to kill the heir apparent and seize the account books.

Little did they know, it was all a scheme deliberately set up by the crown prince.

They stormed into the manor armed with weapons, intending to assassinate an official of the imperial court. Given his previous crimes, he could now avoid death altogether.

Upon hearing this, Zhiwan finally understood all of her cousin's schemes. What he had said at the beginning, about her using herself as bait, was just a joke; he never intended for her to put herself in danger.

The one who used himself as bait was clearly my cousin.

No wonder my cousin, who was so busy, suddenly decided to go on a trip and chose such a remote place; it was all to create an opportunity for Liang Qixian to assassinate him.

If it weren't for his cousin's scheme, how could the cunning and shrewd Liang Qixian have thrown himself into disarray?
Now, Liang Qixian led a group to assassinate his cousin, but was caught on the spot. His cousin also has the account books, so Liang Qixian has no chance of turning things around.

Zhiwan secretly admired her cousin's meticulousness, which was truly unmatched by others.

She turned to Ouyang Zhenzhu and said, "It's alright, you go to sleep first, I'll go check the front."

“No, I’ll go with you,” Ouyang Zhenzhu said, still worried.

Zhiwan thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement, "Okay."

At this moment, the front yard was brightly lit, with guards holding torches that illuminated the yard as if it were daytime, making the bloodstains on the ground even more shocking.

Liang Qixian and his men were all tied up and held on the ground.

Liang Qixian looked at the young man standing on the steps with his hands behind his back with regret and anger. He finally realized that he had fallen into the other party's trap.

He didn't have to take such a risk.

It was Lu Zhan who set a trap, causing him to lose his composure.

But it's too late to regret it now.

He forced himself to calm down and said in a gentle voice, "Lord Lu, this is all a misunderstanding. Please be lenient and spare Guan Yima!"

"Is it a misunderstanding?" Lu Zhan threw the account book in his hand in front of him. "This book contains detailed evidence of your embezzlement of public funds. Moreover, you have the lives of so many innocent people on your hands. You still want me to let you off the hook? The magistrate of Jurong County and his wife actually died tragically at your hands!"

Liang Qixian's expression changed. "The magistrate of Jurong County died at the hands of bandits back then. It has nothing to do with me. Lord Lu, please don't try to smear me. The government office still has relevant files on what happened back then."

"You dare to make excuses when you're about to die? You embezzled funds for the river project first, and then you tried to assassinate me. These two crimes alone are enough to make your head roll and your whole family be punished. No matter how much you try to explain, it will be of no use!" Lu Zhan's voice was icy cold.

Liang Qixian was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground in despair.

But he quickly remembered something and rallied his spirits, saying, "Lord Lu, I am willing to offer you all the gold and silver I have accumulated over the years in exchange for the lives of my entire family!"

"I will hand over all the embezzled funds to the court, and you will not escape the consequences of your crimes!" Lu Zhan remained unmoved, his eyes cold and menacing.

Upon seeing this, Liang Qixian regretted his actions. It seemed that Lu Zhan's previous behavior of being muddleheaded and lecherous was all an act.

He was deceived by the illusion created by Lu Zhan, which led him to underestimate him and end up in such a predicament.

He retorted angrily, "You look down on gold and silver, but what about your little cousin? If anything happens to me, your charming little cousin will have to pay with her life!"

Lu Zhan's expression changed, and he suddenly raised his foot and kicked him hard to the ground, his voice icy cold, "You think you're worthy?"

Liang Qixian's jaw hit the ground, and a front tooth, mixed with blood, rolled to the ground.

Seeing this, he suddenly burst into maniacal laughter, "It seems that the seemingly invincible Lord Lu's weakness is that Zhi Wan! Fortunately, I made ample preparations before coming here. By now, your beloved has probably already been abducted by my men..."

His triumphant and arrogant voice abruptly stopped, his gaze fixed on Zhiwan, who had suddenly walked up to Lu Zhan, her face full of disbelief, "You... how could you be here?"

Lu Zhan's gaze fell directly on the girl beside him.

Noticing his gaze, Zhiwan's eyelashes trembled, and she clenched her fists. She had overheard Liang Qixian's words when she came over.

How could he talk such nonsense?
How did she become her cousin's weakness and his beloved?

(End of this chapter)