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

Chapter 143 When did he begin to covet Zhiwan?

The words, "closer than cousins," sent a shiver down Zhiwan's spine.

Is she worried?

She always felt that her cousin's words had a deeper meaning.

Thinking of how her cousin had taken care of her during this time, she quickly banished the thought from her mind.

She must have been overthinking it.

My cousin meant that his relationship with her was closer than that with his biological cousins.

Thinking about it this way, she felt a little relieved.

Duan Ling scoffed softly as he watched someone assert their dominance.

"Alright, I won't fight you for it." Saying that, she picked up the wontons and was about to go inside when she paused, then turned to Zhiwan and said, "Although someone is stingy and won't let you be my sister, if one day someone bullies you, just come and tell me, and I'll stand up for you." After saying that, she gave Lu Zhan a meaningful look and went inside.

It goes without saying who he is referring to as "someone".

Zhiwan secretly glanced at her cousin.

Seeing that the man's face was ashen and his emotions were unreadable, she paused and said, "Cousin, you should go in and eat too. The wontons won't taste good if they've been sitting out for too long."

"Mm," Lu Zhan replied.

"After you finish eating the wontons, the medicine should be ready by now. Remember to take it. You're not allowed to handle any official business tonight. You need to rest well so your injury will heal faster. Also, the doctor said your wound can't get wet. When your cousin takes a bath, ask Ajiu to help him." Zhiwan said in a low voice, giving instructions.

So she didn't notice that the man's eyes were full of smiles when he looked at her.

"I understand." After a long pause, Lu Zhan said in a low voice.

"By the way, are Liang Qixian going to be beheaded and displayed to the public tomorrow? I want to go see it," Zhiwan said hurriedly as she was about to leave, remembering this.

“Okay, I’ll have Chen Jiu take you then,” Lu Zhan said.

Zhiwan nodded, didn't linger any longer, and quickly left.

Watching her figure disappear into the distance, Lu Zhan turned and went inside.

Duan Ling was sitting at the table, eating wontons with her legs crossed. When she saw him come in, she clicked her tongue a few times.

"Old Lu, you've been keeping this a secret for a long time."

"What do you mean?" Lu Zhan sat down, picked up his bowl of wontons, and began to eat.

Duan Ling put down her spoon, squinted at him, and asked, "When did you start lusting after my little cousin Zhiwan?"

The word "drooling" made Lu Zhan pause, raise his head, and warn coldly, "Watch your words!"

Duan Ling said sullenly, "Fine, then let's change it to 'thinking about'. When did you start thinking about my little cousin Zhiwan?"

Lu Zhan's temple throbbed, but he did not refute it.

Upon seeing this, Duan Ling exclaimed excitedly, "I was right! You really have feelings for Cousin Zhiwan! I thought you genuinely considered her a sister, but I never expected this! Lu Zhan, you hypocrite, you beast!"

Lu Zhan sneered, "If you don't want your tongue anymore, I'll pull it out for you!"

Duan Ling said awkwardly, "I was just too surprised. You know, last time on the ship, I told you to just marry your cousin Zhiwan, and you got angry with me. I even felt ashamed, thinking I had desecrated your sibling relationship. I never expected that you would..."

Lu Zhan: "..."

“But if it were me, I would definitely be tempted too. After all, Cousin Zhiwan is beautiful, kind-hearted, and so well-behaved, and even her cooking skills are so good.” Duan Ling finished speaking with emotion, then met his friend’s cold gaze and quickly added, “A friend’s wife is not to be trifled with. No matter how muddleheaded I am, I know this principle. I simply treat Cousin Zhiwan as a younger sister.”

The words "friend's wife" made Lu Zhan pause for a moment, the gloom on his handsome face dissipating as he lowered his head to eat his wontons. Just as Duan Ling breathed a sigh of relief, he suddenly heard Lu Zhan say, "I know, the person you like is Ouyang Zhenzhu."

"Cough cough cough..." Duan Ling choked on the soup and immediately started coughing.

Lu Zhan ignored him and continued eating his wontons.

My cousin's wontons were small and uniform, each one the same size, and the soup was exceptionally delicious.

He quickly finished the bowl of wontons, pushed the empty bowl away, and stood up.

Duan Ling finally calmed down and said in embarrassment and annoyance, "Don't talk nonsense! How could I possibly have such thoughts about that brat?"

"Am I talking nonsense, or are you hiding something?" Lu Zhan asked calmly.

"Of course you're talking nonsense!" Duan Ling stood up angrily. "I'm leaving."

"The officials sent by the imperial court to take over the stolen goods should arrive the day after tomorrow. You are responsible for handing them over properly," Lu Zhan instructed.

Upon hearing this, Duan Ling calmed down and turned around, saying, "The stolen goods are easy to handle, but what about those river bandits? They have committed numerous evils and are utterly wicked. Why not just execute them on the spot instead of wasting so much manpower transporting them back to the capital? Or do you have other plans?"

“Of course.” Lu Zhan nodded, then walked to the table, picked up a pen, and drew a pattern on the paper. “Can you see anything?”

Upon hearing this, Duan Ling quickly leaned closer to take a look.

After staring at it for a long time, he finally noticed something and pointed to the center of the pattern, saying, "Why does this look like a character?"

"Hmm, take another look, what kind of character does it resemble?" Lu Zhan asked again.

Upon hearing this, Duan Ling perked up and began to examine the document more closely.

After a moment, he exclaimed in surprise, "Is this the character 'Jin'?"

“Yes, it’s the character Jin.” Lu Zhan nodded.

Duan Ling asked in confusion, "This pattern is unusual. Many aristocratic families have similar clan emblems."

“Then take another look at the pattern around the outside. What does it look like?” Lu Zhan asked again.

"Isn't this an orchid?" Duan Ling didn't find it strange.

Lu Zhan glanced at him. "Didn't you associate this pattern of orchids and the character 'Jin' with anything?"

"Orchids? Jin..." Duan Ling's expression turned serious as he thought of someone, "The late Prince Jin? I heard that he loved orchids very much during his lifetime and planted them all over his palace."

Lu Zhan didn't speak, but asked, "This pattern was seen on the bodies of the river bandits. All of them had this pattern tattooed on their backs."

Upon hearing this, Duan Ling finally understood and asked in surprise, "You mean, those river bandits are related to Prince Jin?"

“I don’t know, this is just my guess,” Lu Zhan said. “But even so, we still need to strengthen our defenses. After all, last time we directly destroyed those river bandits’ stronghold and seized all their gold and silver. The amount was so huge. If these river bandits are really related to Prince Jin, then…”

"They might hijack the ship?" Duan Ling felt a chill run down his spine and exclaimed in surprise.

Lu Zhan didn't speak, but his dark eyes held a sharp edge.

Duan Ling suppressed his surprise and asked, "Since you've already guessed it, is there some other arrangement in secret? Otherwise, if someone were to hijack the ship, the brothers on board would probably have a hard time dealing with it."

“Hmm.” Lu Zhan didn’t deny it. “I’m actually worried they won’t come.”

"Why?" Duan Ling asked, puzzled.

(End of this chapter)