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

Chapter 204 Lu Zhan: Can't I watch?
Noticing the large hand on her waist, Zhiwan suddenly came to her senses.

Just as she was about to push her cousin away, a sudden clap of thunder rang out, startling her so much that she gripped the man's robe tightly and huddled close to him.

"Wow--"

The rain outside was getting heavier, and the sky was dark and gloomy.

The candle on the table was extinguished by the rain that swept in from outside the window, and the cabin instantly became dark.

Lu Zhan looked down at his cousin in his arms, who was now obedient and adorable. His heart fluttered and his Adam's apple bobbed, but reason made him restrain the impulse.

He paused, then reached out a hand and closed the open window.

The sound of the window closing snapped Zhiwan back to her senses.

Seeing herself nestled in her cousin's arms, her face flushed, and she hurriedly pushed him away, but didn't forget to snatch the painting back from his hands.

Seeing the girl clutching the painting so tightly, Lu Zhan said nothing. He sat down in her previous spot, picked up a tinderbox, and relit the extinguished candle.

In an instant, the flames dispelled the darkness in the cabin.

Seeing the painting the girl had just made on the table, Lu Zhan was about to pick it up to look at it when the girl took it away first.

Lu Zhan paused, then turned to look at his cousin, "Can't I look?"

Zhiwan slung the paintings behind her back, coughed lightly, and said somewhat awkwardly, "There's... nothing to see."

Lu Zhan smiled slightly, "Cousin, you're too modest. Your painting skills are comparable to those of court painters."

Zhiwan blushed upon hearing this and bit her lip, saying, "Cousin, please don't make fun of me."

Lu Zhan remembered something, took out a picture book from his pocket, and flipped through it.

After a moment, he raised the sketchbook in his hand and said calmly, "If I remember correctly, my cousin said in my dream that she painted these things for her own amusement and that they would not enter the market. But recently, I saw your paintings in a bookstore. It seems that my cousin was lying to me back then."

When she saw him take out the sketchbook, Zhiwan had a bad feeling. When she heard what he said, her heart sank. She took two steps forward and took the sketchbook from his hand.

When she opened it, she was completely dumbfounded.

This picture book was actually drawn by her at the very beginning.

Although the appearances of the figures in the images were all imagined by her, the backgrounds recreated the scenes of her rendezvous with men in her dreams.

Her cousin is the one who shares her dreams, so aren't all these background details her cousin's private sphere?

My cousin must have already guessed by now that the painting was based on him.

But how did my cousin get these picture books?

Zhiwan felt extremely guilty.

If I had known this in the first place, I shouldn't have copied the scene from my dream exactly, just to save time.

"Does my cousin have anything else to say?" The man's low, cold voice pulled Zhiwan back to reality.

Meeting her cousin's sharp gaze, she stammered, "I...I was short of money, so...that's why I sold the painting to the bookstore..."

"Short of money?" Lu Zhan frowned. "If you're short of money, why return the silver notes I gave you before?"

He only learned yesterday when he returned to his residence that his cousin had left the Duke of Dingguo's mansion and returned all the things he had given her.

Not only the silver notes and jade pendant he gave her, but even the red silk inkstone he had given her before was returned untouched.

She had to be so efficient; she clearly didn't want to have anything to do with him.

Realizing this, his expression darkened.

“My cousin and aunt have treated me very well. Over the years, I’ve been living and eating for free at the Duke’s mansion. I can’t be so greedy,” Zhiwan said earnestly.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhan didn't know what to say to her.

Because she returned everything she had given her untouched, and even the jewelry and clothes her mother had given her over the years were left behind.

His cousin was so principled, but he wasn't happy at all.

After a moment of silence, he said unhappily, "I thought my cousin considered my mother and me as family, but I didn't expect her to be so distant." Upon hearing this, Zhiwan said anxiously, "Of course I consider my cousin and aunt as family, but I can't accept your money."

"So, you don't want the money that your mother and I give you, but instead you paint these things to sell in order to earn money," Lu Zhan said calmly, tapping the table with his long, slender fingers.

Zhiwan's face flushed, and she became somewhat flustered.

Her cousin thought her paintings were not high art, but she loved looking at them and drawing them herself.

Moreover, drawing these things earns her money, which makes her genuinely happy and satisfied.

Although these paintings were not considered high art, she believed they were not lewd and did not harm anyone.

She earned this money cleanly and honestly, and she has a clear conscience.

Looking at her cousin's serious and handsome face, she opened her mouth, but ultimately did not defend herself.

She lowered her head, waiting for her cousin to scold her.

However, the expected scolding and lecturing did not occur. Instead, my cousin said calmly, "Although the people in these paintings do not use my face, they are closely related to me. My cousin must have made a lot of money from these paintings."

Zhiwan raised her head and looked at him in surprise.

Why didn't her cousin blame her or reprimand her?

This was beyond her expectation.

Just as she was about to breathe a sigh of relief, her cousin continued, "Cousin, you're working so hard to earn money so you can find a husband to live with you in the future and support the family, right?"

Zhiwan was stunned. How did her cousin even know this?

She was somewhat embarrassed.

Lu Zhan's lips curled slightly, and he suddenly said something surprising: "So, in a way, you've taken from me and are using it back at me."

Zhiwan: "..."

She stared at him blankly for a moment, then suddenly understood what he meant. Her face flushed red, and she quickly clarified, "Cousin, you've misunderstood. I didn't mean to take you... as my live-in husband."

Her cousin is so precious, how could she afford to support him?
Moreover, she never intended to have her cousin become her live-in husband.

Most importantly, she didn't dare.

If she dared to do that, her aunt and uncle would definitely hate her to death.

And she will also become a sinner against the Lu family.

"You won't take me in as your husband, yet you can comfortably make money off my portrait?" Lu Zhan said calmly.

Zhiwan frowned. Although many scenes in the painting were borrowed from her dream, she had never seen his face clearly in the dream. The person she painted was all imagined out of thin air. How could it be considered as using her cousin's portrait?

“I didn’t use your portrait,” she couldn’t help but say.

"It seems my cousin is the real scumbag who turns her back on her husband after getting back together with him!" Lu Zhan narrowed his eyes and said, enunciating each word clearly.

Zhiwan: "..."

She looked at her cousin in astonishment.

How did she become a scumbag?
She denies this charge!
Thinking it over, she said righteously, "In the dream, we agreed that our relationship was just a fleeting affair, and that it was consensual. Besides, I think my cousin is the one who went back on his word!"

Lu Zhan: "..."

Seeing that he was speechless, Zhiwan gained more confidence, "If I had known that my cousin would cause trouble in real life, I would never have messed around with him in the first place..."

When she said the words "reckless", her voice couldn't help but soften.

She had done too many absurd things in her dream.

Thinking about it, her face flushed, and she couldn't continue.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Why aren't you saying anything?" Lu Zhan looked at her with a half-smile.

(End of this chapter)