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

Chapter 211 Intimate Contact
"Lu Zhan, what else do you have to say?" Madam Wei grew angrier the more she thought about it.

Lu Zhan paused for a moment before explaining, "My cousin came to Jiangning because I forced her, but I had no other choice."

"What do you mean by 'a last resort'?" Madam Wei roared. "Don't make excuses for your lecherous behavior!"

Lu Zhan paused for a moment, then said slowly, "Speaking of which, Mother also bears some responsibility for how things have developed to this point."

Wei paused, looking at him in disbelief. "What does your own moral failing have to do with me?"

Lu Zhan closed his eyes and said calmly, "I have my eye on my cousin and originally intended to pursue her slowly. However, my mother takes my cousin to meet other men every few days. I had no choice but to confess my feelings to my cousin. Perhaps my cousin was afraid that you would misunderstand, so she was preparing to run away."

I finally managed to catch her, so naturally I couldn't let her escape any longer and brought her to Jiangning.

Wei was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized why Wan'er's marriage had been so difficult. It turned out that her son was the one who was interfering.

Realizing this, she was so angry she laughed. "Wasn't it you who suggested that Wan'er find a husband in the first place?"

Upon hearing this, Zhiwan looked at her cousin in surprise. So it was her cousin's suggestion?
Lu Zhan paused for a moment, "I was the one who suggested it, but at that time, I didn't know my cousin was..."

"What is it?" Madam Wei asked hurriedly.

Zhi Wanxin's heart tightened, and she looked nervously at her cousin.

Fortunately, Lu Zhan did not mention the rendezvous between the two in his dream, but said, "At that time, I did not have romantic feelings for my cousin."

Upon hearing this, Zhiwan felt relieved, but then her face flushed red, simply because her cousin had mentioned the word "love between a man and a woman."

Upon hearing this, Madam Wei suddenly felt like laughing. Could it be that her son had shot himself in the foot?
She coughed lightly and said sternly, "You shouldn't blame yourself. Why are you blaming me?"

"If my mother hadn't kept bringing my cousin to meet potential partners, disrupting my plans, I wouldn't have had to resort to this drastic measure," Lu Zhan said calmly.

Madam Wei was furious. "What do you mean by 'frequently looking at potential partners'? If you hadn't interfered, would we have needed to look at so many? I thought Shen Longjin was quite good from the beginning. He's not too old and he's a perfect match for Wan'er!"

Lu Zhan paused for a moment, and after a long while, he slowly uttered a sentence, "My age is not... too old."

“How can you say you’re not old? You and Wan’er are ten years apart! To Wan’er, you’re just an old geezer!” Madam Wei glanced at him sideways.

Lu Zhan: "..."

Zhiwan glanced at her cousin's face, which was as black as the bottom of a pot, and suddenly felt a sense of relief.

Although her cousin said he wouldn't restrict her movements, he kept a close watch on her, which made her feel very stifled.

Seeing him suffer a setback, she couldn't help but feel a sense of schadenfreude.

Even my cousin, who is known for his perfect strategy, has a day when he's left speechless by a sharp retort!
Seeing her son's gloomy appearance, Madam Wei was still not satisfied and continued, "If you hadn't gone back to the capital last time, Wan'er's marriage to Chen Junyu might have already been arranged."

At this point, she feigned regret and said, "That Chen Junyu, what a wonderful child he is! He's only a few years older than Wan'er, and he's also very ambitious. He'll definitely be the top scholar in next year's imperial examination!"

Lu Zhan's face was gloomy. He sneered and casually reminded him, "Your son is not bad either. He is already the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, a third-rank official. Even if Chen Junyu is lucky enough to pass the imperial examination, he will only be assigned a minor official position. When will he be able to become a third-rank official?"

“Other officials may not be as good as you, but at least they are young, while you are old.” Madam Wei spread her hands, looking at him with regret.

Lu Zhan: "..."

Seeing her son choke on his own words, Madam Wei felt extremely relieved.

"Hmph, this son of mine has always been arrogant and haughty. He looks down on all those noble ladies in the capital, yet he's set his sights on one of them. And now, he's set his sights on her Wan'er." "Mother must have heard the saying 'love is hard to resist,' right?" Lu Zhan suddenly changed the subject.

Wei was taken aback.

A bad feeling suddenly rose in Zhiwan's heart.

"So?" Wei asked, frowning as she realized what was happening.

Lu Zhan glanced at his cousin and slowly said, "I couldn't control my feelings and did many... inappropriate things to my cousin. I hope Mother will make the decision and betroth my cousin to me."

Wei was taken aback. "What... what transgression did you do to Wan'er?" As she said this, she couldn't help but look at Zhiwan.

Zhiwan's face was flushed and burning hot; she hadn't expected her cousin to say such a thing.

Faced with her aunt's scrutinizing gaze, she lowered her head guiltily.

Although it was in a dream, she and her cousin did indeed do intimate things, which was definitely a breach of etiquette...

Wei had hoped to hear a denial from her, but seeing her like this, her heart sank. She picked up a rattan cane and lashed her son several more times.

"Lu Zhan, how could you be so shameless? You've wasted all those years you've studied the classics!" Madam Wei gritted her teeth in anger.

Hearing this, Zhiwan couldn't pretend not to hear and spoke up, "Aunt, actually I also have feelings for my cousin..."

“Mother, I have done something immoral, but a woman’s reputation is of utmost importance. Since I have ruined my cousin’s reputation, I beg you, Mother, to do my best to marry her off to me as soon as possible!” Lu Zhan interrupted her in a deep voice.

Zhiwan was taken aback, looking at her cousin with a complicated expression.

Was her cousin protecting her?

Even if that person is her aunt, if she were to reveal that she had also done something inappropriate to her cousin, her aunt would probably find it hard to understand and even unbelievable.
But in order to be responsible for her and make amends to her, her aunt might actually agree to her cousin's proposal and let her marry him.

Before leaving Beijing, my aunt had already introduced my cousin to many women from high-ranking families. She probably already had a daughter-in-law in mind and was just waiting for my cousin to finish his official duties so that he could get married.

She didn't want to put her aunt in a difficult position because of her.

Thinking of this, she bit her lip and knelt down beside Madam Wei. "Aunt, my cousin is too kind. He did nothing to me. I don't blame him for bringing me to Jiangning. Please don't make things difficult for me. In this life, Wan'er only wants to be a son-in-law, not to marry."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhan frowned. "What is my cousin worried about?"

Zhiwan shook her head. "I have always respected my cousin and regarded him as an elder brother. I hope that my cousin will continue to treat me as a younger sister."

Lu Zhan narrowed his dark eyes slightly and suddenly said, "I don't have my cousin's open-mindedness."

Zhiwan's eyelids twitched, and she couldn't help but look at him. "What?"

Lu Zhan didn't look at her, but looked at Madam Wei and said, "My cousin and I have already had physical intimacy. In this life, it is impossible for me to marry anyone else."

The words "skin-to-skin contact" nearly made Wei faint.

Her hand trembled as she pointed at her son, "What...what did you say?"

Lu Zhan paused for a moment, then said, "It's exactly what Mother heard."

(End of this chapter)