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

Chapter 219 Encounter at the Grave
Chen Jiu was inwardly shocked, but remained outwardly calm, saying, "The man you love so devotedly must be an extraordinary person." He then added self-deprecatingly, "I even naively thought that you, Liu Niang, loved me..."

Hearing this, Liu Niang came to her senses and grabbed his hand, saying, "Chen Jiu, I've come to a realization these past few days. You are the one I should love. After you rescue me, let's run away together to a place where no one knows us and live in anonymity. Is that alright?"

"Have you really let go of that man in your heart?" Chen Jiu asked hesitantly, reaching out to touch her pregnant belly. "No matter what, that man is the father of the child in your belly. What if one day, when the child grows up, he asks you where his real father is?"

Liu Niang shook her head and said, "I got pregnant without his knowledge. If he knew, he would never let me go. Of course, I will never tell the child about his parentage."

"Why? Isn't this his own flesh and blood?"

“So what if they are his own flesh and blood? I told you, he loved his late wife very much and couldn’t tolerate anyone else.” Liu Niang’s face was full of bitterness.

"Liu Niang, you're so foolish. You're such a good person, why did you fall for an old widower?" Chen Jiu said with great pity.

"No, no, he's not some old widower. Although he's not young anymore, he's one of the most handsome men in the world. He's elegant, refined, and incredibly talented..." Liu Niang was lost in her memories, her face unconsciously showing a look of infatuation.

Chen Jiu, seeing this, deliberately scoffed, "Is he really as good as you say? He's just a bandit leader, how could he possibly be better than our young master?"

Liu Niang came to her senses and said disdainfully, "I admit that your prince is indeed a handsome man rarely seen in the world, and he holds a high position, but how can he compare to my elder brother? My elder brother has noble blood. If it weren't for the incident with his father's lineage, the emperor of this dynasty would definitely be my elder brother!"

"Liu Niang, watch your words!" Chen Jiu covered her mouth in horror.

Liu Niang initially felt she had misspoke, but when she turned around and saw how nervous he was, she couldn't help but chuckle, "Look at you, so full of yourself! What's there to be afraid of? Nobody can hear you."

"If someone hears you say that, it could lead to your death," Chen Jiu said nervously.

"But only you heard it, or are you going to tell everyone?" Liu Niang asked, frowning.

"My goodness, you shouldn't have told me such a life-threatening thing." Chen Jiu turned his head uneasily, acting out his fear and dread very convincingly.

"Alright, don't be so timid," Liu Niang said, somewhat displeased.

Chen Jiu noticed her displeasure and quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. "Don't tell me next time."

Liu Niang looked disgusted.

Chen Jiu served her another bowl of chicken soup. "Liu Niang, we agreed that I could get you out of here, but after we get out, let's go our separate ways."

Upon hearing this, Liu Niang's expression changed. "You're going to abandon me?"

Chen Jiu swallowed hard and said, "How could I have abandoned you? I'm not the father of the child in your belly. Besides, the father of your child is so powerful. If he finds out that I'm with you, he might kill me. I'm really scared."

Upon hearing this, Liu Niang's expression softened slightly. "You don't need to be so afraid of him. Although he comes from a noble family, once his identity is exposed, he will probably be branded as a traitor. He's just a stray dog, nothing to be afraid of."

"Why do you say that? You just said he's a rare good man in the world," Chen Jiu reminded him.

Liu Niang choked for a moment.

"Alright, I'll get you out of here right away. Wait for my good news." After taking the bowl from her hand, Chen Jiu picked up the food box and was about to leave when Liu Niang hugged him. "Chen Jiu, you're so good to me."

Chen Jiu froze. Luckily, he was facing away from the camera, otherwise he would have definitely thrown up.

After finally escaping from prison, he immediately found the prince and told him what he had learned while in jail.

Duan Ling happened to be there as well, and was quite astonished after hearing what he said.

"That child belongs to that man?"

“That’s what Lady Liu said,” Chen Jiu nodded.

"So, that man really is a descendant of the Prince of Jin?" Duan Ling frowned. "But I really didn't expect that a bandit leader could be so devoted, still so attached to his deceased wife."

Lu Zhan also found it strange.

Who exactly are these descendants of the Prince of Jin? And where are they hiding now?
……

Yangzhou.

After arriving in Yangzhou by boat, Zhiwan and Lady Wei did not stop and immediately drove to Jurong.

After buying incense, candles, paper money, and offerings, the two went to the graves of the father and mother of the deceased.

To their surprise, when they arrived, a man in black robes was standing in front of the grave.

The man was wearing a hood, which completely concealed his face, so his features were not visible.

Judging from his height, he should be a man.

"Sir... are you here to pay respects to my parents?" Zhiwan hesitated for a moment before asking.

The man seemed surprised to see someone come. He paused for a moment, turned around, looked at Zhiwan, and said nothing.

"Sir?" Zhiwan spoke again, puzzled. This man was strange; why didn't he speak?
The man paused, then noticed that Wei Shi, who was also looking him over, said nothing and turned to leave.

Zhiwan and Wei looked at each other in bewilderment.

Why is that person so strange?
Although she couldn't see the person's face clearly, Zhiwan did see the person's exposed eyes.

Those were very beautiful eyes.

She felt a sense of familiarity, as if she had seen it somewhere before, but she couldn't quite place it.

It wasn't until she followed Wei to the grave to offer incense to her parents that she suddenly remembered.

By the way, that person's eyes were very similar to hers; no wonder she felt they were familiar.

But her eyes looked exactly like her father, Zhiyu's.

Thinking of her father, Zhiwan's eyes dimmed, and all her other thoughts were left behind.

She knelt down in front of the grave and kowtowed to her parents.

Holding incense in her hand, Madam Wei solemnly told Min Fu about the marriage between Zhi Wan and Lu Zhan.

"...Ah Fu, you won't blame me, will you? But don't worry, Lu Zhan will definitely treat Wan'er well after marrying her. If Lu Zhan dares to betray Wan'er, I will never let him off the hook."

I adore Wan'er and once considered adopting her as my daughter. I never imagined that one day she would become my daughter-in-law. You may not be satisfied with Lu Zhan, but the thought of Wan'er becoming my daughter-in-law fills me with joy and happiness.

"Don't worry, my son and I will definitely take good care of Wan'er and won't let her suffer the slightest grievance."

After paying their respects, the two stayed at the grave for a while before leaving by carriage.

"I didn't expect your parents' graves to be so clean," Madam Wei remarked.

“It was Nurse Chen and the others who cleaned it up,” Zhiwan said.

Wei was stunned for a moment before she remembered that Chen, the wet nurse, was also in Jurong.

"It was Nurse Chen who cleaned it up. I thought it was that man from earlier."

Zhiwan frowned slightly. "I wonder who that person is and why he was at my parents' graves? If he was an old acquaintance of my parents, why didn't he answer when I asked him questions?"

(End of this chapter)