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

Chapter 286 He simply picked up Zhiwan in one go.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhan raised his eyes and glanced at her, then said calmly, "Does Your Highness want to overthrow the Crown Prince, but do you want to sit in that position yourself?"

Princess Chang Le was taken aback.

She immediately replied awkwardly, "You flatter me too much. How could a woman like me possibly sit in that position?"

"Man proposes, God disposes," Lu Zhan said calmly. "Nothing is impossible if you set your mind to it."

Princess Chang Le saw that he was not joking and said seriously, "Lu Zhan, I have no interest in that position." She paused and said in a low voice, "My brother, Prince Rui, is better than the Crown Prince in both ability and virtue. You should know that, but because of Father Emperor's favoritism towards the Crown Prince, my brother has been confined to a corner of the country for many years and has been a leisurely prince."

But my brother has the world in his heart, cares about the people, and is kind to others. If he can ascend the throne, it will surely be a blessing for the people.

"If you are willing to help him ascend the throne, my mother will definitely not treat you unfairly, and my brother, Prince Rui, will certainly treat you and the Lu family well in the future."

"Can Your Highness represent Prince Rui, or the Empress?" Lu Zhan asked calmly.

“They are one, without distinction. I can represent any one of them, otherwise I wouldn’t be here to talk to you about this today.” Princess Chang Le paused here, “The reason I was asked to talk to you is because I am a woman and have a relationship with Zhi Wan. No one will suspect anything when I come and go from the Zhi residence.”

Lu Zhan remained noncommittal.

Princess Chang Le said urgently, "Lu Zhan, my brother Prince Rui is the most capable among all the princes. Moreover, when he ascends the throne, he will surely be a wise ruler. If you assist him, it will be a meritorious service in supporting the emperor. What are you still hesitating about?"

"Let me think about it some more," Lu Zhan said calmly after a long pause.

Princess Chang Le was anxious upon hearing this, but there was nothing she could do.

"Alright, think it over carefully. If you've made up your mind, have Zhiwan come to the princess's residence to find me."

"Mm." Lu Zhan nodded.

When Princess Chang Le went out, she saw Zhi Wan standing in the courtyard pruning the flowers. Her figure was slender and graceful. Her restless mood suddenly calmed down.

Intending to tease Zhiwan, she deliberately walked behind her.

However, before she could make any frightening move, Zhiwan suddenly turned around, holding a flower in her hand, and handed it to her.

"Your Highness, this is for you."

Princess Chang Le was taken aback when she saw the brightly blooming roses in the woman's hand. "Give them to me?"

"Mm." Zhiwan looked at her with a smile.

Princess Chang Le reached out and took the flower, then lowered her head to gently inhale its fragrance. Her mood suddenly became cheerful and relaxed. "Zhi Wan, you are truly a treasure." After saying that, she glanced at Lu Zhan, who was standing under the eaves looking in their direction. She deliberately reached out and hugged Zhi Wan, then tucked the flower in her hand behind Zhi Wan's ear, and smiled, "Flowers should be paired with beautiful women, Lord Lu, don't you agree?"

Before Zhiwan could recover from her series of actions, she saw her cousin walk over without her noticing.

"Respectfully seeing off Your Highness the Princess." Lu Zhan's voice was cold and distant.

The obvious intention to dismiss him made Princess Chang Le curl her lip in displeasure. "Isn't it a bit premature for Lord Lu to already consider himself the master of the Zhi family?"

"It's not early. His Majesty has already issued the imperial decree, and I will be marrying my cousin soon. At that time, Your Highness, please do me the honor of attending the wedding banquet," Lu Zhan said unhurriedly.

"Alright, I'll definitely give you two a big gift then." After Princess Chang Le finished speaking, she winked at Zhi Wan and then left with her entourage.

Zhiwan was a little embarrassed and hurriedly raised her hand to remove the flower petals from her hair, but her cousin took the flower from her hair first, and then took the scissors she was holding in her other hand.

She thought her cousin was angry, but instead she saw him squat down, stick the petal into the mud, and then take scissors and cut a perfectly blooming purple rose from the flower bushes.

“This color suits you better.” Lu Zhan stood up and tucked the flower petals into her hair.

Zhiwan snapped out of her daze and, no longer caring about her cousin's abrupt actions, quickly grabbed his arm, saying, "Why are you moving around like that? You'll aggravate your wound again."

“I didn’t use much force, it’s fine,” Lu Zhan said, his dark eyes fixed on her face.

Zhiwan felt a little embarrassed by his gaze, lowered her head slightly, and whispered, "What are you looking at?"

Lu Zhan smiled slightly, said nothing, took her hand, and led her into the house.

As Zhiwan followed her cousin into the house, he suddenly turned around and closed the door behind her. The very slight sound startled Zhiwan.

She looked at her cousin in surprise, wondering what he was going to do, when in the next moment, she was pinned against the door by her cousin.

Before she could react, the man's passionate kiss landed on her lips with a slight urgency.

Zhiwan's eyelashes fluttered, and she subconsciously wrapped her arms around her cousin's narrow waist.

After kissing for a while, she remembered that there were servants standing outside, and couldn't help but blush.

She nestled in her cousin's arms, breathing softly, and reminded him, "There are people outside..."

"Yes, I know." Lu Zhan's voice was low and husky, his warm lips brushing against her small ear and finally landing on her neck.

Zhiwan was ticklish, but worried about being overheard, so she bit her lip tightly, not daring to make a sound. She just twisted and turned, which aroused Lu Zhan's anger.

So he simply picked the girl up in his arms.

Zhiwan was startled, "Your hand..."

Lu Zhan didn't say anything, but carried her into the inner room.

When she was placed on the bed, Zhiwan thought her cousin wanted to do something to her, but instead he lowered the curtain and sat outside.

"cousin?"

Looking at the man's tall figure outside the tent, Zhiwan was somewhat puzzled.

After a while, my cousin's slightly hoarse voice rang out: "You rest well, I have official business to attend to, I'll head back first."

Zhiwan paused for a moment, but still nodded. "Drive carefully on your way."

"Hmm." Lu Zhan responded softly, got up and walked outside.

After he left, Zhiwan sat up and took the purple petal from her hair.

She looked for a while, then remembered something and quickly got out of bed to search for it.

A moment later, she found a book in the drawer.

Upon opening it, I found a dried-up crabapple blossom lying quietly among the pages.

Looking at the crabapple blossom, Zhiwan recalled the scene when her cousin gave her flowers in Yangzhou.

She smiled and tucked the purple rose into the book along with the book.

At this moment, a flower-viewing banquet is being held at the Eastern Palace.

Even though the Crown Prince's true intentions were not what they seemed, Crown Princess Guo Yingrong still meticulously prepared for the flower-viewing banquet, having all the seasonal flowers moved to the garden.

Looking at the pots of bright and beautiful flowers, the young ladies were in high spirits, commenting and discussing them.

Until Xuanyuan Hongjun came over and kicked over one of the beautiful crape myrtle plants.

"Snapped!"

With a cracking sound, the flower, along with the soil, fell to the ground.

This sudden turn of events startled the young ladies, who screamed in fright. When they saw that it was the Crown Prince, they all knelt down, their faces pale.

Guo Yingrong's expression also changed. She clutched her chest and, after a long while, finally came to her senses and stepped forward to advise, "Your Highness, why are you so angry?"

She had hoped the Crown Prince would restrain himself, after all, this was a banquet with so many outsiders present.

As soon as she finished speaking, she received a solid slap across the face.

"If you can't even handle such a small matter, what use are you to me?"