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

Chapter 51 Lu Zhan: Hungry?
Upon hearing this, Zhiwan turned her head and saw Lu Zhan walking in from outside the door, still wearing his official robes, clearly having just returned from the government office.

"Cousin." Zhiwan curtsied.

Lu Zhan stopped and asked, "Is the shop matter settled?"

"Yes, it's all taken care of." Zhiwan nodded and handed over the box in her hand. "Thanks to my cousin's help, I was able to rent the shop so quickly. This is the ink I bought when I came back, and I'm giving it to my cousin."

Lu Zhan paused for a moment before reaching out to take it, saying, "It's nothing, you don't need to be so polite next time."

It was a small matter for him, but for Zhiwan, it was a very troublesome matter.

Without his help, she wouldn't have been able to rent the shop so quickly.

However, Zhiwan did not refute his words and obediently replied, "I understand."

"Cousin, you're back?" At this moment, Wei Jinyi walked over with her maid, her face full of joy.

"What is it?" Lu Zhan asked in a cold tone.

Wei Jinyi paused for a moment.

She could see clearly just now that her cousin was so gentle to Zhiwan, but when he turned around, he was so indifferent to her.

Suppressing her jealousy, she took the food box from the maid's hand. "Cousin, you must be hungry after a long day. This is soup and rice I made myself. Please don't find it offensive." She then handed the food box over.
Her maid, Yihong, added at the opportune moment, "Miss burned her hands while making soup for the young master."

"Don't talk nonsense, it's not true!" Wei Jinyi scolded her, but her sleeves cleverly revealed her scalded skin.

Lu Zhan didn't even look at her; his eyes were subconsciously drawn to Zhi Wan.

The little girl's beautiful peach blossom eyes widened slightly as she looked at the food box in Wei Jinyi's hand with some surprise.

He paused for a moment, then asked, "Hungry?"

"What?" Zhiwan was a little confused and stared at him blankly.

Lu Zhan said slowly, "I don't like other people's cooking. Since Cousin Jin Yi has already prepared it, we can't let her efforts go to waste. If Cousin is hungry, she can take it to eat." After saying that, he glanced at Chen Jiu.

Chen Jiu understood immediately, took the food box from Wei Jinyi, and handed it to Shuang'er.

Shuang'er, whose hands were stuffed with a food box: "..."

Wei Jinyi stared at Lu Zhan in astonishment, unable to believe that he would give the food she had made for him to Zhiwan.

Realizing what she had done, she was both angry and anxious, her eyes welling up with tears. "Cousin, this is what I made for you..."

“There is a cook in the manor,” Lu Zhan interrupted her. “Besides, I don’t like the food cooked by other people.”

Wei Jinyi froze.

Did her cousin think she was being nosy?
Zhiwan glanced at her cousin discreetly.

Is he not used to the food?
But last time, didn't he dine with Duan Ling and the others at Baiwei Restaurant?

Noticing his little cousin's surprised and confused look, Lu Zhan lowered his head, straightened his sleeves, and said calmly, "It's getting late, let's go back."

Zhiwan hesitated for a moment, then took the food box from Shuang'er's hand and handed it back to Wei Jinyi. "Unfortunately, I'm just like my cousin; I don't like other people's cooking. You can keep it for yourself."

She absolutely could not eat this dish, nor did she want to.

If you eat it, you definitely won't be able to digest it.

Upon hearing this, a hint of a smile flashed in Lu Zhan's dark eyes.

Wei Jinyi's face turned ashen with anger. She glared at Zhiwan, picked up the food box, and said resentfully, "So my cousin can't stand other people's cooking? I was just being nosy." With that, she stormed off with her maid.

She was afraid that if she stayed any longer, she would lose control and burst into tears.

Zhiwan glanced at her retreating figure with a hint of sympathy.

Her intentions towards her cousin were practically written all over her face.

But her cousin clearly didn't like her.

Her goal was likely to fail. Zhi Wan withdrew her gaze, curtsied to Lu Zhan, and said, "Cousin, I'll head back now."

"Mm," Lu Zhan replied, and only after she left did he head towards Qingyun Residence.

Back in his study, he opened the box he was carrying and took out the ink inside.

A faint scent of ink lingered in the air.

The ink is fine-grained, free of impurities, jet black and glossy, and adorned with gold-painted patterns.

It's obvious at a glance that this is a fine ink produced in Huizhou.

"Miss Cousin is truly generous. Last time she gave the young master a brush, and this time she bought him fine ink." Chen Jiu, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but praise her.

An ounce of Huizhou ink is worth an ounce of gold.

Such a small piece costs ten taels of silver.

Not to mention, there were several more pieces in that box.

He saw his cousin buying ink while she was doing so. She also bought ink for herself, but hers wasn't as good.

Lu Zhan paused for a moment.

He knew that Zhiwan gave him these inks because he had asked someone to help her find a shop.

For him, this was a small matter. He didn't want to accept the gift, but his cousin had already bought it and handed it to him. If he didn't accept it, his cousin would probably feel uneasy.

He put the ink back into the box and looked at Chen Jiu indifferently, "And you? What did Miss Chen give you in return?"

Seeing that he couldn't escape the prince's watchful eye, Chen Jiu had no choice but to take out the cooked food and wine that Zhi Wan had given him. "I repeatedly declined, but Miss Biao insisted that I accept them, and said that she might have to trouble me again next time."

"Since you've accepted their food, you should be more attentive to their affairs," Lu Zhan said calmly, without being harsh.

Chen Jiu replied solemnly, "I understand."

Even if his cousin didn't give him food, with his master's orders, how could he not care about his cousin's affairs?

"You may leave," Lu Zhan said.

Before leaving, Chen Jiu remembered something and added, "I ran into Prince Fu while I was looking after the shop today."

“Fu Hongyi?” Lu Zhan’s dark eyes narrowed slightly.

“Yes.” Chen Jiu nodded. “He apologized to Miss Biao and mentioned Madam Fu. Miss Biao is intelligent and immediately guessed what Madam Fu said when she came to our mansion last time.”

Lu Zhan frowned. "What is Miss Biao's reaction?"

"At first, Miss Biao was a little angry, but later, I don't know why, she let it go," Chen Jiu said, without mentioning at all that he had suggested putting a sack over Lin Shi's head and beating her up to vent his anger for Zhi Wan.

"I understand," Lu Zhan said calmly, his expression revealing neither joy nor anger.

Just as Chen Jiu was about to leave, he heard his master instruct him, "Please help out with Miss's shop opening."

"Yes."

Evening, Yaoguang Pavilion.

I was so tired today. I was out all day. After taking a bath, Zhiwan went straight to bed and fell asleep.

After drifting off to sleep, she found herself in an unfamiliar dormitory room. The room was large, and the furnishings were simple yet luxurious.

She had never been here before and looked around curiously.

Stepping into the inner room, there was a large bed, but the curtains were drawn low, making it impossible to see if anyone was inside.

Curious, she walked over and just as she lifted the curtain, a hand with distinct knuckles suddenly reached out and grabbed her wrist.

Zhiwan was startled and instinctively tried to run away, but was pulled onto the bed by a strong force.

(End of this chapter)