The Minister: Cold by Day, Hot by Night

Zeng Jiayi wailed, her voice cracking with grief as she cursed, "You’ll all die horrible deaths!"

"Get them out of here!" Zhi Wan said, her expression impatient.

The servants immediately stepped forward and drove Lady Qiao and Zeng Jiayi down the mountain.

Zeng Jiayi stood at the foot of the mountain, looking up at the villa on the mountainside, a venomous glint in her eyes.

Lady Qiao was also indignant and utterly unreconciled. "If I had known, I should have made a move a few days ago..." Now, look at this mess. The Zeng family’s fortunes had turned. Never mind avenging her daughter; her husband was still locked up in prison.

"Mother, didn’t you say Father has a godfather in the Capital? Hurry and write to him! Ask him to find a way to save Father! The Zeng family can’t be allowed to fall..." Zeng Jiayi said, impatiently shaking Lady Qiao’s arm.

Lady Qiao sighed. "I’ve already sent a letter, but this incident has become such a huge affair, that man might not be willing to protect your father." That was why she had come to beg Zhi Wan, clutching at a sliver of hope.

’I never thought that little bitch’s heart would be so hard.’

She was truly desperate, trying anything she could think of.

Zeng Jiayi’s heart sank. ’I’m still so young! I haven’t had my fill of this life of wealth and luxury yet!’

Thinking of something, she bit her lip and asked Lady Qiao, "Mother, what do you think of my looks?"

How could Lady Qiao possibly be in the mood for that? But faced with the daughter she had doted on since childhood, she still offered a word of praise. "My daughter is, of course, beautiful. It would be no exaggeration to call you the greatest beauty in Yangzhou."

Hearing this, Zeng Jiayi’s confidence swelled. She clenched her fists and said, "Mother, I’ve thought of a way to save Father and the Zeng family."

"What way?" Lady Qiao asked hurriedly.

Zeng Jiayi didn’t answer, but her face flushed red.

「Pan Yun Mountain Villa.」

"What rotten luck!" Ouyang Zhenzhu’s face was grim, her good mood completely ruined. "But how did they find their way here?"

"When my cousin took us out yesterday, he didn’t deliberately hide our movements. Anyone who really wanted to could track us here. Otherwise, how do you think Liang Qixian knew to bring his men storming this place?" Zhi Wan said, patting her hand. "Alright, don’t get angry over irrelevant people. Let’s go wash mushrooms. Tonight, we can ask the kitchen to make us some mushroom and seafood noodles."

The moment food was mentioned, Ouyang Zhenzhu’s gloomy expression brightened. "Yes, yes, yes!"

The two of them took their baskets and went straight to the kitchen. After having a servant fetch some water, they poured all the mushrooms into a wooden basin, sat down on small stools, and began to wash them by hand.

Neither of them had ever done such a chore before and found it quite amusing.

As they were chatting and laughing, a young woman in a vibrant dress approached them.

"This humble servant greets Miss Zhi and Miss Ouyang."

The two looked up, regarding her with some confusion. "You are...?"

"This humble servant is... a ’slender horse’ that Mr. Liang gifted to Mr. Lu. My name is Chuchu," the young woman replied in a humble tone.

Ouyang Zhenzhu nodded in praise. "That’s a lovely name, and you’re very pretty as well."

"Thank you, Miss Ouyang," Chuchu said with a gentle smile.

"Did you need something from us?" Zhi Wan asked.

Chuchu shook her head. "Oh, nothing in particular. This humble servant was simply bored and restless. When I saw you two ladies here, I thought I’d come over and see what was happening."

Zhi Wan sized her up with a single glance and said nothing more.

Ouyang Zhenzhu, on the other hand, was quite interested in Chuchu and began to make small talk with her.

In the course of their conversation, she learned Chuchu’s story: after her parents passed away, she lived with her older brother and his wife. Later, when they could no longer make ends meet, they sold her.

Because of her looks, she was selected to be trained as a "slender horse."

She was trained from a young age and became proficient in all the four arts: the zither, Go, calligraphy, and painting.

After they finished washing the mushrooms, Zhi Wan handed them to the cook and then led Ouyang Zhenzhu back to their courtyard.

"Wanwan, it seems like you don’t like that Chuchu," Ouyang Zhenzhu said suddenly once they were back in the room.

Zhi Wan nodded. "I really don’t."

"Why? Is it because she’s a ’slender horse’ that Liang Qixian sent to your cousin?" Ouyang Zhenzhu asked, her face full of wicked curiosity.

Zhi Wan shot her a look. "Of course not. Besides, my cousin only accepted them in the first place to deal with Liang Qixian. He’ll certainly dismiss them all once he returns."

"How can you be so sure? Did Mr. Lu tell you?" Ouyang Zhenzhu asked in surprise.

Zhi Wan paused, taken aback for a moment herself.

’That’s right, my cousin never mentioned anything about these ’slender horses’ to me. So why am I so certain?’

After a moment’s thought, she said, "Because Liang Qixian has already been arrested. That proves my cousin only accepted those ’slender horses’ to feign compliance while dealing with him."

"That does make sense," Ouyang Zhenzhu nodded. "But you still haven’t told me why you don’t like Chuchu. She seems quite eloquent and she’s pretty, too. She probably doesn’t have a bad heart."

Zhi Wan sighed in exasperation. "Do people with bad intentions write it on their faces? Chuchu approached us so suddenly because she thinks we don’t put on airs and would be easy to handle."

Ouyang Zhenzhu was taken aback. "Why would you think that? I was actually thinking of asking Mr. Lu to give her to me. I could take her back home and give her to my brother."

Zhi Wan was stunned. "You’re really going to give a ’slender horse’ to your brother?"

"What, did you think I was just teasing my brother at the docks that day?" Ouyang Zhenzhu asked in return, a wide grin on her face.

Zhi Wan was speechless.

She gave her a look that was hard to put into words. "This is the first I’ve ever heard of a younger sister giving a woman to her older brother."

"Well, what can I do? My brother is twenty-five and still a bachelor. If I give him a beauty from Yangzhou, it might keep him from running off to the Brothel whenever he gets bored," Ouyang Zhenzhu said.

Zhi Wan was at a loss for words, but she still offered a warning. "That Chuchu approached us deliberately. She has ulterior motives. You should be careful not to be used by her."

Ouyang Zhenzhu sighed. "Well, forget it then. I’d rather not bring any trouble home to my family."

"Good." Zhi Wan breathed a sigh of relief.

「Evening.」

The kitchen delivered two bowls of mushroom and seafood noodles to Zhi Wan and Ouyang Zhenzhu.

The two were savoring their meal when a flurry of hurried footsteps echoed from outside, followed by Chen Jiu’s anxious voice. "Miss, the Princely Heir has been injured!"

"What?" Zhi Wan’s grip on her chopsticks tightened. Snapping out of her shock, she quickly set them down, hurried outside, and asked urgently, "How was my cousin injured?"

Ouyang Zhenzhu also rushed out. "Chen Jiu, hurry and tell us! Why is Mr. Lu injured?"

"Today, the Princely Heir investigated many corrupt officials and raided the residences of quite a few, causing widespread panic. Some grew desperate and made an attempt on his life. The Princely Heir was wounded in his left arm during the assassination," Chen Jiu explained, his expression fraught with worry. "But he only had it hastily bandaged before immersing himself in his duties again. He hasn’t stopped to rest even now, and the gauze is soaked through with red—it’s clearly bleeding again. He didn’t sleep at all last night either. We subordinates can’t persuade him, and we’re worried for his well-being, so I had no choice but to come and ask you, Miss, to go back and help talk some sense into him."

Zhi Wan grew very anxious hearing this. "Wait for me. I’ll go back with you right away."

「Government Office.」

Lu Zhan had just finished handling his official duties and was having tea with Duan Ling.

Suddenly, a figure came running in.

Lu Zhan looked up, a hint of surprise in his expression as he saw the young woman who had suddenly appeared before him. "You... why are you back?"

Zhi Wan looked at him, panting for breath. "Chen Jiu said you were injured. How are you? Does it hurt?"