The Minister: Cold by Day, Hot by Night

Lu Zhan froze, a realization dawning on him. His cool gaze swept over Chen Jiu, who had followed him in.

Chen Jiu shrank back, lowering his head and silently moving to the side, not daring to meet his Princely Heir’s icy glare.

’Sigh, my life is so hard.’

’Everything I did, I did it for the Princely Heir.’

Even that scoundrel of an official, Liang Qixian, could see that the Miss was the Princely Heir’s beloved. As his personal subordinate, how could he not have the good sense to see it?

So, he had personally made a trip to Pan Yun Mountain Villa to bring the Miss back.

He guessed that seeing the Miss so worried about him, the Princely Heir must be secretly pleased.

But he couldn’t call him out on it.

After all, the Princely Heir had always been inscrutable, never letting others easily guess his inner thoughts.

Facing the young woman’s worried expression, a flicker of a smile crossed Lu Zhan’s cool eyes. He shook his head. "No..." However, he had just uttered a single word when a sharp pain shot through his arm, causing him to let out a muffled grunt.

"Cousin!" Zhi Wan heard him and turned pale. Forgetting her reservations, she quickly took two steps forward and carefully cradled his arm. "Are you okay? Does it hurt a lot?"

His arm was suddenly cradled by the girl’s soft fingers. Lu Zhan froze, a hint of surprise in his eyes. "You..."

"Does it hurt a lot?" Zhi Wan asked anxiously.

Lu Zhan lowered his eyes, his long, dark lashes fluttering. His long fingers, resting on his knee, curled tightly. ’This is the first time in reality that my cousin has voluntarily come so close to me.’

The faint, pleasant fragrance wafting from her drifted into his nose, making him daze off for a moment, thinking he was in a dream.

But he quickly snapped out of it, his expression instantly clearing. His handsome face was tinged with cold anger as he shot a warning look at Duan Ling, who stood to the side.

Duan Ling had already pulled his hand back. He ignored the warning glare and sighed, saying to Zhi Wan, "Cousin Zhi Wan, your cousin is in a world of pain. You didn’t see it, but the wound on his arm is this long..." He made a gesture, then continued, "But your cousin is a man, so of course he’s too embarrassed to say it hurts. The injury is no joke, though. When the pain flares up, no matter how tough he is, he can’t help but cry out. You heard it just now, didn’t you? Sigh, what are we to do?"

Seeing his gesture, Zhi Wan’s face went white. She quickly urged, "Cousin, if the wound hurts, please don’t try to act tough. We should go back to the Lu Family Villa right away and have a doctor look at it again."

Seeing her reaction, Lu Zhan soothed her in a gentle voice, "Don’t be nervous. It’s just a minor injury. It’s nothing serious."

Duan Ling sighed dramatically. "Old Lu, I know you care about your pride and are too embarrassed to admit it, but is your pride more important than your health? Besides, your cousin isn’t a stranger. Why do you need to act tough in front of her? You should listen to her and hurry back to the villa to rest properly. Otherwise, if the injury gets worse, you could lose the use of this arm."

"What?" Hearing this, Zhi Wan’s voice was already choked with sobs. She looked at Lu Zhan in fear. "How could it be that serious?"

Seeing tears welling up in her eyes, threatening to spill over at any moment, Lu Zhan’s heart softened. He comforted her gently, "That’s not true. Don’t listen to his nonsense."

"Princely Heir, you just don’t take your own health seriously enough," Chen Jiu chimed in worriedly. "The bloody gauze that was just changed, this subordinate hasn’t even disposed of it yet, and you’ve already forgotten? If something were to really happen to you, how could this subordinate face the Duke and his wife when I return?"

A vein throbbed on Lu Zhan’s temple. He shot him a cold glare. "Shut up!"

Chen Jiu looked at Zhi Wan with an expression that said, ’See? This subordinate wasn’t lying. The Princely Heir won’t listen to anyone’s advice and doesn’t care about his own well-being.’

Zhi Wan wiped her tears, her small face hardening as she looked at Lu Zhan seriously. "Cousin, you don’t need to hide it from me. I have eyes of my own. I can see you’re seriously injured, yet you’re not treating it like a big deal."

Lu Zhan: "..."

Zhi Wan’s voice softened. "Cousin, please just listen to reason. Let’s go back to the villa first so you can rest and recover, okay?"

Meeting her glistening, teary eyes, Lu Zhan paused. He found he couldn’t bring himself to say no.

He raised a hand to rub the bridge of his nose, then glanced at the instigator, Duan Ling, and the one who had fanned the flames, Chen Jiu. His eyes were filled with a heavy warning.

The two of them immediately averted their gazes, one pretending to look at the ceiling, the other at the floor.

Lu Zhan retracted his gaze and looked at Zhi Wan. "It’s really just a minor injury, it’s nothing. There’s still a lot of official business at the Government Office waiting for me to handle. You should go back to the villa first."

As he spoke, he was about to call for someone to escort Zhi Wan back, but he heard his cousin say angrily, "Since you don’t care about your own body, Cousin, then don’t you bother trying to manage me either."

Lu Zhan: "..."

It was rare for Duan Ling to see him get thwarted. Suppressing a laugh, he deliberately stirred the pot. "Exactly! Cousin Zhi Wan is right. If someone doesn’t even cherish their own body, what right do they have to manage others?"

Lu Zhan: "..."

"Cousin, your health is what’s important. Let’s go back and rest first. You can handle your official duties tomorrow, it won’t be too late," Zhi Wan said. Then, she turned directly to Duan Ling and Chen Jiu. "You two, come help me get Cousin back to the villa."

Without another word, the two men rushed forward and supported Lu Zhan, one on each side.

Just as Lu Zhan was about to get angry, Duan Ling called out leisurely, "Cousin Zhi Wan, your cousin isn’t cooperating."

"Cousin, can you please cooperate a little? Everyone is just worried about you," Zhi Wan said with a stern face.

Looking at the young woman’s serious expression, Lu Zhan was instantly silenced.

Duan Ling burst out laughing and teased him in his ear, "Old Lu, oh, Old Lu, who would’ve thought you’re so henpecked! It seems the fearless Mr. Lu is only afraid of his little cousin! Haha... UGH!"

His wild laughter came to an abrupt halt.

He glared at the man, grimacing. "You play dirty!"

Lu Zhan shot him a cool glance and retracted his foot. "What else can you expect from a dog but a bark?"

By the time they returned to the Lu Family Villa, the doctor Zhi Wan had asked Ouyang Zhenzhu to summon had also arrived.

It was inconvenient for Zhi Wan to enter her cousin’s room, so she waited outside the door.

When the doctor came out after finishing the examination, she quickly went up to him and asked, "Doctor, how is my cousin’s injury?"

"The wound is a bit long, but it was bandaged and medicated promptly, so there shouldn’t be any lasting effects. He just needs to rest well for the next few days, and the wound shouldn’t get wet. I’ve looked at the medicine prescribed by the previous doctor; it’s all appropriate for the condition. This old man won’t be prescribing anything new," the doctor replied.

Hearing this, the worry that had been weighing on Zhi Wan’s heart finally lifted.

"Thank you, Doctor."

After seeing the doctor off, Zhi Wan had a servant brew the medicine while she went to the kitchen and made some wontons with the ingredients on hand.

Considering Duan Ling was also there, she cooked an extra bowl and had a servant carry it over to Lu Zhan’s courtyard.

"Cousin, you have to drink your medicine later. You should eat something first to line your stomach," Zhi Wan said, standing outside his room and knocking on the door.

Duan Ling immediately opened the door and came out, grinning cheekily. "Cousin Zhi Wan, is there a share for me?"

"Of course there is," Zhi Wan said, taking the tray from Shuang’er’s hands and handing it to him.

When Duan Ling saw there were indeed two bowls on the tray, his face lit up with joy. He said sincerely, "Cousin Zhi Wan, you’re so kind and considerate. Can you be my cousin too?"

Before Zhi Wan could speak, a deep voice beat her to it, refusing, "Of course not."

It was Lu Zhan.

He had walked out of the room.

"What right do you have to decide for Cousin Zhi Wan? She isn’t your blood-related cousin. She has the right to choose for herself," Duan Ling retorted, unconvinced.

Lu Zhan paused, his gaze falling on the young woman at the door. "Although she is not my blood-related cousin, she grew up in my family. Our relationship is even... closer than that of actual cousins."