The Minister: Cold by Day, Hot by Night

’Closer than even blood-related cousins.’ The words made Zhi Wan’s heart flutter.

’Was I overthinking it?’

She couldn’t shake the feeling that her cousin’s words held a deeper meaning.

But thinking of how well her cousin had taken care of her recently, she quickly pushed the thought from her mind.

’I must be overthinking things.’

All her cousin meant was that their bond was stronger than that of actual blood relatives.

At that thought, she felt a wave of relief.

Duan Ling watched Lu Zhan’s possessive display and scoffed.

"Alright, fine. I won’t fight you for her." He picked up his bowl of wontons and turned to go inside, but then he paused. Turning back to Zhi Wan, he said, "Even though a certain someone is too petty to let you be my little sister, if that same someone ever bullies you, you just come and tell me. I’ll stick up for you." With that, he shot a meaningful look at Lu Zhan before disappearing into the room.

It was obvious who "a certain someone" was.

Zhi Wan stole a glance at her cousin.

His expression was impassive, betraying no emotion. She hesitated for a moment before saying, "Cousin, you should go in and eat, too. The wontons won’t be good if they sit out for too long."

"Mm," Lu Zhan grunted in agreement.

"After you finish the wontons, the medicine should be ready, so remember to drink it. And no more official work tonight. You need to rest properly so your wound can heal faster. Oh, and the physician said you can’t get the wound wet, so when you bathe, have Ah Jiu help you," Zhi Wan instructed, her head lowered as she fussed over him.

Because her head was down, she didn’t see the amusement brimming in his eyes as he watched her.

"I know," Lu Zhan finally said, his voice deep.

"Oh, right. Is Liang Qixian scheduled for public execution tomorrow? I want to go watch," Zhi Wan said quickly, remembering just as she was about to leave.

"You can. I’ll have Chen Jiu take you when the time comes," Lu Zhan said.

Zhi Wan nodded and, without another word, hurried away.

Only after watching her figure disappear into the distance did Lu Zhan turn and enter the room.

Duan Ling was sitting at the table with his feet propped up, eating wontons. He clicked his tongue a few times when Lu Zhan walked in.

"Old Lu, you sure know how to hide things."

"What do you mean?" Lu Zhan sat down, pulled his own bowl of wontons closer, and began to eat.

Duan Ling set down his spoon and narrowed his eyes, studying him. "When did you start lusting after little cousin Zhi Wan?"

The word "lusting" made Lu Zhan freeze. He looked up and warned coldly, "Watch your phrasing!"

Duan Ling grumbled, "Alright, fine. Let’s say ’have your eye on’ her, then. When did you start having your eye on little cousin Zhi Wan?"

A vein pulsed on Lu Zhan’s temple, but he didn’t deny it.

Seeing this, Duan Ling cried out in excitement, "So I was right! You really do have designs on cousin Zhi Wan! I really thought you just saw her as a sister. I never would have guessed... Lu Zhan, you hypocrite! You animal!"

Lu Zhan sneered. "If you don’t want that tongue of yours, I can help you remove it."

Duan Ling looked abashed. "I was just so shocked, alright? Remember on the ship, when I told you to just marry cousin Zhi Wan? You got so angry with me! I actually felt guilty for a while, thinking I had desecrated your pure, brother-sister bond. I never imagined that behind my back, you’d..."

Lu Zhan said nothing.

"Though, if I were in your shoes, I’d probably fall for her too. Cousin Zhi Wan is beautiful, kind, and so sweet. Even her cooking is incredible." Duan Ling sighed, then immediately met his friend’s icy glare and hastily added, "But a friend’s wife is off-limits! I might be a rogue, but even I know that rule. I honestly just see cousin Zhi Wan as a little sister."

The three words "a friend’s wife" made Lu Zhan pause. The dark look on his handsome face vanished, and he lowered his head to continue eating his wontons.

Just as Duan Ling breathed a sigh of relief, he suddenly heard Lu Zhan speak. "I know you like Ouyang Zhenzhu."

"COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!" Duan Ling choked on his broth and broke into a fit of coughing.

Lu Zhan ignored him and kept eating his wontons.

’The wontons my cousin made are so small and perfectly shaped, every single one the same size. And the broth is exceptionally delicious.’

He quickly finished the bowl, pushed it aside, and stood up.

Duan Ling finally caught his breath and said, flustered and annoyed, "Don’t talk nonsense! How could I possibly have those kinds of feelings for that brat?"

"Am I the one talking nonsense, or is it that you have a guilty conscience?" Lu Zhan’s tone was calm and measured.

"Of course it’s you talking nonsense!" Duan Ling shot to his feet in anger. "I’m leaving."

"The officials from the Court sent to take possession of the stolen goods should arrive the day after tomorrow. You’ll be in charge of the handover," Lu Zhan instructed.

Duan Ling heard this, calmed down, and turned back. "The stolen goods are easy enough to deal with, but what about the pirates? They’ve committed countless atrocities. Why not just execute them on the spot? Why waste so much manpower escorting them all the way back to the Capital City? Unless... you have other plans?"

"Of course." Lu Zhan nodded. He walked over to the desk, picked up a brush, and drew a symbol on a piece of paper. "Do you see anything familiar?"

At his words, Duan Ling quickly leaned in for a closer look.

After studying it for a long while, he finally noticed something. Pointing to the center of the symbol, he said, "This part in the middle... it looks like a word, doesn’t it?"

"Mm. Take another look. What word does it look like?" Lu Zhan asked.

His interest piqued, Duan Ling examined it closely once more.

A moment later, he exclaimed in surprise, "Is that the word ’Jin’?"

"Yes, it’s ’Jin’," Lu Zhan confirmed with a nod.

Duan Ling was confused. "A symbol like this is unusual. Many great families have similar clan emblems."

"Now look at the pattern circling the outside. What does it look like?" Lu Zhan asked.

"Isn’t that an orchid?" Duan Ling didn’t see anything special about it.

Lu Zhan shot him a look. "A symbol made of an orchid and the word ’Jin’... does that not remind you of anything?"

"An orchid? And ’Jin’..." A jolt went through Duan Ling as he thought of someone. "The late King Jin? I heard he was extremely fond of orchids when he was alive and had them planted all over his Prince Mansion."

Lu Zhan didn’t respond to that directly. Instead, he said, "I saw this symbol on the pirates. Every single one of them has this tattooed on their back."

Hearing this, Duan Ling finally understood. He said in astonishment, "Are you saying those pirates are connected to King Jin?"

"I don’t know. It’s just a guess," Lu Zhan said. "But we still need to be on high alert. We completely destroyed their stronghold and seized all of their gold and silver. It’s an enormous sum. If these pirates truly are connected to King Jin, then..."

"They’ll probably try to attack the ship?" A chill ran down Duan Ling’s spine, and the words escaped him in a cry.

Lu Zhan remained silent, but a sharp glint flashed in his dark eyes.

Duan Ling suppressed his alarm and asked, "Since you already suspected this, have you made other arrangements? If someone really does attack the ship, our men on board will have a hard time fending them off."

"Mm." Lu Zhan didn’t deny it. "My only fear is that they *won’t* show up."

"Why is that?" Duan Ling asked, confused.