The Minister: Cold by Day, Hot by Night

Lu Zhan said nothing. He tore the paper with the pattern on it to shreds and threw it into the wastebasket.

Duan Ling mulled it over for a moment before understanding dawned on him. "So your imperial decree to inspect Jiangnan is just a cover? The Emperor wants you to secretly investigate King Jin?"

Lu Zhan didn’t deny it.

Duan Ling frowned. "Isn’t King Jin dead?"

"King Jin is dead, but he still has descendants," Lu Zhan said calmly. "The Emperor’s intention is for me to find King Jin’s heirs and eliminate any future threats."

Duan Ling was taken aback. "King Jin’s heirs?"

"Yes." Lu Zhan nodded. "I initially thought the Emperor’s intelligence was mistaken. King Jin died many years ago, and there was never any talk of him leaving behind an heir. That is, until I saw the tattoos on those pirates."

Upon hearing this, Duan Ling’s expression turned grave.

"If those pirates are truly connected to King Jin’s heir, then that heir is indeed a great threat."

"Yes."

"So, you want to use those pirates and the stolen goods to lure out King Jin’s heir and wipe them all out in one fell swoop?" Duan Ling was beginning to grasp the plan.

"Yes." Lu Zhan nodded and added, "This is a matter of grave importance. I’ll have to trouble you for a while."

Duan Ling shook his head. "It’s no trouble for me. I’m just worried King Jin’s heir won’t take the bait, and your plan will be all for naught."

"We’ll see," Lu Zhan said.

"Alright, you’ve had a tough couple of days. Get some rest," Duan Ling said.

Just as he left, Chen Jiu came in with a bowl of medicine.

He wore an eager-to-please expression. "Princely Heir, it’s time for your medicine."

Lu Zhan gave him a cool glance, took the bowl, and drank the medicine.

After taking back the empty bowl, Chen Jiu snuck a look at his master’s face. ’It seems the Princely Heir isn’t angry with me for taking the liberty of asking the Miss to return.’

He breathed a silent sigh of relief and said, "Princely Heir, the Miss just instructed me to help you with your bath."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhan paused. He glanced at his left arm, then shook his head. "That won’t be necessary."

"But with your injured arm, it will be difficult..."

"It’s fine," Lu Zhan said dismissively.

Hearing this, Chen Jiu didn’t dare to insist. He helped Lu Zhan off with his outer robes and then withdrew.

After his bath, Lu Zhan was tying his sash with one hand when Chen Jiu came in to clean up. "Bring me a cup of strong tea in a bit," Lu Zhan ordered.

Chen Jiu thought he had misheard. "Strong tea?"

"Yes," Lu Zhan affirmed.

Chen Jiu frowned and tried to reason with him. "But it’s so late, and your arm is still injured. It’s not good to be drinking tea. Princely Heir, you should get some rest. You have to go to the execution grounds to oversee the executions tomorrow morning."

"Just go!" Lu Zhan’s voice was stern.

Chen Jiu didn’t dare to disobey and hurried off, but he couldn’t help muttering to himself.

’The Princely Heir didn’t sleep at all last night and was busy all day today. Why isn’t he resting? Why does he want strong tea instead?’

’Does he still have some urgent official business to finish?’

「The next day.」

Zhi Wan woke early.

After freshening up, she took Ouyang Zhenzhu to the adjacent courtyard to find her cousin.

"Ah Jiu, is my cousin awake yet?"

"The Princely Heir was up all night. As soon as it was light, he left for the Government Office with Jiang Shi. He told me to stay behind and take you to the execution grounds later," Chen Jiu replied.

"He was up all night?" Zhi Wan was stunned. "Why?"

"I’m not sure either," Chen Jiu said, shaking his head.

Zhi Wan’s brow furrowed, her face etched with deep worry.

’My cousin hasn’t slept for two nights in a row. Even if he were made of iron, he couldn’t take it.’

Seeing her worry, Chen Jiu tried to console her. "You needn’t worry too much, Miss. The Princely Heir has often pulled all-nighters before. Once, he went three days without sleep and was still in high spirits."

"But he’s injured right now," Zhi Wan said.

As they were speaking, the door to the east wing was suddenly pushed open, and Duan Ling emerged.

He was about to greet Zhi Wan when he saw her, but his expression froze when he noticed Ouyang Zhenzhu beside her. He then hurriedly said to Chen Jiu, "Tell your Princely Heir I’m heading back to the ship," and started walking out of the courtyard.

"Hey, where do you think you’re running?" Ouyang Zhenzhu shouted, hands on her hips. "You look so guilty. Did you do something shady last night?"

Duan Ling stopped in his tracks. He instinctively looked back, only to be completely captivated.

’How had he never noticed this girl was so beautiful?’

’Even though she had her hands on her hips and looked fierce and hard to deal with, she was strikingly beautiful. The pose wasn’t vulgar at all; in fact, it was rather cute.’

’Even with the more beautiful Zhi Wan standing right next to her, his eyes were still drawn to Ouyang Zhenzhu against his will.’

"What are you staring at?"

Ouyang Zhenzhu’s annoyed voice snapped Duan Ling out of his thoughts.

He collected himself and cursed Lu Zhan internally.

’It’s all his fault.’

’If he hadn’t been spouting nonsense last night, why would I have suddenly started paying attention to Ouyang Zhenzhu?’

’I must be losing my mind to think that fierce girl is cute.’

"I wasn’t looking at anything," he said nonchalantly.

"But from your shifty, rat-like expression, it’s obvious you have a guilty conscience!" Ouyang Zhenzhu declared.

"Shifty and rat-like?" Duan Ling pointed at himself in disbelief. He was, by all accounts, handsome and distinguished.

"Who else could it be?" Ouyang Zhenzhu crossed her arms, her face a mask of disdain.

"I’d say you’re the one with the pinched face and a twisted mind!" Duan Ling retorted, angered.

Ouyang Zhenzhu lost her composure. "Hey, are you blind? I happen to be devastatingly beautiful! How could I possibly have a pinched face?"

"And I happen to be handsome, so why did you say I look shifty and rat-like?" Duan Ling shot back.

Ouyang Zhenzhu was speechless for a moment, then retorted confidently, "Because you just do!"

Duan Ling: "..."

Listening to their childish bickering, Zhi Wan massaged her temples, a headache forming. ’Are these two born to clash? They can’t seem to meet without arguing.’

"It’s getting late. We need to get to the execution grounds," Zhi Wan said, changing the subject.

Executions were usually carried out at noon, so they still had plenty of time, but she was afraid that if they arrived late, they would be stuck at the back.

Hearing this, Duan Ling stopped bickering with Ouyang Zhenzhu and instead turned to praise Zhi Wan. "The wontons you made last night were absolutely delicious, cousin."

"I’m glad you enjoyed them, Junior Minister Duan," Zhi Wan replied.

"It wasn’t just me. Your cousin thought they were delicious too. He even cleaned his bowl more thoroughly than I did," Duan Ling said with a grin, his usual playful demeanor returning.

Zhi Wan was a little surprised. "Really?"

"Of course," Duan Ling said with a straight face. "If you don’t believe me, ask Chen Jiu."

Chen Jiu nodded furiously. "Junior Minister Duan is right. I’ve served the Princely Heir for so long, and I’ve never seen him enjoy a dish so much. Only with the wontons made by the Miss does the Princely Heir eat every last bite."

Zhi Wan didn’t think her wontons were special enough to earn such high praise from Lu Zhan. She figured the two of them were just trying to humor her, so she didn’t think much of it.

When they reached the entrance of the villa and were about to board their carriage, another carriage approached from a distance and came to a halt right in front of the Lu Family Villa.

They all turned to look at the carriage.

The next moment, they saw someone step out of the carriage—a person who was supposed to be in the Capital City.