The Minister: Cold by Day, Hot by Night

Remembering the injury on his arm, Zhi Wan trotted a couple of steps to Lu Zhan’s side and asked with concern, "By the way, is your arm feeling better? Does it still hurt?"

Lu Zhan paused. He turned his head to look at the girl walking beside him, his thin lips pressing together for a moment before he shook his head. "It stopped hurting a while ago."

"Really?" Zhi Wan was skeptical.

"Mhm," Lu Zhan nodded.

Zhi Wan still didn’t quite believe him. ’Based on the gesture Junior Minister Duan showed me, his injury was pretty serious. It’s only been a day. How could it heal that fast?’

However, she didn’t press the matter, only saying, "You haven’t rested for two nights, and you’ve been busy for most of today. You should go back to your room and get some rest. And don’t forget to take your medicine."

"Alright." Lu Zhan lowered his gaze, his long, dark lashes concealing the softness in his eyes.

"Jinzhi!"

"Big Brother!"

Just then, Lu Jinglan and Lu Lan walked over.

Seeing the two of them suddenly appear at the villa, Lu Zhan’s expression cooled.

He didn’t ask them why they were in Yangzhou, merely giving them a cold nod before entering his courtyard.

"Jinzhi..." Lu Jinglan’s heart sank, and she couldn’t help but call out to him again.

But Lu Zhan went inside without a backward glance.

Lu Jinglan bit her lip. Just as she was about to follow him, she heard his cold voice give a command, "Chen Jiu, I’m going to rest. Lock the courtyard gate. Don’t let any unwanted visitors disturb me."

"Yes, sir," Chen Jiu answered crisply, shutting the heavy gate right in Lu Jinglan’s face.

SLAM!

The gate closed with a resounding thud.

Watching Lu Jinglan stand before the gate, her face flushing red and pale, Ouyang Zhenzhu let out an uncharitable laugh.

"It seems Mr. Lu is truly impartial, disowning his own kin! Oh wait, my mistake. It’s not like Lu Jinglan and Mr. Lu are what you’d call proper relatives, are they!"

Lu Jinglan was already furious at being barred from the courtyard, and now, hearing Ouyang Zhenzhu’s taunt, her expression turned utterly foul.

She slowly turned to face Ouyang Zhenzhu. "What you just said, Miss Ouyang, has reminded me of something. You’re the one who is truly unrelated to the Lu Family. How do you have the audacity to keep living in the Lu Family Villa? You may be on good terms with Wan’er, but she herself is just lodging with the Lu Family. Your refusal to leave like this will only put Wan’er in a difficult position."

Ouyang Zhenzhu replied dismissively, "You are quite mistaken, Jinglan. While I’m not related to the Lu Family, my brother and Mr. Lu are the best of friends. I don’t need your permission to stay here. Mr. Lu hasn’t said a word, so you, a false phoenix, can stop trying to ride on borrowed glory."

A false phoenix. She might as well have called her a common pheasant.

A small smile played on Zhi Wan’s lips.

’Zhenzhu’s choice of words was perfect.’

’Isn’t Lu Jinglan just a common pheasant? Always using the Old Madam to throw her weight around.’

Lu Jinglan dug her nails into her palms, barely managing to keep herself from lashing out.

She gave Zhi Wan a stern look. "In the future, don’t bring all sorts of riffraff home."

"Who, exactly, is this ’riffraff’ you’re referring to, Little Aunt Jinglan? Please be specific, so I can be sure to avoid them in the future," Zhi Wan said, her expression perfectly earnest.

Lu Jinglan was speechless.

She shot Zhi Wan a cold glance, then turned and left with a flick of her handkerchief.

Lu Lan sighed. "Sister Wan’er, Little Aunt Jinglan is Grandmother’s favorite, after all. Aren’t you afraid of making Grandmother unhappy by speaking to her like that?"

Zhi Wan looked at her with an expression of surprise and confusion. "I was so humbly asking for her instruction, why would Grandmother be unhappy? Or are you saying... that when you get back, Sister Lu Lan, you plan to add your own embellishments when you tell Grandmother?"

Lu Lan clutched her handkerchief tightly and forced a smile. "Of course not. Sister Wan’er, you mustn’t misunderstand me."

"Oh, so it was just my misunderstanding," Zhi Wan said, looking visibly relieved.

"Sister Wan’er, Little Aunt Jinglan is still angry. May I come into your courtyard and sit for a while?" Lu Lan asked, changing the subject as if nothing was wrong.

"Little Aunt Jinglan is angry. Shouldn’t you be the one to go and console her?" Zhi Wan said. "You two came to Yangzhou together. I was under the impression you were very close."

Lu Lan faltered. "You’re... right. Well, I’ll go check on Little Aunt Jinglan first, then. I’ll come and see you later."

Watching her walk away, Ouyang Zhenzhu rolled her eyes and warned Zhi Wan, "That Lu Lan seems different from how she used to be. You’d better be careful. Who knows what nasty tricks she’s cooking up to use against you."

"I’ll be careful," Zhi Wan nodded.

Ouyang Zhenzhu then frowned. "I always thought Lu Lan was just a bit withdrawn and timid. But now I realize I completely misjudged her. Anyone who can get that close to a person like Lu Jinglan can’t be a good person themselves."

Zhi Wan paused for a moment without saying anything. She pulled her into the courtyard and had someone lock the gate behind them.

Her action made Ouyang Zhenzhu grin. "See? My words weren’t for nothing."

Zhi Wan smiled as well.

’She really didn’t want to deal with Lu Lan.’

’Since they were on different paths, there was no need to force an association.’

Meanwhile, Lu Lan found Lu Jinglan.

Lu Jinglan was standing before a flowering crabapple tree, violently ripping the petals off its branches.

In the blink of an eye, the crabapple tree that had been in full bloom was stripped bare, the ground littered with crushed petals.

Lu Lan watched for a moment before stepping forward.

"Little Aunt Jinglan..." she called out softly.

Lu Jinglan turned to give her a cold look, her anger not yet subsided.

Lu Lan sighed. "Don’t be angry, Little Aunt Jinglan. I’m sure Sister Wan’er didn’t intentionally hide Big Brother’s whereabouts from us."

Lu Jinglan froze. "You think *that’s* what I’m angry about?"

"Isn’t it?" Lu Lan asked in return.

Lu Jinglan said nothing.

Lu Lan continued on her own, "When we arrived this morning, Sister Wan’er said she didn’t know Big Brother’s whereabouts. But just now, she returned with him. They looked... quite intimate. And Big Brother seems more patient with her than he is with anyone else. Do you think... he might have fallen for her? After all, Sister Wan’er is so captivating. If I were a man, I’d probably be captivated by her too."

At these words, a flash of jealousy appeared in Lu Jinglan’s eyes. She suddenly lifted her foot and began to viciously grind the petals on the ground.

She didn’t stop until the petals were crushed to smithereens. Then she said coolly, "There must be something wrong with your eyes. How could Jinzhi possibly like Zhi Wan? She’s pretty, I’ll grant you, but Jinzhi isn’t so shallow. Besides, what does being pretty matter? One day, she might just end up like these flowers—trampled and rotting in the dirt."

Lu Lan lowered her head and said nothing more. Her eyes flickered to the flowers, now trampled into a pulp, and the faintest of smiles touched her lips.

「That evening.」

After waking up, Lu Zhan summoned Jiang Shi and ordered him to investigate Zhi Yu.

Jiang Shi thought he had misheard. "The person you mentioned, Princely Heir... are you referring to the Miss’s father, the former County Magistrate of Jurong County?"

"Mhm. You heard me. Go now!" Lu Zhan commanded in a deep voice.

Jiang Shi had no choice but to accept the order and depart.

Chen Jiu looked at his master in surprise. "Princely Heir, you don’t really believe that the person the Miss saw today was actually Lord Zi, do you?"

Lu Zhan was silent for a moment before saying, "I don’t know. But for my cousin to chase after him in such a panic, the man must have borne a strong resemblance to her father. There’s no harm in looking into it."

Chen Jiu sighed to himself. ’The Princely Heir is so indulgent when it comes to the Miss. He’s launching an investigation just because she thought she saw someone who looked familiar.’