The Minister: Cold by Day, Hot by Night

「That evening, at Yaoguang Pavilion.」

Shuang’er brought another cup of strong tea to Zhi Wan, who was at her desk painting. "Miss," she urged, "it’s already very late. If you drink so much strong tea, you won’t be able to sleep."

"It’s fine." Zhi Wan set down her brush and took the tea from her hand.

’That’s the point. I don’t want to sleep. That way, I won’t have any more secret rendezvous with my cousin in my dreams.’

After finishing the tea, she handed the cup to Shuang’er and asked, "Is everything packed?"

"It’s all packed." Shuang’er nodded. "As you instructed, I only packed a few changes of clothes. I didn’t pack any of the jewelry that Her Ladyship gave you."

"Excellent. We’ll be traveling light this time," Zhi Wan said.

’She had no intention of taking the jewelry and expensive clothes her aunt had given her.’

"But are you sure you want to leave without saying goodbye, Miss?" Shuang’er couldn’t help but ask. "Her Ladyship will be so heartbroken when she finds out you’re gone."

’If she could, Zhi Wan naturally wouldn’t want to leave without a word. But if her aunt found out she was leaving, she would definitely be stopped. Besides, she had no good explanation to offer.’

’So, her only option was to leave unannounced.’

"I’ll leave a letter for my aunt," Zhi Wan said.

Seeing that her mind was made up, Shuang’er knew she couldn’t persuade her any further.

"That’s all. You should go rest. We have to be up early tomorrow," Zhi Wan instructed.

"Yes." Shuang’er agreed, then added one more piece of advice. "Miss, please don’t paint too late. You should rest early. You didn’t sleep well last night."

"Mm."

Despite all the strong tea Zhi Wan drank, by the middle of the night, her eyelids began to feel heavy.

After waking from her dream last night, she hadn’t slept at all.

This afternoon, her cousin had been in the residence, and she was afraid of dreaming if she fell asleep, so she hadn’t napped either.

So after staying up this long, she was starting to reach her limit.

She quickly got up, went over to the washstand, and splashed some cold water on her face, which roused her for a moment.

She paced around the room a few times until she felt more alert, then sat back down at her desk.

But before long, drowsiness washed over her again, and she got up to splash more cold water on her face.

After repeating this several times, she finally couldn’t hold out any longer and fell asleep at her desk.

The feeling of her body being lifted into the air startled her awake.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw the man from her dreams.

He was carrying her, walking toward the bed.

Zhi Wan squinted, her mind slightly hazy. "It’s you..."

Hearing this, the man’s heart stirred. "You know who I am?"

His words sent a chill through Zhi Wan, and she suddenly remembered the events of the past two days.

’The person before her was her cousin, Lu Zhan.’

’The very person she had decided to stay far away from.’

Faced with his question, she shook her head decisively. "I don’t know. Or... are you willing to tell me?"

’Her cousin probably didn’t know yet that she had already recognized him.’

’This thought gave her a small measure of comfort.’

The man said nothing and carried her to the bed.

The moment she was on the bed, Zhi Wan scrambled toward the inside, trying to put some distance between them.

The man took in her every move.

He paused, then unhurriedly sat down on the edge of the bed, took off his boots, and lay down as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Seeing this, Zhi Wan pressed herself even tighter against the wall. She wanted to say something, but in the end, held her tongue.

’She was leaving the Capital City tomorrow. To avoid any complications, it was best not to force the issue.’

"What are you doing so far away from me?" the man asked, propping his head up with one hand and looking at her with a half-smile.

"I’m sensitive to heat," Zhi Wan said awkwardly.

"If you’re sensitive to heat, you could wear a little less," the man said leisurely, his gaze sweeping over her tightly wrapped clothes.

Zhi Wan: "..."

’If this were before, she wouldn’t have thought anything of it. After all, she had said plenty of flirtatious and roguish things to him.’

’But now that she knew the man was her cousin, hearing such words from his lips made her feel both awkward and ashamed.’

’Besides, her cousin was normally so cold and ascetic. Compared to his current frivolousness, he was like a completely different person.’

’If she hadn’t verified it herself, she would never have believed that the man before her was the same cousin who was so cold in public and showed no interest in women.’

Seeing the girl frozen in place, the man’s lips curved into a slight smile. "Haven’t seen you for a day, and you’ve suddenly become shy? You weren’t like this before."

Zhi Wan: "..."

’His teasing reminded her of all the absurd things she had done to him in the past.’

’She was so embarrassed she wished she could disappear, her face burning red. She could only be thankful that he couldn’t see her face clearly, so he wouldn’t know how flustered she was.’

She forced herself to remain calm and said, "I-I’m about to take a husband into my family, so naturally I can’t... can’t fool around anymore."

She mumbled the last few words.

’Because it reminded her of her own past outrageous behavior toward this man.’

"I told you, your husband can only be me. Have you forgotten so soon?" The man’s handsome face darkened, his voice laced with displeasure.

Zhi Wan had just looked up when a shadow fell over her. Before she could react, the man lowered his head and possessively captured her lips in a kiss.

The familiar scent of cedarwood filled her nostrils, making her freeze for a moment before she reacted, pushing him away in a panic.

"Y-You’re not allowed to kiss me again!" Zhi Wan sputtered, exasperated.

The man paused, his voice slightly hoarse. "You’ve kissed me plenty of times."

Zhi Wan: "..."

’She was so embarrassed her toes curled.’

"You also touched me," the man added.

Zhi Wan pulled the blanket straight over her head, but a moment later, the man yanked it off. He braced himself over her with one hand and stroked her head with the other.

"You..." Zhi Wan had just gotten one word out when the man captured her soft lips with his.

"Didn’t you used to love it when I kissed you?" the man’s muffled voice came through their joined lips.

BOOM—

Zhi Wan’s head spun.

...

When Zhi Wan startled awake, she found she was still slumped over the desk.

’Thinking about what had happened in the dream, her whole face grew hot and red.’

’It was one thing when she didn’t know it was her cousin, but now that she did, she felt so embarrassed she could have spontaneously combusted.’

’She never would have imagined that her cousin, so icy in public, was like *that* in private...’

Zhi Wan felt utterly mortified.

She rushed to the washstand and splashed some cold water on her face to cool it down. After that, she downed two cups of cold tea before she finally managed to calm herself a little.

’Thank goodness she was leaving.’

’Soon, she wouldn’t have to face her cousin in embarrassment anymore.’

...

「Qingyun Residence.」

Lu Zhan had also woken up.

’Thinking of his cousin’s resistance to him in the dream, he furrowed his handsome brows.’

’And his cousin had clearly guessed his identity, yet in the dream, she pretended not to know.’

’Recalling what Chen Jiu had said about someone from Zhao Donglai’s household seeking out his cousin, he suddenly understood something.’

The next day, as he was leaving for the morning court session, he had Chen Jiu stay behind.

"Keep a close watch on the Miss. If she goes missing, you don’t need to bother seeing me ever again!"

A chill ran down Chen Jiu’s spine when he heard this.

’The Princely Heir’s tone was terrifying.’

’But the Miss was right here in the residence. How could she go missing?’

’Was the Princely Heir becoming obsessed?’

Soon enough, he would understand why the Princely Heir had been so grim.

Following the Princely Heir’s orders, he didn’t dare to slack off for a second, keeping a tight watch on the Miss.

But to his surprise, at the crack of dawn, the Miss boarded a carriage hired by Zhao Dong, left through the city gates, and headed toward the docks.

’Where was the Miss going?’

Chen Jiu’s face fell. He hurriedly sent someone to report to the Princely Heir while he quickly followed after her.