The Minister: Cold by Day, Hot by Night

After giving his orders to Chen Jiu, Lu Zhan mounted his horse and left.

"Miss, this way, please." Chen Jiu stepped forward, his expression solemn.

"Ah Jiu, why was my cousin acting like that?" Zhi Wan asked, dejected.

Hearing this, Chen Jiu looked up at her and parted his lips.

’Why was the Princely Heir acting like that? Did she really have no idea?’

’The Princely Heir values her so highly, yet she ran off without a word.’

’If the Princely Heir hadn’t been so perceptive and ordered me to keep an eye on her, she’d probably be out of the Capital City by now.’

’How could the Princely Heir not be furious?’

After finishing his internal complaints, Chen Jiu pointed to a large ship ahead. "Miss, please don’t make things difficult for me. You should get on the ship now."

Zhi Wan froze. "Get on the ship? Where to?"

"The Princely Heir didn’t say." Chen Jiu shook his head.

’At least he’s not throwing me in the Ministry of Justice prison,’ Zhi Wan thought, forcing herself to rally her spirits.

’It seems my cousin was just trying to scare me earlier.’

She followed Chen Jiu onto the ship.

"You must be tired, Miss. Why don’t you rest in the cabin for a bit? The Princely Heir will come over later, once he’s taken care of his business," Chen Jiu said, leading Zhi Wan to a cabin.

Zhi Wan hadn’t slept much for two nights, and today had been a mad rush since early morning. She was truly exhausted.

She nodded.

Remembering something, she quickly asked, "By the way, where are Shuang’er and Zhao Dong?"

"Don’t worry, Miss. I will go find them shortly," Chen Jiu said.

Only then did Zhi Wan feel relieved.

After closing the cabin door, she collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep.

She slept until evening before she woke up.

No lamps were lit in the cabin; it was pitch-black.

She fumbled to light a candle and was about to leave when she discovered the door was locked from the outside. No matter how hard she pulled, it wouldn’t budge.

Panic set in. She began pounding on the door. "Chen Jiu?"

"Ah, the Miss is awake?" Chen Jiu’s voice drifted faintly through the door.

"Why did you lock me in?" Zhi Wan demanded.

"It was the Princely Heir’s order," Chen Jiu said with a sigh.

Zhi Wan froze. ’I should have known.’

’Even if Chen Jiu were ten times bolder, he wouldn’t dare lock me up without my cousin’s permission.’

"Why did he lock me up?" Zhi Wan said furiously.

Chen Jiu cleared his throat. "The Princely Heir says you’re implicated in a major case in the Capital and your assistance is required for the investigation. He asks for your patience with this temporary inconvenience."

Zhi Wan laughed in disbelief. "Me? Implicated in a major case? That’s utterly baseless! My cousin is framing me!"

’This is awful,’ Chen Jiu thought. ’Why did the Princely Heir have to make me the bad guy?’

’When she becomes the matriarch of the Lu Family, is she going to remember how I wronged her today and have me kicked out?’

"Miss, I’m just a servant acting on orders." ’So please, don’t hold a grudge against me. If you’re going to blame someone, blame the Princely Heir!’

Zhi Wan knew he was just following orders and didn’t want to make things difficult for him. "Then let me out," she said. "I promise I won’t run."

"Well... I can’t make that decision without the Princely Heir’s permission," Chen Jiu said, sounding troubled. "You must be hungry. I’ve had food prepared for you. I’ll bring it in now."

Zhi Wan was in no mood to eat.

She slumped to the floor.

Not long after, the door opened a crack, and a tray was pushed in.

Zhi Wan reacted in a flash and grabbed the door, but it wouldn’t budge.

She peered closer and saw that the door had been chained shut.

Furious, she slammed the door.

Chen Jiu rubbed his nose. ’That was a close one,’ he thought.

’Good thing I dodged in time, or my nose would have been flattened.’

He spoke in a fawning tone, "Miss, you didn’t eat lunch. You should eat something to fill your stomach. It’s so late, the Princely Heir probably isn’t coming tonight, but he’ll definitely be here tomorrow morning. You need to eat up and regain your strength so that tomorrow... you can deal with him!"

’Heh heh. From the looks of it, the Miss is a shoo-in to become the matriarch of the Lu Family. When that happens, even the Princely Heir will probably have to watch his step around her. As a servant, I need to read the room and start sucking up to the future mistress now if I want an easy life.’

Zhi Wan paused. She thought what Chen Jiu said made sense, so she carried the food to the table and began to eat. Afterward, she washed up with the water in the cabin and had another sound sleep.

Chen Jiu hadn’t lied. The next morning, Lu Zhan arrived.

Zhi Wan was still asleep when the rattling of chains woke her with a jolt.

She had just sat up when she saw the man walk in from outside the door.

He was dressed in official robes, looking noble and imposing.

"You’re awake?" the man said slowly. Despite his calm demeanor, a trace of exhaustion he couldn’t hide lingered between his brows.

Her heart softened at the sight, but the memory of how this man had coldly locked her in the cabin quickly returned, and her anger became unbearable. She leaped from the bed, demanding, "Why did you lock me up?"

Lu Zhan watched her fuming, an almost imperceptible smile touching his lips. "Didn’t I tell you?" he said lightly. "You’re implicated in a major case and your assistance is required."

Zhi Wan laughed in exasperation and decided to tear away his hypocritical facade. "What a show of official authority, cousin! You’re not like this in my dreams!"

Lu Zhan paused. He loosened the collar of his robes, backing her into a corner. His voice was low and raspy. "Oh? And what am I like in your dreams?"

Zhi Wan was speechless.

At such a close distance, the crisp scent of cedarwood from his body filled her senses, exactly like the scent from her dreams.

She was dazed for a moment before she snapped back to reality. Pushing a hand against his chest, she said sternly, "Y-you! Don’t come so close to me! This is improper!"

Lu Zhan lowered his gaze to her small, blushing face.

In the dream, he had never seen her face clearly.

In reality, propriety had always forced him to restrain himself, to never dare cross the line in the slightest. He’d never had the chance to see her this close.

He paused. His long fingers traced her cheek as if he were outlining a priceless work of art—gentle and deliberate.

The skin beneath his fingertips felt just as it had in his dream: silky and soft, smoother than the finest white jade. He couldn’t bring himself to pull away.

His sudden touch sent a series of shivers through Zhi Wan.

When she came to her senses, her face burned with a mixture of fear and shame.

’This is my cousin, whom I’ve always respected like an older brother.’

’But now, he has walked out of my chaotic dreams and into reality.’

She was terrified. Just as she moved to push his hand away, he caught both of her wrists and pinned them high above her head.

"Be good," the man said in a raspy voice. "Let’s continue what we didn’t finish in the dream." With that, he lowered his head and captured her lips.

The press of his lips was more real than in her dreams, and it felt even better.

Zhi Wan was bewildered, yet she also found herself shamefully lost in the sensation.

In her dreams, she truly loved the feeling of being kissed by him.

She never expected that in reality, when he kissed her as her cousin, she wouldn’t feel any repulsion or disgust.

If her hands weren’t pinned, she would have instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.

Only when his tongue pried her lips apart and slipped into her mouth did she snap back to her senses.

A violent shudder wracked her body.

’What am I doing?’

’She was disgusted with herself!’

In a panic, she bit down on his lip.