The Minister: Cold by Day, Hot by Night-Chapter 109: Pulled into Lu Zhan’s Arms
The Madam’s eyes lit up, and she hurried forward to greet them.
Upon seeing who had entered, it wasn’t just the Madam; the girls who had been sitting around listlessly all perked up, scrambling to crowd around him. "Sir..."
Lu Zhan stopped in his tracks, his gaze sweeping coolly over the crowd of girls before landing on the Madam. "Bring out the Oiran." With that, he glanced sideways at Jiang Shi.
Jiang Shi was still reeling from the shock. ’The Princely Heir, who has always kept his distance from women and maintained a chaste reputation, is actually visiting a brothel?’
Receiving the Princely Heir’s signal, he somewhat woodenly took out an ingot of silver and handed it to the Madam.
The Madam took the silver, her smile so wide her eyes narrowed to slits. "Sir, please have a seat in a private room upstairs. I’ll go fetch Miss Fang Fei right away."
Hearing Lu Zhan ask for the Oiran, the other girls dispersed, their faces full of disappointment.
But a few, unwilling to give up, remained standing there, reluctant to leave.
After all, the man before them was incredibly handsome—the most handsome they had ever seen. Although he seemed a bit cold and unapproachable, his noble and refined air made it clear at a glance that his status was extraordinary.
If they could win his favor, they could not only leave this place but perhaps even marry into wealth and status.
The more the girls thought about it, the more their hearts fluttered.
One of them stepped forward and offered, "I am skilled in both singing and dancing. I would be honored to perform a dance for you, Sir." With that, she struck a pose and began to dance gracefully in the main hall, while the others picked up instruments and started to play.
For a moment, the hall was filled with pleasant music and the sight of a twirling dancer.
But Lu Zhan was in no mood to appreciate it. He didn’t even spare them a second glance. As he walked upstairs, he simply said coolly, "Reward them."
Jiang Shi had no choice but to take out more silver, giving a portion to each of the girls performing so earnestly.
Watching the man disappear upstairs, the girls were a little disappointed. But since they had received a reward, they didn’t complain. However, when they turned and saw the handsome Jiang Shi, their spirits lifted again.
"Say, handsome, your master doesn’t need us. How about we serve you instead?"
Jiang Shi gave them a blank look, then turned and went upstairs.
The crowd of girls: "..."
「Private Room.」
Lu Zhan had just taken his seat when the Madam led the Oiran, Fang Fei, into the room.
"Sir, you’ve come at a most fortunate time. Our Miss Fang Fei happens to be free. Fang Fei, serve the gentleman well..."
"That won’t be necessary!"
Before the Madam could finish her sentence, Lu Zhan stood up and walked straight out the door.
The Madam and Fang Fei were left stunned.
In fact, Fang Fei’s hand, which she had raised to her temple to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, was still frozen in place.
It was a habitual gesture of hers. Every one of her patrons adored the little movement, finding it incredibly alluring.
So, the moment she first saw the gentleman, Fang Fei had subconsciously tried to display her most charming side.
’Yet she had somehow displeased him. The Madam hadn’t even finished speaking, and the man had already bolted.’
Fang Fei was deeply mortified.
’She was the most famous Oiran in all of Yangzhou.’
’Countless men, drawn by her fame, came to see her every day. Sometimes, even spending a fortune wasn’t enough to guarantee an audience.’
’If it hadn’t been for the continuous rain, that gentleman wouldn’t have been able to see her at all just by showing up unannounced.’
Fang Fei was furious. She dropped her hand and chased after him.
"Sir, what is the meaning of this?"
Lu Zhan was already downstairs. Hearing her question, he didn’t turn back, only saying coolly, "My apologies. You are not the person I am looking for."
Fang Fei froze.
’So he was just looking for someone.’
She felt a little better.
Jiang Shi silently followed behind the Princely Heir.
Finally, as Lu Zhan was boarding the carriage, he couldn’t help but speak up. "Princely Heir, this is not a place you should be frequenting..." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
"Go check the next brothel," Lu Zhan cut him off, his voice low.
Jiang Shi: "..."
’Could the Princely Heir have been provoked by something?’
With a grave expression, he drove the carriage toward the next brothel.
...
"Cousin!"
Just as Lu Zhan was about to enter the courtyard, Zhi Wan’s voice suddenly sounded from beside him.
He turned his head and saw Zhi Wan walking over, carrying a food container.
"Zhenzhu and I made some wontons this evening," Zhi Wan said, handing the food container to him. "I saw you weren’t here, so I saved some for you. I figured you’d be back around now, so I cooked a bowl for you."
Lu Zhan paused for a moment before taking it. "Thank you, Cousin."
Zhi Wan was about to say something when she suddenly caught the strong scent of cosmetics and perfume, her brow furrowing slightly.
’Why does Cousin smell so strongly of cosmetics?’
She looked at him with suspicion, her expression changing as she suddenly recalled the time on the boat when Chen Jiu had said her cousin frequented all the brothels in the Capital. She took a step back.
But she didn’t notice the steps behind her.
As she stepped back, her foot missed the ground, and she immediately began to fall backward.
"Careful!" Lu Zhan’s expression changed. He quickly wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his arms.
Zhi Wan’s mind went blank.
’I thought I was going to fall down the stairs...’
The strong fragrance filling her nostrils brought her back to her senses, and she forcefully pushed Lu Zhan away.
Lu Zhan’s attention was entirely on her, and caught off guard, he was shoved back into the doorframe behind him.
"THUD!"
The sharp corner of the doorframe dug into Lu Zhan’s shoulder, causing him to let out a muffled groan.
Zhi Wan heard the sound and was startled. She hurried forward, saying helplessly, "Cousin..."
Lu Zhan frowned. "It’s nothing," he said calmly.
Zhi Wan was overcome with guilt.
’If my cousin hadn’t caught me, I would have fallen. But in return, I made him crash into the doorframe.’
’That muffled groan just now was clearly from the pain.’
She lowered her head. "I didn’t do it on purpose..."
"I know." Lu Zhan’s voice softened. Resisting the urge to rub his shoulder, he said in a low voice, "It’s getting late. You should go back and rest. I’m going inside to eat the wontons."
"Okay." Zhi Wan nodded dejectedly.
As she walked down the steps, she couldn’t help but look back at the man standing by the door. Then she said quickly, "Cousin, it’s not good to frequent those kinds of places too often." With that, she hurried away.
Lu Zhan: "..."
He raised a hand and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
Jiang Shi, who was standing nearby, glanced at him and couldn’t help but say, "Well, that’s just great. Now even the Miss knows you’ve been visiting brothels. Next, I’m afraid even the Lord and his wife will find out. You should really tone it down a bit."
Lu Zhan: "..."
He shot him a cold glare and snapped, "Get lost!"
Jiang Shi silently made himself scarce.
Lu Zhan went back into his room. After washing his hands, he opened the food container and took out the wontons inside.
The wontons were still steaming, clearly having been cooked just a short while ago.
’He never knew his cousin was so skilled.’
He took a bite and found them to be quite delicious.
The corners of his lips curved up slightly.
’Then, his thoughts turned to another matter, and his brow furrowed. Last night, while in that girl’s room, he had distinctly heard thunder. That’s why he was certain the girl he was searching for was also in Yangzhou.’
