The Minister: Cold by Day, Hot by Night-Chapter 121: She Is Undoubtedly the Girl from His Dreams
He didn’t deliberately lower his voice.
The officials conversing with Lu Zhan hadn’t yet registered who this "Miss" was when they saw the expression on the usually composed and dignified Mr. Lu’s face change dramatically.
By the time they realized what was happening, Lu Zhan had already strode out, with Duan Ling close behind him.
In the private room next door, Lu Zhan, his face grim, pushed the door open without hesitation.
However, the scene inside was obscured by a screen placed before the door. He could only make out the indistinct, chaotic movement of figures, accompanied by shrieks and angry curses.
"What’s going on?" Lu Zhan demanded in a low, stern voice.
"Mr. Lu, hurry! Some bitch is bullying Wanwan! She even scalded her hand with tea!" Ouyang Zhenzhu yelled the moment she heard Lu Zhan’s voice.
Lu Zhan didn’t hesitate any longer and strode inside.
Just then, Madam Liang emerged from behind the screen, a placating smile on her face. "Mr. Lu, it’s just a squabble between young ladies, nothing serious. I will handle it. It’s all women in here, it’s not appropriate for you to go in..."
"Out!" Lu Zhan spat out a single, frigid word.
Madam Liang was startled and shoved aside by Chen Jiu, who had followed Lu Zhan in.
Lu Zhan rounded the screen and walked into the room.
The scene within was one of complete chaos.
Older serving women and young maids were tangled in a brawl.
A few other noblewomen stood off to the side, watching coldly with their arms folded.
In the center of it all, a noblewoman dripping with gold and silver and a pretty young girl, flanked by two old nannies, were aggressively closing in on Zhi Wan and Ouyang Zhenzhu.
"You two paupers, I give you an inch and you take a mile? Open your eyes and see where you are! So what if your hand got scalded? How dare you fight back? If I let you two walk out of here in one piece today, then I have no right to call myself anyone in Yangzhou! Seize them!" Lady Qiao finished with a wave of her hand, and her two nannies immediately lunged at the pair.
Zeng Jiayi, who could no longer hold herself back, also lunged at Zhi Wan, her sharp fingernails extended.
’I hate this vixen’s face! I’m going to scratch it up, ruin her beauty!’
Seeing this, Lu Zhan’s expression turned to ice. He hooked a nearby stool with his foot and kicked it flying at the group.
BANG!
"AIIIEEE!"
The loud crash was followed by several pained screams.
The previously aggressive nannies and the mother-daughter pair of Zeng Jiayi were now sprawled on the floor, struck by the stool and in too much pain to get up.
The maids and servants who had been brawling were also frightened into stopping.
"Cousin!"
"Mr. Lu!"
"Princely Heir!"
Zhi Wan, Ouyang Zhenzhu, Nanny Fang, and the others cried out in delight.
His face grim, Lu Zhan walked straight to Zhi Wan. His eyes quickly swept over her, and his heart sank when he saw her cradling her left hand with her right. The exposed skin on her pale wrist was an angry red. "Does it hurt badly?"
Zhi Wan composed herself and shook her head. "It doesn’t hurt that much anymore, but it still burns a little."
It had been quite painful when it first happened, but the pain had since subsided.
Staring at her red wrist, Lu Zhan’s lips tightened into a thin line. He said coldly, "Chen Jiu, drag all of them out and pour boiled tea over them."
The servants and maids fell to their knees in terror.
Madam Liang and the noblewomen who had been watching idly also turned pale with shock.
’They’re just a couple of paupers, why is Mr. Lu so angry?’
Ouyang Zhenzhu pointed at Zeng Jiayi, who was just struggling back to her feet, and tattled, "Mr. Lu, it was her! She’s the one who scalded Wanwan with boiling tea! Don’t let her get away with it!"
At her words, Lu Zhan’s cold gaze swept over to Zeng Jiayi.
Zeng Jiayi froze, then looked at him with a pitiful, damsel-in-distress expression. "Mr. Lu, I didn’t do it on purpose. Besides, Miss Zhi tripped me with her foot, she..."
"The one who started it is scum." Lu Zhan cut her off, his voice glacial. He turned his gaze to Chen Jiu. "You know what to do."
Chen Jiu understood. He picked up the teapot from the table and said to Nanny Fang, "Drag her over here!"
Nanny Fang and Shuang’er immediately moved forward, grabbing the still-dazed Zeng Jiayi, dragging her over, and forcing her down onto the table.
"Stop!" Lady Qiao, terrified out of her wits, shrieked and lunged forward, only to be sent flying by a kick from Chen Jiu.
THUD! Lady Qiao hit the ground and fainted.
Seeing this, the group of women led by Madam Liang were scared into absolute silence.
Chen Jiu tossed aside the teapot lid and poured the entire contents over Zeng Jiayi’s arm.
"AHHHH—"
The other officials arrived just in time to witness this scene.
Zeng Gong swayed on his feet, furious. "Mr. Lu, even if my daughter was in the wrong, you don’t have to..."
"When your daughter was scalding someone else with tea, I didn’t see you looking worried, nor did I see you stop her. What, now that the tea is being poured on her, you finally know how to be concerned?" Lu Zhan’s icy eyes swept over him with indifference.
Zeng Gong clenched his fists, about to say more, but Liang Qixian shot him a look, stopping him. "Jiayi was indeed in the wrong first today. Look at what a mess this has become, getting Miss Zhi injured. It’s only natural that Mr. Lu is concerned."
Lu Zhan ignored them, took Zhi Wan’s hand, and led her out of the private room.
Zhi Wan’s mind went blank. She completely forgot to pull her hand away from her cousin’s.
Fang Fei had just finished her dance and was following one of the Lord Prefect’s men upstairs to entertain the distinguished guests with drinks. To her surprise, she saw the same young master who had come to Haitang Pavilion on that rainy night. He had a cold expression on his face as he quickly led a young woman down the stairs and headed straight for the rear courtyard.
Fang Fei paused, extremely curious about where they were going, but the man urged her impatiently, "Miss Fang Fei, hurry upstairs. Don’t keep the noble guests waiting."
Fang Fei went upstairs, a little disappointed.
「By the well in the tavern’s backyard.」 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮
Lu Zhan drew a bucket of water from the well, set it on the ground, then took Zhi Wan’s hand and placed it in the bucket. "Soak your hand in here for a while."
Zhi Wan finally snapped out of her daze, a strange feeling blooming inside her.
’Why is Cousin holding my hand?’
’Has he forgotten that men and women shouldn’t have physical contact?’
But the moment her hand was submerged in the cool well water, the burning sensation on her wrist was greatly relieved. She didn’t dwell on it further, assuming her cousin was just concerned for her. He must truly see her as a younger sister to set aside the strict separation between men and women.
’After all, my hand is burned.’
With that thought, a warmth spread through Zhi Wan’s heart.
Because of this, she didn’t notice the strange expression that appeared on her cousin’s face the moment he took her left hand and placed it in the water.
Lu Zhan’s dark eyes stared, sharp and intense, at his cousin’s hand.
Under the moonlight, the girl’s slender, beautiful hand appeared even more long and fair. It opened naturally in the water, and there, in the webbing between her index and middle fingers, was a tiny red mole...
The moment he saw that mole, something exploded in Lu Zhan’s mind. For all his usual composure, his thoughts were now in complete turmoil.
Although all the signs had pointed to his cousin being the girl from his dreams, and despite his repeated attempts to find that mole on her hand to confirm his suspicions, he had never been able to see it, and so he hadn’t dared to jump to a conclusion.
But now, he had finally seen that special little mole on his cousin’s hand. It was undeniable proof—she was the girl from his dreams!
