The Minister: Cold by Day, Hot by Night-Chapter 81: Lu Zhan: The Little Girl Scorns Him
Chen Jiu said, "Another day, my master will be sure to prepare a gift to show his gratitude."
Princess Chang Le scoffed. "Forget the gift. Tell your master to pick a day and treat me to a drink."
"This..." Chen Jiu hesitated, looking troubled.
Fortunately, Princess Chang Le didn’t press him further. She merely glanced at the still-quiet carriage, furrowed her brow, and turned to leave.
As she passed Zhi Wan, she suddenly reached out, lifted Zhi Wan’s chin, and studied her for a moment before saying coolly, "It seems Mr. Lu thinks very highly of you, his little cousin. To think he’d actually attend such a boring banquet."
Zhi Wan stared at her, stunned. "Princess?"
Princess Chang Le released her and rubbed her own fingertips together, suddenly adding a compliment. "Skin as smooth as jade. It feels wonderful to the touch."
After delivering that suggestive line, she turned and walked toward her own carriage.
Ouyang Zhenzhu stared blankly at her retreating back, then tugged on Zhi Wan’s sleeve. Waggling her eyebrows, she whispered, "She was totally making a move on you."
Zhi Wan nearly choked on her words. "Don’t be ridiculous."
"But there are rumors in the Capital that Princess Chang Le likes both men and women," Ouyang Zhenzhu said, looking worried. "Don’t tell me she’s taken a fancy to you?"
Zhi Wan’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Where did you even hear that?"
"Well, the rumor’s out there. Just be careful from now on. Don’t let her actually take advantage of you," Ouyang Zhenzhu warned.
Zhi Wan was speechless.
"Then again, Mr. Lu is a real magnet for trouble," Ouyang Zhenzhu added with a quiet sigh.
Zhi Wan secretly nodded, completely agreeing.
’One Commandery Princess was already a big enough headache. Now there’s a Princess, too. Can my cousin handle all this?’
"Miss, it’s time to head back," Chen Jiu said, walking over to them.
"Alright." Zhi Wan nodded. "How is my cousin?"
"He’s asleep in the carriage," Chen Jiu replied.
Zhi Wan was surprised. ’Is my cousin really drunk? I didn’t think his tolerance was so low.’
Chen Jiu lowered his voice. "Prince Gao Yang kept pressuring the Princely Heir to drink, and he couldn’t refuse. Junior Minister Ouyang and Prince Duan also drank quite a bit."
It dawned on Zhi Wan. ’No wonder I didn’t see Ouyang Lei and Duan Ling.’
’Looks like they were both very drunk and had already left.’
’For all three of them to be drunk... just how much were they forced to drink?’
"Is Jinzhi alright?" Lu Jinglan asked with concern, walking over.
"Miss Jinglan, the Princely Heir is asleep. He’s fine," Chen Jiu replied.
After parting ways with Ouyang Zhenzhu, Zhi Wan rode back to Duke Dingguo Mansion in a carriage with Lu Jinglan and Lu Lan.
On the way back, Lu Lan said with a smile, "Zhi Wan, you’re so lucky. You visit Prince Gao Yang Mansion once and come away with a whole set of ruby head ornaments."
Zhi Wan’s gaze flickered to the handkerchief Lu Lan was twisting tightly in her hands. A small smile touched her lips. "Yes, my luck is certainly not bad."
Lu Lan lowered her eyes. "It’s enough to make anyone envious. Princess Chang Le seems to like you a lot, too."
Zhi Wan felt a lump in her throat as she recalled Ouyang Zhenzhu’s words. ’If that rumor is true, being liked by Princess Chang Le is definitely not a good thing.’
Lu Jinglan suddenly sighed. "Wan’er was lucky to run into Princess Chang Le, but Yanran’s fate was tragic. Forced to kneel and bark like a dog in front of everyone... how will she ever show her face in public again?"
"Miss Wang is so pitiful," Lu Lan added with feeling.
Zhi Wan recalled how the two of them had acted at the banquet, a sense of irony washing over her.
’I didn’t lose. They must be so disappointed.’
She sighed along with them. "But didn’t she bring it on herself? After all, when the Commandery Princess announced the wager, she didn’t object. In fact, she seemed quite pleased with it. She must have been certain that I would be the one to lose, that I would be the one getting punished." She paused here, looking at the two with a smile. "What would you call what happened to Miss Wang? Isn’t it a case of reaping what you sow?"
Lu Jinglan was speechless.
Lu Lan was also left completely without a word.
Zhi Wan looked down at the box in her lap, feeling quite cheerful.
She deliberately opened the box and began to admire the contents, piece by piece.
"This ruby head ornament set is truly beautiful. It must be worth a fortune," she exclaimed in admiration.
A flash of jealousy crossed Lu Lan’s eyes.
Lu Jinglan gripped her handkerchief tightly, yet her words were full of praise. "As expected of a gift from the Commandery Princess. It is truly beautiful."
As if oblivious to their reactions, Zhi Wan took out the hairpin, earrings, bracelet, and necklace from the box and began trying them on one by one.
The sight was like a needle to their eyes.
When they finally arrived at Duke Dingguo Mansion, the two couldn’t bear to stay a moment longer, rushing out of the carriage to get away.
Zhi Wan let out a soft scoff, then leisurely gathered her things, and stepped out of the carriage with the box in her arms.
Seeing Chen Jiu was still there, she handed the box to Shuang’er and walked over to him.
"Has my cousin not woken up yet?"
Just as Chen Jiu was about to reply, the carriage window slid open, revealing Lu Zhan’s handsome face.
The corners of his eyes were tinged with red, and his whole demeanor seemed languid. His voice was slightly hoarse as his dark eyes fell on Zhi Wan. "Are you alright?"
Zhi Wan froze for a second. ’Does my cousin know that I was given a hard time at the banquet in the Prince Mansion?’
She recalled Nanny Fang leaving halfway through the banquet and immediately understood.
’It must have been Nanny Fang who told him.’
She immediately shook her head. "Thanks to Princess Chang Le’s help, I’m fine." Then, a thought occurred to her, and she added with a smile, "And thanks to her, I even received a ruby head ornament set."
"Congratulations," Lu Zhan said unhurriedly.
Detecting the teasing in his voice, Zhi Wan blinked and reminded him, "Princess Chang Le said you should treat her to a drink some other day."
"You agreed?" Lu Zhan frowned.
Zhi Wan shook her head. "It’s your business, cousin. How could I dare to agree on your behalf?"
Lu Zhan’s expression softened slightly, and he stepped down from the carriage.
Zhi Wan was standing right next to the carriage and hadn’t had time to move back, so the moment he stepped down, she was hit with the strong smell of alcohol on him.
She paused and took a step back. ’It seems my cousin really did drink a lot.’
Lu Zhan noticed her movement and raised an eyebrow. ’Is the little miss disgusted with me?’
Noticing his gaze, Zhi Wan gave a light cough and asked, "Cousin, did you already know that Princess Chang Le was going to be at Prince Gao Yang Mansion?"
"What makes you think that?" Lu Zhan countered.
Zhi Wan said, "The Commandery Princess seemed terrified of Princess Chang Le. She would never invite the Princess to her own birthday banquet. But the Princess showed up anyway, and she even asked me if you were at the Prince Mansion, too." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎
Hearing this, Lu Zhan just hummed in affirmation.
Zhi Wan was taken aback. ’Is he admitting it? Did he know all along that Princess Chang Le would be at Prince Gao Yang Mansion?’
As this thought struck her, she blurted out, "So, cousin, you were..."
"I was what?" Lu Zhan asked, his gaze lowered to meet hers.
Meeting his jet-black eyes, Zhi Wan felt an inexplicable flutter in her heart. She swallowed the rest of her words and shook her head. "It’s nothing."
But inwardly, she was thinking: ’So my cousin predicted that Xuanyuan Jing would give me trouble at the banquet. And since he’s a man and couldn’t appear at the women’s feast, he used himself as bait to deliberately lure Princess Chang Le to Prince Gao Yang Mansion? Because only Princess Chang Le can keep Xuanyuan Jing in line.’
’So Princess Chang Le’s appearance at Prince Gao Yang Mansion was all my cousin’s doing!’
’Princess Chang Le has probably figured it out, too. Is that why she asked how my cousin planned to thank her?’
With these thoughts in mind, Zhi Wan dipped into a curtsy before Lu Zhan. "Thank you, cousin. I’ve troubled you."
Lu Zhan paused for a moment before replying coolly, "This whole affair began because of me. In the end, I was the one who got you involved."
