The Minister: Cold by Day, Hot by Night-Chapter 92: It Must Have Something to Do With Her
Duan Ling, who was enjoying the show from the sidelines, burst out laughing. "HA HA! Auntie, I completely agree with you!"
Hearing the laughter and chatter outside, Zhi Wan couldn’t help but smile as well.
Ouyang Zhenzhu said with envy, "Madam Lu is so good to you. Not like my mother, who only knows how to dock my monthly allowance. Sigh, I really wish we could trade places."
Zhi Wan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "If Auntie Ouyang heard you say that, she’d be heartbroken."
"Hmph, as if she would," Ouyang Zhenzhu retorted with a pout.
Before long, the group set off.
When Lu Jinglan came out with her bundle, she saw the carriage pulling away in the distance.
Her heart sank. Unwilling to give up, she chased after the carriage for a few steps, but her legs were too weak. After just a short sprint, she fell to the ground.
Lady Wei was watching the carriage depart when the sudden sound of something heavy hitting the ground startled her. She turned and saw Lu Jinglan sprawled on the ground, covered in dust.
She inwardly rejoiced, but her face showed surprise. "Jinglan, what are you doing? Someone, quickly help Miss Jinglan up!"
The maids immediately rushed forward and, in a flurry of hands and feet, helped Lu Jinglan up.
Lu Jinglan stared grimly in the direction the carriage had gone, her heart filled with bitter resentment.
Lady Wei followed her gaze, the corners of her lips curling into a faint smile. With false concern, she asked, "Jinglan, why are you only coming out now? Were you too excited last night to sleep well, and that’s why you woke up late? Lu Zhan and the others have already left. If you want to go to Jiangnan, I’m afraid you’ll have to wait for the next trip."
Lu Jinglan snapped back to her senses. Seeing Lady Wei’s amiable expression, she nearly broke her own fingernails from clenching her fists.
She had been sleeping last night when her stomach suddenly started hurting in the middle of the night. She had to get up and use the latrine more than ten times. By morning, she was completely weak and feeble. Just before coming out, she’d had to make another trip.
’There must have been something wrong with that water.’
’This whole thing is definitely Lady Wei’s doing.’
’She had someone drug me, making me miss the departure, and now she’s feigning concern. How detestable!’
A cold glint flashed in her eyes. Just as she was about to say something, another sharp pain shot through her abdomen. She couldn’t care about anything else. She spun around to rush back into the mansion, but Lady Wei grabbed her.
"Jinglan, what’s wrong? You look terribly pale. Should I call a doctor for you?"
Lu Jinglan clutched her stomach, her face contorted in pain. "My... my stomach hurts... I... I have to go..." Suddenly, her expression changed. She shoved Lady Wei away and bolted into the mansion.
Lady Wei stumbled from the push, but she was in high spirits.
’Lu Jinglan ran off so fast. Did she soil herself?’
Tsk, tsk, tsk!
Lady Wei waved a hand in front of her nose with a look of disgust.
’That little bitch, Lu Jinglan, actually thought she could tag along to Jiangnan. Did she think I didn’t know what she was plotting?’
’If she had succeeded and gone to Jiangnan, she would have definitely used the journey as an opportunity to get close to Lu Zhan. If something had actually happened between them, I would have died from anger.’
’Nanny Fang’s laxative really did the trick.’
’Let that bitch stay right where she belongs—in the latrine!’
Meanwhile, in the moving carriage, Zhi Wan and Ouyang Zhenzhu had already heard from Nanny Fang about Lu Jinglan’s night-long bout of diarrhea.
The two of them were stunned.
"...What did she eat to get that sick?" Ouyang Zhenzhu asked curiously.
"Who knows? Miss Jinglan had planned to join us on the trip to Jiangnan, but that’s impossible now. I’m afraid she’s probably still squatting in the latrine as we speak," Nanny Fang said, her face a mask of regret.
Ouyang Zhenzhu remembered what had happened last time at the Prince Gao Yang Mansion and felt a strong dislike for Lu Jinglan. She was actually a little relieved. "Good thing she got diarrhea." ’If she had really come with us to Jiangnan, it would have completely ruined the mood. I have no desire to travel with a petty person like her.’
Nanny Fang pretended not to hear her and just sighed. "Miss Jinglan is truly unlucky for something like this to happen right before our departure."
Zhi Wan gave her a thoughtful look.
’Could Lu Jinglan’s diarrhea have something to do with Auntie?’
’From what Nanny Fang just said, even though Cousin refused to take Lu Jinglan to Jiangnan last night, she still insisted on coming.’
’She’s so thick-skinned. No wonder Auntie had to resort to such a drastic measure.’
’I didn’t want to travel with Lu Jinglan either, so this is for the best!’
Soon, the group arrived at the docks and boarded the ship.
It was Ouyang Zhenzhu’s first time on a boat. As soon as she was aboard, she pulled Zhi Wan along to explore.
A short while later, Lu Zhan gave the order to set sail. The boatmen weighed anchor, and the ship moved away from the dock.
"Ouyang Zhenzhu, you get your ass back here!"
Just as the large ship was pulling away from the dock, a figure suddenly appeared on the pier, shouting at the top of their lungs in the ship’s direction.
Hearing that voice, Ouyang Zhenzhu shuddered and quickly ducked down.
"Ouyang Zhenzhu, don’t hide! I see you! You get back here right now, or you’ll be sorry!" Ouyang Lei continued to shout threats from the dock.
Seeing this, Zhi Wan and the others looked in astonishment from the man on the dock to Ouyang Zhenzhu.
"Ouyang Zhenzhu, did you sneak away from home?" Duan Ling was the first to react, speaking in disbelief.
Zhi Wan also stared at Ouyang Zhenzhu in shock. "You..."
Ouyang Zhenzhu looked at her pitifully. "Wanwan, please, ask your cousin to get rid of Ouyang Lei."
Zhi Wan looked troubled.
Ouyang Zhenzhu had told her that her family had agreed to let her go to Jiangnan. But now, here was Ouyang Lei, chasing after them in a rage.
Clearly, Ouyang Zhenzhu had lied.
At this thought, she grew anxious as well and tried to persuade her friend. "Why don’t you just go back? If you sneak out like this, your family will be worried."
"But the ship has already set sail! It can’t turn back now," Ouyang Zhenzhu said, playing dumb.
"What’s so hard about that? There’s a small boat in the cabin. We can lower it for you, and you can take it back," Duan Ling said calmly.
Ouyang Zhenzhu gritted her teeth, but then switched to a wheedling tone. "Brother Duan Ling, I’ll be really good. I promise I won’t cause any trouble for you or Mr. Lu. Please, talk to my brother and tell him to go back."
Duan Ling: "..."
He was used to this girl’s usual fierce and feisty demeanor. He hadn’t seen her act this coquettish since she was little.
He rubbed his nose and looked at Lu Zhan. "What do you say?"
Lu Zhan didn’t particularly want to get involved in such matters. "You handle it," he said lightly. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
Duan Ling had no choice but to shout to Ouyang Lei on the dock, "Leizi, go on back! I’ll keep an eye on her."
Ouyang Lei saw the ship moving farther and farther away. He really wanted to drag Ouyang Zhenzhu back and give her a good thrashing.
’That damn girl is getting more and more audacious.’
"Ouyang Zhenzhu, if you dare come back with even a single hair out of place, I’ll kill you!" Ouyang Lei roared.
Seeing that he was no longer trying to stop her, Ouyang Zhenzhu quickly stood up, waved toward the dock, and shouted, "Brother, don’t you worry! Not only will I not lose a single hair, but when I come back from Yangzhou, I’ll even bring you a couple of trained beauties to pay my respects!"
Ouyang Lei nearly lost his footing and tumbled into the water.
