The abstinent and powerful minister is cold and aloof during the day, but he adores her in his dream

Chapter 114 Why doesn't my cousin try to hide it?
Seeing that he didn't blame her, Zhiwan breathed a sigh of relief and felt much more relaxed.

Upon hearing this, I looked down at the ground and saw a golden plaque lying there.

She felt something was strange; why didn't her cousin pick them up himself?

She suppressed her doubts, walked over, bent down, and picked up the sign.

She glanced at it quickly and saw that the sign had the character "令" written on it, so it must be a token.

How could my cousin have dropped something so important on the ground?

She didn't dare to look at it too closely and quickly handed the tag to her cousin, saying, "This is such an important thing, cousin, you must keep it safe."

"Hmm." Lu Zhan responded, not looking at the sign she handed him, but at the hand she was holding the sign in.

After a long pause, he slowly took it and said casually, "It seems my cousin is right-handed."

Upon hearing this, Zhiwan looked down at her right hand and asked in confusion, "I'm right-handed by nature, so is it possible that my cousin is left-handed?"

“Miss, the young master is equally dexterous with both hands; he can write and wield a sword.” Chen Jiu happened to walk over and couldn’t help but chime in upon hearing this.

Zhiwan looked at him, quite surprised, "Really?"

"Of course it's true." Chen Jiu nodded firmly.

"Cousin, you're amazing!" Zhiwan looked at Lu Zhan with admiration.

Meeting the young girl's admiring gaze, Lu Zhan paused, then tucked the token into his sleeve. "It's nothing special." He paused again, then said softly, "Cousin, if you have time, why don't you come for a walk with me?"

Zhiwan was about to make an excuse to leave, but upon hearing this, she had no choice but to agree, "Okay."

Chen's house is at the end of the village. Although only their family lives there, there is a path leading up the mountain next to it, and villagers often go up and down the mountain from there.

Zhiwan followed slowly behind Lu Zhan, heading up the mountain.

“Chen Jiu, you don’t need to follow.” Lu Zhan, who was walking in front, suddenly said in a deep voice.

Upon hearing this, Zhiwan paused for a moment, then turned to look at Chen Jiu.

Chen Jiu was clearly surprised, but still respectfully replied, "Yes." Then he retreated back to the foot of the mountain.

Upon seeing this, Zhiwan frowned slightly.

If Chen Jiuruo doesn't come along, then it will just be her and her cousin.

Isn't this a bit...inappropriate?
Why doesn't my cousin try to hide it?

Just as she hesitated, she heard her cousin's deep voice command, "Follow me."

Zhiwan followed along, her mind heavy with worries.

After several days of rain, although the weather cleared up today, the path up the mountain was still muddy. Before long, Zhiwan's shoes were covered in yellow mud, making it a bit slippery to walk on, and her skirt was also splattered with mud.

Seeing her disheveled state, Zhiwan stood on the grass by the roadside and refused to walk any further.

She held her back, panting, and said to the man walking ahead, "Cousin, you go ahead, I can't walk anymore, I'll go back first."

Lu Zhan had excellent hearing and had already heard the girl panting heavily. When he heard his cousin was about to give up, he had no choice but to stop and look back. Seeing his cousin's disheveled appearance, he paused and said gently, "You can't go down like this."

"Why?" Zhiwan looked down at herself, puzzled.

"Have you heard the saying? Going up a mountain is easy, but coming down is hard. Your shoes are covered in so much wet mud, you can't go down like this." Lu Zhan said casually, then suddenly turned back to her side.

Seeing his relaxed demeanor, Zhiwan couldn't help but glance at his boots, only to find that they were still clean.

"How did you do that?" she asked the man in front of her, curious.

Lu Zhan pointed to the grass on both sides of the path, "Walk on the grass and you won't get muddy."

Zhiwan suddenly realized, how come she hadn't thought of that?
Lu Zhan glanced around, picked two palm-sized leaves from a nearby tree, and placed them on the grass. "Take off your shoes and stand on them."

Zhiwan blinked her beautiful peach blossom eyes, looking at him with a puzzled expression, "What are you going to do, cousin?"

Lu Zhan raised his handsome eyebrows slightly, and asked with a half-smile, "What do you think I would do, cousin?"

When she met the man's dark eyes, Zhiwan's heart skipped a beat. She avoided his gaze and lowered her head.

She thought about it for a moment, then followed her cousin's instructions, took off her shoes, and stood on the leaves.

She was wearing socks and wasn't afraid of being seen.

And the man in front of her was the man she respected as her elder brother.

It seems there's no need to be so discreet. The little girl's delicate feet, encased in socks, were small in shape, not even as big as a leaf.

Lu Zhan paused, then calmly withdrew his gaze. He bent down, took out a dagger from his boot, cut a branch from the tree, picked up Zhiwan's shoes, and scraped off the mud from the soles.

Zhiwan stared at his actions in astonishment.

So that's why my cousin made her take off her shoes.

But seeing her shoes being held in the man's hands, she felt a little awkward.

This is very inappropriate.

Her eyelashes fluttered, and she quickly reached out her hand, "Cousin, give it to me, I can do it myself."

Lu Zhan glanced at her but didn't give her the shoes. He simply said in a low voice, "It's nothing difficult. Cousin, you don't need to be so polite with me."

Is this just a polite question?

Her delicate pink lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to offer a word of advice, but looking at her cousin's upright and honest demeanor, she swallowed the words back.

My cousin was completely open and honest, while she was the one overthinking things.

Her cousin only saw her as a younger sister...

Zhiwan twisted the handkerchief in her hand, still feeling extremely awkward and uncomfortable.

Although the other person was her cousin, he was still a man. Even if he was trying to help her, she still felt uncomfortable about him touching her shoes so directly.

Moreover, her cousin was the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and the heir of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion. With such a noble status, she always felt uneasy about him doing these things for her.

Thinking of this, she finally spoke up: "Cousin, this is not something you should do; it's not appropriate."

Lu Zhan slightly lifted his eyelids, "Why isn't it suitable?"

Zhiwan: "..."

She was quite direct enough, so why did her cousin still ask her?
Her cousin had always been self-disciplined and respectful of etiquette, but today's cousin was somewhat different from what she had always known about him.

He took her up the mountain alone and even cleaned her shoes.

His behavior was completely different from what my cousin usually did.

Zhiwan's brows furrowed slightly.

Watching her cousin intently cleaning her shoes, she felt a pang of fear.

Did my cousin suffer some kind of shock?

I've been too nice to her lately...

Even his own brother might not have done as much as him.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but say, "My cousin is of extraordinary status. Doing such a thing is not in line with your identity. I am also... apprehensive."

Lu Zhan paused for a moment, then looked up at her.

But the little girl had already lowered her head, her curled eyelashes like fluttering butterfly wings, and her two little hands were nervously twisting the handkerchief.

Lu Zhan's gaze lingered on her hands.

However, when she closed her fingers, she couldn't see anything at all.

He suddenly felt a little agitated and asked in a low voice, "What did my cousin call me?"

Zhiwan was taken aback, then looked up at him. "Of course it's my cousin."

Lu Zhan nodded. "If that's the case, what else is there for my cousin to worry about?"

Zhiwan was taken aback.

“Besides, only outsiders would value my status. Does my cousin consider me an outsider?” Lu Zhan said, then suddenly took two steps closer.

Zhiwan was startled and instinctively tried to back away, but forgot that she wasn't wearing shoes. By the time she realized it, her feet were already about to step into the mud.

At the crucial moment, a hand reached out from around her waist and steadily supported her.

"Be careful." The man's deep voice brushed past her ear, and Zhiwan's mind went blank.

Zhiwan: What exactly does my cousin want to do?
Lu Zhan: Cousin, why don't you take a guess?

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(End of this chapter)