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

Chapter 118 Lu Zhan thought he was dreaming

After offering incense, Zhiwan burned paper money for her parents, and finally knelt in front of their graves and kowtowed to them.

As she left, she was reluctant to go, turning back every few steps.

The others cooperated with her and walked very slowly.

Zhiwan's trip was to sweep her parents' graves, and now that she had finished, she naturally had to return to Yangzhou.

Instead of returning to Jurong, the group headed straight onto the official road and set off back to Yangzhou.

As soon as they arrived outside the gate of the villa, they saw Liang Qixian, the prefect of Yangzhou, waiting there.

"Lord Lu, Miss Lu, you're finally back!" Upon seeing the two return, Liang Qixian stepped forward with joy and bowed respectfully.

Lu Zhan asked calmly, "Does Lord Liang have something to say?"

Liang Qixian said respectfully, "Lord Lu has arrived in Yangzhou, and I have not yet had the opportunity to welcome him. Yesterday, you had some business to attend to and left Yangzhou. I did not know when you would return, so I waited here. I never expected that you would finally return today."

"I have prepared a banquet at Hongyun Restaurant, and I humbly request that Lord Lu and Miss Lu grace us with their presence."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhan glanced at Zhi Wan and, seeing her dejected appearance, intended to refuse. However, the young girl said in a clear voice, "Thank you, Lord Liang. We will definitely go on time."

Lu Zhan was taken aback, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Liang Qixian's face lit up with joy. "In that case, I will await your arrival."

After he left, Zhiwan clutched her handkerchief and looked at Lu Zhan with some unease. "Cousin, I acted on my own initiative just now. Will you blame me?"

Lu Zhan looked at her thoughtfully and shook his head. "It's not my fault, but can you explain it?"

Seeing that he didn't blame her, Zhiwan breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, saying, "I'll come find you in a bit."

"Hmm." Lu Zhan responded in a low voice, said nothing more, and stepped into the courtyard.

Zhiwan stood there for a while, then went back inside to wash her face. After tidying herself up, she took her mother's belongings and went to the neighboring courtyard.

When she went in, Lu Zhan was sitting at the table drinking tea.

"Cousin." Zhiwan bowed slightly.

Lu Zhan looked up at her and saw that her face was clear and clean, obviously she had just washed her face, but her eyes were still red and swollen. He paused for a moment and then said in a softer voice, "Sit down."

Zhiwan sat down as instructed.

Lu Zhan poured her a cup of tea.

Zhiwan had no interest in drinking tea. After putting the cup aside, she hurriedly opened the box and handed over the account book, saying, "Cousin, take a look at this."

Lu Zhan took it and began to look through it.

After a moment, he looked at Zhiwan with a serious expression, "Did the wet nurse give this to you yesterday?"

“Yes.” Zhiwan nodded. “She said my mother left it with her and asked her to give it to me.”

Lu Zhan was also present yesterday and naturally heard about this.

Thinking of his cousin's strange behavior today, he remained silent for a moment before saying, "You suspect that your parents' deaths were not an accident, but are related to this matter?"

"Yes." Zhiwan nodded, tears welling in her eyes, her voice slightly choked. "Five years ago, my parents met with misfortune on their way back from Yangzhou. Before the accident, my mother entrusted this important thing to my wet nurse for safekeeping."

"These ledgers involve embezzlement related to the Yangzhou waterway project, so I suspect that my parents' deaths were part of a conspiracy." As she said this, tears streamed down her face, and her hands trembled.

She knew that if this matter was true, it would have far-reaching implications and be extremely troublesome to handle, but apart from her cousin, she didn't know who else to turn to.

How could she remain indifferent when she knew that her parents might have been murdered?

Looking at the pitiful little girl across from him, Lu Zhan tightened his grip on the teacup.

He rarely saw his cousin shed tears, but in just half a day today, he saw her cry several times.

He suppressed his inner turmoil and lowered his head to drink his tea.

Seeing that he remained silent, Zhiwan was anxious but dared not say anything more. Although her cousin was the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, her parents' case had been over for so many years. Re-investigating the case would be a very difficult matter and would undoubtedly add trouble to her cousin.

Thinking about it, she lowered her head and nervously twisted the handkerchief in her hand.

"You agreed to attend the banquet with Liang Qixian because you believe he killed your parents?" After a long pause, the man's deep voice rang out softly.

Zhiwan raised her head, but instead of answering, she asked, "Was he the prefect of Yangzhou five years ago?"

Lu Zhan nodded. "It's him."

Upon hearing this, Zhiwan became somewhat agitated. "Since he was in office five years ago, he must have been in charge of the river channel renovation project in Yangzhou. He must have been the one who embezzled and accepted bribes. The deaths of my parents must be related to him."

"So, what do you want to do?" Lu Zhan looked at her calmly.

Meeting his cold gaze, Zhiwan calmed down, but her hands clenched tightly.

The hatred for the murderers of her father and mother was irreconcilable, so naturally she wanted to kill them herself.

But she was powerless; what could she do?
Zhiwan was frustrated and bewildered.

"I can take you to the banquet tonight, but you can't act impulsively," Lu Zhan said calmly at the end.

Upon hearing this, Zhiwan immediately nodded obediently, "Okay."

"Okay, go back and prepare." Lu Zhan softened his tone.

"Yes," Zhiwan replied, getting up and walking outside.

Looking at the girl's slender figure, Lu Zhan pursed his lips and suddenly said, "Leave this matter to me. Don't do anything."

Zhiwan paused, then turned to look at him, her face breaking into a smile. "Thank you, cousin!"

She stood against the light, and when she turned around, her face was somewhat blurry.

For a moment, Lu Zhan thought he was dreaming and was somewhat dazed.

Only after Zhiwan left did he come to his senses, raise his hand to rub his brow, and lower his eyes to sigh softly.

Yesterday, despite repeated attempts, he was unable to see if his cousin had the small mole on her finger. However, the injury on her back and the fiery temper she suddenly displayed when facing Ouyang Zhenzhu's teasing were similar to the girl in his dream. In addition, his cousin was also good at painting and had plans to find a husband for her.

All signs indicate that his cousin is very likely the girl in his dream.

But without seeing the mole, he never dared to recognize it, fearing it was all just a coincidence.

After a moment, he suppressed his thoughts and summoned Jiang Shi, "Go and investigate the case of the murder of the Jurong County Magistrate five years ago, and see how the case was settled."

"Yes." Jiang Shi went immediately.

Lu Zhan held the account book and looked at it for a long time before getting up and walking to the window.

Five years ago, he was just the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. When the parents of the Zhi family got into trouble, he was sent by the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review to review the case elsewhere. Therefore, he was not very clear about the Zhi family's affairs. Later, he vaguely heard his mother mention a few words about how the parents of the Zhi family were killed by bandits when they went out.

Now it seems that this case is not so simple.

Thinking of his cousin's red, swollen eyes, Lu Zhan's brows furrowed slightly.

"Your Highness, Minister Duan has arrived." At this moment, Chen Jiu reported from outside the door.

Lu Zhan had just turned around when he saw Duan Ling walk in.

He plopped down at the table, and seeing that the water in the teacup hadn't been touched, he picked it up to drink, but Lu Zhan snatched it away.

Duan Ling: "..."

To add to this, Lu Zhan had actually guessed that Zhi Wan was the girl in his dream, but because he hadn't seen the mole on Zhi Wan's hand, he wasn't sure yet.

Also, Zhiwan's mole is on her left hand, not her right hand, so please don't misunderstand.

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(End of this chapter)