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

Chapter 137 Do siblings also put their arms around each other's waists?

Standing outside the door was none other than Lu Zhan.

He glanced into the room and asked, "Is she alright? Is she feeling unwell?"

Coming to her senses, Ouyang Zhenzhu replied, "It's probably because of the hot weather; Wanwan doesn't like to move around much, but she's not feeling unwell."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhan paused, looked down at the roasted food he was holding, and hesitated whether to give it to his cousin.

"Did Lord Lu come here specifically to bring food to Wanwan?" Ouyang Zhenzhu noticed the roasted food he was holding, swallowed hard, and asked.

"Hmm." Lu Zhan nodded. "Since she's not feeling well, it's not appropriate for her to eat these things."

"Lord Lu, give it to me, I can eat it." Ouyang Zhenzhu hurriedly called out to him.

Lu Zhan stopped, glanced at her, and handed her the roasted food in his hand. "Then please take good care of my cousin."

Ouyang Zhenzhu happily accepted the roasted food and assured him, "Don't worry, Lord Lu, I will take good care of Wanwan."

Lu Zhan hummed in agreement and said nothing more.

Just as Ouyang Zhenzhu was about to go in, she saw him still standing there and looked at him with some confusion, "Lord Lu, what's going on...?"

Lu Zhan pursed his thin lips, said nothing, and turned to leave.

Zhiwan, who was inside the room, had already heard Ouyang Zhenzhu and Lu Zhan talking, and couldn't help but feel ashamed.

Her cousin came to bring her food, showing her such care, but she only thought about avoiding him.

"Wanwan, Lord Lu is so good to you. He even brought you food." At this moment, Ouyang Zhenzhu walked in carrying roasted food. She was holding a roasted chicken leg and eating it with relish. "It's so delicious. Lord Lu may have roasted these for you himself. It's a pity that you don't have a good appetite and can't eat these now."

Seeing this, Zhiwan immediately lifted the blanket, took a chicken wing from the plate she was holding, and, meeting her teasing gaze, coughed lightly and explained, "I didn't have much of an appetite, but you said it yourself, this is probably cooked by my cousin himself. It's so rare, so naturally I want to try my cousin's cooking."

“Alright, but you can only eat that one. The rest are mine. I got them from Lord Lu.” Ouyang Zhenzhu said, holding the plate and deliberately sitting a little further away from her, as if afraid that Ouyang Zhenzhu would try to take them.

Zhiwan: "..."

After taking a bite of the chicken wing, her peach blossom eyes lit up slightly.

Did my cousin really cook this himself?
But doesn't my cousin dislike roasted food?
Why is the roasting technique so good?

Perhaps because she had eaten too bland food, the taste of these roasted chicken wings was simply irresistible to Zhiwan.

After she finished eating a chicken wing, she couldn't help but look at Ouyang Zhenzhu.

Seeing this, Ouyang Zhenzhu quickly protected the plate and said, "We already agreed that you can't eat anymore."

Zhiwan: "..."

She silently flipped through the picture book, trying to distract herself.

The aroma of roasted meat filled the room, a unique fragrance that made one's mouth water. Ouyang Zhenzhu, not to be outdone, continued to comment on the roasted meat in her hand, praising it endlessly, "Lord Lu's skills are too good! The chicken legs are roasted until the outside is crispy and fragrant, and the wild rabbit meat is roasted until it is tender and juicy. One bite and you'll want to swallow your tongue."

Zhiwan: "..."

Ouyang Zhenzhu took a bite of the roasted rabbit meat in her hand and exclaimed in admiration again, "If I could eat such delicious food every day, I would be happy to live here for a year."

Zhiwan couldn't stand it any longer. She turned the picture album upside down on the table, suddenly stood up and rushed towards her, quickly snatched the roasted rabbit meat from her hand, and then took a bite.

Ouyang Zhenzhu: "..."

Realizing what was happening, she angrily retorted, "Wanwan, you can't be so shameless! What's the difference between you and a bandit?"

"I didn't want to either, but you kept tempting me, and I couldn't control myself," Zhiwan said indistinctly, taking another big bite before handing the roasted rabbit meat back to her.

Ouyang Zhenzhu: "..."

Looking at the rabbit leg that was now just bones, she said with a look of grief and indignation, "I don't care, you have to compensate me!" "How can I compensate you?" Zhiwan swallowed the rabbit meat in her mouth and said casually.

“Lord Lu has been so good to you. If you ask, he will be happy to cook for you again,” Ouyang Zhenzhu said matter-of-factly.

Zhiwan choked.

Suddenly, the rabbit meat I ate didn't taste good anymore.

"I...can't do it." Zhiwan said sheepishly.

"Why? You and Lord Lu have a good relationship, don't you? And it's so late, and he even brought you food because he saw you hadn't gone out to eat. If my brother treated me half as well as Lord Lu treats you, I'd be laughing in my dreams." Ouyang Zhenzhu said with a jealous look on her face.

For a moment, Zhiwan didn't know what to say.

Because her cousin was really good to her.

Should she reject her cousin and distance herself from him because of his recent unusual behavior?
Perhaps she's overthinking it?
Her cousin's affectionate behavior towards her meant he genuinely treated her like a younger sister, not because he had...other thoughts about her, as she suspected.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but ask, "Pearl, how do you and Ouyang Shaoqing usually get along?"

"What do you mean, how do we get along?" Ouyang Zhenzhu asked, puzzled. "Isn't it just the same old thing? You always nag me and criticize me. Why are you asking this?"

Zhiwan coughed lightly and said in a nonchalant tone, "I'm just curious how ordinary siblings get along. I've seen you and Ouyang Shaoqing often bickering and arguing."

“Arguing is a daily occurrence for us. When my brother is unhappy, he'll pull my hair, tug at my collar, and even tuck me under his arm. He doesn't treat me like a girl at all. It's absolutely awful!” Ouyang Zhenzhu became more and more angry as she spoke. “How did I end up with such a brother?”

Zhiwan's heart stirred. "It must have been like this when you were little. You're all grown up now."

Ouyang Zhenzhu snorted coldly, "Then you're wrong. Ouyang Lei has only grown older, but hasn't improved at all. He's still as absurd as before. I don't even want to say that he's my brother when I go out."

Upon hearing this, Zhiwan felt inexplicably relieved.

She imagined the scene of Ouyang Zhenzhu being held under Ouyang Lei's armpit, and her lips twitched.

From this perspective, it's normal for siblings to have physical contact in private; she was definitely overthinking it.

But she and her cousin weren't actually siblings, and her cousin had his arm around her waist...

Do other siblings also put their arms around each other's waists?

Considering that her cousin was ten years older than her, perhaps he really was just taking care of her as a junior?

Zhiwan was somewhat confused. She wanted to ask Ouyang Zhenzhu again, but she was afraid that if she asked, it would arouse Ouyang's suspicion, so she gave up.

At this time, the Liang residence.

Seeing his men return defeated, Liang Qixian was furious and slammed his fist on the table. "Useless! We sent so many men, and they still managed to escape? What use are you guys?"

His hand stiffened, and he lowered his head.

Liang Qixian clenched his fists, his face dark and grim.

At this moment, one of the leading guards spoke up: "My lord, please calm down. We may have fallen into a trap! Zhiwan is not among them at all!"

Liang Qixian's expression changed. "Zhiwan isn't among them? They went to Jurong not to retrieve the account books?"

"They went to retrieve the account books. We saw them take the account books with our own eyes, even flipping through them, saying they would hand them over to Lord Lu immediately. Now the evidence is irrefutable, and Prefect Liang... cannot escape punishment! But Zhiwan wasn't among them; she should have been at the Lu family's villa the whole time. We wanted to snatch the account books back, but the two who fought us were top-notch experts. Many of our brothers perished at their hands," the lead guard replied.

Upon hearing this, Liang Qixian swayed and felt his heart sink to the bottom.

The ledgers are already in Lu Zhan's hands?

(End of this chapter)