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

Chapter 157 Dream
Seeing her sudden change in demeanor, Zhiwan sensed something. Sure enough, the next moment, her uncle's authoritative voice rang out from behind her.

What are you all making a scene about here?

Upon hearing this, Zhiwan rubbed her eyes with a handkerchief, then turned to look at Lu Zhenbei and called out in a weak and pitiful voice, "Uncle..."

"Wan'er?" Lu Zhenbei was somewhat surprised to see her. "When did you get back?"

Zhiwan glanced at him discreetly and saw that he looked tired and haggard. Clearly, her uncle had not been having an easy time lately because of Aunt Wang's affair.

If things are not going well, it means that Aunt Wang doesn't hold much weight in his heart.

Thinking of this, Zhiwan wiped her eyes and choked up as she said, "I just got back. I heard about what happened to you in Yangzhou. My cousin and I were very worried about Aunt, so he asked me to come back first. If he didn't have other business to finish, he would have come back with me to see Aunt..."

Upon hearing this, a hint of unease flashed across Lu Zhenbei's handsome face, but he still asked, "Have you gone in to see your aunt? How is she...?"

"I went in and saw her; my aunt is not well," Zhiwan said truthfully.

Lu Zhenbei's brows furrowed, and he remained silent.

"Your Excellency, Xuan'er is injured!" At this moment, Consort Wang cried out.

Lu Zhenbei snapped out of his daze, glanced at her, and asked in a deep voice, "Why are you injured?"

Aunt Wang glanced timidly at Zhiwan, "It's Cousin..."

“Uncle, that child said I was just staying at the Lu family’s place, and he even pushed me. Aunt Wang even said that I was born with a father but not raised by one. I was so angry that I pushed that child…” Zhiwan interrupted her quickly, her face already streaked with tears. “If my parents were still alive, I wouldn’t need to stay at the Lu family’s place. If they were still alive, I wouldn’t be an orphan, and people wouldn’t gossip about me…”

Aunt Wang stared at her in astonishment, her fingertips digging into her flesh. She had truly underestimated her!

Lu Xuan also stopped crying. Seeing that Lu Zhenbei's face had darkened, he timidly hid behind Aunt Wang.

"Get out of here, you two! From now on, you are not allowed to set foot in Lan Courtyard again without my permission, and you are not allowed to speak ill of Miss Biao. If I hear even a single word about her again, you will be kicked out of the Duke's Mansion!" Lu Zhenbei shouted angrily.

Aunt Wang and her son were terrified.

Coming to her senses, Aunt Wang tugged at Lu Zhenbei's robe. "Your Excellency, Xuan'er is still just a child. Children speak without thinking. It was Miss Lu who was being too..."

She didn't say what it was, but she gave Zhiwan a resentful look.

"Aunt Wang, are you saying I'm being too petty?" Zhiwan looked at her with tears in her eyes. "Aunt Wang is right. I was born with a father, but I didn't have one to teach me..."

Upon hearing this, Aunt Wang's heart sank. Sure enough, Lu Zhenbei immediately pulled back the corner of his robe and took two steps back.

“Wang, if you want to stay here, you’d better behave yourself. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being ruthless!” Lu Zhenbei said in a deep voice. “Besides, in my heart, there has always only been Wei Minghui as my wife. You know perfectly well what happened back then. The only reason I didn’t kill you then was because of your brother!”

Upon hearing this, Aunt Wang's face turned pale and then red. She dared not linger any longer and quickly pulled her son away.

However, before leaving, she glanced at Zhiwan.

She seemed surprised that an orphan was more important than her in the eyes of the Duke of Lu.

Lu Zhenbei ignored them and looked at Zhiwan, asking with concern, "Are you alright?"

Zhiwan wiped away her tears and said, trying to sound strong, "I'm fine. Thank you, Uncle, for standing up for me."

Seeing this, Lu Zhenbei's face flashed with guilt, and he comforted him, "You don't need to take what those people said to heart. In your uncle's heart, you are no different from his own daughter."

"Thank you, Uncle." Zhiwan curtsied.

After a pause, she couldn't help but say, "In Wan'er's heart, she has long respected her uncle as her father. In Wan'er's heart, her uncle is a great hero who stands tall, upright, and protects the country."

Lu Zhenbei couldn't help but chuckle at her praise, "Little girl, feel free to speak your mind."

Upon hearing this, Zhiwan mustered her courage and said, "Regarding this matter, my cousin and I both believe that you have your reasons. We don't want to believe that you would betray Aunt. I wonder if Uncle has his reasons?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhenbei felt ashamed and guilty.

After a long pause, he said in a strained voice, "But I'm afraid... Uncle will have to disappoint you." Zhiwan's heart sank, and she asked anxiously, "So, you have no reason to complain?"

Lu Zhenbei opened his mouth, there were some things he didn't want to say to a young girl, but seeing the disappointment in the girl's eyes, he couldn't help but explain, "Wang's brother was my deputy general. He sacrificed himself on the battlefield and entrusted his only sister to my care before he died."

I felt sorry for Wang, who was all alone and helpless, so I helped her find a house and settled her in.

Unexpectedly, she invited me and the soldiers to her new housewarming party, but then she got drunk…”

He didn't say anything more, but Zhiwan understood.

It was Wang who used underhanded tactics.

"It's good that you're back. Spend more time with your aunt." After saying this, Lu Zhenbei glanced at Lanyuan and then turned and left.

Zhiwan stood there for a while before walking towards Yaoguang Pavilion.

She had originally intended to ease the tension between her aunt and uncle.

But she never expected that the truth would be like that.

Although it wasn't his uncle's own choice, he did have a relationship with Wang and had an illegitimate child.

No wonder my uncle wanted to keep Wang's affair a secret.

Zhiwan let out a long sigh.

"Young lady!"

At that moment, a joyful voice called out.

Zhiwan looked up and saw Dongxiang greeting her with a joyful expression.

“Dongxiang.” Zhiwan nodded with a smile.

As she approached, Dongxiang noticed the redness in her eyes and asked with concern, "What's wrong, Miss?"

"It's nothing, just ran into two mad dogs," Zhiwan said nonchalantly.

"A mad dog?" Dongxiang was extremely puzzled, as there were no dogs kept in the manor.

"Perhaps it slipped in through a dog hole; we've already chased it away," Zhiwan said.

Dongxiang suddenly realized, "Oh, I see. Then we'll have to get someone to block up the dog hole another day."

Zhiwan was pleased by her words, "It's time to block it up."

When they returned to Yaoguang Pavilion, Shuang'er had already packed all the luggage.

Zhiwan took out the gift for Madam Wei and asked Shuang'er to deliver it to Lanyuan. She then took the gift for Old Madam Lu, along with Dongxiang, and went to Fushoutang.

As always, Madam Lu disliked her. She presented a gift, exchanged a few words with her, and then returned to Yaoguang Pavilion.

After such a long boat ride, Zhiwan went to bed early that night.

When she woke up, she found herself on a beach, the air thick with the smell of death and blood.

She frowned, turned her head and looked around, and then noticed a man lying on the ground not far away.

She recognized the man at a glance, her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly walked over.

"Hey, what are you doing lying here?"

(End of this chapter)