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

Chapter 184: A series of coincidences are inextricably linked to my cousin.
Upon hearing this, Chen Jiu nearly dropped the bowl in his hand.

He tried to be so discreet about what happened yesterday, but he never expected that Miss Biao would still find out.

His eyes flashed, and he vehemently denied it, "Why do you say that, Miss? I did not plot against Dongxiang."

"Don't lie to me. Dongxiang told me that her leg was suddenly hit by something, and it hurt so much that she couldn't stand up and fell on Baiyi," Zhiwan said with a serious expression.

Seeing this, Chen Jiu frowned and said, "Even so, why would Miss Biao suspect me? Perhaps Bai Yi was lustful and plotted against Dongxiang."

“Bai Yi would never do such a thing, nor would he have the means to do so,” Zhi Wan said with certainty.

Chen Jiu said somewhat unconvinced, "How many days has Miss Biao met Bai Yicai? As the saying goes, you can know a person's face but not their heart."

“That phrase is more fitting for you,” Zhiwan glanced at him. “Tell me, why did you do that? If you don’t tell the truth, I’m going to write to my cousin and have him deal with you.”

Chen Jiu: "..."

Can he say that everything he did was done on the orders of the Crown Prince?
But he can't say anything!
Seeing that the young lady was persistent, he had no choice but to say with a fawning expression, "I'll tell you, I'll tell you. Please don't tell the young master, young lady. Actually, I have a grudge against Dongxiang. Yesterday, I just wanted to teach her a lesson and embarrass her. I just didn't expect that she and Baiyi would fall for each other. My revenge failed, and I ended up helping her. I really tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead!"

As he spoke, he looked regretful, as if it were true.

"Is that really so?" Zhiwan asked, still somewhat doubtful.

"It's true. Dongxiang used to talk bad about me behind my back. I overheard it and confronted her, but she refused to admit it or apologize. I hate her so much. Yesterday, I found an opportunity to get a little revenge on her." Chen Jiu clenched his fist, his face full of righteous indignation.

Seeing that he was serious, Zhiwan's doubts vanished. "Alright, I understand. But how can you, a grown man, be so petty? You're going to hurt someone over such a small thing?" With that, she shook her head and left.

Chen Jiu: "..."

The stingy one is clearly the Crown Prince. It was the Crown Prince who forbade the young lady from having any relationship with other men. So how come he's the one taking the blame in the end?

Chen Jiu felt wronged.

Yaoguang Pavilion.

After returning to the house, Zhiwan thought about the reason Chen Jiu had given her, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt that something was wrong.

She had known Chen Jiu for quite some time and had a lot of contact with him. As far as she knew, Chen Jiu was not such a narrow-minded person. How could he possibly want to take revenge on Dong Xiang over such a small matter?

Chen Jiu is lying!
Realizing this, Zhiwan frowned.

But why would Chen Jiu lie?

What is the real reason?
Chen Jiu is his cousin's man, and he should be doing everything under his cousin's orders.

Could it be that his cousin made him do that?
But what was my cousin's motive?
Zhiwan calmed down and carefully sorted out the matter.

If it weren't for Dongxiang, she originally intended to have Baiyi marry into her family.

But because Dongxiang interfered, both she and her aunt abandoned Baiyi...

Thinking of this, a thought struck her: her cousin didn't want her to be with Bai Yi, so he had Chen Jiu scheme to ruin it?
But how is this possible?
My cousin has no reason to do that.

Zhiwan was completely baffled.

Is she overthinking it?

But then she remembered that Princess Chang Le had suddenly gone to Qingyin Pavilion yesterday and had taken a liking to Shen Longjin.

She initially thought it was a coincidence, but now it seems it probably wasn't.

If it wasn't a coincidence, was it deliberately arranged by someone?

But who could persuade Princess Chang Le to come?

It's my cousin!
The thought flashed into her mind, and Zhiwan was stunned. She couldn't understand why her cousin would do that, but everything seemed to be related to him.

Zhiwan was lost in confusion.

"Miss, look what this is?" At this moment, Shuang'er walked in with a happy expression, followed by two burly old women carrying something in their hands.

Zhiwan snapped out of her daze and asked, "What?"

"It's an ice chest. Chen Jiu said it was specially ordered by the young master to be sent to you." Shuang'er smiled and directed the old woman to place the ice chest beside the bed.

After the old woman put it down, she bowed and left.

"With this, Miss won't have to worry about the heat anymore," Shuang'er said, touching the ice chest with a look of delight.

Zhiwan's gaze followed, and she carefully examined the ice chest.

It was a box-like object made of copper, with copper rings on both sides, a cover on top, and two holes.

She had seen this thing in her aunt's house before; it was a container for ice and chilled fruits, which could be placed in the house to cool down in the summer.

She placed her hand over the hole, and sure enough, a wisp of cool air came out.

She immediately felt extremely cool.

A look of delight appeared on her face. "Did my cousin really ask Chen Jiu to deliver this?"

“That’s what Chen Jiu said.” Shuang’er nodded and smiled. “Chen Jiu also said that there are fruits and vegetables in here, and Miss can take them as she pleases.”

Upon hearing this, Zhiwan immediately reached her left hand into the ice chest and took out a string of lychees.

"Miss, it's lychee!" Shuang'er's eyes lit up, and she couldn't help but slurp her saliva.

Zhiwan hadn't expected this either.

As far as she knew, lychees were only grown in the south, so it seemed that her cousin had someone send them back.

She paused for a moment, then handed the lychee in her hand to Shuang'er, saying, "Here, have some."

"Thank you, Miss." Shuang'er didn't stand on ceremony. She peeled a lychee and ate it. "Miss, it's so icy and delicious. Please try some." As she spoke, she peeled one for Zhiwan.

Chilled lychees are both icy and sweet, and they are indeed delicious.

Zhiwan squinted her eyes slightly, seemingly enjoying herself.

After finishing the lychees, she took out two pieces of watermelon from the ice chest and shared them with Shuang'er.

“Miss, the young master is so good to you. With this ice chest, you will have an easier time this summer,” Shuang’er suddenly said with emotion.

Zhiwan paused, remembering what she had been thinking about, and became somewhat absent-minded.

The man in her dream wouldn't allow her to find another man; he wanted to marry into her family. What about her cousin?

Why did her cousin stop her from marrying into his family?
Actually, the man in her dream was originally against marrying into her family and had made it clear to her that he wouldn't do so. But recently he changed his mind because his father was keeping a mistress and had a child with her...

Thinking of this, Zhiwan's beautiful peach blossom eyes suddenly widened.

The man's elders kept a mistress and had a child with her, and the same thing happened in my cousin's family. This... seems too much of a coincidence.

Thinking about the coincidences, she suddenly remembered even more coincidences.

While in Yangzhou, her cousin injured his left arm, and the man in her dream also had an injured left arm. There was also a smell of alcohol... Yes, the night before leaving Yangzhou, the man in her dream reeked of alcohol, and the next day at the dock, she smelled alcohol on her cousin as well...

　There's an extra chapter today! Thank you all for your support!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)