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

Chapter 22 Men and women are not intimate with each other
Hearing the question, Zhiwan looked up at the man in front of her.

He wasn't wearing his official robes today, but rather a dark green casual outfit. His figure was as upright as a pine tree, with a matching belt around his waist that accentuated his narrow waistline. The slightly raised hem of his robe revealed his long, straight legs. When he looked down at people, there was no hint of a smile on his face.

He was cold all over, except for a tiny beauty mark at the corner of his left eye, which showed a hint of life.

Zhiwan was clearly afraid of him, but at this moment, upon hearing his cold words of concern, tears involuntarily streamed down her face.

She hurriedly lowered her head, "I...I'm fine." Although she tried her best to restrain herself, her choked voice still betrayed her distress.

Lu Zhan's handsome brows furrowed.

But considering how young she is, it's only natural that she would break down after such a shock.

But he wasn't used to seeing a woman's tears, so he pretended not to see them and asked in a low voice, "Can you get up by yourself?"

Zhiwan quickly wiped away her tears, and after calming herself down, she nodded, "Okay."

"Then get up," Lu Zhan said.

Helpless, Zhiwan supported herself on the grass and stood up shakily.

Although she had stopped crying, her eyes and the tip of her nose were still red, like a pitiful little rabbit.

Duan Ling, who had been watching for a long time, kept shaking his head.

Old Lu really doesn't know how to be gentle with women.

He strolled over, looking at Lu Zhan with a strange expression. "Is the little girl really your cousin?"

Lu Zhan glanced at him. "So what if it is?"

Duan Ling choked violently.

So what?

He wanted to say, "Then why are you so indifferent to people?"

Moreover, when he asked the young girl which household she belonged to, this fellow solemnly replied that he didn't know.

It turns out the little girl was his cousin?

He slowly uttered, "Not good!" Then, seeing Zhiwan standing there awkwardly, he couldn't help but add, "If you had just lent a hand to help her, my little cousin wouldn't have fallen."

"Men and women should not touch each other!" Lu Zhan frowned.

“How old are we? How old is my little cousin? Didn’t you just say that my little cousin is just a little girl?” Duan Lingyue got more and more excited as he spoke.

Lu Zhan's face darkened slightly. He ignored him and turned to Zhi Wan, asking, "Where is your maid?"

“It’s still to come,” Zhiwan replied.

Lu Zhan nodded and said nothing more.

Just then, Shuang'er arrived with her people.

Although what happened here happened in a short while, Shuang'er and the others still heard Wang Zeren's screams.

Seeing that Zhiwan was standing there unharmed, he was immediately relieved, completely unaware of the danger his young mistress had just encountered.

Seeing Lu Zhan there, Shuang'er was very surprised and quickly bowed, "This servant greets the young master."

Lu Zhan rebuked in a deep voice, "As your personal maid, your duty is to protect your young lady at all times, but what were you doing just now?"

Even if Shuang'er was slow to understand, she realized that her mistress must have encountered danger.

Her face turned pale as she grabbed Zhiwan and anxiously checked her over, "Miss, are you alright?"

Zhiwan's face was slightly flushed.

She's in trouble; she fell and hurt her bottom.

But with Lu Zhan and Duan Ling present, she felt embarrassed to say anything, so she shook her head and said, "It's nothing."

Shuang'er breathed a sigh of relief, but felt very guilty. She quickly knelt down and said, "Please punish me, Miss." The old woman who was following her also knelt down immediately.

“This is none of your business, get up quickly,” Zhiwan said hurriedly.

None of them would get up, saying, "Please punish me, Miss (Cousin)."

Zhiwan was alarmed and quickly turned to look at Lu Zhan, "Cousin, it has nothing to do with Shuang'er and the others, I just ran away because I was playing..."

Under the man's frosty gaze, her heart trembled, and she spoke softer and softer.

Even so, she withstood the pressure and forcibly pulled Shuang'er up, then said to the other two old women, "You two get up too."

Lu Zhan frowned slightly, his eyes showing disapproval.

Just now, Shuang'er, that maid, must have been playing around and didn't follow, leaving her mistress, Zhiwan, alone and in danger.

If he hadn't happened to be there, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

In his view, the servants who served Zhiwan were seriously negligent, but Zhiwan so easily let the matter go. This would only make the servants take it lightly and they would inevitably do it again next time.

But this was Zhiwan's business, and Lu Zhan didn't want to get involved. However, seeing Zhiwan's weak and naive appearance, he frowned and couldn't help but lower his voice and say, "Your mistress is reluctant to punish you because of the bond between mistress and servant. But as a servant, you neglected your duties and caused your mistress to be in danger. According to the rules of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, you will receive ten strokes of the cane when you return!"

This was said to Shuang'er.

Upon hearing this, Shuang'er had no objection. Instead, she respectfully said, "It was indeed my negligence today. I accept the punishment!" She was relieved that her mistress was alright, otherwise she would have been guilty beyond redemption.

Zhiwan looked at Lu Zhan with a puzzled expression. Her cousin was usually aloof, so why was he meddling in the affairs of her side today?
Shuang'er had been by her side since childhood and had always been loyal to her. What happened today was completely an accident and could not be blamed on her at all.

How painful would it be to be beaten with ten strokes of the cane?

How could Shuang'er, a young girl, bear such a burden?
Thinking it over, she looked at Lu Zhan pleadingly, "Cousin, could you change the caning punishment to a month's salary deduction? The caning punishment... is too much for a young lady to bear."

Lu Zhan glanced at her and said expressionlessly, "I can't control your people, but I can control the servants of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion."

Zhiwan was taken aback. What did he mean?

Does that mean you're abandoning Shuang'er?

However, before she could even catch her breath, she saw the man's gaze fall on the two old women, his voice authoritative and intimidating, "You two were assigned by the madam to serve Miss Biao, but because of your negligence today, Miss Biao was in danger. Go back and receive your punishment!"

"Yes," the two old women replied respectfully, heads bowed.

Upon hearing this, Zhiwan's face paled slightly.

So that's what he meant...

Shuang'er was her person, and he couldn't control her, but the two old women were servants of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion, so he had the right to deal with them.

But what happened today has absolutely nothing to do with them...

Moreover, her position in the Duke's mansion was already awkward; if her subordinates were punished because of her, she would become even more disliked.

"Cousin, could you please not..." Before she could finish saying the words "punish them," Lu Zhan's cold gaze swept over her, and she swallowed the rest of her words.

She felt a surge of anxiety, thinking that her cousin was being too cold-hearted.

Unable to resist, she turned her gaze to Duan Ling.

Looking into her beautiful yet helpless eyes, Duan Ling's heart softened, and he wanted to help her, but he always knew Lu Zhan's word was law.

Once Lu Zhan has given the order, it cannot be changed.

Moreover, Lu Zhan has always valued rules and regulations. How could he possibly forgive such dereliction of duty by the servants in his household?

After all, if they hadn't happened to pass by and seen it, the little girl would have been in real trouble.

In the end, he shook his head at Zhiwan helplessly.

(End of this chapter)