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

Chapter 36 Fearing to disappoint my cousin's kindness

Zhiwan froze.

Turning around, I saw Lu Zhan and Duan Ling standing behind me.

The two had clearly just arrived.

Zhiwan glanced quickly at Lu Zhan through the veil.

The man's expression was cold and indifferent, revealing no emotion.

But Zhiwan still felt a little embarrassed.

But Duan Ling, seemingly eager to stir up trouble, called out to Ouyang Lei, "Lei Zi, congratulations!"

Zhi Wan was extremely embarrassed and was about to explain when Ouyang Lei walked over with a troubled look on his face. He coughed lightly and said tactfully, "Um... cousin, I don't want to marry into the family."

Zhiwan looked at him in astonishment, "I didn't..."

"Don't be so quick to refuse, Lei Zi. You're not getting any younger anyway. Your little cousin is willing to let you marry into her family. You should cherish this opportunity." Duan Ling spoke first, interrupting Zhi Wan before she could finish speaking, his tone full of sarcasm.

Upon hearing this, Ouyang Lei couldn't help but glance at Zhiwan, his expression becoming even more troubled.

Seeing that their misunderstanding was getting bigger and bigger, Zhiwan blushed with anxiety and hurriedly explained, "No, I didn't mean to ask Ouyang Shaoqing to marry into the family. Pearl misunderstood."

"Huh? Did I mishear?" Ouyang Zhenzhu was stunned.

Zhiwan nodded frantically, as if this would make her words sound more credible. "I'm just telling you that my aunt plans for me to marry into her family, not that she wants Ouyang Shaoqing to marry into the family. I'm not that stupid."

She was just an orphan with no power or influence, while Ouyang Lei was the heir of the Marquis of Pingxi's mansion and the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. How could she be so delusional as to ask him to be her live-in husband?
She never even considered it.

Hearing this, Ouyang Zhenzhu felt very apologetic and took her hand, saying, "I'm sorry, I misunderstood. Don't talk about yourself like that. You are very good, really. If it weren't for the fact that my brother is the only male in my family this generation, I would be very supportive of him marrying into your family."

Upon hearing this, Ouyang Lei was so angry he wanted to beat her up.

That brat, she really knows how to be generous with other people's money!

She approves?
When will she be able to represent him?

"Ouyang Zhenzhu!" Ouyang Lei, unable to contain himself any longer, shouted.

Ouyang Zhenzhu glared at him with displeasure, "Why are you making such a loud noise?"

Ouyang Lei was so angry he laughed. He glared at her and said, "You still think you're right? If you hadn't misunderstood Cousin Zhiwan's words and kept making a fuss, would we have misunderstood?" Then he glared at Duan Ling, "And you, you just love to stir up trouble and make chaos!"

He had just mistakenly thought that his cousin, Zhiwan, had really taken a liking to him and wanted to take him as her husband.

He felt both joy and apprehension.

The main reason is that he never intended to become someone's live-in husband.

Moreover, his family wouldn't agree.

He was afraid of disappointing his cousin, Zhiwan, who had shown him such kindness.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he realized it was a misunderstanding.

Duan Ling also realized he had gone too far, and unusually refrained from refuting him. He stopped smiling, bowed to Zhi Wan, and said, "Little cousin, I misspoke just now. Please forgive me. Today it's my treat. Just tell me what you'd like to eat."

"No need," Zhiwan said, feeling a little embarrassed by the other party's sincerity. "It's just a small matter."

Lu Zhan, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up: "He spoke nonsense, so it's only right that he apologizes to you. You don't need to be so polite with him!"

Zhiwan blinked, looking at him in surprise.

Ouyang Zhenzhu shook her hand and whispered, "Don't refuse. The food at Baiweilou is delicious, but it's too expensive. Now that someone is willing to pay, we can order a whole table of food and eat to our hearts' content." As she spoke, she swallowed.

Little did she know, Duan Ling overheard everything she said.

He glanced at Ouyang Zhenzhu with a half-smile, "Should I order two large tables for you?"

“No need, one table is enough…” Ouyang Zhenzhu started to say but then realized what she was doing and quickly hid behind Zhiwan.

Duan Ling chuckled, looked at Zhi Wan, and said sincerely, "Little cousin, please don't refuse. It's a rare opportunity for me to invite you, I'm honored. Please come in." Since he had already said that, it would seem pretentious to refuse again, so Zhi Wan could only thank him, "Then thank you very much, Young Master Duan."

Duan Ling waved his hand dismissively, "You're welcome."

Because of the difference between men and women, Duan Ling requested two private rooms.

Zhiwan and Ouyang Zhenzhu were in one private room, while the three men were in another.

Ouyang Zhenzhu ordered a large table of delicious dishes and wine without any hesitation, and also invited the maids who accompanied her to sit down and eat with her.

Although the dishes at Baiweilou are expensive, they taste really good.

Zhiwan had eaten here several times with Lady Wei, so she knew that the chef in charge was an old imperial chef who had retired from the palace.

"Wanwan, try this wine. I heard it comes from the Western Regions and is called grape wine. It's worth a fortune. We only got to drink it today because of Duan Ling, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to." Ouyang Zhenzhu said, picking up a small wine pot and pouring the wine into a dark green cup.

Then he handed a cup to Zhiwan.

Zhiwan accepted it.

The wine vessel is dark green with natural patterns on it. The walls are very thin, allowing you to see the liquid inside.

Seeing her examining the glass, Ouyang Zhenzhu took a sip of wine and said, "This glass is called a luminous glass. When filled with wine and placed under moonlight, it will glow. It's perfect for holding wine."

Zhiwan found it quite unusual.

However, the glass is indeed beautiful, and the red wine poured into it looks absolutely gorgeous.

She had heard of wine, but had never tasted it.

Thinking about it, she lowered her head and took a small sip.

It has a slightly sour taste at first, but after a while, it becomes sweet and has a rich fruity aroma.

The rich, intense aroma of the wine captivated her, and she couldn't resist taking another sip.

She figured that since it was called wine, it must be fruit wine and wouldn't make her drunk, so she slowly finished the wine in her glass.

Seeing that she had finished drinking, Ouyang Zhenzhu poured her another cup.

"There's not much, let's share it and not waste it."

Zhiwan also thought the wine was delicious, so she didn't refuse.

But after drinking two glasses of wine, she soon felt a little dizzy.

She rubbed her forehead and was about to speak when the door to the private room was suddenly flung open with a bang, and a middle-aged man stumbled in.

"help me……"

Zhiwan was startled and immediately sobered up. Ouyang Zhenzhu and several maids were also frightened.

Dongxiang remained composed and immediately stood up to block the two girls, shouting, "Who are you? Get out of here!"

"Blood, so much blood..." Ouyang Zhenzhu suddenly screamed.

Zhiwan's heart skipped a beat. She looked at the man and saw that he was covered in blood.

For a moment, everyone panicked.

Before they could react, another man rushed in from outside, holding a dagger, and approached the man in front.

Upon seeing this, Zhiwan cried out, "Watch out!"

"puff!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the dagger in the woman's hand plunged into the man's body.

(End of this chapter)