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

Chapter 54 My Cousin's Return Gift

Lu Zhan's gaze lingered on the little girl for a moment, then he casually looked away.

"Hmm," he replied casually.

Zhiwan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems that her cousin did not hear what she said.

Although she meant well, the person in question still felt awkward and uncomfortable hearing it.

Lu Zhan walked up to Madam Wei, his gaze sweeping over the roster in her hand. His handsome brows furrowed slightly. "Mother."

As if she hadn't noticed her son's disapproving look, Madam Wei greeted him warmly, "You've come at the right time. This is a catalog that I asked the wife of the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, Honglu, to help me get. It contains portraits of noble ladies from prominent families, each one of them exceptional in both appearance and character. Take a look and see if there's anyone you like."

Lu Zhan said in a deep voice, "I have no plans to get married for the time being, so Mother doesn't need to waste her energy."

Hearing this, Wei Jinyi, who was following behind, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, she brought her cousin over; otherwise, her aunt might have just picked any noblewoman from a prominent family for him to marry.

Now that my cousin has clearly refused, my aunt should no longer insist on her own way.

Madam Wei hadn't really intended to choose a suitable wife for Lu Zhan today, but seeing her son's unhurried attitude, she couldn't help but get angry. "Of the three unfilial acts, the greatest is to have no descendants. Do you want to cut off our family line?"

“Mother, you’re exaggerating,” Lu Zhan frowned.

Wei snorted coldly, glancing at him sideways. "That's hard to say. You always make excuses and evade the issue. Who knows if you actually have..."

“Our family line will never be broken.” Lu Zhan’s temple throbbed, and he interrupted her in a deep voice.

Seeing her son's serious expression and somewhat resentful look, Madam Wei ultimately didn't say what she was about to say. After all, there were two girls present, and she had to give her son some face.

"Then you'd better remember what you said today," she said, seizing the opportunity.

Lu Zhan did not respond, but said only, "I have official business to attend to and need to go to the Dali Temple."

Wei was somewhat dissatisfied, but said nothing.

Lu Zhan was about to leave when his gaze fell on Zhi Wan beside him. He paused, took out a box from his sleeve, and handed it to her. "These are some pastries I bought when I passed by Yonghezhai. Take them."

Zhiwan looked at him in surprise, "For me?"

"Was I not clear enough?" Lu Zhan retorted.

Zhiwan felt a little embarrassed and quickly reached out to take it, saying, "Thank you, cousin."

Lu Zhan paused for a moment. "The ink you gave me yesterday is very useful." After saying that, he left the house.

Zhiwan was taken aback and looked down at the pastry box in her hand. So, this was a return gift from her cousin?

She knew Yonghezhai; it was the most famous pastry shop in the capital. The pastries there were delicious, but also very expensive. Even so, many people still lined up to buy them every day.

She herself has never bought it, but her aunt has bought it for her several times.

"Why would your cousin give you Yonghezhai pastries?" Wei Jinyi suddenly asked, her tone somewhat unfriendly.

Wei looked at Zhiwan with some surprise.

Her son actually bought snacks for Wan'er?

The sun really did rise in the west.

Zhiwan snapped out of her reverie and looked at Wei Jinyi. Seeing Wei Jinyi's eyes blazing with anger, as if she had stolen something precious from her, she found it somewhat amusing. "Didn't you hear me? This is a return gift from my cousin."

"A return gift?" Wei Jinyi looked at her suspiciously.

Madam Wei had already realized what was happening. "You bought ink for your cousin?"

“Hmm.” Zhiwan nodded and explained, “I happened to go to the Pen and Ink Pavilion yesterday. I thought that my cousin would need a lot of pen and ink because he has to handle cases every day, so I bought some for him. I didn’t expect that he would give me a gift in return. Now it seems that I have caused trouble for my cousin. If I had known this, I would not have bought it for him.”

At this point, she glanced at Wei Jinyi. Wei Jinyi's face burned.

She felt extremely uncomfortable and jealous when she saw her cousin deliver snacks to Zhiwan alone but not to her.

It turns out that her cousin was giving Zhiwan some snacks as a return gift.

She felt uneasy, but said aloud, "My cousin's writing materials are purchased by a specialist. Why do you need to meddle?"

Zhiwan didn't react, but Madam Wei was displeased. "What do you mean by meddlesome? Wan'er was just being considerate of her cousin."

Wei Jinyi choked for a moment.

She wanted to be considerate of her cousin, but he didn't give her the chance.

Thinking about this, she felt a little resentful again.

She personally cooked for her cousin, but he showed no appreciation whatsoever, yet he was willing to accept the broken inkstone that Zhiwan had given him.

Such favoritism.

Who is his real cousin?

Seeing her face turn from pale to red, Zhiwan smiled and walked up to Wei Shi with the pastry box in her hand. "Aunt, these are pastries that my cousin bought. Let's eat together."

"Okay." Madam Wei nodded with a smile.

Yonghezhai's pastries are usually exquisite and small; a box of pastries contains only a few pieces.

When Zhiwan opened the box, she saw four exquisite pastries inside, each a different color, representing a different flavor.

“Aunt.” Zhiwan pushed the box to Wei’s side.

Madam Wei then took a piece of mung bean cake, tasted it, and praised, "These pastries from Yonghezhai are delicious."

“Yes.” Zhiwan nodded and took a pink pastry.

She was holding a rose pastry.

It's crispy on the outside and has a rose aroma; it's delicious.

Seeing that the two had started eating but hadn't invited her, Wei Jinyi felt a little embarrassed. "Aunt, if there's nothing else, I'll go back to my room first."

"Jinyi, there are still two pastries left, don't you want to try some?" Zhiwan picked up the box and handed it to her.

Looking at the exquisite and beautiful pastries in the box, Wei Jinyi felt annoyed and wanted to slap her.

But out of consideration for Wei Shi, he held back.

Even so, she couldn't help but roll her eyes at Zhiwan and say sarcastically, "I'm not eating it, I'm afraid I can't digest it."

Upon hearing this, Zhiwan said with some regret, "The pastries from Yonghezhai are so delicious, but they are very hard to buy. If you want to buy them, you have to wait in a very long line. Today, thanks to my cousin, we were able to eat some. If you don't want any, then my aunt and I will have an extra piece." As she spoke, she shared the remaining two pastries with Wei Shi.

Wei Jinyi was so angry she almost ground her teeth to powder.

This Zhiwan must have done it on purpose.

It's just a few cheap pastries. If she wants to eat them, can't she really buy them?

She cursed under her breath, then turned and left angrily.

Wei ignored her, enjoying the sweet pastries in her hand, and jokingly said with a smile, "I really owe it to you today to be able to eat the pastries that Lu Zhan bought."

Zhiwan said coquettishly, "Auntie just loves to joke. You make it sound like my cousin has never bought you any snacks."

"Yes, there are, but they are extremely rare," said Madam Wei, sighing. "His mind is always on the affairs of the Dali Temple, and he only thinks of sending me things occasionally. Alright, let's not talk about him anymore. You said earlier that you wanted to start a business, so have you decided what you want to sell in the shop?"

(End of this chapter)