"Don't come looking for me anymore," Zhi Wan said, annoyed.
"This is my territory. And it seems you're the one who came looking for me," the man reminded her coolly, without even looking up.
Zhi Wan was speechless.
She wandered around the study out of boredom. Just as she was about to pull a book from the shelf, she suddenly felt an arm tighten around her waist.
By the time she realized what was happening, she had already been lifted onto the desk.
The man's long, elegant fingers tilted her chin up. "Why such a temper?"
"This is my temper. If you can't stand it, you can leave!" Zhi Wan slapped his hand away, lifting her chin high, her tone arrogant.
"'Milady?'" the man's voice was mocking. "You can't be that old, can you?"
Zhi Wan faltered. 'He's trying to trick me into revealing my age,' she thought. 'I'm not falling for it.'
Seeing she wasn't speaking, the man's gaze suddenly fell to her full chest, as if he were appraising something.
Noticing his gaze, Zhi Wan's face burned. She quickly covered herself with her hands, her face flushed red, and forced herself to say calmly, "It's rude to stare! Don't you know that?"
The man didn't speak. Instead, he tilted her chin up and kissed her.
Zhi Wan, still stewing over their earlier clash, suddenly opened her mouth and bit him without hesitation.
The man grunted in pain. The arm around her waist tightened, and his once-gentle kiss suddenly turned fierce.
Zhi Wan's initial triumph was quickly replaced by panic.
He pressed her down onto the desk, kissing her until she was lost in a daze of passion.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the study door. The man froze and turned toward the sound.
At the same time, in Yaoguang Pavilion, Zhi Wan woke up.
Remembering what had happened in her dream, her face flushed red, and then her brow furrowed.
'How strange,' she thought. 'Why would I dream of him during the day?'
She had only dozed off for a moment, but she'd fallen into a dream.
For the past six months, she often dreamt of that man at night, but she had never dreamt during her afternoon naps.
She didn't understand what triggered the dreams.
Sometimes she wouldn't have that kind of dream for ten days or even half a month, but other times she'd have them for several nights in a row.
The crucial thing was that the scenes felt so real. Although she could never see the man's face clearly, she was certain it was the same man in every dream.
Sometimes, she could hardly tell what was reality and what was a dream.
...
「Qingyun Residence, the study.」
Lu Zhan put on the official robe he had taken off during his afternoon nap and hung on the back of his chair. He straightened the hem, then said in a deep voice, "Come in."
His personal guard, Chen Jiu, walked in. "Princely Heir, men from the Ministry of Justice just delivered a case file. They went to the Ministry of Justice first, but since you weren't there, they brought it to the residence."
"Understood." As Lu Zhan took the case file, his entire demeanor returned to its usual lucid austerity.
Recently, the Ministry of Justice received a bizarre case. Local officials reported it to the Ministry of Justice. After a hearing, the case file was submitted to the Ministry of Justice for review.
After reading it, Lu Zhan ordered Chen Jiu, "Go find Junior Minister Ouyang."
"Yes, sir." Chen Jiu departed to carry out the order.
By the time Ouyang Lei arrived, Lu Zhan had already finished reading the case file.
He stood by the window, holding a teacup and lost in thought. His raven-black lashes were slightly lowered, half-shielding his dark pupils. His thinly pressed lips gave off an air of ascetic restraint, making him seem deep and inscrutable, impossible to read.
Ouyang Lei yawned as he entered, immediately starting to complain. "I pulled two all-nighters in a row with you on that case, and I barely got a wink of sleep before your man came rushing to get me. Even if I were made of iron, I couldn't take this."
A trace of fatigue was hidden behind Lu Zhan's cool brow. He ignored Ouyang Lei's complaints, turned, and walked over. "Once this busy period is over, I'll give you half a month's leave," he said calmly.
Ouyang Lei raised an eyebrow. "Something this good?"
Lu Zhan's long, narrow eyes half-closed, his expression unreadable. He gave a quiet sound of affirmation and placed his teacup on the table. Then he walked to the desk, sat down, picked up the case file, and handed it over. "Take a look at this first."
The thought of half a month's leave revitalized Ouyang Lei. 'So the great Lu has finally grown a conscience,' he mused.
But after he finished reading the file, his good mood vanished.
He looked at Lu Zhan with a wary expression.
"You're not planning on making me take a trip to Xuzhou, are you?"
Lu Zhan lifted his eyes to glance at him, then tapped the table with his well-defined fingers. "This case is strange," he said in a low voice. "The evidence provided by the local Government all points to a retired soldier, who was staying at the inn on his way home, as the one who killed the innkeeper. However, none of the innkeeper's valuables were missing after his death. And according to the inn's waiter, the soldier didn't get into any conflict with the innkeeper when he checked in. In fact, the two got along splendidly and sat together drinking several pots of wine.
"I believe the soldier had no motive to kill the innkeeper. Yet, the innkeeper was killed by a single stab wound, the soldier's personal dagger had blood on it, and he has already signed a confession. I suspect there's more to this than meets the eye. To avoid an innocent man being wrongly executed, I want to reinvestigate the matter. Therefore, I've decided to send you to look into it."
Ouyang Lei's legs felt weak. 'No wonder he suddenly offered me half a month of leave. So this was the catch!'
He pointed to the dark circles under his eyes and said with a miserable look, "Boss, have some pity on your brother here! If I don't get some proper rest, I'm going to die young. This investigation... it doesn't have to be me. Someone else can go."
Lu Zhan glanced at him and said unhurriedly, "No one else is up to the task of this investigation. Besides, if you spent less time at the brothels, you wouldn't be so worn out."
Ouyang Lei: "..."
"You'll be traveling to Xuzhou by waterway. You can get plenty of rest on the boat," Lu Zhan added.
Ouyang Lei: "..."
Seeing there was no changing the matter, he had no choice but to compromise. "Fine, I'll go. But when I get back, you have to keep your promise and give me half a month off."
"But of course." Lu Zhan nodded in agreement.
Only then did Ouyang Lei reluctantly pick up the case file and read through it again.
He immediately scoffed. "This innkeeper was over fifty, but his wife is only in her early twenties. And she just happened to go back to her family's home right before the incident? What a coincidence. Could this have something to do with the innkeeper's wife?"
Lu Zhan nodded. "When you get to Xuzhou, you can start your investigation with the innkeeper's wife."
Ouyang Lei nodded, put away the case file, his expression turning serious. "There's no time to lose. I'll set off as soon as possible!"
"Alright. Take a few more men with you, and be careful on the road," Lu Zhan instructed.
That evening, Lady Wei came to the study with Nanny Fang.
"Didn't Leizi come by this afternoon? How did he leave so quickly?"
"I sent him to investigate a case," Lu Zhan said.
"I was going to ask him to join the flower-viewing banquet the day after tomorrow," Lady Wei muttered.
Lu Zhan's eyelid twitched. He suddenly had a bad feeling. "What flower-viewing banquet?"
Lady Wei shot him a look, not answering his question. Instead, she said with displeasure, "I had originally arranged for you to meet Miss Lin today, but you didn't come home for two days straight."
Lu Zhan's sharp brows furrowed slightly. "I told you, I don't want to get married right now."
"That's what you said a few years ago, and you've been putting it off for years," Lady Wei said irritably. She took a robe from the tray Nanny Fang was holding. "Wan'er and I picked this out for you at the Brocade Building today. Try it on. If it doesn't fit, there's still time to send it for alterations."
"What do you mean, 'still time'?" Lu Zhan remained seated, his cool eyes fixed on his mother.