Zhi Wan’s heart sank at his words.
Though she had already suspected as much, hearing it from her cousin’s lips still weighed heavily on her heart.
’He was, after all, her own uncle...’
Seeing her face turn pale and her prolonged silence, Lu Zhan’s heart tightened. He asked in a low voice, "Wan’er, do you bla ?"
Zhi Wan snapped out of her daze and looked up into his eyes.
Her cousin rarely called her by her given na. Since they had revealed their feelings for each other, the tis he’d done so could be counted on one hand.
For him to call her that so suddenly, she could detect a hint of nervousness in his voice.
’He’s afraid I’ll be angry, that I’ll resent him.’
She sighed inwardly and shook her head. "I don’t bla you, cousin. You were only doing your duty. Besides, my uncle brought this upon himself."
It might sound cold-hearted for a relative to say, but it was the truth, and she couldn’t make excuses for him.
As a Court official, and an imperial envoy appointed by the Emperor to inspect Jiangnan, it was his duty to handle corrupt officials and bandits who preyed on the people. She couldn’t be angry with her cousin just for executing her uncle.
As the Water Bandit Leader, regardless of any hidden hardships, her uncle robbed and killed. That was wrong, and he deserved to be punished by the law.
If it hadn’t been her cousin, so other official would have dealt with him.
It was only a matter of ti.
Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but ask, "Did my uncle... have so kind of hidden reason?"
Her father had been a good, incorruptible official. During his tenure as the County Magistrate of Jurong, he had always done good deeds for the people. Yet her uncle was the complete opposite, becoming a wicked Water Bandit Leader.
The contrast was too stark.
’Father was so good, such an honest official. Why did Uncle go down the opposite path?’
Moreover, when her parents were alive, they had never told her she even had an uncle.
Her father had never once ntioned him.
’They were the closest of twin brothers. Why did they go their separate ways?’
’Was it because they had different ideals?’
’There must have been a reason for him to beco a pirate, right?’
Zhi Wan’s mind was filled with questions.
Lu Zhan was sowhat surprised by his cousin’s perceptiveness.
But he absolutely could not let her know about the matter of King Jin’s descendant.
She was already upset enough knowing her uncle was the Water Bandit Leader. Telling her about King Jin’s descendant would only cause her more distress.
"That... I’m not sure." Lu Zhan finally said after a long pause.
"You didn’t interrogate him?" Zhi Wan asked, surprised.
"I did." Lu Zhan nodded. "But your uncle... he’s a tough one." He paused, then said reassuringly, "Your uncle is your uncle. Whatever he did has nothing to do with you. Don’t feel burdened by it, and more importantly, don’t tell anyone that Zhi Ye is your uncle."
Zhi Wan understood his concerns.
If people found out her uncle was the Water Bandit Leader, it would be trouble. Her cousin would also face criticism.
She knew what was at stake.
"I know," Zhi Wan agreed. After a mont’s thought, she asked, "Is my uncle... already dead?"
Lu Zhan hesitated for a mont but ultimately decided not to hide it from her. "No. He’s currently being escorted back to the Capital City and should arrive in a day or two."
Zhi Wan looked at him in surprise. "But you said..."
"I did capture him and use him as bait to lure out all his accomplices and round them up in one fell swoop. But his case is a major one, so he must be escorted back to the Capital City for the Emperor to pass judgnt," Lu Zhan explained.
What he didn’t say was that the Emperor had originally ordered him to execute King Jin’s descendant on the spot, leaving no survivors. But the Emperor had sohow received word that Zhi Ye still had an accomplice at large—one who was hidden very deep and had been secretly plotting for Xuanyuan Ye for years, hoarding grain and troops in the shadows.
However, no matter how he interrogated Zhi Ye and his n, he couldn’t get any useful leads. That was why the Emperor had sent a secret decree, ordering him to escort Zhi Ye back to the Capital City in secret.
Zhi Wan didn’t think much of it.
She just assud that since her uncle, as the Water Bandit Leader, had terrorized the rivers for years, robbing and killing countless people, the Emperor intended to hand down a severe sentence.
Rembering sothing, she couldn’t help but say, "Then is it... appropriate for you to have returned to the Capital City ahead of them?"
Her uncle is a major criminal; there can be no mistakes. But you’ve returned to the Capital City ahead of the escort. If sothing were to happen to him en route, wouldn’t the Emperor hold you responsible?
Lu Zhan reassured her, "It’s fine. I’ve made all the arrangents. But judging by the ti, Duan Ling and his n should be arriving soon. I’ll take so n out of the city to et them tomorrow morning."
Zhi Wan’s mind was put at ease.
Her cousin was always thorough. He wasn’t one to act rashly. She was sure he had considered everything and made proper arrangents.
"But your hand is still injured..." Zhi Wan said with so concern.
"I’ll just take the carriage," Lu Zhan said. He paused, then asked in a low voice, "It’s a ti-consuming trip back and forth. Cousin, would you let stay the night? Jiang Shi and the others are here as well, so I could leave directly from your place with them in the morning."
Zhi Wan was taken aback. She hadn’t expected him to ask to stay the night.
She knew he wouldn’t do anything to her with his injured hand, but... they weren’t married yet.
’And this isn’t a dream...’
She hesitated.
Seeing her hesitation, Lu Zhan didn’t want to put her in a difficult position. He cleared his throat and stood up. "I’ll head back, then. I’ll have to trouble you to help get dressed."
Zhi Wan snapped out of it and picked up his inner robe. As she was about to drape it over him, her heart softened. "If you don’t mind that the bed is narrow, then... then please, stay."
’Besides, we often lie in the sa bed in our dreams.’
’And we’re already engaged. In private, we don’t have to be so strict about rules and propriety.’
"You’re not forcing yourself?" Lu Zhan asked, raising an eyebrow.
Zhi Wan glanced at him and shook her head. "I’m not." A playful smile touched her lips as a thought occurred to her. "Let’s just call it... practicing for the future."
Seeing the smile on her lips, Lu Zhan’s heart lted completely. He leaned down and kissed the corner of her mouth, whispering, "Then let’s blow out the candles... and go to sleep."
"Alright." Zhi Wan blew out the extra candles in the room, leaving just a single one lit by the bed before sliding over to the inner side of the bed.
When she felt him lie down beside her, Zhi Wan instinctively held her breath in nervousness, but then she rembered his injured hand and relaxed.
’Right now, the most he can do is kiss . He can’t do anything else.’
And Lu Zhan, indeed, did not touch her.
Even with the beautiful woman beside him, his body and soul yearned for her, but he suppressed all his desires with his formidable self-control.
Zhi Wan was tired and fell asleep after just a few monts.
Listening to the girl’s soft, even breaths, Lu Zhan started to feel drowsy as well.
「The next morning」
Zhi Wan was awakened by the rustling sound of soone getting dressed.
She rubbed her eyes and sat up to see her cousin sitting on the edge of the bed, struggling to put on his clothes.
At the sight, all of Zhi Wan’s sleepiness vanished. She knelt behind him and took the robe from his hands. "Let help you."
Lu Zhan turned to look at her, a hint of apology on his handso face. "Did I wake you?"
Instead of answering, Zhi Wan asked, "Why didn’t you wake ?"
"You were sleeping so soundly, I didn’t want to disturb you," Lu Zhan said. "But it seems I ended up waking you anyway."
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