Chapter 263: Chapter 263: Troubling My Cousin to Help Me Relieve Myself

Thinking of what she had just been doing with her cousin, Zhi Wan felt incredibly guilty and nervous. She forced herself to remain calm and greeted, "Auntie."

Lady Wei nodded and asked, "How is your cousin? Is he all right?"

"My cousin said... it’s nothing serious," Zhi Wan replied after a moment’s hesitation.

Lady Wei was relieved to hear that. But just as she was about to speak, her eyes landed on Zhi Wan’s rosy, swollen lips.

Lady Wei paused for a moment. It slowly dawned on her that her arrival had likely interrupted her son’s fun.

Once she realized, she didn’t know whether to be exasperated or amused.

’My son still has the energy to take liberties with Wan’er. It seems he really is fine.’

Zhi Wan had a nagging feeling that her aunt had noticed something, and she felt terribly awkward. "Auntie," she said, "since my cousin is all right, I’ll head back for now. Shuang’er is badly injured, so I need to go back and see how she is."

By "head back," she naturally meant returning to the Zhi Mansion.

Lady Wei, intending to make her son anxious, nodded. "Very well. I’ll have Nanny Fang accompany you. So much has happened these past two days, you must be exhausted. Go home and get some proper rest. I’ll be here with your cousin, so you don’t need to keep running back and forth."

Zhi Wan glanced toward the curtained bed and nodded obediently. "All right."

Behind the curtains, Lu Zhan’s handsome brow furrowed. He hadn’t seen his cousin in so long. He had only just returned to the Duke Dingguo Mansion yesterday, and they had immediately run into that incident. He hadn’t even had a chance to speak with her properly, and now she was in a hurry to leave.

’In my cousin’s heart, am I less important than that maid, Shuang’er?’

The thought displeased him.

"Cousin, please focus on your recovery. I’ll be leaving now." Zhi Wan curtsied toward the curtained bed. Just as she was about to turn away, she heard a muffled, pained groan from the man within.

Startled, she quickly swept aside the curtains and asked anxiously, "What’s wrong? Did you aggravate your wound?"

Seeing the genuine concern on her face, Lu Zhan pursed his thin lips. He didn’t speak, but instead looked toward Lady Wei.

Lady Wei was speechless.

The corner of her mouth twitched. ’Is my son trying to tell me to leave?’

She feigned ignorance and asked with a look of concern, "Ah Zhan, are you all right?"

Seeing his mother being so deliberately obtuse, Lu Zhan’s brow furrowed.

After a moment, he forced the words out through his teeth. "I’m... not all right. Mother, would you please give us a moment? I still have a few things to say to my cousin."

"Just a few things to say?" Lady Wei feigned surprise, though her eyes were filled with mirth.

"Yes." Lu Zhan’s eyelid twitched as he forced a nod.

"But... it is not proper for an unmarried man and woman to be left alone in a room together." Lady Wei put on a troubled expression. "Besides, Ah Zhan, aren’t you usually the one most concerned with propriety?"

Lu Zhan was speechless.

A flicker of embarrassment crossed Zhi Wan’s face.

She and her cousin weren’t married yet, so it was indeed improper for her to be in his room. She had only rushed in without a second thought because she was so worried about him.

Now that she had calmed down, she felt rather self-conscious.

Just as she was about to leave, she heard her cousin say in a slow, deliberate tone, "Mother, could it be that you’ve forgotten? My cousin and I already have a marriage contract."

"You do have a marriage contract, but you aren’t married yet, are you? Being alone in a room together like this is a breach of etiquette," Lady Wei said with a straight face.

Lu Zhan retorted, "I’m injured!"

"So?"

"As my fiancée, it is perfectly reasonable for her to visit me. There is no breach of etiquette whatsoever. On the other hand, Mother, for you to lecture me on propriety now... are you deliberately trying to keep my cousin and me apart?

If so, you needn’t hide behind rules and etiquette. Just say it plainly."

Lady Wei was at a loss for words.

"Furthermore, Mother, instead of wasting your time here with me, you should be thinking about Grandmother’s affairs. Are you certain you want to allow Old Madam Lu to continue causing trouble in the mansion? And then there’s Second Uncle’s family. Isn’t it time they were separated from the main household to live on their own?" Lu Zhan added.

Lady Wei shot him a look fraught with meaning.

’What my son really means is that I should stop being an eyesore here, isn’t it?’

But setting aside her son’s selfish little motives, his points were not without merit.

’Besides, I had already planned to send Old Madam Lu away. It was only because I was so concerned about my son’s injuries that I put the matter on hold.’

As for the second branch of the family, she hadn’t originally planned to deal with them. But now, hearing her son’s words, she started to have ideas.

If the people of the second branch could just stay in their place, she could tolerate them remaining in the mansion. But Lu Jingsi and Lady Lou were not the type to live peacefully.

This latest incident, in particular, was entirely due to the second branch’s failure to discipline their own, which led to the menace that was Lu Lan.

And Lu Jingsi had shielded Lu Lan at every turn.

If they were allowed to remain in the mansion, who knew what other trouble they might stir up.

"Mother, if you wish to separate the second branch from the household, this incident provides the perfect pretext," Lu Zhan added, seeing that she was taking his words to heart.

"I understand." Lady Wei nodded, then took Zhi Wan’s hand. "Your auntie was just teasing you two. Don’t be embarrassed. Ah Zhan is right. You have a marriage contract, and he’s injured. You should stay and rest assured. I’ll handle everything outside. No one will dare to wag their tongues about you."

Zhi Wan’s face felt hot, but she nodded. "I understand, Auntie."

"Good girl. You can stay a while longer. I’ll have Nanny Fang escort you home later." After comforting Zhi Wan, she shot her son a warning glance. "Behave yourself."

Lu Zhan was speechless.

Once Lady Wei left, the room fell quiet.

Meeting her cousin’s dark eyes, Zhi Wan felt inexplicably flustered and stammered, "Cousin, d-do you want some water?"

"Yes," Lu Zhan answered in a low voice.

Zhi Wan quickly poured a cup of water and helped him drink it.

After he finished drinking, Zhi Wan set the cup on the table. Then she heard her cousin say, "Cousin, could you trouble yourself to help me for a moment?"

Zhi Wan had no choice but to walk over and help him sit up. "What do you need to do?" she asked.

Lu Zhan paused. He didn’t speak until after he’d put on his shoes. Then, he leaned in and whispered in her ear, "I need to relieve myself."

Zhi Wan froze. When she understood what he meant, she blushed and said, "I-I’ll go get someone to help you."

"No need to trouble anyone. You can help me," Lu Zhan said, a flicker of amusement in his eyes as he watched the blush spread across her face.

Zhi Wan was aghast. She stammered, "I... I can’t..."

"You weren’t this shy in the dreams," Lu Zhan said, his voice unhurried.

Zhi Wan was speechless.

She turned her back to him, utterly mortified.

’How can dreams and reality be the same?’

When the dreams first began, she had assumed the man in them was just a figment of her imagination—that he didn’t exist. Even after she learned he was real, she was certain they would never meet in person. That was why she had been so bold and uninhibited.

But now, even though she and her cousin were engaged to be married, this was reality, not a dream. The mere thought of helping him with his trousers made her heart pound in her chest, and she grew incredibly tense.

Just as Zhi Wan was hesitating, the man’s warm lips brushed against her ear. "Besides," he murmured, his voice low, "I’m not used to outsiders helping me. Especially not when I’m in such a sorry state. I don’t want anyone else to see me like this."

Zhi Wan was speechless.