Chapter 264: Chapter 264: Lu Zhan: Cousin, Close Your Eyes

"Help me, cousin, hmm?" the man continued to coax in a low voice by her ear.

Zhi Wan’s heart finally softened. She accompanied her cousin to the lavatory, and then, with a burning face, helped him pull down his trousers.

Just as she finished pulling down his trousers, she heard her cousin say, "Cousin, close your eyes."

Hearing this, Zhi Wan subconsciously did as he asked.

But as soon as she closed her eyes, she felt something was off.

’He told me to close my eyes... Could it be that he’s shy?’

At this thought, she immediately opened her eyes.

And then she saw an impressive sight.

A vein throbbed on Lu Zhan’s temple, but he could only force himself to remain calm and finish relieving himself.

"Could I trouble you to help me pull up my trousers, cousin?" Lu Zhan’s throat felt tight as he pretended not to notice her stunned expression.

Hearing him, Zhi Wan snapped out of her daze and, surprisingly, was no longer embarrassed.

She calmly helped her cousin pull his trousers back on.

But when the image of what she had just seen flashed through her mind, her heart pounded so violently it felt as if it would leap out of her chest.

Neither of them spoke as they came out of the lavatory.

Zhi Wan peeked at her cousin’s face and saw a faint blush on his handsome features.

Seeing this, she blinked.

’So he is shy, after all?’

’And here I thought he was so composed.’

Lu Zhan caught a glimpse of his cousin staring at him from the corner of his eye. His handsome face burned, and he cleared his throat before saying lightly, "It’s getting late. You should head back now, cousin."

Zhi Wan glanced at him. "You were the one who asked me to stay, cousin. And now you’re the one trying to send me away. Are you bothered by what happened just now?"

Lu Zhan: "..."

Seeing her deliberately poke at a sore spot, his eye twitched. "You’re overthinking it. I just noticed it’s getting late and worried it wouldn’t be safe for you after dark."

"Is that really it?" Zhi Wan watched him doubtfully.

"Of course," Lu Zhan nodded.

Zhi Wan wrung her handkerchief. "I thought you were trying to send me away because you were embarrassed that I saw you."

Lu Zhan’s eyelid twitched. Feigning composure, he said, "That’s not it at all."

"I didn’t think that could be it. After all, in the past, I’ve... touched it." Zhi Wan paused, then added, "More than once, even."

Lu Zhan: "..."

Looking at the girl’s innocent expression, his dark eyes narrowed, and he suddenly took a step toward her.

Seeing this, Zhi Wan thought he was lashing out in anger from the embarrassment and was so frightened she took a step back.

But the table was right behind her. She had only taken one step back before her slender waist was pressed against it, leaving her with no escape.

Before she could react, the man’s arm was around her shoulders, trapping her. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

She looked at him in surprise and quickly reminded him, "Your hand—Mmph!"

The rest of her words were swiftly swallowed by the man’s passionate kiss.

Zhi Wan froze. When she came to her senses, she couldn’t help but stand on her tiptoes and wrap her arms around her cousin’s neck.

Her initiative made Lu Zhan’s kiss even more fiery.

In truth, they had already been stirred by passion during their earlier kiss, but they had been forced to stop because of Lady Wei’s sudden arrival.

Now, with no one to interrupt them, they both became somewhat unrestrained.

Zhi Wan was even afraid of pulling on her cousin’s injuries, so she tilted her head back to accommodate him.

The temperature in the room rose sharply.

A thought flashed through Zhi Wan’s mind. ’If not for his burned and immobilized hands, my cousin would probably...’

She blushed as she returned her cousin’s kiss.

In the end, Lu Zhan retained some semblance of reason and ended the long, lingering kiss.

He lowered his head and, with restraint, kissed the sweat-dampened hair at her temples. "It’s almost dark," he said hoarsely. "I’ll have someone escort you back."

Only then did Zhi Wan’s senses return. She discovered that at some point, she had ended up sitting on the table, her legs wrapped around her cousin’s narrow waist...

Her mind went blank with a ROAR, and her face turned so red it felt like it would drip blood.

With a burning face, she scrambled off the table, too embarrassed to even look her cousin in the eye.

She turned her back to him, straightened her disheveled lapels, and used her slender fingers to tidy her messy hair.

Just as she finished, the man’s searing chest pressed against her back.

"Embarrassed?"

Hearing the laughter in her cousin’s voice, she bit her lip and retorted, not to be outdone, "Weren’t you the same just now, cousin? So embarrassed you even tried to send me away."

Lu Zhan’s handsome face froze.

Thinking of what happened in the lavatory, he cleared his throat and said flatly, "I was not."

Zhi Wan didn’t expose his lie. Once she had tidied herself up, she said in a low voice, "Get some rest, cousin. I’ll come see you again tomorrow."

"Mm," Lu Zhan wanted to pat her head, but remembering his injured hands, he gave up the idea. "Be careful on your way back."

"I know," Zhi Wan replied, then quickly ran out the door.

She went to Lan Courtyard to inform Lady Wei, then returned to the Zhi Mansion accompanied by Nanny Fang.

She was supposed to have moved into the Zhi Mansion yesterday morning but had been delayed because Lu Lan framed her.

Upon entering the gates and seeing the servants all attending to their duties and keeping the mansion neat and orderly, she finally felt at ease.

"Nanny Fang, there’s nothing else for you here. You should go back and help my aunt," Zhi Wan said to Nanny Fang, who was following behind her.

Nanny Fang smiled. "In two days, the Lu Family will send someone to formally propose marriage. There are still many things to arrange. I won’t go back just yet, so I can help you manage everything properly, Miss."

Zhi Wan thought for a moment and decided against it.

Her own servants were all relatively young and indeed lacked experience. She really did need a veteran like Nanny Fang to help with the arrangements.

"Then I’ll have to trouble you."

Nanny Fang shook her head. "You’re being too formal, Miss."

After returning to the main courtyard, Zhi Wan went to the side room to check on Shuang’er.

Seeing her fast asleep with much better color in her face, she couldn’t help but feel relieved.

She herself had been exhausted these past two days. She ate something simple, washed up, and after instructing someone to look after Shuang’er, she went to bed.

She had thought she wouldn’t be able to sleep in a new place, but she fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

She slept very soundly that night. Perhaps because of her intimacy with her cousin during the day, she didn’t dream of him at all.

She slept straight through until dawn.

Just as she was getting out of bed, Nanny Fang rushed in excitedly. "Miss, the Government has issued a public notice about Lu Lan’s matricide case! The evidence was conclusive, so there was no need for a review. She’s been sentenced to execution after the autumn harvest! Now everyone in the Capital City knows, and all those voices slandering you have disappeared."

Zhi Wan knew those slanderous voices had been deliberately orchestrated by someone.

’And if I’m not mistaken, that person must be Li Bingcai.’

Sure enough, just as she was thinking this, Nanny Fang continued, "Also, that Mr. Li from the Inspectorate has been stripped of his official post and sentenced to beheading. His execution is also set for after the autumn harvest."

Zhi Wan was surprised to hear this. She thought Li Bingcai would, at most, be dismissed from his post and exiled. She never expected him to be sentenced to beheading.

"Why?"

"The Princely Heir found out that the fire at Huan’er’s home was set on Li Bingcai’s orders." Nanny Fang sounded contemptuous as she said this. "To think he was an official of the Inspectorate. At his age, to throw away his lifelong integrity for such a wicked person... it serves him right! But the most pitiful one in all this is still Aunt Xu."