Chapter 327: Lu Zhan: Don’t Mess Around, Go to Sleep
Chapter 327: Chapter 327: Lu Zhan: Don’t Mess Around, Go to Sleep
After seeing his mother off, Lu Zhan returned to the room.
Seeing him enter, Zhi Wan quickly called out, "Cousin, come over here. I’ll put some ointment on for you."
As Lu Zhan drew closer, he saw several porcelain bottles already placed on the small table in front of her.
He paused, then said gently, "I’m fine. I don’t need any ointment."
"How could you be fine? I saw everything. Mother didn’t hold back at all." After saying this, Zhi Wan pulled him by the hand, making him sit down beside her. She then reached for his belt. "It must hurt terribly. Let me take a look."
A small smile touched Lu Zhan’s lips. He took her hand and said, "It’s just a minor injury. It doesn’t even hurt, so don’t worry."
"No. I have to see for myself. If it’s really nothing, just like you said, then we won’t apply any ointment," Zhi Wan insisted.
Lu Zhan couldn’t refuse her, so he finally took off his robe and let her inspect the wounds.
Zhi Wan saw several welts on his back and arms, marks left by the rattan cane. The worse ones were even beginning to bleed. Her heart ached for him. She hurriedly uncorked a porcelain bottle and carefully dabbed the ointment onto his injuries.
’Her mother-in-law really didn’t hold back at all. She was far too harsh.’
Seeing her cousin injured, she suddenly regretted her earlier willfulness.
If she hadn’t been so willful, her cousin wouldn’t have been beaten by her mother-in-law.
After applying the ointment, Zhi Wan pulled her cousin’s discarded robe back over him.
Lu Zhan was tying his belt when he suddenly heard his cousin whisper, "Cousin, I’m sorry. This is all my fault."
Lu Zhan paused. He tilted her chin up. "Why are you apologizing? You did nothing wrong. I’m the one who was in the wrong."
"But that time... if it wasn’t for me..."
"No. I wanted it too," Lu Zhan interrupted her gently. He pulled her onto his lap and changed the subject. "Anyway, how are you feeling now? Any better?"
He had barely finished his question when Zhi Wan suddenly gagged.
"What’s wrong?" Lu Zhan grew tense at once.
Zhi Wan covered her mouth with her handkerchief, her brow furrowed. "I’m not sure if it’s the strong smell of the ointment, but I feel a little sick..."
Hearing this, Lu Zhan immediately swept her up into his arms, carried her to the bed in the inner chamber, then cleared away the bottles and jars from the table in the outer room and opened all the doors and windows.
The smell of ointment in the room quickly dissipated, and Zhi Wan began to feel a little better.
Lu Zhan poured a cup of warm water and helped her drink it. "How are you feeling now?" he asked.
"I feel a little better..." Zhi Wan said, pressing a hand to her chest. After a moment’s thought, she tugged on her cousin’s sleeve. "Cousin, I’m craving something sour."
Lu Zhan froze for a second, then said gently, "I understand. You rest for a bit. I’ll go find some sour plums for you."
"Mhm." Zhi Wan let go of his sleeve and settled back onto the bed.
Lu Zhan tucked her in, put on his outer robe, and called for Shuang’er to look after her before heading out.
A while later, Lu Zhan returned with the sour plums. After washing his hands, he personally fed them to Zhi Wan.
Shuang’er was surprised to see her mistress eating one plum after another with great relish. "I thought you didn’t like sour things, Young Miss?"
A flicker of something passed through Zhi Wan’s eyes. "I... I just suddenly have a taste for them now." Taking the plums from her cousin’s hand, she added, "You don’t have to stay and watch me, Cousin. Go on and tend to your business."
"Alright." Lu Zhan knew she wanted to speak with Shuang’er alone, so he nodded and left.
Shuang’er recalled her mistress vomiting in Lan Courtyard that morning. Putting that together with her mistress’s missed period, a suspicion began to form in her mind.
She grasped her mistress’s hand, her voice filled with excitement. "Young Miss, could it be... are you carrying the little Princely Heir?"
Shuang’er was her personal maid, so Zhi Wan hadn’t planned on hiding it from her. Seeing that she had guessed correctly, she nodded. "I think so, but it’s not confirmed yet." She paused, then added a warning, "Don’t you dare breathe a word of this to anyone."
Shuang’er wasn’t slow; she understood immediately.
The Princely Heir had often visited the Young Miss at the Zhi Mansion before the wedding. She must have conceived then.
"Don’t worry, Young Miss. This servant knows what to do."
’Since she conceived before the wedding, it must be kept a secret from outsiders.’
’She had to protect her mistress’s reputation.’
"Mhm." Zhi Wan trusted her completely. She squeezed her hand and said, "Things might be a little difficult for a while. As for your marriage to Jiang Shi, once my position here is secure, I’ll arrange the wedding for you both."
Shuang’er blushed and nodded. "This servant obeys the Young Miss’s wishes."
「That evening.」
Lying in bed, Zhi Wan saw her cousin take a blanket out of the wardrobe and was puzzled. "There are enough blankets on the bed."
Lu Zhan paused before explaining, "Starting tonight, I’ll be sleeping in the outer room."
"Why?" Zhi Wan looked at him, surprised. After sharing a bed for so long, she had grown used to sleeping beside her cousin.
Lu Zhan cleared his throat and reminded her in a low voice, "You’re pregnant now."
Zhi Wan froze, then quickly understood what he meant.
Her lovely eyes blinked. "So, because I’m pregnant, we can’t... be intimate? Is that it?"
Lu Zhan: "..."
He hadn’t expected his cousin to be so blunt. His handsome face grew hot, and he said nothing.
After carrying the blanket out, he thought for a moment and came back. He sat on the edge of the bed, stroking her hair. "The first three months are the most delicate stage," he explained. "It’s not safe to be intimate. It doesn’t mean for the entire pregnancy."
Understanding his meaning, Zhi Wan blushed and wrapped her arms around his slim waist. "I understand now."
Lu Zhan leaned down to kiss her forehead, then gently pulled her arms away. "Go to sleep. I’ll leave once you’re asleep."
"Mhm." Zhi Wan obediently lay back down.
’She wanted to fall asleep quickly so her cousin could go to bed too. But perhaps because she had grown so used to sharing a bed with him, she found she couldn’t get comfortable now that she was suddenly alone.’
She tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. Finally, she couldn’t resist grabbing her cousin’s sleeve and whining playfully, "Stay and sleep with me. I can’t sleep otherwise."
Lu Zhan had just managed to calm his heart, but his cousin’s words instantly threw it into turmoil again.
His Adam’s apple bobbed. It took a great deal of self-control for him to pull her hand away. His voice was slightly hoarse. "Don’t tease. Go to sleep."
"No, I want you to sleep with me," Zhi Wan insisted, grabbing his hand again. "Besides, you can’t sleep in the outer room for the next three months, can you? Or... are you planning to sneak out and find another woman after I fall asleep?"
Lu Zhan: "..."
He raised a hand to rub the bridge of his nose. "What other woman?"
Zhi Wan’s gaze wavered. "I’ve heard that many men... find other women when their wives are pregnant..."
"And who told you that?" Lu Zhan asked, exasperated.
"It was... Mother," Zhi Wan whispered after a long pause.
A vein throbbed on Lu Zhan’s temple.
’Just how many bizarre ideas has Mother been feeding my cousin?’
"Don’t listen to her nonsense. Look at Father—he’s never been with other women. Naturally, I wouldn’t either."
Hearing this, Zhi Wan couldn’t help but retort, "Father might not go looking for other women, but that doesn’t stop them from coming after him! Have you forgotten what happened before? That fake illegitimate son he rustled up nearly contested the inheritance with you!"
Lu Zhan: "..."
After a long moment, he frowned. "I’m not my father. I’m not that foolish."
Zhi Wan shot him a sidelong glance and nodded. "That’s right. You’re much smarter than Father. So if you were keeping a mistress, I’d probably be the last to know, completely in the dark."
Lu Zhan: "..."
’He’d never heard that pregnancy made women so unreasonable.’
Unable to win the argument with his cousin, he had no choice but to lie down beside her.
The moment he lay down, Zhi Wan snuggled into his arms, wanting him to hold her as she slept.
Lu Zhan: "..."
’How am I going to survive the next three months?’
’He was suddenly starting to regret not being able to resist his cousin’s temptations back then.’
’This child had come at the worst possible time.’