He and Ouyang Lei were the two senior officials of the Ministry of Justice, serving as Lu Zhan's right-hand men. Though he was their superior, the three of them were actually very close friends.
Duan Ling and Ouyang Lei often traded harmless jokes.
Lu Zhan's expression faltered upon hearing Duan Ling's words.
Some beauty?
He recalled the stunning sight from the flower-viewing banquet.
He paused for a moment. 'Yes, she could certainly be considered a beauty.'
But she was just a little girl.
Lu Zhan didn't answer Duan Ling. He looked up, shot him a cool glance, and tossed a case file at him. "Since you have so much free time, review this case again thoroughly. See if there are any oversights."
Duan Ling immediately complained bitterly. "You can't be serious. It's still early, so I was hoping to drag you to the Music Bureau for some drinks and music to unwind."
Lu Zhan gave him a strange look. "The Liu Hongru case just closed. I would have thought you might have learned to restrain yourself a bit."
Duan Ling froze. "What's with that look? Hey, how can you compare me to Liu Hongru? That old geezer was a ravenous lecher. I go to the Music Bureau purely for the drinks and music. It's not like I have to... *you know*... with the girls..."
"I have no interest in knowing what you plan to do," Lu Zhan cut him off, his tone cold and distant.
Duan Ling: "..."
Seeing him walk straight out of the Ministry of Justice, Duan Ling chased after him, unwilling to give up. "You don't have a wife, concubines, or even a bed-warming maid. What's the rush to go back so early?"
"To sleep." After uttering those two words from his thin, cool lips, Lu Zhan mounted his horse and rode away.
Duan Ling muttered to himself, 'Could Old Lu really be like the rumors say? He doesn't like women... he likes men?'
The realization sent a shiver down his spine.
...
「That evening, at the Duke Dingguo Mansion.」
Zhi Wan had finished reading all the storybooks and picture albums Ouyang Zhenzhu had bought for her. Still feeling unsatisfied and with nothing else to do, she picked up a brush and began to sketch on a piece of paper.
Her father had been a skilled artist. When she was a child, he would often hold her and teach her how to paint, so she had studied it for several years.
But in recent years, living as a guest in the Duke Dingguo Mansion, she had been in no mood to paint, and her skills had grown rusty.
Now, with the brush back in her hand, it didn't feel as unfamiliar as she had expected.
She tried painting on the paper and was surprised at how smoothly it went.
A little delighted, she focused her mind and immersed herself in her art.
When Shuang'er came in with a bowl of white fungus soup, she saw her young mistress bent over her desk, painting. A scene of a hundred flowers in spring was coming to life on the paper.
She couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "Miss, your painting is so beautiful."
Zhi Wan set down her brush and looked at her work with a satisfied smile. "I think it's pretty good, too."
She hadn't painted in years, but to her surprise, her skills hadn't declined.
Shuang'er handed her the white fungus soup. "This rock sugar and red date white fungus soup has been simmering in the small kitchen all afternoon. Please drink it, Miss."
Zhi Wan took it.
After finishing it, she handed the empty bowl back to Shuang'er and said, "I don't need you to wait on me anymore. You can go get some rest."
"Then please don't stay up too late painting, Miss," Shuang'er said.
"I know."
After sending Shuang'er away, Zhi Wan blew on the ink on her painting to dry it, set it aside, and then laid out a fresh sheet of paper.
She rubbed her chin with the end of her brush, wondering what to draw next.
Just then, the risqué images she had seen in the picture albums flashed through her mind. She pursed her rosy lips, then lifted her brush and began to draw.
When she was finished and saw what she had drawn on the paper, her face instantly grew hot.
But then she remembered there was no one else in the room, and her inhibitions fell away.
She drew several more pictures in succession, her hand growing more confident with each one. However, the subjects she drew were all incredibly provocative.
There were drawings of a man with his robes half-open, another of him reclining on a couch, and even one of him emerging from a bath, bare-chested...
Zhi Wan admired her own artwork, her face blushing all the while.
In truth, she had never seen a naked man before.
Her ability to draw these scenes was all thanks to the picture albums Ouyang Zhenzhu had helped her pick out.
She stared at the drawings, hesitating over whether to tear them up. After all, for a sheltered young lady like her to draw such things would reflect poorly on her. But she couldn't quite bring herself to do it.
"What are you doing?"
Just then, a man's deep voice suddenly sounded from behind her.
Zhi Wan froze. She slowly turned her head to see the man standing behind her, leaning over to look at her drawings.
Zhi Wan was stunned for a moment, but then a thought struck her, and she quickly gathered up her drawings.
"N-Nothing," she stammered, flustered.
Fortunately, the man didn't press the matter.
He seemed tired. He straightened up, rubbing the bridge of his nose, then walked over to her embroidered bed and lay down as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Zhi Wan, having hidden her drawings, saw this and walked over, slightly annoyed. "Don't you think it's rude to just lie down on someone else's bed like that?"
The man, one hand resting behind his head, turned to look at her. His lips curved slightly. "Not at all."
Zhi Wan was taken aback. "You..."
"This isn't the first time I've lain here," the man added.
Zhi Wan: "..."
What he said was true, but seeing how casual he was about it, she felt indignant.
'This is *my* bed, after all.'
His relaxed posture made it seem as if *he* were the master of the room.
At this thought, she said petulantly, "So what? If I say you can't lie here, then you can't lie here. Get up!" With that, she climbed onto the bed and grabbed the man's arm, trying to pull him up.
The man glanced at her coolly and let her struggle.
Zhi Wan exhausted herself trying, failing to move him at all. In the end, her strength gave out, and she collapsed on top of him.
She was just about to get up when her hand accidentally landed on the man's chest.
The firm feeling beneath her palm made her, on some strange impulse, slide her hand inside his robes.
The man clearly tensed, then seized her hand. His voice was a little hoarse. "How bold!"
Zhi Wan froze for a moment. She knew her actions were improper, but she pouted defiantly. "You've touched me, too."
The man was speechless.
Zhi Wan took the opportunity to quickly grope his chest.
It was rock-hard, and she found the feeling a little addictive.
'So this is what a man's body feels like,' she thought. 'It's completely different from a woman's soft body. It's so full of strength.'
Just as she was about to pull open his robes for a closer inspection, the man could no longer hold back and flipped her over, pinning her beneath him.
Zhi Wan struggled for a moment, but when she realized she couldn't break free, she let him be.
This time, however, the man didn't kiss her. He simply pinned her mischievous hand with one of his own while his other hand felt around under the pillow.
Soon, he pulled out several storybooks and picture albums.
He opened a picture album, and when he saw the salacious images inside, he froze and gave Zhi Wan a deep look.
Zhi Wan saw him and her face paled. "Hey, how can you just go through my things?" Her little face was already beet-red.
"If you didn't leave them lying around, how would I have found them?" the man retorted.
Zhi Wan was at a loss for words.
'He must have discovered them when he lay down on my pillow just now.'
"Give them back to me right now!" Zhi Wan cried petulantly. Seeing him continue to look, she was overcome with a mixture of shame and anger.
But she was pinned beneath him with her hands restrained, completely unable to move. All she could do was fret.
The man leisurely flipped through the picture album, even finding the time to offer a casual critique. "The art isn't half bad."
Her deepest secrets had been laid bare, and Zhi Wan was mortified.
Seeing him still looking, in a moment of desperation, she sat up and pressed her lips against his.
The man was stunned for a second, then he tossed the album aside, cupped the back of her head, and deepened the kiss.
Zhi Wan was instantly kissed into a daze.
As the man's calloused hand caressed her delicate body, she let out an uncontrollable, soft moan...