Translator – Xiao He Lian
This is a translation hosted on KnoxT, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Please support the translator by reading it at KnoxT.
Chapter 4.2
Her fingertips trembled slightly, and her heart was as dead as ashes.
Lu Yan knew that she was a woman and had not yet left the boudoir. When he saw that she was cooperating with the search, he stopped trying to intimidate her and just held the folding fan and leaned towards her body.
As soon as the fan bone touched her, her whole body turned red like a cooked crab.
Through the clothes and the fan, Lu Yan could still feel her trembling.
Lu Yan was completely focused, pressing his fan bone against her raised arm, following her contours all the way down. His hands were neither light nor heavy, and he occasionally slapped and searched from beginning to end, carefully examining every detail.
Only those two places, he thought about it, did not touch.
“Turn around.”
Shen Zhen bit her lips tightly, fearing that she would make any sound.
The whole room was filled with the sound of shifting footsteps and the rustle of clothes.
She turned her back to him, feeling even more uneasy. But because he avoided the place she was most afraid of touching, she felt that he might not be lustful, so she begged him in a low voice, “Lord, can you please hurry up?”
Lu Yan pressed the fan bone against her back and searched all the way up until he suddenly stopped at her neck.
The fragrance of her hair overflowed and he suddenly remembered the beauty mark that he saw in his dream.
Everything in the dream came before his eyes again and he used the fan handle to lift up her black hair like a groom lifting up the red veil.
He watched as the mole in front of him gradually overlapped with the one in the dream.
The positions were exactly the same, both were born on top of her frosty and snowy neck.
Lu Yan looked slightly confused and suddenly withdrew his hand.
When Shen Zhen saw the shadow surrounding her suddenly leaving, she turned back instantly.
She stared at him motionlessly with her sparkling eyes, and said word by word: “Lord Lu, have you finished the investigation?” If she didn’t have longer eyelashes, I’m afraid that tears as big as golden peas would fall down instantly.
He didn’t know why, but when Lu Yan looked at her, his heart suddenly hurt. It was that kind of pain again. He endured it, put his fist to his lips and said, “The investigation is over.”
“Is there anything wrong?”
“Nothing wrong at the moment.”
Shen Zhen’s hair was messed up by what he had just done. She blushed and questioned him: “Dare you ask, My Lord, if there is something wrong with the powder I have here? Does Lord Lu have any problem, since you also came here yesterday?”
As soon as she finished speaking, even a person like Lu Yan, who was best at maintaining a straight face, couldn’t help but feel a little guilty.
But after all, he had been an official for many years, so it was naturally not something Shen Zhen could ask in just a few words.
This is a translation hosted on KnoxT, copies found elsewhere are either stolen or plagiarized. Please support the translator by reading it at KnoxT.
He looked down at her, a pair of black eyes flashing across her line of sight, “It is the common people’s duty to cooperate with the government in handling cases. I have shown you the search warrant and cleared your suspicion. What is Miss Shen’s dissatisfaction about?”
Shen Zhen was silent.
Even though she was full of dissatisfaction, she still didn’t dare to contradict him.
Lu Yan looked at her little face and his chest hurt so much. So he walked past her and said in a deep voice: “I have other things to deal with, so I will leave two people outside to help Miss Shen carry these boxes back.” After that, he walked around a red lacquered wood screen and left.
***
After returning to the Yamen, Lu Yan discovered that he was still holding the folding fan in his hand.
There seems to be a refreshing fragrance lingering on the fan bone.
He closed the case file impatiently, feeling a secret fire burning in his heart.
If the problem is not with her, what was going on with the continuous dreams? Could it be that it’s just memories of past lives, as that Taoist priest said?
What a joke.
Just as he was thinking about it, it was already evening.
The streets were lively today, with red silk paved all over the floor, laughter and gongs and drums, and a few children jumping up and down, pointing at the sedan and shouting: Bride! look! It’s the bride!
Lu Yan hadn’t finished writing his submission yet, but he felt there was too much noise outside. His whole face became gloomy and there were dark clouds over his head. He wished he could throw all the crying children back home.
It was getting louder and louder outside and the matchmaker’s voice was rising to the clouds.
Immediately, Lu Yan raised his head and threw the wolf hair brush in his hand towards the pen holder.
At this moment, Zheng Zhonglian, the governor of Jingzhao Prefecture and another junior magistrate, Sun Xu, walked in together.
Sun Xu saluted to Lu Yan and said with a smile, “Lord Lu, are you still busy?”
Lu Yan stood up and returned the greeting, “Lord Zheng, Lord Sun.”
Governor Zheng said to Lu Yan with a red face: “The case of the Sun family in Wannian County is finally closed. It was indeed his wife who poisoned him. Her natal family was rich and she even dared to bribe others. If you ask me, murdering your own husband is a crime. The crime is punishable, but it has been handed over to Dali Temple, so we can take a breather now. Lord Lu, if you have nothing to do in the evening, why don’t we go out to have a drink together?”
Admittedly, they just asked Lu Yan out of politeness. After all, when they asked Lu Yan to go out for drinks many times before, he mostly refused.
And also, those places of fireworks1(red light district) are not quite suitable for this noble heir apparent.
They never expected that Lord Lu would put down his usual neat clothes today and say agree with a half-smile.
