Chapter 227: Chapter 227: Instinctively Held Her Cousin’s Narrow Waist

She had just lifted her head when she saw the man, who had already reached the cabin door, turn back for some reason.

She froze for a moment, surprised. "Cousin?"

The man didn’t speak. Instead, he suddenly cupped the back of her head, lowered his, and kissed her on the lips.

Zhi Wan froze again, then instinctively wrapped her arms around her cousin’s narrow waist.

Her reaction seemed to encourage him, and his kiss grew more heated and intense.

All Zhi Wan could hear was the man’s increasingly heavy breathing in her ear. Her mind went blank.

When she came to her senses, her face was hot, her heart was racing, and her body felt limp and weak. He then lifted her up and set her on the table.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK...

The ill-timed, urgent knocking sounded once more.

Zhi Wan snapped back to reality and buried her face in her cousin’s chest, mortified.

"Get out!" Lu Zhan roared hoarsely toward the cabin door, holding her tight.

The knocking finally stopped.

But Zhi Wan’s reason, which she had nearly lost, came flooding back.

Blushing, she pushed her cousin away. Biting her lip, she whispered, "The boat has already set sail. How are you going to get off?"

Lu Zhan didn’t seem the least bit worried. He leaned down and kissed her soft, rosy lips again. "Don’t worry, I have my ways."

"What ways?" Zhi Wan looked at him, completely bewildered.

Lu Zhan caressed her flushed, beautiful cheek, the corner of his mouth curving into a slight smile. "Just stay put," he instructed. With that, he turned and walked to the window, stepped onto the sill, and leaped out.

"Ah!" Zhi Wan cried out. By the time she rushed to the window, her cousin was gone.

Just as she was pressing a hand to her wildly pounding heart, overcome with worry, the fierce sounds of a fight suddenly erupted from the roof of the cabin.

Her expression changed. ’She finally realized her uncle had never left—he had been hiding on the cabin roof. And her cousin’s passionate kiss... it was just a ruse to lower her uncle’s guard...’

The thought had barely formed when she saw two slender figures leap down from the cabin roof. They skimmed across the surface of the river, one chasing the other, and quickly disappeared into the distance.

At the sight, her heart leaped into her throat. She scrambled out of the cabin.

"Miss, please go back inside and rest." Jiang Shi, who was standing guard outside the door, stopped her.

"But my cousin is fighting someone..." Zhi Wan said, her voice filled with anxiety.

She was worried about her cousin, but also about her uncle.

"You need not worry, Miss. The Princely Heir has made thorough preparations. This time, that wanted criminal has no hope of escape," Jiang Shi reassured her.

Hearing this, the color drained from Zhi Wan’s face. "No hope of escape?"

Jiang Shi, still unaware of the man’s identity, nodded. "Yes."

Zhi Wan’s heart sank.

’What should I do?’

The boat had already set sail and was some distance from the docks. It was impossible for her to get off now.

Just then, Lady Wei walked over. "Why was there a sound of fighting on the cabin roof just now? Was the wanted criminal hiding on this boat?"

"Yes. The Princely Heir has already taken his men to pursue him," Jiang Shi replied.

Lady Wei frowned upon hearing this. "Why does he need to go after him personally?"

"This criminal is rather important," Jiang Shi said simply.

Hearing that, Lady Wei didn’t press the matter further.

"Madam and Miss, please do not worry. The Princely Heir knows what he’s doing," Jiang Shi added, afraid the two were worried.

Lady Wei nodded, then turned to Zhi Wan. "Wan’er, let’s go back to the cabin and rest."

Zhi Wan nodded, her mind in turmoil. "Alright."

Back in the cabin, she couldn’t calm down at all.

Although she had only met that uncle once, he was her only living relative in this world.

She had only found out today that she had such a relative, and now she was about to lose him...

’Why is this happening?’

Zhi Wan was completely listless, with no energy at all.

...

「Yangzhou.」

In a grim prison filled with instruments of torture, a man with disheveled hair, soaking wet from head to toe, was chained to a wooden post.

The man was Zhi Ye.

He had fallen into the river while fighting Lu Zhan and was captured by the men Lu Zhan had positioned there in advance.

Hearing footsteps, he lifted his head to see a noble and handsome young man walk in, surrounded by a group of subordinates.

Seeing the young man, the man’s eyes narrowed. He sized him up discreetly and asked in a cold voice, "Who exactly are you?"

"That’s a question I should be asking you!" The young man was Lu Zhan. He stopped, his dark eyes scrutinizing the man sharply.

A jailer immediately brought a chair and placed it behind him.

He flicked his robes aside and sat down.

Seeing his counterpart’s extraordinary bearing—young, yet exuding the authority of a superior—Zhi Ye already had an idea. He said sarcastically, "You already know perfectly well who I am, don’t you, Your Excellency?"

Lu Zhan nodded. "Indeed. So, I should call you Xuanyuan Ye?"

The name "Xuanyuan Ye" made the man’s brow twitch almost imperceptibly. He said in a low voice, "I don’t know what you’re talking about!"

"You don’t?" Lu Zhan paused, then raised his hand slightly. His subordinates immediately understood and withdrew. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Once they were alone in the cell, Lu Zhan continued, "You are a descendant of King Jin. To be precise, you should be King Jin’s eldest son!"

Zhi Ye was silent for a long time before saying flatly, "So what if I am?"

"It’s nothing much. Just that the Emperor wants your head." Lu Zhan’s tone was casual, as if discussing a trivial matter, yet his hand was turning a red-hot branding iron in the brazier before him.

Zhi Ye let out a cold laugh. "He’s already won the kingdom, and still he feels the need to eradicate every last one of us?"

"How can one sleep with a tiger beside one’s bed? Don’t think you can get away with what you’ve done all these years. If you had kept to yourself, the Emperor might have tolerated your existence. You brought all of this on yourself!" Lu Zhan said lightly.

"Then what are you doing now? Why don’t you just take my head and go claim your reward!" Zhi Ye taunted.

Lu Zhan gave him a cool glance. "Taking your head would be a simple matter. If you want to live, confess who your confederates are. The Emperor might just spare you."

"Confederates? Didn’t you already round them all up in one fell swoop?" Zhi Ye found this amusing.

"I’m not talking about those pirates, as you well know." Lu Zhan frowned. "Your younger brother, Zhi Yu, must have disapproved of your methods as well. That’s why he parted ways with you all those years ago, becoming like a stranger."

At the mention of Zhi Yu, Zhi Ye fell silent.

Seeing his silence, Lu Zhan knew he had guessed correctly.

’The two brothers must have had a falling out due to their conflicting opinions. They parted ways early on and had no contact, which is why his cousin had no idea she had such a relative in this world.’

After a long moment, Zhi Ye broke the silence. "It’s merely a matter of different ambitions."

"It’s not a matter of different ambitions. It’s that your brother saw things more clearly than you. King Jin’s faction is a lost cause. The current Emperor governs with benevolence and loves his people as his own children. The common folk live in peace and prosperity, and they only recognize him as their Emperor.

"But you—you seek to act perversely and overturn the Great Chen Kingdom!" Lu Zhan’s tone was sharp.

"You’re one of the Dog Emperor’s men, so of course you’d speak well of him." Zhi Ye’s tone was contemptuous. "That Dog Emperor seized the throne illegitimately. He’s completely unworthy of that position!"

Lu Zhan said coolly, "I am speaking the truth. And no matter his flaws, the Emperor would never slaughter the innocent as you have! You and your men have robbed and killed so many innocent people. In your eyes, the common folk are like ants. You only care about achieving your goal, with no regard for their lives! Someone like you is utterly unworthy of even coveting that position!"

Zhi Ye’s face darkened. "My little niece... does she know you speak to me so disrespectfully?" he said coldly.

"Are you threatening me?" Lu Zhan’s handsome face frosted over. "But I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you. She’s far more reasonable than an elder like you. She will understand me! Besides, everything I said is the truth! A traitorous rebel as wicked as you deserves to be condemned by all!"