Persuade to return

She was normally extremely sensitive to heat, but at this moment she willingly immersed herself in this heat. Lu Chang's breath enveloped her, seeping into every pore of her body, and amidst the drenching sweat...

Jingwan slightly opened her eyes, and Lu Chang's infatuated expression made her heart skip a beat. She hugged him even tighter, wishing she could merge with him like water.

Knowing that tonight was different from the past, she was not afraid. Instead, she cooperated with him. In the most painful moment, she only bit Lu Chang's shoulder, so that he would feel the same pain as she did.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, her gaze unfocused, as if she had lost all sense of reality, lost in a dreamlike realm of pleasure.

Despite his growing affection, Lu Chang's lust intensified, and he pulled Jing Wan into a blissful embrace.

When she woke up the next day, she moved slightly and realized that Lu Chang had been holding her tightly all night. Jingwan leaned against his chest, and the warmth of their skin touching made her reluctant to leave.

Startled, Lu Chang, still squinting, lowered his head and gave her a long, deep kiss.

He teased her on purpose, biting her ear. When the ticklish sensation came, Jingwan giggled and dodged away, burrowing into the blankets, leading him to follow her.

The breakfast prepared early went uneaten until lunchtime, when Fangjuan finally came in with her maid.

As soon as the door opened, an atmosphere of lust rushed in. No one dared to look at the bed. After pouring water and arranging clothes, they closed the door and left.

Lu Chang, barefoot, carried Jing Wan into the bathtub, his hand deliberately slipping between her fingers, unwilling to part.

Li Muyun's departure made Lu Chang realize that Jingwan was the only family he had left in the world.

He leaned against her delicate neck, calling her name again and again in his heart: "Jingwan... Jingwan..."

Lu Chang intensified his military training, and the imperial court issued another imperial edict ordering him to return to the capital.

Jingwan hugged his waist and said, "Don't go back! I don't want you to go back!"

Even when she stood on tiptoe, her head could only touch Lu Chang's chin. He lowered his head and kissed her cheeks: "Okay!"

But Yang Fujin always had a way, because an unexpected guest came to Jinning City.

Lingnan is hot and humid, and even with ice blocks inside, Jingwan still complains of the heat.

Because she was at home, she wore only a thin inner garment over a layer of crimson gauze embroidered with peonies in gold thread. Although luxurious, it lacked a sense of decorum, but she didn't care. She lay there casually, revealing a large expanse of fair skin on her chest, dotted with red spots, most prominent on her neck. She then stretched out her delicate little feet, deliberately teasing the person reading next to her.

Her toes slid from his chest down to his abdomen, but seeing that he remained as still as a mountain, she became even more aroused and continued to move downwards...

Until Lu Chang grabbed her and gently tickled the sole of her foot, Jing Wan laughed, her whole body curling up in a ball from the tickling sensation. He then lifted her up and refused to let her go...

Amidst the playful banter, Fangjuan entered. A guest had arrived at the gate, and as she spoke, she presented a jade piece, saying, "The guest said that the young master will understand once he sees it."

Jingwan peeked out first and exclaimed in surprise, "It's my cousin's jade piece!"

The Duchess commissioned a pair of blank peace pendants for his two children. Gao Bojun wore them from childhood to adulthood, and Jingwan, who used to work in the Gao family making jade, admired the jade pendants many times.

She was overjoyed at the reunion with her family, but Lu Chang was not so happy: Gao Bojun's visit was probably not for family reunion!

Jingwan got off the bed first, but after taking a few steps she felt that she was not dressed properly, so she opened the wardrobe and picked out some nice dresses.

Lu Chang kissed her cheek: "I'll go see him first."

Bo Jun waited in the hall, where maids served him fragrant tea, treating him with great courtesy.

He felt uneasy; it had been five years since they last met, and even family members had grown distant.

Remembering his grandmother's instructions, Bo Jun sighed with difficulty. He knew, of course, how much trouble his cousin had stirred up in Lingnan; even Yang Changshi had personally visited the Gao family, which showed how much he feared his cousin.

Bo Jun knew long ago that Lu Chang was no ordinary man, nor was he a golden carp in a pond. He was originally a dragon that could summon wind and rain, but he was only temporarily hiding in shallow waters due to the situation.

As he was pondering with his head down, a person stood in front of him. He first noticed the hand holding the teacup.

He took him to the tea room, and when he looked up, he was shocked to see Lu Chang, whom he hadn't seen for five years. He almost dropped the bag.

Even though they were all young men in their prime, time still left its mark on them.

In earlier years, one could still sense the youthful naiveté of my cousin, a fellow young man, but now there is no trace of that. Due to his daily martial arts practice, he has grown tall and mature, and the aristocratic air of a scion of a noble family has been replaced by the strategic and tactful demeanor of a scholar-general.

Bo Jun then remembered that he was the son of General Lu Zhi, the Grand General of Pacification! A man who grew up on the battlefield, with the blood of a military general flowing in his veins, how could he be willing to be a rabbit in Pingdu for the rest of his life!

Bo Jun couldn't understand the smile in his eyes, and said dryly, "Cousin, it's been a long time."

Lu Chang noticed his restraint, chuckled, and sat down in the main seat. He didn't dislike Bo Jun; among the entire Gao family, this brother was the one who caught his eye. During his time at the Gao family, he had the most to talk to, and Bo Jun had taken great care of Jing Wan. For this, Lu Chang was grateful to him.

After a long separation, seeing the young man he once was grow into a refined and handsome young man, he was very pleased and asked with concern as an older brother: "Did you pass the imperial examinations later?"

Bo Jun replied modestly, "I was only a second-class official in the second tier of the Hanlin Academy, and I just became a sinecure official."

Lu Chang praised him, saying, "You are intelligent and hardworking, so it is only right that you passed the imperial examination."

Bo Jun smiled self-deprecatingly.

Lu Chang knew why he had come to Lingnan without reason, but he did not intend to ask. If his grandmother were smart, she would not interfere in these matters.

He remained silent, and Bo Jun didn't know what to say either. He couldn't very well start by saying that his cousin had returned to Lingnan, and that Yang Fujin was trying to threaten him with the Gao family!

He wasn't stupid; Lu Chang wouldn't have fared well if he returned to Pingyuan, becoming a sitting duck for Yang Fujin, his years of planning ruined in an instant.

Is it worth it for someone with a different surname?

When he came, Bo Jun asked himself, if it were him, would he go back?

No one spoke, and the atmosphere was somewhat awkward. Lu Chang took a sip of tea and tapped the table lightly with two fingers.

Fortunately, Jingwan came out, which made Bo Jun feel a little better. He hadn't expected Jingwan to be there. When he saw her, he suddenly stood up and called out, "Jingwan!"

Jingwan looked up at Bojun. He had grown much taller and had always been a refined and cultured person. His temperament remained unchanged, still the pure and gentle type that young girls loved.

Jingwan could always see a bit of Yuancheng's shadow in him.

Of all the members of the Gao family, he treated her the best. Recalling their last meeting in Pingdu, when he gave her the jade pendant he was carrying and asked her to pawn it, he couldn't help but burst into tears.

"What are you doing in Chaozhou? No wonder, I sent several letters to Yongye but didn't get a reply. So you've been in Lingnan all this time!"

Despite having spent the most time with Lu Chang, he was rather reserved and awkward in front of Lu Chang today, but upon seeing Jing Wan, he was overjoyed.

Hearing that he had written to her, Jingwan couldn't help but feel regret: "It's a long story, I'll tell you about it later."

She was crying so much that Lu Chang couldn't bear to see it and took a handkerchief to wipe her tears.

"I'll have the housekeeper prepare a meal so we can have a good get-together."

Jingwan nodded in agreement, and the three of them headed towards the side hall.

The main seat was empty, with Lu Chang on one side and Bo Jun on the other.

She and Bo Jun had a lot to talk about. When she learned that he had passed the imperial examination, she praised him extensively. Bo Jun was embarrassed by her praise and said, "I'm not that amazing."

It would be fine if he were praising it in front of other people, but it was in front of Lu Chang. Bo Jun knew his cousin's abilities, and compared to him, he could only be considered inferior.

Jingwan kept putting food on his plate, saying, "Eat more. If you don't like it, I'll ask the kitchen staff to make more."

Looking at the mountain of food piled up in his bowl, he felt a warmth in his heart: "Okay, I'll eat more!"

The rules of not speaking while eating or sleeping don't apply here, let alone when meeting with family. Jingwan was busy talking, so Lu Chang picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks and fed it to her. She turned her head to eat it without feeling anything was wrong.

Only Bo Jun, standing to the side, was startled. Such intimacy had long crossed the line between brother and sister, yet he remained calm and continued to chat and laugh with Jing Wan.

"Cousin, are you here in Chaozhou to visit your cousin?"

Upon hearing this, Bo Jun first looked at Lu Chang.

The brotherly affection he had built up in the past could not prevent him from developing a fear of Lu Chang, a fear that grew stronger and stronger on his journey to Lingnan.

Lingnan has always been regarded as a barren land, and Pingdu officials regarded it as a fierce tiger. Some people would rather die than come to this "execution platform".

But as he traveled south, he was filled with doubt.

Although the mountains were high and the roads steep, the hillsides were cultivated in all directions, and agriculture was thriving. The fields were planted with rice, millet, sorghum, wheat, and other crops that he couldn't name. Fruit trees were interspersed among them, and even planted along the official roads for travelers to pick and eat.

On the way there, he encountered no bandits, and the local people were friendly and lived in peace and contentment. He once stayed at a farmhouse, and even the ordinary farmers praised his cousin highly.

How much effort did he put into transforming this wild and desolate land into such a prosperous place?

Compared to himself, who could only copy books in government offices, Bo Jun felt ashamed and incompetent.

Lu Chang came to the rescue, feeding Jingwan another bite of fish: "Of course you came to visit me, what else could it be?"

Bo Jun smiled and said, "I just didn't expect to run into you."

After dinner, Lu Chang first took Bo Jun to the study, and before leaving, he specifically told Jing Wan to go to bed early tonight.

Jingwan smiled as she watched them leave, but after they were gone, she slumped her shoulders dejectedly, her face showing disappointment and exhaustion.

She was surprised, delighted, and a little uneasy that Bo Jun was coming.

After not seeing each other for several years, how could a simple excuse of visiting be convincing? At the dinner table, the eye contact between him and his cousin was so subtle that she couldn't possibly miss the deeper meaning behind it.

The imperial decree for Pingdu's cousin to return to the capital had just arrived when the Gao family sent people, clearly indicating that they wanted Bojun to invite his cousin back.

They're just using family ties as leverage!

She regrets that as she grows up, even family ties become intertwined with self-interest.

With only the two of them present, Bo Jun guessed that Lu Chang knew his intentions, so he no longer stood on ceremony and finally handed over his grandmother's letter to Lu Chang.

"The fate of the entire Gao family is now in your hands, cousin. Please consider this carefully!"

Lu Chang didn't look at the letter, and was initially rather cold. But thinking of his cousin standing in front of him who was unaware of the inside story, he finally offered some words of comfort: "The lives of the entire Gao family are in my grandmother's hands. How can she risk her life and gamble with the lives of the whole family!"

Bo Jun was surprised by the disrespect in his grandmother's words and frowned as he spoke, but then he heard Lu Chang say, "The late emperor left an imperial edict for the Gao family, which guaranteed the Gao family's safety for three generations. Can you tell me about this, maternal grandmother?"

Bo Jun frowned even more, clearly unaware of the matter.

Lu Chang laughed: "Do you know why the late emperor issued this imperial edict?" He looked at Bo Jun with a hint of sarcasm: "It was obtained at the cost of my life!"