Chapter 13: I Absolutely Detest Bandages

The carriage was ready, but there was only one.

Do not ask; it was intentional. Lu Chuan had a temper, too. Had this Miss Mi treated him with courtesy and respect upon their meeting, he would have certainly shown her due deference. Setting aside the influence of the Mi family, one had to consider her status as the wife of Liu Bei.

However, Miss Mi had looked down on him from the very start, which displeased Lu Chuan greatly. Thus, he did not mind taking this opportunity to tease her a little. Since she was cross-dressing as "Young Master Jun," could she really refuse an invitation to share his carriage? She would either have to reveal her true identity or get in.

Even knowing who she really was, Lu Chuan did not back down. He had already reasoned that as long as he refrained from discussing the future or Liu Bei too much, he would not disrupt the course of history. By being careful with his words and showcasing the prosperity and development of Lu County as much as possible, his ultimate goal was to lure Miss Mi into investing. Fooling Miss Mi would certainly be easier than fooling a sharp-witted fox like Mi Zhu.

"Young Master Jun, please!" Lu Chuan looked at her with a beaming smile.

Miss Mi felt incredibly awkward. As an unmarried young lady, how could she share a carriage with another man?

"...Magistrate Lu, could you perhaps arrange another carriage?" For some reason, seeing that smile on Lu Chuan’s face made her uncomfortable, and she dared not board.

"How unfortunate. This is the only carriage in the residence. If you won't ride, you'll have to walk." With that, Lu Chuan climbed into the carriage first.

"Hmph! Fine, I'll walk!" Miss Mi pouted, feeling indignant. It was just walking, wasn't it? She would rather break her legs than share a carriage with him!

Yet, less than a quarter of an hour later, she could no longer keep going. She had already tired herself out sneaking out of the inn to reach Lu Chuan’s residence. Now, in order to keep pace with the carriage, she and Xiao Cui had been forced to quicken their steps. As a result, blisters had formed on her delicate soles; standing, let alone walking, was painful. Having lived a life of luxury since birth, when had Miss Mi ever suffered such hardship?

"Magistrate Lu, wait!" At this point, she decided that sharing the carriage wasn't so bad after all. Besides, she was currently posing as Young Master Jun. As long as Lu Chuan didn't see through her disguise and she kept quiet, who would ever know that a lady of the Mi family had once shared a carriage with him?

Lu Chuan had been waiting for this moment. He scooted over to make room. Once inside, Miss Mi saw that the space was cramped; sitting there meant she would inevitably have some physical contact with him, and she began to waver again.

Lu Chuan frowned. "We're both men, why are you acting so hesitant, like a woman?"

Miss Mi rolled her eyes at him but bit the bullet and sat down. If she kept hesitating, Lu Chuan might truly suspect her identity. To avoid exposure, she had no choice. Xiao Cui climbed in as well, but since there was no more seating, she had to squat in the carriage, glaring at Lu Chuan with resentment: *If you dare lay a hand on my mistress, I will not spare you!*

Lu Chuan saw Xiao Cui’s expression and found it amusing. They had brought this upon themselves—could they really blame him? Besides, the carriage was bumpy; who could keep their balance when it was moving at speed? Given such favorable conditions, would Lu Chuan really do nothing?

It was a pity that Miss Mi’s identity was so special and tied to the future of history; otherwise, Lu Chuan would have certainly tried to keep her here. If he became the son-in-law of the Mi family, would he ever need to worry about lacking their full support? Lu Chuan thought that if he could live a longer life, trying to win over Miss Mi wouldn't be a bad idea. But the timing wasn't right yet.

The carriage moved quickly, and when it turned a corner, Miss Mi lost her balance and bumped into Lu Chuan. On the surface, he remained impassive, but inside, he was secretly delighted. A faint fragrance emanated from her, drifting into his nostrils and leaving him restless. When she had stumbled into him, he had reached out to steady her, causing her face to flush instantly. There was no other reason than the fact that his hand had brushed against a rather thick layer of binding cloth.

Beside them, Xiao Cui gritted her teeth and clenched her fists: *You corrupt official! How dare you bully my mistress! I’ll kill you!*

"The carriage is bumpy; Young Master Jun should be careful," Lu Chuan said, pulling his hand back and looking straight ahead with such an air of righteousness that even Miss Mi could find no fault. Internally, however, he thought: *I hate that binding cloth!*

When they finally arrived at the county office, Miss Mi scrambled out, too flustered to care about her aching feet. Throughout the journey, the carriage had taken so many turns that she had nearly fallen several times, only to be steadied by Lu Chuan. By all rights, she should have been grateful, but the truth was that his hand had landed in very inappropriate places. Thank goodness she had wrapped herself tightly beforehand, or she dared not imagine what might have happened. Even so, her face remained flushed to her very neck. She swore that this was the first time she had ever shared a carriage with a man, let alone experienced such intimate contact!

Though in this era, people did not place much weight on a woman's chastity—a married woman was often even more sought after than a maiden—Miss Mi still felt that today’s events were highly improper.

Lu Chuan stepped out, his expression as normal as if nothing had happened. Xiao Cui stared at him, cursing him internally with every insult she could muster.

"Young Master Jun, let us go. I shall show you my county office."

Miss Mi smoothed her clothes, mostly as a pretext to suppress her inner irritation and shyness. "Very well, please lead the way, Magistrate Lu."

"Lead the way? We're already here." Lu Chuan gestured forward. But Miss Mi did not see a typical county office; instead, she saw many people queuing up, seemingly busy with various matters. Looking closely, the layout was completely different from any she had seen before.

A standard office consisted of a main hall with a few rooms behind it, but this place featured a row of two-story buildings, each with a different plaque above its entrance. She recognized the characters on the plaques, but when strung together, they formed things she had never heard of: Lu County People's Court, Lu County Civil Dispute Resolution Center, Lu County Investment Promotion Bureau, Lu County Industry and Commerce Bureau, Lu County Agricultural Bureau, Lu County Cultural Bureau, Lu County Public Security Bureau, and so on.

Miss Mi’s head was filled with question marks: How could this county office possibly have so many departments?!