Favoring a Hidden Mistress? Engagement Broken-Chapter 126 - 101:

"But she is your personal maid, I absolutely cannot allow such a treacherous person to take care of your daily needs anymore,"

He recalled the scene in the dream where the girl stood stiffly outside the greenhouse, listening to the noise from within, and smiled a bit helplessly, "At that time, I only wanted you to sever ties with her; I was foolish and came up with this method."

No method is better at making a master detest someone than a maid climbing into bed.

How foolish of him to think only of keeping her away from Er Xia, away from all possible dangers, completely forgetting to consider what he would become in her eyes by doing so.

Er Xia was not the only one who was despised.

After the Er Xia incident, she seemed like a different person in front of him; the girl who used to smile sweetly at him was gone forever.

Xie Wanqing had no intention of contemplating those romantic entanglements; hearing his words made her incredulous.

"Er Xia is from our family; her parents and brothers are born slaves in the residence. Whom else could she belong to?"

Of course, Mrs. Zheng wouldn’t choose an unknown source to be her daughter’s personal maid.

Both Er Xia and Erqing were born slaves of the Xie Family, their parents and generations have served the Xie Family as slaves.

When Xie Wanqing married, Er Xia accompanied her as a maid; her entire family was still serving at the Xie Residence. Their indenture was still held by Mrs. Zheng, the mistress.

Er Xia, as an accompanying maid, climbing into the master’s bed, though unpleasant, is actually not uncommon in high-ranking households.

Xie Wanqing always believed this maid was simply overly ambitious, dreaming of becoming a concubine.

But what was he saying?

Er Xia had served her side since childhood; how could she have other masters?

She was so shocked that it was hard to believe, yet Lu Ziyuan merely looked at her, his gaze gentle and quiet.

The answer she subconsciously avoided thinking about since learning he wasn’t biologically from the Lu Family surfaced in her mind.

Xie Wanqing moved her lips, stiffly uttering a few words in his gaze.

Her expression was panic-stricken, like a frightened fawn gazing at him, an expression that Lu Ziyuan could no longer contain.

She retreated three steps, but Lu Ziyuan took only one stride to grab her wrist, pull her back, and tightly hold her in his arms.

"Do not fear, Wanwan, do not be afraid; I won’t let anyone harm you anymore."

"...How could it be so?" Xie Wanqing’s expression was dazed.

There was no mistake that Er Xia belonged to the Xie Family, but there were many Xie Family members; her master might not be just herself.

For instance, her aunt, Lady Shufei, the First Rank Consort in the Imperial Palace, was the eldest daughter of the previous generation of the Xie Family.

Speaking of which, Er Xia’s mother... used to be a maid in her aunt’s courtyard.

But when Lady Shufei entered the palace, she wasn’t highly ranked and entered as a concubine, so her dowry couldn’t be excessively extravagant. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Of course, she couldn’t take all her personal maids into the palace; she could only choose two capable ones, and Er Xia’s mother was among those left behind.

So Er Xia was indeed her aunt’s person.

Then...

Like being drenched by a bucket of ice water, Xie Wanqing shivered unconsciously, "My aunt wants to harm me?"

"Yes," Lu Ziyuan tightened his arms, his voice low, "The secret poison from the Western Regions is not something a young lady could obtain; Lu Xiyao was led astray."

He didn’t specify who; Xie Wanqing could guess.

After all, before entering the family temple, she had heard about the marriage proposal involving Lu Xiyao, potentially entering the Prince Mansion as a concubine.

Though as a concubine, at that time the Crown Prince’s reputation within the court was skyrocketing, almost within reach of the throne.

Lu Xiyao, as a concubine, wouldn’t miss out on becoming a noble concubine in the future; it wasn’t a low marriage but could be considered a very good one.

However, such a good thing ended vaguely due to Lu Ziyuan’s opposition.

Lu Xiyao was only half a year younger than her, an eighteen-year-old girl; her good marriage opposed by her brother, yet she wasn’t upset at all, but instead turned around and gifted her a jade bracelet, leading to her death.

After her death, Lu Ziyuan’s position as a wife became vacant.

Once his identity is restored...

Xie Wanqing took a deep breath and felt that her death was indeed unjust.

She struggled out of his arms, raised her eyes, and said, "Tell me, what was their fate after my death."

Lu Ziyuan was easily pushed away by her strength.

His lowered eyes seemed to be covered by a shallow layer of mist, quietly watching her for a few moments.

"They made me lose the person I love, living worse than dying. I..." at this point, he paused, turned his face and said, "I don’t want to say."

He didn’t want to deceive her anymore, nor did he want to see the look of hatred for a madman in her eyes.