Favoring a Hidden Mistress? Engagement Broken-Chapter 52:

He no longer receives favor from her, so he no longer dares to act without fear.

The clearest indication is that Lu Ziyuan has learned to be anxious and insecure.

Past memories tell him she must still love him; such deep love can’t possibly vanish overnight.

Yet, recently, he can no longer find that passionate love in her.

After a moment of silence, he conceded, "You don’t like Mingjian following you, so how about I choose a few strong maids to send to you?"

"No need," Xie Wanqing’s fingertips were gently kissed, and she endured it repeatedly, until she could no longer bear it and slightly curled her fingers, "The Capital is very safe; apart from you, no one would dare intrude upon Marquis Xuanping Mansion, nor would anyone pose a danger to me."

Detecting the anger in her words, Lu Ziyuan watched her quietly for a while, then asked, "Really don’t want them? Your two maids are too fragile; they couldn’t protect you if something happened."

Upon hearing him mention the maids, Xie Wanqing immediately thought of Er Xia.

Er Xia, who in his dreams became his concubine, she had long made up her mind.

Since they chose to abandon her to be together, she would fulfill their feelings.

Xie Wanqing lowered her eyes and said, "I also have a gift for you, do you want it?"

Lu Ziyuan’s eyes brightened, and he subconsciously tightened his grip on her hand, "I want it!"

"Alright then," Xie Wanqing took the opportunity to withdraw her hand and said calmly, "Er Xia has been residing in the east side room these days, you can wake her and take her away, but tell her there’s no need to say goodbye to me."

The room fell silent for a few moments.

Lu Ziyuan seemed quite confused, "...What do you mean?"

Xie Wanqing said, "You have seen Er Xia, she looks quite good, she is already eighteen this year..."

"Why are you telling me this?" Lu Ziyuan interrupted urgently, disbelief evident in his voice, "Are you giving me a woman?"

"...She is my personal maid, she has feelings for you, so I want to fulfill her wishes," Xie Wanqing admitted frankly and said, "You won’t lose anything; although she is a maid, she is no worse than the daughters of ordinary small officials."

"She has feelings for me, so you want to fulfill her wishes?" Lu Ziyuan glared at her fiercely, his breathing heavy, trying hard to suppress his raging anger, gritting his teeth, "Wanwan is truly a kind-hearted girl, why not fulfill my wishes as well?"

Saying this, he laughed bitterly, "Just right, I feel very anxious inside, you are so understanding, how about giving yourself to me to calm my heart?"

"Lu Ziyuan, don’t be reckless!"

The Luminous Pearl didn’t provide bright light, but in the dim room, Xie Wanqing could see his tense jawline and the dark turbulent emotions in his eyes, she hurriedly said, "You don’t want to accept her, then don’t. I just shared her feelings with you, but I didn’t force you to take her away."

Lu Ziyuan pressed his lips together, took a deep breath to stabilize his emotions, leaned closer to her, and said word by word, "I have never thought about wanting anyone other than you. If you are thinking of giving someone to me, why not give yourself to me instead?"

"..." Xie Wanqing was stunned; she retreated slightly, but her neck was held by him, making it impossible to move.

Lu Ziyuan looked at her calmly for a long time, and in a moment of madness, he really wanted to act on impulse, but in the end, he did nothing and gradually let her go.

"Trying to provoke me on purpose?" His expression was cold, yet his voice was calm, "You want to provoke me on purpose, that’s fine, just keep away from Pei Yuqing, I don’t care what method you come up with, I’ll accept any punishment."

The topic suddenly turned to Pei Yuqing. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Xie Wanqing froze for a moment, and then heard him say, "Don’t be alone with that old man anymore."

Remembering her praises of that old man, Lu Ziyuan pressed her hand against his face, his lips curled into a cold smile, "Can he be more handsome than me?"

"..." Xie Wanqing almost doubted her ears; such jealousy-laden words actually came from him.

After a moment of silent pause, she tried to pull her hand away stiffly, "You should leave now."

Lu Ziyuan responded with a low hum, paused for a long time, reluctant to let go of her hand, and finally looked up at her, "Will you write me a letter every three days? I’ll send someone to come and collect them."

Xie Wanqing hugged her knees with one hand, faced him directly, and bluntly refused, "I don’t want to write."

The reason why she didn’t want to write was something both of them clearly understood.

Over these years, none of the letters she sent him had ever been replied to.

Even the most intense emotions, when perpetually unreciprocated, will eventually cool.

"I’m sorry..." Lu Ziyuan gently kneaded her palm, pondered for a moment, and still chose to explain, "I read all your letters."

As for why he didn’t reply.

The reason was simple, she was right.

Because he believed she would wait for him no matter what, he was simply unwilling to put in extra effort for her.

Perhaps people are like this, they always neglect those closest to them, only realizing what is truly precious when they are about to lose it.

Thinking carefully over the past two years, he doesn’t know how much grievance this girl had endured...

Lu Ziyuan chuckled helplessly, finally willing to release her hand, but leaned closer, looking at her and saying, "You indeed shouldn’t forgive me so easily."

Xie Wanqing quickly withdrew her hand, clutched the quilt, and shrank back without saying a word.

"This time, I’ll write letters to you, would you please ignore me?" He thought for a moment, then added, "Your parents and brother have some misunderstandings about me, it’s not easy for me to send letters openly, so I’ll have Yun Jin deliver them to you. When I return from Yunzhou, I’ll personally come and admit my mistakes and seek their forgiveness."

Yun Jin is a hawk he raised; Xie Wanqing had seen it many times. She nodded lightly in agreement and urged, "Hurry up and leave."

She was evidently unwilling for him to be there.

Bitter feelings arose in Lu Ziyuan’s heart; he watched her quietly for a long time, then said, "Then I’m leaving; remember your promise not to go back on it."

He visited late at night just to plead for a promise.

He didn’t expect her to fully forgive him at this moment, as long as she was willing to wait for him to return and no longer pay attention to other men, that was enough.

This you won’t leave unless I promise manner made Xie Wanqing sneer inside.

She lowered her gaze, her lips barely curved into a smile, let out a sound, and agreed, "Alright."

Hearing her consent, Lu Ziyuan felt reassured, he couldn’t help but reach out to hold her shoulder, saying, "When I return from Yunzhou, I will obtain your parents’ permission and propose to you again."

Xie Wanqing remained noncommittal.

Though she didn’t respond, Lu Ziyuan wasn’t angry. He stared deeply at her for a long time, seemingly imprinted her image in his mind before turning to leave.

As soon as the oppressive man left, Xie Wanqing’s breathing grew more pronounced. After waiting for a while and confirming he had truly left, she clutched her chest, breathing heavily.

"Lu Ziyuan!"

In the dim room, her voice filled with intense bitterness.