The concubine's favorite? Break off the engagement and marry another prince, please respect you

Chapter 2

The spring rain had been beating against the window sills all night, the sky outside was gradually turning pale, and suddenly a short scream was heard in a courtyard deep in the marquis's mansion.

Er Qing, who was on guard outside, put on her coat and walked in quickly, saying with concern: "The young lady is in a nightmare again. What can we do? We should ask the court doctor to take her pulse in the morning."

Over the past month, their girl has been waking up from her dreams screaming every now and then, and she has lost a lot of weight.

When he got closer, he saw that his master's face was full of tears. He was shocked and said, "What's wrong with you, young lady? Is there anything wrong?"

Looking at the lively maid in front of her, Xie Wan Ning bit her lips tightly in disbelief. It was not until she felt the real pain that she murmured, "I had a terrible dream."

"Is it the same dream you had during this period?" Er Qing took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears and gently advised, "Don't be afraid, young lady. Dreams are all fake."

Xie Wan Ning held her hand in a daze, and suddenly smiled and said, "Yes, they are all fake."

She had had this dream intermittently for half a month. In the dream, Lu Ziyan, who went to suppress bandits, returned to Beijing safely, but brought back a mistress with him.

I heard that she was born as a maid from another wife's family, but she was very beautiful.

I heard that he loved his concubine like a treasure and was willing to disobey his own mother.

I heard that he wanted to cancel the engagement for the sake of his mistress, but was forced to fulfill the engagement by the old lady of the Lu family threatening to commit suicide.

After her brother went to Lu's house in person to ask him to dismiss the mistress and was rejected, her parents advised her to find another good partner, but she was as stubborn as a fool and insisted on marrying him.

They grew up together as childhood sweethearts and were engaged since childhood. She never thought that she would marry someone else.

Her previous dreams were always like a thin mist, and she didn’t take them seriously until tonight.

Er Qing died in front of her eyes. She was beaten to death on the order of Lu Ziyan himself. The scene in the dream was too real. The remorse of the dreamer seemed to be passed on to her, making it impossible for her to ignore it.

...Is this really a dream?
Xie Wan Ning pursed her lips, wiped away her tears, and asked, "Did Madam Lu say yesterday that Lu Ziyan had sent a letter? When did he return to Beijing?"

"Just these two days." Her young lady usually called Master Lu "Brother Ziyan", but Er Qing was a little surprised when he suddenly called him by his full name. After a slight pause, she asked, "Miss, you look unwell. Are you still going to Wuyuan Marquis's Mansion today?"

Lu Ziyan was ordered to go to Bianzhou to suppress bandits. Before leaving, he specifically told Xie Wanning that if she had nothing to do, she could go to Wuyuanhou Mansion to spend more time with his elderly grandmother, his mother who had been widowed for many years, and his aunt.

The Lu family is full of loyal and brave people. Lu Ziyan's grandfather, uncles, and his father all died in the battlefield one after another, leaving behind several female relatives to look after the huge family business. Lu Ziyan is the only remaining male in the Lu family.

Not only were the ladies of the Lu family unwilling to let this only child go to the border, but even the current emperor could not bear to see the century-old marquisate cut off from his descendants, so except for some not-so-dangerous bandit suppression and criminal investigation missions, he had never been sent to the front line to kill the enemy.

Two years ago, the border was in a state of emergency and urgently needed a capable general. Lu Ziyan requested permission several times, and he was taught by General Lu himself. He was extraordinary in both military tactics and martial arts. However, the emperor refused to allow it, and only said that after the marriage, he could leave a bloodline for the Lu family and discuss other things later.

Therefore, not long after Xie Wan Ning came of age, the wedding date was already on the agenda.

Their marriage was of concern not only to the Lu and Xie families, but also to the current emperor. In her dream, on the wedding day, several concubines in the palace added makeup to her.

It is clearly a good marriage blessed by everyone.

As a result, less than half a month after her marriage, she received the news that Liu Manrou was pregnant.

Xie Wan Ning closed her eyes, not wanting to recall the past. She swallowed down the emotions that were surging up again and said in a hoarse voice, "Go." The Xie and Lu families were close friends. She and Lu Ziyan were childhood sweethearts. The ladies of the Lu family watched her grow up and treated her no worse than their own daughter. However, in the dream, after Liu Manrou became pregnant, they softened their attitude towards this concubine from another family.

On the contrary, he advised her that since she was the mistress of the Lu family, she should consider the Lu family's heirs and be virtuous and generous.

Even after the birth of his eldest son, he agreed to Lu Ziyan's request to make Liu Manrou his second wife.

The Lu family had too few children, and they had been waiting for a grandson for too long. Xie Wan Ning could understand their actions, but that didn't mean she wouldn't be sad.

She was so sad in the dream.

The elders who were kind and caring to her before the marriage changed everything after the wedding and the concubine became pregnant.

But she still had to go to the Lu Mansion today. Xie Wan Ning remembered that in the first dream, when Lu Ziyan returned home, she happened to be in the Lu Mansion with several Lu ladies.

Maybe today, of course she would go.

She wanted to confirm whether the scene in her dream was really because God felt sorry for her and gave her a prediction of the future.

…………

The sky was turning pale as the rain that had fallen all night gradually stopped. Xie Wan Ning pushed open the window and the spring morning light shone on her face. The long-lost warmth made the corners of her lips rise slightly.

Erxia came in from outside with a smile on her face, and just in time saw her own girl half leaning against the window with a lively smile on her face, which overshadowed the spring crabapple buds in the yard. She was a little dazed.

Xie Wan Ning turned around in the morning light and paused slightly when she saw that it was her.

Erxia came back to her senses and said softly, "Breakfast is ready. There are the four-happiness dumplings that the girl specifically requested yesterday."

"Let's go," Xie Wan Ning said, "I'm going to have breakfast with my mother."

As she spoke, she walked towards the door. Noticing the movement behind her, she turned back and said to the person following closely behind her, "You don't have to follow me today. Just stay at home and look after the yard."

Erxia's expression froze, not understanding why her master suddenly treated her coldly. She paused, then bowed slowly and said, "...Yes."

Xie Wan Ning stopped looking at her and took Er Qing out of the hospital.

Even though she was a maid who grew up with her...when she was not sure whether the situation in the dream was true, she really couldn't treat the maid in the dream who would climb into Lu Ziyan's bed in the future with the same good attitude as before.

It had rained all night, blowing down countless petals and leaves. Several servants were sweeping up the debris.

Xie Wan Ning walked on the bluestone bricks, and seeing Er Qing's hesitant expression, she couldn't help but smile and said, "Why do you have that expression? Your daughter, I am happy to take you out alone today, isn't it okay?"

Hearing this, Er Qing smiled and said, "Miss, if you like, anything is fine."

Their girl is the jewel of the Xie family and has been brought up in love. Who would have the heart to go against her wishes and make her unhappy?

The Xie family of the capital, whose ancestral home is in Xiangzhou, was an aristocratic family for several dynasties and produced countless famous people and scholars. This lineage also contributed to the struggle for hegemony over the world by Emperor Gaozu of this dynasty, so they moved to the capital with Emperor Gaozu. The family has been passed down for more than a hundred years and is a hereditary marquisate.