Chapter 6:
Xie Wanning’s heart turned ice-cold. If the dream was real, then according to the timeline in the dream, they had probably already conceived secretly by now.
“Just treat it as an interrogation,” her gaze stubbornly met his as she said: “Are you avoiding answering because this young lady is the love of your life, or have you already taken her into your room?”
The young girl before him grew increasingly aggressive, Lu Ziyan’s expression turned cold, his gaze lingered on her for a few breaths before he said indifferently: “Wanwan, why are you acting like this? Not to mention we are not yet married, even if we were, having one more person by my side is not wrong.”
Even if we were married, having one more person by my side is not wrong…
Before this, they had never discussed this topic.
The Xie Family rules stipulate that male members of the household may only take a concubine after the age of thirty.
Yet Xie Wen and his two brothers were all over thirty, but each had only one wife and no concubines.
Growing up in such a family environment, Xie Wanning had never imagined that her fiancé would think having multiple women by his side was not wrong.
In the dream, she had married him with lard covered over her heart, probably because she was foolish. She was unwilling for these years of affection to come to nothing; she always felt they shouldn’t end up parting like migrating swallows.
But now, she clearly felt the corner of her heart that still held some warmth gradually turning cold.
The pain of her nails digging into her palm brought her back to clarity. Xie Wanning stared fixedly into his eyes, enunciating clearly: “What if I don’t agree? If I don’t agree to you having others by your side—there were no maidservants serving you before, and there can’t be any in the future either, just like my father, never taking a second wife, only me alone?”
Hearing this, Lu Ziyan was stunned for a moment, then chuckled as if he had heard a joke.
As if meeting her for the first time, he carefully studied her facial expression and saw her gaze stubbornly waiting for his answer, causing him to pause.
After a long while, he countered: “Why does Wanwan think there were no maidservants attending me before, so in the future I should stick to just you alone?”
Perhaps having endured the greatest pain in the dream already, hearing his words now, Xie Wanning surprisingly didn’t feel hurt. Her eyelashes trembled numbly as she said softly: “But you didn’t say that before.”
On the day they settled their marriage, he had clearly said she was the best young lady in the world, and having her alone was enough.
Lu Ziyan also recalled those ignorant youthful years, his expression slightly dazed as he spoke, seeming both pitying and lightly mocking: “The Lu Family Offspring are sparse. I thought Wanwan wouldn’t be so naive.
“Do you know the pressure I bear?”
Xie Wanning nodded slowly.
He had to uphold the Lu Family gate, shoulder the burden for a family of widows, and at a young age, hold his own in the imperial court against old foxes who had weathered the officialdom for years.
His outstanding ability had earned repeated praise from His Majesty, a young man to be feared.
She understood his pressure
But she actually forgot that, besides the pressure from the imperial court, he also bore the pressure of producing offspring for the Lu Family.
The Lu Family has a total of four branches, yet only he remains as the male heir of the Eldest Branch. His three uncles’ lines have all gone extinct. According to current customs, even if Lu Ziyan does not take on the four branches concurrently, he should still adopt offspring for his several uncles, allowing their lines to continue.
Relying on just one woman to bear children is far from enough.
In the dream, didn’t he just elevate Liu Manrou, who had borne a child, to Second Wife as an Equal Wife?
He even took Er Xia as a concubine.
Lu Ziyan continued, “Since you know my pressure, then you should know that I cannot stay with just you for the rest of my life.”
Xie Wanning was momentarily speechless.
In front of him, she had always been timid by nature. Even when she had reason on her side, she still couldn’t argue back, let alone now when his words were truly impeccable.
Everyone in the world values offspring above all, let alone the Lu Residence, a loyal and valiant family on the verge of extinction of lineage.
Standing silently for a long time, she finally found her voice: “So, she is the concubine you newly took into your residence?”
Lu Ziyan paused for a moment and said, “She won’t affect you.”
“I only want to know one thing,” Xie Wanning stared at him without blinking, asking: “Is your relationship with her pure now?”
The two locked eyes for a few moments. He looked away first and did not answer her directly: “I promise you that you will be my only wife. No matter how many women are by my side, none of them will affect your status.”
“So,” Xie Wanning’s facial expression showed no fluctuation: “You two have already had an intimate relationship now?”
She had never been so aggressive. Lu Ziyan’s gaze darkened, and he said impatiently, “You must know that I will always take a concubine. If it’s not her, it will be someone else. Since you are to be my wife, you shouldn’t be obsessed with the unrealistic notion of me keeping only you.”
His tone was resolute, without any gentleness.
Xie Wanning was silent for a long time, then slowly nodded. The rippling gaze in her eyes dimmed, as if something had shattered, gradually fading into nothingness bit by bit.
These scenes that had appeared intermittently in dreams over these days all surfaced one by one in her mind.
In the dream, after the two married, his various acts of neglect, Liu Manrou’s provocations and ridicule, and also their eldest illegitimate son.
That child had enjoyed endless pampering since birth. Liu Manrou rose in status thanks to her son. He wanted to elevate his favored concubine to equal wife. Even when Old Madam Lu said the eldest shu son could be recorded under her name and considered a legitimate son, he refused.
Overrode the objections and recorded him under the Second Wife who had severed the incense fire, as the legitimate son.
And Liu Manrou also became his legitimate wife.
He did not take a concubine for the sake of offspring; he truly fell in love with Liu Manrou, so he went to great lengths to give her the status of wife.
In the dream, she damaged her lifespan due to distress and depression, enduring all kinds of humiliation.
Er Qing was ordered by Lu Ziyan himself to be executed by corporal punishment while protecting her, and she died.
If the dream is real, then it is heaven pitying her for making the wrong choice, giving her an opportunity to start over.
Having figured this out, a thread of vitality seemed to pour into her heart, which had gone numb from the stifling pain. Xie Wanning pursed her lips and, mustering her last bit of courage, made a final attempt to salvage the situation: “Brother Ziyan, if I say that I absolutely cannot accept my future husband taking a second wife, would you still refuse to compromise for me just this once?”
Lu Ziyan’s voice was slightly low: “Are you putting me in a difficult position?”
“No, it’s not that.” Xie Wanning smiled bitterly. How could it be reluctance.
She was simply unwilling for the marriage she had invested her true heart in to end like this.
Between them, it was always her who compromised first. She learned to change, learned to be considerate, but he never took a single step back.
He never once bowed his head for her.
She wanted to ask clearly, so she could completely give up, sever all lingering thoughts, all fluke hopes.
She couldn’t let this heart of hers keep being affected by him, coming when he called and leaving when he waved her away.
Xie Wanning sniffed, holding back her tears with effort, and looked up seriously at the man before her. “Lu Ziyan, thank you for not deceiving me, for being willing to tell me the truth.”
