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Chapter 18: "Is it My Son You Have Your Eye On?"
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Xiangwu had initially been trembling all over, her mind a complete blank.
Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined the Marquis would treat her like this.
In her eyes, the Marquis was the young mistress’s father, a figure of supreme and lofty status. He was the sky above the Marquis of Dingyuan’s estate, an unsullied deity to the entire city of Dingyuan—a man so high above her that even raising her head to look him in the eye felt like a sin.
Yet right now, this dignified Marquis had pinned her against the curio display rack in such a posture.
She could clearly feel the overwhelming, suffocating pressure of a powerful man, a sheer physical strength looming right in front of her. If he wished, he could break her and take whatever he pleased at any moment.
Xiangwu bit her lip, consumed by terror and helpless confusion.
And yet, right at this crucial moment, the Marquis suddenly asked her that.
He asked if it hurt there.
Where did it hurt?!
Xiangwu’s breath hitched, a deep crimson flushing across her cheeks as memories of last night’s dream rushed back to her.
Last night, the Marquis had used that exact same tone to ask her—asking if it hurt, asking if she wanted him to rub it for her.
At the mere thought, Xiangwu’s body shivered uncontrollably. Her lips quivered as she stammered, "N-No, it doesn't hurt anymore..."
Was his next line going to be asking if she needed him to rub it for her?
No... she didn't want any rubbing!
That was reserved exclusively for her future husband. She couldn't let any other man touch her like that. She still wanted to get married and live a normal life; she had no desire to become anyone's concubine!
However, her sudden tremble was instantly felt by the man pinning her down. It was like a ripple pulsating across a quiet lake—soft, delicate, yet full of elastic resistance.
The man’s body froze.
No man could possibly resist such a sensation, especially when the little maid before him was so fresh and delicious, looking like a ripe little peach swaying on a branch, begging to be devoured in one bite.
His gaze darkened, heating up until it burned like molten magma as he stared down at the little maid. Meanwhile, his large palm clamped firmly around her slender waist.
"Did I break you when I bumped into you?"
His low, husky voice drifted over her face like a summer breeze. Xiangwu’s face felt like it was on fire, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs.
Sure, she had dreamed about this before and seen it all in her sleep, but reality was entirely different from a dream!
Overwhelmed with embarrassment, Xiangwu bit her lip so hard her tears finally spilled over. "N-No, it wasn't..."
Huo Yunqing's eyes narrowed. "If it wasn't me, then which other man was it? Who bumped into you there?"
Xiangwu couldn't help letting out a soft sob—a cry born of sheer, uncontrollable embarrassment. Turning her head away from the Marquis’s scalding gaze, she bit her lip and squeaked, "It was the Marquis! This servant was wrong! It was the Marquis who bumped into me, but—but it’s all better now!"
So please don't rub it, definitely don't rub it!
Xiangwu desperately did not want this man helping her "rub" anything.
Yet, to her horror, Huo Yunqing merely murmured, "If it's all better, why are you shaking like this?"
Because you’re trapping me like this!
Xiangwu’s heart was weeping, but she didn't dare say it out loud. She pursed her lips in aggrieved silence, not daring to utter a single word. Only the tear hanging on her eyelashes glistened before dropping down, sliding down her delicate, flower-like cheek.
Huo Yunqing stared at her tears, momentarily taken aback.
He hadn't intended to bully her, which was why he had let her off the hook again and again.
Yet here she was, wriggling that slender waist of her and flaunting her charms all over the estate, putting on such a restless, spring-fever display as if she couldn't live a single moment without a man. Naturally, it had pushed his patience past its limit.
With such captivating beauty and at such a prime young age, it would truly be a waste if she were ruined by some other man. That was why he had finally entertained the thought of taking her.
And yet here she was, weeping so pitifully, looking so deeply wronged, as if he were forcing himself on her.
Huo Yunqing pinched her delicate, dainty chin with his fingers. Gazing at the teardrops lingering on her blushing cheeks, he asked in a raspy voice, "What? Would following me be such a humiliation to you?"
Hearing this, Xiangwu’s tears fell even faster. Scared out of her wits, she mumbled in a tiny, trembling voice, "No... no humiliation, but... but..."
But what?
Xiangwu’s mind went entirely blank.
She knew she was simple-minded and didn't understand the complex whims of highborn nobles. But she understood one thing clearly: if the Marquis made her follow him, at best she’d just be a bedchamber maid meant for serving him. She wouldn't even qualify as a proper concubine.
She didn't want that.
She didn't care about luxury or riches. All she wanted was to find a decent man to settle down with. He didn't need a trade like Ah Fu, he didn't need a body full of muscles like Chen Zhong, nor did he need good parents to back him up like Ergouzi.
She only wanted an honest man who would marry her as his primary wife, living a simple, humble, but harmonious life together.
Yet she also knew she couldn't just say that out loud.
In the eyes of these nobles, a lowly maid like her being favored by a grand master was a stroke of heavenly luck. How could she possibly dare to say she didn't want to be a bedchamber maid or a concubine?
That would only incense the Marquis.
Biting her lip, she trembled for a long moment before finally gathering her courage to speak: "This servant is of humble origin... The Marquis’s willingness to take me in is a grace I am deeply grateful for. It's just... it's just that this servant’s heart already belongs to someone else... I can only fail to live up to the Marquis's generous favor."
"Her heart already belongs to someone else?"
Huo Yunqing glared down at the little maid before him. Her eyes were clear and utterly innocent—she didn't look like someone capable of lying in the slightest.
A chill gradually seeped into his eyes. "And who, pray tell, is the young man you've bestowed your heart upon? Is it Ah Fu the gardener, Chen Zhong down at the stables, or Ergouzi, who’s already set to marry someone else?"
‘As for the guard she had just flirted with recently, he didn't even count.’
Hearing this, Xiangwu’s face burned like fire from utter shame and mortification. She had never expected the Marquis to have kept track of every single man she’d ever tried to flirt with!
What made it so agonizingly humiliating was the fact that she had earned herself the reputation of a brazen woman flirting around, only to end up completely empty-handed!
She could only sob, shaking her head in desperation. "N-None of them..."
Huo Yunqing stared at her in silence for a long moment before suddenly releasing her chin.
His voice turned cool and faint, laced with a sneer. "So, you have your eyes on my son."
Xiangwu instinctively shook her head—of course not! How could she possibly be eyeing the Young Master?!
But Huo Yunqing clearly wasn't buying it.
‘The little maid has her heart set on a young, handsome lad, turning her nose up at him because of his age.’
He took a step back, folding his hands behind his back as he looked down at her with cold indifference. "You certainly don't lack ambition, do you?"
Xiangwu blinked, desperately wanting to explain that she wasn't pining after the Young Master at all, but she quickly realized she had no way to explain herself.
How was she supposed to clarify why she refused to serve the Marquis? She *needed* an existing sweetheart to turn him down. Yet all four of those men were out of the picture, while she still needed a cover story.
In the end, she bit her lip and bowed her head. "This servant would never dare."
"Yingfeng is still young," Huo Yunqing said sternly. "It is only natural that a seductive woman like you might bewitch his heart, but you had better recognize your own place."
Those words hit Xiangwu right where it hurt.
Of course she understood.
Whether it was the future Son-in-Law, the Young Master, or the Marquis himself—whichever noble master took a fancy to her, they would only ever view her as a plaything. They would tease and dally with her whenever they pleased, whether in the study or out in the rear garden. After all, she was merely a lowly maid, not some highborn young lady from a prestigious family. She was someone to be toyed with at will.
Even if the Young Master seemed gentle and considerate toward her, what of it? If she were foolish enough to take it to heart, her ultimate fate wouldn't be any different.
She lowered her head, biting her lip as she whispered, "This servant knows her humble place and would never dare harbour such wild thoughts."
Yet the moment those words left her mouth, a colder, angrier spark flared in Huo Yunqing’s eyes.
He barked out coldly, "Get out! Get out of my study!"
As if granted a divine reprieve, Xiangwu scrambled up and prepared to bolt for the door in sheer panic.
"Take your things!" Huo Yunqing snapped.
Xiangwu nodded frantically. Gathering the items in a frantic rush without even looking properly, she scooped them into her arms and fled the room.
As she burst out of the study, the gorgeous maidservants and guards waiting outside naturally witnessed her disheveled, pathetic state. However, their expressions remained completely stoic, acting as if she didn't even exist.
Xiangwu couldn't care less about appearances right now. Hugging the bundle tightly to her chest, she kept her head down and ran for her life.
It was only after she had put a considerable distance between herself and the study that she finally came to a panting halt. Checking that no one was around, she let out a massive sigh of relief and collapsed onto a nearby garden stone.
She sat there for who knows how long, until her breathing finally leveled out and her head cleared. Reflecting on everything that had just transpired, she still found it hard to believe.
The Marquis had actually taken a liking to her and wanted her to serve him!
The Marquis stood on such a high pedestal. His Wanxiu Pavilion was filled with gorgeous beauties bestowed directly by the Emperor—she’d heard every variety of beauty was present there, plump or slender alike. Who could have guessed he would actually set his sights on *her* body and want her for himself?
If she were still the ignorant, naive Xiangwu of the past, she would have eagerly agreed, thinking she was receiving the Marquis’s grand favor.
But now that she understood how the world worked, she naturally refused.
Even though the Marquis had left in a rage, she considered herself incredibly fortunate to have escaped this disaster unscathed.
Replaying their conversation in her mind, she realized the Marquis had clearly misunderstood the situation. He thought she was in love with his young son and was rejecting him because she found him too old!
*Well, that's fine too!* The Marquis was so furious that even if the Young Master ever took a liking to her in the future and tried to ask for her, the Marquis would probably forbid it! Wouldn't that mean she had somehow managed to dodge *both* the Marquis and the Young Master in one fell swoop?!
Once she dodged these two, she just needed to find a way to avoid being sent off as part of the Young Mistress’s dowry. That way, even if she couldn't find a good man right away, she wouldn't have to worry about becoming a concubine or a bedchamber maid!
The more Xiangwu thought about it, the more she felt she had been extraordinarily clever today. A complete shot in the dark had somehow worked out perfectly!
She couldn't help exhaling a long, comfortable breath. Naturally, the Marquis would never go around mentioning what happened today, so she could just pretend it never happened and go back to being a quiet, dutiful maid for the Young Mistress. As for failing to embroider the screen and facing the Young Mistress's scolding... Well, there was nothing she could do about that now.
Smoothing her clothes, Xiangwu stood up and adjusted the bundle in her arms, only to realize that in her frantic panic, she had actually brought the small box of cherry-plums out with her!
There were quite a few left inside, each one translucent, glossy, and tinged with a delicate purple—they looked incredibly mouth-watering.
Recalling the Marquis's disdainful glare, she had a fleeting urge to just throw them away. ‘I don't want his stuff!’
On second thought... *forget it*. She might as well take them back and secretly share them with Yueqing and the others. They would surely be thrilled.
Brightening up at the thought, Xiangwu hurriedly tucked the small box away against her chest and trotted happily back toward the Young Mistress's courtyard.
Meanwhile, high up on the study balcony, framed by swaying willow branches, a tall man clad in black stood in icy silence, his narrowed gaze fixed on the distance.
Naturally, he had witnessed the entire scene unfold from afar.
He let out a cold sneer. With a flick of his sleeve, the swaying willow branches instantly shattered into fine powder.
"A mere little maid... nothing more.” Would he actually care?,of course not.
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