Wanruo's body stiffened slightly: "Why are you here?"

Xie Xianyu's expression was indistinct, but his dark eyes seemed to see through her heart: "Where have you been?"

Wan Ruo's eyes flickered slightly: "Miss Jiang invited me to go to Taiming Lake for a spring outing."

"Just a spring outing?"

Wan Ruo didn't understand and pursed her lips: "What else?"

His eyes turned colder: "I also came back from Taiming Lake."

Wanruo suddenly clenched her hands in her sleeves and her face changed slightly.

"When I went there, they said you had already left, but after I returned home, I waited for you for half an hour before you came back." Xie Xianyu spoke slowly, waiting for her to give an explanation.

Wan Ruo forced herself to remain calm: "When I came back, I wanted to go to the herbal medicine shop to buy some herbs. I wandered around for a long time, so I came back late."

Xie Xianyu glanced at the medicine bag in her hand, and his expression eased slightly, but his voice was still slightly cold.

"Why do you need to go in person for such a trivial matter? Just let a servant go."

"I just want to go by myself. Otherwise, won't I get moldy staying stuck in this small yard all day?" Wanruo felt that he was meddling too much.

He stood up and walked over to her, holding her hand: "If you feel bored, I'll take you out for a walk after I'm done with my work these past few days."

Wanruo's pupils shrank. Going out with him? Was she afraid that others wouldn't know their relationship?

Xie Xianyu had always been a self-disciplined and polite person. He should have known the risks of doing this, but his behavior was becoming more and more outrageous, and she was really unable to cope with it.

She pulled her hand away in annoyance: "Just go about your business. I'll go out by myself if I need to. Don't come looking for me. It will be troublesome if someone sees us."

Xie Xianyu's expression suddenly darkened. He grabbed her hand and brought her to him, causing her to stumble. "You called me troublesome?"

Wanruo met his slightly gloomy eyes, and her heartbeat suddenly quickened. She avoided his sharp gaze and said, "Since you are already engaged and busy at court, you really don't need to worry about me."

"What if I insist on interfering?" He stared at her, his cold eyes seemed to pierce through her.

Wanruo pursed her lips tightly, and a chill ran down her back.

"I haven't taken you in yet because I'm worried about your future life. After we get married, I'll ask the old lady for you. It will be more legitimate for her to take you in as a concubine. Wanwan, I'll follow your lead and do everything I can to pave the way for you. You should also be obedient."

Wanruo felt her scalp tingling after hearing these arrangements. She felt a little bit intolerable: "I'm not selling myself to the Xie family as a slave. You can marry me just because you want? I just don't want to! If you are unhappy, just go and tell the old lady to kick me out!"

Xie Xianyu's expression gradually darkened, and the five fingers gripping her wrist tightened.

Wanruo frowned in pain, fear creeping into her heart unconsciously. She also thought that this day would come sooner or later, so it would be better to cut the Gordian knot. Instead of continuing to entangle with him, it would be better to leave the Xie family and put an end to it all.

Thinking of this, she also hardened herself up, forced herself to suppress the fear in her heart, and stared at him.

Xie Xianyu suddenly calmed down, a cold smile playing on the corner of his lips: "So you want to leave."

Wanruo's heart skipped a beat, and she felt a panic that her true feelings had been exposed and she had nowhere to hide.

"A year ago, you came to me and begged me, so I let you stay in the Xie family. You wanted Xu Shujin to study, so I sent him to the Xie family school. You wanted to make it official, so I agreed to wait until after marriage to take a concubine. Wanwan, am I being too nice to you, making you think I'm easy to talk to?"

His voice was slow, but it was filled with invisible oppression, making it difficult for her to breathe.

"The Xie Family School has strict rules and regulations. You can't go out without permission. Even if you go to pick him up, he can't leave."

Wanruo raised her head suddenly and met his dark eyes.

threaten!

This was Xie Xianyu. When had he ever been kind? Even the kindness he had bestowed could be used as leverage.

Wanruo took a deep breath and spoke stiffly, "Where can I go if I leave the Xie family? My stepmother is still eyeing us covetously, wanting only to capture me and my brother and sell us off. I just want to find a safe place, and where can it be better than the Xie family? I'm not ungrateful."

She lowered her eyes, and when she raised them again, they were already red. "I'm just afraid that you won't want me anymore. If you get engaged and have a fiancée, Miss Jiang is well-educated and well-mannered, proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. Everyone says she's a beautiful woman and the perfect match for you. If you have Miss Jiang, what am I?"