Chapter 52 Secret

Deng Lu is one of the new managers of the West Garden of Muxiyuan. She was transferred here from her family home just two months ago. The people who were transferred here with her are all people with the same strict personality and good at keeping secrets.

Muxiyuan was a legendary place among the private circles of the powerful families of Yanjing, and it was also a "pearl" that their family had built with a lot of resources and manpower.

Two generations of clan heads also lived and handled important affairs here, which made Muxiyuan the core area of ​​their clan and even the central city.

What is unknown to outsiders is that there is an unspeakable "forbidden area" in Muxiyuan, which is now the West Garden, which is strictly restricted from entering.

Deng Lu had previously heard from relatives who had visited Muxi Garden that the West Garden wasn't once a forbidden area. When Madam was still alive, it was the most beautiful, tranquil, and serene spot in the entire Muxi Garden; they had even been granted special permission to enter the garden one year to participate in a very lively celebration…

However, ever since the lady fell into a coma half a year ago and was secretly transferred to a special hospital for treatment, and the new head of the family suddenly issued a strict order to ban the garden, the West Garden of Muxi Garden has become an unspeakable forbidden area.

No one knows the story behind this, and no one dares to discuss it.

When Deng Lu was first transferred here, she didn't dare to look around or listen too much, focusing only on doing her job well. However, one day, the head steward of the garden found her and told her that the Jiangnan tea she had selected had been favored by nobles, and that she would be assigned to serve tea at the Mandarin Duck Pavilion in the West Garden. It was then that Deng Lu stepped into the West Garden, which was rumored to be a forbidden area, for the first time.

After she became one of the managers of the West Garden, she gradually learned some inside information.

It is said that the garden was banned because the new head of the family caused some trouble in the West Garden. No one can say for sure what happened, but it is said that the lights in the Osmanthus Garden were on all night that day, many attendants were mobilized, and the new head of the family looked very bad.

There are even more secretive rumors that the new head of the family was injured on the face that day, and the most absurd claim is that a handprint was seen on the new head of the family's face and there was a wound on his lips.

This claim was so absurd that no one would believe it, and Deng Lu scoffed at it. To their family, everyone outside treated them with utmost respect, and flattery was commonplace. Especially the new head of the family, a high-ranking general—who would dare to challenge such a powerful figure?

Don't even mention that it's absolutely impossible for anyone to do it. Even if someone were to actually manage to defeat the new head of the family, they would probably be so crazy that the whole family would want to die.

At the time, Deng Lu was secretly scoffing at this absurd rumor, but she never expected that just a few days after entering the West Garden, she would actually witness something that would overturn her understanding.

When Deng Lu first arrived at the West Garden, the supervisor warned her that there was a place called Liuyun Residence that she absolutely could not approach. In particular, she was not allowed to spy on the people living in Liuyun Residence.

She only needed to stay in the tea room of the Mandarin Duck Pavilion, listen and watch as little as possible, and do her job well. The masters would occasionally come to the Mandarin Duck Pavilion, and they would have to serve them carefully then.

Deng Lu first saw that person while working at the Yuanyang Pavilion.

He was a young man she didn't dare look at a second time after the first glance.

Deng Lu felt her heart pounding. In all her years of life, she had seen so many different kinds of men and women, but this was the first time she truly understood what it meant to be stunningly beautiful and breathtakingly gorgeous.

The stunningly handsome young man strolled over, his steps light and his figure graceful. Even a casual glance from him was enough to captivate anyone.

Yet, between his brows seemed to lie an everlasting sorrow, and in his dark, jade-like eyes lay an indelible resentment.

Deng Lu suddenly realized that this young man was from Liuyun Residence, and was the "secret" that this West Garden was truly guarding.

The young man arrived at the Mandarin Duck Pavilion. He stared blankly at a certain spot, a look of nostalgia on his face. Behind him were several attendants who followed and guarded him, their eyes fixed on him intently, as if ready to guard against any move he might make.

Deng Lu didn't really understand why such a refined and beautiful woman would make these people so wary.

At that moment, the heavily sealed gates of the West Garden were opened from the outside, and the new head of the household returned.

Deng Lu has noticed during her time in the West Garden that the new head of the household comes over almost every day.

This West Garden was a heavily guarded forbidden area. Apart from the servants and stewards who had been selected through a rigorous process, only the new head of the household was allowed to enter and leave freely.

The new family head always went straight to Liuyun Residence whenever he came, and Deng Lu already knew about the relationship between the people in Liuyun Residence and the new family head. But this time, when she actually saw the young man, Deng Lu had some doubts. The young man's temperament was really inconsistent with the sensual and scandalous image in the rumors.

In the following days, the young men would come to the Mandarin Duck Pavilion to sit for a while or take a walk by the Lotus Pond. Meanwhile, the West Garden also welcomed another uninvited guest during these days—the return of the Second Young Master, Xu Zhi.

As a minor steward, Deng Lu didn't know the specifics of what had happened. She only knew that one night, the second young master had somehow sneaked into the West Garden, where he had a huge argument with the new head of the family, which reportedly almost came to blows, nearly causing a major falling out between the two brothers. Amidst this atmosphere of unease, some external forces seized the opportunity to make their move. For the sake of the common family interests, the new head of the family reconciled with the second young master, and from then on, the second young master was only occasionally allowed to enter and leave the West Garden.

Deng Lu felt something was off, but she didn't dare to think too much about it. Then one day, the new head of the family and the young man got into an argument in the Mandarin Duck Pavilion.

That day, the new head of the family had the head steward specially purchase a priceless and extremely rare jade bracelet. The new head of the family personally and kindly handed it to the expressionless young man, but the next second the young man ruthlessly threw it into the lotus pond outside the window.

The new head of the family's gaze immediately darkened, but surprisingly, he didn't lash out. Instead, after a moment of patience, he gently explained something to the young man in a low voice. The young man retorted sarcastically and then stormed off. The new head of the family was so angry that he smashed the expensive tea set on the table to the ground, but after a short while, he chased after him.

Helpless, Deng Lu and her entourage began retrieving the priceless jade bracelet from the lotus pond. Deng Lu had gone from initial shock to now being so accustomed to the new head of the family's consistently dignified and aloof demeanor towards the young man.

She thought, no wonder, after all, she was such a beauty.

But Deng Lu didn't expect that not long after, the young man seemed to fall ill. There was a resident medical team in the West Garden, but this time, the new owner urgently recruited a more professional team of doctors, many of whom were experts in treating psychological and mental illnesses.

Deng Lu began to worry about the beautiful but increasingly melancholic young man. Physical injuries might be easy to heal, but how could psychological wounds be cured...?

Everyone loves beauty, but Deng Lu was just a minor manager who couldn't even get close to Liuyun Residence. She could only pray for that beautiful young man in secret, just like she had prayed for the beautiful little bird whose feathers were broken in the wind and rain when she was a child.

That day, when Deng Lu finished her work and walked from the Yuanyang Pavilion to the back path of the West Garden for the servants, she bumped into an unfamiliar young man. Looking at his name tag, the young man was named Xing Yu, and he said he was the nephew of the former steward Xing.

The two exchanged a few hurried pleasantries, and the young man, as if he had something urgent to attend to, quickly took his leave and ran off. Deng Lu, however, thought of Steward Xing, who was highly respected among their servants and stewards.

Since the lady left the garden, Steward Xing no longer served as the head steward. The new head of the family initially arranged for him to manage the West Garden, but for some unknown reason, one day, Steward Xing actually spoke rudely to the new head of the family face to face.

Some say that when they heard Steward Xing using his wife to pressure the new head of the family, telling him to stop doing such absurd things and even saying he would let someone go, the new head of the family was reportedly furious and ordered Steward Xing to be taken away.

After that, Steward Xing was sent out of Muxiyuan, but considering that he was an old servant of the madam, he was still kept in the main family, but he no longer held an important position, which meant that he was just retired.

Deng Lu sighed as she thought of this. The more prosperous a place is, the more careful one must be. Although she was fortunate enough to enter the clan because of her surname, she was very cautious with every step she took. She thought that she could not ruin her own and her family's future because of personal feelings, like Steward Xing.

Therefore, Deng Lu decided to stop paying attention to the young man's affairs; she was powerless to do anything about it and also afraid of offending the higher-ups. Little did she know that because of that young man, Muxiyuan, and even the entire clan, was about to undergo a major upheaval…

Xing Yu ran out of the West Garden with a heavy heart. He clutched the note hidden in his pocket; it was a secret gift from Yun Yao.

Yes, he had just seen Yun Yao, whom he hadn't seen in a long time and who was being held captive in the West Garden. Because Yun Yao had been driven to depression by those sordid things, the person who had been worried that Yun Yao might do something rash had hired many psychologists. When all else failed, they finally agreed to have someone bring in Yun Yao's former friend to comfort her.

Because the guard on Yun Yao was somewhat relaxed, Xing Yu had the opportunity to meet with Yun Yao alone. He remembered how he and Yun Yao looked at each other with tears in their eyes, and he even saw the signs of suicide attempts on Yun Yao's body. He couldn't help but hug Yun Yao and said to her excitedly, "Yun Yao, it's not your fault, you shouldn't hurt yourself! You didn't do anything wrong, why should you pay the price? You must live well!"

Yun Yao looked at him with a gloomy gaze, and after his repeated emphasis, she finally buried her face in his shoulder and cried.

Then, at that moment, Xing Yu felt Yun Yao secretly slip him a note. Xing Yu was startled and realized that this seemingly deserted place was actually hiding countless eyes and ears.

Once they were completely out of Muxi Garden, Xing Yu carefully opened the note Yun Yao had given him. It contained only one sentence: Go find the young mistress, Lou Yingying.

Xing Yu understood instantly.

After becoming the new head of the family, the eldest son spent most of his time in Muxiyuan and rarely returned to his home with his wife, Lou Yingying. Half a year has passed, and he has not mentioned bringing Lou Yingying and their daughter to Muxiyuan. There have been rumors about this situation for some time.

Lou Yingying was the only daughter of a powerful general. Her marriage to the eldest son was a political alliance between two prominent families, a marriage of great importance that could not be broken. Although it was a political alliance, it did not mean that Lou Yingying had no feelings for the eldest son; on the contrary, Lou Yingying's feelings for her husband were clearly very deep.

Given the current situation, it's highly likely that the eldest young master is hiding many things from Lou Yingying, and no one dares to expose them. Xing Yu thought that Yun Yao must have guessed it; the breakthrough in this stalemate should lie with the current General's wife, Lou Yingying.