Lu Ziyuan explained earnestly, "There are no maids on the ship, only men, I..."

"Enough!" Xie Wanqing didn’t want to hear his excuses at all. Even if there were maids, he would probably act himself. She quickly interrupted, "You, get out!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the room became silent.

Lu Ziyuan paused for a few moments, then suddenly knelt on the bed and grasped her wrist, "I just don’t want you to be alone, don’t be afraid... I promise to restrain myself and keep proper distance." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

His voice was soft, but Xie Wanqing heard every word clearly. She glanced down at her hand being held, and pressed her lips together, "I am a married woman."

A married woman.

Lu Ziyuan’s lips curled into a cold smile, "Don’t tell me, you still want to return to him. That sickly man is so useless, full of schemes yet unable to protect his own wife. Do you still want to be devoted to him?"

The day at the Capital Suburb Camp when he released her, he had sworn that would be the last time he allowed her to run to another man.

Now that she was in his arms, he wouldn’t let her go back!

But Xie Wanqing wasn’t thinking about these things.

She was thinking about the scandal that had erupted at the Hot Spring Villa that day. The person who orchestrated this must have spread the word in the Capital City that she had been abducted by bandits.

A woman whose reputation was ruined by being kidnapped by bandits, even if Pei Yuqing loved her deeply, disregarding her blemish and willing to treat her as before, what about the rest of the Pei family?

The Duke Pei Mansion has been passed down for centuries, a family of dukes, renowned and illustrious, how could they accept such a bride?

Even if the Princess Duan Yang is kind-hearted, she probably wouldn’t accept such a daughter-in-law.

And the Xie family...

If she were to divorce and return home, she would still tarnish the Xie family’s reputation.

Her father and brothers naturally wouldn’t despise her, but how could she return home with peace of mind, affecting the reputation of the Xie family’s daughters?

As she thought about these things, Xie Wanqing’s face grew pale, and her heart sank as she felt there was no place for her in this vast world.

After being abducted, where could she go?

A rough finger brushed her cheek, and Xie Wanqing realized she didn’t know when she had started to cry.

"Don’t cry," Lu Ziyuan climbed onto the bed, held her shoulders, bowed his head to look at her, and said seriously, "Things aren’t as bad as you think. Everyone will only know that I was lovesick, boldly reckless, and sent people to abduct you to the Northern Border in the night."

"As for Jin Wuji, rest assured, I won’t let him return alive," he said softly, patiently soothing her, "Don’t be afraid, you won’t be ruined. It’s all because I loved you terribly, it’s my fault, you’re the victim."

And you will smoothly become my Crown Princess Consort, my Empress, my only beloved girl.

The world will only know how much I love you.

As for the humiliation you faced, it will be buried with Jin Wuji’s death.

Lu Ziyuan smiled gently and leaned down to kiss her forehead, "Wanwan, leave everything to me. I will elevate you to the highest, superior to all, where you are pure, clean, kind, innocent, and just need to sit in the clouds looking down on the world."

He had already started planning countermeasures upon learning that she had been abducted by the Jin people. He understood what she cared most about and was diligently solving the problems she encountered for her.

At this moment, every word was spoken with her in mind,

Xie Wanqing stared blankly at him as if she had never known him, with an expression of confusion.

After a long time, as if she finally understood his words, her lips moved, but she couldn’t speak.

In two lifetimes, the impression this man gave her was only coldness, authoritarianism, arrogance, and conceit.

In her previous life, he never said a gentle word to her. Even during the most intimate moments in bed, he was just more passionate in his kisses, the rest was an urgent need to possess.

She could feel he liked to play with her body, as for fondness and love, perhaps he hid it too well, or perhaps she was too insensitive, anyway, she never felt that he had such feelings for her.

In this life, it’s even less so, he’s a downright madman, a madness she can’t escape from.

He said many times that he loved her, but she scoffed at it.

How could such an obsessed madman understand love?

But now, she could feel his tenderness.

How strange, the word ’tenderness’ could indeed be related to a madman like Lu Ziyuan.

Xie Wanqing’s heart skipped, her eyes gradually cleared, "If that’s the case, then you are forcefully taking a minister’s wife, you will become a target of public criticism, and the history books will not spare you."