Chapter 178

As Li Xia's birth mother, Xu Xinyue could tell that Li Xia was hiding something. "You didn't cause Marquis Lu's leg injury, did you?"

"How could that be possible?" Li Xia replied immediately, realizing her reaction was a bit too strong. She turned to look at the sleeping Wang Hong, who was blowing bubbles, and reached out to pop a small bubble.

Xu Xinyue pulled Li Xia back and frowned, "What's going on? Tell me the truth, don't hide anything."UppTodated from nô/v/e/lb(i)n.c(o)/m

"Mother, do you think your daughter could overpower Lu XuanNing?" Li Xia's words made Xu Xinyue look her up and down. Indeed, she couldn't. Xu Xinyue asked again, "So his leg injury has nothing to do with you?"

"No," it was because of Lu XuanNing's own lack of ability that he was injured, it had nothing to do with her.

"Well, you should still show more concern for him. Don't always come here." Xu Xinyue was still worried that people would look down on Li Xia because of her.

"Alright, I'll go visit Lu XuanNing at the Mansion of Marquis of Pacifying the South later," Li Xia knew what Xu Xinyue was thinking and didn't argue.

"Don't wait until later, go now. Qiu Ju, go to the storehouse and pick out some good medicines for Xia'er to take to the Marquis's mansion," Xu Xinyue instructed Qiu Ju.

And so, Li Xia was hurried onto a carriage by Xu Xinyue and sent off to the Mansion of Marquis of Pacifying the South.

On the way, Li Xia asked Qiu Ling to investigate what had happened at the Wang Family. Why had Xu Xinyue been so eager to send her away as soon as she arrived? Qiu Ling accepted the task and went to investigate.

When the carriage arrived at the Mansion of Marquis of Pacifying the South, the gatekeeper saw the Li family's carriage with the plump maid Qiu Chan sitting on it. Knowing that the future mistress had arrived, he quickly opened the gates to welcome the Li family's carriage in.

Upon entering the courtyard and getting off the carriage, Li Xia saw Lu XuanNing standing at the entrance waiting for her.

Seeing Li Xia examining his injured leg, Lu XuanNing subconsciously moved his injured leg back a bit. "My leg is fine, don't worry."

"I'm not worried, it's my mother who's concerned. She suspects I injured you. That's why she rushed me out as soon as I arrived at the Wang family." Li Xia said as she walked forward to support Lu XuanNing into the house.

After Lu XuanNing sat down, Li Xia turned to sit opposite him. But Lu XuanNing pulled her to sit beside him.

"Your mother is right," Lu XuanNing said with a smile, holding Li Xia's hand.

"Was it me?" Li Xia tilted her chin up with an expression that said 'say that again'.

"Not you, it was me. It was my own lack of skill," Lu XuanNing immediately corrected himself.

Li Xia snorted, that's more like it. "Mother prepared quite a few tonics for me to bring to you, to help you recover."

"No."

"Let's eat together," Li Xia said, asking Qiu Shui to set the table. The two sat down to eat, and Li Xia, who hadn't eaten much for breakfast, was very hungry.

After quickly finishing the meal, they went to the study. Li Xia sent everyone away to stand guard, waiting for Lu XuanNing to speak.

"The Ning Family has been reported to have connections with Prince YongKang. The person who reported them was Prince Yun." Lu XuanNing's words confused Li Xia.

"You came just to tell me this?" This had nothing to do with her.

Lu XuanNing held Li Xia's hand, looking at the scar on her palm with deep remorse.

"This has nothing to do with you." This scar was something she had inflicted on herself.

"It does have something to do with me," Lu XuanNing began to explain. The reason why Yuanxia County Princess was so jealous of those prettier than her was partly due to Lu XuanNing.

Years ago, Yun Xia had pestered Lu XuanNing, wanting him to marry her. Lu XuanNing, annoyed by her persistence, blurted out, "You're too ugly, you're not fit to be my wife." The day after saying this, Lu XuanNing left with the Marquis to live on the frontier.

Unbeknownst to him, from that day on, Yuanxia County Princess developed a habit of bullying girls prettier than her.

It wasn't until Prince Yun reported the Ning Family, listing all the misdeeds of the former Princess Yun and Yuanxia County Princess, that Lu XuanNing realized his careless words as a youth had led to his beloved being bullied.

"So the root cause lies with you," Li Xia marveled at how her being targeted by Yuanxia County Princess traced back to Lu XuanNing in such a roundabout way.

"I'm sorry," Lu XuanNing apologized again.

"Did you have any relationship with Yuanxia County Princess?" Li Xia asked.

"No," Lu XuanNing said firmly and decisively. In Lu XuanNing's mind, she was just a madwoman. He was eager to get rid of someone he didn't want to see.

"Then why apologize to me? It's all in the past, there's no need for this," Li Xia didn't think Lu XuanNing needed to apologize, as the responsibility for this matter didn't lie with him.

"But this all started because of me," Lu XuanNing looked at the scars on Li Xia's hands, his heart filled with uncontrollable pain and regret.

"It's already in the past. If you bring it up again, I'll get angry." Li Xia's words made Lu XuanNing stop talking.

"Alright, I won't say anything more," Lu XuanNing decided in his heart to treat Li Xia even better in the future.

"Why did Prince Yun report the Ning Family?" The Ning Family was his in-laws, and if the Ning Family didn't fare well, he as the son-in-law would also be affected.