Beautiful Maid [Forced Conquest]

On a spring day, with apricot blossoms and a fine drizzle, Xie Qingyan happened to run into a maid when he returned to the estate. From then on, his heart stirred, and there was no turning back.

With her willowy waist and lotus-petal face, she walked through the estate beneath a pale yellow oil-paper umbrella, effortlessly catching his eye.

Perhaps she heard someone call her from behind. The beauty turned back with a charming smile. Her every glance shone with allure, her beauty almost impossible to describe. She seemed to dim the spring splendor of the whole courtyard.

From the shadows, Xie Qingyan kept his eyes on her. The longer he looked, the more intrigued and feverish he became, like a wildfire that would consume everything as he claimed her for himself.

The beauty he wanted was his. He wouldn't hesitate to seize her by any means necessary.

After she transmigrated, Gu Mingyu became the maid serving the young lady of the estate. Her mistress was gentle and lenient with the servants, and life was peaceful and uneventful. Gu Mingyu was quite content. Her only wish was to save enough money to buy her freedom and leave the estate, so she could live freely, without restraint.

But when the heir returned to the capital after being promoted, she never expected him to take a fancy to her and demand that she become his concubine.

Gu Mingyu naturally refused. One drizzly day, she hurried to plead with him beneath her oil-paper umbrella. Weeping, she knelt on the ground for a long time and said, "My lord, please understand. I will never be a concubine in this life..."

But all she got in return was the cold, unyielding response of that immortal-like man: "It's your good fortune that I chose you. If you don't want it, you can always take your own life."

In the end, Gu Mingyu cried for a long time, but could only accept her fate. She thought that one day, she would escape from his side.

In Xie Qingyan's eyes, Gu Mingyu was nothing more than a canary. As long as he didn't let go, she would never fly from his grasp. He never imagined that this little bird would risk her life to escape him.

After her escape was exposed, Xie Qingyan stood by the dock, his cool gaze fixed on her slender figure. His eyes held nothing but certainty that he would get his way. "Gu Mingyu, if you come back, I can let bygones be bygones..."

He had always believed that she could never leave him.

But before he could finish, Gu Mingyu gave a cold laugh. "Xie Qingyan, dream on. Every day and night I spent with you made me sick."

With that, she jumped into the surging river without hesitation. Her frail figure was utterly resolute.

Long afterward, Xie Qingyan still dreamed of her leaping into the river. At last, he understood: she had never been a swallow trapped in a cage.

But it was too late.

Theme: Perseverance and resilience.