A Marriage in Name Only? My Stepbrother Won't Let Me Go

Mei Wanying was caught completely off guard.

She had made her intention not to marry clear, hoping Gu Xun would see the difficulty and back down.

As Mrs. Gu had said, many people considered marrying into the wife’s family a grievance, a shameful affair.

Gu Xun was one of the Noble Children, so how could he possibly be willing to marry into her family?

Yet here he was, offering his entire fortune to her and stating in no uncertain terms that he was willing to marry into the Mei family.

The more sincere Gu Xun was, the more flustered Mei Wanying became, and the less she knew how to refuse him.

If he were as vicious as Pei Yan, she could have spoken harshly and shown him the door.

But Gu Xun was nothing like Pei Yan.

During her time in Jiangnan, Gu Xun had helped her a great deal.

Even her relatives no longer dared to come and cause trouble.

Mei Wanying responded to kindness, not coercion. If someone showed her an ounce of goodwill, she felt compelled to return it twofold.

How could she possibly take a hard line and simply throw Gu Xun out?

Mei Wanying sighed. "Mr. Gu, you are the eldest legitimate son of your family. Your elders would never permit you to act so recklessly. Let’s pretend today never happened. Please, take these things back."

She hadn’t rejected him outright, which gave Gu Xun a glimmer of hope.

This was the woman he had fallen for at first sight. Heaven knew how much he envied his cousin for having earned Mei Wanying’s wholehearted devotion.

In the dead of night, he would sometimes go mad with jealousy.

He had thought they were fated to never be together in this life, but then she had suddenly given up on his cousin and returned to Jiangnan.

Even his aunt supported their union.

Gu Xun felt that heaven itself was helping him. If he hesitated now, he would surely never be able to marry Mei Wanying in this lifetime!

"I will convince my elders to approve of this marriage."

Mei Wanying’s head throbbed. She lowered her gaze to her pregnant belly. "Mr. Gu, you deserve a better woman than me."

’What does it matter how good other women are?’

’They aren’t the one he wants.’

Mei Wanying pushed the box back toward him, her rejection perfectly clear.

This wasn’t unexpected. Gu Xun’s face fell for a moment, but he quickly composed himself.

’You have to fight for the one you love.’

’Just like... she used to.’

Gu Xun said, "The faction of the Useless Crown Prince has fallen. My aunt no longer has to be scrupulous. If she decides she wants to take the child back to the Capital City, what will you do?"

"I... I want to be the child’s father. For my sake, my aunt won’t trouble you or the child."

Mei Wanying froze, a flicker of worry in her eyes. ’That is indeed something Empress Gu would do.’

But she would not—could not—make an unconditional compromise for the sake of her child.

She had already compromised once; she wouldn’t sacrifice her marriage too.

If she were ever to accept Gu Xun, it would only be for one reason: because she truly wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.

Not for the sake of her child.

If they really pushed her to the brink, she would drag everyone down with her. No one would get to live in peace!

Mei Wanying said, "As long as the Empress wants to keep this from Pei Yan, she won’t take the child away with a great fanfare."

In other words, as long as she didn’t marry and bring the child with her, and didn’t try to use the child to elevate her status, Empress Gu would likely have no major objections to the child remaining in her care.

Pei Yan was now the Crown Prince. His future was bright, all obstacles cleared from his path. Countless people were vying to place their daughters by his side.

The Empress wouldn’t even have to pressure him to marry; the officials of the Court would surely implore him to take a Crown Princess Consort.

That day at the temple, Pei Yan had said he wouldn’t marry anyone else, but Mei Wanying hadn’t taken him seriously.

’He was the one who had agreed to the marriage in the first place.’

’He was always going back on his word. Only a fool would believe him!’

As far as Mei Wanying was concerned, Pei Yan’s words had zero credibility.

He did whatever he pleased. He was a complete scoundrel, and not a single word he said could be trusted!

Gu Xun had no intention of pressuring her. Seeing that she wasn’t overly worried about the child’s future, he let the topic drop.

He could be ruthless in his methods, but he couldn’t disregard Mei Wanying’s feelings.

He was already lucky enough just to see her often.

Gu Xun left the box with Mei Wanying, his tone teasing. "The day you agree, just say the word, and I’ll pack my bags and move right in."

Mei Wanying was speechless. "..."

The man stared at her expectantly, like a loyal wolfhound.

Mei Wanying shifted her gaze away, feeling awkward.

Perhaps it was because she’d had so little contact with men before, but she had never met anyone quite like Gu Xun.

One moment he was suave and sophisticated, acting with perfect propriety, and the next he was playing the rogue.

Mei Wanying had no intention of marrying into the Gu Family, nor did she plan to let Gu Xun marry into hers, so she certainly couldn’t accept his fortune.

Even if he claimed it was just for safekeeping, she couldn’t just go along with it and let him leave it here.

For one, she couldn’t give him false hope.

For another, this kind of ambiguous entanglement would not only hurt him, but it would also hurt her.

She pushed the box back to Gu Xun once more. "Mr. Gu, thank you for your care these past few weeks, but these things are far too valuable. I cannot accept them."

Mrs. Gu chimed in, "If you leave something so valuable with Miss Mei, she won’t be able to sleep soundly at night, worrying it might be stolen by some thief."

’But what she was really thinking was, ’Mei Wanying is an outsider, after all. How could he just hand over his entire fortune to her?’’

’If she refused to return it later, wouldn’t our Xun suffer a terrible loss?’

Mrs. Gu thought Mei Wanying didn’t know what was good for her.

’Young master Xun is a fine, upstanding man from an illustrious family. In what way is he not good enough for her?’

’And he even said he was willing to marry into her family, yet Mei Wanying still refused.’

’I don’t know what she’s thinking. A ruined woman like her, and she still dares to be so picky.’

’Any other woman in her position would be laughing in her sleep!’

She shot a sidelong glance at Mei Wanying. Perhaps it was because she had been well-nourished during her pregnancy, but her face had grown a little rounder. With skin like snow, cheeks like peaches, and lips as red as her teeth were white, she looked like a ripe peach herself.

Motherhood, it seemed, had only added to her allure.

’No wonder Xun is still so obsessed with her, even with her carrying another man’s child. He’s even willing to marry into her family just to be with her.’

’She’s a siren, born to bewitch the souls of men!’

’Only His Highness in the Capital City had a clear enough head not to be bewitched by her beauty.’

’She pestered him for so many years, yet he never once agreed to marry her.’

Mrs. Gu sighed inwardly. ’Xun is just too foolish.’

’How can he not see that Mei Wanying is just trying to marry up?’

’If so many people weren’t watching her, she would have contacted His Highness long ago to tell him about the child.’

Seeing Gu Xun’s crestfallen expression, Mrs. Gu had another thought: if Mei Wanying were to actually agree to marry Xun, he would be so deliriously happy he’d probably give her his very life!

’It’s not like the Gu Family hasn’t produced such lovelorn fools before!’

Fearing that Gu Xun would actually give his entire fortune to Mei Wanying, Mrs. Gu took matters into her own hands, literally, and placed the box back in Gu Xun’s grasp.

"Miss Mei is about to give birth, Xun. Stop causing her trouble and let the woman get a peaceful night’s sleep."

Gu Xun’s sharp brows furrowed, clearly displeased with Mrs. Gu’s high-handedness.

But one look at Mei Wanying’s belly and he felt that he had, in fact, been in the wrong.

’No matter how anxious I am, I shouldn’t have confessed my feelings at a time like this.’

’Her pregnancy is already difficult enough. How could she have any energy to think about romance?’

Annoyed with himself, Gu Xun took the box back.

He understood. Mei Wanying truly didn’t want to accept it; otherwise, she wouldn’t have allowed Mrs. Gu to interfere like this.

Now that the unspoken had been said, Gu Xun no longer backed down. He looked at Mei Wanying and said, "I’ll wait for you."

He would wait forever.

Unless... Mei Wanying decided to marry someone else.