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

When it came to Mei Wanying, Pei Yan could never remain indifferent.

On this point, the Empress Dowager had guessed correctly.

He appeared in the Empress Dowager’s palace, his expression as detached as ever, as if he cared about nothing.

But the Empress Dowager knew she already had the upper hand.

Mei Wanying was Pei Yan’s Achilles’ heel.

As long as she was the bait, Pei Yan was sure to take it!

The corners of the Empress Dowager’s mouth twitched, revealing an expression that was half-smile, half-excitement.

To think that the Pei Family could produce someone so smitten.

How truly rare!

"Ah Yan, you’ve come."

The Empress Dowager’s voice was weak. She was half-reclined against a soft pillow, with only a Palace Maid beside her to serve medicinal tea.

Pei Yan stopped at a distance, neither too far nor too close. Perhaps it was because he was born cold, but the sight before him stirred not a single ripple in his heart.

Noticing his gaze sweep over the Palace Maid, the Empress Dowager said, "Hui Lan is not an outsider. She knows everything, so there’s no need to be reserved."

Pei Yan said, "You summoned me. What did you wish to say?"

From the moment he stepped through the door, he hadn’t uttered a single word of greeting.

The Empress Dowager thought to herself, ’No wonder I show favoritism.’

’This Pei Yan is terrifyingly cold.’

’Who knows what he went through as a child to become so cold-hearted and unfeeling.’

She covered her mouth with a handkerchief and coughed. "That night you took Mei Wanying away, did the physician find anything in his examination?"

Pei Yan frowned.

That night, Mei Wanying had been drugged with something foul. After returning to his residence, the Imperial Physician had examined her and found nothing else wrong.

"What are you trying to say?"

The Empress Dowager chuckled lightly. "Ah Yan, she’s with child. It happened that night."

"Impossible!"

Pei Yan’s pupils dilated, his mind went blank, and the hand behind his back clenched into a sudden, tight fist.

He had refuted the Empress Dowager’s words instinctively.

’The Imperial Physician said Mei Wanying hadn’t suffered any other harm!’

The Empress Dowager continued on her own, "She was with the Crown Prince for a long time that night. You should have a good idea of who the father is."

She coughed twice more into her handkerchief. "Your grandmother begs you, spare the child. Do not harm it. That is the Crown Prince’s only bloodline..."

With Mei Wanying involved, Pei Yan’s thoughts fell into chaos. The memory of their hurried meeting that night, her strange evasiveness, surfaced in his mind.

Mei Wanying had been unwilling to lift the covers, protecting her abdomen fiercely.

In the end, she had used her tears to force him to yield.

’Could it be... she was feeling guilty?’

The Empress Dowager continued, "She is your benefactor’s daughter. For General Mei’s sake, just let her keep the child."

"She’s even fled back to her family home in Jiangnan, afraid you’d find out..."

The Empress Dowager insisted that Mei Wanying was carrying the Useless Crown Prince’s child, and she was even asking him to spare it.

A wildfire of rage instantly ignited in Pei Yan’s heart.

That was *his* Mei Wanying. He had said it before: anyone who dared to touch her would die!

A vicious aura emanated from Pei Yan. "If you want the Useless Crown Prince dead, you can say so directly. There’s no need to beat around the bush."

Pregnant or not, the Useless Crown Prince was a dead man!

He wouldn’t wait any longer. He would head to Jiangnan today and see for himself whether Mei Wanying was pregnant.

’If... if she really is...’

A sharp pain shot through Pei Yan’s mind. ’What should I do?’

A voice in his heart urged him to deal with the Useless Crown Prince first.

’He dared to force himself on Mei Wanying. Tearing him limb from limb wouldn’t be enough to quell my hatred!’

Digging his nails into his palm, a cold sneer escaped the man’s throat. "You can wait to collect his corpse."

The Empress Dowager’s face went pale with shock. "Pei Yan, you dare!"

For the first time, Pei Yan lost control of his emotions in front of an outsider. "He deserves to die!"

A palpable killing intent suddenly erupted from him; this was no empty threat.

The Empress Dowager had never expected this outcome. Instead of killing the troublemaker Mei Wanying or the wretched offspring in her womb, Pei Yan was turning his blade on her most beloved grandson.

Her heart hammered in her chest, threatening to leap out of her throat from fear.

The Empress Dowager’s voice rose to a shriek. "He is your cousin! You are brothers, of the same blood!"

’So what?’

’He coveted Mei Wanying, and even dared to touch her!’

Pei Yan swept a cold gaze over the Empress Dowager. "Isn’t this what you wanted? Why the sudden panic?"

"Pei Yan, you’d even strike down your own kin! You’re not human!"

Unwilling to listen to any more of this, Pei Yan wanted only to deal with the Crown Prince and then find Mei Wanying.

His mind was a mess. Only by seeing Mei Wanying, soothed by her presence, could he calm down.

At that time, he would know how to deal with this child, whether its existence was true or false!

Seeing that he was about to leave, the Empress Dowager quickly gave Hui Lan a meaningful look.

Hui Lan produced a porcelain vial from her sleeve, threw it forcefully, and held her breath.

Pei Yan’s emotions were in turmoil, and he failed to hold his breath in time, inhaling the Force-Dispelling Powder.

His strength was instantly drained from his body.

The Empress Dowager commanded, "Take him out of the palace in secret! Use him to trade for the Crown Prince. Once it’s done, have the Crown Prince leave the Capital City and never come back!"

But Hui Lan didn’t listen to her.

She drew a dagger and held it to the side of Pei Yan’s neck. "When you killed my father and brother, you never imagined this day would come, did you?"

Pei Yan had followed General Mei onto the battlefield in his youth. He had no idea who Hui Lan’s father and brother were.

Those who died by his hand were, without exception, the enemy.

He eyed the person before him with a detached gaze, not a trace of panic in his expression.

Hui Lan’s eyes were cold and sharp. "You’re not afraid of death?"

A few words slipped from Pei Yan’s thin lips: "You talk too much."

Hui Lan had lain in wait for years. Finally, she had her chance for revenge, and she had a bellyful of emotions to vent.

And yet, not only was Pei Yan unafraid, he was even annoyed that she talked too much!

Her reason completely vanished in that moment. "Pei Yan, go to hell!"

She tightened her grip on the dagger, about to plunge it toward his vital point.

Unexpectedly, even under the drug’s influence, Pei Yan managed to dodge. The dagger slashed open his arm.

Hui Lan let out a laugh. "Crown Prince, there’s poison on this! A deadly one!"

She knew what Pei Yan was capable of; she couldn’t have made her move without being fully prepared.

The dagger was coated in a lethal poison. As long as it broke Pei Yan’s skin, it didn’t matter if it hit a vital point—he would vomit blood and die!

This sudden turn of events terrified the Empress Dowager. She had only wanted Pei Yan to kill the child in Mei Wanying’s womb, and then, after revealing the truth, let him live in torment day and night.

But she had never wanted Pei Yan to die.

The imperial court was not yet stable. If Pei Yan were to die at a time like this, the realm would descend into chaos!

The Empress Dowager was overcome by a fit of panicked rage, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.

She didn’t get to see the lethally poisoned Pei Yan turn the tables, snatching Hui Lan’s dagger and summoning men to apprehend her.

...

With Pei Yan lethally poisoned, the imperial court, which had just been stable for a few days, was once again roiling with dark undercurrents.

If not for Empress Gu presiding over the court, another great storm might have erupted.

"You must find a cure for Ah Yan’s poison, no matter the cost!"

Empress Gu stood guard by the sickbed. Seeing her son unconscious once more, her eyes were so red they looked as if they might drip blood.

’I should have been more ruthless and cleared away all the obstacles in his path.’

’Then Ah Yan wouldn’t have been secretly harmed!’

While unconscious, Pei Yan could hear the sounds of the outside world, but he couldn’t open his eyes no matter how he tried.

He was trapped. Unlike the previous times he had dreamed, his mind was now clear.

He felt as if he had become a spectator.

Pei Yan saw himself, his hair turned white, kneeling devoutly and praying for something.