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

Poisoned?

Mei Wanying’s expression faltered as she recalled all of Pei Yan’s recent abnormal behavior.

The day he appeared in the bridal chamber, his face was sickly and his frame was gaunt. When she gave him a push, he nearly lost his footing.

In their subsequent meetings, his complexion was never as it used to be.

And then there was the medicinal scent she had caught on him not long ago...

Pei Yan was a veteran of many battles and still bore numerous scars. For him, getting injured was as common as eating a meal.

Mei Wanying hadn’t thought much of it at the time, assuming he’d been wounded again since swords have no eyes.

She never expected he had been poisoned.

No wonder Ah Yao had gotten word from Chen Shujing that something might have happened to Pei Yan.

He must have been poisoned back then.

The situation at court was unstable, and the Capital was roiling with undercurrents. The slightest misstep could mean losing everything.

It was only logical that the news had been kept under such tight wraps.

’Since Pei Yan was able to travel all the way to Jiangnan, his life must no longer be in danger.’

Mei Wanying’s hands clasped together beneath her wide sleeves, her gaze calm and steady.

Standing on the steps, she looked down at Wei Jue.

"I am far away in Jiangnan and have not asked His Highness to do anything for me. What does his poisoning have to do with me?"

Wei Jue was momentarily speechless.

’If the Empress Dowager hadn’t used Miss Mei as bait, His Highness would never have made that trip.’

’And naturally, he wouldn’t have been poisoned...’

Seeing him at a loss for words, Mei Wanying said, "If he’s sick, he should see a doctor. Don’t try to pin the blame on me. I won’t be your scapegoat!"

This self-pity ploy wouldn’t work on her.

She refused to feel guilty over some baseless accusation!

She wasn’t the one who administered the poison. For this man to open his mouth and so casually drag her into it—wasn’t it utterly absurd?

"It is because His Highness cares for you that the Empress Dowager was able to seize upon his weakness."

Mei Wanying was unmoved by either threats or pleas. "What does that have to do with me?"

Wei Jue: "..."

’Could it be that Miss Mei truly doesn’t care about His Highness anymore?’

’In the past, if she had learned His Highness was unwell, Miss Mei would have forgotten all else.’

As they spoke, Pei Yan had already climbed ashore, his hand tightly clutching the sachet Mei Wanying had thrown away.

He gripped it so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

It was as if he were holding some precious treasure he couldn’t bear to let go of.

The residual poison in Pei Yan’s system had not yet cleared, and after the ordeal in the icy lake water, his face had turned deathly pale.

Wei Jue quickly took out a medicinal pill and gave it to Pei Yan to take.

The man’s gaze fell upon Mei Wanying. "Go receive your punishment."

He was speaking to Wei Jue.

Wei Jue had no complaints. Miss Mei was the person His Highness cared for most, and he had indeed spoken out of turn.

He left the medicine, cupped his hands in a bow, and retreated to receive his punishment.

Pei Yan held the sachet and walked toward Mei Wanying step by step, his brocade robes soaked and clinging to his lean frame.

He had achieved fame at a young age and amassed glorious military achievements. In both of her lifetimes, this was the first time Mei Wanying had seen him in such a sorry state.

But Pei Yan seemed oblivious, walking calmly until he stood before Mei Wanying.

He stopped at a distance that was neither too far nor too close.

"Ah Yin, I found it."

Mei Wanying averted her gaze. "A useless thing is a useless thing. Once thrown away, don’t bring it back to offend my sight."

How could she have borne to throw away something she had embroidered stitch by stitch with all her heart, unless she had been disappointed to the extreme?

The old Mei Wanying had loved using such objects to silently close the distance between them.

’Was it the sachet she no longer wanted?’

’Or was it everything from their past?’

A droplet of water traced a path down the sharp line of the man’s brow, collected at the edge of his jaw, and finally fell, disappearing from sight.

Pei Yan’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Everything in the past... I was wrong."

Whether Mei Wanying was willing to listen or not, Pei Yan had to make things clear to her.

"Back then, I hadn’t recognized my own feelings. I was overly restrictive with you because I was afraid someone else would snatch you away. I refused to marry you because I didn’t want you to be dragged into the mire."

That was why he would get so angry whenever he saw other men approach Mei Wanying, always coldly ordering her to go home.

To an outsider who didn’t know better, it looked as if he detested Mei Wanying to the extreme.

His status meant his future was destined to be perilous. At that time, he had already decided to find a good family for Mei Wanying to marry into, so she could live a peaceful and happy life.

As for himself, it didn’t matter who he married. He didn’t care if he would bring danger to that person.

As long as the one in danger was not Mei Wanying.

Back then, that was truly what he thought.

But in the unseen world, it seemed Heaven did not want him and Ah Yin to be apart, making him dream time and again of scenes where they were together.

He hadn’t figured out what he felt for Ah Yin, but his body was more honest, reacting first.

He would unconsciously draw closer to her.

He would have a man’s... desire for a woman.

Even though he was stubborn and always said he saw Ah Yin as a younger sister, his body’s reactions could not be faked.

He finally understood why he was unwilling to hear Ah Yin call him "brother."

He was clearly in love with Mei Wanying.

The way a man loves a woman!

The day he sent Mei Wanying away from the Capital City, he only left her a Jade Pendant and said nothing else, because the overall situation was not yet settled, and he did not want to promise her an uncertain future.

He had already planned it out back then: once he pacified the Border and rooted out the dangers in the Capital City, he would bring Mei Wanying back to the Capital to marry her.

He never imagined so many things would go wrong in the interim.

Ah Yin was pregnant with their child, yet she was forced and wronged by his mother, the Empress.

From the day she met him, Ah Yin had suffered far too much.

Now, he was getting what he deserved.

No matter how Ah Yin treated him, he would accept it.

But watching over her was his own choice, and no one could change that.

Not even Ah Yin!

Pei Yan’s voice was low. "Ah Yin, I didn’t come looking for you on a whim, nor was it for the child. I just became certain of one thing. I... it has to be you."

Without waiting for Mei Wanying to speak, Pei Yan clutched the sachet and turned to leave.

The man walked faster and faster, his retreating figure radiating an air of escape.

He was still afraid, afraid of hearing words of rejection from Mei Wanying’s lips.

It was also at this moment that Pei Yan clearly realized how deeply hurtful the many barbed words he had said in the past truly were.

He hated himself for hurting Mei Wanying, and he hated himself for not dreaming of their past life sooner.

’If only I could go back to the very beginning...’

Watching the direction Pei Yan had gone, Ding Xiang said, "Miss, will His Highness be alright? He looks very unwell."

Pei Yan could command armies on the battlefield, his constitution many times stronger than an ordinary person’s, yet he looked unsteady on his feet, as if he could collapse at any moment.

Mei Wanying frowned and sent an errand maid after him. "Go follow him. Don’t let anything happen to him."

Pei Yan’s status was special. If anything happened to him at the Mei family residence, the Empress would skin her alive.

’I’m doing this for the lives of the more than one hundred people in the Mei family, not because I’m worried about Pei Yan.’

After standing in place for a long while, Mei Wanying lowered her eyes and saw the porcelain bottle left on the stone steps.

’That must be Pei Yan’s medicine inside. I wonder if he has any more with him?’

Mei Wanying muttered a curse, "He’s nothing but trouble."

Her slender hand picked up the porcelain bottle, and she handed it to Ding Xiang. "Go, give this back to him."

After speaking, she added, "Don’t let his things contaminate the Mei family’s home."

Ding Xiang took it and hurried off to deliver the medicine to Pei Yan.

But she wondered to herself, ’Does Miss really not care about His Highness anymore?’

’Otherwise, what does it matter to us if His Highness lives or dies? It’s not like we were the ones who poisoned him...’