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

Pei Yan was lingering in Jiangnan, not returning to the Capital City to take charge of the situation, and Empress Gu was nearly sick with worry.

Every day, she sent letters to Pei Yan, urging him to return to the capital at once.

She even promised to no longer interfere in his affairs with Mei Wanying, and that she would consent if he wished to marry her.

But as it turned out, the letters vanished without a trace.

Empress Gu then thought of Mei Wanying and started sending the letters to her instead.

But there was no response from her either.

Empress Gu was furious. "I’ve already given her a way out. She failed to give birth to a son, and I didn’t even blame her—I even sent her gifts! And she still dares to put on airs? The nerve!"

Mrs. Feng said uncertainly, "Could it be... that His Highness intercepted the letters?"

After all, that’s what they had done before.

It wasn’t impossible that His Highness had discovered their scheme and was using the same tactic against them.

Empress Gu’s expression froze.

She said bitterly, "That does sound like Ah Yan. In his heart, I fear everyone else combined doesn’t compare to that one Mei Wanying."

As a mother, it was hard for Empress Gu not to feel grieved.

She had carried him for ten months and survived countless plots to finally bring him into the world, yet a few years of separation had made him this distant.

He even placed Mei Wanying before her.

"No matter how wonderful she is, she’s still an outsider. How can she compare to his own flesh and blood? Ah Yan is truly foolish."

Mrs. Feng dared not respond to that. His Highness was the Empress’s biological son, and Mei Wanying might one day become her daughter-in-law.

With a child by her side, it would actually be quite easy for Mei Wanying to win the Empress’s favor.

If she spoke out of turn, she feared she would end up offending both sides.

"Perhaps His Highness is preoccupied with the child. It might not be entirely because of Mei Wanying," Mrs. Feng comforted her placidly.

Her words indeed had an effect.

It was only natural for parents to love their children, and Ah Yan was no exception.

How could Empress Gu hold a grudge against a small child?

She sighed. "Forget it. There’s no use saying any more."

Her son was not in the Capital City, but Empress Gu had not given up on her plan.

She ordered Mrs. Feng to bring a soup. "To Qinzheng Hall."

After the attempted coup, the more the Emperor’s health failed, the more he feared death.

He had dispatched numerous guards, surrounding Qinzheng Hall with layer after layer of security, making it impenetrable.

Empress Gu wanted to carry out her plan, but couldn’t find the perfect opportunity.

Fortunately, after decades of struggling against these people, patience was one thing she did not lack.

Otherwise, she would have brought her son back the moment she learned of his whereabouts.

Instead, she had pretended to know nothing, guiding public opinion step by step, forcing the Emperor to personally issue the order to find him.

The Emperor and Empress Gu were a couple from their youth. In his younger years, though the Emperor had been wary of the Gu Family, he held some genuine affection for his first wife.

Otherwise, he would not have let her hold the position of Empress so securely.

Now, the only people who could make the Emperor lower his guard were Empress Gu and Pei Yan.

They were his wife and son.

They had common interests; they were allies in the same camp to begin with.

"Is Ah Yan still fooling around?"

A man lay on the imperial-yellow couch. Empress Gu wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she felt he had aged a great deal more.

Not only was his hair completely white, but the skin on his face had started to sag, and there were dark circles under his eyes.

Who would have thought that in his youth, he was once a famously handsome man in the Capital City.

Empress Gu carried the soup to the dragon bed herself.

As she fed the Emperor, she said, "Ah Yan takes after you in his loyalty and devotion. That Mei Wanying bore him a child; how could he not be anxious?"

This was a massive secret, but Empress Gu chose to tell the Emperor.

Only by sharing a secret could she create the illusion

that their bond was indestructible!

The Emperor’s eyes widened in shock. A certain possibility occurred to him, and he propped himself up, agitated.

He asked impatiently, "Is it a boy or a girl?"

He only had one son, Ah Yan. If he didn’t produce more male heirs, wouldn’t that fulfill the curse from all those years ago?

He was the Son of Heaven, chosen by destiny! He would absolutely not be left without descendants!

A glimmer of light appeared in the Emperor’s cloudy eyes. He eagerly awaited the answer.

Empress Gu scoffed inwardly.

’Even a vicious tiger won’t eat its own cubs,’ she thought. ’But he brought this upon himself; he doesn’t deserve to live!’

She sighed. "Mei Wanying’s belly was uncooperative; she gave birth to a girl."

The light in the Emperor’s eyes dimmed, and as if unable to bear the blow, he fell back onto the dragon bed.

The corners of Empress Gu’s mouth turned up slightly before she quickly smoothed her expression.

Her tone was mournful. "Who exactly is cursing the Pei Family? Is Ah Yan also destined to be left without descendants, forced to adopt someone else’s son?"

The word "adopt" struck the Emperor right where it hurt.

He had adopted his nephew, giving him the power and status of a Crown Prince, and that wicked creature had dared to stage a coup!

"It’s him! It must be the bad luck brought by that monster!"

The Emperor didn’t say a name, but Empress Gu immediately understood who he meant.

She was pleasantly surprised.

She had just been worrying about how to dispose of the Useless Crown Prince as quickly as possible, and now, just as she was getting sleepy, someone handed her a pillow.

Empress Gu’s expression turned serious. "Your subject has heard a folk belief that an adopted child can affect the fate of their parents. Could it be that the Useless Crown Prince’s fate is to be cursed to harm his brothers, and that is why you... only have Ah Yan as a son?"

The Emperor, in his desperation, was willing to try any remedy, not caring whether the claim was reasonable or not.

As long as he could push the blame onto someone else, it was fine.

He was the Emperor, the one chosen by destiny! How could he possibly be cursed?

It was all that monster’s fault!

The Emperor, with a trembling hand, said, "We shall draft a decree! The Useless Crown Prince harbors treacherous intentions, attempting patricide and regicide! He must be executed!"

Merely imprisoning the Useless Crown Prince was not enough to set the Emperor’s mind at ease.

"We cannot allow this monster to live and continue to plague the Pei Family’s empire!"

This was exactly what Empress Gu wanted. She handed the soup to Mrs. Feng and personally helped the Emperor sit up to draft the decree.

Once the Useless Crown Prince was dead, his faction would be like scattered sand, no longer able to pose a threat.

And with that, Ah Yan’s biggest stumbling block would be removed.

On the day of the attempted coup, the Useless Crown Prince had been severely wounded by Pei Yan and was unconscious for a long time before waking.

When he discovered he was imprisoned, he flew into a rage.

He would rather die than be a prisoner!

When the imperial decree and poisoned wine were delivered together, the Useless Crown Prince, contrary to expectation, was stirred with a desire to live.

This throne should have belonged to his biological father.

For him to inherit the throne—that was the true mandate of heaven!

What right did Pei Yan have to compete with him?

The disheveled, pathetic man’s fingers twitched. "We wish to see the Imperial Grandmother. Consider it a final meeting."

The eunuch who had been ordered to deliver the poison was unmoved. "You should get on with it. It will make it easier for this servant to report back."

The Useless Crown Prince’s expression turned grim.

"Does my Imperial Father not wish to know just how many men my biological father left behind? Does he truly believe he caught them all in one fell swoop?"

The eunuch’s face changed.

During the previous interrogations of the Useless Crown Prince, they hadn’t managed to pry a single word out of him.

Now that the Useless Crown Prince was willing to talk, to be on the safe side, he had to report back to the Emperor.

The Useless Crown Prince’s father was a thorn in the Emperor’s side.

Without much hesitation, the Useless Crown Prince got his wish and was granted a meeting with the Empress Dowager.

When Empress Gu heard the news in the Central Palace, she knew things were about to go wrong.

"That old hag has always favored the Useless Crown Prince! She didn’t even hesitate to plot against Ah Yan. I’m afraid she’ll help the Useless Crown Prince escape!"