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

Pei Yan chose to leave, and no one dared to block his path.

For one, he was the Crown Prince from the Capital City. Who knew how many guards he had with him? If they pushed him too far, they might not live to see another day.

For another, they were afraid that stopping the carriage would mean keeping the "calamity star" there.

If the plague worsened, they would all be dead anyway.

So, they decided to quit while they were ahead and let them go.

Once the carriage was far away, someone in the crowd asked, "They took the little calamity star with them, right?"

"I saw Miss Mei holding a child. That must have been the one."

"Miss Mei hadn’t even wiped the tears from her face. She probably couldn’t bear to leave home."

"Was it too cruel of us to do this? Miss Mei built the Children’s Benevolence Hall not long ago and saved so many young children."

"My sister’s husband died, leaving her alone with two kids. They could barely put food on the table. Miss Mei gave her a job cooking for the children at the Children’s Benevolence Hall, which basically saved her life."

Mei Wanying had always been soft-hearted, and after having a child, she was even more determined to accumulate good fortune for Ling.

She had spent a great deal of silver to build the Children’s Benevolence Hall, giving those poor children a place to stay.

She also hired diligent women to care for the children, giving them an opportunity to support their own families.

Miss Mei had truly done a great deed.

Someone retorted, "We didn’t make Miss Mei leave. She chose to go herself. You can’t blame us for that."

"That’s her own flesh and blood, and the little calamity star is still nursing. What else could she do but go with her?"

Regardless, their goal had been achieved.

"Now that the calamity star is gone, no one else should die..."

General Mei had fought far and wide for the common people and was highly respected, so the townspeople had not wanted to make things difficult for Mrs. Mei.

Once Mei Wanying and Pei Yan left with the child, the crowd dispersed from the old residence.

Nanny Liu, listening to the commotion from behind the manor gates, let out a huge sigh of relief.

She scurried back to Mrs. Mei’s courtyard. "Madam, the people outside have all scattered. As long as we keep our own household in check and don’t let them go out and spread nonsense, our Ling will be fine."

Pei Yan had left guards behind and even had Wei Jue personally protect Ling.

But two fists are no match for four hands. If a real conflict had broken out, the situation would have been very unfavorable for them.

Mrs. Mei also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ling is a lucky charm, not some calamity star."

Ling had cried herself to sleep. Tear tracks still stained her chubby little face, and she would let out a small sob from time to time, looking utterly pitiful.

Mrs. Mei gently patted Ling’s tiny body, trying to help her sleep more soundly.

She didn’t even dare wipe her granddaughter’s face, afraid the little one would wake up and start crying inconsolably again.

She sighed. "I just don’t know if Ling will drink from a wet nurse."

Mei Wanying didn’t want her daughter to drink another woman’s milk, but the situation was special. She couldn’t let her daughter go hungry.

She had secretly hired a wet nurse for her daughter.

Since birth, Ling had only accepted Mei Wanying. She would definitely struggle to adapt to a sudden wet nurse.

Mrs. Mei was deeply worried.

Nanny Liu comforted her, "If it really doesn’t work out, there’s always cow’s milk. Please, try not to worry."

But with her daughter and granddaughter involved, Mrs. Mei simply couldn’t relax.

She could only hope for a swift resolution so their family would not be separated again.

「...」

Meanwhile, the carriage made it out of the city without any trouble.

Mei Wanying’s tense body relaxed slightly. She placed the bundled doll on the soft stool beside her.

It was only then that Mei Wanying realized Pei Yan was still holding her hand.

"Let go."

Pei Yan was reluctant to release her. It had taken him so much effort just to hold Ah Yin’s hand.

He said brazenly, "It’s dark. You can’t see."

He was being shameless again. Mei Wanying’s face flushed with anger.

"You rogue!"

Her almond-shaped eyes widened, a sight that Pei Yan found utterly captivating.

He said, "Curse me a few more times, and then I’ll let go."

Mei Wanying had never met anyone like him. She asked with genuine bewilderment, "Is there something wrong with you?"

As soon as she spoke, the large hand holding hers tightened, refusing to let go.

Mei Wanying squeezed two words through her gritted teeth, "You’re shameless!"

In the dark carriage, the man chuckled. "You’ve already called me a rogue. I might as well live up to the name, lest I be cursed for nothing."

’But what he was really thinking was,’ ’If I let go this time, who knows when I’ll get to hold her hand again.’

’He truly couldn’t bear to let go.’

Pei Yan silently cursed his past self for being so foolish. Back then, Ah Yin had been so good to him.

She had relied on him so much.

’If he had cherished her properly, he wouldn’t just be holding her hand right now; he could be holding her in his arms.’

’They would be sharing a bed.’

’And... they’d be entangled day and night.’

The carriage was too dark for Mei Wanying to see Pei Yan’s expression.

But she could feel his gaze lingering on her face.

It made her inexplicably flustered. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

She tried to pull her hand away again, bracing herself for Pei Yan’s usual shamelessness.

But this time, he let go decisively.

He was always like this, making it impossible to read his mind or guess his next move.

Mei Wanying composed her expression, clasping her hands in her lap.

The carriage fell silent.

So quiet that they could hear each other’s breathing.

A subtle fragrance drifted through the air, slowly suffusing the space. It was Mei Wanying’s scent.

Pei Yan’s Adam’s apple bobbed. The hand resting on his knee clenched into a fist.

’I can’t scare Ah Yin.’

The man’s breathing grew heavy, and a sense of unease crept over Mei Wanying.

She asked nervously, "Don’t tell me your poison is acting up?"

She had seen Pei Yan when his poison flared up before. His face would turn as pale as a ghost, his body would sway on the verge of collapse—nothing like the invincible War God.

She’d heard from Ding Xiang that he would even vomit blood, looking as if he were on the brink of death.

If the residual poison acted up at a time like this, Mei Wanying would fall apart.

’She still needed Pei Yan to protect her!’

The darkness didn’t affect the man’s vision; he could clearly see the worry in Mei Wanying’s eyes.

She wasn’t joking. She genuinely thought his poison was flaring up.

A helpless expression crossed Pei Yan’s face.

’His Ah Yin was so innocent. It made him, who spent his days and nights thinking about *those* things, feel like a real rogue.’

The man pressed his long fingers to his temples and leaned back.

"Mm," he grunted. "I do feel a bit unwell."

Forgetting all about keeping her distance, Mei Wanying leaned closer, trying to get a clear look at his face to judge how serious it was.

But her eyes were truly failing her, forcing her to lean in even closer.

She was so close. Her cherry-pink lips were slightly parted, and her warm, fragrant breath brushed against his face.

Pei Yan tried to restrain himself, but his gaze fell uncontrollably to Mei Wanying’s lips.

"It’s not serious. I’ll be fine if I just endure it. Don’t get so close to me."

As he spoke, he shifted his body slightly to the side.

His abnormal behavior only made Mei Wanying think his condition was even more severe.

"Where’s your medicine?"

Mei Wanying knew he always carried antidote pills with him.

The man said nothing.

Seeing how worried Mei Wanying was about him, his heart swelled with an immense sense of satisfaction.

’Ah Yin still cared about him.’

Just as he was debating whether to feign more weakness and seize the chance to have Ah Yin hold him, he was suddenly slapped across the face.

Pei Yan was stunned. This was not how he had imagined things would go.

He asked in disbelief, "You hit me?"

He had just said his poison was acting up, and Ah Yin still hit him.

’She was so cruel!’