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

Amid the sound of the storm, the carved wooden door let out a CREAK as the wind and rain swept inside.

Mei Wanying’s head snapped toward the sound, but her eyes found nothing to focus on.

In the Crown Prince’s eyes, she looked just like a startled animal.

So helpless.

So alluring!

He gently shut the door, cutting off the storm, but the terror on her face only deepened.

The Crown Prince toyed with his Jade Ring, a teasing smirk on his face and the glint of a predator in his eyes.

He had always known Mei Wanying was a beauty, but he never realized how pitiably lovely she was when her eye ailment flared up.

The panic written across her exquisite face was far more captivating than her usual cold, distant demeanor.

’You can’t kill your prey right away; that would be too boring.’ The Crown Prince took two steps along the wall. With a light kick of his toe, he sent a vase in the corner toppling over.

It didn’t shatter.

Instead, it rolled a few times in Mei Wanying’s direction with a low RUMBLE.

With that, Mei Wanying was certain: there was a second person in the room.

And whoever it was, they were toying with her for their own amusement.

’Who could it be?’

’The Crown Prince?’

Mei Wanying wasn’t sure.

The Emperor had confined the Crown Prince to the Eastern Palace, so the chances of him being here were slim.

But besides him, Wanying couldn’t think of anyone else who would play such a cruel trick.

Her hand beneath her wide sleeve tightened around her butterfly hairpin. Mei Wanying took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm.

"Your Highness, is this amusing?"

Mei Wanying’s voice grew sharp. "Is it fun to toy with me?"

’She figured it out already?’

The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow, the interest in his eyes deepening. If Mei Wanying were just a pretty decoration, he would have grown bored of her quickly.

The Eastern Palace was filled with beauties as numerous as the clouds. No matter how alluring they were, they were all the same once he had them.

A beautiful face needed a quick mind to go with it; only then could he truly savor the experience.

Clearly, Mei Wanying was no brainless beauty.

Her fiery spirit was far more interesting than that of any other noble lady.

The Crown Prince suddenly felt a pang of jealousy toward Pei Yan, the man Mei Wanying had loved for so many years.

The corners of his lips curved into a slight smile, but his eyes were utterly cruel.

’Good. Mei Wanying will be mine soon enough.’

’Who cares who she loves? As long as she is in my grasp, I’ll be happy!’

The incense was lit, releasing cloying, sticky wisps of fragrance into the air.

Mei Wanying caught the scent, and fear coiled tighter in her gut.

Refusing to be a sitting duck, she stood and made her way toward the door, guided by memory alone.

Blind as she was, it was easy to lose her balance.

When she collided with a wall of flesh, Mei Wanying, trapped in darkness, began to lose control.

Her body moved faster than her mind. Her hand, clutching the butterfly hairpin, shot out to stab the person before her.

A hand caught her wrist.

The tip of the pin was a hair’s breadth from the Crown Prince’s heart.

"Mei Wanying, you’ve got some nerve."

The man’s voice was laced with amusement. "Daring to assassinate even me? Are you tired of living? Or do you want your mother and the hundred souls of the Mei Mansion to be buried with you?"

So, it really was the Crown Prince.

He was threatening her.

Using her life, her mother’s life, and the lives of every single person in her household!

Mei Wanying felt a wave of helpless fury. She tried to pull her hand back, but the man held it fast.

His palm was dry and scorching hot, raising goosebumps all over her skin.

When she struggled again, he only tightened his grip, even stroking her wrist with his thumb.

A tremor ran through Mei Wanying, and her breathing grew shallow and quick.

Suppressing her turmoil, she said coldly, "I have committed no crime, yet I am imprisoned here. This is merely self-defense. How can you call it assassination?"

The Crown Prince snorted. "Such a sharp tongue."

’She clearly knew it was me, yet she still tried to stab me with that hairpin.’

’If that’s not assassination, what is?’

"Would you have done the same if it were Pei Yan?"

The Crown Prince leaned in closer, a dangerous light swirling in his eyes. "How could I forget? You love Pei Yan most of all. If he were the one here, you’d be using every trick in the book to get him into bed."

His vulgar words made Mei Wanying’s face flush crimson.

Not from shyness, but from rage.

"Your Highness, please show some decorum!"

"Decorum? Hah..."

’What’s that? I’ve never had any.’

Mei Wanying had no desire to argue with him. She wasn’t even curious how he had managed to appear here despite being under house arrest.

She just wanted to go home.

She didn’t want to be here a moment longer.

Mei Wanying reined in her emotions and asked in a placating tone, "Your Highness, when will I be able to leave?"

That last word—"leave"—displeased the Crown Prince.

’Other women scheme endlessly to climb into my bed. Why is it that Mei Wanying is always trying to run away?’

’Is she still thinking about Pei Yan?’

’I’ll snatch her away...’

’I’ll snatch her away from Pei Yan!’

A voice screamed in his mind, urging him to act.

’Pei Yan has stolen so much from me. He even threatens my position as Crown Prince.’

’Stealing Mei Wanying is just a small act of revenge.’

’What have I done wrong?’

Though Mei Wanying couldn’t see, she could feel the aura of danger emanating from him.

With the strange incense burning in the room, the purpose of which she didn’t know, the situation was clearly not in her favor.

Mei Wanying tried a softer approach. "My mother is waiting for me, Your Highness. Please, let me go home?"

To the Crown Prince, this was just an excuse. The person she really wanted to see was clearly Pei Yan!

"Whatever he can give you, I can give you too. Mei Wanying, stop loving Pei Yan. Why don’t you love me instead?"

"We’re both children without fathers. You should understand how I feel. You and I are destined to be together."

"When I ascend to the throne, I can make you my Empress!"

The Crown Prince grew agitated, and his words bordered on treason.

Mei Wanying suddenly understood why so many people said the Crown Prince was an absurd, unpredictable madman.

Even without seeing his face, she could imagine how deranged he must look right now.

He really was a madman.

Utterly insane.

Sane people fear madmen, and Mei Wanying was no exception.

Unable to move forward, she could only retreat by instinct.

Her instinctive retreat enraged the Crown Prince. He yanked her back forcefully.

Mei Wanying lost her footing and was pulled to the ground.

Pain brought a sheen of tears to her beautiful eyes, but she didn’t cry. Her expression remained stubbornly defiant.

How could anyone not be moved by such a peerless beauty—so pitifully lovely, yet so proud and aloof?

The Crown Prince deigned to squat down in front of Mei Wanying.

Though he knew she couldn’t see, he seized her by the chin, forcing her to face him.

Her pale, almond-shaped eyes tilted up slightly at the corners, giving her a unique charm.

Upon closer inspection, he saw a tiny beauty mark just below her eye.

’What a true beauty.’

The Crown Prince suddenly felt that possessing her body wasn’t enough. He wanted Mei Wanying’s heart, too.

He wanted her to love him with her entire being, just as she loved Pei Yan!

"Why are you hiding? Once I’ve had my way with you tonight, I’ll send you back to your mansion. Don’t even think about escaping. You are destined to enter the Eastern Palace and share my life and death!"

The Eastern Palace had plenty of beauties. Occasionally, there were fiery ones who were unwilling to share a husband with other women.

But after he took them to his bed, their attitudes always softened.

Once they had a child, they would see him as their entire world, fighting tooth and nail within the vast Eastern Palace just to earn a single glance from him.

The Crown Prince reveled in being fought over. Seated securely in his high station, he could toss out a single piece of bait and manipulate the fates of all those women.

And Mei Wanying would be no exception!