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

Mei Wanying’s hand, resting on the quilt, tightened. "I will bid His Highness farewell at dawn."

Mrs. Mei patted her hand. "That’s for the best. We haven’t even unpacked the luggage. As long as you’re well, we can leave whenever we’re ready."

Hearing that Mrs. Mei had arrived, Pei Yan came to the guest courtyard out of respect for his elder.

And so, he overheard their conversation.

After standing there for a long time, Pei Yan thought, ’It’s actually a good thing for Mei Wanying to return to Jiangnan.’

’I’m about to leave the Capital City, and after what happened today, she’d be terrified and all alone.’

’The Crown Prince is severely injured. If I stir up a little more trouble for him, it will be difficult for him to extend his reach to Jiangnan, no matter how long his arm is.’

’For now, getting Mei Wanying away from this place of conflict is an excellent choice.’

’Once I’ve pacified the border and returned to the Capital City, I’ll send someone to Jiangnan to bring Mei Wanying back.’

’As her "older brother," I have to pave the way for her. I can’t just let her hide away in Jiangnan and never marry.’

’The last time I took Mei Wanying back to her mansion, she said she’d chosen the first name on the list, but I didn’t take her seriously.’

’When I get back to the Capital City, I’ll pick someone better for her.’

’Mei Wanying has terrible taste. To think she’d choose a powerless son of a noble family who can’t even truss a chicken.’

’Forget everything else, he’d have a hard enough time just protecting her.’

’What good is a man like that?’

’If she really marries him, she’ll regret it!’

Pei Yan sighed. ’When it comes to Mei Wanying’s marriage, I’m the one who has to approve.’

’As her "older brother," I have no choice but to manage this for her.’

Just as Pei Yan was about to step inside, he heard the people within mention his name.

Mrs. Mei: "You were so cold to Ah Yan a while ago, then you suddenly seemed like a completely different person. Mother has been wanting to know why."

Pei Yan’s footsteps froze.

He wanted to know, too. How could Mei Wanying suddenly turn on him like that?

’I haven’t done anything to wrong her.’

’Mei Wanying cursed me, chased me away, and refused to give me the time of day.’

’If it was just jealousy, if she didn’t want me to marry another woman, I already told her: I won’t marry anyone she looks down on.’

’I was going to give Mei Wanying time to adjust her attitude.’

He could understand Mei Wanying distancing herself, trying to draw a clear line between them.

But wasn’t Mei Wanying’s attitude a little too harsh?

She’d try to scratch him at the slightest disagreement. Pei Yan’s heart ached with a sour, bitter feeling.

’Why is Mei Wanying so fierce with me?’

’She’s not like this with other people.’

Pei Yan held his breath, wanting to hear how Mei Wanying would answer.

’She’d better give a satisfactory answer.’

’Otherwise... I won’t care about her feelings anymore. I’ll marry whoever the elders in the palace choose for me.’

’And it’ll be useless for Mei Wanying to object then!’

A soft voice sounded, and Pei Yan heard Mei Wanying say, "I suddenly realized he’s nothing special. A three-legged toad is hard to find, but two-legged men are a dime a dozen. There’s no need for me to hang myself on this one tree."

Pei Yan’s face completely darkened.

He ground his teeth. ’So this is the reason Mei Wanying won’t give me the time of day?’

’She’s having a change of heart!’

Mei Wanying was a nostalgic person. Pei Yan suspected she had recently been in contact with some shady characters who had been a bad influence on her.

Pei Yan spun on his heel and left the guest courtyard.

"Go investigate who she has been in contact with recently."

He added, "Focus the investigation on wild men!"

Wei Jue: "..."

’Wild men?’

’He’s so full of resentment, anyone who didn’t know better would think he was trying to catch a cheating lover...’

Without looking back, Pei Yan strode out of the guest courtyard.

He let out a cold snort.

’It’s not like I care if Mei Wanying loves me!’

’I just don’t want her to be deceived by some silver-tongued man from the outside.’

’If a perfect man appeared, I would be more than happy to marry her off!’

This was Prince Chen Mansion. Everyone followed Pei Yan’s orders, so naturally, no one took it upon themselves to tell Mei Wanying that he had been there.

「Inside the room.」

Mrs. Mei said, "You suddenly started ignoring him, and Ah Yan feels quite wronged. He saved you this time, so you should talk to him properly. If there’s any lingering resentment, take this opportunity to resolve it."

Pei Yan had a cold personality and was always chilly toward Mei Wanying, but it wasn’t as if he was any warmer to outsiders.

That was just his temperament.

Mrs. Mei used to disapprove of Pei Yan’s behavior, feeling that her precious darling was being wronged.

More than once, she had told General Mei to rein in Pei Yan. Even if he didn’t like Ah Yin, there was no need to be so sullen.

It was so hurtful.

But the General said that was just Pei Yan’s temperament.

He also said that Pei Yan didn’t use flowery words to deceive Ah Yin, and the choice was in Ah Yin’s hands. As long as she figured things out for herself, Pei Yan couldn’t hurt her.

At that time, Mrs. Mei felt her husband was being biased.

No matter how much he cherished talent, he shouldn’t place someone else before his own daughter.

Because of this, Mrs. Mei even took Mei Wanying back to her maternal home to live for a while.

But her sister-in-law there assumed she had been driven out of her husband’s home because she couldn’t bear a son, and had brought her daughter along with her.

After just a few days, she started making sarcastic, passive-aggressive remarks.

Others also urged her to return home, saying that the General was powerful and influential, and many women had their eyes on him.

There were plenty of women willing to be his concubine.

They told her to go back and keep a close watch so that no one could take advantage of the situation.

Some even said that being unable to bear a son was her fault and that she should take the initiative to find a concubine for the General.

At the very least, to continue the Mei family’s bloodline.

They had even picked out a candidate—a young woman from their clan—and wanted her to take the girl back to the General Mansion to serve the General.

Mrs. Mei was both shocked and furious, and immediately took her daughter and returned home.

It was that incident that made her see her maternal family’s true colors.

When the General was alive, they were focused on currying favor with him for the Su Family’s benefit, so they would at least put on a facade.

Once the General was gone, she and her daughter lost their value in their eyes, and their cruel, mean-spirited nature was completely exposed.

Before Ah Yin had even finished the mourning period, they were already arranging to marry her off for a political alliance.

But when the Crown Prince appeared and said he’d taken a fancy to Ah Yin, the Su Family, knowing his ill intentions and fearing they’d be implicated, completely abandoned her and Ah Yin.

They even drew a clear line between them, ordering them never to return to the Su Family home again.

This was why Mrs. Mei hadn’t turned to her maternal family for help, instead pinning her hopes on Pei Yan.

Compared to others, Pei Yan treated Ah Yin quite well.

Every time Ah Yin was in trouble, even though Pei Yan would look sour, he never failed to do what was necessary.

There were too many people in the world with honey on their tongues but daggers in their hearts. Mrs. Mei had come to terms with things now and felt that Pei Yan wasn’t so detestable after all.

At the very least, he had truly saved Ah Yin.

He didn’t hesitate to openly fall out with the Empress Dowager and the Crown Prince, rather than just weighing the pros and cons.

Mrs. Mei thought, ’Pei Yan simply doesn’t have romantic feelings for Ah Yin. He’s a living, breathing person; it’s only natural that he doesn’t want to be forced into something.’

’Actions speak louder than words.’

Pei Yan’s performance this time made Mrs. Mei let go of her prejudice against him.

She also felt that she had been wrong before.

She shouldn’t have pressured Ah Yin, nor should she have tried to make Pei Yan repay her for their past kindness.

Mrs. Mei felt so guilty that she could hardly eat or sleep. She didn’t know what she could do to make up for her mistakes.

Mei Wanying didn’t have any lingering resentment; she had simply figured things out.

But she couldn’t tell her mother about her rebirth—it was too unbelievable.

Her mother would probably think she’d been scared witless and try to find a doctor to treat her.

Mei Wanying hummed in agreement.

"I won’t be petty with him anymore."

This incident had taught her a lesson. She didn’t have to marry Pei Yan, but there was no need to sever all ties with him.

The Crown Prince wouldn’t let her go because of it; on the contrary, he would become even more brazen.

As for others, the more they feared Pei Yan, the less likely they would be to make a move against her.

Pei Yan was a very good shield.

’It’s just putting on an act. I can do that, too,’ Mei Wanying thought.