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

All the gifts Pei Yan sent were returned.

Wei Jue heard that Mei Wanying had nearly fainted from anger. He also received word that her party had stopped their journey midway, and Miss Mei hadn’t left her quarters for a long time.

It seemed she was truly furious.

’It makes sense, though,’ he thought. ’Prince Chen used to ignore Miss Mei, and he even forced her to choose a suitor.’

’Now, out of nowhere, he’s showering her with attention. It’d be a miracle if she reacted well.’

’As the saying goes: when someone is unusually attentive, they’re either a villain or a thief!’

’Miss Mei must think Prince Chen is toying with her.’

’It’s a good thing she hasn’t cursed him out already.’

’If they weren’t separated by thousands of miles, Prince Chen might have even gotten a slap in the face.’

’Miss Mei is a formidable woman—she’s the type who even dares to slap the Crown Prince.’

’If you truly provoke her, she’s capable of anything.’

Wei Jue was in a bind. Prince Chen had said in his letter to keep sending gifts until Miss Mei was happy.

But given the current situation, he had no idea if Miss Mei would ever be happy. One thing was certain, though: Prince Chen was thoroughly disliked...

Unable to decide on his own, Wei Jue could only write a letter to ask for Pei Yan’s instructions.

The more he wrote, the more awkward he felt.

In the past, his correspondence with Prince Chen had always been about important matters.

This was the first time they had ever discussed the private affairs of men and women.

’How truly bizarre!’

Mei Wanying and her party had stopped temporarily and were in no danger. After sending the letter, Wei Jue attended to other business.

With Prince Chen away, certain people in the Capital City were bound to get restless.

He had to keep a close watch to ensure no one took advantage of the situation.

Pei Yan rode at top speed, but he never received a reply from Mei Wanying. He assumed it was because he was traveling too quickly.

He hadn’t expected her to still be angry.

Pei Yan truly couldn’t understand. Why would receiving gifts make someone faint with anger?

’If she doesn’t like them, she can just throw them away,’ he thought.

’Why such a big reaction?’

Mei Wanying had been spoiled and would throw small tantrums when things didn’t go her way, but she had never fainted from anger before.

’Could it be a health problem?’

Pei Yan ordered Wei Jue to send an Imperial Physician to examine Mei Wanying.

If she was truly ill, she had to be cured, no matter what.

Not being able to see Mei Wanying’s condition with his own eyes, Pei Yan felt uneasy.

But the situation at the Border was critical. If he didn’t go personally to oversee things and war broke out, countless people would bleed and die.

If he didn’t prioritize the safety of the people, General Mei, in the afterlife, would probably visit his dreams just to curse him.

Even Mei Wanying would end up shouldering the blame.

They would call her a femme fatale who brings disaster.

A sinner in the eyes of the entire world.

The Mei family’s merits would be completely erased.

The world was just that harsh toward women. Even if Mei Wanying did nothing, she would still be reviled.

If it truly came to that, she wouldn’t be able to survive.

Pei Yan knew what kind of person Mei Wanying was.

She was pure and flawless. Though a bit spoiled, she was still a good woman.

No matter how worried he was, Pei Yan still had to head to the Border.

He believed that Mei Wanying would agree with him on which priority was more important.

She was a pampered noble lady, but influenced by her family’s values, she held the nation and its people in the highest regard.

Indeed, before leaving the capital, she had donated a batch of grain and fodder to the Border.

A wave of tenderness washed over Pei Yan’s heart.

’She is my good woman.’

’Mine!’

Pei Yan finally swallowed his pride and wrote a very long letter to Mei Wanying.

He couldn’t write sweet nothings, so he just wrote about what he ate and did along his journey for her to read.

Mei Wanying had once said that as long as it was about him, even something as mundane as eating or sleeping, she would never find it boring.

’Mei Wanying just wants to know about my daily life, so what’s the harm in indulging her?’

’Only if I yield will Mei Wanying be able to recover in peace.’

To make Mei Wanying happy, Pei Yan also sent a letter to Xue Xingyao.

He asked her to write a letter to Mei Wanying every day. She didn’t need to worry about the delivery; she just needed to write.

As for the gifts Mei Wanying wouldn’t accept, he would wait until she entered his Prince Mansion and just hand over the keys to the storehouse.

Everything in the mansion was going to be Mei Wanying’s anyway.

Pei Yan had never been so desperate to return to the Capital City.

The more desperate he felt, the more cautious he became in his actions.

He was determined to ensure that nothing went wrong.

At the border between the two nations, conflicts had been constant for years. The enemy nation had repeatedly launched raids, attempting to seize this land.

When the common people saw that the one sent to take command was the ever-victorious Prince Chen, they felt they were saved.

In an instant, morale soared.

But the enemy forces did not back down. Pei Yan was a Prince, and in the eyes of his opponents, he was a big catch.

No matter how tough he was to deal with, if they could find a weakness, they could tear off a juicy piece of meat.

If they could take Pei Yan’s head and shatter their enemy’s morale, then marching their army south to invade their capital city would not be impossible!

The air grew tense. War was on the verge of breaking out.

Once inside the military camp, Pei Yan reverted to his former self. Only in the dead of night would he think of Mei Wanying.

’No matter how hard this battle is,’ he thought, ’I have to win.’

’I have to go back and see Mei Wanying alive!’

...

When Xue Xingyao received Pei Yan’s letter, she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.

’That scoundrel actually wrote me a letter!’

She always felt that Pei Yan approaching her meant nothing good. Xue Xingyao wanted to just throw the letter away, but she was also intensely curious.

’What is he up to now?’

’Could it be that Xue Yunshu went to the Border, they met, and he found out I was the one who leaked the information? Is Pei Yan here to settle the score with me?’

Xue Yunshu had run away from home, leaving only a letter behind before heading to the Border.

Because of this, her father had punished her by making her kneel in the ancestral hall. If Chen Shujing hadn’t paid a visit, she might have had to starve for a few more days.

If Xue Yunshu caused some huge disaster, she would probably be dragged down with her again.

Xue Yunshu was dead set on marrying up and was convinced that Pei Yan had feelings for her. With her temperament, she was bound to do something earth-shattering to deliberately attract Pei Yan’s attention.

Thinking about it this way, Xue Xingyao’s heart was in turmoil, and she didn’t dare to read the letter’s contents.

’If I don’t read it, does that mean it has nothing to do with me?’

"Pei Yan... Prince Chen, he wouldn’t make things difficult for a humble girl like me, would he?"

The Xue and Chen Families were already engaged, and the betrothal gifts had been delivered. As the prospective son-in-law of the Duke Mansion, Chen Shujing had been invited to attend the old madam’s birthday banquet.

To help them cultivate their relationship, the elders had asked Xue Xingyao to show him around the gardens.

Chen Shujing hadn’t refused.

The two were admiring the scenery and sipping tea in a pavilion when a servant boy ran up and delivered the letter.

Chen Shujing had no intention of prying into Xue Xingyao’s private affairs, so his gaze didn’t fall on the envelope.

But then he heard her mention Pei Yan.

Remembering the words Pei Yan had spoken that day, Chen Shujing’s expression changed slightly.

Xue Xingyao said, "Should I open it? We have no grudge against each other. He shouldn’t try to harm me."

"If he dares to harm me, I’ll write to Ah Yin and have her back me up."

"Speaking of which, Ah Yin hasn’t written to me in a long time. She couldn’t have run into trouble, could she?"

Xue Xingyao muttered to herself as she tore open the envelope.

Her way of speaking and acting was completely different from Xiaoxiao’s.

There was no cautious timidity.

No compromising for the sake of peace.

But their eyes were exactly the same, right down to the upward curve at the corners.

Just as Xue Xingyao was about to pick up the letter, she heard Chen Shujing say, "If you don’t mind, let me take a look for you first."

His tone was teasing. "If Prince Chen is looking for trouble, I’ll destroy the evidence. We’ll pretend nothing happened. If he wants to lay blame, it won’t fall on you."