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

Mei Wanying’s refusal to marry Gu Xun infuriated Empress Gu.

"She’s already lost her virtue! Being able to marry Ah Xun is a blessing for her. She truly doesn’t know what’s good for her!"

The Gu Family is a great clan. How have they wronged Mei Wanying in any way?

To think she’d go so far as to use the child as leverage!

Mrs. Feng said, "She’s carrying Prince Chen’s child. It’s inevitable that she’d grow arrogant from the favor."

Empress Gu snorted coldly. "By refusing to marry Ah Xun, she’s showing she hasn’t given up. She wants to wait for Ah Yan to return to the capital and use the child to secure her position!"

Mrs. Feng thought the same.

No matter how fine a gentleman from the Gu Family might be, he couldn’t compare to Prince Chen.

Mei Wanying looked innocent, but she was actually very ambitious.

Now that she had a child, she had a bargaining chip. It was even less likely she would let go.

Mrs. Feng asked, "Are you just going to let her act so recklessly?"

"What else can I do? She refuses to marry. If I push her too hard, she’ll get rid of the child!"

The child, though not yet born, had already become Empress Gu’s weak spot.

There were plenty of children in the Eastern Palace, but she had no blood ties to them and couldn’t bring herself to like them.

She even found them repulsive.

’They’re nothing but a brood of cuckoos in the nest, usurping the glory that belongs to my son and my grandchildren!’

The child in Mei Wanying’s belly was her first grandchild.

Empress Gu looked forward to the child’s birth.

She looked forward to meeting the child.

She stared at the lush flowers and plants outside the hall for a long time before sighing in resignation. "If she won’t marry, she won’t marry. The child is more important."

Mei Wanying might look delicate, but she came from a general’s family. She couldn’t possibly be some weak, clinging vine.

If truly pushed to the edge, she would do something drastic.

Empress Gu had no choice but to compromise.

After all, her only potential grandson or granddaughter was in Mei Wanying’s belly.

Mrs. Feng was a little worried. "Are we really going to let the child take the surname Mei? Wouldn’t that be an injustice to Prince Chen’s lineage?"

There was no other way.

They couldn’t announce with great fanfare that Mei Wanying was carrying Ah Yan’s child.

Putting aside the potential shame, it could bring danger to the child.

Those vile beasts in the Eastern Palace were still watching like hungry tigers!

Until the Crown Prince was dealt with, the fact that Mei Wanying was with child could not be exposed.

"Taking the surname Mei... isn’t too great an injustice. We can change it later when the child is formally acknowledged by the clan."

As long as Mei Wanying didn’t have an affair, find a new father for the child, and let the child take someone else’s name, it would be fine.

’But I doubt she would dare!’

Empress Gu compromised, but she still felt she had lost face. After some thought, she added a condition.

"Since she’s unwilling to marry Ah Xun, then she shall never marry anyone! She can spend the rest of her life with just the child!"

No man could accept his woman remarrying with a child who would then call another man ’Dad’.

Ah Yan was no exception. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Only if Mei Wanying remained chaste for him would Ah Yan not go mad when he learned the truth.

A smug look appeared on Empress Gu’s face. "Let her have a taste of being a widow in all but name. Then she’ll realize how good I’ve been to her!"

The man she had arranged for Mei Wanying to marry was the legitimate heir of the Gu Family.

Ah Xun was skilled in both civil and military arts, handsome, and admired by countless young women.

Mei Wanying truly didn’t know what was good for her!

As she spoke, a Palace Maid came to announce, "Empress, Lord Gu has arrived."

"Quickly, show him in."

Gu Xun had been back in the capital for some time, but he had been too busy with official duties to visit his aunt in the palace.

Now that his official business was concluded, he was about to return to Jiangnan and had come specially to bid farewell to his elder.

The man was dressed in a brocade robe and a jade coronet, handsome and refined, yet not lacking a masculine air.

He walked at an unhurried pace, his bearing dignified, his aura noble and free-spirited.

The Palace Maids kept their heads bowed, but once he had passed, they all simultaneously stole a glance at his tall figure.

As expected, anyone who resembled Prince Chen was bound to be a handsome man.

This Lord Gu didn’t have that unapproachable air. He seemed gentle and warm—truly a fine young man!

"Ah Xun, come quickly and let your aunt have a look at you."

Having a visitor from her maiden family made Empress Gu genuinely happy; besides, it had been a long time since she had seen this nephew.

A smile played on Gu Xun’s lips as he teased first, "I haven’t lost weight. I’ve actually gained a few pounds since coming back to the capital."

"You and your silver tongue!"

Empress Gu shot him a playful glare, looking him over from left to right. "You’ve lost a lot of weight. The food in Jiangnan must not agree with you."

Gu Xun thought the food in Jiangnan was excellent.

He was missing it greatly at this very moment and couldn’t wait to return.

He smiled and said, "It can’t compare to the food in Aunt’s palace. That’s why your nephew came so early, hoping to snag a meal."

Empress Gu was flattered into a state of delight.

’Ah Xun is such a wonderful young man. That Mei Wanying truly has no taste.’

’The day will come when she regrets this!’

She asked Gu Xun to order some dishes.

Gu Xun thought for a moment and ordered steamed silver thread rolls and assorted vegetables.

They were common dishes that could also be found in Jiangnan, but the flavors were different.

"You’re much better. Unlike your cousin, whenever I ask him to order, he just says, ’Anything is fine.’ I don’t know what kind of life he lived before to develop such a habit of just making do."

Gu Xun’s heart tightened.

"Perhaps he was taken care of so well that every meal he had suited his tastes, so my cousin never needed to worry about it himself."

Empress Gu huffed, "That’s about all she’s good for."

Mei Wanying was completely devoted to Ah Yan. Whenever Ah Yan was at the General Mansion, she insisted on personally managing all his daily needs.

Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought she was Ah Yan’s wife.

’So shameless!’

It was for this very reason that Ah Yan let his guard down around her, allowing Mei Wanying to find an opportunity and climb into his bed.

Empress Gu was annoyed with Mei Wanying, but she couldn’t bring herself to truly hate her.

Her devotion to Ah Yan was genuine; it would be difficult to find another like her.

Empress Gu hadn’t mentioned a name, but Gu Xun understood exactly who his aunt meant.

A sense of melancholy filled his heart.

’My cousin is truly fortunate to be treated with such sincerity by Miss Mei.’

"When I returned to the capital, I visited Miss Mei. She asked me to send you her greetings."

Empress Gu was taken aback. "You’ve seen her? Then do you know that she’s pregnant?"

Mei Wanying had returned to her hometown, where people would inevitably ask about the child’s origins.

Empress Gu couldn’t bear the thought of the child being called a bastard, so she needed her nephew’s help to clear the path for the mother and child.

This was something she could hide from anyone but him.

The hand Gu Xun used to hold his teacup trembled. He suspected he had misheard.

But then he recalled Mei Wanying’s discomfort—how she had suddenly felt nauseous out of the blue.

’That was... a symptom of morning sickness.’

Gu Xun gripped his teacup tightly. "Is it my cousin’s child?"

"Their ill-fated connection is probably too tangled to sort out," Empress Gu said ambiguously.

Gu Xun’s excitement about returning to Jiangnan faded, and his heart felt heavy, as if stuffed with cotton.

’No wonder Miss Mei has grown so thin. For an unmarried noble lady to find herself with child... one can only imagine the psychological pressure she’s under.’

"Does my cousin know?"

"He absolutely cannot find out! Otherwise, he’ll disregard the bigger picture and insist on marrying Mei Wanying!"

Gu Xun asked, "Since Miss Mei is carrying my cousin’s child, why don’t you grant them your blessing, Aunt?"

Empress Gu’s expression darkened. "Absolutely not!"

’The struggle for power is utterly ruthless—it’s kill or be killed. She would never allow anyone to hold her son back!’

Gu Xun pursed his lips as a secret sliver of joy flickered in his heart.

’If the child needs a legitimate status, does that mean... he could be the one to stand by Miss Mei’s side?’