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

Time flew by, and the summer heat gave way to the cool of autumn.

The war at the Border was not yet over, but Pei Yan held the upper hand, leaving the enemy with no power to retaliate. It seemed his victorious return to the Capital City was not far off.

Meanwhile, Mei Wanying had also returned to Jiangnan and moved into the Mei family’s old estate.

The estate was managed by their own people, retainers arranged by General Mei when he was still alive.

The relatives had all been moved out. Without the permission of the main family, they could not move back into the old estate.

Mrs. Mei was the lady of the house, and Mei Wanying was the family’s only daughter.

Their vast family fortune inevitably attracted envious eyes. Seeing them as a vulnerable widow and orphan, the relatives began to show up one after another, no sooner had they returned to their ancestral home.

Some wanted to mooch off them.

Some wanted to curry favor.

Others wanted to arrange a marriage for Mei Wanying. Their plan was to marry her off, then have Mrs. Mei adopt a son to inherit the main branch of the Mei family line.

The ghouls and goblins who had been suppressed were now crawling out of the woodwork, eyeing the position of the Mei family heir like hungry tigers.

Mrs. Mei and Mei Wanying had already been through this once before, when General Mei passed away.

Facing a similar scene again, the mother and daughter were no longer as helpless as they had been back then.

Mrs. Mei sat in the seat of honor, with Mei Wanying sitting obediently beside her.

Mrs. Gu and the others stood by her side, poised as if facing a great enemy. They were terrified Mei Wanying’s pregnancy would be exposed, and equally afraid that some tactless person might offend her.

This baby inside her was a precious treasure, more valuable than anyone else in the room.

If anything went wrong, the Empress would likely have their heads!

The relatives beat around the bush for a while before finally bringing up the issue of the family line again.

"The Mei family’s line must not be broken! We cannot fail our ancestors!"

One person started, and the others all chimed in to agree.

Mei Wanying was prepared. She told her relatives that she had already taken a live-in husband on her way back to their ancestral home.

It was a match arranged by her parent, with a matchmaker’s blessing.

Mrs. Mei had consented to the match.

Many knew that Mei Wanying had been delayed for several months on her journey.

"Ying, don’t play games with us. Even if you were to take a live-in husband, you should have come home and held a grand celebration. To get it done so quietly... that’s not your style."

After all, she had made it common knowledge that she was in love with Prince Chen.

How could she possibly settle something as important as marriage so quietly?

Mei Wanying couldn’t be bothered to argue with them. "If you don’t believe me, you can check with the Government. Otherwise, I could talk until I’m blue in the face, and you’d still think I’m lying."

Her expression was calm, not at all like someone who was lying. The relatives felt a growing unease, unsure of what to believe.

’If she really took a live-in husband, what chance would they have at the inheritance?’

’This was just handing it all over to an outsider for free!’

They looked left and right but saw no unfamiliar men.

A woman asked Mei Wanying, "Where is this husband of yours? Let us all have a look. We won’t believe it until we see him with our own eyes."

Mei Wanying’s eyes suddenly reddened, and she looked too upset to speak.

Ding Xiang rubbed Mei Wanying’s back while saying sorrowfully, "The young master was an unfortunate soul. He was finally about to start a good life with our lady, but a sudden headache struck, and he passed away in the night."

Everyone: "..."

No matter how they heard it, the story sounded completely fabricated.

But Mei Wanying had a marriage certificate and wasn’t afraid of them checking with the Government.

’Did she actually get married?’

’And then... become a widow?’

Several of them exchanged glances, their faces simultaneously breaking into greedy expressions.

’A widow is perfect! We can have her adopt two sons!’

Right on cue, Mei Wanying touched her belly. "Fortunately, he left me his child. For the rest of my life, I will dedicate myself to this child, raise them to be successful, and continue our Mei family’s line."

The hall fell silent.

Several pairs of eyes fixed on Mei Wanying’s stomach, as if trying to see right through her.

Mei Wanying did not flinch or look away.

Gu Xun had said he would help her, and he was a man of his word. He had solved all her problems for her.

Others might find the reputation of a widow distasteful, but Mei Wanying felt it was the best possible arrangement.

Between a widow with a child and an unmarried young woman with a child, the latter would have to endure far more hardship.

A single misstep, and she could be driven to her death by gossip and slander.

’Since I have no intention of marrying anyway, being a widow is fine. At least it’s better than my last life,’ Mei Wanying thought.

The clothes Mei Wanying wore had been specially tailored by an Embroidery Girl. They were designed to highlight a woman’s elegance and grace while also concealing her belly, making it impossible to tell how far along she was.

She had a slender frame and none of the swelling common in pregnancy. Her bump wasn’t obvious, so even the more experienced women in the room couldn’t make anything of it.

But they all had the same thought: ’This child must not be born.’

If she gave birth to a son, the Mei family fortune would truly have nothing to do with them.

Mei Wanying knew what they were thinking with a single glance.

She unhurriedly took out Pei Yan’s Jade Pendant and handed it to Mrs. Gu. "Take a look. What is this?"

Mrs. Gu was baffled, but then she suddenly recalled how Mei Wanying had threatened her, saying Prince Chen had left her a token.

One look confirmed it was indeed the prince’s. The mark of the Royal Family was unmistakable!

’The prince actually gave such an important item to Mei Wanying.’

’Does he really have no intention of making her his principal wife?’

Mrs. Gu’s hair stood on end. ’If Mei Wanying truly manages to rise above her station, won’t I be doomed?’

On the verge of tears, Mrs. Gu said, "This is Prince Chen’s Jade Pendant. To see this pendant is to see the prince himself."

’That wretched Mei Wanying! She’s carrying the prince’s child but claims the father is dead.’

’Isn’t that just cursing the prince?’

’And to make matters worse, the one who helped her arrange all this was a young master from the Gu Family. She couldn’t even scold Mei Wanying if she wanted to.’

Hearing the two words "Prince Chen," the relatives’ expressions shifted dramatically.

’Mei Wanying came slinking back to her ancestral home in disgrace, so why is the prince still concerned with her?’

The banner of Pei Yan’s name was remarkably effective. Once Mei Wanying produced the token, no one dared to make a reckless move.

He was a living King of Hell!

Three years ago, when they went to the Capital City to divide the inheritance, a junior family member had merely shoved Mei Wanying, and Pei Yan had dislocated his arm for it.

He had even declared that if any hand dared to touch Mei Wanying’s inheritance, he would chop that hand off and feed it to the dogs!

Even after three years, the memory of that scene still made the relatives’ hearts tremble.

That Prince Chen was truly someone not to be trifled with.

’We’ll wait. When the prince no longer cares about Mei Wanying, then we’ll make our move!’

For Mei Wanying, this had been the most difficult hurdle.

Now that she had overcome it, the psychological pressure vanished, and she no longer found her pregnant belly so repulsive.

’If... if Pei Yan never appeared again, and this was just her child alone... she thought she could accept that.’

Mei Wanying didn’t want Pei Yan to reappear, but news of him kept reaching her, whether she wanted it to or not.

He had won a great victory and was returning to the Capital City with his army.

But a few days later, word came that he had been ambushed, gravely injured, and was now hovering on the brink of death.

Mei Wanying’s thoughts grew hazy.

’Isn’t Pei Yan supposed to be omnipotent and invincible? How could he be gravely injured and unconscious?’

’He has moments of weakness like this, too?’

"Miss, be careful!"

Ding Xiang cried out in alarm and snatched the needle and thread from Mei Wanying’s hand.

A bead of blood welled up on her fair fingertip.

Mei Wanying still couldn’t snap out of her daze. ’Pei Yan... could he die?’

At that very moment, a man in dark robes was traveling day and night, rushing toward Jiangnan without rest.

His falcon-like eyes were filled with excitement and urgency!