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

Chapter 225: Chapter 225: Ah Yin, Wait for Me to Come Back

Pei Yan didn’t return to the residence until nightfall, his body reeking of blood.

The pungent smell made Mei Wanying’s face turn deathly pale. Suppressing the urge to gag, she anxiously scanned his body.

"Where are you hurt?"

She couldn’t find the wound and dared not touch Pei Yan, so she could only ask anxiously.

Pei Yan wiped his hands clean and took an Amulet from his chest.

Somehow, he had kept it safe; it wasn’t soaked by the rain or stained with blood.

The man’s lips curled into a slight smile. "Good, I made it back in time."

He had almost missed Ah Yin’s birthday.

He placed the peace charm into a sachet and tied it to Mei Wanying’s waist.

Mei Wanying was worried sick, and yet he was still preoccupied with this.

She irritably thumped the man on the chest.

Pei Yan grunted, and Mei Wanying grew frantic. "Did I hit a wound?"

She leaned in, wanting to check his wound.

Pei Yan had intended to play the victim to gain sympathy, but when he saw the tension and worry in Mei Wanying’s eyes, his mischievous thought instantly vanished.

"I’m not hurt. It’s not my blood." He had run into some trouble coming down the mountain, which was what had delayed him.

A vicious glint flashed in Pei Yan’s eyes. If they had made him miss Ah Yin’s birthday, he would have torn the mastermind to pieces!

There were people in the Capital City who didn’t want him to return safely, and Pei Yan had a good idea of who they were.

Pei Yu was dead, but the Pei Family still had other Imperial Princes, and there was no guarantee they would forever stay in line.

Since his ascension to the throne, he had purged the various factions, so it was hardly surprising that some harbored ulterior motives.

Power struggles have always been cruel.

Mei Wanying was far from the Capital City, and Pei Yan didn’t want her to worry about such matters, so he didn’t elaborate on the assassination attempt.

"You’re really not hurt?" Mei Wanying asked, her eyes full of doubt.

"Really."

The man’s lips curled, his face full of smug satisfaction. "Ah Yin, you clearly love me."

She hadn’t verbally answered the question he had asked her earlier in the day, but her actions had proven everything.

’Ah Yin is worried about me.’

’Ah Yin loves me!’

As if he had received the greatest gift in the world, the man’s entire expression was one of pure delight.

Ah Yin loved him.

’I really want to... proclaim it to the entire world!’

Once she was certain that the man truly wasn’t injured and it had all been a false alarm, Mei Wanying irritably slapped him.

"Too bad you didn’t bleed a little!"

Pei Yan’s smile only widened, his posture proud and aloof. "Just don’t you be the one crying when it happens."

Mei Wanying scoffed. "Stop your nonsense! There won’t be a ’next time’!"

Waving a slender hand in front of her nose, Mei Wanying furrowed her delicate brows and pulled away from Pei Yan. "You stink. Go take a bath."

After what had happened in her past life, Mei Wanying couldn’t stand the smell of blood.

The moment she smelled it, she felt ill.

When it was severe, she would even have the urge to gag.

Afraid of overwhelming her with the smell, Pei Yan didn’t cling to her, standing obediently where he was.

"Where’s Lingling?"

"She went to keep my mother company."

At the mention of her daughter, a faint smile appeared in Mei Wanying’s eyes. "She thinks her grandmother is afraid of thunder and needs her protection."

Pei Yan praised, "She’s quite a filial child."

Mei Wanying nodded. "She is. She was also so worried you’d be carried off by wolves that she started crying."

Pei Yan’s heart melted completely. "After I bathe and change, I’ll go bring her back."

"Suit yourself."

But then, thinking of his impending departure from Jiangnan, Pei Yan changed his mind. "Forget it. The hour is too late. Let her sleep. I’ll go get her tomorrow morning instead."

Mei Wanying gave him an ’I knew it’ look. "So fickle. They say a woman’s heart is a needle at the bottom of the sea, but I think it’s a man’s!"

She turned and went into the inner chamber, planning to hang the sachet with the peace charm on the bed curtains.

She often went out on errands, and she was afraid she’d lose it if she carried it with her.

Hanging it by the bed was the perfect solution.

Covered in filth as he was, it wasn’t right for Pei Yan to enter the inner chamber.

The room held Ah Yin’s fragrance and the milky scent of their child; he would ruin the aroma if he went in.

’I have to get clean before I can go to Ah Yin’s side.’

Pei Yan stood behind the beaded curtain and asked Mei Wanying to get his clothes. "Whichever one you like is the one I’ll wear."

The man’s tone was laced with amusement; he was clearly teasing her.

Mei Wanying glared at him. "Then you might as well wear nothing at all!"

Pei Yan raised an eyebrow. "That’s also an option. It would save some trouble."

And with that, he really did turn and head for the bathing chamber.

Stunned by his shamelessness, Mei Wanying didn’t rush to bring Pei Yan his clothes. She was going to see what on earth he would do!

Pei Yan had suffered greatly in his youth and later became accustomed to doing things himself while campaigning with General Mei, so he never needed attendants to serve him personally.

Once the hot water was prepared, Pei Yan dismissed the maids and servants. They were not to move about without his command, nor were they to approach the main house.

Seeing this, Mei Wanying was genuinely afraid he would throw all decorum to the wind and just walk out naked.

’He might have no shame, but she did!’

She hurriedly grabbed a silk night robe and chased after him to the bathing chamber.

Hearing the sound of hurried footsteps, a flicker of a smile appeared in Pei Yan’s eyes.

Although they had been intimate many times, Mei Wanying still couldn’t completely let go of her inhibitions.

From the moment she stepped into the bathing chamber, she squeezed her eyes shut, afraid she might see something she shouldn’t.

She fumbled her way to the clothes rack, hung up the night robe, and immediately tried to leave.

But she ended up bumping right into the man.

She subconsciously opened her eyes, and her gaze fell upon wheat-colored skin covered in the marks of old scars—proof of the glory Pei Yan had earned with his own blade.

No matter if Mei Wanying tried to go left or right, the man blocked her way.

’He was doing it on purpose!’

Mei Wanying kicked him in the shin. "A good dog doesn’t block the path!"

Pei Yan laughed out loud.

The year Ah Yin left the Capital City, she had written him a letter cursing him with those very words.

Even back then, he had thought to himself that Ah Yin only cursed him because she cared about him.

And now, he still thought the same.

’Others aren’t so lucky as to be cursed by Ah Yin!’

The man bent down and scooped Mei Wanying into his arms.

"Stay with me."

Mei Wanying refused, saying woodenly, "I’ll go to the kitchen and have them prepare a late-night snack for you."

There was no need for Mei Wanying to personally see to such things. Food was already being kept warm in the kitchen; one only needed to give the order.

With a long stride, the man stepped into the bath.

"I think I might be hurt after all. Help me find the wound."

Mei Wanying: "..."

In the end, Pei Yan got his way.

With their separation imminent and Ling not present, they didn’t sleep the entire night.

Pei Yan was returning to the Capital City, and Mei Wanying and Ling went to the city gates to see him off.

The scene was very familiar to Pei Yan.

Before their falling out, Ah Yin had seen him off at the city gates every time he left for an expedition.

This time, the mischievous little Ling was with them.

Pei Yan couldn’t bear to leave them, but he knew Ah Yin was unwilling to return to the Capital City.

She wanted to live freely.

’How could he bear to clip her wings and cage her within the deep palace?’

Embracing both Mei Wanying and his daughter, Pei Yan kissed her forehead. "Ah Yin, wait for me to come back."

He used the word "back."

For Pei Yan, wherever Mei Wanying was, that was home.

Ling pointed to her own forehead. "I didn’t get one..."

Pei Yan quickly kissed the little one. "Listen to your mother, and if you miss Daddy, write me a letter."

"Mhm!" Ling nodded emphatically.

Mei Wanying laughed at him. "Can you even understand it?"

Pei Yan knew he wouldn’t be able to, but he would know his daughter missed him, and that was enough.

"Lingling draws excellent talismans. They can be used to ward off evil."

Mei Wanying: "..."