Worried that her mother might be put in a difficult position, Mei Wanying came alone to the front courtyard to find out what was happening.
Halfway there, she ran into Nanny Liu and learned that the Crown Prince was insisting on seeing her. So she followed her to the main hall.
Before she even entered, she heard Pei Yan’s words.
If it had been before, she would have been delighted.
She would have believed that his protection meant she was special in his heart.
But after everything she had experienced in her previous life, she finally understood how ridiculous she had been.
Pei Yan protected her out of gratitude.
She was not special.
Don’t flatter yourself.
Mei Wanying was not foolish enough to oppose Pei Yan at a moment like this.
If she could use his influence to resolve the Crown Prince’s forced marriage scheme, that would be ideal.
Once everything settled, she would take her mother back to Jiangnan and never return to the capital.
And she would never see Pei Yan again.
Having lived a second life, she had already prepared herself to cut all ties.
Lifting the hem of her moon-white skirt slightly, Mei Wanying stepped gracefully into the hall.
She walked against the light.
Her figure was slender and elegant.
Her beautiful face seemed veiled by a soft mist.
Her dark hair was loosely tied with a ribbon instead of arranged into an elaborate hairstyle.
The sunlight painted her hair with a gentle golden glow.
Her graceful neck curved like a swan’s.
When the breeze blew, the pale ribbon fluttered behind her, making her appear like a celestial maiden descending into the mortal world.
A faint feminine fragrance drifted through the air.
Pei Yan was sensitive to scents and immediately caught it.
Orchid fragrance.
Elegant.
Refreshing.
Yet his breathing became uneven.
Mei Wanying truly was his kryptonite.
She always managed to make him uncomfortable.
His gaze swept across the room.
The Crown Prince’s eyes were fixed on Mei Wanying like a venomous snake.
They burned with obsession and possessiveness.
Pei Yan’s expression darkened.
“Go back.”
Mei Wanying had prepared herself mentally, yet his tone still affected her.
Why was he being so fierce?
She had done nothing to him.
She glanced at him indifferently and did not argue.
With Pei Yan supporting the Mei family, her mother would not be left helpless.
Since Pei Yan was the one telling her to leave, if the Crown Prince wanted to make trouble, he should direct it at Pei Yan instead.
Thinking this, she truly turned to leave.
“Miss Mei, wait.”
The Crown Prince spoke.
Mei Wanying stopped.
A flash of helplessness appeared in her lowered eyes.
The other party was the Crown Prince, a member of the imperial family.
Powerful and influential.
Even with Pei Yan mediating, she still felt threatened.
If Pei Yan ever stopped protecting her, she genuinely did not know what she would do.
If she were alone, she could fight to the death rather than compromise.
But she still had her mother.
That was her weakness.
Her gaze fell on the silver embroidery along her skirt.
She would no longer cling to Pei Yan.
She only hoped that, seeing how sensible she had become, he would quickly resolve this trouble for her.
Once everything was over, she would leave the capital.
She would not stay a day longer.
Nor would she ever appear before Pei Yan again and become an eyesore.
In the future, whether he married or she married, they would have nothing to do with each other.
The Crown Prince concealed the possessiveness in his eyes and smiled.
“Second Brother, you shouldn’t be so rough with young ladies. With that icy attitude of yours, no wonder other women avoid you.”
Only Mei Wanying would be blind enough to chase after him.
That was what he thought.
Then again, she really did have an eye condition.
Malice flickered through his eyes.
“Don’t you agree, Miss Mei?”
Being treated as a tool in their rivalry filled Mei Wanying with disgust.
Unfortunately, both men were imperial princes.
She could not afford to offend either of them.
How could Madam Mei stand by and watch her daughter being embarrassed?
Taking Mei Wanying’s hand, she said,
“His Highness came specially to visit you. Such kindness should be appreciated. Quickly thank His Highness.”
Mei Wanying was just about to bow when the Crown Prince lightly supported her arm.
Instinctively, she tried to avoid him.
Instead, her wrist was firmly seized.
The Crown Prince smiled faintly.
“Miss Mei, there’s no need for such formality.”
As he spoke, his fingers deliberately rubbed against her wrist through the fabric.
Though separated by cloth, Mei Wanying felt as if a cold snake had crawled across her skin.
Every hair on her body stood on end.
She tried harder to pull away.
But he would not let go.
Even with elders present, he openly teased and harassed her, showing no regard for propriety.
Humiliation threatened to drown her.
When her father was alive, no one had ever dared treat her so lightly.
Mei Wanying’s back was turned toward Pei Yan.
But her delicate frame and struggle with the Crown Prince were perfectly visible to him.
Pei Yan’s pupils contracted.
A flash of killing intent crossed his eyes.
His body reacted before his mind did.
He rose abruptly.
The Crown Prince released her hand at just that moment and remained completely calm.
“I’m not going to eat Miss Mei. Second Brother, you’re overreacting.”
Pei Yan sneered.
He pulled Mei Wanying behind him with one motion.
“She is not an Eastern Palace concubine, nor one of the women you keep outside. Show her some respect.”
The Crown Prince’s reputation for scandalous affairs was well known.
But the Crown Princess was weak and unable to restrain him.
The Emperor punished him every time, yet always lightly.
Because the Emperor had no biological sons, the Crown Prince had long lacked any sense of danger and behaved without restraint.
As for the Empress, people once claimed that after losing her son, she poured all her affection into the Crown Prince and spoiled him excessively.
Indulgence ruins a child.
The Empress had even been impeached by officials because of it.
After Pei Yan was found and brought back, the Crown Prince finally understood.
The Empress had done it on purpose.
She wanted to raise him into a useless man.
So that her biological son could take his place.
In recent years, the Eastern Palace had become increasingly chaotic.
Deaths, scandals, endless incidents.
His reputation had plummeted.
Without the Empress’s involvement?
The Crown Prince did not believe that for a second.
He hated all of them.
And at the top of the list was Pei Yan.
If he had already been switched at birth, why hadn’t he simply died outside the capital?
And General Mei.
If not for him saving Pei Yan, none of this would have happened.
Therefore, anything he did to Mei Wanying was justified.
Who told her to love Pei Yan?
Who told her to bear the surname Mei?
She was not innocent.
She owed a debt.
Staring at Pei Yan, he saw that the man still protected Mei Wanying without yielding an inch.
The smile disappeared from the Crown Prince’s face.
His skin was pale, the complexion of someone raised in luxury.
At this moment, it made him appear strangely cold and sinister.
“Second Brother, are you truly determined to fight me for her?”
Pei Yan’s voice was calm.
“She was never yours to begin with. How can it be called stealing?”
Mei Wanying was Mei Wanying.
A living person.
Not some object to be fought over.
Pei Yan knew exactly what the Crown Prince was planning.
If Mei Wanying were sent into the Eastern Palace, she would not survive.
The other women would not even need to act.
The Crown Prince alone could destroy her.
She was defenseless.
Her eyesight was poor.
Even if someone handed her a weapon, she would not know how to use it.
She was simple and trusting, like a little white rabbit.
And the more vulnerable someone was, the more they awakened others’ desire to destroy.
The moment those possibilities crossed his mind, Pei Yan felt as though a fire were burning inside his chest.
He regarded Mei Wanying as a younger sister.
She was under his protection.
The fact that he had no romantic feelings for her changed nothing.
Anyone who wanted to hurt her would have to get through him first.
Pei Yan meant Mei Wanying.
But the Crown Prince heard something else hidden within those words.
A veiled accusation.
That his position as Crown Prince had never been legitimate.