Pei Yan didn’t understand why Mrs. Mei was treating Mei Wanying this way.

She was crying so pitifully.

So aggrieved...

Pei Yan started to walk out involuntarily, but Mrs. Mei called out to stop him again.

"Ah Yan, that night, you and Ah Yin in the study..."

Before she could finish, Pei Yan interrupted her. "Madam, if you’re hoping I’ll marry her, you’d best give up that idea right now."

Pei Yan’s expression turned cold.

He had told them long ago that he only saw Mei Wanying as a little sister.

’Forcing this marriage again and again... does she really think I’ll compromise?’

"No matter what, I will never marry Mei Wanying."

Pei Yan’s eyes were filled with detachment. "I don’t like being manipulated. Please, know when to stop."

’Looks like today is another carefully orchestrated play.’

’All just to make me feel sorry for Mei Wanying.’

Pei Yan found it laughable. ’If being pressured into marriage worked, I would’ve been married long ago!’

Mrs. Mei’s heart pounded. Pei Yan was warning them.

"A woman’s reputation is very important, Ah Yan. You two, an unmarried man and woman, were alone in a room together. That is a fact."

Speaking so bluntly about that matter to a man of a younger generation who wasn’t family was difficult for Mrs. Mei.

She had put it delicately.

Pei Yan’s expression grew even colder.

’Have Mei Wanying and I not been alone together countless times over the years?’

’If that was all it took to force a marriage and make me compromise, I would’ve brought her home as my wife ages ago.’

Pei Yan stood with his hands behind his back, half of his body hidden in shadow, his expression unreadable.

Mrs. Mei heard him say, "Tomorrow, someone will deliver a list of names. Take your pick. No matter who you choose, I will ask my Father Emperor to decree the marriage. You won’t have to worry about the Crown Prince forcing a marriage, nor will you have to fear Mei Wanying suffering in a marriage beneath her station."

"If the young men in the Capital City aren’t enough for her to choose from, she can also pick from the sons of prominent families across the lands."

"I have only one condition: give up this fantasy. I will never marry Mei Wanying."

Mrs. Mei was horrified.

’Pei Yan is actually going to marry Ah Yin off to another man!’

Without further hesitation, Mrs. Mei said hurriedly, "You have to take responsibility for Ah Yin! She’s already..."

"The young miss fell into the water!"

"Someone, help!"

"Hurry, someone!"

The panicked shouts of a servant woman came, drowning out Mrs. Mei’s voice.

Pei Yan was agitated and didn’t clearly hear what she had said.

Only one message registered in his mind: Mei Wanying had fallen into the water.

’She’s not even better yet, and now this... Does she not want to live?!’

Pei Yan clenched his jaw so tightly that a muscle twitched in his cheek.

Unable to think of anything else, he strode quickly outside.

"Ah Yin!"

Mrs. Mei’s legs went weak, and she stumbled out to see what was happening.

’My husband is gone. If something happens to my daughter too, what reason do I have to live?!’

There was a pond full of lotuses in the front courtyard, just a short walk from the main hall.

Mei Wanying had jumped in herself. Overcome with emotion, she wanted to use this self-destructive act to interrupt the conversation between her mother and Pei Yan.

At the same time, she was proving her determination to die rather than marry him.

As for the consequences of jumping, she was so swept up by her emotions that she didn’t have time to weigh them.

She was afraid of marrying Pei Yan, afraid of that cold and imposing Prince Mansion.

Even more, she was afraid of the mocking gazes of others.

She didn’t want to live despised by others. One wrong turn was enough.

’I must not make the same mistake again!’

The early spring air was still deceptively cold. The icy water enveloped Mei Wanying’s body, chilling her to the bone.

She couldn’t swim and could only thrash about on instinct.

Of the two servant women, one shouted for people to rescue Mei Wanying, while the other ran to get a bamboo pole to fish her out.

Hearing the commotion, maids and servants from nearby hurried over.

She was the only young miss in the mansion. If something happened to her, it would be as if the sky had fallen!

As she thrashed, water flooded her mouth and nose, stealing her breath. After a few more struggles, Mei Wanying’s body began to sink to the bottom of the pond.

SPLASH!

Someone jumped into the pond. A strong body cut through the icy water, heading straight for Mei Wanying.

Wrapping an arm around Mei Wanying’s slender waist, Pei Yan’s eyes blazed with a towering rage.

’How dare she!’

’She actually jumped!’

’To force my hand, she’d really resort to anything, even throwing her own life away.’

Pei Yan was about to go mad with anger.

In this entire world, only Mei Wanying could so easily provoke his anger.

’I never should have come to the Mei Mansion.’

’I never should have come to back her up!’

The arm holding Mei Wanying tightened, as if Pei Yan wanted to crush her to pieces.

"If there’s a next time, I won’t do a thing even if you die right in front of me!"

The moment they broke the surface, Pei Yan threatened her through clenched teeth.

Mei Wanying’s eyes were shut tight, her skin so pale it was almost translucent. She was still breathing, but she had inhaled water and passed out.

Pei Yan brought her to the shore. Just as he was about to press on her chest to make her cough up the water, Mrs. Mei stopped him.

"Let Nanny Liu do it."

Nanny Liu immediately went over to perform first aid.

Pei Yan’s outstretched hand froze. Only after a few breaths did he slowly retract it.

Mei Wanying was wearing spring clothes. The fabric, neither too thin nor too thick, was now soaked and clung tightly to her body, outlining her delicate and shapely figure.

Pei Yan quickly averted his gaze, turning his back to Mei Wanying.

He had saved the drowning Mei Wanying, which meant they’d had physical contact. This was a perfect opportunity to force the marriage.

But Mrs. Mei was scared.

This was the second time her daughter had tried to kill herself, all to avoid marrying Pei Yan.

If there was a third time, and her daughter died, she didn’t know how she would go on living.

’Nothing is more important than Ah Yin’s life!’

Mrs. Mei’s limbs felt weak and her heart ached. ’If Ah Yin doesn’t want to marry him, then so be it.’

’If we’re truly cornered, I’ll risk my own life to fight for a chance for Ah Yin’s survival.’

’We won’t rely on Pei Yan anymore!’

Mrs. Mei tightly gripped her daughter’s hand. She watched as Wanying coughed up water, her breathing becoming steady and her eyelashes fluttering as if she were about to wake up.

She said to Pei Yan, "The Mei family will remember the debt of Your Highness saving her life. Rest assured, we will not repay your kindness with ingratitude by forcing you to do something you do not wish. As for today’s events, I will make sure everyone in the mansion keeps their mouths shut so no rumors or gossip will spread. Your Highness may be at ease."

Pei Yan stared at the pond’s surface, lost in a daze.

’If the Mei family pressures me to marry her now, what will I choose?’

He never expected Mrs. Mei to say such a thing.

His heart felt empty, and a thin fog seemed to cloud his mind, making it impossible to think or know how to react.

Mrs. Mei said, "Your Highness, please go change your clothes and then you may leave. It is not convenient for us to entertain guests today."

The person who had just been trying to get close to him, calling him Ah Yan, was now addressing him formally as "Your Highness" with every other word.

Polite.

And distant.

Even Mei Wanying was the same.

Before, when she was happy, she would call him Ah Yan, or Brother Ah Yan.

When she was unhappy, she would call him by his full name, Pei Yan.

And when she was being sarcastic, she would call him Young General.

But in their last two meetings, she had only called him the distant "Your Highness."

Before Pei Yan could react, the faintly stirring Mei Wanying was already being carried away.

When the footsteps faded into the distance, he slowly turned his head.

There was nothing there.

Mei Wanying was already gone.

Pei Yan pressed a hand to his heart. This was clearly the outcome he had wanted, yet for some reason, he couldn’t feel happy about it.

The image of her deathly pale little face surfaced in his mind—sickly, fragile, as if she would shatter at the slightest touch.

For the first time, Pei Yan felt a pang of regret.

’I... I shouldn’t have said those things. I hope she didn’t hear me.’