The Crown Prince visited again, and Mrs. Mei, as the matriarch of the household, came out to receive him.
She invited him to have tea in the front hall, not allowing him into the rear courtyard.
Having failed to gain the upper hand in his confrontation with Pei Yan, the Crown Prince was seething with frustration. The only way to vent his anger was to take it out on someone Pei Yan cared about.
Pei Yan had a cold personality; besides Mei Wanying, there were no other weak points to exploit.
The Crown Prince wouldn't be satisfied until he got his hands on Mei Wanying!
On his second visit, he still hadn't seen Mei Wanying, and a gloomy storm brewed in the depths of the Crown Prince's eyes.
Rubbing the Jade Ring on his finger, the Crown Prince asked nonchalantly, "Why do I not see Miss Mei?"
Mrs. Mei wore a perfectly appropriate smile, as if she hadn't noticed the Crown Prince's displeasure. "Ah Yin is still not well. She cannot go out and be exposed to the wind."
After a pause, she added, "It would be Ah Yin's fault if she were to pass her sickness on to you."
The Crown Prince was determined to see Mei Wanying.
One reason was to compete with Pei Yan.
Second, Mei Wanying was beautiful and sweetly naive. The first time he saw her at the spring banquet, he had been utterly captivated.
He wanted to take Mei Wanying into the Eastern Palace. An unrivaled beauty should be paired with a dragon among men!
Mei Wanying ought to be his.
His heart had been moved; otherwise, he wouldn't have come to the General Mansion personally.
And for the second time!
If it were simply a matter of pressuring the Mei family, he had plenty of other methods!
"As it happens, I brought an Imperial Physician. Let him take Miss Mei's pulse. I will find any medicine she lacks. We must nurse Miss Mei back to health."
How could Mrs. Mei let the Crown Prince get close to her daughter?
The man was moody and unpredictable, his actions absurd. They couldn't get away from him fast enough!
"A doctor has already seen her, written a prescription, and she will be much better after a few days of rest."
The Crown Prince's lips curved. "If that's the case, it means Miss Mei's illness isn't serious. She's not so sick she can't get out of bed, so I can rest assured."
His tone shifted. "Since I'm already here, I'd like to have a few words with Miss Mei. Madam, you wouldn't stop me, would you?"
He used the word "stop."
This was the Crown Prince, the successor personally appointed by the Holy Emperor.
Without a powerful backer, who could stop him?
The Crown Prince was dead set on acquiring Mei Wanying. Mrs. Mei felt both anxious and helpless.
'If only Pei Yan would marry Ah Yin,' she thought, 'I could die in peace.'
But Pei Yan just wouldn't agree.
Mrs. Mei felt increasingly distressed. 'The Mei family raised Pei Yan, so why is he being so cruel?'
'Is it because the General Mansion has lost its pillar of support and can no longer be of any help to him?'
Mrs. Mei forced a smile. "Once Ah Yin has recovered, the mansion will host a banquet in your honor. We hope Your Highness will come for a drink then."
At that time, she would personally make an appearance and invite all the families they were on good terms with. It would be far better than letting Ah Yin meet the Crown Prince privately.
Mrs. Mei was out of options; she could only take things one step at a time.
But the Crown Prince was not so easily dismissed.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be causing Mrs. Mei such a headache, forcing her to resort to this last-ditch effort.
"Why pick a date when you can just seize the day?" he said, his implication perfectly clear.
Mrs. Mei subconsciously twisted the Jade Bracelet on her wrist, a habit of hers when she was agitated.
The Crown Prince remained calm and composed, ignoring her reluctance and anxiety.
"Mrs. Mei, will you lead the way so I can visit Miss Mei myself, or will you send someone to summon Miss Mei to the front hall?"
A wave of helplessness washed over her.
'While I'm still alive, someone is already coming to our door, relentlessly pressuring Ah Yin.'
'If I were gone, these people would eat Ah Yin alive, leaving not even a scrap behind!'
Her eyes suddenly stung with tears.
Mrs. Mei looked at Nanny Liu, telling her to go summon Mei Wanying.
Nanny Liu's heart ached as well.
She had been Mrs. Mei's dowry maid. Later, with General Mei and Mrs. Mei's blessing, she was married to a Steward in the mansion.
Unfortunately, her fortune was thin. Not two months after she married, her husband died.
The posthumous child she had been carrying was also lost.
Later, when Ying was born, she grew up drinking Nanny Liu's milk.
To say something terribly improper, Nanny Liu felt that Ying was her own flesh and blood.
Now, she was in a dangerous situation. If the Crown Prince succeeded and she entered that man-eating Eastern Palace, how would Ying survive?
Nanny Liu's heart felt as if it were being pricked by needles.
But with the pillar of the mansion gone, it was a losing battle. In the end, Ying was still the one who had to suffer.
As soon as Nanny Liu left, some of the sinister gloom in the Crown Prince's eyes dissipated.
He didn't want to frighten Mei Wanying either, but if they didn't know what was good for them, they couldn't blame him for using forceful measures.
Fortunately, these people had some sense and knew not to offend him.
"What grand airs you put on, Crown Prince. Is this what you call visiting the sick? Forcing a patient to drag her ailing body out to entertain you?"
Pei Yan strode in.
Without waiting for the steward to lead the way, he walked into the main hall as if he owned the place, completely at ease.
Seeing him, Mrs. Mei let out a huge sigh of relief.
Pei Yan was unwilling to marry Ah Yin, but with him here, Ah Yin wouldn't be bullied.
Not even by the Crown Prince!
Finally seeing Pei Yan, Mrs. Mei was desperate to tell him what had happened that day.
To make him take responsibility and marry Mei Wanying.
But with an outsider present, she could only swallow her words.
She stood up and went to greet him. "Ah Yan, what are you doing here?"
Mrs. Mei's attitude was warm, and her face bore a genuine smile.
Pei Yan felt uncomfortable.
Mrs. Mei had never treated him with this attitude before.
While she had never mistreated him, she felt he was not good to Mei Wanying, and so she had always been lukewarm toward him.
Pei Yan could understand Mrs. Mei's feelings.
'In the future, if his own daughter were "bullied," he wouldn't be able to put on a pleasant face for the person responsible either.'
This thought startled Pei Yan.
'Where would he get a daughter from!'
He quickly banished the unrealistic thought from his mind.
'Mei Wanying must be my curse,' he thought darkly. 'Every time I get involved with her, I start acting strangely.'
'I have to stay away from her.'
'First, I'll deal with the Crown Prince, then find an impeccable man for Mei Wanying and marry her off.'
'From then on, I won't see her or have anything to do with her ever again.'
In just a few breaths, countless thoughts flashed through Pei Yan's mind, but his expression remained as calm as still water.
He said to Mrs. Mei, "I had someone send the fresh fish from Jiangnan to the kitchens."
Mrs. Mei's feelings were complicated.
To say Pei Yan was bad to Ah Yin wasn't entirely true, as he occasionally showed considerate gestures.
But to say he was good to her, he was also always speaking harshly to Ah Yin, constantly trying to drive her away.
Mrs. Mei had never seen such a contradictory person.
No wonder Ah Yin's heart was so hopelessly strung along by him.
This hot-and-cold attitude—giving a slap and then a sweet date.
Ah Yin was a young lady raised in the inner chambers, inexperienced with the world. How could she not be confused?
Mrs. Mei said, "Ah Yin loves fish soup when she's sick. She'll be so happy about this."
The corner of Pei Yan's mouth twitched upward uncontrollably before he quickly forced it straight again.
It was fleeting; no one noticed the change in his expression.
Pei Yan sat down opposite the Crown Prince.
"There should be a proper distance between men and women. Ah Yin is not yet married; it is inappropriate for her to meet with men who are not family."
He was speaking to Mrs. Mei, but his gaze was fixed on the Crown Prince.
Having his plans ruined, the Crown Prince was furious.
He was so angry he laughed. "I have already requested an imperial edict from my Father Emperor to grant us a marriage. With Miss Mei ill, how could I not come to visit? I cannot rest easy without seeing her with my own eyes. Second Brother, this is only natural."
Pei Yan scoffed. He didn't beat around the bush with the Crown Prince, and to put the Mei family's minds at ease, he laid his cards on the table.
"I'm the one who decides who Mei Wanying marries."
"She is not entering the Eastern Palace!"