A Marriage in Name Only? My Stepbrother Won't Let Me Go Chapter 189: Don’t Be Afraid, I Am Here

Perhaps because she was so busy, ti flew by for i Wanying after Pei Yan left Jiangnan.

In the blink of an eye, Ling was almost a year old.

The little one had already sprouted four teeth and could even call out "Mama" in a mumble.

Just as before, she was still quite the troublemaker, running Ding Xiang and the others ragged every day.

Still, with Ling around, the manor was certainly much livelier.

A child’s first birthday is a big deal.

i Wanying started planning her daughter’s first birthday banquet early on.

Mrs. i thought a lively celebration would be best and suggested she invite all their friends and family to the house.

"It’s not often we have sothing to celebrate, so we should make it a lively affair."

i Wanying found socializing exhausting. "I’ll just invite Ah Yao and her family over. Just the few of us will celebrate Ling’s first birthday."

Mrs. i asked, "Won’t that be a bit too plain?"

i Wanying teased, "Then you can just give Ling more presents. We’ll see who dares call it plain then!"

Her daughter and granddaughter were the closest and most important people to Mrs. i.

For her granddaughter’s first birthday, she naturally had to give fine gifts.

Mrs. i had already decided: she would divide the jewelry from her private collection in two, one share for her daughter and one for her granddaughter.

She was getting on in years and no longer had use for such things. It was perfectly fitting to pass them down to her daughter and granddaughter.

Ah Yin had also suffered greatly the day Ling was born, so she couldn’t show favoritism.

Mrs. i kept this to herself for the ti being. Looking out at the bare trees, she said, "I wonder if Ling’s father will co?"

’If Pei Yan truly valued Ah Yin and Ling, he ought to co, shouldn’t he?’

This place was too far from the Capital City. News of what happened there would only reach them long after the fact.

i Wanying didn’t know if Pei Yan would co, either.

After Pei Yan returned to the Capital City, he wrote her a letter every single day.

Every morning upon waking, a letter would be waiting for her.

It was like clockwork; he hadn’t missed a single day.

Rembering the contents of his letters, i Wanying felt her ears start to burn.

She snorted. "It’s Ling’s first birthday banquet, not his. Whether he cos or not is completely unimportant."

A mother knows her daughter best. Mrs. i felt her daughter’s attitude had softened a little.

’Given Ah Yin’s temper, she should have said sothing like, "It’d be best if Pei Yan never showed his face again!"’

’Even at her age, Mrs. i still couldn’t make sense of the matters of the heart between n and won.’

She sighed inwardly. ’We’ll just have to take it one step at a ti. Perhaps Pei Yan is different, and he can truly be devoted to Ah Yin.’

Mrs. i smiled. "He just better not forget to send a first-birthday gift for Ling. Otherwise, our Ling might not accept him as her daddy."

The i family wanted for nothing; Mrs. i had other things in mind.

Now that Pei Yan knew Ling existed, it was only right for him, as her father, to prepare a birthday gift for her.

If he made no gesture, it would only prove he didn’t care about the child.

In that case, there would be no need for Ling to grow close to him.

Ling could already stand up on her own and even take a few steps while holding an adult’s hand.

Hearing her grandmother and mother say her na, she steadied herself on a low stool and made her way around to face them.

She mumbled an unclear question, her big eyes full of confusion.

i Wanying had been so busy that, for a ti, Ling had been staying in Mrs. i’s quarters.

After spending so much ti with the child, she could naturally understand those mumbled words.

Mrs. i laughed. "She thinks we were calling for her and is asking what we wanted."

i Wanying pinched her daughter’s little cheek. "We’re preparing for your birthday. What presents do you want? Even if you want to pluck the stars and moon from the sky, Mama will get them for you."

Ling threw herself into i Wanying’s embrace, giggling and hugging her while mumbling, "Mama."

Mrs. i couldn’t stop laughing. "In Ling’s heart, you’re much more important than the stars and the moon!"

i Wanying’s heart lted.

Cradling her daughter’s small body, she smoothed down the hair on her forehead. "It’s Mama’s fault. I’ll have to spend more ti with our Ling."

Ling was a clever child and could understand so simple sentences.

When she heard her mama was going to stay with her, she grinned, revealing her tiny, rice-like baby teeth.

Combined with her round little face, it was unbearably cute.

She rested on i Wanying’s lap, calling for her mama again and again, her little feet kicking excitedly. She was bursting with energy.

i Wanying asked her mother, "Was I this mischievous when I was little?"

Mrs. i replied, "You were just as bad, if not worse!"

Ling’s lively personality was the spitting image of Ah Yin’s when she was a child.

When Mrs. i saw her granddaughter, she was reminded of what her daughter looked like as a child.

How could she not dote on Ling?

She thought to herself, ’If it weren’t for Ah Yin’s influence, how could that block of wood Pei Yan have produced such a lively and clever daughter?’

The man being discussed, Pei Yan, had already arranged his court affairs and was rushing to Jiangnan without a mont’s rest.

’He wasn’t there when Ling was born. He’d already missed so much—he absolutely could not miss her first birthday banquet!’

’Ah Yin is terrified of pain, and she must have suffered terribly during childbirth. He should use their daughter’s birthday as a chance to be with Ah Yin and Ling.’

Pei Yan spurred his horse onward, racing toward Jiangnan. He missed i Wanying so much that when he passed through post stations, he only swapped for a fresh horse, never stopping to rest.

He had spent the past few years on military campaigns, so he had a strong constitution and didn’t find the journey exhausting.

The closer he got to Jiangnan, the more urgent his desire to see i Wanying beca.

Pei Yan just wanted to go faster, and faster still.

’Even if he did nothing but see her face, that alone would be bliss.’

...

For her daughter’s first birthday banquet, i Wanying didn’t plan to invite a large crowd of guests.

She just wanted to give Ling a cozy and simple birthday celebration.

Two days before her birthday, Ling suddenly developed small blisters on her body.

Ling was i Wanying’s only daughter, and her father was the powerful New Emperor. No one dared to neglect her.

As soon as two blisters appeared, her attendants went to summon a doctor.

The Household Doctor was well-versed and highly skilled. He proclaid that Ling had contracted smallpox.

’Ling has always been so healthy. I never imagined that the one ti she got sick, it would be such a deadly disease!’

Ling was i Wanying’s entire world. Unwilling to entrust her care to anyone else, she dropped all her other affairs to personally watch over her daughter.

When Mrs. i offered to take her place, she refused.

’Mother’s health is poor. If she caught it from Ling, the consequences would be unthinkable!’

i Wanying sealed off the courtyard, allowing only the doctor to co and go. She kept a tireless vigil by her child’s side, never even stopping to change her clothes.

Due to the unrelenting high fever, Ling was listless and didn’t even have the strength to cry.

i Wanying held her daughter, her face etched with anguish, yet she had to force herself to stay strong and give her daughter dicine.

’She’s my own flesh and blood. If anything happens to Ling, I don’t know what I’ll do.’

Ling didn’t want to drink the bitter dicine, but she had no strength to struggle, nor the strength to wail. She could only shed tears silently.

So of the bitter dicine went down, but so ca back up. Her small face was soaked with her tears.

For such a small child to endure the tornt of illness... i Wanying could no longer hold back, and tears stread down her face.

’She was so scared.’

’Scared of losing her daughter!’

"Emperor, that is smallpox! Your life is invaluable—you absolutely must not risk going inside!"

"Out of my way!"

A clamor of footsteps rushed from far to near, and the door was thrown open from the outside.

A travel-worn man appeared before i Wanying and took Ling from her arms.

He said, "Don’t be afraid. I’m here."