A Marriage in Name Only? My Stepbrother Won't Let Me Go Chapter 84: This Is the Real Mei Wanying

Empress Gu had made a concession, no longer forcing i Wanying to marry.

But still, she couldn’t rest easy, so she had left Mrs. Gu by i Wanying’s side.

The official reason given was to have an extra person to serve her and ease her burdens.

But anyone in the know understood that this woman was Empress Gu’s spy, and i Wanying’s every move was now under constant watch.

Being watched all day long, i Wanying was already simring with resentnt. Mrs. Gu’s lecture was the spark that finally set her off.

"This is the i family. If you’ve co here to throw your weight around and act like the mistress of the house, then leave imdiately! This humble ho is too small to accommodate a personage as great as you!"

"And I wasn’t wrong. The people from the Capital City who contact you are only doing it to curry favor with His Highness, are they not?"

i Wanying reiterated, "This is the i family. If you can’t figure out who the master is, then you’d best get out."

Mrs. Gu’s face flushed red, then drained of color in humiliation.

In all her years, she had never been driven away like this.

She was a servant born and raised in the Gu Family and had been held in high regard by her masters since she was a child.

Her masters had even bestowed their surna upon her. What an imnse honor that was!

It was no exaggeration to say that her status and connections far surpassed those of the mistresses of many minor noble houses.

She had never been so wronged!

And to be humiliated by a re slip of a girl, of all people!

Mrs. Gu’s expression turned ugly. "Miss i, do you dare defy the Empress’s orders?"

Ha...

’Using the Empress’s na to bully people again.’

"You’re just a dog throwing its master’s weight around. Get out!"

i Wanying had never been a patient person to begin with. It was only because she had been tornted to the point of utter exhaustion in her past life that she hadn’t quite recovered, even after her rebirth.

This was why people had mistakenly believed she had turned over a new leaf.

i Wanying’s expression was glacial. ’The more I tolerate them, the more they push their luck.’

’Fine, then none of us will have an easy day!’

The word "out" was truly hurtful. Mrs. Gu was humiliated beyond belief, and tears welled up in her cloudy eyes.

She had truly never been subjected to such humiliation.

Never!

She choked out, "I was only doing this for your own good, yet you’re so ungrateful. No wonder everyone says you’re spoiled and domineering. I thought they were spouting nonsense, but it seems this is your true face."

"No wonder His Highness doesn’t like you! Look at you. You don’t have an ounce of a noble lady’s gentle grace. You’re rebellious to the core. You’re certainly not fit to be His Highness’s principal wife!"

’A man marries a wife for her virtue,’ she thought. ’i Wanying was neither gentle and virtuous nor deferential and accommodating.’

’She might pass as a pampered, arrogant concubine, but if she beca the matriarch, the whole family would know no peace.’

i Wanying sneered. "You’re the one who’s most suitable! Go on, run to your masters and wag your tail, begging for favor. See if they’ll reward you by making you a principal wife!"

For Mrs. Gu, it was as if the sky had fallen.

’Listen to that vulgar, filthy language. To think it was coming from the mouth of a lady from a prestigious family.’

’How did the i family even raise her?’

’This is utterly preposterous!’

Her voice rose, becoming sharp and shrill. "Miss i, you can take your anger out on if you must, but to be so disrespectful to the Empress and His Highness—that is treasonous!"

Having thrown all caution to the wind, i Wanying’s eyes filled with scorn. "You want to go report ? Be my guest. Isn’t that your daily routine anyway?"

Mrs. Gu’s face flushed crimson, and she nearly choked on her own breath.

’Was that tattling?’

’She was rely fulfilling her duty by reporting i Wanying’s daily activities to the Empress.’

If it weren’t for the gold lump in i Wanying’s belly, she really wouldn’t have stood for this humiliation!

With no outlet for her rage, Mrs. Gu experienced for the first ti what it felt like to be angered to the point of tears.

And she couldn’t just walk away from it all. It was utterly infuriating!

"Miss i, if you find so disagreeable, you can report to the Empress as well. If the Empress feels I’m not doing my job properly and wants to return to the Capital City, I won’t stay a mont longer!"

’What kind of noble lady talks back like that?’

’This i Wanying was just too difficult to manage!’

’She dares to talk back to now, before the child is even born. If she gives birth to a son, I’m afraid i Wanying will walk all over everyone!’

Mrs. Gu had t countless well-bred young ladies, but she had never seen one as defiant and untamable as i Wanying.

’And to think she had previously mistaken i Wanying for so delicate, clinging vine.’

’It was all an act, it seems.’

’Sharp-tongued, unreasonable, and domineering—that was her true nature!’

’His Highness must have been foolish to let such a woman carry his child.’

’He doesn’t even like i Wanying, so why bestow this honor upon her?’

’He never should have touched her.’

’He shouldn’t have given her the chance to gain status through her child!’

i Wanying actually considered "reporting" her. As long as she used the child as leverage, she wasn’t afraid that Empress Gu wouldn’t compromise.

But if one Mrs. Gu left, the next would be a Mrs. Zhao, or a Mrs. Li...

The next one might be even more difficult to handle.

i Wanying was weary. She didn’t want to engage in a battle of wits with these people.

"What’s going on here?"

Gu Xun had co to visit i Wanying again. He saw Mrs. Gu crying, with two young maids supporting the old woman, one on each side.

i Wanying sat in the pavilion, her face a mask of indifference. Ding Xiang stood beside her, equally expressionless.

It looked like they were in a standoff.

Upon seeing Gu Xun, it was as if Mrs. Gu had seen one of her own.

She poured out the whole story in a rush, like spilling beans. "I only ant well, I never thought Miss i would get so angry."

With that, she dabbed the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, looking utterly wronged.

The man listened, montarily stunned.

Then, his heart began to pound, filled with an indescribable excitent.

’This was the i Wanying he rembered. If she were timid and withdrawn, how would she have dared to so openly pursue her cousin?’

’Bright and bold, even a little bit arrogant—that was the real i Wanying!’

’She shouldn’t be so downcast and morose, so shrouded in gloom.’

The corners of Gu Xun’s mouth lifted uncontrollably as he gazed at i Wanying with a faint, unreadable smile.

His gaze made i Wanying, who was maintaining a cold expression, feel awkward and ill at ease.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that he was up to no good, that he was probably laughing at her inwardly.

But Gu Xun hadn’t provoked her, so she couldn’t just curse him out for no reason.

So she simply averted her gaze, refusing to look at them.

Gu Xun rubbed the tip of his nose. ’Looks like Miss i sees as the "enemy" now.’

’Then again, what could he do? His surna was Gu...’

Seeing that Gu Xun wasn’t speaking up for her, Mrs. Gu looked aggrieved. "Xun, everything I said is true! If I’ve exaggerated in the slightest, may I be struck down by lightning!"

Gu Xun clicked his tongue. "Why are you making such a vicious oath over nothing? Do you feel this situation isn’t chaotic enough and want to add more fuel to the fire?"

Mrs. Gu’s lips trembled, but she didn’t know how to respond.

Her heart was in turmoil.

’Is Xun... taking i Wanying’s side?’

’But she was the one from the Gu family! i Wanying had even refused to marry Xun, so how could he possibly take her side?’

Mrs. Gu had grown up in the Gu Family and was completely devoted to her masters. In her eyes, i Wanying was the outsider.

She felt truly awful at this mont.

Back in the Capital City, everyone she t out and about treated her with respect.

This kind of treatnt was a first for her.

It was one thing for Xun not to help her, but to scold her in front of i Wanying and cause her to lose face...

The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. Mrs. Gu said, "If she had just listened to the Empress and married you with the child in her belly, I wouldn’t have to be here watching over her, getting on everyone’s nerves for no reason."

As soon as these words were spoken, i Wanying’s face flushed a deep red.

It wasn’t from shyness.

It was from humiliation.

It was from fury!