Seeing the chains, he was shocked. “What is this? Who locked you up?”
Suddenly, Meng Chi wrapped his arm around Zhen Yu’s neck and applied force. Before Zhen Yu could react, he was choked unconscious. Meng Chi’s other hand pressed on his head as Ruan Ning rushed over, grabbing his arm and crying out in panic, “What are you doing?”
“Killing him,” Meng Chi said flatly, his fingers already hooked on Zhen Yu’s forehead.
“You’re completely unreasonable!” Ruan Ning exclaimed. This man was a pervert!
“No one who wants to take you away will be allowed to live,” Meng Chi’s eyes flashed with cruelty. “My dear sister, you like Zhen Yu, right? Shall I kill him and lay him on this table for you to look at every day?”
Ruan Ning was about to explode with anger. Was Zhen Yu’s arrival useless? If she was to be locked in this room, enduring abuse and torture, what joy was there in living? It was a tragic story—dying early would be a release. Even if she failed again and had to endure more, it couldn’t be worse than now.
She gritted her teeth and rushed toward the wall.
Meng Chi reacted quickly, and she crashed into his chest, causing his face to turn pale.
“You love him so much that you’re willing to die for him?” Meng Chi asked, supporting her.
Ruan Ning took a deep breath and let out a cold laugh. “I’m not doing it for him, but for myself. Rather than being locked up as your plaything, I’d rather die!”
If he hadn’t been stubborn, his mother Wu would have already called off the engagement. In earlier years, when Old Meng was alive, the two families were considered well-matched, and the marriage was arranged.
But later, Zheng Yu’s father made a fortune and sent him to study. He became a scholar at seventeen or eighteen, making Yuan Ning no longer a suitable match. If Meng Chi, commander of the Xiao Yun Guard, had been willing to support his stepsister, the marriage might still have been possible. However, Wu discovered that Meng Chi and his stepmother and stepsister were essentially enemies, rendering the marriage unbeneficial.
Zheng Yu, unwilling to break off the engagement, felt reneging on a marriage was unrighteous. He believed he had a responsibility to save Yuan Ning, who was alone and helpless. When a stranger informed him that Yuan Ning was being detained by her stepbrother and her life was in danger, he asked his mother to arrange the marriage. When she refused, he secretly ran away.
Looking at his anxious fiancée, he said soothingly, “But there’s room for negotiation. My mother has a good heart. She likes obedient and virtuous women. As long as you behave well and show filial piety, she will surely change her mind.”
Ruan Ning felt a headache thinking about the original story of this ill-fated couple struggling to get married.
“The most urgent thing is to grow your hair back,” Zheng Yu said awkwardly, looking at her short black hair and struggling to reconcile his imagined delicate fiancée with the reality of her baldness.
“I’ll go back with you. Staying here might cause trouble. Meng Chi and his sister are not quite normal,” Ruan Ning replied, grabbing her bundle and walking out.
Zheng Yu felt uncomfortable. Despite her fragile appearance, his fiancée was decisive and didn’t need his planning, deflating his rescue ambitions.
Meng Chi coldly glanced at Ruan Ning, making her shiver into silence. He pulled her hand and kicked open the door, stating, “Tell Zheng Yu to come out and see me.”
Wu Shi sat behind the door and fell off her chair when it swung open, cursing, “Who the hell is looking for trouble?”
Zheng Yu hurried over to help her up. “Mother, are you alright?”
Meng Chi’s gaze swept over Ruan Ning. “Good sister, this is what you asked for. I hope you won’t regret it.”
Wu Shi was about to retaliate when Meng Chi interjected, “Xiao Yun Wei’s Meng Chi, here to ask why the Zheng family’s young master won’t let my sister in when they have a marriage contract.”
Chapter 73: Stepbrother
Discussions arose around them: “What is Xiao Yun Wei?” “I heard they’re more powerful than government soldiers, killing without blinking!” “So the little nun has powerful family backing; the Zheng family is in trouble!” “Wu’s wife looks down her nose, her son got a scholar’s hat and acts like he won the top imperial exam; she deserves bad luck!”
Wu Shi became uneasy upon hearing the neighbors’ discussions. She knew Meng Chi was capable, but he disliked his stepsister, so why did he suddenly support her?
She managed a smile: “Nephew, what brings you here?”
“Zheng Yu insisted on marrying my sister, so I brought her away,” Meng Chi’s eyes flashed coldly. “Fortunately, I followed; otherwise, I wouldn’t have known how the Zheng family mistreated her.”
“This…” Wu Shi rolled her eyes, “Nephew, are you really here for the little nun?”
Meng Chi laughed lightly: “Lady Wu, who said my sister is a nun? She is the bride your family betrothed, temporarily staying in a temple to pray due to poor health, shaving her head to show devotion. How did she become a nun to you? Do you want to break the marriage contract?”
That’s fine, we’ll do this by the rules…”
“I won’t break the contract; I’ll marry no one but Zheng Yu!” Ruan Ning, fearing Meng Chi would cause trouble, quickly tugged at Zheng Yu’s sleeve. “Say something!”
Zheng Yu moved his lips but said nothing. He felt disappointed. He had told Ruan Ning to be filial and obedient, yet she had argued with his mother in public. The helpless girl he imagined waiting for his rescue had vanished. The decisive woman before him was not who he wanted, making him hesitant about the marriage contract.
Wu Shi, seeing Meng Chi cared for the nun, no longer wanted to break the contract. “No breaking the contract; we’ll marry soon. Our families have had this contract for so long!”
Meng Chi’s expression was conflicted as he surveyed Ruan Ning, Zheng Yu, and then Wu Shi. “Since you’re not breaking the contract, fine. Prepare slowly. I’ll first find a place for my sister. She must have a grand wedding, with nothing missing.”
Wu Shi nodded. Meng Chi pulled Ruan Ning: “Let’s go!”
Ruan Ning didn’t want to go but felt she had no choice. The Zheng family was only allowing the marriage because of Meng Chi, so she could only pretend to be close to him.
Wu’s mother hit Zheng Yu, cursing, “I told you not to marry her, but you ran away and brought her back. Marry her and get Meng Chi’s money!”
“I won’t marry her!” Zheng Yu replied, head drooping. “She’s fierce and always argues with you. I don’t like her.”
“I don’t care if you like her! Marry her for me!” Wu’s mother slapped him again. “Stop talking nonsense!”
Zheng Yu decided to find Ruan Ning. If she didn’t want to marry, the problem would be solved. He rushed to the inn and, before knocking, noticed through the half-open window that Meng Chi was holding Ruan Ning, who was struggling. Their wrists were chained together with a silver lock.
Zheng Yu recalled the first time he saw Ruan Ning; she was also locked in chains. Imagining a bully oppressing a young girl, he kicked the door and shouted, “Open the door!”
The door creaked open, and Meng Chi pulled Ruan Ning to the doorway, looking ashen: “What are you doing here?”
Zheng Yu stood in front of Ruan Ning, his neck stretched. “What were you doing holding her? Why are you chaining her?”
“Nothing.”
My sister is disobedient, constantly leaving home to go to your house where she gets bullied. I’m disciplining her,” Meng Chi said contemptuously. “What, does Young Master Zheng want to interfere?”
Zheng Yu felt awkward about Meng Chi’s family issues and glanced at Ruan Ning. She was trying to unlock the chain on her wrist, her face flushed and tears welling, but not falling. It seemed difficult for her to have such a fierce brother.
