Jiaojiao is getting married, and the male leads fall for her and fight over her.

Chapter 128 What am I in my cousin's heart?
Shen Shuyi knew, of course, that marriage was not a game, but she herself was in the middle of it.

If she insists on getting engaged, then Ling Zong is the man she took a liking to at first sight. Among all the men, Ling Zong is the best and the most suitable for her.

She also knew that once she was engaged, she couldn't back out later.

But she felt that since the system insisted on making her do this task, there must be a reason.

Furthermore, she believed that Ling Zong would treat her well if she married him. As for feelings, they could be cultivated after marriage.

The worst fear is that even if she gets married, she'll still have to continue doing missions and getting entangled with the male leads—that's not what she wants. But as a cannon fodder character destined to die young in the book, what choice does she have?
“I know what I’m doing. Since I said I wanted to get engaged, it’s true and I won’t change my mind. Grandmother, why don’t you take a look at Ling Zong first? If you think he’s not worthy of my entrusting my life to, then I’ll continue to look for someone until I get married myself,” Shen Shuyi said resolutely.

Seeing the child's determined eyes, the old lady realized that the child was not joking and really wanted to get engaged.

Perhaps this is a good thing. After all, Dongge'er is unlikely to marry Yijie'er, so it's better to marry Yijie'er off as soon as possible.

"Alright, this time your grandmother will personally check if that person is really as good as you say." The old lady took Shen Shuyi's hand. "Let's go. This place is too precious. Let's not come here again."

Zhang was naturally happy to hear that Shen Shuyi would no longer harm her son, and she pretended not to hear the old lady's words.

Just as the old lady was about to leave Nanyuan with Shen Shuyi, Pei Nanzhou, still in shock, finally found his voice: "Cousin, is this a strategic retreat?"

It must be like this.

He considered many possibilities, but this was not one of them.

Cousin Shen clearly wanted to become the Crown Prince's wife, and even publicly expressed her feelings to her elder brother. How could she possibly turn around and say she wanted to get engaged to another man?

As for that man named Ling Zong, is he really as good as Cousin Shen said?
Shen Shuyi completely ignored Pei Nanzhou, never turning back to look at him, and helped the old lady leave Nanyuan.

Seeing Shen Shuyi walk away, Madam Zhang scoffed, "At least she has some self-awareness and knows how shameful she is. Even if Yi-jie doesn't want to marry, I will marry her off from the Marquis's mansion as soon as possible..."

Before she could finish speaking, Pei Dongzhou left Nanyuan without saying a word.

Zhang was secretly alarmed as she watched Pei Dongzhou's desolate figure disappear into the distance.

She had liked someone before.

In his youth, Marquis Pingyang was dashing and handsome, and she fell in love with him at first sight.

Knowing the feeling of liking someone, she suspected that Dong-ge'er was truly infatuated with Yi-jie'er. Otherwise, why would Dong-ge'er be so disappointed when Yi-jie'er said she wanted to get engaged?
"It seems we need to hurry up with Dong-ge'er's marriage too," Zhang said, then looked at Pei Nan-zhou, "Nan-ge'er, you need to hurry up with your marriage too. Next, you two brothers will have to..."

"Mother, let's go." Pei Nanzhou interrupted Zhang's incessant chatter.

Only then did Zhang notice that Pei Nanzhou's expression was not good.

She then remembered that Nan-ge had caught a cold because he had gotten caught in the rain while Yi-jie was out.

"It's a good thing that a fickle woman like Sister Yi is married off, lest she bring trouble to you brothers—"

"Mother, can I have some peace and quiet?" Pei Nanzhou asked impatiently, unable to bear listening to Zhang's lecture.

He didn't like his cousin Shen, but he wanted to teach her a lesson because he couldn't stand her arrogance. He thought it would be a good thing if his cousin Shen really married out of the Marquis's mansion, but he was afraid that she would say she wanted to get engaged, but actually still had designs on Prince Pei.

Such a menace should, of course, be kept as far away from the brothers as possible. He wanted to see if Cousin Shen was truly going to get engaged, or if this was just another of her feigned indifference.

Shen Shuyi chatted with the old lady in Heshou Hall for a while. The old lady saw that she was not joking, but she was still worried: "Yi'er, you said before that you wanted to be the wife of the heir apparent, so why do you suddenly want to get engaged to Ling Zong?"

Yes, she was still afraid that the child might say something hurtful.

"When I was young and naive, I always thought that my cousin, the Crown Prince, was every girl's dream lover. But for a dream lover, it's best to just dream about him. I don't want to waste any more time on him. That's why I did what happened at Nanyuan. Deep down, I want to marry a man who is caring and considerate. Although my cousin is outstanding, he doesn't seem like the kind of man who can be warmed up. I've truly let go. Why doesn't Grandmother believe me?"

The old lady was finally at ease.

Shen Shuyi had lunch at Heshou Hall before returning to Fusang Courtyard. As soon as she entered the door, she saw Ajian winking at her, and she immediately realized that a guest had arrived.

She looked up and saw Prince Pei standing under the eaves, seemingly lost in thought, as if he hadn't seen her return.

It's unclear when it started, but Prince Pei began entering and leaving Fusang Courtyard as if it were his own, feeling completely at ease.

Prince Pei was probably lost in thought, and she didn't know whether she should disturb him.

Just as she was hesitating, Prince Pei looked at her and calmly asked, "Cousin is back?"

At this moment, A-Jian whispered to her, "The young master has been waiting for you, Miss, and hasn't had lunch yet."

Upon hearing this, Shen Shuyi quickly replied, "How can that be? Hurry up and serve the meal; Cousin Crown Prince must be hungry."

No one should let the noble Prince Pei go hungry.

A-Jian whispered again, "The dishes are all ready, but they've gotten cold. Should we heat them up?"

"Of course, let's heat it up again quickly," Shen Shuyi said with a smile.

Just as A-Jian was about to follow the instructions, Pei Dongzhou said, "It's alright, let's eat like this. Has my cousin already had lunch?"

"I had lunch with my grandmother before returning, and I didn't know that my cousin, the Crown Prince, was waiting for me. If I had known, I would have come back sooner." Shen Shuyi felt that the Crown Prince Pei looked different from before.

It's unclear whether it was because she proposed to him in public that caused him trouble.

But she can't be blamed for this; it's all the system's doing. If he wants to blame someone, he should blame the system.

“My cousin is always like this. She talks a good game, but her actions don’t match her words,” Pei Dongzhou said with a sarcastic smile.

Shen Shuyi looked bewildered. What had she done to make Prince Pei come to this conclusion?

As if knowing her troubles, she heard Pei Shizi say, "My cousin said she wanted to marry me a moment ago, but the next moment she wants to get engaged to Ling Zong. What am I to her?"

"I'm sorry, I was too impulsive at the time. I just wanted to upset my aunt. I regretted it afterward. I shouldn't have caused trouble for my cousin, the young master. Once I'm engaged, I won't make things difficult for him anymore." Shen Shuyi felt that it was better to apologize.

Pei Nanzhou was already a problem, and she was afraid that if she displeased the young master Pei, her future would be even more difficult.

　Mwah mwah mwah
　　
　
(End of this chapter)