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

Chapter 152 The Little Tail Behind the Young Master

Soon the younger generation left Heshou Hall, leaving only Pei Dongzhou and Shen Shuyi, the two parties involved.

All the members of the second branch of the family also withdrew, as instructed by the old lady.

Regarding Pei Dongzhou's marriage, the Marquis of Pingyang and his wife, as elders, had a say. Especially Madam Zhang, who was waiting for everyone to leave so that Shen Shuyi would back down and stop harming her eldest son.

Once everyone else had left, Madam Zhang couldn't wait to state her position: "I still stand by what I said, it's impossible for Dong-ge to marry Yi-jie!"

"Why not? What kind of noble lady does Mother want me to marry?" Pei Dongzhou maintained his usual gentle demeanor, but his words were very forceful. "Mother has probably forgotten that the Marquis's mansion already has a Crown Princess. His Majesty has been keeping an eye on the Pingyang Marquis's mansion. At this time, does Mother still want her son to marry a legitimate daughter from a prominent family like the Duke of Chu's family?"

Zhang was speechless. Although she knew the principle of avoiding confrontation, how could her son, who was so outstanding, marry Yi Jie, an orphan?

"My public announcement of my engagement to my cousin today is also a gesture to His Majesty, and a way of showing him that the Pingyang Marquis's household has no ambitions," Pei Dongzhou said gently.

Pei Shizi's words suddenly put Shen Shuyi's mind at ease.

As expected, she was just being delusional. Everything Prince Pei does has a purpose. It turns out that Prince Pei's real purpose is to lower the Emperor's guard against the Marquis of Pingyang's mansion.

She knew it! How could Prince Pei invite so many people over for no reason, letting everyone know about his engagement to her?
“Even if it’s to lower His Majesty’s guard against the Marquis’s mansion, you could get engaged to other young ladies. Why do you have to choose Yi’er?” Zhang Shi finally managed to say after a long while.

Shen Shuyi was hesitating whether to clarify to Zhang Shi that her marriage to Pei Shizi was only a presumptive one, but Pei Shizi spoke up faster than she could: "What's wrong with my cousin? We grew up together as childhood sweethearts. It's better to marry my cousin than to marry a girl I don't know and get tired of each other."

Upon hearing this, Shen Shuyi looked at Pei Shizi, who happened to be looking at her. He took her hand right in front of the elders and said, "In any case, my engagement with my cousin has already been announced. Mother Mo always wants me to marry some noble lady. Marquis Pingyang is too sharp and may bring disaster upon us. Let's not cause any more trouble for the Crown Princess."

Shen Shuyi noticed the gazes on her and tried to pull her hand away, but her cousin, the young master, was too strong, and she couldn't manage it even after trying for a while.

What's going on?

Now that Li Yi is gone, shouldn't Prince Pei tell everyone about their supposed marriage?

Unable to free her own hand, she could only give Pei Shizi meaningful glances.

Prince Pei, however, seemed oblivious to her inner turmoil, and directly took her hand and stood up: "My engagement to my cousin is now public knowledge, and I have publicly promised to marry her. There is no turning back. Mother, don't try to separate my cousin and me; you'd better accept this reality."

After saying that, he pulled Shen Shuyi away from Heshou Hall.

Madam Zhang was furious and wanted to smash the porcelain, but Marquis Pingyang quickly stopped her, saying, "Madam, please calm down. The porcelain is innocent."

"If you had paid any more attention to Dong-ge'er, he wouldn't have become so opinionated!" Zhang said angrily without thinking.

Marquis Pingyang retorted in a low voice, "It's a good thing to have one's own opinions. Didn't my wife say before that it's a good thing that Dongge'er isn't as fickle as me?"

Hearing this, Zhang became even angrier: "Does the Marquis think he's shameless for being a womanizer and fickle?"

Marquis Pingyang knew he was in the wrong and dared not retort. The old lady also knew her son was disappointing, and she felt guilty towards Madam Zhang over the years. Although Madam Zhang was somewhat cruel, she was quite good at managing the household, and her children were all promising.

She turned a blind eye to the arguments between her husband and her husband.

But regarding the marriage between Yi Jie'er and Dong Ge'er, she also had her own opinion: "My idea is to see what Dong Ge'er himself wants. If he really wants to marry Yi Jie'er, then let him have his way. If he changes his mind and doesn't want to marry Yi Jie'er, then let's drop the matter."

Madam Zhang felt that the old lady's words were too easy to say. Wasn't it only because Dong-ge'er insisted on marrying Yi-jie'er, an orphan, that the old lady said to let Dong-ge'er make the decision?
How can a child's marriage be decided by their own parents?
In the past, whenever she attended a banquet, she was always the envy of everyone. Everyone said she was a winner in life, being a Marquis's wife and having the most promising children in the capital, one a prince and the other a crown princess.

Who wouldn't envy her?
But after this incident, everyone will know that her best son is engaged to an orphan with no family background or connections, and she will be ridiculed wherever she goes in the future.

"I will never agree to this marriage, no matter what. If Dongge wants to marry Yijie, he'll have to step over my dead body first!" Zhang said harshly before storming off.

The old lady was not surprised by Zhang's reaction at all. She said to Marquis Pingyang, "You should talk to Zhang nicely. She is someone who responds better to gentle persuasion than force."

Marquis Pingyang nodded repeatedly: "My son has gone back first."

The old lady watched the Marquis of Pingyang walk away before asking Aunt An, "When did Dong-ge agree to let Miss get together? Forgive my poor eyesight, I really didn't notice before."

"Not to mention that the old lady didn't notice, this old servant was also startled. This also shows that Miss is pleasing to the eye, otherwise, why would someone like the young master be so devoted to her?" An Gu was naturally on the old lady's side.

The old lady chuckled, "I wonder if this marriage will actually happen..."

She suddenly remembered something: "Oh right, you still need to make a trip to the Ling family to explain the situation clearly, so they don't think we went back on our word. Ling Zong was injured, so you should also send a generous gift to visit him."

An Gu felt that this matter really needed to be addressed quickly, so she readily agreed and went to do it.

Back to Shen Shuyi and Pei Dongzhou, after leaving Heshou Hall, they were just about to ask what had happened when Li Yi was still there.

Upon seeing them emerge, Li Yi immediately rushed forward and asked, "Dongzhou, are you really engaged to Cousin Shen?"

Shen Shuyi stared intently at Prince Pei. Pei Dongzhou looked at her and replied calmly, "Of course it's true. Everyone knows that my cousin and I are engaged now, how could Your Highness think it's fake?"

Shen Shuyi pursed her lips, her feelings somewhat complicated.

"Xizhou, see Li Yi out. I'll take my cousin back to Fusang Academy." As soon as Pei Dongzhou finished speaking, he saw his little tail following him eagerly.

A hint of a smile flashed in his eyes, and he deliberately quickened his pace. Sure enough, the little tail behind him also quickened its pace, following him step by step.

Li Yi also saw Shen Shuyi following behind Pei Dongzhou and still found it absurd: "How could this be?!"

Shouldn't they assume they're related? How could it be true?

(End of this chapter)