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

Chapter 153 I'm going to have a fake marriage with her!

Pei Xizhou's feelings were also complicated: "Yes, how could it be my eldest brother?"

After calming down, he said to Li Yi, "As you can see, your older brother and cousin are engaged. From now on, don't try to make a move on your cousin."

"Don't you think it's too much of a coincidence? I said I wanted to get my cousin, and Dongzhou suddenly got engaged to Cousin Shen. How can I not suspect that this is a pre-arranged engagement?" Li Yi still felt something was off.

Pei Xizhou replied speechlessly, "Have you ever seen anyone make such a big fuss about faking a marriage?!"

If we assume a blood relative, would the elder brother need to alarm the entire Marquis's mansion and the capital?

Li Yi was taken aback by his retort, her mood becoming complicated: "I was just asking a question, why are you taking it out on me?"

Even he, the person whose woman was stolen, didn't have such a temper. How dare Pei San yell at him?
"Alright, you can go now. Seeing you is annoying." Pei Xizhou was too lazy to pay any more attention to Li Yi.

"Pei San, what kind of attitude is this? You're not the one whose woman was stolen!" Li Yi shouted at Pei Xizhou.

Pei Xizhou still ignored him, so he left the Marquis's residence in anger.

Meanwhile, Shen Shuyi followed closely behind Prince Pei back to Fusang Courtyard.

Prince Pei treated the place as his own courtyard, poured two cups of tea, and handed one to her.

Shen Shuyi silently took a sip of tea, glanced at her handsome cousin sitting opposite her, and asked, "Now that things have escalated so much, how are we going to clean this up?"

She wanted to ask Prince Pei directly whether today's engagement was real or fake.

If it's true, what would Prince Pei be after? If it's false, it's too convincingly fake. She feels like she's in a dream and can't figure out what's going on.

Pei Dongzhou still smiled gently: "Cousin, there's no need to worry, everything is going according to plan."

Shen Shuyi stared intently at Prince Pei, hoping he would continue to explain.

Prince Pei looked at her puppy-like eyes, a hint of a smile flashing in his own.

Shen Shuyi, with her impatient nature, couldn't hold back any longer: "Um, Cousin Crown Prince, are we pretending to be related today?"

“Yes, otherwise would my cousin think it’s a real engagement?” Pei Dongzhou asked with a smile.

Seeing Pei Shizi's smile, Shen Shuyi got goosebumps all over her arms.

No wonder people say that Prince Pei's smile is more frightening than his lack of a smile; he's a smiling tiger.

"That's good. I thought it was real, it gave me quite a fright." Shen Shuyi patted her small chest.

I don't know what's so funny about what she said, but her cousin, the Crown Prince, actually laughed again.

"What exactly is Cousin Prince laughing at?" Shen Shuyi asked, her face full of confusion.

Pei Dongzhou beckoned to Shen Shuyi, who then unsuspectingly brought her face close to the young master's. Unexpectedly, this action made the young master laugh again.

"Is Cousin Crown Prince in a good mood?" Shen Shuyi was speechless.

Pei Dongzhou remembered that he hadn't gotten to the main point yet, so he suppressed his smile and said calmly, "I did my cousin a big favor today, and I happen to have a favor to ask of her as well. Would you be willing to help me?"

Shen Shuyi wondered to herself, what's the problem?
Prince Pei has even risked his reputation for her sake; it would be too disloyal of her not to help!
"Of course, I will definitely repay my cousin, the young master, as long as it is within my power." Shen Shuyi readily agreed.

Pei Dongzhou gave her a deep look before saying, "To be honest, cousin, although the Marquis's mansion seems quite prosperous now, the fact that a Crown Princess has emerged has made His Majesty wary of it."

“I know that. My cousin, the Crown Prince, already mentioned it at Heshou Hall.” Shen Shuyi was well aware of the implications.

What emperor isn't suspicious? Plus, with so many people eyeing the throne, emperors are bound to be wary of powerful families in the court.

“Originally, His Majesty didn’t take the Pingyang Marquis’s mansion seriously, simply because my father was a dissolute playboy, and the Pingyang Marquis’s mansion gradually declined. But since the Crown Princess married His Highness the Crown Prince, and I also took up a post at the Dali Temple, and later Bei Zhou entered the Hanlin Academy, the Pingyang Marquis’s mansion has shaken off its previous decline and become a highly sought-after marriage partner in everyone’s eyes. His Majesty has also looked at the Pingyang Marquis’s mansion with higher regard because of this. The reason I haven’t gotten engaged yet is because I know His Majesty is watching. Today’s engagement banquet between my cousin and me is actually just for His Majesty’s benefit. But that’s not enough. Only if my cousin and I have a fake marriage can His Majesty be completely at ease. Cousin, are you willing to play along with me?” Pei Dongzhou quickly got to the point.

Shen Shuyi thought she had misunderstood: "What exactly does Cousin Crown Prince mean?"

She could understand if the engagement was fake, but could the marriage be faked too?
“I want my cousin to pretend to be my brother-in-law, to make this a convincing performance, to eliminate the hidden dangers of the Marquis’s mansion, and to show His Majesty that the Marquis of Pingyang’s mansion has no ulterior motives towards His Majesty. I know my cousin is a kind-hearted person, so I think she will help me, right?” Pei Dongzhou looked intently at Shen Shuyi.

"Can a marriage be faked?" Shen Shuyi didn't consider herself stupid, but right now her mind was a complete mess, and she felt quite confused.

“Why not?” Pei Dongzhou sighed softly. “The news of my engagement to my cousin has spread throughout the capital. At the time, I only thought it would be good if this news reached the palace. But now I think that if His Majesty summons my cousin, our marriage will not be possible, and it may arouse His Majesty’s suspicion.”

"His Majesty summoned me?!" Shen Shuyi was a little confused.

“I recently presided over a case that may lead to a promotion, depending on His Majesty’s decision. If I am promoted to Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, I would be a fourth-rank official, but this matter is not yet finalized. After news of my engagement reached His Majesty’s ears, I guessed that he would allow me to bring my cousin to an audience with him. Whether this will happen or not depends on His Majesty’s will. If His Majesty does summon my cousin, she must pretend that she and I are in love, otherwise we would be deceiving the Emperor…”

Shen Shuyi finally understood; this matter had become quite a big deal.

Although she and Prince Pei knew it was a presumptive marriage, everyone else took it seriously, including the people in the Marquis's mansion and even the current emperor.

“If my cousin can help me through this difficult time, I will be very grateful to her, and the entire Marquis’s mansion will also be grateful for her great kindness,” Pei Dongzhou added.

Shen Shuyi didn't know what to say.

Prince Pei arranged a marriage with her to help her, and now he's asking her to help him back, but it's a fake marriage.

But assuming that affinities and false marriages are the same, are they the same?

“But an engagement can be dissolved, but marriage cannot,” Shen Shuyi murmured.

“Can’t you get divorced just like you get married? I understand your concerns, cousin. If it weren’t for the gravity of the matter and I couldn’t think of a better way, I wouldn’t want to put you in a difficult position. I beg you to agree to a fake marriage with me.” Pei Dongzhou said sincerely, “Otherwise, I’ll be accused of deceiving the emperor. Forget about getting promoted, it might even implicate the entire Marquis’s mansion. It’s all my fault for not thinking things through. I didn’t consider the potential consequences of a fake marriage with you, cousin.”

(End of this chapter)