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

Chapter 172 Cousin, the Crown Prince: Men and women should not touch each other...

The person who understood Zhang best was Aunt Sun, and she trusted Aunt Sun.

Aside from marrying a philandering and unfaithful husband, she actually lived a much better life than most people. She was fawned over in public, and even the Marquis of Pingyang treated her with respect in the Marquis's mansion.

Her daughter became the Crown Princess, and her three sons were all outstanding.

As Sun Mama said, she was in the prime of her life, so why should she go against Dong-ge'er?
If he insists on marrying Yi-jie, then so be it. After all, it's his own life. If Yi-jie doesn't turn out well in the future, he'll still have to divorce her eventually.
“Go to Fusang Courtyard and call Yi-jie over.” Zhang finally came to her senses.

She really doesn't need to be the bad guy.

She had been strong-willed her whole life, and although she hadn't been rejected by the Marquis of Pingyang, she knew she was lucky that her children were all accomplished. And although the Marquis of Pingyang was a womanizer, he still respected her as his principal wife.

She was a noblewoman admired by everyone, so why should she be disliked by her most promising son at the age when she should be enjoying a peaceful and happy life?
If Dongge insists on marrying Yijie, then let her see if Yijie is truly worthy of Dongge's affection.

Just as Shen Shuyi saw off the male lead, Prince Pei, Mother Sun arrived and invited her to Jufutang, obviously to see Madam Zhang.

She thought Zhang was trying to intimidate her or make her stay away from the male leads, but she didn't expect Zhang to seem so calm.

After Shen Shuyi paid her respects, Madam Zhang went straight to the point: "Have you thought it through? Do you want to marry Dong-ge'er?!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Shuyi's eyes widened, completely forgetting the pre-arranged marriage, and she blurted out, "Aunt, have you misunderstood something? I never intended to marry my cousin, the Crown Prince. Where did you hear this from?!"

Zhang was taken aback by what she heard. She looked at Sun's mother, who was also clearly confused by the situation.

"Isn't the young master engaged to Miss Shen? The news has spread like wildfire. Has Miss Shen never considered marrying the young master?" Madam Sun said, observing Shen Shuyi's expression.

Shen Shuyi then remembered that the rumor of a marriage proposal had indeed spread like wildfire.

But could she tell Zhang that this was a hypothetical marriage arranged to appease Li Yi?

"This...maybe my aunt has misunderstood. I know very well that I am not on the same path as my cousin, the young master. He should marry a noblewoman who is suitable for him, and I am obviously not." Shen Shuyi could not say it outright, so she could only make up a reason.

At this moment, Zhang suddenly believed that Dongge'er had fallen in love with Yijie'er. Judging from Yijie'er's expression, she didn't seem to be faking it.

"Your engagement to Dong-ge'er has caused quite a stir in the city. If you don't marry Dong-ge'er, do you want to marry Nan-ge'er?" Zhang asked tentatively.

Upon hearing this, Shen Shuyi felt the misunderstanding had deepened: "Aunt, you've misunderstood. My second cousin and I have nothing going on. The reason he dislikes me is because he thinks I'm trying to seduce my cousin, the heir apparent, but actually I..."

Seeing that Zhang and Sun's mother were both looking at her in astonishment, she felt that she really couldn't explain it.

"In short, there's nothing between me and my second cousin. He doesn't like me. To be precise, he hates me!" Shen Shuyi said succinctly.

How could she possibly have any emotional entanglement with that madman Pei Nanzhou?
As for her engagement to Prince Pei, she didn't know how to explain it.

Just as she was at a loss, Prince Pei suddenly arrived. Upon seeing him, she stood up awkwardly and said, "Cousin Prince, please explain to my aunt that I have no intention of marrying you."

Prince Pei gave her a deep look and came to her rescue: "My cousin is waiting for me outside. I need to talk to my mother for a few minutes first."

Shen Shuyi left the room as instructed. Shouldn't Prince Pei be able to explain it clearly?
After she left, Madam Zhang asked impatiently, "Do you know that Yi'er doesn't want to marry you?" Pei Dongzhou smiled bitterly, "Now Mother should believe me, right? It was all wishful thinking on my part. My cousin has no intention of marrying me. The reason the news of our engagement spread in the first place was because I took it upon myself to invite friends to witness the ceremony. To this day, my cousin still thinks it was just a pre-arranged engagement. From the past until now, my cousin has never had any intention of marrying me."

Upon hearing this, Zhang became furious: "My son is so outstanding, if she doesn't want to marry him, what kind of man does she want to marry?"

How unreasonable! !
Pei Dongzhou quickly said, "Mother, please keep your voice down, don't let my cousin hear."

Looking at Pei Shizi's spineless appearance, Madam Zhang said, "If she doesn't like you, just marry another noble lady. Why bother making yourself suffer here?"

With Dong Ge'er being so outstanding, what kind of noble lady wouldn't he be able to marry?
"In any case, Mother, please don't interfere in my affairs with my cousin anymore. I'm afraid you'll scare her away," Pei Dongzhou said solemnly.

Zhang sneered, "You think I want to get involved? By the way, it's true that Nan-ge doesn't like Yi-jie?"

"To be precise, Nanzhou doesn't like my cousin, which is why he makes things difficult for her, leading to this misconception in my mother." Pei Dongzhou, worried that Shen Shuyi would have to wait too long, said, "I will handle my cousin's affairs myself, so please don't cause any more trouble, Mother."

Watching Pei Dongzhou leave in a hurry, Zhang was exasperated: "You good-for-nothing!"

Madam Sun laughed and said, "Luckily, Madam didn't play the villain. Now it seems that it was indeed the young master who couldn't get the young lady's affections, and we misunderstood the young lady before."

Zhang disliked Sun Mama's words: "It's Dong-ge'er's good fortune to have taken a liking to Yi-jie. What do you mean by 'desperate but unattainable'? Dong-ge'er is such an outstanding child. If she doesn't marry him, it's because she has no taste."

“Yes, yes, Madam is right. It’s just that Miss Sun has no taste,” Mama Sun quickly agreed.

Shen Shuyi paced back and forth under the eaves, feeling that something was amiss. Zhang Shi, who had always looked down on her, had actually asked her today if she wanted to marry Prince Pei.

The tone of her question made it seem as if Zhang would allow her to marry if she wanted to.

This is not right.

Zhang used to hate her the most, how could she allow her to marry Prince Pei? Just as she was lost in thought, Prince Pei arrived, and she went up to him and asked, "Cousin Prince, have you explained things clearly?"

Pei Dongzhou nodded and said, "I've explained it clearly, cousin, don't worry."

"Is Cousin Prince sure he's made himself clear?" Shen Shuyi asked, still uneasy.

Pei Dongzhou put his arm around her slender waist: "Have you made sure everything is clear?"

Shen Shuyi wanted to ignore the man's hand resting on her waist, but she couldn't.

She hesitated, then looked at Prince Pei, hoping he would notice that his hand was in an inappropriate place, but Prince Pei looked at her with a gentle smile: "What's wrong?"

Shen Shuyi took a deep breath and poked the hand that was resting on her waist: "Cousin, it's proper for men and women not to touch each other..."

Could you please move your hand a little?
Pei Dongzhou seemed to only then realize that his hand was on her waist, his fingertips brushing against her waist almost imperceptibly: "Sorry, I accidentally mistook my cousin for Qingzhu."

(End of this chapter)