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

Chapter 181 The Scene of Brothers Fighting Over It

That night, Pei Xizhou drank with Li Yi at Baixianglou.

Li Yi kept criticizing Pei Dongzhou: "Do you know, today, as soon as Father asked about Cousin Shen, Dongzhou started talking non-stop, even saying he didn't know what date to set for their wedding. Father is really something, as soon as he heard Dongzhou say that, he said he would help them pick a wedding date. And do you know what Dongzhou said next?"

Pei Xizhou was not interested and for some reason did not want to hear about his cousin and older brother's marriage.

Seeing Pei Xizhou's half-dead state, Li Yi muttered to himself, "Dongzhou said he's afraid Cousin Shen will run away and wants to get married this year, and Father actually praised him for valuing Cousin Shen. Clearly, I was the one who took a liking to Cousin Shen first..."

"You should just give up. Your cousin is so good, why should she be your concubine? Wouldn't it be better for her to be the wife of the heir apparent than your concubine? Don't you even look at how many women you have? They're filthy, yet you still dare to dream of having your way with Cousin Shen." Pei Xizhou retorted irritably.

Li Yi really didn't expect Pei Xizhou to speak so viciously. He was just a bit of a womanizer, but wasn't the Marquis of Pingyang just as womanizer?
“What’s wrong with being my concubine? Although I’m not the principal wife, I can still be included in the royal family’s genealogy.” Li Yi said dismissively.

He felt he was no worse than Prince Pei; wasn't Prince Pei just a little cleaner than him? In terms of family background, he was even more noble than Prince Pei.

"Alright, my brother and cousin Shen's marriage has been arranged. From now on, don't think about your cousin anymore and cause her any trouble."

Just as Pei Xizhou finished speaking, Mudan entered and reported, "Someone has brought a letter for you, young master."

Pei Xizhou took the letter and asked, "Do you know who sent this letter?"

"The man only said that someone had asked him to deliver a letter, without specifying who it was. After delivering the letter, the man left," Peony reported truthfully.

Pei Xizhou didn't press the matter further. After she left, he opened the letter to see what it was all about.

Pei Xizhou's expression changed repeatedly as he read the contents of the letter.

Seeing that Pei Xizhou's expression was off, Li Yi curiously leaned closer to see what was going on. When he saw the contents of the letter, he almost dropped his jaw in shock: "Cousin Shen is Su Su?!"

Pei Xizhou's expression was uncertain; he couldn't believe it.

If his cousin is indeed Su Su, whom he has been searching for, then the events that occurred in the outer residence in Osmanthus Lane are worth examining. It was clearly his elder brother's doing to help his cousin out of a predicament and prevent him from recognizing her.

"If Su Su is indeed Cousin Shen, why would anyone tell you this? Do they want you to steal Cousin Shen away? I must say, the person who sent this letter is quite perverted; they clearly want to use you to deal with Dongzhou." Li Yi became increasingly excited, gloating, "Just now you told me not to mess with Cousin Shen, and now it's your turn..."

Before Li Yi could finish speaking, Pei Xizhou suddenly got up and left.

Seeing this, Li Yi knew that Pei Xizhou was going back to the Marquis's residence to confront Pei Dongzhou in person.

This is interesting; he also wants to go to the Marquis's mansion to watch the drama of brothers fighting over a cousin.

He immediately followed closely behind Pei San, heading towards the Marquis's residence.

When they arrived at the East Garden, it was brightly lit, and Pei Dongzhou was personally writing invitations.

Pei Xizhou felt a mix of emotions upon seeing this scene. He had always respected his elder brother, the Prince Pei, and believed that when the Prince Pei inherited the Marquisate, the Pingyang Marquisate would be even more glorious than it was now.

Prince Pei definitely has that kind of ability. But how could he scheme against me? He clearly knew Su Su was my cousin, yet he didn't give me a single hint, letting me search for so long, and now he's going to marry my cousin...

Seeing Pei Xizhou and Li Yi enter, and noticing Xizhou's strange expression, Pei Dongzhou asked in a low voice, "What happened?"

Pei Xizhou took a while to find his voice: "When did you find out that my cousin is Su Su? That night in Osmanthus Lane, you deliberately said that my cousin was seducing you in order to help her get away, right?"

Pei Dongzhou remained silent. He hadn't expected that at this critical juncture, Xizhou would actually know that his cousin was Su Su.

“My cousin asked me to help her, so I lent her a hand. How did you suddenly know that my cousin is Su Su?” Pei Dongzhou asked in return.

"You knew I spent a lot of time and resources searching for Su Su's whereabouts, you knew my cousin was Su Su, you were clearly doing this on purpose!" Pei Xizhou felt extremely upset.

One was the only woman he had ever fallen for in his life, and the other was his respected elder brother; yet they were about to get married.

“My cousin said that Su Su was a character she made up and shouldn’t exist. You didn’t even see Su Su’s face back then, yet you said you liked her. How can anyone believe that? Besides, my cousin herself doesn’t want her identity to be exposed. Do you remember how you disliked my cousin back then? What reason would she have to tell you that she was Su Su?” Pei Dongzhou said calmly.

So he said he needed to marry his cousin quickly, because his cousin had gotten into quite a few romantic entanglements, and he was afraid that if he didn't hurry, something else might happen.

And now, Xizhou has come out to stir things up.

At the time, only he and Nanzhou knew that his cousin was Susu. If there were no surprises, it was Nanzhou who revealed this to Xizhou.

Pei Dongzhou's words deeply saddened Pei Xizhou. He had initially disliked his cousin, but his opinion of her had changed later.

If he knew that his cousin was Su Su, he would definitely take the initiative to win her over.

“You say I didn’t tell you that my cousin is Su Su, but in my opinion, it’s your problem that you didn’t recognize that your cousin is Su Su. I’m different. Whether my cousin appears as the fake Haitang or as Su Su, I can recognize her at a glance,” Pei Dongzhou said calmly.

Pei Xizhou wanted to argue, but he had to admit that Pei Shizi was right.

It's understandable that Li Yi didn't recognize his cousin, since he had never met her before she impersonated Haitang.

But he and his cousin lived under the same roof, and no matter whether his cousin appeared as the fake Haitang or Susu, he never realized that it was his cousin.

Seeing how Pei Shizi had broken down Pei Xizhou's defenses with just a few words, Li Yi secretly clicked his tongue in amazement: "Dongzhou, you're just taking advantage of Xizhou's honesty! It was clearly Xizhou who took a liking to Susu first. If you hadn't interfered that night in Guihua Lane, Xizhou would have recognized Susu as Cousin Shen long ago, and you wouldn't have been involved in the end!"

Pei Dongzhou sneered upon hearing this: "Is that so? Xizhou, ask yourself honestly, if you had known that Su Su was your cousin that night, would you have accepted the fact calmly, or would you have felt remorse for being deceived by your cousin?"

Pei Xizhou was speechless once again.

Yes, back then he disliked Cousin Shen, finding fault with everything she did. If he had known then that she was Su Su, he would definitely have felt ashamed and angry at being deceived, even if it wasn't Cousin Shen's intention.

(End of this chapter)