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

Chapter 191 Should we tie her up?
"Of course, just consider it as the adults eating my cousin and my wedding candy in advance. But please eat a few less, this is a snack I specially bought for my cousin."

Pei Dongzhou's last words made Shen Shuyi blush with embarrassment.

"It seems Dongzhou will be a doting husband from now on." Lord Wang smiled as he looked the two of them up and down.

He truly never expected that he would see Prince Pei treat women with such tenderness in his lifetime.

Shen Shuyi could only stand by and smile awkwardly.

She was truly exasperated with Prince Pei. Couldn't he have been a little more tactful? Why did he have to force her into this situation? At that moment, she was so embarrassed that she wished she could disappear into the ground.

Lord Wang ate two chestnuts and walked away, giving them ambiguous glances.

As soon as Shen Shuyi saw Lord Wang leave, the other officials surrounded him, probably wanting to ask about the situation on Lord Wang's side.

"I won't dare come again tomorrow," Shen Shuyi said irritably.

She felt that when she appeared at the government office today, everyone there treated her like a monkey being stared at.

"Isn't your cousin afraid of being bothered by Nan Zhou?" Pei Dongzhou peeled another chestnut and brought it to Shen Shuyi's lips.

Shen Shuyi quickly snatched it away and threw it into her mouth: "I now realize that dealing with my second cousin is not as difficult as dealing with my crown prince cousin!"

Pei Dongzhou: ...

Did he go too far with his flirting?

But he felt he hadn't exerted his full strength yet, and with so many people and so much gossip in the government office, it was still not very convenient.

"Is my cousin really not coming tomorrow? I'll bring lots of delicious food with me..."

Shen Shuyi picked up the roasted chestnuts and moved away from Pei Shizi, showing him through her actions that she was not joking.

Pei Dongzhou didn't follow. With the person right under his nose, it was enough to keep him at ease. Following too closely might annoy his cousin, which would be counterproductive.

He also didn't want his controlling nature to make her wary.

As long as he hasn't formally married his cousin and made her his own, he has to be careful.

Shen Shuyi was initially worried that Prince Pei would follow her, but fortunately she was overthinking it. Prince Pei was busy with important matters not far away and probably didn't have time to banter with her.

However, many curious eyes still lingered on her, and some of the bolder ones even took the opportunity to report to Prince Pei and deliberately circled around to take a look at her.

It must be said that the working atmosphere in Pei Shizi's office is quite good. Not only is his boss kind to him, but his subordinates also respect him. Doesn't this show that Pei Shizi handles interpersonal relationships very well?

At noon, Pei Dongzhou took Shen Shuyi to the canteen of Dali Temple for lunch.

Pei Dongzhou currently holds a fifth-rank official position, so his meals are naturally quite good.

Shen Shuyi found it quite novel, perhaps because it was the first time she had a working lunch with Prince Pei, and the food tasted quite good.

She was enjoying her meal when she looked up and met Pei Shizi's gentle, smiling eyes.

"Is my cousin full?" Pei Dongzhou asked.

Shen Shuyi nodded quickly: "I'm full, I'm full."

She worried that if she answered too slowly, Prince Pei would give her the rice from his bowl.

“Why don’t you come to the yamen with me tomorrow, cousin? I’m worried about leaving her alone at the Marquis’s residence,” Pei Dongzhou immediately replied.

Shen Shuyi shook her head and said, "We can avoid it for a day, but we can't keep avoiding it. Running away is not the way to solve the problem."

Pei Dongzhou was speechless. He had known before that his cousin was different from other women; she was very opinionated. Too opinionated, in fact, she might easily slip away from him.

Sometimes he would have perverse thoughts, like whether he should tie her up and keep her tied to his belt so she couldn't go anywhere.

Shen Shuyi was met with Pei Shizi's warm smile, unaware of the wicked schemes he was plotting.

Sure enough, time flew by while he was at the yamen, and soon it was time for Pei Dongzhou to finish his shift.

When everyone saw Prince Pei leaving the yamen with his fiancée cousin in high spirits, they all thought that even a fool could see how much Prince Pei liked his cousin.

However, Shen Shuyi herself was unaware of this.

When she and Pei Dongzhou walked out of the yamen and saw Pei Nanzhou waiting in front of the carriage, her good mood for the whole day vanished.

Pei Nanzhou walked up to her and asked, "Cousin, would you like to ride in the same carriage with me?"

Shen Shuyi didn't even bother to give Pei Nanzhou a glance and got directly into Pei Dongzhou's carriage.

Pei Nanzhou had anticipated Shen Shuyi's reaction and was not disappointed at all.

Seeing Pei Nanzhou's expression, Pei Dongzhou said in a low voice, "Nanzhou, why humiliate yourself in front of your cousin? No matter what you do, she will dislike you. One should know one's place."

"I wish you a successful marriage with your cousin. If it doesn't work out, don't be too surprised," Pei Nanzhou replied calmly, then got into his carriage.

And so, in the morning, the Pei brothers' carriages set off together, and in the afternoon, the two carriages returned to the mansion together.

The gatekeeper was astonished by what he saw.

It's one thing for the young master and his cousin to go out together, but why does the second young master have to get involved and act as their chaperone?
The strangest thing was that while the young master and his cousin were walking together chatting and laughing, the second young master was silently following behind them, seemingly unaware that there was anything wrong with his behavior.

Pei Dongzhou glanced at Pei Nanzhou behind him, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

He glanced at his cousin, who was focused on walking, and asked softly, "How about having dinner at the East Garden tonight?"

Shen Shuyi shook her head and replied, "I'm going back to my own courtyard."

Pei Dongzhou had no objections and accompanied Shen Shuyi back to Fusang Courtyard.

As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw Prince Pei taking off his official robes. He didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with his behavior, as if this was his courtyard.

Under Shen Shuyi's glare, Pei Dongzhou's lips curved slightly: "Am I good-looking?"

Shen Shuyi was speechless. Was it a matter of whether he looked good or not? This wasn't her territory. It was one thing for him to come in, but to actually undress in front of her was another matter entirely. He really didn't consider himself an outsider.

Prince Pei simply pinched her cheek and continued undressing on his own.

Shen Shuyi couldn't stand it any longer and reminded him, "Cousin, this is my courtyard."

“I know you’re my fiancée, what’s yours isn’t mine, is it? Besides, I’m only lingering here to protect my cousin. Cousin, you should prioritize the bigger picture and not chase me away over such a trivial matter,” Pei Dongzhou said matter-of-factly.

Shen Shuyi thought that Pei Shizi was quite eloquent. She said irritably, "Cousin knows that we are engaged, but we are not married yet. What kind of behavior is it for cousin to live here with me every day?!"

Pei Dongzhou felt wronged: "We're not even married yet, and my cousin is already looking down on me?"

Shen Shuyi: ...

The issue isn't whether he dislikes it or not, but whether his behavior is right or wrong. How dare he feel wronged?

It was probably because she kept backing down that Prince Pei became so greedy. She really couldn't spoil him any longer, or he would eventually go too far.

(End of this chapter)