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

Chapter 202: Only Obtaining, Only Destruction
When Pei Nanzhou arrived in Hezhou, Pei Xizhou and Pei Dongzhou searched the city again, leaving no stone unturned. They searched the suburbs and mountains where people could hide, and even looked for nunneries, temples, and Qinglou, but without exception, they found no trace of Shen Shuyi.

Pei Xizhou thought his cousin was really good at hiding. They had been searching for her for so long but couldn't find her. Where could she be hiding?
When he returned to the inn after finding the person, he found that Prince Pei had not come out. This was not like Prince Pei's usual behavior. Could it be that Prince Pei had found some new clues?

Just as he was about to go up and ask what was going on, he suddenly saw a familiar man coming upstairs. It was none other than Pei Nanzhou.

"Why is Second Brother here too?"

Pei Xizhou's voice reached Pei Dongzhou's ears as he was deep in thought.

Pei Nanzhou's sudden arrival in Hezhou must have meant that someone was keeping an eye on his every move; otherwise, he wouldn't have rushed over at this critical juncture.

Nan Zhou was indeed cunning, trying to reap the benefits without lifting a finger. He didn't want to deal with Nan Zhou, so he got up and decided to go for a walk outside the inn.

Seeing Pei Dongzhou pass by him without even glancing at him, Pei Nanzhou was a little puzzled. Was the young master Pei ignoring him?

Pei Xizhou stopped next to Pei Nanzhou and said gloatingly, "It seems that eldest brother doesn't want to see second brother's face."

"You think you're popular?" Pei Nanzhou retorted coldly.

Pei Xizhou raised an eyebrow: "Of course, at least my eldest brother won't ignore me. Back then, my second brother was the most vicious, saying a lot of unpleasant things to my cousin. My eldest brother is protective of his own, so naturally he doesn't want to see my second brother."

Pei Nanzhou remained silent, for this was an undeniable fact.

He knew he was the least qualified to pester his cousin, but that was just his nature; once he set his mind on someone or something, there was no compromise—he would either gain it or destroy it.

"Without a doubt, the person my cousin least wants to see is my second brother," Pei Xizhou said, dropping another piercing remark before walking away.

After leaving the inn, Pei Dongzhou wandered aimlessly through the city.

Seeing that he rarely had such leisure time, Qingfeng asked curiously, "Isn't the young master going to see Miss Cousin today?"

“I have a pretty good idea where my cousin is,” Pei Dongzhou replied calmly.

Upon hearing this, Qingfeng's eyes lit up: "Where is Miss Biao?"

Now that you know, why doesn't Your Highness go and search for him?

“If I’m not mistaken, my cousin should be hiding there.” As Pei Dongzhou spoke, he walked to a jewelry shop.

Qingfeng's curiosity was piqued, and he followed the young master into the jewelry shop, asking, "Why go at night? Why not now?"

"It's inconvenient during the day."

As Pei Dongzhou spoke, he instructed the shopkeeper to bring out the best jewelry.

The shopkeeper knew immediately upon seeing Pei Dongzhou enter that he was either rich or noble, and his demeanor was that of an extraordinary person.

He eagerly brought out his prized possession, a gold-inlaid jade phoenix hairpin.

Pei Dongzhou didn't know much about women's jewelry, but he knew that this hairpin would definitely make his cousin look good.

He hadn't seen his cousin for so long; if he saw her tonight, he should give her a gift. Come to think of it, he couldn't recall ever giving her anything decent before.

Seeing that Pei Dongzhou was spending lavishly, buying up all the valuable jewelry in the shop, Qingfeng quickly reminded him, "Young Master, please be frugal with your money. You've spent a lot this time, and you don't have much cash left."

Although the Marquis of Pingyang's mansion is indeed powerful, it is not a merchant family. "If you don't have enough silver, just ask Xizhou. He has no shortage of silver." Pei Dongzhou said calmly.

Qingfeng then remembered that the Third Young Master was indeed a shrewd businessman; the income from Baixianglou alone was considerable each year. The Third Young Master was the wealthiest member of the Marquis's household!
Moreover, the Third Young Master not only owns Baixianglou in the capital, but also does business in other places.

With such an informal tone from the young master, how could he be so certain that the third young master would be the one to take the fall?

After that, the young master continued his shopping spree, and when he ran out of money, he would send someone to find Pei Xizhou.

Pei Xizhou was sitting in the inn when the debt came crashing down on him. When he learned that it was Prince Pei who had sent someone to collect the debt, his expression was indescribable.

When Pei Shizi returned to the inn, Pei Xizhou immediately rushed forward and asked, "Brother, how could you do this? You bought the things yourself, why are you making me pay?"

"Wasn't it you who instigated your cousin to run away from home?!"

Pei Shizi's words left Pei Xizhou speechless.

He knew that this matter could not be hidden from Pei Dongzhou's eyes, but he did not expect that Pei Dongzhou would bring it up at this time.

"You should be glad your cousin is alright, otherwise where are you going to find another cousin for me?" Pei Dongzhou said, rudely shoving Pei San, who was blocking his way.

Pei Xizhou didn't like hearing him say that: "My cousin doesn't belong to me alone, so why should I pay for her? Besides, she's not even married to me yet. Isn't it a bit too much of a matter of course for you to talk like this?"

“Once my cousin marries me, she'll be mine alone. You'll have to call her sister-in-law.” Pei Dongzhou turned to look at Pei Xizhou, his face full of displeasure. “What are you doing following me?”

Pei Xizhou sneered: "If you owe money, you should act like one. How can you be so arrogant in front of your creditors?"

His response was Prince Pei's merciless slamming of the door shut.

Pei Xizhou: ...

"Young Master needs to rest, it would be best if the Third Young Master did not disturb him." Qingfeng stood at the door like a guardian deity.

Pei Xizhou pulled Qingfeng aside, trying to get information out of him: "Big brother, do you have any news about your cousin?"

Qingfeng lied without batting an eye: "The young master said he needs to calm down and think things over, and he hasn't yet figured out where Miss Biao might be."

Pei Xizhou asked with a hint of doubt, "Really?"

"Really?" Qingfeng answered sincerely.

Pei Xizhou glanced at Qingfeng, then at Pei Shizi hiding in the guest room, and wondered if Qingfeng would lie to him.
However, Prince Pei is cunning and treacherous, and those around him probably cannot be completely trusted; he still needs to keep a close eye on him.

Pei Dongzhou slept all afternoon that day. Later that night, he ordered his men to lure Pei Xizhou and Pei Nanzhou away before quietly leaving the inn.

It wasn't until late at night that he took Qingfeng and, without alerting the guards, quietly sneaked into the prefectural government office to search for the person.

Qingfeng didn't understand why the young master wanted to sneak into the prefectural government office at night. Was he worried that his cousin would run away again like last time? Why was the young master so sure that his cousin was in the prefectural government office and not somewhere else?

Pei Dongzhou first went to the courtyard where Shen Shuyi used to live, but found that the person he was looking for was not there, so he went to other courtyards to look for her.

Qingfeng couldn't help but worry when he saw the young master searching one courtyard after another. If Lord Xiao found out that the young master had broken into the prefectural government office at night, how would the young master explain it to Lord Xiao?

(End of this chapter)