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

Chapter 205 If he cannot marry her, he will never marry again.
In fact, Pei Dongzhou did spot the woman on the upper floor of the Ni Chang Pavilion. However, she vanished too quickly; before he could get a clear look, she was gone.

For a fleeting moment, he thought the figure looked a bit like his cousin.

He thought he must be crazy to think every woman looked like his cousin.

But he kept his eyes fixed on the second floor of the Rainbow Pavilion, but unfortunately, the woman never appeared at the window again.

Only after the carriage had gone far away did he lower the curtain, silently mocking himself.

He was completely obsessed. There was no way his cousin could be in the capital. She was probably somewhere having a good time and had long forgotten about him.

He used to hope to marry his cousin as soon as possible and make her his rightful wife, but now he realizes that nothing makes him feel more at ease than having her safe and sound under his nose.

He even considered settling for second best. He wouldn't force her to come back. If she didn't want to marry, she didn't have to. As long as she came home, it would be better than her wandering outside. What if she encountered danger?

When he returned to the Marquis's residence with a heavy heart, the gatekeeper saw him as if he had seen his pillar of support and immediately stepped forward to greet him, saying, "Young Master, you've finally returned to the Marquis's residence. The Marquis's residence is in complete chaos right now."

"I'll go take a look at Heshou Hall," Pei Dongzhou said, and headed towards Heshou Hall.

Originally, he was most worried about the old lady, but when he saw her, she was in good spirits and looked well. She was obviously not depressed because of her cousin's sudden departure.

This surprised him a little.

After all, she had been away from the capital for so long, the old lady must know that her cousin had left the Marquis's mansion.

When the old lady saw Pei Dongzhou, and then glanced behind him, not seeing Shen Shuyi, she understood: "Didn't you bring Yi'er back?"

Pei Dongzhou didn't know how much the old lady had guessed, so he didn't dare to say a word.

At this moment, the old lady said again, "I have read the letter left by Yi'er. Although this child grew up in the Marquis's mansion, she still yearns for the outside world and plans to go out and see it. But I think that Yi'er may not want to marry you, and she has run away from the marriage."

Pei Dongzhou sneered: "How does Grandmother know that my cousin won't marry me?"

“You brothers all used to look down on Yi’er, and she’s held onto that in her heart. Isn’t it normal that she doesn’t want to marry?” The old lady sighed softly. “It’s normal for children to have their own ideas as they grow up. But I’m only worried about Yi’er’s safety being all alone out there.”

“Grandmother, you can rest assured. It’s only my cousin who’s scheming against others. She’s very clever and has tricked me several times.” Pei Dongzhou said this to put the old lady at ease.

Seeing that Pei Shizi's mental state seemed relatively normal, the old lady said calmly, "Even so, you should still find her as soon as possible. If Yi'er doesn't want to marry you, you can't force her, understand?"

"I still want to marry my cousin," Pei Dongzhou finally said after a long pause.

The old lady got angry as soon as she saw him: "You didn't listen when we told you to marry her before, and now that she doesn't want to, you insist on doing this. No wonder Yi'er ran away. Get out of here, I don't want to see you."

Pei Dongzhou left Heshou Hall as instructed and went to Jufu Hall.

Zhang's face was grim. As soon as she saw him, she asked, "Did Yi'er really run away from her marriage? How important is a woman's reputation? She ran away, who knows who she's been seeing outside? You still dare to want a woman like that? Aren't you afraid..."

“Mother, now it’s my cousin who doesn’t want me, so your son isn’t as popular.” Pei Dongzhou interrupted Zhang Shi’s self-righteousness.

With his cousin's temperament, would anyone dare to mistreat her? He only hoped that she wouldn't take a fancy to any man on the way, and that no man would be taken advantage of by her. Seeing Pei Shizi's worthless attitude, Zhang Shi became furious: "From what you're saying, you actually insist on having Yi'er?"

“My son can only marry my cousin; all other women have to step aside.” Pei Dongzhou looked listless.

Upon seeing this, Zhang suddenly fell silent.

She just couldn't understand why her son was so devoted to Yi-jie, given her husband's philandering ways, and why he was never home because of her. Even after failing to find her, he still insisted on not marrying any other woman?
Zhang felt uncomfortable and even envied Yi'er's good fortune, as her excellent son was so devoted to Yi'er.

"Have you ever considered that Yi-jie might never come back in this lifetime, and you might never find her again?" Zhang raised this possibility.

The world is vast, but if Sister Yi can't be found, will her foolish son really remain unmarried for life?

The most terrifying thing is that it wasn't just her eldest son who was like this; her second and third sons also went out to look for Yi Jie'er and haven't returned home yet.

"I will never marry if I don't find her. But I know I will find my cousin." Pei Dongzhou said, then took his leave.

Zhang felt frustrated: "How did Yi-jie manage to bewitch all my sons like that?"

She was somewhat pleased to learn that Yi-jie was not at the Marquis's residence. However, she was less pleased when she learned that her three sons had all left the capital to search for someone.

Now it seems that Yi Jie'er's departure may not be a good thing. Otherwise, if her three sons all refused to marry because of Yi Jie'er, wouldn't the Marquis's family line end?

If Dongge marries Yijie, the other two will have to give up and accept their fate of marrying and having children.

Thinking about it this way, she suddenly felt she should send someone to find Yi-jie. But the world was so vast, where could she possibly find Yi-jie?

But Grandma Zhong still said the same thing: children and grandchildren have their own blessings, and it's useless for her to worry so much.

At this moment, Pei Xuexuan entered and comforted Madam Zhang, saying, "Mother, don't worry, one day the young master will figure things out."

Zhang was not so optimistic: "I think we should find Yi-jie, otherwise, given Dong-ge'er's personality, he might really never marry."

Pei Xuexuan wanted to say that her cousin Shen wasn't that important, but she, as the younger sister, knew very well what kind of person her brother, the young master, was.

The words of advice she wanted to say stuck in her throat.

She hadn't realized before that her cousin Shen was so capable, managing to seduce her brothers to this extent, and then running away herself. Marrying the young master was the dream of countless noble ladies, and she couldn't understand why her cousin Shen had run away.

After returning to the Marquis's residence, Pei Dongzhou didn't go back to the East Garden but went directly to the Fusang Courtyard. He decided to stay at the Fusang Courtyard until his cousin returned, and look for any clues.

Of course, Madam Dai didn't dare to send Pei Dongzhou away. Seeing that the young master Pei went straight to the young lady's bedroom, she didn't dare to object.

Pei Dongzhou lay down directly on Shen Shuyi's bed. Before, when she was here, the bed always smelled of her. He wondered if it was because she had been gone for so long that his cousin's scent had vanished.

He had been traveling around a lot during this period and was very tired, so he fell asleep soon after.

(End of this chapter)