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

Chapter 218 Damn it, he'd been tricked by her again...

"Take a break," Pei Dongzhou replied to Shen Shuyi with only two words.

Shen Shuyi scoffed lightly; she didn't believe him for a second.

He most likely didn't have time to ask Lord Wang for leave, since she ran away at the last minute, and his decision to chase after her was also impromptu.

"I don't want to go back to the Marquis's mansion. My cousin, the heir, is useless with me," Shen Shuyi said coldly.

Since we can't avoid it anyway, we might as well state our position directly.

Upon hearing this, Pei Dongzhou looked at her and said, "Then I won't go back. I'll stay with my cousin. It's not safe outside. I'll only feel at ease if I'm by her side to protect her."

"Then I'll never go back in this lifetime, and neither will my cousin, the young master?" Shen Shuyi sneered.

That's easy to say. Pei Da is the heir apparent, the future successor of the Marquis's mansion, and he was only promoted to Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

By the way, she ran away from her arranged marriage. Did he get the position of Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review?

“Why not? I’ve grown up in the Marquis’s mansion all my life and rarely have the chance to go out. This is a good opportunity for me to follow my cousin and see the beautiful landscape of our country.” Pei Dongzhou said in a grand and respectable manner.

Shen Shuyi curled her lips slightly, thinking to herself that the male lead's words were more pleasing than his singing.

Isn't this tantamount to her indirectly abducting Prince Pei? What will happen to the vast Marquis's mansion then? Madam Zhang will definitely hold her accountable for this.

She persisted, "Cousin, the Crown Prince, are you joking?"

How could a grown man like him truly stay by the side of a woman?

“If my cousin thinks so, then so be it,” Pei Dongzhou said without arguing.

Shen Shuyi felt terrified. The young master Pei had a bright future ahead of him; how could he refuse to return to the Marquis's residence because of her?
That is to say, even if he followed her and insisted on running away from home, it was not her who instigated him, so why should she be afraid?

Shen Shuyi didn't want to talk to Pei Dongzhou anymore. She wanted him to stay away from her, but he insisted on following her.

Two more days passed, and Pei Dongzhou was still following closely behind her. She finally couldn't sit still any longer and decided to have a serious talk with Pei Dongzhou.

“My cousin, the young master, is not on the same side as me. Let’s go back to the Marquis’s residence,” Shen Shuyi said solemnly.

“Even if we weren’t on the same path before, I can follow in my cousin’s footsteps and become on the same path. It’s not a big deal,” Pei Dongzhou replied calmly.

Shen Shuyi wondered to herself, what is the male lead after about her?
If she was still a little uncertain before, now she feels that Prince Pei has fallen in love with her. Otherwise, why would he have tried to trick her into marriage using such deceptive methods?
“Furthermore, my cousin has forgotten that we had a wedding ceremony last time, and my father was there too. We were husband and wife who bowed to heaven and earth and to our parents. We are one, and wherever my cousin is, I will be there.” Pei Dongzhou said calmly, “People say that the husband and wife should follow each other. In our family, I think that the wife should follow the husband’s lead, which is also a kind of charm.”

Shen Shuyi: ...

She had never lost a debate before, but she felt she couldn't win against Prince Pei's sharp tongue.

Looking back now, the wedding ceremony last time was indeed quite proper, and Marquis Pingyang was indeed present at the time.

“Cousin, you don’t need to feel pressured. In my heart, you are already my wife. I can’t let my wife live alone outside,” Pei Dongzhou said calmly.

Shen Shuyi fell silent, wondering to herself, who is his wife?
That was a complete marriage of convenience, and they didn't even consummate their marriage. How can they be considered a couple?
"I want to be alone for a while, cousin, don't follow me," Shen Shuyi suddenly said.

Pei Dongzhou nodded: "I'll listen to my cousin." Seeing that he always listened to her, Shen Shuyi got annoyed: "Then I want my cousin, the young master, to stay away from me. Would your cousin, the young master, agree to that?"

The next moment, Pei Dongzhou indeed stopped a little further away from her.

Shen Shuyi laughed instead of getting angry, too lazy to talk to Pei Dongzhou anymore, and returned to her guest room.

Seeing her sullen expression, A-Jian found it amusing: "Didn't the young master say he would listen to you, Miss? Why are you unhappy? Even if you don't return to the Marquis's mansion, the young master will still listen to you."

She felt that the young master must really like the girl, otherwise he wouldn't listen to her so readily and even be willing to give up his position as the young master.

Shen Shuyi sighed softly: "But one shouldn't be so selfish. My maternal grandmother loves me so much, and it would be better if I ran away and even kidnapped my cousin, the young master. How sad would my maternal grandmother be? No matter what, it was the Marquis's mansion that raised me."

However, returning to the capital is secondary. Only if she agrees to go back to the Marquis's residence with Pei Dongzhou will he lower his guard, and then she can see if there is a chance to escape.

A-Jian thought that made sense too.

Although the girl always says "Every man for himself, or he shall perish," she knows that the girl is actually soft-hearted. If someone treats her well, she will treat that person even better.

"Forget it, there's nothing to worry about. This trip wasn't a complete waste; I saw some scenery along the way. I can't really run away with my cousin, the young master, or the whole Marquis's mansion will tear me to pieces." Shen Shuyi forced herself to cheer up and said, "I actually hope my cousin's attitude is worse and he gets angry at me; it would be better than him acting like such a nice guy right now."

A-Jian, however, felt that this was precisely the young master's brilliance; he knew that dealing with a young lady required a gentle approach, and that being too forceful would only backfire.

Perhaps the young master couldn't bear to be angry with the girl?

Having made up her mind, Shen Shuyi went to see Pei Dongzhou: "I've thought about it for a long time, and I've decided to return to the capital with my cousin, the Crown Prince. But there's one thing: my cousin, the Crown Prince, can't force me to get married!"

Pei Dongzhou was secretly delighted, but remained outwardly calm: "Okay."

“Alright, let’s set off back to the capital after we have lunch. We’ll have the innkeeper prepare some good food and snacks for the journey,” Shen Shuyi said calmly.

"I'll go tell the shopkeeper," Pei Dongzhou said, and then went to find the shopkeeper.

Seeing that Pei Dongzhou had walked away and Qingfeng wasn't looking in her direction, Shen Shu quickly put the medicine into the teapot.

A-Jian was dumbfounded.

She thought the young lady would really go back to the Marquis's mansion with the young master, but it turned out that the young lady was planning to escape.

Shen Shuyi wanted an unexpected effect, to outmaneuver Pei Dongzhou when he was least on guard.

This time she used the most potent sleeping drug; if she could knock Pei Dongzhou out, she might have a chance to escape.

When Pei Dongzhou returned, she poured herself a cup of tea and then poured a cup for Pei Dongzhou, asking naturally, "Cousin, shall we return to the capital after lunch?"

She took a sip of tea as she spoke.

Pei Dongzhou subconsciously took a sip of tea as well. When the familiar dizziness hit him, he looked at Shen Shuyi in disbelief.

Damn it, how did he fall for her tricks again? He was clearly on guard against her. Just because she sweet-talked him a few times, he'd been outmaneuvered again…

　Haha, time flies! August is almost over.
　　(End of this chapter)