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

Chapter 244 The Crown Prince neglects his duties for her sake

"There has indeed been a change, but it's not confirmed yet. I was busy with this matter before, so I got home late," Pei Dongzhou said without hiding anything.

Shen Shuyi became interested: "Then, Cousin, please be more specific. How did things change again? Could it be related to Madam Li?"

Pei Dongzhou was once again amazed by Shen Shuyi's keen observation skills.

“Didn’t we go to the Li residence today? Don’t think I didn’t see it. My cousin, the young master, had a private conversation with Madam Li, and then he said he had something to do and left. When I returned to the Marquis’s residence, Madam Li gave me so many valuable pieces of jewelry, and my cousin even asked me to accept them. If there’s been a change in my background, it might be related to Madam Li, right?” Shen Shuyi stated her reasoning.

“My cousin is intelligent.” Pei Dongzhou looked at Shen Shuyi with exceptionally bright eyes.

So, nothing can be hidden from my cousin's eyes.

"Then tell me, Cousin Prince, what kind of incident happened?" Shen Shuyi asked with great interest. "As a party involved, I have the right to know."

"Madam Li's daughter went missing when she was three years old, but afterwards she rescued a girl of similar age. I think this is very similar to my aunt's style of doing things..."

Pei Dongzhou explained the general situation to Shen Shuyi.

Shen Shuyi was speechless after hearing this: "Just like that, you think I could be Madam Li's biological daughter?"

Is it too arbitrary to make such a assumption just because she and Xiao Liangshi look somewhat alike?

Pei Dongzhou said calmly, "So what? Cousin should trust her mother's intuition, just like Madam Li. In all the years Cousin has lived in the Marquis's mansion, Mother has never felt any motherly affection for her, because Mother and Cousin are not mother and daughter at all. But Madam Li feels that deep, unbreakable bond whenever she sees Cousin..."

Pei Dongzhou was still rambling on when Shen Shuyi suddenly remembered how excited Xiao Liangshi was when she saw that her fingers had ten baskets of flesh.

If nothing unexpected happens, Xiao Liang's lost daughter must also have ten baskets, just like her, right?
Intuitively speaking, she felt a sense of kinship upon seeing Xiao Liangshi. At the time, she attributed this sudden feeling of kinship to a past interaction with Da Liangshi, but now she wondered if it was due to their blood ties.
Sometimes intuition is indeed very accurate.

When Pei Dongzhou saw that Shen Shuyi was silent, he knew that his cousin had taken his words to heart.

"Speaking of which, Madam Li looked at my fingerprints today, and she was particularly excited when she learned that all ten of my fingers were swollen," Shen Shuyi murmured.

Pei Dongzhou's eyes lit up: "Really?"

Shen Shuyi: ...

She suddenly remembered that she and Pei Dongzhou were to be married. Previously, because of her background, the young master Pei hadn't dared to approach her. Now that the chances of her being the daughter of the Liang family were higher, would he then try to take advantage of her?
"It's still far from certain, so don't overthink it, Cousin Prince. Go to sleep early. Besides, so many years have passed, I don't know if you can find any evidence that I'm Madam Li's daughter." Shen Shuyi poured cold water on Pei Dongzhou's head.

“Actually, there is another witness, and that is the one who went to see Madam Li’s adopted daughter,” Pei Dongzhou said calmly.

Shen Shuyi thought this might be a way, but the most direct proof would be to find a witness who could directly prove her identity. However, this possibility was very small, since Pei Zhichun was gone, unless they could find one of Pei Zhichun's close attendants from back then.

"Cousin, go to sleep first. I have my own plans for this matter and I've already started investigating."

What Pei Dongzhou didn't say was that he was so busy until late because he had compiled a list of all the close attendants who had served Pei Zhichun and sent many people to search for their whereabouts.

Just like when my cousin ran away, she still had A-Jian with her. If Pei Zhichun had been in the capital back then, she would definitely have had a reliable attendant to serve her. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for a young woman with a child.

As for the daughter adopted by the Li family, it seems she is married in the capital, so it wouldn't be difficult to meet her.

"You should get some rest too, Cousin Prince," Shen Shuyi said, yawning. She had wanted to ask whether their wedding should be postponed under these circumstances, but knowing Pei Dongzhou as she did, she was certain he would say no.

Never mind, anyway, Prince Pei is very domineering, and he definitely won't change his mind once he's made a decision.

She quickly fell into a deep sleep, oblivious to everything. Pei Dongzhou looked at Shen Shuyi's sleeping face and thought to himself that this girl was really carefree. Even knowing about her own background, she could still sleep so soundly.

Even he admired this kind of mentality from the bottom of his heart.

Looking at Shen Shuyi's face, he felt a stirring in his heart. But since he still didn't know her identity, he didn't dare to touch her.

Shen Shuyi was fast asleep and unaware of Pei Dongzhou's inner struggle.

When she woke up the next day, Pei Dongzhou was no longer by her side.

She had just woken up when A-Jian brought her an invitation, which was from Madam Liang, inviting her to the Li residence to admire the flowers.

She was a little unsure what to do after seeing the invitation.

It seems like Mrs. Liang is treating her like her own daughter. But what if the investigation eventually reveals that she isn't the person Mrs. Liang is looking for? Wouldn't Mrs. Liang be very disappointed?

The invitation to go flower viewing is for tomorrow. Should she go?
She didn't dare go to the old lady, so she asked A-Jian for her opinion. A-Jian said to just go with the flow. If she wanted to go, she could go; if she didn't want to go, she wouldn't.

Well, it's pointless to ask.

Shen Shuyi had no choice but to wait for Pei Dongzhou to return and ask for his opinion.

To her surprise, Pei Dongzhou started laughing as soon as he heard her question. She didn't know what he was laughing at. Was her question really that funny?

After mentally grumbling for a moment, she finally asked, "What exactly is Cousin Crown Prince laughing at?"

"I just feel that I'm becoming more and more important in my cousin's heart, like a married couple who discuss things together," Pei Dongzhou said with a smile.

Shen Shuyi: ...

She just happened to have no one to ask, and it wasn't a good idea to ask the old lady about this, otherwise it would be hard to explain why Madam Liang treated her so specially. Before her background became clear, it was best not to disturb the old lady.

"I'll accompany my cousin to the Li residence tomorrow," Pei Dongzhou said, his eyes flashing slightly.

If his cousin really is Xiao Liang's long-lost daughter, he should at least try to impress her.

Upon hearing this, Shen Shuyi looked at Pei Dongzhou, her expression indescribable.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Pei Dongzhou asked, puzzled.

“My cousin just took leave yesterday, and he’s planning to take leave again tomorrow? If I were his superior, I definitely wouldn’t like a subordinate like that,” Shen Shuyi said irritably.

The problem is that all the leave he took was for her, and she felt that it wasn't right for the male lead to neglect his duties all day for a woman.

(End of this chapter)