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

Chapter 249 Men shouldn't be spoiled; Prince Pei is just pretending to be pitiful.

Shen Shuyi walked up to Pei Dongzhou and said, "Cousin, you should also be considerate of my parents. I haven't been by their side for so many years, and now that they've finally found me, it's only because of the Pei family. I definitely need to go home and stay for a while."

Pei Dongzhou understood this reasoning, but he couldn't bear to see his cousin leave the Marquis's mansion; this feeling was just like when she ran away back then.

"Can I move into the Li family's house with my cousin?" Pei Dongzhou asked.

"No!!" Li Yun's voice suddenly rang out behind Pei Dongzhou.

Pei Dongzhou turned around and saw that Lord Li had been standing behind him for some time.

"Father-in-law, I just wanted to..."

“I’m not your father-in-law!” Li Yun couldn’t stand this title.

He hasn't even married his daughter yet, but he's already calling him "Prince Pei" so affectionately; he's a natural at making friends.

"Although my marriage to my cousin has been postponed, I will marry no one but my cousin in this life. You will be my father-in-law sooner or later!" Pei Dongzhou readily agreed.

Li Yun scoffed lightly, thinking to himself that Prince Pei really had a thick skin.

Shen Shuyi couldn't help but glance at Pei Dongzhou a few more times, thinking that the male lead was truly a man who could bend and stretch.

"Life is unpredictable, who can say for sure what the future holds? Your Highness should be more selective; perhaps there will be a better girl, a girl more suitable for you?" Li Yun said calmly.

Pei Dongzhou replied decisively, "Impossible! In my entire life, I could never fall in love with any other girl besides my cousin."

Well, there's always a way around things. Since he can't stay at the Li family's house, he'll just visit them every day after he finishes his shift.

If all else fails, he'll climb over the wall into the Li residence and run off to meet his cousin in secret. He refuses to believe it; after all, people can always find a way.

Seeing that Shen Shuyi was still packing, Pei Dongzhou went over and threw her things back in their place, saying in a low voice, "My cousin will be marrying me soon, so there's no need to pack these things."

“If you’re going to talk, then talk. Why are you standing so close to Yi-jie?” Li Yun stepped forward and pulled Pei Dongzhou away.

Pei Dongzhou stared expressionlessly at his father-in-law, who was trying to separate the couple. Li Yun also looked at him and asked, "What? Did I say something wrong?"

Pei Dongzhou dared not tell the truth: "My father-in-law is right, it's my fault."

"I'm not your father-in-law!" No matter how Li Yun looked at him, he felt that Prince Pei was a kidnapper who preyed on women.

His daughter was naive and inexperienced, which is why she was deceived by this conman.

Shen Shuyi suddenly realized that Pei Dongzhou's words made sense. She picked out some clothes to change into, but was too lazy to pack anything else. To be honest, she was also very reluctant to leave Fusang Courtyard.

Seeing Pei Dongzhou's utterly dejected expression as he saw her off at the Marquis's residence, she couldn't help but smile: "I'm just going home, not to the execution ground. Cousin Prince, there's no need for you to act like this."

Pei Dongzhou felt upset and didn't want to talk.

Shen Shuyi wanted to comfort Pei Dongzhou a few more times, but Li Yun couldn't stand it anymore: "Sister Yi, you can't spoil men. Prince Pei is just pretending to be pitiful. Don't fall for his self-inflicted suffering."

Shen Shuyi was taken aback and looked at Pei Dongzhou, only to meet his resentful gaze.

"Does my cousin think I'm in the mood for playing the victim at a time like this?" Pei Dongzhou asked in a hoarse voice.

Shen Shuyi was speechless. She said in a low voice, "Cousin, you should get along well with my father. He is just a doting father."

Pei Dongzhou knew, of course, that his cousin was right, but he was the one who lost his wife. He was about to marry her when his father-in-law interfered.

Even though Pei Dongzhou was reluctant, he still personally saw Shen Shuyi off onto the carriage.

The old lady was initially reluctant to part with Shen Shuyi, but when she saw Pei Shizi's foolish appearance, she suddenly felt willing to let her go.

With Prince Pei so persistent, Yi-jie'er will inevitably enter the Pei family sooner or later.

After everyone saw Shen Shuyi off, Pei Dongzhou turned around and found that Pei Nanzhou was nowhere to be seen.

He was somewhat surprised. Logically speaking, Pei Nanzhou also liked his cousin very much, so why wouldn't he come to see her off? There was only one reason: Pei Nanzhou had more important things to do.

What could be more important than my cousin?

In fact, Pei Nanzhou stopped Ziyu simply because he wanted to know who his biological father was.

He felt that apart from Ziyu, no one else would know whose child he really was.

But when he asked, Ziyu's eyes gleamed, and she said she didn't know.

Pei Nanzhou would have to be blind to see that Ziyu was lying. Ziyu just didn't want to say it; she clearly knew.

"To be honest, I'm now a sinner of the Pei family. Everyone dislikes me. My elder brother even said he wants to kick me out of the Marquis's mansion. Everyone blames me for the sins my mother committed back then. All I want to know is my own background. Are you unwilling to tell me that?" Pei Nanzhou knew that winning hearts and minds was the best strategy now.

Forcing Ziyu was useless, but he was certain that she was a loyal servant; otherwise, she wouldn't still be in the capital. She simply wanted to take over Pei Zhichun's place and continue to look after him here.

Pei Zhichun has passed away, so he has become the object of Ziyu's loyalty, making the self-inflicted injury ruse the most practical solution.

Ziyu was extremely surprised: "The young master wants to kick the second young master out of the Marquis's mansion?!"

“Exactly, it was only a matter of time,” Pei Nanzhou replied calmly. “If you don’t believe me, you can ask my elder brother.”

Ziyu was speechless. She felt that the Second Young Master was not lying: "But as far as I know, the Second Young Master and the Heir Apparent have a deep brotherly relationship and have always gotten along well."

"That was without exploiting the conflict. I've already said it, I am now a sinner of the Marquis's mansion, and my mother now treats me as an enemy. No one in the entire mansion likes me. Ziyu, I know you don't want to say it because of my mother's instructions. But as someone directly involved, I've been kept in the dark all these years, can't I even say that?" Pei Nanzhou's eyes reddened slightly as he continued to use his self-inflicted suffering as a ruse.

He felt that his biological father must have some background. If he didn't have the support of the Marquis's family, it would be difficult for him to take his cousin away. But if his biological father had a certain status, perhaps he could have a chance to turn the tables.

Seeing Ziyu's hesitant and stammering manner, he became even more certain that his guess was correct.

His biological father may have some background.

"But I promised you, Miss, that I wouldn't tell you about this. You said you hoped that you would have a smooth and carefree life," Ziyu said with difficulty.

Pei Nanzhou's eyes flickered slightly: "I can live a smooth life even if I know the truth. Just tell me the truth, because I will soon be driven out of the Marquis's mansion and will be homeless."

Ziyu's heart skipped a beat. She remembered that the young lady's original intention was that the young master could have the protection of the Marquis's mansion and live a peaceful life. If the young master were really driven out of the Marquis's mansion, wouldn't that go against the young lady's original intention?
Pei Nanzhou could tell from Ziyu's expression that she was somewhat swayed, so he continued to persuade her.

(End of this chapter)