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

Chapter 257 Preparing for the Wedding with Peace of Mind
Looking at her daughter, Xiao Liangshi was reluctant to let her get married.

But she also knew that her daughter was already of marriageable age, and they couldn't force her to stay at home just because they had just found her.

This is because Prince Pei loves his daughter. If others were to encounter a situation where an engagement is broken off, they would definitely break off the engagement with their daughter.

"I'll discuss it with your father." No matter how reluctant she was, Madam Liang finally relented.

They've missed out on their child for so many years; they can't let their own selfishness ruin their daughter's marriage prospects.

Seeing Xiao Liang's sad expression, Shen Shuyi also felt bad.

"Mother, even if I get married, I'll still be in the capital. I can just come back to visit you every few days, just like before I got married," Shen Shuyi reassured Madam Liang.

Madam Liang chuckled, thinking her daughter was just teasing her: "How can a married daughter come home often?"

“It’s true. As long as I ask, my cousin, the young master, will definitely accompany me home often. Besides, our home and the Marquis of Pingyang’s residence are only a few streets apart, very close. If you want to see your daughter, Mother can come to the Marquis’s residence anytime.” Shen Shuyi said this with genuine confidence.

Putting everything else aside, Pei Dongzhou really dotes on her. He'd grant any request she made, right?

Perhaps it was because of Pei Dongzhou's unconditional kindness that she was willing to marry him.

"Does Prince Pei really like you that much?" Lady Liang asked curiously.

Shen Shuyi nodded without hesitation, her tone firm: "My cousin, the young master, treats me very well, unconditionally well. I thought I was heartless and didn't initially intend to have anything with him, but he's like a gentle rain, nourishing me silently, and I was moved by him without even realizing it."

This is her truest thought.

At first, she wouldn't dare to make a move on the male lead, feeling that she and he were not on the same path.

However, she was eventually moved by Pei Dongzhou during their time together, which was also related to Pei Dongzhou's deep scheming.

"Are you really sure about Prince Pei?" Madam Liang asked again seriously.

“It’s him,” Shen Shuyi answered without hesitation.

Seeing this, Madam Liang sighed and said, "I'll go and discuss this with your father. Given his temperament, I'm afraid he won't agree easily, but I'll try to persuade him."

Shen Shuyi nodded vigorously.

She could tell that her parents had a very good relationship. However, although they had a good relationship, her father was not faithful and even kept a concubine.

Therefore, keeping concubines and having mistresses were common problems among men in ancient times. If Pei Dongzhou also had this problem, she would definitely divorce him.

After Xiao Liang and Shen Shuyi finished their private conversation, they saw Pei Nanzhou waiting outside.

Seeing this, she said to Pei Nanzhou, "Your Highness, please leave. This is Yi Jie'er's private quarters. It is improper for Your Highness to barge in."

Pei Nanzhou did not want to upset Madam Liang, so although he did not want to leave, he still respectfully replied, "Yes, Madam."

Before leaving, he turned back to look at Shen Shuyi one last time, but she didn't give him any response, which disappointed him.

Later, when she had a spare moment, Xiao Liangshi talked to Li Yun about Shen Shuyi's marriage.

After listening, Li Yun remained silent for a long time before asking, "Is Madam willing to let Yi'er marry off?"

"Of course we're reluctant, but we have to consider the children's future. They were supposed to get married, but it's been postponed for no reason. Besides, Yi'er is not young anymore, and it's rare for her to meet a young and talented man like Prince Pei. We can't force her to stay at home just because we can't bear to part with her. In addition, His Highness is still staying at the manor, and today he even barged into Yi'er's courtyard..." As Madam Liang said this, Li Yun knew that the matter was extremely serious.

Most importantly, they still couldn't control Pei Nanzhou.

Without hesitating for long, Li Yun agreed: "Madam is right. Nothing is more important than Yi'er's happiness. I'll send someone to the yamen later to ask Prince Pei to come to our house after his shift."

Upon hearing this, Madam Liang nodded: "Alright."

Pei Dongzhou was truly surprised and delighted that things would go so smoothly. When he was invited to the Li residence after his shift, he was both astonished and delighted to hear that Li Yun had agreed to let him marry Shen Shuyi as scheduled: "Father-in-law, please rest assured to entrust my cousin to me. I will definitely treat her well!"

Li Yun said solemnly, "I have only one request: you must be devoted to Yi-jie in the future and never have any other thoughts!"

Pei Dongzhou readily agreed.

He thought to himself, "With my cousin, what need do I have for other women?" One cousin was enough to keep him incredibly busy.

He was just about to ask himself if he could go see his cousin, since he hadn't seen her for several hours and it would be nice to see her for a while.

Before he could even speak, his father-in-law said, "You and Yi'er cannot meet before the wedding."

Well, one sentence shut him down.

He readily agreed, saying, "Yes, I will follow my father-in-law's arrangements."

Hearing Pei Dongzhou repeatedly call him "father-in-law," Li Yun let out a soft snort.

Seeing how frivolous he was, and wondering if he could be trusted, he couldn't help but feel that Prince Pei was not a good man.

Before leaving that day, Pei Dongzhou glanced in the direction of Huan Yuan. He could have found a way to see his cousin, but he was afraid that his actions would displease Li Yun and his wife, so he refrained from doing so.

Madam Liang then went to Huan Yuan and told Shen Shuyi that the wedding would proceed as scheduled.

"Don't make a fuss about my marriage to my cousin, the heir apparent, as scheduled. It's best to keep it a secret from my second cousin," Shen Shuyi said.

Madam Liang thought it was unrealistic: "Your marriage is such a big event, your mother and your father have to prepare a dowry for you, I'm afraid we can't keep it a secret."

"We can keep it a secret for as long as we can," Shen Shuyi said, expressing her concerns. "I'm just worried that if my second cousin finds out I'm going to marry the Crown Prince, he'll cause trouble again."

"Don't worry, this is our home after all. Even if he is a prince, he can't do whatever he wants in our house, otherwise your father will definitely file a complaint with the emperor," Madam Liang comforted her. "You're about to get married, would you like to embroider some dowry for yourself?"

Shen Shuyi instantly understood what Xiao Liangshi meant; it was nothing more than embroidering mandarin duck bibs and such, but she wasn't interested in that kind of thing.

She deliberately changed the subject to brush it off.

From that day on, Shen Shuyi began to prepare for her wedding with peace of mind.

Although she was supposed to be preparing for her wedding, she actually spent her days chatting with Xiao Liangshi. She was always good at talking and could always make Xiao Liangshi smile from ear to ear.

While waiting to be married, Pei Nanzhou would occasionally barge into the pleasure quarters, but she had a way of dealing with it. Whenever Pei Nanzhou came, she would go to find Madam Liang, so that Pei Nanzhou couldn't do anything about it.

Although she intentionally kept her marriage to Pei Dongzhou a secret from Pei Nanzhou, the truth eventually came out. One day, Pei Nanzhou received the news and stormed into her courtyard to demand, "My cousin is going to marry my eldest brother?!"

(End of this chapter)