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

Chapter 101 Heartbroken, He Doesn't Return to the Marquis's Residence

Zhang was speechless for a moment.

“Miss He is famous throughout the capital. She is first in both appearance and talent. Moreover, the He family is the Empress Dowager’s maternal family. How can you look down on such a good prospect?”

Although her son is handsome and truly outstanding, He Ruoxi is also exceptionally talented.

“I didn’t say that what my elder brother doesn’t want is bad. I just said that what my elder brother doesn’t want, I don’t want either,” Pei Nanzhou said calmly.

Zhang got angry and blurted out, "From what you're saying, do you mean you want what your elder brother wants too?!"

Both mother and son were stunned when she said this.

Pei Nanzhou was the first to come to his senses: "I'm not that perverted! In any case, I won't touch the young master Pei's women, and I certainly won't take those he doesn't want! Miss He is so good, I'm not good enough for her."

Before Zhang could speak again, Pei Nanzhou got up and left.

Zhang was so angry that she could barely speak. She angrily said to Sun Mama, "Look at his attitude!"

Madam Sun quickly reassured them, "Both the young master and the second young master are outstanding individuals. We can take our time with the marriage proposal. Their reluctance to meet Miss He may simply mean they are not meant to be. Marriage cannot be rushed."

Zhang knew this principle, of course, but Miss He was indeed a rare and wonderful girl. Why wouldn't Dong-ge and Nan-ge go to meet her? She didn't know what excuse to use to refuse them.

The Marquis's residence remained relatively peaceful for the next few days.

That day, when everyone went to Heshou Hall to pay their respects to the old lady, Pei Xizhou finally noticed that someone was missing. He casually remarked, "I haven't seen Cousin Shen these past few days."

Pei Nanzhou had noticed Shen Shuyi's disappearance a few days earlier.

He thought that every time Shen Shuyi quieted down, she was brewing a new round of conspiracies and tricks, and he was waiting to see what new tricks that woman would play.

Not only Pei Nanzhou discovered it, but Pei Beizhou also discovered it, but everyone tacitly refrained from asking about it.

"It would be better if Cousin Shen didn't show up, so as not to upset everyone," Pei Beizhou said calmly.

He is off work today and is staying at home.

Only Prince Pei went to the yamen to be on duty early in the morning and did not come to Heshou Hall to pay his respects to the old lady.

“Bei-ge’er, speak carefully. Yi-jie’er has not done anything to wrong you, why are you so harsh? Yi-jie’er is such a good child, intelligent and sensible. She went to the temple to pray for me and everyone in the Marquis’s mansion. Her filial piety alone surpasses that of any of you present.” The old lady was very unhappy with Pei Bei-zhou’s attitude and simply dismissed everyone.

Pei Nanzhou, however, was not quite convinced that Shen Shuyi had actually gone to the temple to pray for blessings. He even went to Fusang Temple, only to find that the gate was locked and it certainly didn't look like anyone was there.

That woman actually went to pray for the Marquis's mansion?

Two days later, Pei Dongzhou was on his day off. He didn't see Shen Shuyi at Heshou Hall, but he overheard Pei Xizhou mentioning, "I used to see Cousin Shen so lively. It always feels a bit deserted without her."

Shen Shuyi was always lively and active, and she was good at saying nice things to coax the old lady, who would always be amused by Shen Shuyi.

These past few days, Cousin Shen has not come to pay her respects to the old lady. The old lady seems listless. The young lady from the Marquis's mansion tries to cheer her up, but she cannot make the old lady smile.

"Why doesn't Cousin Shen come to pay her respects to Grandmother?" Pei Dongzhou asked casually, his brow twitching slightly.

He'd been busy with official duties lately, returning to the East Garden after his shifts to avoid any further contact with his cousin Shen. Being busy naturally kept him from overthinking. He felt he'd done a good job; these past few days he'd been too busy to think about his cousin Shen or her sudden marriage proposal.

Pei Nanzhou replied, "Cousin Shen went to the temple to pray for Grandmother and the Marquis's Mansion. She won't be back for a while. In my opinion, it's better if Cousin Shen doesn't come back, so the Marquis's Mansion will be quiet."

Before he could finish speaking, the old lady suddenly slammed her hand on the table: "Nan-ge'er, is this how you usually talk to Yi-jie'er?!"

Pei Nanzhou was speechless for a moment, forgetting that this was Heshou Hall, where his grandmother doted on Shen Shuyi the most.

Seeing this, Madam Zhang quickly tried to smooth things over: "Nan-ge'er doesn't know how to speak properly, Mother, please don't take it to heart."

As she spoke, she glanced at Pei Nanzhou and gave him a meaningful look. Pei Nanzhou understood and said to the old lady, "Grandmother, please don't take it to heart. How about this, on the day my cousin returns to the Marquis's mansion, I will personally go to fetch her..."

The old lady sneered: "How could I dare to trouble you with such a thing? I'm afraid that if you get angry, you'll embarrass Yi-jie again."

Speaking of this, she said to Pei Dongzhou, "At that time, Dong-ge'er should go to Dajue Temple to pick up Yi-jie and bring her back to the mansion."

Upon hearing this, Pei Nanzhou glanced at Pei Shizi and secretly thought that his grandmother still trusted this one more.

Pei Dongzhou smiled warmly: "I wonder when Cousin Shen will return to the Marquis's residence, so I can make time to pick her up."

"Yi-jie said she went to pray for blessings for half a month, and she has already been gone for a few days. She will be back in less than ten days. It doesn't necessarily have to be half a month of prayers. When it's almost over, you can go and pick her up." In her heart, the old lady still felt that Pei Dongzhou was the most reliable in handling matters.

Pei Dongzhou agreed, thus putting the matter to rest.

Inside Dajue Temple, Shen Shuyi had plenty of free time except during prayer periods. Furthermore, the temple had good air quality and was quiet, so she and Sun Wang didn't have many reservations about meeting.

After staying at Dajue Temple for only a few days, she suddenly had the idea of ​​not wanting to return to the Marquis's mansion.

She had just seen Sun Wang off that day when the system suddenly asked her to delay her return to the Marquis's residence. She was happy about this, but she didn't understand what tricks the system was playing.

If she wastes so much time at Dajue Temple, won't she have enough time to complete her mission?
She immediately wrote a letter and sent it to the Marquis's residence.

When Madam Pei received Shen Shuyi's letter, she eagerly opened it and was somewhat disappointed after reading it.

However, since it was a filial act from her child, she had no reason to refuse. But she still needed to let Dongge know about it, so she simply asked Aunt An to send the letter to Dongyuan.

Pei Dongzhou had just returned from his shift when Qingfeng handed him the letter: "This letter was sent by Aunt An, saying that Miss Shen returned it to the Marquis's residence."

Pei Dongzhou stared at the delicate handwriting for a moment before opening it to see what it was all about.

The letter was quite simple. It began by describing Shen's daily life at Dajue Temple, and she seemed to be doing well there.

Finally, and most importantly, the abbot said that prayers should be sincere, and it's best to be a full-term baby.

In other words, Cousin Shen will stay at Dajue Temple for more than 20 days before returning to the Marquis's residence.

Qingzhu also peeked at the contents of the letter. He muttered to himself, "Could it be that Miss Biao felt ashamed after being rejected by the young master, or that she was heartbroken and deliberately hid away at Dajue Temple?"

Pei Dongzhou glanced coldly at Qingzhu, who immediately fell silent: "I was just talking nonsense, Your Highness, please don't take it seriously."

(End of this chapter)