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

Chapter 329 Cousin, Don't Be Afraid of Me
Pei Xizhou finally regained his senses.

Yes, my brother is right. They insisted on liking my cousin, and Pei Nanzhou was stubborn and infatuated. Many people tried to persuade him, but Pei Nanzhou wouldn't listen and insisted on going his own way, which ultimately led to his downfall.

How could this be my cousin's fault?
He was clearly taking his anger out on others.

No matter who it happens to, a palace coup will inevitably lead to death; the luckiest thing is to avoid having one's family and property confiscated.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but he couldn't bring himself to utter a sound.

Seeing the tense atmosphere, Zhang tried to smooth things over, saying, "Yi-jie is pregnant and should rest well. Everyone, let's disperse."

As everyone dispersed, Pei Xizhou lagged behind. He wanted to say something to Shen Shuyi, but he couldn't bring himself to do it, so he left in silence.

Once the room was quiet again, Pei Dongzhou approached Shen Shuyi and said gently, "Cousin, don't take Xizhou's words to heart."

Shen Shuyi exhaled a breath of turbid air: "It's understandable that Xizhou blames me. But I don't think it's my fault, and I won't let it cause internal strife. My second cousin's inability to see through things is his own fault, and his current predicament is his own choice."

She was so used to calling Pei Xizhou by his name that she forgot to change it, even though she was actually older than Pei Xizhou.

As for Pei Nanzhou, although she felt it was a pity, she didn't think she owed Pei Nanzhou anything.

Pei Dongzhou stepped forward and embraced her: "Yes, it was never my cousin's fault."

Just because my cousin is popular and gets entangled with by someone like Nan Zhou, does that mean I should blame my cousin?

This was a dead end that Pei Nanzhou chose himself; it had nothing to do with anyone else, and even less to do with his cousin.

"But to be honest, this time my second cousin kidnapped me, but he treated me with courtesy and didn't do anything excessive. I've changed my opinion of him." Shen Shuyi said, nestled in Pei Dongzhou's arms.

Upon hearing this, Pei Dongzhou said softly, "Let's not talk about the past. Let's look forward. My cousin should just focus on having a healthy pregnancy."

"By the way, how are Pei Beizhou and Xia Nianchu doing?" Shen Shuyi suddenly remembered these two characters from the original novel.

After all, one of them is one of the male leads, and the other is the female lead in the original story; both are very important characters. Pei Nanzhou is gone, but these two are not.

Pei Dongzhou was surprised that Shen Shuyi still cared about Pei Beizhou. He looked at her with complicated emotions and asked, "Why did you suddenly ask about Beizhou, cousin?"

"Didn't my cousin, the young master, mention last time that Pei Beizhou might be colluding with my second cousin?" Shen Shuyi asked, frowning.

Pei Dongzhou breathed a sigh of relief; he had thought that Shen Shuyi had suddenly become interested in Pei Beizhou.

“He has been keeping a low profile lately, and there has been nothing unusual. However, just in case, I would like to suggest to His Majesty that he be transferred to another post. What do you think, cousin?” Pei Dongzhou stated his plan.

Shen Shuyi thought to herself that if that were the case, then Pei Beizhou would never be able to become a powerful minister.

But the original plot has already fallen apart, so this is probably for the best.

“My cousin, the young master, is doing this for the good of the Marquis’s mansion, to avoid any uncertainties. It’s a good thing to transfer Pei Beizhou away from the capital,” Shen Shuyi replied.

Pei Dongzhou did indeed decide to do this for the sake of the Marquis's mansion. Of course, he also had his own selfish motives.

Pei Beizhou had previously proposed to his cousin, and even though he later showed no further interest in her, he didn't want another Pei Nanzhou to emerge from the Marquis's mansion.

The best approach is to eliminate this possibility at its source; keeping Pei Beizhou away from the capital would be the best solution.

Furthermore, with each new emperor comes a new court, and Li Yi has only recently ascended the throne; his power base is not yet secure, so it's best to avoid any unstable factors in the court. "As for Consort Li, she has her own ideas. She requested to serve the retired emperor, and His Majesty granted her request," Pei Dongzhou then reported on Xia Nianchu's recent situation.

When Shen Shuyi heard that the female lead had become a concubine, she couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

But she felt that the female lead was not someone who would easily accept her fate.

"Why would Consort Li want to serve the Emperor Emeritus when he is ill?" Shen Shuyi murmured silently.

“Whatever Consort Li’s purpose may be, it is a matter for the inner palace. His Majesty probably also hopes that someone can take care of the retired emperor, right?” Pei Dongzhou did not pay attention to unimportant people.

Although Consort Li had lived in the Marquis's residence for a period of time, he had no good feelings towards this person and naturally paid no attention to him.

Shen Shuyi thought Pei Dongzhou's words made sense, but she had her own guess: "I think Consort Li might be trying to get closer to His Majesty by doing this."

Pei Dongzhou was stunned for a moment before saying, "Impossible, right?"

Consort Li was clearly a concubine of the retired emperor, so how could she possibly get close to His Majesty?
Seeing Pei Dongzhou's bewildered expression, Shen Shuyi couldn't help but want to laugh. Her husband's thinking was quite normal; he hadn't considered things in that direction.

“Cousin, think about it. Consort Li is in her prime and so beautiful. Is she willing to spend her whole life with the Emperor Emeritus, who is a patient? His Majesty is different. He is young and handsome, and has a flirtatious nature. Consort Li will definitely take the opportunity to seduce him. If you don’t believe me, let’s wait and see what happens in the palace.”

Shen Shuyi yawned as she spoke.

She was pregnant after all, and having been with Pei Nanzhou recently, she was still unsure of herself. Now that she was home, she felt completely relaxed.

"Regardless of what Consort Li does, it is His Majesty's business. Cousin, please rest for a while."

Shen Shuyi lay comfortably on the bed, and just as she was about to doze off, Pei Dongzhou suddenly whispered to her, "Cousin, don't be afraid of me."

Upon hearing this, Shen Shuyi kissed him on the cheek: "Cousin Crown Prince is my husband, why would I be afraid of him?"

Pei Dongzhou solemnly placed a kiss on Shen Shuyi's forehead, his eyes filled with tenderness.

Many people think that Li Yi is a womanizer and philanderer, just like the retired emperor. After Li Yi ascends the throne, he will definitely fill his harem to the brim.

However, Li Yi had many beauties when he was still a prince, which is why he became emperor and his harem was full of beauties.

Perhaps that's why Li Yi didn't rush to expand his harem.

What surprised the ministers the most was that Li Yi did not confer the title of Empress upon the Crown Princess, which immediately stirred up many people's thoughts.

Since the position of empress was vacant, the others were certainly trying to force Li Yi to make her empress, but every time the matter was brought up, Li Yi would turn his back and say that he had no plans to make her empress for the time being.

During Pei Dongzhou's absence from the capital, some officials tried to take the opportunity to replace him and become Li Yi's favorite minister, but Li Yi was not stupid.

These people didn't think highly of him before, but now that he's the emperor, they still want to control his thoughts. Do they really think of him as a puppet emperor?

Taking advantage of the situation, he targeted a few easy targets, demoting them from their posts. This deterred those restless officials from causing trouble.

It was at this time that Pei Dongzhou found Shen Shuyi and returned to the capital.

(End of this chapter)