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

Chapter 15 I Did Indeed Steal a Kiss from My Cousin, the Crown Prince
Xia Nianchu was stunned for a moment before replying, "Lvliu saw Ajian buying medicine."

Green Willow is one of her people, so naturally she will help her.

She had also considered that if the truth came out, her cousin, the Crown Prince, would thoroughly investigate the matter, and that he and Green Willow had already coordinated their statements.

Pei Dongzhou looked at Lvliu with a calm gaze, and Lvliu knelt down and recounted the testimony that the girl had given her earlier.

“I saw A-Jian enter Pujitang at 9:45 AM. Seeing how well A-Jian and the manager were chatting, I figured they knew each other.” She paused slightly, then continued, “After returning home, I mentioned this to you, Miss, and you said it was a bit strange, wondering if my cousin was up to something shady…”

As she spoke, she glanced at Shen Shuyi, her hesitant manner perfectly mimicking Xia Nianchu's.

Shen Shuyi was not surprised to see that Xia Nianchu and her servant were prepared.

Although the female lead in the original story is both cunning and wicked, she is intelligent. The fact that Xia Nianchu carefully avoids the trap when she first tricks her into going to the Fragrant Pavilion proves that the female lead is shrewd.

Pei Dongzhou looked at Qingzhu, who understood and replied, "What Green Willow said matches the time and place I found."

Does this mean that Miss Xia was not lying, and that it was indeed Miss Shen who drugged the young master?

Shen Shuyi laughed upon hearing this: "When Green Willow saw A-Jian enter Puji Hall to buy medicine, she just made up her own assumptions and said that I drugged my cousin, the young master. I think my cousin is deliberately framing me to shirk responsibility."

"You're making baseless accusations!" Xia Nianchu exclaimed anxiously, worried that Pei Dongzhou would believe Shen Shuyi's lies.

"The day before yesterday at Wangyue Tower, I personally witnessed my cousin flirting with my cousin, the young master. This shows that my cousin is in love with my cousin, the young master. In addition, the young master is about to be engaged, and in her haste, my cousin plans to solidify her relationship with him. Wouldn't that give her a motive to drug my cousin, the young master?"

Upon hearing this, Pei Dongzhou looked at Xia Nianchu with a calm, scrutinizing gaze.

Even though the gaze was still gentle, Xia Nianchu felt immense pressure.

Even Qingzhu thought that Miss Shen's words made sense; even he, as her subordinate, could see that Miss Xia was in love with the young master.

Although Xia Nianchu had long expected that Shen Shuyi was not trustworthy, she did not expect that Shen Shuyi would be so logical and well-founded. Now, she was the one who was more suspicious.

The scrutinizing look in her cousin's eyes sent shivers down her spine.

Her face flushed red, and tears welled up in her eyes, making her look utterly pitiful: "How could you frame me without any evidence, cousin?!"

“But my cousin has no evidence, so why is she framing me? I swear to God here that I did not drug my cousin, the young master. Do you dare to do that?!” Shen Shuyi said calmly. “Anyway, I have no improper intentions towards my cousin, the young master, so I am not afraid of being investigated.”

She truly had no ill intentions towards Prince Pei. The one who drugged him was a novice monk, not someone she bribed. She was merely trying to survive by completing the tasks assigned by the system.

Xia Nianchu didn't hesitate at all: "I dare to swear it too!"

"Did the novice monk who drugged him also reveal who bribed him?" Pei Dongzhou asked Qingzhu.

The painter drew a portrait based on the novice monk's description, and Qingzhu handed the portrait to Pei Dongzhou.
Pei Dongzhou frowned slightly upon seeing the portrait: "Have you sent anyone to look for it?"

"We're searching, but we haven't found this person yet," Qingzhu replied.

Shen Shuyi glanced at it curiously and saw that the man above was very upright and had never seen him before. Pei Dongzhou looked at her at this moment, and she immediately looked away, coughed lightly and said, "Your Highness, you work at the Dali Temple, so you should know that everything requires witnesses and physical evidence to convict a suspect."

Pei Dongzhou watched as Shen Shuyi's slightly pale lips opened and closed, and suddenly remembered the woman who had stolen a kiss from him at Dajue Temple.

He averted his gaze, fixing it on Xia Nianchu's face: "Cousin Xia, did you do anything to me in the dormitory today?!"

Xia Nianchu had tried to kiss him at Wangyue Tower, so logically, Xia Nianchu was more suspicious. But his intuition told him that the person who kissed him at Dajue Temple was not Xia Nianchu.

Xia Nianchu shook her head decisively: "No! I just saw that my cousin seemed a little off, so I wanted to go and see what was going on. I didn't expect him to wake up at this time."

“If Cousin Xia can give me an answer, I can let bygones be bygones regarding the drugging incident! I’ll ask you one more time, Cousin Xia, did you do anything to me while I was asleep?!” Pei Dongzhou pressed.

Shen Shuyi had an idea and interjected, "I think I saw my cousin steal a kiss from my cousin, the young master."

Xia Nianchu looked at Shen Shuyi in astonishment. How could Shen Shuyi accuse her of stealing a kiss from her cousin, the young master? Although she really wanted to be with her cousin, she had no chance to get close to him.

“I can actually understand my cousin. She is in love with you, Cousin, and was momentarily blinded by your good looks. It's understandable that she stole a kiss from you. Now that you two have been intimate, why don't you give her a proper title?”

Shen Shuyi seized the opportunity to add fuel to the fire, not believing that Xia Nianchu would not take the blame for the stolen kiss with Pei Dongzhou.

Xia Nianchu's pupils contracted, and the words she wanted to say were swallowed back down her throat.

Yes, if she and her cousin, the Crown Prince, had physical intimacy, and then she asked for a formal title, wouldn't that be a natural progression?

"Yes, I did steal a kiss from my cousin, but I couldn't help myself. I didn't mean to disrespect him," Xia Nianchu replied without thinking further.

She couldn't wait to get close to her cousin, the Crown Prince; this was her chance.

Shen Shuyi was secretly laughing her head off.

As expected, if you give the female lead a ladder, she'll take it and win this round.

She suppressed the upward curve of her lips, stole a glance at the tense, handsome face of Prince Pei, and dared not utter another sound. She lest Prince Pei dislike her even more and she be erased by the system.

Pei Dongzhou looked at Shen Shuyi, who stood ramrod straight with her lips tightly pressed together. At first glance, her expression seemed normal, but for some reason, he felt that this woman was laughing at him in her heart.

"Cousin Shen just said she thought she saw Cousin Xia stealing a kiss from me. Did she see it or not?!" Pei Dongzhou's gaze was fixed on Shen Shuyi's face, his eyes as deep as ink.

Shen Shuyi met Pei Dongzhou's gaze. Although it was as gentle as ever, she could see a threatening meaning in it.

She was quick to correct herself, saying, "I didn't see clearly. Maybe I just saw it wrong."

Pei Dongzhou was fairly satisfied with Shen Shuyi's answer and said to Xia Nianchu, "I suggest that this matter be put to rest, and that you, cousin Xia, should not bring it up again. Of course, if you, cousin Xia, still want to continue this matter, I don't mind investigating it thoroughly and finding the culprit who drugged me."

If Xia Nianchu thought that this would make him marry her, she was overthinking it.

(End of this chapter)