The cousin's family is extremely wealthy; she deserves to be a concubine.

Pei Enhan naturally knew who He Zhizhu was, but he just smiled and remained silent.

He Zhizhu didn't really want Pei Enhan to answer. She pointed to herself and said arrogantly, "I am the only legitimate daughter of Marquis He of the dignified Muqing Marquis's Mansion, the Marquis's legitimate daughter!"

You lecherous scoundrel from who-knows-where, how dare you harbor such lustful thoughts towards me?

Pei Enhan raised an eyebrow. It seemed that he had met the girl twice, but he had never given her a clear self-introduction.

He held a folding fan and tapped it rhythmically against his palm, saying patiently, "The only legitimate daughter of Marquis He, her status is indeed not low."

However, I am not some lecherous scoundrel.

Girl, listen carefully.

I am Pei Enhan, the only legitimate son of the late Empress and the second son of the current Emperor.

A look of surprise flashed across He Zhizhu's face. She cursed herself inwardly for being too hasty.

But she didn't show it on her face; she even involuntarily took a step back. "You, you, you are His Highness the Second Prince? Are you really a prince?"

Pei Enhan gave a heavy hum, "I remember when I was hosting a banquet at my residence, I accidentally bumped into you, and I kept mentioning my identity as a prince."

He Zhizhu's face showed unease. Although she obediently bowed, she still stubbornly said, "This humble girl greets the Second Prince."

"That day I thought Your Highness was just teasing me; how could I possibly believe you were a prince?"

After thinking for a moment, she seemed to have no choice but to bow her head due to the other party's power, "In that case, please forgive my previous offense, Your Highness."

After speaking, she bit her lip again, hesitated for a long time, and finally mustered up the courage to say what was on her mind, "And Your Highness, please do not mention the things you said before about coming to propose marriage again."

Pei Enhan lifted his eyelids and looked at He Zhizhu with a playful expression. "What does this mean?"

He Zhizhu hesitated for a moment, then looked at Pei Enhan again with a hint of tears welling up in her eyes, "Your Highness, why do you ask a question you already know the answer to!"

She turned away and secretly wiped away her tears.

Pei Enhan stood up and stepped forward, gently pulling her into his arms. He Zhizhu leaned against his shoulder, her voice hoarse as she sobbed softly:

"Throughout the capital, everyone knows that His Highness is already married, and in a few months, His Highness will become a father."

As she spoke, she gently pushed Pei Enhan away, lowered her head and wrung out her handkerchief, saying, "Your Highness said today that you wanted to come to my house to propose marriage, but I just thought I misheard and it doesn't count."

Please forget everything that happened today, Your Highness.

After saying that, she wiped her eyes with a handkerchief again, "Your Highness and I are destined to be apart."

Pei Enhan didn't like hearing that.

She's just a woman. He's of noble birth, yet he can't have his way?

This was also the first time he had been rejected by a woman, and he couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed.

He turned He Zhizhu's slightly turned body around, gently pinched her chin, and said with a slightly aggressive look in his eyes, "We have already been intimate. If you don't marry me, then who do you want to marry?"

With slightly reddened eyes, He Zhizhu looked stubbornly at Pei Enhan, "I am the legitimate daughter of a noble family. Even if I were to marry the lowest of the low, I would still be married in a proper and respectful manner."

After she finished speaking, a crystal-clear tear slid down He Zhizhu's cheek; at that moment, silence spoke louder than words.

Pei Enhan released his hand, his eyes flickered slightly, and he smiled faintly, "It's just the position of the legal wife."

"You were also raised in a large family since you were a child, how come you don't understand that in a family like ours, whoever gets the husband's favor is the one who truly holds the power in the inner quarters!"

You tell me, is it yes or no?

He Zhizhu's mind was originally filled with the idea of ​​marrying the second prince as his second wife in a dignified manner, or at the very least, getting the position of a concubine.

After hearing these words, her original bottom line began to waver somewhat without her realizing it.

But she wouldn't back down when she was about to say it: "I am the legitimate daughter of a marquis's family. If I marry you and become a concubine without any status, how will my other sisters in the marquis's family choose their husbands?"

"Everyone in the capital will only think that the girls from our Marquis's mansion are unfit to be wives. Even if I were willing to degrade myself for His Highness, I cannot completely disregard the sisters in my household!"

She paused for a moment, seemingly having finally made up her mind, "Your Highness is of noble status, and I should not refuse Your Highness's kind offer of marriage. However, I have many concerns, and I beg Your Highness to be merciful and let me go."

Before Pei Enhan could say anything more, He Zhizhu said with a resolute look in her eyes, "After my grandmother's birthday banquet, I will inform my parents and from now on I will live a life of quiet contemplation and never let anyone else touch my body again."

In this way, I can be considered to have remained chaste for Your Highness, thus proving my innocence.

Pei Enhan was caught off guard by He Zhizhu's confession, and he couldn't hold back any longer. He pulled her into his arms and planted a deep kiss on her forehead.

"Don't worry, although I can't give you the position of principal wife, I can offer you the position of concubine."

He Zhizhu suddenly looked up, her face full of surprise, "Really?"

Pei Enhan saw his own reflection in He Zhizhu's tearful eyes and was deeply moved. "A gentleman's word is his bond."

He Zhizhu stopped crying and smiled. She gently tickled Pei Enhan's palm with her little finger twice. "Then, it's settled."

I'm waiting for you to come and propose marriage!

Pei Enhan nodded. "Okay."

He Zhizhu was so happy that she circled Pei Enhan twice before lifting her skirt and running out of the pavilion, looking back every few steps.

As she ran, she called out in a sweet voice, "Okra, Okra, let's hurry back! If Mother finds out I'm missing, she'll definitely spank my hands..."

Her silvery laughter echoed all the way.

Pei Enhan gazed at the excerpt of the opera being performed in the pavilion in the middle of the lake, a confident smile slowly spreading across his lips.

----

"Who is the person in the pavilion? Why does his profile look somewhat like my second elder brother?" The speaker was the fourth prince, Pei Enyuan.

Today, the Marquis's mansion is hosting a grand banquet for guests. With so many people and so many eyes on the table, the Fourth Prince also wanted to take this opportunity to visit the Marquis of Muqing's mansion and meet his good aunt, Madam Shui, who was hiding behind the scenes.

Just then, they were about to follow He Zhirui, the third young master of the Marquis's mansion, to the side courtyard of the Shui family. But, by sheer coincidence, they spotted He Zhizhu, the seventh young lady of the Marquis's mansion, with a shy expression, emerging from the pavilion in the distance.

Hence this question.

He Zhirui frowned slightly. "My aunt previously learned that the heir of the household seems to be supporting His Highness the Second Prince."

Unable to discern any change in Pei Enyuan's expression, He Zhirui continued, "Today we stumbled upon the affair between Seventh Sister and the Second Prince, and now I believe that the information my aunt gathered is true."

Pei Enyuan pondered for a moment and asked, "How many people know about my visit to your residence today?"

He Zhirui quickly assured her, "Only my father, my aunt, and my sixth sister know about this. Everyone else thinks that Your Highness is one of my cronies I met outside."

He joked like this, hoping that the Fourth Prince would think more highly of him and his mother.