As these words left his mouth, Pei Jiangmu's face instantly darkened.
He suddenly looked up at Pei Jingdu, his eyes filled with coldness. "Brother, what did you say?"
However, Pei Jingdu seemed not to notice his expression and asked deliberately.
"What's wrong? Didn't you choose Miss Cui as your marriage partner yourself when we were selecting one for you back then?"
"I thought you liked her very much, and Mom and Dad were also quite satisfied with her."
"The Cui family is also on an upward trajectory. If you two get married, our two families can cooperate more deeply."
"Look, Mom is so ill now. You'd better get married earlier so that she can recover in peace."
Seeing Pei Jingdu's matter - of - fact look, Pei Jiangmu suddenly laughed out of anger.
How could he forget that his elder brother always put the interests of the Pei family first.
And he also had the bad taste of watching him get into trouble.
At the beginning of last year, Father Pei had spoken up about arranging a family alliance through marriage.
Originally, this matter would surely have fallen to Pei Jingdu.
But this guy really thought that his marriage couldn't be so casual and must be used at the "right moment".
So secretly, he had used Meng Ruozhao to coerce and persuade Pei Jiangmu.
He said that Mom and Dad had already begun to suspect that he was keeping Meng Ruozhao hidden, and they had already talked to Meng Ruozhao's adoptive parents several times.
If he agreed to the alliance marriage now, he could surely make Mom and Dad dispel their doubts.
Pei Jiangmu was unmoved at that time. He said that if they suspected, he would just make their relationship public.
After all, they had been in a secret relationship for three years, and he had long been eager to announce it to the world.
Who would have known that Pei Jingdu would laugh at his naivety.
"Don't you know how much Mom and Dad dislike Meng Ruozhao? They still think that she almost killed you."
"So if you announce your relationship now, Mom and Dad will only use means against her and force her to leave."
"In my opinion, with Ruozhao's personality, if she knows that Mom and Dad don't agree, she will definitely give you up voluntarily."
"Not only will you lose her, but are you willing to make her sad?"
Pei Jiangmu always lacked a bit of rationality when it came to Meng Ruozhao.
Moreover, his good elder brother was a natural negotiation expert.
He knew what Pei Jiangmu cared about most and what he was most afraid of.
"But if I have an alliance marriage, Ruozhao won't talk to me either."
He believed that if he announced that he was going to marry another woman, Meng Ruozhao would turn around and leave immediately.
She wouldn't even pester him at all - in fact, she might even be glad to have an excuse to leave him.
"My silly brother, I'll handle this for you. Who said that just because we announce the alliance marriage, we must really get married?"
"It's just an exchange of interests between our two families, creating an illusion that both sides have hostages."
"People only care about the benefits that the two allied families will bring. Who will stare at the things in your room?"
"Do you think people are really that idle?"
"So you agree to the alliance marriage first. I guarantee that you will never really marry another woman."
"I know that your wife will only be Ruozhao."
Pei Jingdu promised that he would definitely settle the matter of the alliance marriage before the formal marriage contract was to be fulfilled.
Seeing that Pei Jiangmu was still hesitating, he coaxed him further.
"Think about it. Mom and Dad don't accept Ruozhao now because of the past events."
"They don't know that you're the one who's been chasing her. They only think that you're so good and she's not good enough for you."
"But what if the marriage partner takes the initiative to cancel the engagement and ruins your reputation?"
"In that case, even if Mom and Dad are still dissatisfied with Ruozhao, they won't be able to force you into another alliance marriage. After all, no decent family would want a man who has been jilted."
"Maybe they'll even beg Ruozhao to take you in. Once Ruozhao marries into our family, they'll have to treat her well, right?"
"Look, instead of just you loving her, putting on this show can make the whole family love her. Isn't it a great deal?"
...
Pei Jiangmu was confused by such coercion, persuasion, and threats.
He even thought there was some truth in it.
So he agreed and signed the alliance marriage agreement, which clearly stated that it was only a nominal alliance marriage and they wouldn't really get married.
At that time, Pei Jingdu readily agreed.
Just to be on the safe side, he chose Cui Ran, the most ambitious and career - oriented among the candidates for the alliance marriage.
A person like this, just like Pei Jingdu, put interests above all else.
She wouldn't casually mix emotions into her career, so she was the most suitable person for this show.
Over the past year or so, he had hardly had any private contact with Cui Ran.
After he returned to the country, Cui Ran had sent him a few messages, inviting him to dinner, but he had ignored them all.
After all, he was busy chasing Ruozhao. He didn't have the time to deal with others.
...
And now, Pei Jingdu actually proposed to move the wedding date forward in front of their mother?
What was he up to? Did he not want to be brothers anymore?
Or was this a big scheme he had set up?
He had forced him into the trap of the alliance marriage while keeping himself clean.
Could it be that he also had other thoughts about Ruozhao and was waiting to steal her from him?
No wonder he had dinner with Ruozhao last time...
The more Pei Jiangmu thought about it, the angrier he got.
But looking at his mother on the hospital bed, still wiping away her tears, he could only suppress his anger for the time being.
He glanced at Pei Jingdu's "I'm doing this for your own good" look and sneered.
"Brother, I'll handle my own marriage. You don't need to worry about it."
Seeing the tense atmosphere between the two brothers, Mother Pei quickly grabbed Pei Jiangmu's hand and advised,
"A Mu, your brother is doing this for your own good. Cui Ran has a good family background, is beautiful, and is a perfect match for you. Isn't it good to get married earlier?"
Looking at his mother's expectant eyes, Pei Jiangmu felt as if something was blocking his heart, and he couldn't say the words of refusal.
He could only hold his mother's hand tightly and said in a low voice, "Mom, you should focus on getting better first. Let's talk about the marriage later, okay?"
Mother Pei was about to say something else, but Pei Jiangmu had already pulled his hand back and stood up.
Then he gave Pei Jingdu a look, signaling him to come out and talk.
Pei Jingdu hooked the corner of his mouth and slowly followed him out.
When they reached the end of the corridor, Pei Jiangmu said with a cold face, his tone filled with a bit of warning.
"Pei Jingdu, what do you mean now? Is the Pei family going bankrupt? Do we have to rely on my alliance marriage?"
"Have you forgotten what you promised me back then?"
"Of course I haven't forgotten what I promised you."
Pei Jingdu raised his eyebrows, his tone rather nonchalant.
"But the situation is different now. Mom is ill, and the marriage can't be postponed any longer."
"You set the wedding date first to reassure Mom. As for the follow - up matters, I'll figure out a way."
Pei Jiangmu sneered.
"Figure out a way? Do you think I'll believe you now?"
"First, you tricked me into the alliance marriage, and now you want to trick me into getting married? Next, are you going to trick me into having a child?"
"By then, are you going to go after Ruozhao? My self - disciplined and immaculate good elder brother!"
The calculating smile on Pei Jingdu's face froze for a moment.
He admitted that he really liked to watch his younger brother get angry and jump up and down.
Just as cute as when he was a kid.
But what did that last sentence mean?
It was true that he was self - disciplined and immaculate, but why would he go after Ruozhao?