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

Chapter 272 Entering the Palace to Serve the Emperor
The scariest thing is that this is just the beginning.

In the days that followed, Shen Shuyi's biggest fear was the dark. As soon as night fell, Pei Dongzhou would transform into a wolf and become inhuman.

No wonder he said he would listen to her when she was out of bed and listen to him when she was in bed. If things continued like this, she suspected she would die young.

Shen Shuyi counted down the days, finally making it to the day when Pei Dongzhou's honeymoon was over.

In recent days, she and Pei Dongzhou have spent an outrageous amount of time in bed, and she has visibly lost weight, which even makes A-Jian feel sorry for her.

However, there was one good thing: Pei Dongzhou specifically told Zhang that she should only go to Jufutang to pay her respects on the first and fifteenth of each month, so that she wouldn't have to get up early every day.

Just as Shen Shuyi was happy that she no longer had to worry about Pei Dongzhou pulling her into bed to cultivate their relationship, she suddenly heard some strange news.

"You mean Xia Nianchu entered His Majesty's harem?!" Shen Shuyi thought she had misheard.

Isn't this a bit outrageous? The female lead has entered the emperor's harem?

A-Jian nodded vigorously: "That's exactly what it means. I heard that His Majesty met Miss Xia Biao when he left the palace, and then took a liking to her at first sight and brought her into the palace. It happened this morning, and now the whole Marquis's mansion is talking about it."

Shen Shuyi was a little confused for a moment.

Xia Nianchu is the female lead in the original novel. One day, the system told her that Xia Nianchu's female lead aura had appeared, and on some days, the male leads did lose their composure when they saw the female lead, with Pei Beizhou being the most extreme.

However, Pei Beizhou later returned to normal, and the so-called female lead halo weakened.

Even without the protagonist's halo, Xia Nianchu is still a beauty, so it's reasonable that she would be favored by the philandering Emperor Jinglong.

What a coincidence!
Emperor Jinglong wouldn't leave the palace unless absolutely necessary, right? He rarely leaves the palace, and then he gets caught by the female lead. Moreover, Emperor Jinglong falls in love with Xia Nianchu at first sight and brings her into the harem.

Could it be that Xia Nianchu's protagonist aura came into play?
Unfortunately, the system was offline, so even though she had questions, she didn't know who to ask.

The news of Xia Nianchu entering the harem caused a sensation in the Marquis's mansion. Previously, everyone only thought Shen Shuyi was lucky to marry the heir. Now it seems that another Miss Xia is also lucky, as she was able to enter the palace to serve the emperor.

Of all these, Li was the happiest and most pleased.

She was beaming with pride wherever she went, and even went to Zhang's place to show off about it.

"Our Chu'er is clearly destined for wealth and nobility; she's meant to become a concubine in the palace." Li thought to herself that she had been too naive before, only wanting Chu'er to marry the Pei brothers.

Little did they know that Chu Jie'er's good fortune lay in the palace.

Zhang thought to herself, what's so good about being a concubine in Emperor Jinglong's harem? Emperor Jinglong is a womanizer, and there are so many beautiful women in his harem. Even though Xia Nianchu is beautiful, she entered the palace late, unlike the other concubines who have imperial offspring to rely on.

Furthermore, Emperor Jinglong is now nearly fifty years old, and it is unknown when he will vacate the throne, at which time His Highness the Crown Prince will ascend to the throne.

At that time, what benefits could Xia Nianchu, a concubine who was neither high nor low, possibly gain?
Although she didn't think much of it, Madam Zhang still politely agreed: "Chu'er is indeed a blessed girl, to be able to become His Majesty's concubine. If she can also give birth to an imperial heir, that would be even better."

At this point, she paused, "However, it won't be easy for her to give birth to a royal heir now that she has just entered the palace. In addition, His Majesty has many children, more than a dozen princes. I'm afraid it won't be easy for Chu-jie'er when she first enters the palace."

Li was feeling quite pleased with herself, but Zhang's words were like a bucket of cold water being poured over her.

She suddenly couldn't be happy anymore.

Previously, she hadn't thought much of it, only that becoming the emperor's concubine would bring glory to the Li family. But upon closer reflection, which of the concubines in the harem was truly a pushover?
As a newcomer to the palace with no powerful connections or backing, Chu Jie'er feared things wouldn't be as good as she had imagined. For a moment, she lost all desire to boast to Zhang Shi and hastily took her leave.

Watching Li Shi walk away, Zhang Shi looked at Sun Mama and chuckled, "That Li Shi is really confused. She thinks it's a good thing that Chu Jie'er is entering the harem."

Madam Sun agreed with her mistress's point of view: "That palace is a place that devours people. Does Madam think that Miss Xia's sudden entry into the palace is just a coincidence?"

"Even if it was Chu Jie'er's plan, it was her own business. Whether she is good or bad in the palace in the future is her own fate."

Zhang didn't care about Xia Nianchu. Instead, she said to Sun Mama, "Have the kitchen prepare some nourishing soup and send it to Fusang Courtyard. We need to help Yi-jie recover. I'm hoping to hold my grandson soon."

Upon hearing this, Madam Sun smiled and said, "The young master and his wife have a very good relationship. I believe the lady will soon get what she wants."

Zhang knew that her eldest son and daughter-in-law had a good relationship, especially her eldest son's clingy nature, which made her, as his mother, feel ashamed.

Shen Shuyi was eating Xia Nianchu's melon with Ajian when Sun Mama brought over some nourishing soup.

She could tell at a glance that Zhang was subtly pressuring her to have a baby.

You should know that she and Pei Dongzhou had only been married for a few days, yet Zhang was already eager to have a grandchild. Zhang was unaware that Pei Dongzhou had said he didn't want children so soon, and that he wanted to enjoy their time together as a couple.

In her opinion, Prince Pei was an extremely lustful person, and he was clearly afraid that if they had a child, he would not be able to have a marital life with her.

She accepted the tonic soup with a smile, said some kind words, and then Mrs. Sun left with a smile on her face.

As soon as Aunt Sun left, Shen Shuyi asked A-Jian to drink the soup for her.

A-Jian was an honest girl. She would do whatever her friend asked her to do, and this time was no exception. She ate all the medicinal soup she could find.

"Miss, please don't let me drink this tonic soup next time. It's a medicine for women to nourish their bodies and help with fertility. It's not appropriate for an unmarried girl like me to eat this."

Shen Shuyi laughed uncontrollably: "Well, you'll get married eventually anyway, so it's good to take care of your health now so you can get pregnant right after you get married, isn't that a good idea?"

A-Jian couldn't argue with her master, so she could only smile bitterly.

Pei Beizhou heard that Xia Nianchu had entered Emperor Jinglong's harem when he was off duty. He was momentarily dazed and could no longer recall why he had fallen for Xia Nianchu back then.

Looking back now, it still feels like a dream.

He quickly put the matter out of his mind. To him now, Xia Nianchu was nothing more than an insignificant person. It was none of his business whichever man she was with.

After finishing his shift, Pei Dongzhou went to Fusang Institute. Unexpectedly, Shen Shuyi was waiting at the entrance of the institute. As soon as she saw him, she came forward and gave him a sweet smile, which made him feel flattered.

He's been making excessive demands lately, to the point that his cousin avoids him whenever she sees him.

Just as he thought his cousin had finally come to her senses, he heard her mention other unimportant people: "Do you know that Xia Nianchu has entered the palace?"

Pei Dongzhou only wanted to kiss his wife, but as soon as he got close to her lips, she rudely pushed him away: "I'm talking to you about serious matters."

(End of this chapter)