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

Chapter 274 Imperial Edict Sent to the Palace
Seeing Shen Shuyi sigh, A-Jian smiled and said, "Madam, don't worry. With the young master here, no matter how powerful Prince Zhao is, he can't possibly ascend to that position."

Although she didn't eavesdrop intentionally, she was waiting nearby and overheard the conversation between the young lady and the young master.

But she still felt that, in terms of scheming, the lady was no match for the young master, not even the Prince of Zhao.

"You're oversimplifying things, girl," Shen Shuyi said, feeling that she should also work harder and ask Sun Wang to help develop more miraculous medicines for unforeseen circumstances.

On the other side, the Prince's Mansion.

Li Hong never expected Pei Dongzhou to come looking for him.

He had invited Pei Dongzhou to the Crown Prince's residence for a visit more than once before, but Pei had always declined. He knew that the Crown Prince Pei was a prudent person.

Furthermore, people don't come to the temple without a reason; Pei Dongzhou's visit must mean something has happened.

After Pei Dongzhou took his seat, he didn't mince words and went straight to the point: "Your Highness should be more careful when traveling or eating lately. If you attend a banquet, you should also be more mindful."

Li Hong was taken aback, not expecting Pei Dongzhou to say these things as soon as he arrived.

As the crown prince, he has always been cautious in his actions. Indeed, he encountered danger when he was first appointed crown prince.

However, life has been relatively stable for the past two years. When one is too comfortable for too long, one's sense of danger weakens.

It would be a lie to say I wasn't surprised that Pei Dongzhou brought it up specifically at this moment.

"But what happened?!" Li Hong asked seriously.

"Nothing has happened yet, but I'm still worried about His Highness's safety. No matter when or where, His Highness must be more vigilant and pay close attention to those around him. Especially with the spring hunt approaching, His Highness must be extra careful during the hunt." Pei Dongzhou could only hint at this.

If Pei Nanzhou wants the throne, he must get rid of the Crown Prince, who is an obstacle in his way.

But he can't just say that Nanzhou wants the throne and might target the crown prince without any evidence.

Seeing Pei Dongzhou's serious expression, Li Hong immediately listened and said, "I understand."

He really wanted to ask Pei Dongzhou if he had received any news, but someone wanted to deal with him.

But Pei Dongzhou is a cautious person, and he wouldn't reveal anything to him without definite information.

Pei Dongzhou did not stay at the Crown Prince's residence for long; he left after sitting for a short while.

After Pei Dongzhou left, Li Hong ordered people to investigate whether any important matters had occurred recently.

The investigation revealed a surprising fact: a cousin of the Marquis of Pingyang had entered the Emperor's harem. The Emperor was known for his many romantic affairs, but he never imagined that Pei Nanzhou would be his illegitimate son.

Now that the young lady from the Pingyang Marquis's family has suddenly entered the palace to serve the emperor, Prince Pei came to remind him today whether it is related to Xia Nianchu.
In the following days, he paid special attention to Xia Nianchu's situation in the palace.

Upon closer inspection, it really did seem strange.

In just a short time after entering the palace, Xia Nianchu rose to become the most favored concubine in the harem and was bestowed the title of Consort Li by Emperor Jinglong.

Even though Emperor Jinglong was middle-aged, his harem was still full of young and beautiful concubines, but none of them had ever been valued by him as much as Consort Li.

Other concubines rose through the ranks step by step, finding it extremely difficult to climb to the top. How could anyone be promoted to the rank of concubine so directly as Consort Li?

Most importantly, Consort Li had previously been staying at the Marquis of Pingyang's residence, and their encounter was "coincidentally" when Emperor Jinglong left the palace. If it were truly just a coincidence, that would be one thing, but if it wasn't a coincidence, but rather a deliberate arrangement by Consort Li, then who was the mastermind behind this encounter?
Pei Dongzhou must be excluded. Who else would have such a motive besides Pei Dongzhou?

Therefore, Li Hong thought of someone who also came from the Pingyang Marquis's mansion, the former Second Young Master Pei, now the Prince of Zhao—Pei Nanzhou.

In fact, Emperor Jinglong had already bestowed a name upon Pei Nanzhou, changing his name to Li Nan, but acquaintances who knew Pei Nanzhou still habitually called him Pei Nanzhou, and he was no exception.

At this moment, Li Hong probably understood why Pei Dongzhou had specifically come to the Crown Prince's residence to find him and warn him to be careful. It was very likely because Pei Nanzhou had designs on the throne.

However, when Pei Nanzhou first recognized his ancestors, he had already investigated Pei Nanzhou's background. Pei Nanzhou was very low-key and rarely appeared in public when he was in the Pingyang Marquis's mansion. Because of this, he did not take Pei Nanzhou, this illegitimate son who suddenly appeared, to heart.

If his guess is true, it only means that Consort Li and Pei Nanzhou are in cahoots.

Perhaps he could have his mother test Consort Li's limits...

Inside the Pingyang Marquis's residence, Shen Shuyi was also closely monitoring Xia Nianchu's movements in the palace.

Unfortunately, her worst fears came true. The female lead finally displayed her charm and completely captivated Emperor Jinglong.

To become Consort Li in such a short time, she truly deserves to be called the leading lady.

Just as she was closely watching Xia Nianchu, Xia Nianchu actually sent a nanny to the Marquis's residence to summon her to the palace.

Shen Shuyi thought about her own status as a cannon fodder female supporting character, and then thought about Xia Nianchu's status as the female lead. In addition, considering the old grudges between the two, wasn't Xia Nianchu just taking advantage of her rising to prominence to try to deal with her?
"My mother wants to see me. Please wait a moment while I go and tell her so she won't worry," Shen Shuyi said calmly to the nanny.

She glanced at A-Jian out of the corner of her eye, and A-Jian immediately understood, quietly leaving Fusang Courtyard to go to the East Garden to deliver the message.

"Does the Crown Prince's wife mean she wants our Consort Li to wait for you?!" The old woman glanced sideways at Shen Shuyi.

Shen Shuyi smiled and said, "No, it's just that I do have something to attend to. Let me tell my mother, and then I'll go to the palace with you. It won't take long."

She was deliberately stalling for time. Xia Nianchu wasn't with her, so what could a palace maid do to her?

The old woman was indeed helpless against Shen Shuyi. She could also see that this young lady was deliberately delaying the time, and it took her nearly half an hour to go to Jufutang.

By the time Shen Shuyi entered the palace, an hour had already passed.

Xia Nianchu moved into Yunjing Palace. Since entering the palace, Emperor Jinglong has doted on her like the apple of his eye, and everyone who tried to intimidate her failed.

Only at that moment did she realize that her luck had returned.

Now she is the most popular woman in the harem, and even the Empress treats her with great kindness.

However, she also remembered her promise to Pei Nanzhou.

It was Pei Nanzhou who approached her and told her that he could create an opportunity for her to enter the palace.

She was a little hesitant at the time, after all, Emperor Jinglong was old enough to be her father, but she did not expect the emperor to still be so handsome in middle age, and for a moment she felt that it was worth it.

The main reason was that after entering the palace, Emperor Jinglong listened to her in everything, which made her more and more arrogant. So she wanted to meet her "old friend" from the Marquis's mansion - Shen Shuyi.

(End of this chapter)