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

Chapter 281 What favored concubine? In his eyes, she's nothing but trash.

Shen Shuyi cursed her bad luck; Pei Nanzhou was really after her.

Before she knew it, she was right under Pei Nanzhou's nose.

However, she was in no mood to pay attention to Pei Nanzhou at the moment, and whispered to Pei Dongzhou, "We acted too impulsively. If Consort Li wants a carriage, just give it to her. By beating her and blocking His Majesty's words, we have only made His Majesty unhappy, which is not worth it."

Not receiving a response from Pei Dongzhou, Shen Shuyi looked at him in confusion, only to find that the young master Pei was staring at Pei Nanzhou, clearly having also noticed that Pei Nanzhou had been spying on her.

She took Pei Dongzhou's arm, looking annoyed. "I'm talking to you about serious matters."

Pei Dongzhou gave Pei Nanzhou another cold look before taking Shen Shuyi and walking away.

Seeing that Pei Dongzhou still had a cold face, Shen Shuyi knew that he was still thinking about Pei Nanzhou, so she tugged at his sleeve lightly and said in an annoyed tone, "I'm talking about serious business with my cousin, the Crown Prince!"

Why does he always think about Pei Nanzhou?
"What did Madam say?" Pei Dongzhou's heart and eyes were indeed filled with Pei Nanzhou.

Pei Nanzhou made him realize the danger; he felt that if he wasn't careful, he might really lose his cousin.

Shen Shuyi looked at Pei Dongzhou speechlessly, and Pei Dongzhou smiled apologetically: "It's my fault. I should have been more focused when my wife was giving me a lecture."

Shen Shuyi sighed softly, "The focus now is not on Second Cousin, but on His Majesty. We shouldn't have disobeyed His Majesty's wishes just now. Offending His Majesty like this will not do any good for Cousin, the Crown Prince."

After listening attentively, Pei Dongzhou said casually, "It's alright. I don't want to be a close advisor to the emperor anyway. But no other woman can take away what I give to my wife. Does Consort Li even deserve to steal my wife's carriage?!"

What favored concubine? In his eyes, she was nothing but trash.

Shen Shuyi looked at Pei Dongzhou helplessly: "You need to know that His Majesty holds the power of life and death over the entire country. Your dismissive attitude is unacceptable."

“Regardless of whether or not Consort Li stole the carriage, His Majesty will never treat me the same way as before,” Pei Dongzhou said calmly.

Shen Shuyi was taken aback, and instantly understood what Pei Dongzhou meant.

If Pei Nanzhou and Pei Dongzhou are still as close as before, then it will not affect Pei Dongzhou.

But now Pei Nanzhou also likes her, and Pei Dongzhou has married her.

As Pei Nanzhou's biological father, Emperor Jinglong would certainly not have any goodwill towards Pei Dongzhou, who had taken her away. Between his subject and his own son, Emperor Jinglong would definitely side with Pei Nanzhou.

Ultimately, her existence directly impacted Pei Dongzhou's career.

Seeing Shen Shuyi suddenly quiet down, Pei Dongzhou teased, "Is my wife feeling sorry for her husband? Shouldn't you love her husband a little more from now on? Don't be so fierce to her husband."

Seeing that he was being irresponsible, Shen Shu pinched his arm in annoyance.

Pei Dongzhou chuckled in a deep voice: "My lady, just remember one thing: in my heart, nothing is more important than you."

Power is merely an embellishment; it's a shield that protects her, but it serves no other purpose.

Without power, he could strive to climb higher, but without her, all his possessions would be meaningless. He believed that Pei Nanzhou felt the same way.

Shen Shuyi thought Pei Dongzhou might have lost his mind to fall for her. In fact, she had only seduced him a few times, but who knew he was so easily charmed.

She wasn't one to dwell on things internally, and once she figured it out, she stopped worrying about it.

The most urgent task is to protect Li Hong.

The biggest problem is that Pei Nanzhou might target Li Hong during this spring hunt. Crown Princess Pei Yunxuan is also present, and Shen Shuyi made a special trip to Pei Yunxuan's residence to pay her respects. Now, she and her husband are in the same boat as the Crown Prince and his wife; they need to cultivate a good relationship.

Pei Yunxuan was also a composed and dignified person, and she had common topics with Shen Shuyi. The two got along quite well.

After leaving the palace, Shen Shuyi, accompanied by Pei Dongzhou, went to the camp where the Marquis of Pingyang was staying.

Madam Zhang also came this time. The old lady was not included in the group because of her advanced age. Pei Xuexuan and Pei Yuexuan also accompanied her.

Upon seeing her return, Pei Yuexuan gave a soft snort.

Seeing this, Shen Shuyi suddenly asked with a smile, "Isn't Fourth Sister a close friend of Consort Li? Why didn't you go to catch up with her this time?"

Pei Yuexuan's face darkened upon hearing this.

She gets angry whenever this is mentioned.

Back when they were in the Marquis's mansion, Xia Nianchu would come to see her whenever she had a reason, and she would always drag her along when she did something bad.

Now that Xia Nianchu has become a favored concubine, she is happy for Xia Nianchu, but Xia Nianchu ignores her and is even impatient with her.

Only then did she realize that Xia Nianchu had never considered her a friend from the very beginning.

She was genuinely happy for Xia Nianchu when she saw her become a favored concubine.

Seeing Pei Yuexuan's constipated expression, Shen Shuyi knew that Pei Yuexuan was being sidelined by Xia Nianchu.

Seeing this, Madam Zhang admonished Pei Yuexuan, "Since Yue'er also knows that Consort Li and the Marquis's family are not on the same side, you should stay away from Consort Li from now on, so as not to be used by others without knowing why."

Pei Yuexuan glanced at Li Shi subconsciously, and Li Shi nodded to her, so she knew that Li Shi had the same idea.

“Back then, Consort Li stayed at the Marquis’s residence, and we treated her so well. How come now that she has risen to prominence, we want to distance ourselves from her? Since she has received kindness from the Marquis’s residence, shouldn’t she repay it?”

After she said that, everyone fell silent.

Shen Shuyi thought Pei Yuexuan was also a weirdo.

Although Li was Pei Yuexuan's biological mother, she was also Xia Nianchu's aunt. Who says that just because someone once stayed at a noble household, they have to repay the kindness of being a dependent?
Xia Nianchu and Pei Yuexuan were close in the past, mainly because Pei Yuexuan's birth mother was Li Shi. Furthermore, Pei Yuexuan was easy to manipulate.

Now that Pei Yuexuan has no further use, it's no wonder the female lead will pay no attention to her anymore.

Madam Li said in a deep voice, "Yue'er, don't say such things again. Consort Li has entered the palace and is a noble person there, so she is not on the same path as us. I'm warning you, you must not have any contact with Consort Li from now on."

"Yes, Mother." Pei Yuexuan dared not question it any further.

Seeing this, Madam Zhang added, "Many distinguished people have come to this spring hunt, and many are watching the Marquis's every move. Everyone must be on high alert and act cautiously, lest someone find fault with us and affect the Marquis's family."

She now regrets it somewhat; she shouldn't have slapped Pei Nanzhou back then.

She knew Pei Nanzhou's temperament; he was extreme. If he held a grudge against her for that slap and disregarded her years of nurturing, and went after the Marquis's mansion, Dongge'er might also be implicated.

Then there's Yi Jie'er...

Finally, she dismissed everyone else, leaving only Shen Shuyi behind, and instructed her: "Sister Yi, the Prince of Zhao has those kinds of feelings for you, so you must be especially careful. Be careful not to get alone, lest the Prince of Zhao take advantage of you."

(End of this chapter)