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

Chapter 336 To prevent the world from collapsing...

"According to you, my cousin marrying me changes her fate of dying young as cannon fodder?!" Pei Dongzhou probed subtly.

If what Xia Nianchu said is true, and Shen Shuyi is a cannon fodder female supporting character who dies young in the original novel, and the year isn't even over yet, is his cousin still in danger? That's all he cares about right now.

"I have the female lead's halo, and the male lead should have the male lead's halo too. Cousin Shen has already married Lord Pei and is pregnant with his child. How can she still be considered a cannon fodder female supporting character?! Does Lord Pei still remember that there was a time when my luck was extremely strong and Pei Beizhou liked me very much? That was my female lead's halo." At this moment, Xia Nianchu only wanted to make Pei Dongzhou happy. If the male lead was happy, he might really let her go to the cold palace.

So she said whatever Pei Dongzhou wanted to hear.

Pei Dongzhou remained silent, seemingly lost in thought.

Seeing this, Xia Nianchu said again, "To be precise, Cousin Shen has already stolen my female lead halo. She is loved by all the male leads, and she is the real female lead now. As for me, I have fallen to this state, and I am no longer the female lead. Lord Pei, could you please have mercy and let me leave the Cold Palace? I promise that if I can leave, I will never return to the capital and disturb Lord Pei and Cousin Shen again."

Pei Dongzhou stared intently at Xia Nianchu, actually pondering whether or not to kill her to eliminate any future trouble.

Xia Nianchu shivered when she saw Pei Dongzhou's cold gaze.

She noticed Pei Dongzhou's evil intentions in time and hurriedly stopped him from doing evil: "No matter what, I am the original female lead in the book. If I die, this world may collapse."

How could she forget that Pei Dongzhou had been completely won over by Shen Shuyi and wouldn't care whether she lived or died?

But she really didn't want to die. She was supposed to be the female lead, but Shen Shuyi stole her luck. If she were to die at the hands of the male lead, wouldn't that be too unfair?
"According to you, in order to prevent the world from collapsing, I have to take good care of you?" Pei Dongzhou said with a sarcastic smile.

Xia Nianchu dared not meet Pei Dongzhou's gaze: "That's not necessary. As long as I live, Lord Pei and Cousin Shen can live a harmonious and fulfilling life together."

Pei Dongzhou pondered for a moment before saying, "Your secret is indeed quite interesting. I will petition His Majesty to release you from the palace, but I'm not sure if His Majesty will agree."

Xia Nianchu felt a slight sense of relief: "If Lord Pei speaks up, His Majesty will surely agree. I swear here and now that if I can leave this awful place, I will never come back to disturb Lord Pei and Cousin Shen's happy life."

Pei Dongzhou remained calm for a while before saying, "You're wrong about one thing. My cousin never seduced me. It was I who was irresistibly attracted to her, and it was I who kept pushing her. So, even without my cousin, I could never have any feelings for you."

With my cousin's attitude towards playing games, how can that be considered seduction?
Xia Nianchu disagreed, but she was sensible enough not to upset the male lead: "Lord Pei is right. Then whether I can leave the palace depends on Lord Pei."

Pei Dongzhou didn't waste any more words and walked out of the Cold Palace.

After meeting Xia Nianchu, things that I couldn't understand before seemed to make sense now.

Why was her cousin always getting close to her, even though she didn't have romantic feelings for him? At that time, her cousin must have become aware of her own tragic ending in the book.

But why approach him in that way?
His cousin might still need to give him the answer to this.

On the other side, Li Yi took Shen Shuyi to tour the Imperial Garden. He originally wanted to coax his cousin Shen to go to other places, but Shen Shuyi only wanted to see Pei Dongzhou, which made him very jealous.

Shen Shuyi was unaware of Li Yi's emotional change. She only knew that Pei Dongzhou had left when they arrived at the South Study. As for where he had gone, she had no idea.

"Cousin Shen, please wait for Dongzhou in the South Study. He'll probably be back soon," Li Yi said with a smile to Shen Shuyi, completely oblivious to the strange expressions on the ministers' faces.

Shen Shuyi wasn't blind, and she could see that the ministers' expressions weren't pleasant. The Southern Study was where the cabinet ministers and the emperor discussed matters; it was certainly inappropriate for her to be there.

"No, I'd better leave the palace first, and not return to the Marquis's residence with my cousin, the Crown Prince." Shen Shuyi felt it was best to leave as soon as possible.

"I've already sent someone to fetch Dongzhou. Cousin Shen, would you like to wait a little longer?" Li Yi was reluctant to let Shen Shuyi leave like this and wanted to persuade her to stay.

However, Shen Shuyi has always been a person of strong opinions, and once she has made a decision, she will not change it. She wanted to leave the palace right then and there.

Seeing this, Li Yi had no choice but to compromise: "It is rare for Cousin Shen to come to the palace. As the master of the palace, I should escort Cousin Shen out of the palace."

As soon as he said this, everyone looked at him, clearly seeing through his despicable intentions of offering unsolicited favors.

Shen Shuyi quickly refused: "Your Majesty is a man of great things, please do not waste your precious time on a nobody like me. I take my leave!"

Now she can't wait to leave the palace. After this incident, many people probably know about Li Yi's feelings for her.

It's all her fault for not thinking things through; she shouldn't have lingered in the palace.

Li Yi watched Shen Shuyi walk away in a hurry. He really wanted to personally see her off when she left the palace, but all the ministers in the Southern Study were staring at him. He could only suppress his personal desires and watch Shen Shuyi walk away.

When Pei Dongzhou arrived at the South Study, Li Yi immediately launched an attack: "Where have you been, Pei Aiqing? Do you know that Cousin Shen was waiting for you in the South Study just now?"

"Where is my cousin?" Pei Dongzhou asked calmly.

"My cousin Shen just left the palace by herself." Li Yi thought about it more and more and felt that he had been too rational just now. He should have personally escorted his cousin Shen out of the palace.

He had such a good opportunity, but just because he was the emperor, he had to be careful about his words and actions. Back when he was a carefree prince, he could do whatever he wanted without so many worries.

"Since there is nothing to do in the palace, I will also leave." After saying this, Pei Dongzhou hurriedly left the Southern Study.

Li Yi watched Pei Dongzhou's retreating figure with envy, thinking to himself that he was quite carefree, able to leave whenever he wanted. He, the emperor, was not as free as one of his subjects, which made him envious and jealous.

Pei Dongzhou chased after Shen Shuyi at top speed and caught up with her at the palace gate.

Before Shen Shuyi could even see clearly, Pei Dongzhou climbed into the carriage. She was both surprised and delighted: "Cousin, are you done with your work, Young Master?"

Pei Dongzhou stared at her intently without saying a word, a look that made her uneasy: "Why is my cousin, the Crown Prince, looking at me like that?"

Pei Dongzhou's feelings were indeed somewhat complicated.

If the world they lived in was indeed a book, and his cousin was an early cannon fodder, then had he almost missed out on her? The thought of this possibility sent a chill down his spine.

Fortunately, he married her, and fortunately, she became pregnant with his child.

(End of this chapter)