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

Chapter 5: Kissing Pei Dongzhou, Ten-Day Deadline
Shen Shuyi had a very long nightmare.

In her dream, she stood on the edge of a cliff, surrounded by the male protagonists. Their expressions were icy, and they almost simultaneously pushed her into an endless abyss.

She opened her eyes in a daze, still feeling lingering fear from the sensation of falling from a great height.

Madam Pei sat by the bedside. When she saw that she was awake, Madam Pei looked at her with red eyes and said, "Poor child."

She struggled to sit up, only to find her whole body limp and powerless: "Grandma, what's wrong with me?"

"The doctor said you are weak and need to take good care of yourself, otherwise..." Madam Pei said, turning her back to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

The physician said that Yi-jie's pulse was very weak, indicating a frail condition and not a sign of longevity.

Shen Shuyi also felt that something was wrong with her body. She was fine before today, but suddenly she could hardly breathe. This might be a punishment from the system, or it might just be because she was a cannon fodder female supporting character.

If she fails to complete the mission, even if she doesn't die at the hands of the male protagonists a year later, she might die of illness.

Having figured this out, she felt at ease and comforted Madam Pei with a smile: "Grandmother, don't worry, I'm in good health. When I was young, a fortune teller told me that I would live to be a hundred years old."

Pei Yuexuan, the fourth daughter of the Pei family, muttered to herself, "My cousin usually keeps in close contact with the family physician, so he will definitely treat her well."

Her words sounded ordinary, but they easily led people to make connections, especially since Pei Yuexuan was on good terms with the original owner of this body before Shen Shuyi transmigrated.

In the original novel, the person who was truly on good terms with Pei Yuexuan was actually the female lead. The two of them teamed up to trick the original owner of the body many times.

Sure enough, Xia Nianchu immediately understood: "Could the physician have made a misdiagnosis? This morning I saw my cousin looking rosy-cheeked, how come she suddenly..."

For a moment, everyone looked at Shen Shuyi.

Inspired by Xia Nianchu's words, everyone suspected that Shen Shuyi was colluding with the royal physician to feign illness in order to gain everyone's sympathy.

Shen Shuyi was disliked by everyone in the Pingyang Marquis's mansion, except for Old Madam Pei who doted on her.

Lady Hou's gaze towards Shen Shuyi suddenly turned sharp: "Yi'er, how dare you feign illness?! You've made such a fuss, causing Mother grief, all just to gain everyone's sympathy?"

At this moment, Shen Shuyi finally understood how disliked the original owner of the body was in the Marquis's mansion.

Xia Nianchu's casual question was immediately condemned by the Lady of the Marquis.

Actually, it was reasonable for Lady Hou to dislike her. Pei Dongzhou was Lady Hou's eldest son, and the original owner of this body was an orphan who had designs on Pei Dongzhou. As a mother, how could Lady Hou possibly tolerate her?

Pei Dongzhou, who had been silent to the side, recalled Shen Shuyi's pale face before she fainted. Although his cousin Shen had a long criminal record, he didn't think she was faking illness.

The mother's decision was too arbitrary.

“I don’t know why I fainted. Since everyone suspects I’m faking illness, why don’t we invite another doctor to come and take my pulse so that they can answer my question?” Shen Shuyi said, then nestled into Madam Pei’s arms.

Madam Pei had previously suspected that Shen Shuyi was faking her illness, but seeing the child's weak appearance, she said with a stern face, "Since everyone has doubts, why don't we find another doctor to examine Yi'er?"

Pei Yuexuan volunteered, "I'll send someone to fetch a doctor."

How could Shen Shuyi trust her?

Who knows, the doctor Pei Yuexuan invited might have been bribed, creating a perfect loop that confirms her faking illness.

"I won't trouble you, Cousin Yuexuan. We're usually close, and I'm worried..."

Shen Shuyi hesitated, as if she wanted to speak but then stopped. Just now, Pei Yuexuan said that she was close to the family physician, so everyone suspected that she had bribed the physician to fake illness. But since Pei Yuexuan was also close to her, the doctor that Pei Yuexuan had hired could not be trusted by the public.

Seeing this, Pei Dongzhou said, "Qingzhu, go and fetch a doctor."

Once he spoke, everyone believed him. After all, Prince Pei was a fair and gentlemanly man, and even if he disliked Shen Shuyi, he would not falsely accuse her for no reason.

Before long, Qingzhu brought a doctor.

The people of the Great Qi Kingdom were open-minded and did not have such strict separation between men and women. Men and women could sit together, and doctors did not need to avoid each other when seeking medical treatment.

The diagnosis came back quickly: Shen Shuyi's health was indeed very weak. Her pulse was the same as the physician's; Shen Shuyi needed proper care, otherwise she might not live long.

Madam Pei hoped that Shen Shuyi was faking her illness. She felt heavy-hearted and looked at Shen Shuyi with increasing affection.

After seeing the doctor off, Shen Shuyi said with a wry smile, "Luckily, I was really sick, otherwise my cousin Xia would have thought I was faking it to gain sympathy."

Her skin was already fair, but now her face was completely bloodless, her big eyes were dark and heavy, and she looked truly pitiful with tears welling up in her eyes.

She then looked at Madam Hou, her voice hoarse: "Does Aunt now believe I wasn't faking illness?"

Lady Hou was indeed in the wrong and couldn't find a way to back down. She looked at Xia Nianchu and immediately found an outlet for her resentment. She coldly rebuked her: "Nianchu, stop doing things that sow discord in the future."

Xia Nianchu was the niece of the second wife, Madam Li. She was usually well-behaved, sensible, and understanding, and Madam Li originally had some affection for Xia Nianchu.

But upon closer examination, it becomes clear that Xia Nianchu deliberately smeared Shen Shuyi.

Xia Nianchu originally intended to make Shen Shuyi the target of everyone's criticism. Given Shen Shuyi's poor reputation in the Marquis's mansion, Xia Nianchu could easily frame her and confirm her guilt of faking illness, making everyone in the mansion despise this woman even more.

In addition, Shen Shuyi was foolish in the past, and she had successfully framed him many times. She didn't expect to stumble this time.

Xia Nianchu shrank back in fright, her eyes reddening: "I... I was just saying it casually, I didn't mean to sow discord, it was clearly... it was Cousin Yuexuan who brought it up first..."

Pei Yuexuan was surprised that Xia Nianchu would push her forward. Weren't they friends? They had conspired to frame Shen Shuyi many times before, and succeeded every time.

Having failed only once today, Xia Nianchu is already eager to push her out as a shield?

She retorted coldly, "Cousin, you're mistaken. I only said that Cousin Shen and the physician were close, and I had no other intentions. How come you're saying that I instigated it?"

Seeing Xia Nianchu and Pei Yuexuan, these so-called best friends, fighting like dogs, Shen Shuyi's lips curved into an almost imperceptible smile. She could say that she had helped the original owner vent her anger.

Seeing the constant noise inside, the old lady ordered everyone to leave: "Everyone, get out. Yi-jie is unwell and needs to rest."

After everyone left, Madam Pei stayed with Shen Shuyi for a while longer before taking her leave.

After everyone left, Shen Shuyi couldn't wait to summon the system: "System, why is my body suddenly getting worse?"

[Given that the three male leads' affection for the host is close to being negligible, the host must be punished. If the host can complete the following impromptu task, the host's body will return to normal.]

Shen Shuyi was furious and impotent: "Then why is there only punishment and no reward?"

[Imprompt Quest Triggered: Kiss Pei Dongzhou, deadline: ten days.]

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Haha
(End of this chapter)