Ding dong, the Childbearing System is activating.
“Host, your skill in this world is Mind-Reading.”
“Please complete the ‘Many Children, Much Fortune’ objective as soon as possible. Based on your mission completion status, the system will randomly drop rewards for you.”
As the system’s notification sound rang out, Xu Bao’er was thrown into her first mission world.
A redwood bed, an unknown incense.
The moment Xu Bao’er opened her eyes, she was pulled into a powerful embrace.
“Xu Bao’er, you are shameless! What in the world did you do to Ben Wang?”
“How dare you treat Ben Wang like this? You want to consummate the marriage? Then you’d better endure it.”
An angry, deep male voice sounded from behind her ear. Xu Bao’er subconsciously looked toward the man who was speaking, but a large palm covered her eyes.
In the pitch-black night, the bells on the edge of the bed chimed all night long. The hand Xu Bao’er stretched out for help was grabbed and pulled back, pinned tightly to the bed, their fingers interlaced.
The next morning, Xu Bao’er was the only one left in the room.
“Brute.”
Xu Bao’er cursed resentfully. He wasn’t human at all, with no sense of how to treat a woman with tenderness.
Her whole body ached.
Sitting up, Xu Bao’er pulled up the dress that had fallen to her waist. Everything last night had been too absurd; even her clothes hadn’t been left intact. Memories belonging to this world instantly flooded into Xu Bao’er’s mind.
In this world, Xu Bao’er was the wife of Duan Wang, Zhou Jin. She had been married to him for three years, yet she was still a virgin. Zhou Jin didn’t even know what his own Duanwang Fei looked like.
“A mere concubine’s daughter, dreaming of latching onto power and influence. Utterly shameless.”
“Ben Wang will not let your treacherous scheme succeed.”
On their wedding night, Zhou Jin had not stepped into the bridal chamber, instead standing outside the door to denounce Xu Bao’er.
Because of this commotion, the entire capital knew that Xu Bao’er had been a substitute bride in the Duan Wang Manor and had become a discarded wife on her wedding night.
The person originally meant to marry Duan Wang was not Xu Bao’er, but the Xu family’s legitimate daughter, Xu Yu’er.
But Xu Yu’er didn’t want to be the Duanwang Fei. Her ambitions were much greater; she wanted to become the Crown Princess and, one day, the mother of the nation.
“Xu Bao’er, you deserve to die. To be able to marry Duan Wang and then die is a blessing for a concubine’s daughter like you.”
“Now that you’re in the bridal sedan, it’s no longer up to you.”
To avoid marrying Zhou Jin, Xu Yu’er had come up with the malicious plan of a substitute bride.
Substituting a bride was an extremely serious matter, especially when the other party was the imperial family. If things went wrong, it could lead to the execution of nine generations of one’s clan. Even if it didn’t come to that, the substitute bride would certainly end up dead or disabled.
But Xu Yu’er couldn’t be bothered with that. Even if it meant death, she had to take the gamble.
When looking for a scapegoat, the first person Xu Yu’er thought of was Xu Bao’er. She was clearly just a concubine’s daughter, yet she had stolen all the limelight from her.
It was bad enough that she was so bewitchingly beautiful, but her luck was also incredibly good.
The moment she was born, her father was promoted two ranks in a row, enjoying a period of great success.
Regarded as a lucky star, Xu Bao’er, despite being a concubine’s daughter, was doted on by the entire manor.
Xu Yu’er was green with envy. On what grounds could a lowly concubine’s daughter compete with her for favor? She should have died long ago.
“Go die, Xu Bao’er.”
“Father actually intends to make you a side consort to the Crown Prince. When the Crown Prince ascends the throne in the future, won’t you be walking all over me?”
Looking at the unconscious Xu Bao’er, Xu Yu’er’s eyes were crazed.
She refused to marry Duan Wang, who was disfavored by the Emperor. This unlucky marriage could be left for Xu Bao’er to enter into.
When it came to the matter of the substitute bride, Xu Yu’er’s methods were masterful. She had clearly orchestrated the substitution herself, yet she played the victim, crying her heart out.
“Your subject doesn’t know why this happened. It’s not my younger sister’s fault; she’s not that kind of person.”
“Perhaps, she just wanted to marry Duan Wang.” After saying this, Xu Yu’er tilted her head back and fainted at the perfect moment.
Xu Yu’er put on such a good show that not only did she make Zhou Jin despise the Xu family, but she also made the Emperor feel indebted to her. As a result, Xu Yu’er logically became the Crown Princess.
After receiving all the information, Xu Bao’er finally understood her precarious situation, facing enemies on all sides.
Xu Bao’er wasn’t worried. She was an orphan who had been through a lot, so these things were nothing to her. Moreover, she was bound to the Childbearing System and had a fertile constitution. She estimated that after last night’s events, she might already be pregnant with Zhou Jin’s child.
As long as she gave birth to the Zhou imperial family’s first child, and possibly the only one, her position would be rock solid. Who knows, Duan Wang might even ascend the throne because of this child. After all, how could a prince with no heirs sit securely on the throne?
In the future, when Duan Wang became the Emperor, she would be the Empress. No matter how much Xu Yu’er schemed, it would be useless.
“Duanwang Fei, the Crown Princess is here.”
Speak of the devil. Xu Bao’er decided she would have a good meeting with this legitimate elder sister of hers.
“Bao’er.”
Her voice arrived before she did. Xu Yu’er called out affectionately. Anyone who didn’t know better would think she and Xu Bao’er had a wonderful relationship.
“Greetings, Crown Princess.”
“We’re all family, don’t be so formal.”
Xu Yu’er said this, but her heart thought otherwise.
Through Xu Yu’er’s eyes, Xu Bao’er read her true thoughts.
[Hmph, I had to take some crap from that old hag.]
[I’ll take it out on Xu Bao’er today!]
Xu Bao’er smiled and took a sip of tea. She wanted to witness Xu Yu’er’s methods for herself.
“Today, the Empress Mother summoned me for a talk.”
“For some reason, although many of the princes have married, none of them have any children yet.”
Oh, so the old hag Xu Yu’er was talking about was the Empress.
It was indeed strange. The Emperor had eleven sons, seven of whom were married, yet not a single one had a child.
“I am truly worried about the imperial family’s line of succession.”
As Xu Yu’er spoke, she took Xu Bao’er’s hand.
“Younger Sister, you don’t have such worries, since it’s impossible for you to get pregnant.”
“What, is Duan Wang still refusing to enter your room?”
“Sigh, it’s all because of what happened back then.”
“I didn’t know that Duan Wang still couldn’t let go of me in his heart.”
Such a strong scent of green tea. Who couldn’t see through Xu Yu’er’s petty little thoughts?
Xu Bao’er found it amusing. She indeed didn’t have Xu Yu’er’s worries, since she was already pregnant with Duan Wang’s child.
On the other hand, Xu Yu’er had been unable to conceive an imperial heir and had been harshly criticized by the Empress. Now she wanted to find some satisfaction at her expense? She had picked the wrong person.
Thinking this, Xu Bao’er took the initiative to pour tea for Xu Yu’er. The moment she leaned forward, the red marks on her fair neck became distinct.
Xu Bao’er’s skin had always been delicate and bruised easily. Not to mention how forceful he had been, which made the marks even deeper.
“You!”
Xu Yu’er’s eyes widened in disbelief, staring intently at the marks on Xu Bao’er’s neck.
“My apologies, I’ve made a fool of myself in front of you, Elder Sister.”
Xu Bao’er quickly feigned shyness and tightened her collar.
“You two consummated the marriage?”
Although Xu Yu’er’s tone was calm at this moment, Xu Bao’er could read the tempest raging in her heart.
[How is that possible? How could Duan Wang possibly touch Xu Bao’er?]
[Even if I didn’t want him, Xu Bao’er can forget about having him.]
[If it weren’t for me back then, how could a concubine’s daughter like Xu Bao’er possibly become the Duanwang Fei? She’s only fit to be a concubine.]
Xu Bao’er hadn’t expected her sister’s jealousy to be so strong. She was already the Crown Princess, yet she was still thinking about her husband.
It was perfectly normal for a husband and wife to consummate their marriage.
“Yes, we did.”
“Duan Wang is very clingy every night.”
Xu Bao’er knew what would provoke Xu Yu’er the most, and she deliberately chose to do just that.
Hearing that Xu Bao’er and Duan Wang were living in harmony, Xu Yu’er seethed with anger. The Crown Prince hadn’t come to her chambers in many days.
A while ago, some fool had presented the Crown Prince with a Bewitching Woman from the Western Regions. That bewitching woman had the Crown Prince utterly captivated, and she, the Crown Princess, was completely neglected.
Xu Yu’er was filled with resentment. The Crown Prince’s heart wasn’t with her, yet Xu Bao’er had managed to capture Duan Wang’s heart.
At this thought, another malicious idea came to Xu Yu’er.
“Younger Sister, you and Duan Wang haven’t had any children all these years. It’s time to add a few women to the Duan Wang Manor.”
“We women should be more sensible and understanding.”
“How about tomorrow, I send a few people to your manor?”
“I guarantee every one of them will be good at bearing children.”
How could Xu Bao’er not know what Xu Yu’er was thinking?
The Crown Princess was unhappy herself and couldn’t stand to see others happy, so she had to go out of her way to cause trouble for them.
Xu Bao’er watched impassively as Xu Yu’er drank the tea. She had put a special, untraceable laxative in it.
The medicine was very effective. She estimated that once the Crown Princess’s body and mind were thoroughly cleansed, her mouth wouldn’t be so foul. She was doing this for her own sister’s good, after all.
Friendly Reminder:
1.
Throughout the entire novel, the male lead is physically and emotionally faithful, all characters are virgins, there is no original host, no white moonlight, and it is not a strong female lead story.
2.
The first world has a more old-fashioned writing style, with polarizing reviews. There is no “chasing the wife to the crematorium” trope. It is recommended to skip it.
3.
World five features an ascetic Buddhist son chasing his wife to the crematorium, a male rivalry battlefield, and angst for the male lead. Those who dislike angsty novels can skip it.
4.
The first nine completed worlds are introduced in the summary. The summaries for the later worlds do not fit and can be found in the table of contents.
Happy reading to everyone.