Dugu Jingyao is reborn as Li Chu's beloved

The next morning, as the sun shone through the windowpane, Dugu Jingyao slowly awoke and stretched. Li Chu, who always woke up early, had naturally been awake for some time.

Seeing Dugu Jingyao stretching beside him, Li Chu smiled indulgently and said, "Ayao's awake?"

Dugu Jingyao turned her head to look at Li Chu and said, "Of course I should wake up. I have to go to the palace to pay my respects to Father and Mother today." After saying that, she prepared to get up, but she was almost six months pregnant with twins and her belly was quite big, so she was not very agile.

Seeing this, Li Chu quickly got up and gave Dugu Jingyao some support, which made Dugu Jingyao's movements much smoother.

Dugu Jingyao smiled and said, "Thank you, Donglang." Then she called out to the door, "Shijian, come in."

Although both Shi Jian and Feng Shengyi were on night watch in the side hall, they were both very respectful of each other. Feng Shengyi let Shi Jian sleep on the couch, while he slept on the floor. After all, one shouldn't sleep too soundly while on night watch, so it didn't matter where one slept.

However, both of them were used to waking up early, so when Dugu Jingyao called, they had already eaten a simple breakfast and were waiting at the door.

Upon hearing the sound, Shijian entered. Li Chu was already getting dressed. Dugu Jingyao said, "Shijian, you can simply do my hair and makeup. When I have breakfast, go and invite Lin Zhi and Sijian over."

Shi Jian agreed and helped Dugu Jingyao change her clothes, style her hair in a simple bun, and apply light makeup. Dugu Jingyao was very satisfied.

Shi Jian then left Chenxiang Pavilion to find Murong Linzhi, while Feng Shengyi brought breakfast to Li Chu and Dugu Jingyao.

As the two were eating, there was a knock at the door. Dugu Jingyao gestured for Li Chu to be quiet, and then asked, "Who is it?"

The attendant said, "Your Highness, it was this servant who brought Miss Murong here."

Upon hearing this, Dugu Jingyao breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Come in, Si Jian, come in too." Then she continued eating.

Murong Linzhi and the others entered upon hearing the commotion. Seeing that Li Chu and Dugu Jingyao appeared normal, they wondered why she had been summoned so early. Was there something else going on?

Seeing Murong Linzhi's bewildered expression, Dugu Jingyao said, "Linzhi, sit down and eat something with us."

Although Murong Linzhi also took a seat, she did not eat. Si Jian said from the side, "Your Highness and Princess Consort can eat. Miss Murong and I have already eaten."

Dugu Jingyao understood. After all, Murong Linzhi had been living in the Chu Prince's mansion for almost four months and was no longer as embarrassed as before, so she didn't insist any further.

Dugu Jingyao had her attendant serve Murong Linzhi a cup of tea and said, "Linzhi, please have some tea first. I have something to tell you after I finish eating."

About fifteen minutes later, after Li Chu and Dugu Jingyao finished their breakfast, Li Chu instructed Feng Shengyi to go outside and keep watch.

Murong Lin asked, "Your Highness, Jingyao, is there something you need from me?"

Dugu Jingyao smiled and said, "Lin Zhi is indeed clever; he must have something on his mind."

Li Chu then explained his and Dugu Jingyao's plan: "Today, Ayao will bring Shi'er and Ying'er to the palace to pay their respects. At that time, I will disguise myself with Feng Shengyi. We have no reason to bring Miss Murong directly to the palace to pay our respects to the Emperor. We can only ask Miss Murong to disguise herself with Shijian. Sijian, you and Shijian can stay in the mansion."

Murong Linzhi understood. If she were taken directly to the palace to examine Emperor Suzong's pulse, it would inevitably attract the attention of the poisoner, and the blame might then fall on the Chu Prince's residence. So she said, "Alright, this commoner will obey the orders of Your Highness and Your Highness."

Si Jian wanted to ask her why she couldn't go. Shi Jian explained, "You've been following Miss Murong all this time. If Miss Murong is in the manor, and you go to the palace with the Princess, it's easy to arouse suspicion."

Dugu Jingyao said, "Then Donglang, you and Feng Shengyi should change your appearance first. I'll take Lin Zhi and the others back to Wangyue Pavilion first. After we're changed, I'll have Sijian come and tell you."

Li Chu nodded slightly and said, "Yes, go ahead."

Dugu Jingyao then got up and left with Murong Linzhi and the others. Feng Shengyi told the others to stand guard outside the door, while he went inside and switched identities with Li Chu.

At Wangyue Pavilion, Dugu Jingyao had Shijian bring Murong Linzhi to her room to switch identities, with Sijian assisting from the side. Dugu Jingyao then went to the side hall to visit Li Shi and Li Ying.

Sure enough, the two little ones eagerly awaited the arrival of their mother.

The two little ones are now over a year old and can walk. Just like when they were learning to crawl, Li Shi walks slowly but very steadily. Li Ying, on the other hand, runs as soon as she's put on the ground and can't walk at all... though she occasionally falls down.

Li Shi and Li Ying both babbled incoherently, as if welcoming Dugu Jingyao's arrival. Li Shi slowly walked towards Dugu Jingyao, while Li Ying rushed over in a flurry, startling the wet nurse so much that she broke out in a cold sweat, fearing that she might bump into Dugu Jingyao and hurt the little prince in her womb. What would become of the little princess then?

Fortunately, Li Ying herself wasn't very heavy, and Dugu Jingyao had practiced martial arts for two lifetimes, so she wasn't afraid of Li Ying rushing at her. However, it would be hard to say if they grew up a bit more.

Dugu Jingyao was quite pregnant, so it was inconvenient for her to squat down. She could only reach out and touch Li Ying's head. Li Ying happily gestured to Li Shi behind her, as if showing off the loving touch her mother had given her.

Li Shi wasn't in a hurry. He approached Dugu Jingyao like a little adult, as if to say, "Mother, it's my turn."

Dugu Jingyao naturally wouldn't show favoritism, and patted Li Shi's head as well.

Receiving his mother's caresses, Li Shi smiled so much his eyes narrowed before slowly walking away. Li Ying, still wanting to compete for favor, reached out for Dugu Jingyao to hug her, but since it was inconvenient for her to do so, she didn't receive a response for a long time and started to cry.

After Dugu Jingyao and her wet nurse patiently explained for a long time, Li Ying finally stopped crying and turned around to play Cuju (ancient Chinese football) with Li Shi and her wet nurse.

Not long after, Murong Linzhi and the others switched identities and went to the side hall. They played with the two little ones, Li Shi and Li Ying, for a while before sending Si Jian to inform "Feng Shengyi".

Murong Linzhi and Si Jian saw Dugu Jingyao and the others off in their carriage before leaving.

Because Murong Linzhi, after being disguised, was Dugu Jingyao's personal maid, she was allowed to ride in a carriage, while Li Chu, after being disguised as an outsider, could only walk below the carriage.

Upon arriving at the Phoenix Palace, it wasn't long before Granny Xu came out to greet them.

Upon entering the hall, Dugu Jingyao and the others were about to pay their respects when Emperor Suzong's voice came from the head of the table: "Jingyao is pregnant, there's no need for formalities, please sit down."

Dugu Jingyao thanked the emperor and sat down in her seat. Then she deliberately asked, "How are Father and Mother doing lately?" Emperor Suzong and the empress both said they were fine.

Afterwards, Li Shi and Li Ying were taken to play with Emperor Suzong and the Empress for a while. When they became restless in the room, the wet nurse took them outside to play for a while and found a maid to keep them company.

Emperor Suzong dismissed his attendants and had Li Fuguo and Granny Xu stand guard outside. Only then did Li Chu remove his human skin mask and say, "Your subject greets Father and Mother."

Emperor Suzong told him to rise and sit down. After he sat down, Emperor Suzong asked, "How is Chu'er's recovery going?"

Li Chu said, "Father, with the help of Miss Murong, I have fully recovered."

Emperor Suzong said with relief, "Good, good, it's good that you've recovered!" He then coughed twice.

Li Chu asked with some concern, "Is Father unwell?"

Emperor Suzong waved his hand and said, "It's nothing, it's just that the weather has been getting cooler lately, and I've caught a slight cold."

Dugu Jingyao thought to herself, "Oh no, could it be that Consort Du has already made her move?" So she said, "Father, your health is of utmost importance. Why don't you let Miss Murong take your pulse?"

Emperor Suzong did indeed believe in Murong Linzhi's medical skills, but what reason could he give to summon her to the palace? After all, the person who poisoned her had not yet been found, and he could not expose her too early.

Seeing that Emperor Suzong did not react for a long time, Dugu Jingyao said again, "If Father Emperor trusts Miss Murong, let her take your pulse now?"

The Empress thought it would be good to have Murong Linzhi examined by Emperor Suzong, so she spoke first: "Your Majesty and I naturally trust Miss Murong, but what is the reason for summoning her to the palace? Could it be that I have taken a liking to Miss Murong and want her to be paired with Tan'er?"

Upon hearing this, Dugu Jingyao couldn't help but smile. She glanced at the "Sword Attendant" beside her. The "Sword Attendant" was startled and a little shy, but because she was wearing a human skin mask, her blush was not visible.

Dugu Jingyao smiled and said, "What Mother said is a good method, but we don't need to use Third Brother as a pretext anymore. I have already brought him here."

Then he gestured for Murong Linzhi behind him to come out. Murong Linzhi also removed her human skin mask and stepped forward to pay her respects to Emperor Suzong and the Empress.

Emperor Suzong and the Empress were both surprised and delighted, and quickly helped her to get up. Emperor Suzong had also felt somewhat fatigued recently, so he allowed Murong Linzhi to take his pulse.

Murong Linzhi stepped forward gracefully, took out a pulse pillow, and Emperor Suzong placed his wrist on the pulse pillow. Murong Linzhi then began to take his pulse.