Dugu Jingyao is reborn as Li Chu's beloved

All eyes were on Murong Linzhi, whose expression grew increasingly grave, her brows furrowed, as if burdened by a thousand-pound weight. The Empress, Li Chu, and Dugu Jingyao couldn't help but worry about the Emperor's health, their eyes glued to Murong Linzhi, afraid to miss a single word she uttered.

Finally, Murong Lin finished examining the pulse, slowly put away the pulse pillow, and returned to her original position. She took a deep breath, composed herself, and then raised her head to face the Empress and the others.

The Empress asked impatiently, "Miss Murong, how is His Majesty's health? Please tell me quickly." Her voice revealed a hint of anxiety and concern.

Murong Linzhi quickly bowed and respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, I have just carefully examined His Majesty's pulse. Over the past few months, His Majesty has been taking the medicine on time according to the prescription I gave him, and the poison has been almost completely neutralized." Hearing this, everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief.

However, before Murong Linzhi could finish speaking, she paused and then said, "But..." This "but" made everyone's hearts sink again.

Seeing this, Li Chu quickly asked, "But what is it? Miss Murong, please speak freely." Although his tone was calm, his eyes revealed his concern for the emperor's health.

Murong Linzhi hesitated for a moment, but decided to tell the truth: "We still need to find the person who poisoned His Majesty or the method of poisoning him as soon as possible, because His Majesty has new toxins in his body." As soon as she finished speaking, the room was filled with an uproar.

Dugu Jingyao pondered carefully: "Could it be that the Li family has already sent word to the palace that the plan is about to begin? Or are they still a step too late?"

Li Chu was thinking, "Now we have a rough idea of ​​who poisoned me, but how can we find out how they did it?"

The Empress, on the other hand, was more worried about Emperor Suzong's health and also hated the person who poisoned him, using such a method to torment him.

Emperor Suzong was the most open-minded. He knew that he was not as decisive and resolute as the retired emperor, nor as intelligent as Li Chu, and was not the most suitable to be emperor. Therefore, what he could do now was to remove as many obstacles as possible for the empress and her son.

He said, "I know my own body well. Judging from the current situation, the person who poisoned me must be someone close to me. I know the Empress would never harm me, so the most likely culprit is..." As he spoke, he looked out of the hall.

The group followed Emperor Suzong's gaze. They all knew that besides the Empress, who was a frequent visitor to Emperor Suzong's residence, the person he had the most contact with, even more than the Empress and her husband, was the Chief Eunuch Li Fuguo.

The Empress was somewhat incredulous. She asked in a low voice, "Your Majesty, are you perhaps mistaken? Eunuch Li has served you for so long, how could he be so easily bribed?"

Emperor Suzong did not answer directly, but said, "Miss Murong, please have a seat."

He then took the Empress's hand and comforted her, which was also a way of comforting himself: "I hope I'm wrong."

Dugu Jingyao recalled that in her previous life, Li Fuguo seemed to be in cahoots with Empress Zhang. Empress Zhang, together with the Li family and Li Fuguo, wanted to seize power and usurp the throne, but they ultimately failed, and Emperor Suzong died not long after.

Thinking of this, Dugu Jingyao dared not think any further. Would the events of her previous life repeat themselves even without Empress Zhang? She was truly frightened when suddenly her stomach cramped, and she clutched it.

Li Chu, who was standing to the side, was startled by Dugu Jingyao's expression. He quickly asked, "What's wrong, Ayao? Are you feeling unwell?" Emperor Suzong, the Empress, and Murong Linzhi also looked at Dugu Jingyao with some anxiety.

Dugu Jingyao calmed herself down and smiled, "Don't be nervous, Donglang. I'm fine. They just moved a little in my belly, and it was a bit loud."

Despite saying that, Murong Linzhi still said, "Princess Consort of Chu, let me take a look at you."

The Empress chimed in, "Yes, Jingyao, it's always a good idea to let Miss Murong take a look at you." Dugu Jingyao had no choice but to agree.

Fortunately, just as Dugu Jingyao said, it was only fetal movement. What Murong Linzhi didn't say was that she knew Dugu Jingyao's emotional turmoil was affecting the fetus and causing fetal movement, probably because she was worried about Emperor Suzong's health.

Seeing that Dugu Jingyao was alright, Li Chu and Murong Linzhi returned to their seats.

Li Chu analyzed, "I heard that the people you sent to investigate the Du family last time were silenced. After I woke up, I sent someone to Jinling to investigate. I found that although Du Bin has a younger sister, she is not Consort Du in the palace. His mother and sister were also secretly brought to Chang'an. Moreover, it is said that about two or three years ago, someone came to the Du family and was the younger sister of that Lady Du."

Emperor Suzong understood Li Chu's meaning and asked, "So, Chu'er suspects that Consort Du poisoned me?"

Li Chu then said, "This possibility cannot be ruled out. Does Father Emperor still remember why I fell into a coma?"

Emperor Suzong nodded and said, "Chu'er is unconscious due to poisoning."

Li Chu continued, "Your subject was poisoned by the Nanyang Gu, which was once An Lushan's fiefdom. So when A Yao learned of this, she sent Feng Shengyi to Nanyang to investigate. Sure enough, they found that Madam Du was the daughter of one of An Lushan's lieutenants, and she was skilled in medicine."

The Empress continued, "So, she poisoned His Majesty after learning that His Majesty had ordered the deaths of her sister and brother-in-law?" But then she thought again, "That's not right either. The poisoning started two years ago, so she wanted to kill His Majesty from the very beginning!"

Li Chu and Dugu Jingyao shared this guess. The Empress asked, somewhat puzzled, "But how could she have foreseen from the beginning that His Majesty would confiscate Du Bin's property and exterminate his entire clan?"

Dugu Jingyao said, "Father, Mother, Donglang and I suspect that Consort Du entered the palace with ulterior motives, and it may be more than just trying to kill Father..."

Emperor Suzong was somewhat puzzled by the reason, so he asked, "Why do Chu'er and Jingyao have this guess?"

Li Chu and Dugu Jingyao exchanged a glance, and Li Chu said, "We suspect that she even wants to overthrow the Li family's empire."

Upon hearing this, not only was Emperor Suzong puzzled, but the Empress's eyes also showed a hint of shock.

Li Chu told Emperor Suzong and the Empress what had happened at the banquet. Emperor Suzong almost cursed Consort Du after hearing it, but thinking that there might be a spy outside the door, he lowered his voice and said a few words.

The group then began to discuss countermeasures. After about half an hour, Li Chu and Murong Linzhi changed back into their "Wind-Slaying Robe" and "Sword-Serving" appearances and went with Dugu Jingyao to the side hall to pick up Li Shi and Li Ying to return to the mansion.

Murong Linzhi felt as if she had overheard some royal secret, a shocking revelation, and feared for her life. On the way back, Dugu Jingyao comforted her for a long time, telling her that Emperor Suzong and the Empress already considered her family, and that she would protect her, which finally put her at ease.