Dugu Jingyao is reborn as Li Chu's beloved

Chapter 383 Killing the chicken to scare the monkey

Under the questioning of Shi Jian and Si Jian, the servant was caught. The servant had no intention of confessing, but he could not resist Shi Jian and Si Jian's quick decision. They searched the house where he lived, including himself, without saying a word. Finally, they found a silver ingot. He had to confess that it was the people from Linglong Pavilion who gave him the money to block Li Wanqing's way to Wangyuexuan and prevent her from arriving on time.

He thought that doing a small task would earn him a silver ingot, and it was not a bad thing, so he accepted it. When asked who specifically gave him the order, he said, "It was a little maid in Linglong Pavilion."

Si Jian pressed again and again, "Are you sure you're not someone close to Cui Liangdi?"

The servant hurriedly said, "Sister Si Jian, I've already said that it was someone from Linglong Pavilion who asked me to do it, so why would I lie again?"

Shi Jian was suspicious of his words and asked, "Which maid from Linglong Pavilion is that?"

The servant almost blurted out, "It's Chaolu. I heard that because she did such a great job putting on makeup for Concubine Cui Liang today, Concubine Cui Liang was so pleased that she promoted her to the second-class maid."

Si Jian glared at him and asked, "Even if she's a second-class maid, how could she possibly give you a silver ingot right away? Even a first-class maid couldn't do that!"

The servant stammered, "Oh, Sister Sijian, Sister Shijian, I really know I was wrong and I won't do it again. But I really don't know who gave her this silver!"

Shi Jian thought he couldn't get any more information out of him, so he said, "Since that's the case, confiscate the silver and give him ten more lashes. Si Jian, you go and watch."

Si Jian received the order, rubbed his hands happily, and took the servant by the collar and went to the front yard, calling all the servants in the mansion to come and see, including those around Li Wanqing and Cui Caiping.

When everyone was present, Si Jian said, "Xiao Kangzi accepted bribes and intended to harm Li Liangdi. His money has been confiscated and he will be sentenced to ten strokes of the cane. Watch the execution here and learn from it, so that others will follow suit."

After saying that, he searched among the crowd and saw Lianxin's figure. He smiled slyly and said, "Thank you Lianxin for counting. You must count them out."

Lian Xin was already feeling guilty, and now she was even more furious. She asked, "Why me?"

Si Jian replied, "Of course, it's because I believe you're close to Cui Liangdi. People from the Cui residence are naturally fair and just." He then made a "please" gesture and said, "Please come in!"

Lianxin was forced to step out and stand in front of the servant. Si Jian then signaled to the servant behind him that they could begin.

Then, bursts of wailing from the servant could be heard, along with Lianxin's gritted teeth counting: "One, two, three... ten."

The caning finally ended, and Lian Xin glared at Si Jian fiercely and said, "Can I go back now?"

Si Jian smiled and nodded: "Of course."

Lianxin went straight to the backyard angrily, and Moxin followed her back.

Si Jian finally smiled with satisfaction and said in a deliberately loud voice, "Alright, have you all learned your lesson? If anyone causes trouble again, this will be the lightest punishment. The rest will be decided based on the severity of the situation."

The killing of the chicken to scare the monkeys was over here. Cuizhu and Wutong went back and happily told Li Wanqing what had just happened.

Cuizhu also said: "That scene just now was so satisfying."

However, Li Wanqing showed no interest and only muttered quietly, "It's just a trick to kill the chicken to scare the monkey. It's just that Cui Caiping, that idiot, ran into the trap."

Wutong heard her mumbling, but couldn't make out what she said, so he asked Li Wanqing, "Madam, is there something wrong?"

Li Wanqing shook her head and said, "It's nothing. He's been caught and punished, and that's all. We can put this matter behind us."

Wutong and Cuizhu saw that Li Wanqing didn't seem very happy, but they didn't know why. Cuizhu suggested, "Madam, let me make you some Eight Treasures Cake. You usually love it the most."

Li Wanqing knew Cuizhu was trying to cheer her up, and she couldn't bear to discourage her enthusiasm, so she said, "Well, it's been a while since I last went. Go ahead and do it. When you're done, send some to the princess as well."

Cuizhu happily agreed when she heard that, then turned around and went to the kitchen to borrow some fire to make Eight Treasures Cake.

When Cui Caiping heard what had just happened, she was furious. She screamed in the bedroom, scaring the maid outside.

Mo Xin then advised, "Madam, don't be angry. Anger is harmful to your health." He then helped to stroke Cui Caiping's back and advised, "These are all trivial matters. The most important thing now is that you can sleep with His Highness and be favored by His Highness. If you can gain His Highness's favor and give birth to a boy or girl soon, even the princess will have to give you face, right?"

After hearing this, Cui Caiping calmed down and said, "You're right. I want to have a son soon. Oh, and tomorrow I'm going back to my parents' home. You guys go prepare some things and I'll take them back. By the way, I'll ask my mother if she has any secret recipe for having a son right away."

When Dugu Jingyao heard about Si Jian's killing a chicken to scare the monkeys, she laughed so hard she fell backwards and said, "Not bad, not bad. Si Jian is getting more and more competent at his work. He deserves encouragement. Go to my warehouse and see if there are any weapons you'd like to pick out, except for those sent by His Highness."

Upon hearing this, Si Jian was as happy as a child, no longer showing the calm and composed look he had just now when he was “killing everyone in his path”!

Seeing Si Jian's expression, Dugu Jingyao and Shi Jian couldn't help but laugh. Dugu Jingyao thought to herself, "But this is fine too. The original Si Jian is still the best."

Looking back at the East Palace, the Crown Prince and Li Chu were handling affairs with the Emperor in the Shangshufang. However, there were not many memorials today, so it was finished quickly.

Before the Crown Prince and Li Chu were about to leave the Shangshufang, he thought of what he had promised Dugu Jingyao, so he said, "Grandpa Emperor, Father, I have something to say."

Seeing Li Chu's serious expression, the Emperor and the Crown Prince looked at him suspiciously. Li Chu then continued, "Grandfather, Father, I've discussed this with A Yao and we want to wait until A Yao gives birth to a legitimate son before allowing the others to have children. So even if the others sleep with me, I will give them a bowl of contraceptive soup the next day until A Yao gives birth to a legitimate son."

The emperor thought that this matter was reasonable. After all, he was very optimistic about Li Chu, the eldest grandson. If the prince ascended the throne in the future, this grandson would probably be the next prince. Therefore, it was good to have the eldest son so as not to disrupt the hierarchy between legitimate and illegitimate children.

The Crown Prince was even more worried. What if Jingyao couldn't give birth to a legitimate son? Would the others be forbidden from having children for the rest of their lives? That wouldn't work!

So he said, "That won't do! What if Jingyao fails to give birth to a legitimate son? Are you going to let your offspring wither away?"

Li Chu comforted the prince, saying, "Don't worry, father. I will agree on a time with A Yao. For example, within three years, if there is no legitimate son, then others can be allowed to have children. After all, A Yao cannot bear to see me with so few children."

Upon hearing this, the Emperor also said, "Yes, Heng'er, Jingyao is a good child and won't act unreasonably. Besides, Jingyao has practiced martial arts since she was young and has a good physical foundation. Unless someone deliberately harms her, how could she not give birth to a legitimate son?"

After repeated persuasion from the emperor and Li Chu, the prince finally gave in. Li Chu was relieved to see that the matter had been completed. It was only three years, so he had to hurry up!

Thinking about this, the Crown Prince and Li Chu left the Shangshufang and headed towards the East Palace. When they arrived at the East Palace, Li Chu also told the Crown Princess about this matter.

As a woman, the Crown Princess felt that this was nothing wrong and said, "If you are worried that someone will harm Jingyao when she is pregnant, then let her enter the East Palace and let me take care of her personally."

After receiving the permission from the Emperor, the Crown Prince, and the Crown Princess, Li Chu couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth slightly, and then he said: "Then Father, Mother, I will return home first."

The Crown Princess pretended to be jealous and sighed, "They say that when you marry a wife, you forget your mother. It's really true!"

Li Chu bowed and said, "What are you talking about, mother? Shouldn't I go back early to take care of my official business so that I can work harder to give you a grandson?"

The Crown Princess laughed and said, "You are becoming more and more slick-tongued! Go quickly. I have your brothers and sisters here. You are not the only one I need. The most important thing is to give me a grandson as soon as possible."

Li Chu then bowed and took his leave. He quickly left the palace and returned to the palace, heading straight to Wangyuexuan.

Dugu Jingyao saw Li Chu hurried in and asked curiously, "What's wrong? Why are you sweating?"

Li Chu sat at the table and drank two glasses of water before saying, "I have already told the Emperor, Father, and Mother what we discussed yesterday, and they agreed."

Dugu Jingyao didn't expect it to be so smooth, so she smiled. When she saw Dugu Jingyao coming behind Li Chu and putting her arms around his neck, Shi Jian and Si Jian quietly retreated.

Seeing that no one was around, Dugu Jingyao kissed Li Chu on the cheek and said, "Thank you, Donglang, you are so kind!"

Li Chu took Dugu Jingyao's hand, shook his head and said, "But this does put pressure on you, because according to Grandfather Emperor and Father, we need to set a deadline of about three years. If there is no legitimate son, then we have to let others have children, otherwise I am afraid that my offspring will wither away."

Dugu Jingyao was quite confident, so she patted Li Chu's hand with her other hand and said, "Don't worry, there's nothing wrong with both of us. It should be no problem to give birth to a legitimate son in three years, as long as no one plots to harm our child."

Hearing this, Li Chu smiled and said, "Oh, you don't know what Mother has said. To prevent anyone from harming you and our child, when you become pregnant, you can go to the East Palace to give birth. Mother will take care of you personally."

Dugu Jingyao hadn't expected the Crown Princess to think this way, so she smiled in surprise and said, "Really? Then Mother is really looking forward to having a grandson!"

Li Chu nodded and said, "Yes, so we have to work hard!" He was about to go forward and kiss Dugu Jingyao. Dugu Jingyao quickly pretended to hit Li Chu's chest a few times and said, "What are you doing in broad daylight!"

Li Chu said seriously: "What happened during the day? This is also a serious matter!" Looking at Dugu Jingyao's incredulous expression, Li Chu smiled and said: "Okay, just kidding, let's work harder tonight!"

Dugu Jingyao glanced at Li Chu sideways, then turned around and went to read on the chaise longue.

As expected, Li Chu stayed at Dugu Jingyao's place tonight. Cui Caiping was so angry that she couldn't help but tear off two handkerchiefs before she calmed down.

According to the original plan, if Cui Caiping was willing to behave herself and not cause any trouble, Dugu Jingyao would be willing to give Cui Caiping the opportunity to sleep with her. But now, she needs to make an example of someone to scare the monkeys and let her reflect on herself!