Dugu Jingyao is reborn as Li Chu's beloved

Chapter 477 Discussion at Tihua Restaurant

On the fifth day of May, the Dragon Boat Festival, the palace held a banquet in the evening, so lunch was still spent at home. Li Xi had lunch with Concubine Xiao in the palace at noon that day, and then took a rest before leaving the palace.

But it was already past noon when he left the palace. However, he was still at his leisure. He took a carriage and came all the way to Tihua Restaurant, a small restaurant with a quiet environment and a little remote.

As soon as he entered, Li Xi was taken to a private room on the second floor. The waiter knocked on the door and someone inside opened it. Li Xi was as surprised as the waiter. Why was it a man?

When Xiaoyan saw Li Xi coming, she happily led Li Xi into the house.

After the waiter left, Gu Shiyi stood up and saluted, saying, "Your Highness, I pay my respects to you."

Li Xi took a look at the person in front of him and knew that she was probably Gu Shiyi, so he sat down and asked, "Why are you dressed like this?"

Because Li Xi didn't ask her to sit, she could only stand and answer: "Your Highness, last time we met, it was a coincidence. This time, I was prepared, so it's naturally different."

Seeing her like this and hearing what she said, Li Xi was a little angry, but he still listened to Concubine Xiao's words and calmed down. "Okay, sit down. Last time you said you were pregnant, was that true or not?"

Although Gu Shiyi didn't show it on her face, she couldn't help rolling her eyes in her heart and thought: I'm not marrying him yet, how can a girl joke about such things?

The corners of her mouth rose slightly, as if with a smile of victory, and she said, "Your Highness, it is of course true. If you don't believe me, you can ask someone to take my pulse. There is no need for me to joke about this matter, it will be easily exposed."

Li Xi had indeed made preparations, and he had brought the court physician with him. So he gestured to Li Yuan to bring the court physician in.

Anyway, Gu Shiyi is really pregnant, so she is not afraid even if Li Xi brings people here.

After the court physician paid his respects, Li Xi said, "Can you take her pulse and see how she is doing?"

In fact, the court doctor was only called to take someone's pulse, but he was not told whose pulse he was taking, so he could only respond yes.

Gu Shiyi also cooperated by extending her wrist. After the court doctor took her pulse, his hand couldn't help but tremble, thinking that he had made a mistake. After all, he was looking at a man, but this... was clearly a pulse of pregnancy... Could he have felt it wrong? He couldn't help but fall into doubt and took the pulse again.

Seeing the attitude of the court doctor, Li Xi thought that Gu Shiyi was not pregnant and was deliberately deceiving him, which made the court doctor hesitant.

Li Xi was a little impatient and asked, "How is it?"

The court doctor shuddered with fear and quickly knelt down, saying, "You deserve to laugh! It's my fault that my medical skills are not good enough."

Li Xi looked suspicious, and Gu Shiyi became a little nervous when she heard this, thinking: What does this quack doctor mean?

Li Xi asked, "What do you mean? Just tell me the truth. That's the result of your pulse diagnosis!"

The court physician trembled as he wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Your Highness, this... I took his pulse and found it was as smooth as a rolling bead. It's... it's a pregnancy pulse! But he's a man..."

Li Xi interrupted him mid-sentence and asked, "Are you sure? Have you been diagnosed with pregnancy and how long have you been pregnant?"

Seeing that Li Xi had no intention of blaming him, the court doctor realized that the person in front of him might not be a man. Confident, he continued, "I am sure that this girl is pregnant, and she is probably pregnant for over a month."

Upon hearing this, Li Xi knew that there was no way out and had to negotiate, while Gu Shiyi looked confident of winning.

Li Xi waved his hand and said, "Okay, you can go now." Upon hearing this, the court doctor bowed and took his leave.

Li Xi asked Gu Shiyi again: "Tell me, what terms do you want to negotiate with me?"

Gu Shiyi said with a hint of sadness, "This humble servant is not trying to negotiate with Your Highness, but I believe that Your Majesty would not want the royal heir to be stranded outside, right?"

Li Xi snorted coldly: "So you want to enter my palace?"

Gu Shiyi touched her belly and said, "This humble servant does want to enter the palace, but if my child is the eldest son, wouldn't it be faster for His Highness to be able to be crowned a prince?"

Li Xi shook his head and said, "Your calculations are quite good. The beads are about to fall on my face! But don't forget, I have already chosen a princess. It was my father who personally issued the decree. If you want to be a princess, forget it. It's impossible."

Gu Shiyi's face flashed with a hint of unnaturalness when she heard this, but she quickly smiled and said, "So, Your Highness wants me to be your concubine?"

Li Xi nodded and said, "So what? You're clearly a girl from a good family, yet you insist on climbing into the mansion by your bed. Isn't this what a concubine does?"

Gu Shiyi was indeed a little angry, but what was she angry about? What Li Xi said was not wrong. She did have the child by climbing into the bed, so she was qualified to negotiate with Li Xi here.

Gu Shiyi then said, "But I can help you get the title of Prince as soon as possible. Moreover, I have an old grudge with the Guangping Prince's Mansion, so I will do my best to help you deal with it..."

Li Xi stopped her, "Shut up! What are you talking about? The prince and the great emperor are brothers and sisters, how can it be your turn to speak?"

Gu Shiyi pretended to hit her mouth and said, "Look at this servant's mouth. It's all my fault. Please forgive me, Your Highness."

Li Xi waved his hand and said, "Forget it. But Princess, don't worry. Forget about giving birth to a son. It's only been a month, and you might even give birth to a daughter! Besides, if I don't protect you, given your father's personality, he might just abort the child and send you to a nunnery to live in seclusion."

Gu Shiyi smiled awkwardly upon hearing this and said, "Indeed, otherwise I wouldn't have come to you to discuss countermeasures."

Li Xi said, "I have a method here. See if you are willing to do it. If not, I will help you and give you a bowl of abortion medicine."

Hearing this, Gu Shiyi felt that the royal family was truly cold-blooded and heartless. However, she had already reached this point and could only continue. She said, "Why don't you tell me, Your Highness, what is the method?"

Li Xi then said, "I can allow you to enter the palace, but only as a concubine. When you give birth to a child, if it's a boy, you will be promoted to a concubine, and if it's a girl, you will continue to be a concubine. Anyway, I know that the princess chosen for me doesn't really want to marry me, and I don't have any feelings for her, so I will discuss it with her. If she doesn't want to give birth to an heir so soon, then I will adopt the son you give birth to as the princess. Then he will be the eldest son, and it will be considered that you have made a contribution to me. What do you think?"

Gu Shiyi was very conflicted. She didn't want to be a concubine, but she wasn't sure whether the baby was a boy or a girl, so she had no capital to negotiate. She thought for a moment and said, "Okay, Your Highness, I'll wait for your news. I can wait, but the child can't. I heard that you and the princess are getting married in September, and the child will be six months old by then."

Li Xi couldn't help but snort coldly: "Are you scared now? Why weren't you scared when you climbed onto the bed? If you had known this would happen, why did you do it in the first place?"

Gu Shiyi smiled bitterly and said, "What can I do? People go to higher places, and water flows to lower places. I don't want to marry a down-and-out family or live a miserable life in a poor family. Since my father doesn't plan for me, I can only rely on myself."

Li Xi said, "Don't make yourself sound so miserable. Don't think I'm stupid. I heard that you were highly regarded in the Gu Mansion before, and you were raised as a legitimate daughter. If you had walked the right path, why would you have ended up like this?"

Gu Shiyi was stunned by Li Xi's words: Yes, how did I become like this? I used to be the most favored one in the family, but... forget it, there's no point in thinking too much.

She said, "Then Your Highness, please consider this as your humble servant's self-degradation. Since we have reached an agreement, let's put it in writing. After all, writing in black and white is the most reassuring."

Li Xi hadn't expected her to do this, but he was sure to do what he said, so he wasn't afraid. He said, "Okay, I'll give you a guarantee, but don't overthink it. I just think we're a lot alike now, so I'm giving you this opportunity."

Gu Shiyi didn't waste any time and asked someone for pen and ink, and quickly wrote two agreements. Li Xi read them twice and found no problems, so he signed them. Gu Shiyi also signed them. They each kept a copy and left one after another.

But what they didn't know was that because Li Chu had already ordered people to keep an eye on every move of the Gu Mansion and the Nanyang County Prince's Mansion, so what they did in the Tihua Restaurant and what they discussed here naturally could not escape Li Chu's secret line.

They had been secretly listening and watching on the roof. After the two men left, they sent someone to send a message back to Li Chu.

After Li Chu and Dugu Jingyao knew about this, they felt that the two of them were really like-minded and a match made in heaven.

Dugu Jingyao said, "Donglang, although I know these two people are not as smart as you, as the saying goes, three cobblers are better than Zhuge Liang. Maybe if the two of them get together, they can really make some big trouble. It's better to be careful."

While rubbing Dugu Jingyao's legs, Li Chu said, "Don't worry, Yao, I will be careful of those two, and I will do my best to protect you and the child. If they dare to touch you and the child, I will make them live a life worse than death!" As he spoke, the strength in his hands unconsciously increased.

Dugu Jingyao felt some pain and hissed. Li Chu then realized that he had used too much force and said quickly, "I'm sorry, Yao. I didn't mean it."

Dugu Jingyao comforted Li Chu, "Okay, don't be too nervous. Don't forget, I'm not a pushover either."

Seeing Dugu Jingyao's proud look, Li Chu looked at her lovingly and said, "Okay, okay, I'll listen to you, Yao!" After that, he continued to rub Dugu Jingyao's legs.

A few days later, Li Chu heard from a spy that "Noble Concubine Xiao invited Li Yuru to the palace, and Li Xi also came in at the same time. Although we don't know what they talked about, it is obvious that Li Yuru looked unhappy after leaving the palace, while Li Xi seemed to be relieved.

When Li Chu saw the news, he naturally understood. He was afraid that Concubine Xiao and Li Xi had told Li Yuru about Gu Shiyi together. They might even put all the responsibility on Gu Shiyi, and only asked her to make concessions for the sake of the royal heir.

Li Chu thought for a moment, then asked someone to call Li Wanqing over and asked her if she could find out any news about Lingxiao Palace.

Li Wanqing simply said, "Your Highness, I cannot guarantee anything, but I will have someone pass on a message to my informant in the palace. If there is any news, I will tell you immediately."

Li Chu nodded and said, "Okay, go ahead." Li Wanqing bowed and left, and then Li Chu continued to handle official business. After finishing his official business, he went to Wangyuexuan to continue prenatal education for the baby in Dugu Jingyao's belly.