Demoting my wife to a concubine? After being reborn, I turned around and married into the imperial f

The dazzling sunlight reflects off the lush, flower-filled courtyard, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere.

The courtyard is filled with the fragrance of osmanthus blossoms. Wild chrysanthemums grow and bloom in the soil, emitting a delicate and subtle aroma.

Chu Xunzhen's eyes sparkled with surprise.

Beside the courtyard, there is a flower stand with all sorts of containers on it.

"Take a look at the furnishings in the room."

As Nangong Yue spoke, she leaned on her cane, took Chu Xunzhen's hand, and led her into the inner room.

A wall of glass jars, densely packed, are placed in individual compartments.

Each glass jar contains a rare poison.

"Zhenzhen, this is where you research Gu worms. This whole wall full of poisonous creatures is yours."

Chu Xunzhen widened her eyes, stepped forward, and observed carefully.

"A poisonous scorpion."

"Eight-armed, demon-faced poisonous spider."

......

Chu Xunzhen even saw some poisonous insects that were priceless and unavailable.

"Your Highness, these poisonous insects are rare and precious treasures. What have I done to deserve such favor from you?"

Chu Xunzhen's eyes were red as she spoke, deeply moved.

Looking at the wall of poisonous insects that had already been treated, Chu Xunzhen walked to the table.

The table is three meters long and two meters wide, and there are also tools for weighing and crushing Chinese herbal medicines on it.

Beside the desk, there was a stool made of Phoebe zhennan wood, level with the desk.

On the stool was an incense burner.

The delicate fragrance of roses wafted from the incense burner, filling the entire room with a rich floral aroma.

Chu Xunzhen's eyes flashed with disbelief. She looked at Nangong Yue, her voice slightly choked, "Your Highness, this little courtyard was decorated for me?"

Nangong Yue smiled slightly: "Does sister like it?"

"Your Highness, this is the best gift I have ever received."

The two walked around the side room and then into the courtyard.

Nangong Yue pointed to the shelves in the courtyard and said, "Sister, these shelves are for drying Chinese herbs. Those shelves are for storing Chinese medicinal herbs."

Chu Xunzhen's face was filled with excitement.

"Your Highness, when did you renovate this courtyard? Could it be that it was done by the same group of craftsmen who came to renovate the garden last month?"

"That's right. This courtyard has been under renovation ever since that day. Sister, you can do whatever you want in this little courtyard from now on."

Nangong Yue looked at Chu Xunzhen with tender eyes.

Chu Xunzhen's tears fell.

Nangong Yue panicked: "Sister, what's wrong? Is something not arranged properly? I'll have the craftsmen fix it."

Chu Xunzhen shook her head, clutching a pale yellow handkerchief embroidered with chrysanthemums, and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. She said, "No, there's nothing wrong with it. It's very nicely decorated here."

As she spoke, Chu Xunzhen nestled in Nangong Yue's arms.

Nangong Yue inhaled the delicate fragrance emanating from Chu Xunzhen, her eyes darkening.

His voice carried a strong implication: "I've arranged everything so nicely for my sister, how does she plan to thank me? Hmm?"

Chu Xunzhen stiffened, rolled his eyes, and said, "It's still daytime, Your Highness."

Nangong Yue smiled and said, "I haven't tried it during the day yet, sister."

Chu Xunzhen's body stiffened, and he quickly waved his hand, saying, "No, I still need to go check on Dahei. Dahei went berserk earlier, and I want to go ask it what happened."

"Okay. I'll go with you."

Chu Xunzhen nodded and was about to run towards Dahei's residence when Nangong Yue grabbed her hand and pulled her away.

His handsome face loomed closer, and Nangong Yue leaned down, saying, "Sister, I'm waiting for your thanks tonight. Now let me collect some interest."

Their lips touched, soft as jelly.

Chu Xunzhen rolled her eyes at Nangong Yue and helped him out of the courtyard.

Before long, the two arrived at the waterside pavilion where Dahei was.

Inside a cage several times larger than a person, Dahei roared and bared its teeth.

Chu Xunzhen had never seen such a large black creature before.

"Where's Big Black's baby?"

Chu Xunzhen looked around, but did not see Dahei's baby.

The guard standing beside the cage was startled and exclaimed, "Your Highness, Big Black's babies are missing!"

"What?" Chu Xunzhen's face turned cold as he angrily demanded, "When did this happen? Why wasn't it reported?"

The guard said, "It was reported to Miss Chen Lianxin at the time."

Chu Xunzhen frowned, thinking that Chen Lianxin must have thought it was unimportant, which was why she hadn't informed the prince.

She looked at Granny Hua behind her and said, "Granny, make all the necessary arrangements to find three bear cubs."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Chu Xunzhen looked at Dahei with guilt and said, "Dahei, don't worry, as long as the three little bear cubs are still in the manor, we will definitely be able to find them."

Chu Xunzhen approached Dahei and gave it a reassuring sound.

Big Black remained extremely agitated.

Nangong Yue watched Dahei nervously, fearing that it would slap Chu Xunzhen. However, as Chu Xunzhen approached, Dahei seemed to stop being agitated and instead looked at Chu Xunzhen with a wronged and guilty expression.

Chu Xunzhen took Dahei's pulse and examined its eyes, ears, nose, and mouth before turning to Nangong Yue and saying, "Dahei was fed medicine before. It said that a black monster with only two eyes threw candy beans into its mouth while it was sleeping. It ate all the candy beans."

It took Nangong Yue a while to react.

The monster, entirely black except for two eyes, must be the masked man in black.

Chu Xunzhen continued translating: "Big Black said that when it woke up, it found that all three babies were gone."

Nangong Yue's face was pale.

How could three bear cubs simply vanish from a royal palace?

Chu Xunzhen has already notified Granny Hua to use Gu magic to track the three bear cubs.

"Your Highness, arrange for some more people to protect Big Black."

Nangong Yue looked guilty and said, "Sister, it's my fault. I didn't protect the bear cubs well."

Chu Xunzhen patted Nangong Yue's head to comfort him.

Anshun turned his head away, not daring to look.

Ordinary women would be kicked away by Nangong Yue if they even got close to him, let alone touch his head.

Chu Xunzhen suddenly realized that Nangong Yue had tacitly agreed that she knew Gu magic.

He never asked about her past.

Knowing that his elder brother would be setting off for war tomorrow, Chu Xun really wanted to get everything ready before his departure.

Chu Xunzhen sewed a chrysanthemum-patterned sachet and stuffed the life-saving medicine into it.

night.

Nangong Yue looked at Chu Xunzhen, who was still embroidering a sachet, with a hint of resentment, and said, "Sister, aren't you going to rest? You've been sewing for so long; what if you hurt your eyes?"

Chu Xunzhen shook her head and said, "My elder brother is leaving tomorrow, so I must embroider a sachet and give it to him."

Suddenly, Chu Xunzhen felt a pain in her finger and her eyelids twitched. She had a feeling that something bad was about to happen.

Just then, Chunxi's hurried footsteps came from the courtyard.

"Your Highness, are you resting? This servant has important news to report."

Chu Xunzhen stood up, but suddenly everything went black before her eyes. Nangong Yue instinctively helped her up.

"Sister, what's wrong? I'll summon the imperial physician to take a look at you right away."

Chu Xunzhen smiled leisurely and said to Nangong Yue, "I just sat for too long, and my body is temporarily lacking in blood supply. I'll be fine after a rest."

As he spoke, Chu Xunzhen called out to the courtyard entrance, "Chunxi, come in."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The door creaked open.

A sweet fragrance wafted into the room.

Chu Xunzhen frowned and was about to lift the bed curtain to check, but Nangong Yue hugged her waist, preventing her from lifting the curtain and getting out of bed to check.

Suddenly, a fragrant aroma wafted through the air.

Chu Xun was about to remind Nangong Yue when he found himself completely powerless and collapsed onto the couch. Nangong Yue was in the same state, utterly exhausted and slumped onto the couch as well.

At this moment, the mother Gu within Chu Xunzhen's body awakened.

The mother Gu, inside Chu Xunzhen's body, consumed the medicine that had entered her body, emitting satisfied laughter.

Chu Xunzhen's fingers twitched slightly, and the curtain was lifted.

Qin Youmeng?

It was she who lifted the curtain, not Chunxi.

"What did you do to Chunxi?" Chu Xunzhen asked, frowning.

She really misjudged the situation; she never expected the woman sent by the Empress to be so audacious.

"She's alright. Don't worry." With that, Qin Youmeng looked at Nangong Yue, her voice soft and sweet, "Your Highness, a moment of passion is worth a thousand pieces of gold. Tonight, Youmeng will serve Your Highness."

Qin Youmeng, dressed in a purple gauze dress, pulled Chu Xunzhen aside and walked to Nangong Yue's side.

She flung a handful of white powder from her hand, aiming it at Nangong Yue's face.

Nangong Yue held her breath.

Qin Youmeng scoffed, "Your Highness, even if you hold your breath, it won't help. This powder will be absorbed through the skin on your face and hands and enter your body."

The amount of sleeping potion in Chu Xunzhen's body had been completely consumed by the mother Gu.

She slightly raised her right hand, about to retaliate, but the next moment, Chu Xunzhen felt a dull pain in her neck, the world spun before her eyes, and with a thud, she fell to the ground.

Nangong Yue's gaze changed, and she suddenly looked at the woman standing behind Chu Xunzhen.

She turned out to be an ordinary cleaning maid.

Today, Chu Xunzhen issued an order to investigate all the maids and servants in the Prince's mansion.

The spies lurking in the courtyard could no longer contain themselves and decided to take action against the two of them.

Qin Youmeng walked up to Nangong Yue and said resentfully, "Your Highness, you're so cruel. You made me dance from this morning until now. Do you know my legs are about to break?"

Nangong Yue's gaze was icy as she said, "How dare you, Qin Youmeng! If you give me the antidote now, I will spare your life; otherwise, you will only face death."

Qin Youmeng approached Nangong Yue, a smile playing on her lips, and a slight smirk in her eyes: "Youmeng's death is not a pity; what's important is to complete the task assigned by the master."

Nangong Yue secretly expelled toxins from her body.

When he regained his strength, Qin Youmeng would die.

"Does Your Highness wish to rescue the Princess? Don't waste your energy. Your Highness, you have been poisoned by my aphrodisiac. Now your blood is churning, you must need me. Let me help you."

As Qin Youmeng spoke, she pounced onto the bed.

Nangong Yue's eyes reddened, and she grabbed her hand, throwing her away.

puff!

Fresh blood gushed from her throat, and Qin Youmeng vomited blood repeatedly.

Her eyes were filled with terror and disbelief.

Seeing Nangong Yue's murderous look, Qin Youmeng turned pale with fright.

"Ninth Prince, you can't kill me! If you kill me, the Empress will definitely hold you accountable."

Nangong Yue sneered: "Empress? Don't worry, first you, then it'll be her turn soon."

With a snap, Nangong Yue crushed her neck.

Nangong Yue's eyes reddened as she stepped out of the room, only to find all the guards lying on the ground.

Even Anshun collapsed to the ground.

When Chu Xunzhen opened his eyes, he saw a figure from behind wearing a bright yellow casual outfit.

She rubbed her throbbing head and sat up from the bed, while the person who had been facing away from her turned around, revealing his face.

"Nangong You, it's you?"