Chapter 1068: Leading by Example

Zu An entered the inner room. Seeing Liu Ji and Chu Ji before him, he couldn't help but feel incredibly awkward. "Ladies..."

He was about to speak when Liu Ji stopped him. "Don't use someone else's voice. Right now, you are the Duke, and that will make us feel more comfortable."

Zu An was speechless.

In his current state, he couldn't use any other voice. After using the "moe girl voice changer," if he canceled the voice change, he'd have to put on the act of a moe girl again later. He wanted to avoid such embarrassing situations as much as possible and truly didn't want to try it again.

He lightly coughed. "My disappearance during this time must have worried both of you."

Since things had come to this, there was no point in being timid. It was better to act quickly to avoid wasting their sincere devotion.

Hearing his words, the two women's eyes lit up. A hint of dazedness flashed in Chu Ji's eyes as she murmured, "He really is so similar, exactly like the Duke..."

Liu Ji, standing beside her, tugged at her sleeve. "What do you mean 'like the Duke'? He *is* the Duke."

Chu Ji's pretty face flushed slightly. She knew Liu Ji was reminding her to play along. After all, the man before them was identical to their husband. As long as she didn't doubt it, what was to follow would be much easier to accept.

Observing the two women's vastly different reactions, Zu An secretly sighed. Chu Ji was like the shy young married woman in an office from his previous life; even after marriage, she would get embarrassed if you teased her slightly.

Liu Ji, on the other hand, was more like a passionate and uninhibited "older sister" type. After marriage, she was enthusiastic and proactive, often joking with new, young male colleagues until they blushed.

Just then, Liu Ji spoke. "Your tone is already similar, but the address is wrong. The Duke wouldn't call us 'Madam.' That's her exclusive title."

As she spoke, she glanced towards Yu Yanluo in the outer room, her eyes filled with envy.

"Oh, what should I call you then?" Zu An realized. How could an outsider know the intimate terms of address between a husband and wife?

Hearing his question, Liu Ji's face, for the first time, flushed slightly. After a moment of hesitation, she said, "You should call me 'My Love.'"

Zu An's expression immediately turned strange. He wanted to laugh but quickly held it back. However, such affectionate pet names between a married couple were considered normal.

At this point, Chu Ji let out a soft "Ah," and said in a gentle, delicate voice, "He usually calls me 'Baby'..."

Now even Liu Ji's expression became odd. After all, their pet names were so similar yet distinctly different.

"Baby" is "Baby," and "My Love" is "My Love..."

Zu An thought to himself that this Duke of Cloudcounty was quite the playful character.

"I just wonder what he calls Zhang Ji privately," Zu An thought, getting a headache. Seeing how these two were addressed, it was clear that Zhang Ji also had a unique pet name.

"I know that one," Chu Ji said weakly.

Now even Liu Ji showed a surprised expression. She couldn't understand how Chu Ji would know something that even she, living in the same residence, didn't.

Sensing their curious gazes, Chu Ji's tone became a little flustered. "The Duke calls Zhang Ji 'My Dear.' Zhang Ji inadvertently revealed it while showing off in front of me once."

"'My Dear'..." Liu Ji instantly felt a pang of jealousy. "Why is her pet name different?"

Zu An was dumbfounded. This Duke of Cloudcounty certainly had the air of a scoundrel from his previous life.

After this distraction, the two women gradually forgot their initial embarrassment. They slowly calmed down and began teaching him how to address them, correcting his tone and intonation when using their pet names.

By the end, Zu An's imitation became more and more convincing. Coupled with his appearance being identical to the Duke of Cloudcounty, their eyes grew increasingly dazed, as if their real husband were right beside them.

However, the room soon fell into an eerie silence. The verbal lessons were complete, but how could merely talking about physical intimacy deceive Zhang Ji?

The air was thick with an amorous tension. Chu Ji's face was completely red, and she kept her head bowed, staring at her toes, as if wishing to disappear into the floor.

Finally, Liu Ji broke the silence. Taking a deep breath, she offered a radiant smile. "Husband, you've worked hard recently. Let your concubine attend to your rest tonight."

As she spoke, she gently approached him and began to undress him.

Feeling the touch of her fingers, Zu An stiffened immediately.

He had never experienced anything like this before and, for a moment, found it utterly absurd.

Sensing his tension, Liu Ji, on the other hand, smiled. If he had been a lustful fiend, eagerly rushing to take advantage of them, she would have felt even more distressed, despite seeking revenge for her husband.

Now that he was nervous first, she felt a surge of courage and even a playful urge to tease him. "After all these years apart, Husband doesn't seem to have much joy seeing me."

Chu Ji, standing by, couldn't help but lift her head, her watery eyes wide. She thought, "Sister Liu is truly amazing. I'm already dying of embarrassment, yet she can still make jokes like that."

Zu An secretly sighed, then composed himself and played along. "After being apart for so long, I've missed you terribly, my love."

Hearing the familiar address and seeing the identical face before her, Liu Ji couldn't help but freeze. It was as if no accidents had occurred, and she was simply frolicking with her husband in their boudoir, as usual.

Unfortunately, everything had changed, and nothing could go back to how it was.

She discreetly wiped away the tears from her eyes, composed herself, and continued undressing him while saying, "Sister Chu also misses her husband dearly. Sister, why aren't you coming over?"

"Ah? Oh..." Chu Ji nodded somewhat blankly. Her mind was already a blank slate at that moment; she was merely instinctively following the words of her familiar sister.

At this point, Liu Ji quietly leaned close to Zu An's ear and whispered, "The Duke never got this kind of treatment before. You're lucky today."

Zu An felt a stir in his heart. This woman was truly a bewitching temptress.

Life was truly strange. With her affectionate nature, she should have, by all accounts, been seduced by Jian Taiding long ago. Yet, she hadn't been; instead, she was resolutely willing to avenge her husband.

He felt admiration for her. Now, the only thing he could do was to impersonate the Duke of Cloudcounty as perfectly as possible, so as to minimize their feelings of impropriety.

Meanwhile, Yu Yanluo waited outside. At first, she murmured to herself, "Yanyou, will you blame me for this? But we all want to avenge you. If you must blame someone, blame me alone; it has nothing to do with them."

Having understood the implications, her gaze became firm. She no longer dwelled on the right or wrong of the matter.

Once her mind settled, her ears instinctively pricked up, curious about the activity inside.

At first, she could hear clearly, but then their voices noticeably softened.

For some reason, her usually calm and detached demeanor felt restless today.

She didn't know why she was so agitated, and she found herself pacing back and forth in the room.

After an unknown period, a sudden gasp came from the room. Her expression subtly changed. Had Zu An forced himself upon them?

What a scoundrel!

She was about to go in and check when she saw Liu Ji rush out, disheveled and clutching her chest in a panic.

Her heart sank. Even the naturally cheerful Liu Ji was reacting this way...

She quickly stepped forward to stop her. "What happened? Did that guy bully you?"

Liu Ji shook her head. "No, not at all. It's just that we truly can't teach this."

Yu Yanluo was full of questions, thinking, "Didn't they agree just now? Why the sudden change of heart?"

Nevertheless, she respected their decision. "Since you're unwilling, I won't force you. Please go back."

She also wondered why Chu Ji hadn't come out.

"It's not that we're unwilling; we simply can't teach it," Liu Ji said, seeing Yu Yanluo's bewildered expression. Her face contorted in a mix of emotions before she finally leaned close to Yu Yanluo's ear and whispered, "It's mainly because he's too... As long as Zhang Ji isn't blind, she'll know at first glance that he's definitely not the Duke. So, whether we teach or not, it's meaningless."

Yu Yanluo was speechless.

Her jade-like cheeks also burned crimson. She had considered every possibility, but she never imagined this would be the reason.

Although she was nominally the Duchess, she had no experience in matters of intimacy between a man and a woman, so how could she have thought of such details?

She couldn't help but feel a mix of shame and annoyance. That fellow looked so refined when dressed, but why was he like a donkey?

"Go and tell Chu Ji to come back with you," Yu Yanluo said, having completely given up. It seemed they would have to find another solution.

Just then, Chu Ji emerged.

Liu Ji hurriedly went to tell her what Madam Yu had said, but to her surprise, Chu Ji didn't leave with her. Instead, she tugged at Liu Ji's sleeve, her expression strange, and her voice trembling slightly. "He said he has a secret technique called 'Ruyi Jingu Bang' (As-You-Wish Golden Cudgel). I don't understand what it means... but it seems he can control the change himself..."

Liu Ji: ???

Yu Yanluo: ???

Chu Ji, summoning courage from who-knew-where, directly pulled Liu Ji back inside. She had originally intended to pull Yu Yanluo in as well, but halfway through, she quickly dropped her hand, deeming it inappropriate.

After the two entered, another gasp was heard, a sound of astonishment even greater than before.

This made Yu Yanluo's heart flutter with unease, and several times she almost couldn't resist going in to see.

However, after a few hesitant steps, she ultimately did not enter.

She had been waiting for the people inside to come out and explain, but to her surprise, no one emerged after waiting once, then a second time.

Instead, faint, deliberately suppressed sounds, almost like crying, drifted out.

Yu Yanluo's expression first changed, assuming Zu An was bullying them. But she wasn't a naive young girl, and those unsettling sounds made her heart race. She quickly realized what was happening.

She secretly cursed under her breath, then quickly pulled out her brush and furiously began to draw. Soon, she completed a scroll. With a wave of her hand, the painting expanded rapidly with the wind, quickly forming an invisible curtain that isolated the courtyard, preventing outsiders from hearing anything they shouldn't.

After an unknown amount of time, Zu An finally emerged.

Yu Yanluo glanced behind him but saw no sign of Liu Ji or the others.

She asked with a frown, "What was the result?"

Zu An nodded. "The two junior ladies are incredibly righteous. With their guidance and practical lessons, I am fully confident I can deceive Zhang Ji and Jian Taiding. By then, he'll surely believe his elder brother has truly come back to life."

Yu Yanluo breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. I hope you won't let their efforts be in vain."