Who is spreading rumors that my filial piety towards them has changed?

Madam Zhen's face stiffened.

Chu Mingkong just said... Princess Yongzhen?

Her expression remained unchanged as she said:

"This was a gift for me, so how did it become something that makes Yongzhen happy? If I hadn't told her you gave me a gift, how would Yongzhen have known?"

Noticing Madam Zhen's fleeting reaction, Chu Mingkong understood and smiled:

"It's all the same. If Madam Zhen is healthy, Princess Yongzhen will be happy too."

"That's true."

Madam Zhen nodded outwardly, but still harbored doubts in her heart. Did Chu Mingkong know the inside story, or was she just being paranoid?

Chu Mingkong felt incredibly conflicted, unsure whether his current situation constituted a disaster or not.

At first, he only thought of getting closer to Yongzhen to get closer to Madam Zhen. She seemed like a high-quality elder, but Madam Zhen's meticulous guardedness disappointed him and he didn't include her in his list of... people to be honored.

Now, after many twists and turns, he thought he had an excellent relationship with Princess Yongzhen, but suddenly realized he had been with the wrong person and ended up back with the real Madam Zhen.

Although the Lady Zhen in front of me seems to be still hiding something, she is almost certainly the real Yongzhen.

And if you really don't trust guessing, just come and find Yongzhen tonight and you'll know. Yongzhen has repeatedly emphasized that you should look for her blindfolded, so there must be something wrong!

Chu Mingkong decided to ask some other questions to change his perspective. This kind of thing was too outrageous. He would come back tonight to consider it again.

"Madam Zhen, do you know anything about the palace?"

"Oh? What aspect would you like to know?" Madam Zhen played with the pearl in her hand.

Then there's a lot I'd like to know!

No matter how much he wanted to know, or how mysterious the palace was, his ultimate goal remained the same.

"Does Madam Zhen have any relevant information? Who exactly used the Yin Core to harm me when I entered the capital?"

Madam Zhen smiled tactfully:

"Mingkong, your question is quite difficult for me. I am just a woman whose official position has been revoked. How would I know about such things? But Mingkong, who do you think it could be?"

“Prince Jin, I heard that he obtained a very large Yin Core in recent years, but it has since disappeared,” Chu Mingkong replied.

This information was obtained from the flat-chested girl, and it's Chu Mingkong's only clue right now.

It's been a while since we've heard from Wei Qingning. I wonder if there have been any new leads about her recently.

“Prince Jin is indeed a suspect, but it is also possible that he obtained the Yin Core in the past. Mingkong, did you see the Yin Core when you were murdered?”

"No."

The giant Yin Core didn't need to be brought in front of him to explode; bringing it near him was enough. Its power was sufficient to affect him. The aftershocks of that thing still linger on a large area of ​​Xiling.

"But you were killed within Xiling territory, right? It would be very difficult to transport such a large Yin Core into Xiling across the border."

"Besides, your Xiling people have a strong sensitivity to extreme Yin energy, so how did you manage to get near you so silently?"

"It can't be that a ferocious abyss beast suddenly appeared and then self-destructed near me, right? It was all an accident? Does Madam Zhen mean to say that it has nothing to do with the royal family?"

That's really hilarious. After all that, it turns out to be just baseless speculation?

"No, it's definitely related to the royal family, but I can't tell you the specifics. I can't talk about things I don't understand... But Mingkong, do you think the emperor is really sick?"

"Pretending to be sick? Why would you pretend?"

If the emperor continues to feign illness, Chu Mingkong will empty his royal harem.

"The emperor is protected by the dragon vein, how could he fall seriously ill so easily? Even if he wanted to commit suicide by poison, he would have to relinquish his position as emperor first. The imperial physicians still haven't been able to diagnose the cause of his illness."

"That is indeed quite strange, so what does Madam Zhen want to tell me?" Chu Mingkong felt that Madam Zhen knew more than he had imagined.

"Mingkong, will you secretly go to Tianya City to secure your position as city lord? Whether you go or not, I think you can check the personnel changes of the generals and see who has been promoted. You can start by checking within Xiling."

Chu Mingkong silently noted it down. Since he would have to go back eventually, he might as well check it out.

Honestly, the interior of the Western Tombs is the most difficult to investigate.

The Princess Consort of Xiling is backed by the Xiao family, making them a powerful maternal relatives. The Xiao family also dislikes Chu Mingkong and won't cooperate. Without him, the younger brother with Xiao family blood would naturally become the new King of Xiling.

However, if they want to become the King of Xiling, they can't make large areas of land uninhabitable, otherwise they'd be burning down their own house.

While lost in thought, Chu Mingkong suddenly heard Madam Zhen ask him a question:

"Mingkong, are you done asking your questions? Now it's my turn to ask mine."

"Madam Zhen, please ask. I will answer to the best of my ability!" Chu Mingkong said firmly, but added in his mind that he would only answer questions about Yongzhen's nagging.

What Madam Zhen wanted to ask was naturally about the lace-trimmed underpants. What exactly was Chu Mingkong's mindset when he gave her this "gift"?

Judging from how casually he gave her such a precious pearl, Madam Zhen felt that Chu Mingkong might really be lusting after her current body.

Madam Zhen's original plan was that if she couldn't switch back to her original body, she would do everything she could to "hook" Chu Mingkong with this body, so as to prevent her mother from developing feelings for Chu Mingkong.

It was practically about stealing the man her mother had become infatuated with due to her "foolishness," so that she wouldn't keep having feelings for Chu Mingkong.

Yongzhen's youthful body cannot be broken by her primordial yin!

But now it seems there's a chance to get my body back with the help of the pearl, so there's no need for this desperate plan.

Madam Zhen withdrew her hand from the underpants she was about to take out, and turned around to say:

"It's alright, Mingkong, you can go back now."

Chu Mingkong: "..."

How did you pick up this bad habit of saying only half of what you mean?

If you weren't going to finish what you were going to say, then don't tell me in the first place!

Chu Mingkong said solemnly, "Madam Zhen, I have suddenly remembered a method that can enhance the effect of the pearl in nourishing the soul."

Madam Zhen pressed, "What?"

Chu Mingkong sighed, "It's alright, I'll go back and rest now, and come back to see Madam Zhen another day."

Madam Zhen: "..."

------------

The night was as dark as ink, and the princess's courtyard was completely quiet.

In the deep of night, Yongzhen sat up in bed and walked to the window to look at the moonlight.

"It's almost midnight, Mingkong should be here soon, I need to switch back to my original body."

She reached her slender wrist down to her collarbone, pulled the pendant from her cleavage, and held it in her palm.

Once she takes the pendant off her neck, her and her daughter's souls will return to normal.

But I can't let my daughter wake up and cause trouble tonight; I have to let her get a good night's sleep!

The girl poured a packet of sleeping powder into a glass of water, stirred it with her finger, and then drank it down in one gulp.

The drug took effect very quickly, and Yongzhen soon felt dizzy and drowsy.

"That way, even if Emma returns to her body, she won't be awakened and can sleep peacefully until dawn..."

She lay back down on the bed, pulled the covers over herself, and fought against the urge to fall asleep with her willpower.

When she felt she was about to collapse, she took off the soul-locking jade pendant from her neck and hid it under her pillow.

In Madam Zhen's room, the beautiful woman lay quietly on the bed, meditating and using the pearl to "cultivate" herself.

Suddenly, the feeling of her soul being pulled away and swaying made her startle awake from the bed.

There's no mistake, this feeling is what it feels like when your soul exchanges with your mother! But why did this suddenly happen?

Is it because of the pearl? In just a short while, it has nourished the soul so much?

Wait a minute, I haven't taken the mouth bead off my lips yet!

But it was too late. Yongzhen's soul returned to her body. She wanted to get up quickly and go to her mother to get the mouth bead back!

However, feeling drowsy, Yongzhen lost consciousness in bed.

Madam Zhen woke up, filled with surprise and uncertainty.

My mouth...how did it get gagged?!

-------

P.S.: I put the two chapters together because I thought I could finish writing this part of the plot in one go.

Chapter Seventy: Yongzhen, you've suddenly become plump!

Madam Zhen touched her mouth; a smooth, warm glass bead was lodged there, secured with a string formed from spiritual energy. She tried to remove it, but to no avail; the spiritual energy wasn't hers, and she couldn't untie it!

Because this was done by the real Yongzhen before meditation, fearing that the bead might fall out of her mouth if not held securely, thus affecting the speed of her spiritual cultivation, she used her spiritual power to fix the knot, which could not be untied without her own voluntary will.

Madam Zhen got out of bed. Having not touched her own body for a while, she felt slightly uncomfortable. Her daughter's body was much lighter than hers, and her shoulders were not as burdened. However, the fact that she had to wrap her chest when going out was quite troublesome.

She walked to the mirror, lit the candle, and examined the woman in the bronze mirror. Her black hair was neatly styled, but the pearl stuck in her mouth "could not be hidden."

"What should I do? Mingkong is almost here, isn't he? What on earth is Yongzhen playing at...?" she thought anxiously.

Light footsteps came from the courtyard. Someone was approaching the room. The footsteps were deliberately made to let her know that someone was coming. It must be Mingkong!

The window in the next room was opened and then gently closed; Chu Mingkong had already gone inside to wait.

There was no other way; she couldn't wake Yongzhen to help her untie the veil. So Madam Zhen had to take it one step at a time and put a veil on her face.

It barely covered the "strangeness" of her mouth, but how she would speak later was also a problem.

Although the mouth was blocked by this strange bead, it was only stuck between the teeth, and the tongue could move normally. If it really needed to speak and communicate, it wouldn't be a problem.

It's just that the sound inevitably sounds strange.

"Sigh! Let's go first, otherwise Mingkong will wonder why I haven't shown up yet..."

----------

Chu Mingkong arrived at the room Yongzhen had arranged to meet right on time.

The room was pitch black. The window of the room faced the courtyard wall, so the light was not good. Even without curtains or anything to block the light, you could clearly feel how dark it was as soon as you entered.