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

Yongzhen hadn't arrived yet. Chu Mingkong wasn't in a hurry, but he was uneasy.

With her requirements for meeting so demanding, it's unlikely that Yongzhen will be coming tonight, at least not physically!

He took out the black bodice that carried his body's fragrance, covered his eyes, and sat down by the bed to wait patiently. His senses were extremely sharp, and he could detect movement in the next room, but he dared not extend his spiritual perception.

The ability to sense others is difficult to hide from people. When one's divine sense sweeps over someone, the person being "watched" can sense that someone is spying on them.

Not long after, the door opened and a woman walked in. Her demeanor was refined, and the sound of her footsteps and the door closing indicated that she was a well-mannered woman.

The familiar body fragrance was a reminder to Chu Mingkong that this woman was Madam Zhen. He recognized her body and the scent of this young married woman up close just today; there was no way he could mistake her.

Chu Mingkong didn't expose him, nor did he think about what he would say if he did. He simply decided to play dumb for now. He said:

"Is Yongzhen here? My blindfold is on, do you want to check?"

“Hmm…” The woman’s voice was somewhat indistinct.

Madam Zhen dared not say much. She took Chu Mingkong's hand and wrote words in his palm.

“My mother is next door. She’s a light sleeper, and I’m worried about waking her up, so let’s not talk.”

This way of communicating was quite novel. Chu Mingkong didn't know if she could see it, so he nodded and took her delicate hand in his. The plumpness of her hand was on a higher level than Yongzhen's, whose hands still had the slenderness and length of a young girl. Holding her fair hand in his palm, he appreciated five parts of the beauty of bone structure and five parts of the plumpness and smoothness of a woman's skin.

The hand he was holding at that moment was seven-tenths as beautiful as it had become, and it felt exceptionally comfortable to hold.

Chu Mingkong wrote: "Alright, what shall we do tonight?"

Madam Zhen was in a dilemma. Originally, she had called Chu Mingkong over tonight to get him used to it. The time she had gotten him used to it during the day was just to give him an explanation while he was blindfolded and to go through the motions. Tonight was for an actual rendezvous, but it was still a practice session.

If her mouth hadn't been gagged, Madam Zhen could have managed to chat with him if she had kept her voice down, but now... she dared not make a sound. She wanted to help him by blowing on her mouth to ease the awkward situation, but her mouth was gagged again.

She didn't know what she could do with Chu Mingkong.

Or, how about riding him?

Chu Mingkong noticed her unusual behavior and thought of the pearl he had given her during the day. Could she be stuck and unable to remove it?

Let's just muddle through tonight and figure out how to face things later.

Chu Mingkong no longer suppressed his gaze. Through the obstruction of the bodice, he clearly saw Madam Zhen's appearance in the pitch black.

Madam Zhen's face was half-hidden under a veil, her eyes revealing bitterness and helplessness. The conservative black dress she wore during the day was gone, leaving her only in a close-fitting bodice. The bodice couldn't conceal her voluptuous breasts, and part of them were exposed from the side. Her fair legs and jade arms were brazenly exposed in the dark night, their whiteness more beautiful than pearls.

This demeanor was completely different from the conservatively dressed and aloof Madam Zhen whom Chu Mingkong had previously met. The woman before him was the Yongzhen he knew.

During the day, the woman kneeling before him, who was fond of making kissing noises, told him not to touch her casually when they met at night, probably because she was afraid that the difference in their physical appearance would make Chu Mingkong notice something was wrong.

But if he doesn't do something now, he'll probably be stuck here all night.

Chu Mingkong boldly reached out and pulled Madam Zhen into his arms. The beautiful woman in his arms twisted her body in surprise, trying to get out of his embrace, worried that Chu Mingkong would discover that "the other woman had been replaced." But Chu Mingkong's arm was not something a woman could break free from.

He held Madam Zhen tightly around the waist, rested his chin on her neck, and whispered:

"Yongzhen, I never realized you were so comfortable to hold. I really love how I feel holding you right now. Even though you said I can't touch you, could you make an exception? I want to hold you and rest, nothing else."

It must be emphasized here that sleeping on vegetarian food, not meat, is the correct way to sleep.

If Chu Mingkong's guess was wrong, and it was indeed Yongzhen who came tonight, then Chu Mingkong would like to openly and generously deepen their relationship, but the current situation is a bit strange...

Madam Zhen's heart had been pounding, but upon hearing Chu Mingkong's words, her panicked heart gradually calmed down. Did Mingkong not recognize her?

Chu Mingkong thought she was still worried, so he said, "These are turbulent times, with the Cui family and the Fifth Prince both causing trouble. I'm exhausted. Yongzhen, why don't you stay with me and rest for a bit?"

"Hmm..."

Madam Zhen was completely relieved. It seemed she had been worrying too much. Mingkong hadn't even recognized her; he must have been exhausted.

She turned around to face Chu Mingkong, shifted her body upwards, and held his head in her arms, stroking his head rhythmically with her slender hands, coaxing him to sleep like a child.

Chapter Seventy-One: The Performance (40/43)

Chu Mingkong couldn't really fall asleep, nor did he have the thick skin to drift off to sleep peacefully. What if Yongzhen came to kill him?

Prime Minister Cao has a penchant for killing in his dreams. What if he develops a strange habit of doing extreme things in his dreams? If he unknowingly manipulated Lady Zhen in his dream, how would he face the consequences upon waking up?

However, Chu Mingkong couldn't sleep because his mind was too noisy.

The notification for the arrival of "Distorted Filial Piety Points" would ring every now and then, giving about 10 points each time. Occasionally, if Chu Mingkong accidentally pinched Madam Zhen, he would get a critical hit of 50 points of "Distorted Filial Piety Points".

This method of obtaining something is much easier than giving a gift, but it can easily lead to excessive excitement.

Before the night was even over, Chu Mingkong had successfully accumulated enough corrupted filial piety points to break through the Filial Piety System to the next level. To prevent himself from impulsively using up his quota one day, he decisively bound it to Feng Ying first.

This way of binding across distances is really convenient. He quickly checked Fengying's brief status bar.

Everything was fine, except that the location was a place he had never heard of before.

【Baihu Plain】

Just by looking at the name, Chu Mingkong could guess that it was probably a smooth, bald, fair, and flat area.

This is clearly outside the territory of the Heavenly Pole Empire, how did she end up so far away? How are we supposed to find her?

If we really want to bring her along to Tianya City, then we might have to leave the capital city earlier.

Midsummer is the season with the most vitality and energy of the year, but as the season gradually approaches autumn, in the past the rooster would not crow before the sky was already bright, but now the rooster has already done its job as an alarm clock and the sky is just beginning to lighten.

Fortunately, the room wasn't well-lit; except for the areas near the doors and windows, it was mostly pitch black, so we couldn't linger any longer.

Chu Mingkong was very reluctant to leave this warm and soft touch, but if he didn't leave soon, Madam Zhen would be exposed, and Chu Mingkong would have to cooperate with her to conceal his identity.

He gently shook Madam Zhen's body and said, "Yongzhen, it's dawn. I should go. If I don't leave now, Madam Zhen will wake up and kick me out."

Madam Zhen felt her soul soothed by the pearl, and her spirit was incredibly at ease. In addition, she was sleeping with Chu Mingkong in her arms, and her mind was very relaxed. She actually fell into a deep sleep.

She woke up groggily and heard Chu Mingkong call her "Yongzhen" before she remembered that she and her daughter had switched bodies back!

Madam Zhen hurriedly touched her veil and found it was still there, but the string with the pearl was gone. She buried Chu Mingkong's face in her soft, fragrant embrace to block his view, because Madam Zhen was worried that Chu Mingkong might have rubbed off his bodice while sleeping, and then he would see her as soon as he opened his eyes.

She quietly removed the bead from her mouth, lowering her voice to a dry, hoarse tone, as if she had just woken up.

"Okay, I forgot to bring my dress. Mingkong, you have to wait until I leave the room before you go. You're not allowed to look at it."

"No, my face is still covered by my undergarment." Chu Mingkong asked knowingly, "Yongzhen, your voice sounds strange, are you feeling unwell?"

After sitting up, Madam Zhen carefully covered Chu Mingkong's face with her undergarment and explained:

"No, no, I just woke up... and my mouth is a little dry. Don't worry about it, cough cough."

The beautiful woman dared not linger too long, fearing that her daughter's awakening would cause trouble, so she quickly wrapped herself in a thin blanket and left the room. Chu Mingkong waited until she left before climbing out the window and leaving as well.

"This kind of thing is really difficult to handle, and it's so strange. I might have to look at Yongzhen with the loving eyes of an old father from now on."

Chu Mingkong returned to the manor and cooked two breakfasts, which he then had delivered to the princess's courtyard before returning to his own room to rest.

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

Princess's Courtyard.

A ray of morning sunlight streamed into the room, and the occasional melodious chirping of birds echoed from the window.

This is a morning view unique to Yongzhen's room, because the tree by the window is not an ordinary plant, but it's not anything too valuable either; its main purpose is to attract birds.

The long-lost sound of birdsong at dawn evoked Yongzhen's nostalgia; she hadn't heard such a sound for quite some time.

"Ok?"

Yongzhen suddenly sat up in bed. The movement was so violent that her chest, no longer secured by the cloth, bounced violently a few times.

She touched her body and walked incredulously to the mirror.

"It's really back! Last night wasn't a dream!"

But why would they suddenly switch back? It doesn't make sense!

The fact that the soul couldn't be returned for so long must have meant there was a problem with the cultivation technique. How could it possibly return to normal if the problem wasn't solved? But Yongzhen had no idea what the problem was.

If there's any change, it's Chu Mingkong's pearl!

But the effect shouldn't be that good, right? She felt that her soul hadn't grown much... Wait, why did I fall into a deep sleep last night? It doesn't make sense!

"The pearl is still in its mother's mouth!"

Yongzhen hurriedly changed her clothes and picked up the breast wrap again, feeling a pang of resentment. Nobody likes trouble, and having gotten used to her mother's freedom without needing to wrap her breast for a while, she didn't really want to either.

But Yongzhen's rationality restrained her willfulness. She didn't hesitate for long before changing back into her familiar attire and quickly going to Madam Zhen's room.

Madam Zhen's room was quiet.

The voluptuous and beautiful woman was still fast asleep in bed, her cherry-like mouth holding a beautiful crystal bead.

Judging from her appearance, it seems that after exchanging souls last night, Madam Zhen has been sleeping soundly without waking up in the middle of the night or going to sleep with any man.

Seeing this, Yongzhen wondered, "My mother is still sleeping. Could it be that now that the souls have been switched back, both sides are feeling unwell and want to fall asleep to recover their energy?"

If the mother really wakes up, then the bead in her mouth is a bit hard to explain.

However, this misunderstanding is exactly what Madam Zhen wants her daughter to think of. She is pretending to be asleep, creating the illusion that "she has not woken up since the body swap last night".

Yongzhen took off the bead and put it away, and Madam Zhen slowly opened her eyes.

"...Yongzhen?"

The beautiful woman stared intently for a moment, then felt a pang of panic. She noticed a hickey on Yongzhen's neck. The hickey hadn't faded yet, and although it was quite faint, it was still very noticeable against Yongzhen's milky-white skin.

Mingkong is her boyfriend, so they shouldn't be discovered, right?

"Mother, you're awake. How are you feeling? Do you remember who you are?" Yongzhen asked.

Madam Zhen nodded hesitantly, gave an embarrassed smile, and said:

"I remember now, but my head still hurts a little... How are you feeling?"

"I don't feel anything special. Mother, do you remember what you did after we swapped souls?"

Madam Zhen feigned a headache, but only told part of the story:

"I think... I went to the Lantern Festival with you, and Chu Mingkong was with you too?"

"Hmm, how much do you remember about Chu Mingkong?"

"...I can't remember. Has something serious happened?" Madam Zhen asked worriedly.