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

I never expected that the cabinet would contain those aphrodisiac incense sticks; I guess they were for flirting.

With his cultivation level, he could ignore ordinary poisons, but his body didn't seem to treat this aphrodisiac-like substance as a poison to guard against. He probably thought that the initial reaction was a normal part of his body.

However, the incense used by the Imperial Music Bureau is not as effective as the Acacia Dew drawn from blind boxes; it takes a little effort to neutralize the drug's effects.

He then looked at the two young women in the room.

These two women were fairly attractive. It's not that the flirtatious manners of courtesans outside are bad, but in such a place of debauchery, it's really rare to see women with the charm of respectable young women. That kind of restraint and forbearance is something that courtesans can't imitate.

Chu Mingkong paid no attention to the snow-white flesh exposed by their strapless tops; he was more curious about how they had been targeted.

The two young women looked pained, their skin flushed and fragrant with sweat. The skin on their shoulders was rosy and delicate from the body heat, and the amount of sweat was alarming. The symptoms seemed familiar.

From the very beginning, they had been enduring the pain, but they did not make a sound to disturb Chu Mingkong.

Chu Mingkong walked over and asked:

What are your names?

The slender young woman tried to sit up to answer Chu Mingkong, but Chu Mingkong gestured for her to stay lying down. She said:

"Your Excellency... I am Han Bi, the daughter-in-law of the Liang family in Jinzhou, and this is my younger sister, Han Jing."

"Why did that thing attack you just now? Who did you mess with?"

The young woman, Han Bi, bit her lip and shook her head, her tone becoming much weaker:

"I don't know... that thing suddenly appeared and fed us a pill."

Chu Mingkong remained silent. Their situation was similar to that of Shangguan Rong when she practiced the Extreme Yang Technique too hastily.

If Chu Mingkong hadn't discovered the mechanical puppet, the two would have died without anyone noticing. Then, if someone came and saw them, they would have assumed that the two had gone mad from practicing their martial arts and committed suicide. They would have simply rolled up their bodies in a mat and buried them in a random hole in the middle of nowhere.

Is this a cover-up to get rid of them?

They just happened to be the ones I chose; is that because they don't want me to have any contact with them?

No, judging from the madam's reaction just now, even the people in the brothel didn't know that I had asked for their nameplates. So, it's not that they wanted to prevent me from contacting them; they simply wanted to get rid of them.

The woman named Han Bi pleaded bitterly:

"My lord... my lord, I've been summoned to your room this morning to wait for you, and I haven't even had a chance to feed my infant daughter yet, may I...?"

Her words seemed to have given Chu Mingkong a chilling injection, and his already waning romantic thoughts vanished completely. However, he had no idea who the two women had offended.

As for going to such lengths to silence them.

There seemed to be some movement outside the door, so Chu Mingkong went to open it and found two girls with spring-like faces standing there.

"Young Master, we...we're just here to deliver tea. Is there anything you need? We can help you with anything!"

"Yes! Order us around as you please, don't be gentle with us! We'll do whatever you say!"

The Jiaofangsi (Imperial Music Bureau) was incredibly enthusiastic; even the maids serving tea were so proactive.

Chu Mingkong was relieved and said, "There is a woman in my room named Han Bi. Her daughter needs someone to take care of her. Go and take care of her daughter."

"？？？"

The two girls were completely dumbfounded. This isn't the kind of ordering we want...

Chu Mingkong saw them standing there dumbfounded and motionless:

"Is there a problem?"

"without......"

The door closed, and the two girls left with mixed feelings.

Chu Mingkong sat back down on the stool and inquired in detail about the reasons why they were sent to the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment institution). He gleaned some sensitive information: the time they were imprisoned was roughly the same time that Chu Mingkong was bombed.

Han Bi was implicated by her husband's family, but Han Jing was even more unlucky. She went to Han Bi's house to visit her cousin and see the baby, and she was also implicated.

This level of collective punishment is abnormal.

"You're from Jinzhou? Your husband was transporting goods, and he got into trouble, which implicated you? Do you even know what he was transporting?"

Han Bi shook his head, indicating that he did not know. His voice grew weaker and weaker, and he only replied with the simplest sentences:

"I know nothing about it."

That means he ended up in jail without even realizing it.

Both of them spoke with a Xiling accent. Chu Mingkong really didn't want to touch women who had married out of Xiling, and he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Chu Mingkong felt it was better to leave the matter of theirs to Shangguan Rong to find out. He needed to hurry to the next film set, and if he didn't keep an eye on the Fifth Prince's situation in the prison, he was afraid he would miss the Xiao family's rescue of the Fifth Prince.

After hesitating, Chu Mingkong said:

"I will help you redeem yourselves from your bonds later. In return, you must tell me everything about your husbands’ family background, including their duties and whether they have revealed anything to you."

The petite woman, Han Jing, said dejectedly:

"But sir... I'm afraid we won't make it that far. We seem to be dying..."

She spoke with great difficulty, needing to pause after each breath, as if she might lose consciousness at any moment if she didn't. Han Bi, on the other hand, no longer had the strength to speak; the uncontrollable sweating was already pushing her to the brink of collapse.

Chu Mingkong showed her a token from the Xiling Chu Clan and said:

"Han Jing, I am the Crown Prince of Xiling. You are unfortunate people from Xiling. I don't want to take advantage of you in your distress, but I need clues about whether they are related to my affairs. So you can't die yet. It's just that the antidote is rather... unpleasant. You need to eat something."

After listening to Chu Mingkong's detailed explanation of what the "antidote" was, Han Jing lost all desire to maintain her composure.

He paid money to come to the two sisters, so there was no need to explain so much to them. His promise to redeem them and leave them behind in the brothel was already a great favor. Why should they care whether what he said was true or false?

Even though it sounds unbelievable, she had to go to save her older sister with a glimmer of hope.

Han Jing served Chu Mingkong for a while, first taking out a dose of "antidote". The taste was like rain after a long drought. Her first thought was of her older sister beside her. Without even having time to swallow it herself, she quickly used her mouth to transfer the white "antidote" to Han Bi, who was already unconscious.

Driven by his survival instinct, Han Bi rolled his tongue and swallowed the half of the "antidote" that Han Jing had originally intended to keep for herself!

Han Jing felt a wave of despair. She knew that the man would have difficulty providing two doses of the "antidote" in a short time, but could she hold on until the prince recovered?

However, out of the corner of her eye, Han Jing noticed that Chu Mingkong was still angry and full of vigor.

She stared at it for a moment, her face turning red.

"My lord, could you please grant me another dose of the 'antidote'...?"

Chapter 96 I Will Receive Mother's Love in Your Place (3/5)

Tang Xin is a rogue cultivator, but his strength is enough to serve as an elder in a first- or second-rate sect. As a retainer of the Xiao family, he has been on good terms with the Xiao family for over a hundred years.

In a secular dynasty, taking action against members of the royal family could easily offend powerful factions, many of which are on good terms with the royal family. In such a complex web of power dynamics, even the slightest move could offend one of them.

Tang Xin wanted to speculate, but unfortunately... he had been treated with courtesy by the Xiao family for so long, but hadn't helped them much. Now that the Xiao family wanted to protect the royal bloodline of their clan, it was difficult for him to refuse.

Moreover, he was in charge of the most crucial part of the work: using spatial teleportation techniques to send the Fifth Prince out and then send his stand-in in.

He sensed the staff in his arms and felt truly reluctant to part with it.

"I originally intended this magical artifact, which contains the technique of spatial teleportation, as a trump card to protect my life in case of emergency. However, it has been used in this kind of situation. After being used twice, the spiritual power in the artifact can probably only be used once more."

Spatial magic is extremely rare. In the current Five Elements system, it is basically impossible to cultivate it later in life; one can only rely on the heavens.

This magical artifact was obtained by Tang Xin from an ancient secret realm; it truly shows that wealth should not be flaunted.

I shouldn't have shown off to the old patriarch of the Xiao family in the first place.

"Stealing someone from the imperial prison, that's really audacious. The Xiao family said they have someone in the palace to help, but I don't know if that's true or not. After it's done, I'll have to ask the Xiao family for some compensation. It hurts."

That's how it is with independent practitioners who make offerings. When they support them, they take it for granted, but when they ask them to do something, they want more benefits.

Chu Mingkong leaned against the Dust-Free Talisman, standing beside him, listening to his self-talk, and pondered with a peculiar interest:

"There are people in the Xiao family palace? If it's not Consort Wan, then surely it's not. Consort Wan wouldn't have the ability to help in this personnel change. Speaking of which, aren't there a lot of traitors in this palace? Even the Xiao family can be placed in there."

Seeing that the group of people were still waiting, Chu Mingkong felt relieved; he had almost missed something important.

He now only hoped that the Xiao family would act quickly. After he finished his business, he had to rush back to the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment venue) to prevent the puppeteer from launching a counterattack and harming the two women.

Fortunately, the Xiao family did not disappoint Chu Mingkong's expectations and took action soon after. They had long known the patrol shift change time near the prison and were fully aware of this brief period of laxity in defense.

Tang Xin took out a magic artifact shaped like a compass, aligned the golden spoon inside the compass with the direction, and controlled the position with spiritual power.

Chu Mingkong sensed that space distorted slightly, and the disheveled Fifth Prince fell into the middle of this group of people.

Chu Mingkong was shocked: "So easy? I thought there would be some prison break and fight. No wonder Xiao Chengren was so confident!"

But I'm sorry.

Chu Mingkong stabbed Tang Xin in the back with a heavy sword, piercing him through the heart and instantly killing the strongest fifth-tier member of the group.

He deactivated the Dust-Free Talisman, leaving him only with a cloak for cover. Chu Mingkong's figure suddenly appeared among this group of people on a secret mission, squatting down next to the Fifth Prince.

He looked at the terrified Fifth Prince with pity and said softly, "You had many chances to live. There were people who pleaded for you, but alas... you didn't even appreciate your mother's kindness. I will appreciate it for you from now on. I will take good care of your mother."

With a raised fist, Chu Mingkong's killing intent materialized, and a black, blood-red aura swirled around it. Without the slightest hesitation, Chu Mingkong slammed his fist down.

The Fifth Prince's hands and feet were bound by restrictive shackles, leaving him no ability to fight back. He was directly blasted into "Fifth Prince Sauce" by the killing intent of the punch, a lump of flesh and blood that was too disgusting to describe.

The remaining people are much easier to deal with.

Last night, he and Rong'er practiced dual cultivation. The "Su Nu Jing" allowed him to briefly use his full strength without being affected by his injuries.

In the blink of an eye, all the rabble and fodder were dead, which did not delay his return to the brothel.

"The buff from the 'Su Nu Jing' is gone; it disappeared after just one fight, which is too short-lived. But why does my cultivation seem weaker?"

Chu Mingkong decided not to waste any more time. He hesitated whether to kill the Fifth Prince's double as well, but decided to use the magic weapon to teleport the double into the Heavenly Prison.

After completing all this, Chu Mingkong decided to report it to the authorities!

He knocked out a nearby prison guard and shouted:

"Guards! The Xiao family has taken the prison hostage!"

After shouting, he grabbed the Dust-Free Talisman and ran away.

The warden of the imperial prison led a group to inspect the scene and quickly confirmed that the fifth prince in the prison was a stand-in, and the real prince had disappeared!

However, the mass of flesh and blood found near the Heavenly Prison was very similar to the Fifth Prince's aura. But... who would kidnap the Heavenly Prison and kill the Fifth Prince? After ruining such a powerful cultivation technique, how could they do something so stupid?

What exactly happened at the scene remains shrouded in mystery.