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

Having come here with Zuo Qiuchi, Chu Mingkong couldn't possibly engage in any real physical contact with Qing Mei; they spent the entire time chatting. It's said that scars are a man's badge of honor, a claim Chu Mingkong hadn't believed before. Scars were mostly considered unsightly, and who would want to keep one if they could be removed? However, noticing Qing Mei's deep concern for his scars and her constant attempts to bring them up, Chu Mingkong began to believe it more.

After chatting for most of the day, Zuo Qiuchi lost interest and decided to head home.

"I'm leaving now, you can go out by yourself."

She finished speaking and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

She can come in openly and honestly, but that doesn't mean she likes being stared at when she leaves the brothel. If she goes out with Chu Mingkong, she'll inevitably be stared at by a bunch of people, and there might even be rumors about them having a threesome.

Chu Mingkong took out several more plates of pastries, preparing to say goodbye and leave:

“Miss Qingmei, I’ll be going now. I see you like these pastries, and I have some left. I’ll save a few more for you.”

The women in these brothels each possess their own unique charm, making them somewhat like custom-designed establishments. Whatever type of woman you desire, you can find her here; even those with specific requirements regarding the five elements can find her. All the types available elsewhere are here, and even those who prefer lewdness have young-looking women who are of legal age.

But the biggest difference from the outside world is that the women here are more proactive.

Seeing Chu Mingkong's master leave, Qingmei mustered her courage, grasped his hand, and asked:

"Young master, may you visit me more often in the future?"

There was a hint of trepidation hidden in this invitation.

If she had the time, she would have preferred to change out of her maid's clothes and wear something nicer to accompany Chu Mingkong, which might have made him like her more.

Chu Mingkong's face revealed little change in mood or thought. He asked:

"Would you prefer me to bring my master along, or would you prefer me to come alone?"

The former means Qingmei is willing to just chat, while the latter means she is willing to serve with her body.

There's a significant difference. The former implies that she's quite cunning in taking advantage of others. He and Zuo Qiuchi came in essentially to generate publicity for her, so now she's getting them to spend money to come in. They don't need to serve her anyway, but they still have to bring her publicity.

Even if Chu Mingkong and Zuo Qiuchi were having a fairly pleasant conversation here, it doesn't mean they could remain calm and collected after being treated with such scheming.

Where can't he and Zuo Qiuchi talk?

Qingmei stepped closer, looked up at him, and said:

"Whatever you like, young master. As long as you are happy, anything is fine. You and your master are always welcome here. But if you could pay more attention to me, that would be even better."

That answer is alright.

Chu Mingkong nodded and said:

"If your madam wants to use the story I told you for advertising, feel free to do so. But you don't need to feel guilty about changing the name of 'Zuo Qiuchi' in the story."

A madam is like an idol manager; any girl under her management who has a chance to become famous will seize it like a ravenous dog pouncing on its prey. Today, he acted as a storyteller in Qingmei's brothel, and the madam certainly won't let the opportunity slip by; Qingmei's intentions are hardly involved.

Qingmei said awkwardly, "While you were with me, the madam has probably already started spreading rumors..."

That's really efficient.

"Then I'll be going. Qingmei, please get some rest."

Chu Mingkong couldn't just disappear in the blink of an eye like Zuo Qiuchi; he had to leave his mark here, entering and leaving openly and honestly.

Chu Mingkong walked out, and Qingmei saw him off at the entrance of the courtyard.

In this small courtyard, many scholars who came for the story have already gathered. Originally worried that their own daughter, a courtesan who only sold her art and not her body, would be taken advantage of by the Prince of Xiling, they have now taken the initiative to become storytellers, telling the story of "The Precious Chess Game" told by Chu Mingkong.

Please write down that line of poetry, "A glimmer of hope appears after a long period of darkness."

Chu Mingkong's appearance brought an awkward silence; the once bustling courtyard fell completely quiet. Qingmei knew her madam well enough to know that the announcement had already been made.

"No need to send."

After speaking to Qingmei, Chu Mingkong turned and left the Jiaofangsi.

—No, I forgot something.

Chu Mingkong went back and took the madam to Madam Han, where he paid the ransom for them and bought them away.

---------

Inside the Chu King's Palace.

After Gu Jungui and Zhong Feihuang selected a girl for Chu Mingkong, they waited at his residence.

Zhong Feihuang was very worried. She was afraid that Chu Mingkong might think the other woman was a woman from the brothel and then treat her like a human being, venting his lust in a violent way, which could lead to someone's death.

Gu Jungui was also worried, but her feelings were somewhat complicated.

As a matriarch of a prominent family, she was always averse to the men in her household going to brothels. This time, Chu Mingkong had his reasons, and she was the one who chose the girls for him.

But the thought of her child, whom she had watched grow up, going to such a place and being taken advantage of by the women there made her feel... uneasy and uncomfortable.

She wasn't sure if this was jealousy, but probably not; she was just worried that the women there might not be suitable.

"Feihuang, do you think Chu Mingkong's place might be unsuitable? Should I not have found a girl for him?" The beautiful woman looked worried, having already forgotten her anger when Chu Mingkong stuck his tongue into her mouth.

Zhong Feihuang didn't understand why she was worried about this. Shouldn't she be worried now? If Chu Mingkong really ruined that young woman, wouldn't someone with ulterior motives cause him trouble?

“Sister-in-law, it’s too late for you to worry about this now. It’s been half a day, and everything that needed to be done has been done. Besides, you were the one who chose them. Didn’t you think these two young women were suitable?”

"Well... I only know a portrait. What if those two young women are clever and take advantage of Mingkong's naivety to trick him into buying his freedom?"

"That can't be true." Zhong Feihuang thought that the two young women would have fainted after being with Chu Mingkong, so how could they have had the chance to lie to him?

Then, the two beautiful women saw Chu Mingkong approach the palace, followed by two women of decent appearance, one of whom was holding an infant.

Zhong Feihuang: "......"

Gu Jungui: "..."

On his way back, Chu Mingkong had already thought about how to explain things to Aunt Gu. Seeing their stunned expressions, he didn't hesitate and said first:

“Aunt Gu, I didn’t touch them. Considering their place of origin and their innocence, I couldn’t bear it and redeemed them. You won’t blame me, will you?”

"You...you didn't use them to relieve your anger?"

Gu Jungui was still stunned. Only after asking did he realize that Chu Mingkong was not joking, and the discomfort that had been lingering in his heart disappeared.

"It's not your fault."

Unlike Gu Jungui, Zhong Feihuang felt relieved. She worriedly thought, "What about the evil fire that Mingkong accumulated from Keqing?"

Chapter 103 Hiding Hair (3/17)

After bringing the person back, Chu Mingkong quickly went to Shangguan Rong and explained the basic situation at the Jiaofangsi to her.

"Back then, people who manipulated mechanical puppets came to attack them. I don't know what they fed them, but they started sweating profusely, just like you did. So I redeemed them and bought them back. Let's see if you can help me get any information out of them."

Several important points have been mentioned.

The misfortune suffered by the Han family implicated them, even Han Jing, who was just visiting relatives at the time, was affected and not even given a proper seat.

They manipulated mechanical puppets to ambush them, fed them unknown substances, and tried to make them die in the appearance of "suicide."

Chu Mingkong noticed that Shangguan Rong was looking at him seriously, and his heart sank. Was the situation more serious than he had imagined?

"Rong'er, what are you thinking about?"

Shangguan Rong stared intently at Chu Mingkong, her pretty face stern, and said unhappily:

Why did you go to the brothel?

Chu Mingkong: "..."

Why is this what you care about?

Chu Mingkong was somewhat amused and exasperated. He had revealed a part of the agreement between Old Master Cui and him to Shangguan Rong, who knew that the old master had asked Chu Mingkong to leave a heir for the Cui family. Chu Mingkong explained:

"Do you know Keqing from the East Mansion? The general plan now is to get her pregnant with my child, but she has almost no cultivation. The other two elders of the Cui family are worried that Sister-in-law Keqing can't withstand my passion, so they secretly found two women from the brothel for me. Then I was surprised to find that it might be related to my affairs."

Shangguan Rong was exceptionally intelligent and quick-witted. Her clear mind was unaffected by Chu Mingkong's instructions; she went straight to the point:

"So how did you help those two women get rid of the extreme yang poison?"

Meeting Shangguan Rong's sharp gaze, Chu Mingkong gave in and hugged her, coaxing her:

"Like you were back then... We've finally found a clue, we can't just watch them die like that, can we?"

Shangguan Rong's mind was in a mess, and she felt a pang of jealousy.

If Chu Mingkong really needed it, why didn't he come to her? She could have done it too...

She pushed Chu Mingkong to the bed and made him sit down, then knelt in front of him and untied his belt.

"Has your yang poison flared up too?" Chu Mingkong stroked her face with the back of his hand; it was smooth and tender.

"Yes!"

Shangguan Rong replied coldly. She grasped Chu Mingkong's hand, raised her eyes to look at him with dissatisfaction, but served him with utmost care.

She coughed uncomfortably because she was moving a little too fast.

"...In the future, you can tell the elders in the Cui family that I can help you handle it, so they don't have to bother sending you to the brothel."

"Alright, alright." Chu Mingkong gently cupped the back of her head, his hands framing her hair. "Do you want me to give it to you quickly or slowly?"

"......hurry up."

The pleasant conversation was abruptly interrupted for quite some time. Only after Shangguan Rong finished rinsing her mouth and drinking tea did Chu Mingkong ask:

"How about you help me get information from them?"

"Yes, but in the next two days, you need to create the illusion that they died because they couldn't cure the Yang poison. Find two female corpses and take them out to burn at night. Those who want to harm them won't feel at ease until they see them dead."

"That's easy. I'll do it tomorrow night. These two women have some cultivation, so they can hold out for a while and won't die tonight."

The advantage of having someone think things through for him becomes apparent; he doesn't need to put in much effort, he can just do it. In many cases, thinking is more tiring than acting.

Today, after helping Mrs. Han detoxify again, Chu Mingkong recalled the time he made Shangguan Rong "suffer" that day.

If it weren't for that accident, Chu Mingkong probably wouldn't have bothered with whether she married the Crown Prince or not. The benefits of intervening that time were enormous; now that Shangguan Rong is around, he basically doesn't need to think—it's great!

However, Chu Mingkong recalled how, after giving her the antidote, Shangguan Rong angrily demanded that he also drink the "sister's juice," a truly amusing incident. Although Shangguan Rong seemed to have humiliated and bewildered him, Chu Mingkong actually didn't lose out at all.

"Rong'er, you just licked me, how about I lick you back like you said before?"

"No need!" Shangguan Rong blushed, and seeing Chu Mingkong's smug look, she angrily scolded, "You filthy thing! Doing that kind of thing for me, don't you have any shame or sense of humiliation at all!"