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

Holding Shangguan Rong as she slept until dawn, Chu Mingkong took her back to the Shangguan family home, made her breakfast, and then left to return to his own residence.

Today is a relatively special day. Madam Baili will be coming, but it's uncertain when she will arrive. Chu Mingkong and the other servants in the manor have all woken up, and he has called Ping'er over.

After the beautiful maid, whose face could be described as lovely, respectfully greeted Chu Mingkong, she asked:

"Young Prince, what brings you Ping'er here?"

Chu Mingkong explained:

"Today I'm in quiet seclusion, as is my monthly routine to suppress my injuries. You should tell the servants to return to the Cui residence first. If there's nothing for you to do there, consider it a day off. Also, inform the Han family woman not to wander around the residence today; just stroll around their courtyard."

Regarding his injuries, Ping'er couldn't offer any advice and could only do as Chu Mingkong said. She replied:

"Yes, should I go and inform them now?"

"Correct."

Ping'er was efficient and sensible. She was originally a maid who helped Zhong Feihuang with her work. She was very good at managing people. In no time, she organized everyone and made sure to check if anyone was missing. She led everyone back to the Cui residence in a neat and orderly manner.

Before leaving, Ping'er confirmed again:

"Young Prince, if Madam Gu and the others ask about your situation, how should I answer? May they come to visit you?"

This is the kind of girl who is thorough in everything she does. Chu Mingkong almost forgot what to do when the elders of the Cui family started to care.

He suddenly remembered a workplace joke he had heard before: how to appear emotionally intelligent when you run into your boss in the bathroom – help your boss hold their bladder, shake off the water, and zip up their zipper.

Chu Mingkong thought for a moment and said, "Tell them they don't need to come. Don't worry about it too much. It's a small matter."

Ping'er nodded, then added one more thing:

"Just now when I went to tell the servants to leave, one of them said that when you went out this morning, Your Highness, someone came to deliver a message. Because they dared not enter Your Highness's room, they placed it on the table in the front hall."

A letter? That's a rare thing. Who in the capital would send me a letter for no reason?

After the maids in the Prince's mansion temporarily left, the mansion became quiet again, which was a rare treat. It's hard to say whether it's better to be lively or quiet; in fact, both have their advantages, and neither is bad.

Chu Mingkong went to the front hall, found the letter Ping'er had mentioned, and opened it to find that it was written to him by Madam Zhen.

[Mingkong, Yongzhen has purchased a new type of tea. It tastes excellent, so she invites you over for a gathering to try it together. — Madam Zhen]

"It's obvious that he wanted to invite me over himself, but he was afraid it would be too abrupt, so he used Yongzhen's name to invite me." Chu Mingkong smiled.

However, Madam Zhen signed her name, probably because she was afraid that he would really run off to find Yongzhen without saying a word.

Back when she was still "Yongzhen", she had repeatedly told Chu Mingkong not to go to Yongzhen during this period, but to "show more respect to the elders". Madam Zhen was probably afraid that the fact that she had swapped souls with her daughter would be exposed.

They didn't say when I should come, but they probably want me to come today, right?

Chu Mingkong sat in the chair, pinched his brow, and felt that this was a difficult task.

"Sending the letter at dawn, you must want me to go there sooner? But I can only meet Madam Zhen at night in that little dark room, right?"

Oh, I see. Meeting in the dark room at night requires prior notice. So, Madam Zhen probably wants me to come over during the day, then use Yongzhen's name to hint that she wants to meet me that night!

The daytime is merely preparation for meeting at night.

"But wouldn't this mean we'd miss out on Lady Baili?"

The two ladies' plump, fleshy buttocks are so irresistible... but it wouldn't be good to keep Madam Zhen waiting too long.

While he was struggling with this decision, Chu Mingkong sensed someone approaching the back gate of the Prince's mansion.

"This Lady Baili is quite punctual; she knows not to waste my time!"

Chapter 113 You Seem to Want to Make Me Angry

When I saw her again a month later, Madam Baili was still dressed so conservatively.

Beneath the white veil was a veil, and she wore a cloak. The only thing visible on her body was her fair and delicate hands. Such attire was probably only seen in plague-stricken areas.

Before Chu Mingkong could even greet her, he heard Madam Baili grasp his wrist and telepathically transmit her voice to him, saying:

Something is following me!

Something? Not someone?

Chu Mingkong had heard her mention her experiences before, and subconsciously thought that her sect leader husband had sent people to follow him, but then he realized that shouldn't be the case.

If Lady Baili had discovered that her husband had sent people to investigate, she wouldn't have been so foolish as to come and see him.

Could it be that the mechanical puppets monitoring Lady Han are still hiding nearby?

Without saying a word, Chu Mingkong pulled Madam Baili inside, closed the back door, and then spread his spiritual perception to every corner of the palace walls.

They were quite cautious, not approaching the Prince's residence easily, but observing from the surroundings.

Chu Mingkong wanted to take her to the hall from last time, but that place was closer to Madam Han's room, and they might go there while they were out and about. To avoid unnecessary trouble, he led Madam Baili into his room to stay.

"Please, make yourself at home."

After closing the door, Chu Mingkong changed his clothes and, instead of using the main gate, climbed over the wall to leave the palace.

Taking advantage of his injuries, it was extremely difficult to sense his whereabouts, and even more difficult to confirm whether he had left the palace. After dressing simply, Chu Mingkong would not attract attention for the time being, so he strolled around the neighborhood.

Wherever it goes, its perception spreads to the smallest corners of the surroundings.

As Chu Mingkong approached the back gate, the same gate through which Madam Baili had just entered, he noticed a disturbance: the courtyard wall of the neighboring residence twisted slightly.

"So that's where they were. They were watching us way too closely."

Chu Mingkong hoped to capture the mechanical puppet alive and see if he could seize it before it self-destructed.

Chu Mingkong pretended not to notice and walked past slowly, without showing any extra exertion in his body.

Suddenly, he spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, causing a pit to corrode in the courtyard wall and stain the mechanical puppets inside.

"Still trying to destroy yourself?"

Chu Mingkong grabbed it and ripped it apart, tearing the core of the mechanical puppet into his palm and cutting off its chance to self-destruct.

"Seriously, you're trying to pull the same trick on me twice, aren't you?"

Hearing the commotion, the servants from the neighboring mansion quickly rushed over to see who was causing trouble. They came over menacingly, each carrying a wooden stick.

"Who damaged my master's courtyard wall!"

"Are you tired of living? Do you even know who my master is...?"

When the seven or eight servants saw Chu Mingkong, they froze, none of them daring to take another step forward.

Chu Mingkong pulled out the remaining part of the mechanical puppet from the wall. This was the upper body of the human form. Whether it was to save space or something else, it had no head. The eye-like things were installed on the nipples and head, similar to Xing Tian in the mythology, but there were also eyes on the palms.

Judging from its design, it has virtually no connection to combat ability. It's specifically designed to monitor people, or, like last time, to ambush Han Bi and Han Jing and slip a poison pill into their hands when they're off guard.

Chu Mingkong explained:

“My senses are quite sharp. I noticed something was appearing around my manor from time to time, so I came over and cleaned it up. Ask your master if he has offended anyone, that someone is using this kind of thing to monitor him.”

The butler from next door came over and, seeing that such a thing had appeared on his master's courtyard wall, thanked Chu Mingkong repeatedly.

Chu Mingkong was very generous:

"No need for formalities, it was no trouble at all. But I would appreciate it if your master would keep an eye on this matter. I don't like any strange sightings near the Prince's residence."

"Of course, of course!" the butler replied repeatedly, bowing deeply.

After dealing with this minor incident, Chu Mingkong returned to his residence.

Inside the room, Madam Baili's anxiety remained. Even though she had successfully returned from Chu Mingkong's place twice and even obtained the Golden Crow Heart Essence to assist her cultivation, Chu Mingkong's unpredictable temperament put a lot of pressure on her.

She couldn't predict what he would do next at all; last time, he... rubbed against her.

Lady Baili removed her veil and cloak, walked to the desk, and stood quietly for a while.

There was only a blank sheet of white paper on the table, and the fine ink in the inkstone was still wet.

She caught a glimpse of a clue, and driven by curiosity, her slender, jade-like fingers lightly touched the brush. The brush seemed to come alive, and following the handwriting Chu Mingkong had used to write in regular script the night before, it rewrote the poem he had written to please Shangguan Rong.

Lady Baili looked at the poem reproduced line by line on the white paper, wondering why Chu Mingkong would have such feelings. However, his neat handwriting was stunning.

Without the story Chu Mingkong told Shangguan Rong, the poem alone feels a bit like pointless whining.

The brush was halfway through writing the poem when it suddenly fell with a "snap" and turned back into an ordinary brush.

Madam Baili's heart seemed to stop beating for a moment, because Chu Mingkong appeared in the room without her noticing, hugged her from behind, and squeezed her softness with one hand.

Chu Mingkong looked at the words on the desk and was secretly shocked. Could there really be such a method of "reproduction" in the world? Luckily, he hadn't written in his diary properly last night, but had only thought about it in his mind, otherwise she would have really reproduced it.

It has to be said that Baili Mi is really considerate. Chu Mingkong is a really soft-hearted person. Last time, he took a large amount of corrupted filial piety from Baili Mi, which was a great help to him. This time when they met, Chu Mingkong was no longer in a hurry to give her that little bit of filial piety. He also planned to have a calm talk with her.

As a result, Baili Mi pulled this stunt on him, as if she was afraid that Chu Mingkong wouldn't be able to bring himself to treat her "badly".

"Madam Baili, are you trying to steal some secret from me? Do you want to see what letters I wrote and to whom? Are you perhaps trying to find something to use against me?"

Lady Baili's heart raced; her tender heart was being manipulated by him, and she hurriedly explained:

"No... I just found the calligraphy on this piece to have a certain elegance, so I took a look out of curiosity..."

Chu Mingkong didn't completely believe her. He knew how strange Baili Mi's personality was; the worse she treated him, the happier she seemed to enjoy it.

"If you're just curious about this, you could have waited until I got back to ask. But instead, you're resorting to this kind of method. If you're not trying to uncover secrets, then you're deliberately trying to provoke me by waiting for my return."

Lady Baili was at a loss for words to explain, and could only bite her lip and shake her head in denial.

What she feared about Chu Mingkong was this: he always seemed easy to talk to, but his moods were unpredictable and changed rapidly.

Chu Mingkong took out a set of clothes for her and gave her a concise and to-the-point command:

"Take it off, change it."

Chapter 114 The Princess's Robe (12/17)

This time, Chu Mingkong didn't dress her in the see-through gauze dress from last time. These clothes, with their strong sense of worldliness, are endlessly fascinating, but Chu Mingkong and Madam Baili rarely meet, and it would be a shame to keep seeing her wearing the same outfit.

Therefore, Chu Mingkong splurged this time and bought a dress called "Princess Palace Dress" from the Filial Piety Mall. The price was extremely high, but Chu Mingkong flattered the system a few times and got a big discount, so he got it for only 5,000 Filial Piety Points.

This means I earned 5,000 filial piety points from the system.

There are many princesses in the Tianji Empire. Chu Mingkong guessed that this might be a blind box item, randomly drawing the palace dress of each princess. As it turned out, he drew the princess dress of his nominal mother.