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

"I was worried that Madam Zhen might be too concerned about Yongzhen's condition and might not be able to sleep tonight, so I was wondering if I should bring you something."

Madam Zhen was afraid that he would really barge into her room tonight to see if she was there, so she shook her head and said:

"I'm asleep and I'm not eating. Yongzhen doesn't have the habit of eating late at night either, so don't worry about it. Mingkong, just remember that someone has arrived."

"Row."

Across the street from the courtyard, after bidding farewell to Madam Zhen, Chu Mingkong stood still and watched her walk into the courtyard before turning away with peace of mind.

After taking a couple of steps, Chu Ming felt a slight, uneasy pain in his chest. He looked around but couldn't find the source of the gaze; it shouldn't be an illusion. However, at his level, his perception of sights and such was very clear.

Forget it, let's go first. If you're so capable, try showing some obvious hostility towards the person who's giving you that look, and I'll find out who you are.

In a private room of a restaurant behind him.

Yongzhen held a cup of tea, sipping it slowly and gracefully. Her gaze passed through the window to her own courtyard, watching her mother return safely to the yard. She then stared at Chu Mingkong's wandering movements before subtly shifting her gaze away.

She got up, left some silver to pay the bill, picked up a scroll she had brought with her, and left.

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

Chu Mingkong had never been to the Minister's residence before, and since he had just encountered a lot of soldiers on patrol, he spent some time checking the area around the Minister's residence for hidden sentries to make sure there were no traps waiting for him to step on.

While pretending to be a passerby strolling around the Minister's residence, Chu Mingkong was lost in thought. His usually reluctant mind was forced to work, and he pondered the information he had obtained from Madam Baili—no, Madam Pei—that day.

Based on her previous stories about being the "Sect Master's Wife," if we replace the sect with the Heavenly Pole Empire, the content should be pretty much the same.

According to this assumption, the position of Empress is a sacrifice, and Empress Pei wanted to rebel, so she brought down the Emperor.

The story she told back then was quite informative.

This virgin empress had children who were not her own, which explains why she wasn't saddened at all when the crown prince died. It's just unclear what her attitude was towards Jinyu.

It should be pretty good, otherwise he wouldn't have given Jin Yu a wisp of pure Yang energy to help her practice at her request. But without this, Chu Mingkong really wouldn't have been able to recognize Madam Baili's true identity.

Is Jin Yu's actions considered a betrayal of her mother?

No, I won't do anything to the dog queen, so how can it be considered betraying my mother? At least for now, Chu Mingkong has gained an ally!

But then, how do we define the relationship between Madam Zhen and Yongzhen?

Is Madam Zhen still a virgin?

Could Yongzhen have also been adopted into her family?

Ultimately, they still don't know why the late emperor deposed the empress.

Was Consort Wan related to the Fifth Prince by blood or was he adopted? They should be biological children, since the Empress was the one to be sacrificed, and Consort Wan's treatment was much better than the Empress's in every way.

But if you calculate it this way, neither of the Empress's two children are her biological children. So, the Fifth Prince, born to the Consort, is the one with the most noble status in the true sense? As a result, the Fifth Prince lost his mind and ruined himself because of jealousy and hatred over his status. It's quite ridiculous.

As he pondered, Chu Ming felt utterly exhausted and found a place to sit down.

This tiny palace was teeming with traitors...

Let me think of who else in the palace I can recruit as a mole!

Having finished shopping, Chu Mingkong decided to stop worrying about it for the time being. There was no point in racking his brains over things he couldn't figure out.

If it weren't for the fact that it wasn't appropriate to tell Shangguan Rong about this matter at the moment, Chu Mingkong would have simply left the problem to her to worry about.

Chu Mingkong flipped through the filial piety ledger and found that the filial piety he used to receive from "Baili Mi" had now been changed to "Pei Mi".

Suddenly, the ledger was updated with several new records.

Consort Wan may have been waiting for him for a long time, so she started using a jade dildo to express her filial piety in a distorted way.

"Alright, it's time to go to the Minister's residence. I can't keep Mother waiting."

The barriers and restrictions of the Minister's Mansion were similar to those of Princess Yongzhen's courtyard, but because the Imperial Concubine had returned home to visit her family, the soldiers and guards surrounded the Minister's Mansion several times.

Chu Mingkong wasn't afraid of those barriers, but he really couldn't handle this impenetrable human wall, and he was reluctant to use the Dust-Free Talisman.

After waiting for a while, Consort Wan sent him messages of filial piety more and more frequently, as if she was urging Chu Mingkong on. Chu Mingkong had no choice but to reluctantly activate another Dust-Free Talisman, seize the time to sneak into the Minister's Mansion, and then deactivate the Dust-Free Talisman, trying to save as much as possible.

The Imperial Concubine's bedroom was her boudoir before she married into the palace. Minister Wan preserved its general appearance but added some decorations befitting her status.

She dismissed all the maids and guards in the courtyard, fearing that Chu Mingkong wouldn't be able to get in. However, she waited for a long time, but he didn't come.

Consort Wan took out the jade dildo that Chu Mingkong had given her. It was said to be made in his likeness. Consort Wan would take it out to examine it when she had nothing to do and found that it was indeed almost identical to his.

Originally, she only wanted to take it out to reminisce about the past, but as she held the toy in her hand, Consort Wan couldn't help but recall the intense intimacy of the last time. As if branded, her body began to actively recall and yearn for that feeling of being filled in the emptiness.

The dignified and noble woman closed the window, lay down under the thin blanket with the jade dildo, and placed it deep in her tight embrace as if it were Chu Mingkong himself, protecting it tightly.

“Mingkong… um… my good son.”

Chu Mingkong quietly appeared in her boudoir, gently embraced Consort Wan's delicate body, and said apologetically:

"Mother, you have been waiting for a long time. The defenses at the Minister's residence are really too tight. It took me a lot of effort to sneak in."

Consort Wan's body stiffened, a wave of shame washing over her. This scheming woman, who stood at the top of the harem, now had a vividly flushed face and pulled the quilt over herself.

Chu Mingkong said, "How about we try a real one?"

Chapter 122 Why are you here again, sir? (19/26)

Chu Mingkong is a very traditional and conservative person. He always felt that the aesthetic concepts of his ancestors had merit to a considerable extent. For example, the phrase "plump like Yang Guifei and slender like Zhao Feiyan" points out two very different types of beauties.

"Huan" refers to a voluptuous type of beauty, which Chu Mingkong quite approves of. Whether it's the Dog Empress or Aunt Gu, they can all perfectly interpret the plump beauty of a woman.

As for the slender and graceful women of the "Yan" type, Chu Mingkong felt that at this moment, the "mother" in his arms was barely considered slender among the elders he knew.

Consort Wan was not so light that she could "dance on a palm," and her "protrusion" was not as "huge" as Empress Pei's, but the smoothness of her snowy buttocks was no less than others.

Unbuttoning those heavy, imposing royal concubine robes, she revealed to Chu Mingkong a slender, alluring beauty. Her waist was so thin it seemed one could encircle it with one hand, and her gait was like a willow swaying in the wind, a swallow fluttering in flight, captivating and enchanting. Her abdomen had clearly defined abs.

If the embraces of Empress Pei, Gu Jungui, and Madam Zhen possessed a soft, voluptuous allure that could draw one in, then Consort Wan was like a beautiful, dancing serpent that would slowly entwine one's way in.

"Did Mother have dance training?"

Chu Mingkong held the jade dildo for Consort Wan, and the filial piety prompt in his mind sounded in rhythm with his movements.

Consort Wan had her back to Chu Mingkong, her slender hands behind her back, gently soothing Chu Mingkong's powerful aura... her heart trembling like a leaf in a storm.

She nodded gently: "I have been trained. When I was young, my mother was trained in singing, dancing and other arts in preparation for being sent to the palace. Your mother in Xiling was the same."

Chu Mingkong had thought that dance training was related to whether one was slender or not. It turns out that the Princess Consort of Chu had also trained in dance. How come her figure is similar to Gu Jungui's?

As sisters, the contrast in beauty between Consort Wan and Princess Chu is the most striking.

Chu Mingkong's massage techniques for Consort Wan were different; the rhythm was gentle and slow, and the soft moans and breaths emanating from Consort Wan's cherry-like lips were like a gentle, flowing stream.

“I don’t want to call her Mother in front of you. That woman has never done anything outrageous to me, but her eyes and expressions have far surpassed mine. As far as Mother is concerned, you are much better than her. For so many years, I didn’t even know she could dance.”

But honestly, it's normal not to know. What kind of status does a princess have? She has no right to dance for others. I guess Consort Wan didn't really show off her dancing skills after entering the palace.

Consort Wan was overjoyed to hear him say that she was better than his mother in Xiling. She turned around, hugged Chu Mingkong, and rubbed her pointed chin against his forehead, whispering:

"Regarding the Fifth Prince, have they tried to make things difficult for you or cause you any trouble? It seems the Xiao family has rescued the Fifth Prince."

The information she knew was also the conclusion given by the prison warden: the fifth prince had left the illusion of death, but in reality, he had escaped. This was the most reasonable and logical deduction based on the information they had based on the existing evidence.

I've heard of people daring to break into the Heavenly Prison, but I've never heard of a thug daring to break into the Heavenly Prison and prevent others from rescuing prisoners. If you really don't want others to rescue the Fifth Prince, why not just send a message to the Prison Warden in advance? Why do it yourself?

Therefore, everything at the scene was to create the illusion that the Fifth Prince was dead. Those who seemed to be in internal strife were actually just pawns, making others more convinced that the Fifth Prince died from internal strife!

However, Chu Mingkong felt somewhat awkward that Consort Wan was now showing concern for him about this matter. The nicer Consort Wan was to him, the more uncomfortable Chu Mingkong felt.

Many things are neither right nor wrong; we can only judge whether they are appropriate based on our own conscience. Chu Mingkong didn't want to whitewash his actions as something noble and righteous. He knew that what he did was actually quite unethical, but he felt that his situation warranted it, so he did it.

This is probably what it means for a twisted person to do twisted things.

Chu Mingkong didn't want to spoil the mood, but he couldn't suppress the urge to confess:

"I secretly went to the prison to stop the Xiao family from rescuing the Fifth Prince. Otherwise, I would have become the target of everyone's criticism after the Xiao family rescued the Fifth Prince."

Chu Mingkong thought Consort Wan would feel a pang of heartache, but instead, she nervously undressed him, checking his body from head to toe, and asked with concern:

"Mingkong, are you injured?"

"..."

Consort Wan cupped his face in her hands. Her beautiful, mature face, as lovely as a peach blossom, was adorned with a pair of dark and affectionate eyes. The emotions deep within her eyes were burning, yet twisted, so twisted that they were unrecognizable. But Consort Wan thoroughly enjoyed and was satisfied with this warm, twisted emotion.

She cradled Chu Mingkong's head in her soft, warm embrace. The embrace was like a seductive serpent, its smooth, delicate flesh slowly coiling around him, as if trying to swallow him whole. Consort Wan, while embracing him, said with annoyance:

"Mingkong, your mother deeply regrets sending my own fifth prince into danger time and again. It's all my fault, please don't be angry with me..."

"I'm afraid that you'll be sad again, Mother."

"Mingkong, if you get hurt because of the lump of flesh I gave birth to, then your mother will be heartbroken. How is that any different from me harming my own good son?"

The embrace tightened, drawing Chu Mingkong deeper into Consort Wan's embrace, her soft, soothing whispers ringing in his ears:

"We're outside the palace now. Last time we weren't able to get in completely, but this time Mingkong can finally snuggle up to Mother Consort and act all cute~"

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Night falls, as darkness descends.

Chu Mingkong did something daring: he used the Dust-Free Talisman to sneak Consort Wan out of the Minister's residence and accompanied her shopping to relax.

However, the Dust-Free Talisman cannot be used up continuously while shopping; it must be deactivated upon leaving the Minister's residence, as disguise is essential.

Their attire was similar: veils, hats, and capes, just like the Empress and the former Empress Dowager. It seems that all royal women had to dress like this.

Chu Mingkong took her to the jewelry shop where he had accompanied Madam Zhen, since he had heard that Consort Wan had been there before, so he treated it as a return visit.

But the shopkeeper, oblivious to romance, said to Chu Mingkong:

"Eh? Young master, didn't you just come here during the day?"

Consort Wan turned her head to look at Chu Mingkong.

Chu Mingkong knocked the shopkeeper unconscious with a karate chop, threw down some silver as medical expenses, and explained to Consort Wan:

"I didn't want to waste my precious time letting Mother make mistakes and try out bad shops, so I came to scout the place beforehand. I heard Mother has been here before?"

"Yes, it was a long time ago. The shop wasn't decorated like this back then," Consort Wan said with emotion. "I never imagined that you, Mingkong, would go to such lengths to find out about my mother."

Chu Mingkong nodded:

"I'm preparing to leave the capital. I don't know when I'll be able to see my mother again. Naturally, I want to do more for her and spend more time with her."