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

Chu Mingkong nodded, then asked the old man, who reeked of the smell of pill furnace fire, for a definitive answer:

"Could this be something the Xiao family did behind the scenes?"

"No way." Elder Ding glanced at Xiao Yunhan, and seeing that she didn't react, he continued, "Apart from the young lady, the Xiao family doesn't have this ability. Judging from the current situation, it seems more like the Buddhist sect is behind it. Whether it's the Buddhist disciples who have appeared in Tianya City or the techniques used to attack Elder Li just now, it all shows that the recent events are closely related to the Buddhist sect."

Chu Mingkong nodded, thinking that this matter was really troublesome. Originally, it seemed that when he returned to Xiling, the people he needed to be most wary of were the Xiao family and the royal family, but then the Buddhist people started to emerge, and their methods were quite supernatural.

In comparison, both the Xiao family and the royal family appeared unprepared.

Xiao Chengren might be regretting now that he didn't have more daughters to curry favor with the Buddhist community.

"As things have developed, the nature of the Tianya City Martial Arts Competition has changed. It is no longer about selecting a young hero with extraordinary talent to be the city lord. But we can't leave the city lord out. Is there any inclination within Tianya Tower now?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Chu Mingkong realized that he had asked the wrong question. It was equivalent to asking "Does Tianya Tower have any plans to make a decision?" Such unspoken rules exist everywhere. There's nothing new under the sun. You can keep it to yourself, but you can't admit it to others.

Elder Ding indeed showed a troubled expression, and Chu Mingkong changed his words:

"In my personal opinion, regardless of who has the best chance, from the perspective of impact alone, which side would be better for Xiling and Tianya City to become the city lord?"

With that question in mind, Elder Ding became less reserved and spoke frankly:

"To be honest, I don't represent Tianya Tower, I'm just stating my own opinion. I think the Xiao family is better!"

Why?

Elder Ding smiled wryly:

There was no other choice.

The Buddhist sect is naturally out of the question; no explanation is needed, and you understand. As for the royal family, we both know their true intentions. They certainly don't want Xiling to be better off or for the royal family to control Tianya City. They will only move the entire Tianya Tower to the capital, leaving Xiling with nothing of the hard work of generations. If Xiling loses Tianya City, what will it have left?

The Xiao family, at least, wanted to be kings here, to keep everything in their own hands. Besides, the Xiao family at least had the Princess of Chu as a symbol of the Chu royal family, so it wasn't so awkward. Who would willingly change masters without reason? After King Huai of Chu disappeared, the Princess of Chu had semi-managed the affairs of Xiling for many years without causing any major trouble. If it weren't for the sudden disaster of the Abyss, the Princess of Chu's tenure could be considered meritorious and without fault, except that she was too biased towards her own family.

The attribution of merits and demerits is not actually based on whether it was caused by the person in charge. Even if it was an uncontrollable natural disaster, as long as it happened during the reign of the Queen Consort of Chu, the historians would attribute all the responsibility to her, making her innocent but leaving no room for discussion.

Xiao Yunhan observed quietly for a long time before finally speaking:

"Why didn't you consider the heir apparent? He's the rightful heir."

Elder Ding's expression became even more complicated:

“Considering this option is useless. We can’t bring the Crown Prince back and ask the capital to let him return to succeed to the throne, but the Emperor is too ill to reply in person, and the Empress says that it is difficult to make a decision in private and that we have to wait for the Emperor to wake up. We all suspect that the Emperor is pretending to be sick because of this, so that he can ignore us and keep the Crown Prince trapped in the capital.”

Although he understood this principle, Chu Mingkong, as the person involved, felt a complicated feeling upon hearing such words. It was as if someone from his own base was telling him, "Sorry, Your Highness, you can continue to be a hostage in the capital. We will take good care of Xiling."

Elder Ding's expression suddenly became mysterious, and he continued:

"Furthermore, we've increased our regard for the Xiao family; they're now of greater importance than ever before!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Xuejun couldn't help but shift her gaze from elsewhere to the old man, curious about what he was about to say.

"Elder, please speak!" Chu Mingkong said.

Chu Mingkong also took it seriously. Could it be that the Xiao family had some secrets he didn't know about?

...Could it be that Xiao Chengren really does have an illegitimate daughter who has managed to curry favor with another powerful force for support?!

Why don't you let me meet this illegitimate daughter and see if she's pretty?

"Clan Chief Xiao recently curried favor with a reclusive master whose cultivation level is unfathomable. He probably possesses some magical artifact or spiritual treasure, which is likely quite powerful. But that's not the key point. The key point is that this master's background is unimaginably exaggerated."

Chief Xiao casually received an ancient spiritual herb that had been extinct from him, a thousand-year-old medicinal herb. If I hadn't seen the root of that herb with my own eyes, I would have suspected that he was drunk.

It just goes to show how amazing the world is. I still can't believe that anyone would be so generous. I wouldn't even sell it, let alone give it away!

It's such a waste to give such a good medicinal herb to Xiao Fengnan. If you had told me earlier, I would have given him a less desirable one instead. What a waste!

Chu Mingkong: "..."

Shen Xuejun was also curious about this. She and Xiao Yunhan exchanged a glance, wanting to ask each other about this person's background, but Xiao Yunhan looked blank and had never heard of such a guest elder in the family.

Seeing her apprentice's reaction, Shen Xuejun guessed that they had only recently met, and might have been secretly getting to know each other, without revealing too much to others. She asked:

"Under what circumstances did this mysterious expert give away this ancient herb? You must know that cheap things are sometimes the most expensive, and the price behind them is probably incalculable. There is no way that a medicinal herb of this level would be given away casually."

Chu Mingkong nodded in agreement. That was true. So, didn't the Princess Consort of Chu suffer all night?

Elder Ding shook his head in confusion:

"I am well aware of this principle, but what Chief Xiao told me was that he had a very pleasant conversation with this expert and pleased him, so the expert sent medicine to Xiao Fengnan to treat his hand the next day."

It was indeed a happy occasion, but the main reason for this happiness was that after working hard all night pounding herbs, I had collected all the filial piety I had earned for each ten-day task. My heart was filled with the joy of the harvest after the hard work of the working people, and my life felt more and more fulfilling, happy and satisfied.

Xiao Yunhan pondered for a moment, then asked with doubt:

"This sounds strange to me. I'll go back to the manor later and ask my mother what exactly happened!"

"?!"

A few drops of cold sweat trickled down Chu Mingkong's back. Although neither Princess Chu nor Xiao Chengren knew the true identity of "Zuo Gege," if Princess Chu were to compare the man's behavior with her daughter's, and perhaps describe Niu Niu as well.

Chu Mingkong would never believe that Xiao Yunhan could not connect the dots with him!

Chu Mingkong swallowed hard, grabbed his sister's wrist, and said cautiously:

"Yunhan, leave this matter to me to investigate. Don't alert them yet. Let's discuss it carefully later."

Xiao Yunhan said:

"There's nothing more to discuss. A mysterious person who suddenly appears at this time and is so generous must be up to no good. I'll go ask my mother and she'll know what's going on."

"He must be a scoundrel or a thief... No way, no way!" Chu Mingkong felt guilty.

Elder Ding was very envious of this mysterious man's wealth and originally wanted Xiao Chengren to introduce him, but Xiao Chengren refused, saying that he was elusive and impossible to find. He agreed:

"It is necessary to find out the truth. I can also assist the young lady in investigating this person!"

Chu Mingkong quickly said, "If we get involved in this matter, it will probably lead to even more problems. Let's hold back and wait for this person to make a move before we respond. Right now, I just want Yunhan to spend more time with me!"

"Then will you change?" Xiao Yunhan asked her younger brother.

“…Change!” Chu Mingkong gritted his teeth and said.

The mature female teacher silently looked over...

Elder Ding looked grave, pondering who this armored man was and why he was so intimate with the young lady. Could they be Daoist partners? But didn't the young lady cultivate the Dao of Heartlessness?

Forget it, there's no point in digging into it. Anyway, with Pavilion Master Shen looking after the young lady, there won't be any problems.

Chu Mingkong temporarily set aside this terrifying crisis and then started talking to Elder Ding:

"Elder Ding, could you please expedite the martial arts competition? The Buddhist sect is making a lot of moves right now. They came prepared. We should end the Tianya City martial arts competition as soon as possible and focus our efforts on dealing with these presumptuous monks. Otherwise, the pressure on the royal family will not be relieved much, and the Buddhist sect will bring even more trouble."

Elder Ding felt this matter made sense, and with the external forces fighting each other, many participants' jade tokens had been taken away. There was no need to drag it out for so many days; it should end sooner rather than later. In any case, they could only place all their bets on the Xiao family now.

"The city lord will be decided tomorrow, or perhaps the day after. I just don't understand why you are so concerned about this matter..."

Only after the old man finished speaking did he realize that Xiao Yunhan had already hurriedly pulled the unidentified person away, asking him every now and then when he would change.

--------

PS: I've been wanting to speed up the plot, push it to a new stage, and quickly return to daily life. The master's wife, who hasn't been on screen for long, can show off a bit, and the elder sister, master Fengying, will also have her daily life.

However, in recent episodes, the plot has become slow due to the numerous foreshadowing elements, indicating a lack of skill on the part of the author.

But you can't leave out the foreshadowing; you have to constantly consider how to reduce the moral burden on the reader. When we played the dumpling-eating-sister-in-law plot, I was worried about this, but I didn't expect it to cause so much controversy at the time (maybe because not many people were watching).

After a period of relaxation, people thought there were no more problems, but the incident of the mother pounding medicine a while ago caused controversy.

Now that the recommendation is over, it's time for an extra update. Let's try to make up for the slow pace of the story with more updates!

Chapter 218 You Can't Protect Mom

Chu Mingkong followed Xiao Yunhan back to Qingxin Mansion, constantly on guard against Xiao Yunhan going next door to greet the Princess Consort of Chu. If she asked a few more questions, their relationship would be ruined, and that would be the end of him.

Therefore, Chu Mingkong basically stayed by her side, trying his best to dissuade her as soon as possible.

Inside the room, the elegant and dignified master and disciple sat facing each other, drinking tea. They ignored Chu Mingkong, who was sitting to the side. Their composure made Chu Mingkong even more nervous.

After a few cups of tea, Xiao Yunhan suddenly got up and prepared to walk towards the door, indicating that she wanted to go out.

Chu Mingkong quickly stopped her and asked, "Yunhan, where are you going?"

She replied matter-of-factly:

"Now that I have made a public appearance at Tianya Tower, I should naturally go and pay my respects to my mother."

That makes sense, but Chu Mingkong was still worried about the meeting between Princess Chu and Xiao Yunhan. Even though Xiao Yunhan said she wouldn't bring it up, it was hard to guarantee that Princess Chu wouldn't complain to her daughter. Once she did, how could Xiao Yunhan not listen?

Chu Mingkong came up with a reason that even he found far-fetched, hoping to delay Xiao Yunhan's greeting plan until at least after Xiao Yunhan had dealt with the city lord's matter and fled, then he would hide as far away as possible.

“I think… Yunhan, you can go over later. Anyway, we’re all under the same roof, so it won’t matter if it’s a day or two later.”

Shen Xuejun was suspicious of Chu Mingkong's attitude:

"Mingkong, what terrible thing are you hiding? And it concerns Princess Chu and Yunhan?"

He knew his secret would be exposed, but what could he do? The likelihood of Yunhan being exposed after meeting with the Princess of Chu was much greater than suspicion… Chu Mingkong nodded:

"Yes, but Yunhan, didn't you say you could stay away for now? If it really doesn't work out, you can just go over, sit down, show your face, and leave?"

Xiao Yunhan stared at her younger brother, looking him up and down:

"This agreement is contingent on the previous 'accident' happening again."

"Elder Ding said that the martial arts training should be accelerated. I think it is necessary for me to maintain a normal physique to cope with this challenge. It would be okay to change it a day or two later, right?"

"Then it's alright if I go to pay my respects to Mother a day or two earlier." Xiao Yunhan didn't give him any room for bargaining.

If Chu Mingkong could change size at will, he would simply transform and then revert back during the martial arts competition. However, the side effect of his current ability to change size is that he can't do it at will; after transforming, he has to wait a while before he can revert back. Xiao Yunhan, on the other hand, wants him to transform into a boy and then spend several days with her.

Shen Xuejun held the teacup, gently stirring the tea leaves floating on the surface with the lid, and said softly:

"It's one thing to have concealed your whereabouts before, but now that you've shown yourself, it's against etiquette not to ask your elders to pay their respects."

...Why do I feel like you're helping Xiao Yunhan put pressure on me, Master's wife?

"Master's wife, I'm practically your disciple too, you should at least put in a good word for me!"

Chu Mingkong tried to build a relationship and gain support, but Shen Xuejun didn't even turn her head to face him. She just glanced at him sideways with her beautiful eyes, showing her dissatisfaction with Chu Mingkong's words.

His words were biased towards Zuo Qiuchi. To Zuo Qiuchi, he was a disciple, but to her, he was only half a disciple.

"Just half? Half it is fine. You are a whole now, but I only want my half disciple."