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

As she spoke, Shen Xuejun gestured to indicate her height, which was exactly the same as Chu Mingkong's childlike stature—short.

He truly didn't understand why they made such a big difference when they were all the same person. He, Chu Mingkong, never cared about what Zuo Qiuchi and the others looked like when they shrunk.

Under pressure from both sides, Chu Mingkong had no choice but to comply. He got up, went to the next room, removed his armor, and carefully put on his newly bought trousers.

He had just changed his clothes when the door opened, and his sister, Xiao Yunhan, hugged him before he even left the room.

What a huge difference in treatment... Chu Mingkong, with his arm around her neck, couldn't help but complain:

"You didn't have to rush over to see me, did you?"

"It's not a rush, I just noticed you've been changing for too long, so I came to see what's wrong. I'm glad you're alright."

"..." Chu Mingkong didn't even want to expose her anymore.

"Where did you get these pants?" Xiao Yunhan was surprised that her younger brother was wearing pants properly.

"Don't make it sound like I shouldn't have worn it at all!"

Back in the tea room, the tea was still warm.

Shen Xuejun remained seated in her place, her expression unchanged. It seemed that she was exactly the same as she was before Chu Mingkong left and now that he had returned. Her face, with its aloof and otherworldly beauty, exuded the elegance of a snow lotus on a high mountain. However, Chu Mingkong could vaguely sense that she had become much closer to him.

She's a woman who's truly realistic and doesn't hide anything.

"Master's wife, your half-disciple has arrived. Could you please help me persuade Yunhan not to go to see my mother?"

"No, I still have to go."

The aloof and mature female sect leader looked at Chu Mingkong, her answer taking him by surprise. Could she be implying that he would only be considered a member of her inner circle?

While Chu Mingkong was still pondering, he heard her say:

“But you can just sit for a short while and then say goodbye and come back. The situation in Tianya City is chaotic. If Yunhan appears at this time to pay his respects to Princess Chu, it will put her at ease. If he appears but doesn’t meet her, Princess Chu herself will worry and come looking for him.”

Xiao Yunhan was wary now, having been tricked into holding her younger brother by her master's sweet words for so long. She suspected that her master was using this as an excuse to keep Xiao Mingkong in the tea room for her to hold, and then not return him to her after she finished paying her respects.

“Master, I will go with Mingkong, so you don’t need to worry.”

Chu Mingkong: "???"

Shen Xuejun: "Then I'll go with you."

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

Xiao Yunhan's courtyard was protected by a barrier, so she couldn't clearly sense any extraneous noises in the mansion. However, once she stepped out of the courtyard, she could clearly feel a surging, powerful aura of wood-attribute spiritual energy permeating the mansion.

The Qingxin Spring surrounding the mansion occasionally rippled with trembling waves.

This aura is powerful yet fluctuates wildly, clearly a sign that a breakthrough is imminent.

This is the effect Xiao Fengnan has shown after consuming the White Jade Infused Lotus. In addition to the healing of his martial tendons, his overall spiritual meridians have been improved. The transformation of his body due to the spiritual medicine is not yet over, and he has already ushered in a sublimation of his cultivation realm.

After returning from her sister Consort Wan's place, Princess Chu intended to rest, but upon hearing that her daughter had appeared at Tianya Tower, she thought that her daughter would come over, so she waited for her to appear.

While waiting, sensing the cultivation aura emanating from Xiao Fengnan, Princess Chu felt a bittersweet sense of relief. At least the humiliation of the entire night had some value.

Although the mother-and-child Buddha jade she touched at Consort Wan's place gave Princess Chu some new guesses, perhaps she hadn't lost her virginity to anyone last night, and that scoundrel surnamed Zuo had just been playing with her with the jade dildo all night.

But the Princess of Chu also knew that this was more likely wishful thinking, a way of comforting herself that she hadn't truly lost her virginity. Under those circumstances, why would that scoundrel have done anything to her? Why would he need to deceive her like this?

He shoved that filthy, donkey-like thing into her face, but in the end he did nothing to her.

Princess Chu wanted to believe it to be true, but she couldn't convince herself to believe it. Some women are like that; they can't fool themselves.

Even though she took many showers after returning home, meticulously cleaning every inch of her skin, the feeling of being held by a strange man still lingered in her mind, and she couldn't shake it off.

What she found even harder to accept was that she had actually—

I started to feel it...

Aside from this disgust and revulsion, the Queen Consort of Chu's state of mind also changed because of this series of events.

She arrived at her biological son Xiao Fengnan's courtyard, which was the happiest thing for her at that moment, as both children were her support.

Suffering is something you only need to experience once. Trust lost once is not worth regaining. The fact that Xiao Chengren so decisively sent her to "change the medicine" showed that she had seen through him.

In her view, being selfish and mean to others, whether good or bad, is at least often something that should or should be done. By the time you retaliate after someone has done something bad to you, the damage has already been done, and it's too late.

However, this refers to how one treats outsiders; family members are treated differently. This is a concept that the elders of the Xiao family, including Xiao Chengren, have instilled in their clan members over the years: always think of the family first. This is also why the Princess of Chu thought of her own family first after her own son was deprived of his position as heir apparent.

This time, however, Xiao Chengren caused Princess Chu to lose trust in her family. The look of joy in Xiao Chengren's eyes as he comforted her after a night of grievance was deeply etched in Princess Chu's mind.

He was not thinking that he was helpless, desperate, or forced to make his daughter do such a thing, but rather that he was glad that his daughter could pique the interest of someone with a distinguished background!

"Feng Nan, how are you recovering?" Princess Chu asked gently, having calmed herself down.

The door remained closed for the Princess Consort of Chu, and Xiao Fengnan's voice came from inside the room:

"Hmm, not bad. How was this medicine obtained?"

"..." Princess Chu said, forcing herself to remain calm, "From now on, Tianya City will owe the medicine delivery person a favor and will have paid the price in advance. You don't need to investigate the matter of the medicine. You just need to work hard to win the martial arts competition and take back the position of Tianya City Lord that should belong to you."

After a moment of silence, Xiao Fengnan gave a brief reply:

"Ah."

"There's one more thing. Now that you're healed, Feng Nan, take some time to apologize to your martial arts teacher's family. You don't have to tell them the truth; just say you were misled by a villain. After all, he taught you swordsmanship without reservation."

Princess Chu knew it was impossible for Xiao Fengnan to admit that he was the culprit, but at least he could come forward in person to express his apology. She had already sent someone to deliver compensation in the form of money and goods.

"That's impossible. Killing Lu Zhi was my own will. This person offended me and used Chu Mingkong to mock my cultivation. If I don't kill him, I will be unhappy. The subsequent martial tendon incident was also caused by his words, which aroused my curiosity about the difference in martial tendons between people."

Furthermore, this matter has nothing to do with my cousin Chenglin, so I hope Mother will not make things difficult for her with my maternal grandfather.

Princess Chu was furious. Her own son was still protecting that vile woman!

Xiao Fengnan's idea stemmed from his unexpected acquisition of the method for transplanting martial tendons. If that woman hadn't seduced Fengnan and given him that medical manual, even if Xiao Fengnan had killed Lu Zhicai in a fit of rage, would the subsequent issue of martial tendon corruption have occurred?

Without this corruption of martial arts tendons, would a princess need to resort to such a despicable method to obtain the elixir for her son?

The Queen of Chu dipped her pale, delicate hand into the Clear Heart Spring, letting the water calm her emotions.

“Your grandfather has already investigated Xiao Chenglin’s actions thoroughly. She is inextricably linked to them. If it weren’t for this woman, why would you be suffering like this? Do you know how much I paid to get this medicinal herb for you?! And you’re still here protecting her. What kind of drug did she use on you?”

"I will take on the responsibility of Aunt Cheng Lin. I will take Tianya City for the family and then I will be able to support the family. I am not capable of being Aunt Cheng Lin's responsibility."

Princess Chu bit her lip tightly and said, word by word:

"Do you even know what that herb means?!"

"Please speak, I will repay the debt in the future. But please do not touch Aunt Chenglin. Release her. Do you think I can't even keep one woman in my own home?"

Did you protect your mother, me?!

A servant's voice came from outside, informing Princess Chu that the eldest daughter had returned.

Princess Chu trembled with anger, her proud, firm breasts heaving violently. After calming down, she got up and left.

“Bring Yunhan to my room.”

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

Chu Mingkong was carried by Xiao Yunhan to the room of the Princess of Chu. His current public persona is that he is "the young disciple personally taught by the Pavilion Master who was ambushed on the way here, and is unconscious and being taken care of by his senior sister and the Pavilion Master in turns."

He simply buried his head in Yunhan's chest, not showing his face to the Princess of Chu, only leaving her with a haughty back of his head.

Although Princess Chu was curious about when Shen Xuejun had taken on a new personal disciple, she did not inquire too much.

The conversation revolved around asking Yunhan how she managed to leave the pass early, and Xiao Yunhan replied that she had returned ahead of time after hearing about the complicated situation in Tianya City. The Princess of Chu believed her.

"Mother, you haven't been resting well lately? You look a little haggard," Xiao Yunhan asked.

"!!" Chu Mingkong was so nervous that he tried to pull Xiao Yunhan away.

Princess Chu did not want the child to know about such things. She smiled gently and said, "It is indeed a bit difficult. I have been worried about Feng Nan's matter lately."

"Then Mother should rest well and not overwork herself." Xiao Yunhan didn't think much of it.

The Queen Consort of Chu then said:

"Yunhan, there's something I'd like to ask you to do."

"Why do you need to say 'please', Mother? Just tell your daughter directly."

"You should find some time to meet with Consort Wan recently. Tianya City is not stable right now. Have her come from the mansion to live with me so that we can look after each other."

Princess Chu suspected that, given Xiao Chengren's personality and his relationship with Minister Wan, he might do something even more despicable to win over the Left Minister, and bring him here. In that case, it would be difficult for them to take action.

Xiao Yunhan nodded: "Alright, I will visit them later. I will have my junior brother and master stay in my courtyard. I will trouble Mother to continue as things are, and not to send any servants to my place, so as not to disturb my junior brother."

------

PS: Two chapters combined into one (2/20)

Chapter 219 Talking by the Sisters' Spring

Consort Wan was soon taken to Qingxin Mansion. Princess Chu did not arrange another courtyard for her, so she lived in the same room as her.

Her courtyard was the main courtyard of the entire Qingxin Mansion. The source of Qingxin Spring was located here. The spring water gurgled, and a thin mist like a veil floated in the water channel. The whole courtyard was like a fairyland in legend, and this gurgling Qingxin Spring was perhaps the so-called fairy spring.

Two elegant and beautiful noblewomen sat side by side by the spring, like goddesses from a painting. They were of different shapes, one plump and the other slender, with graceful figures and elegant demeanor. They did not fawn over or flatter anyone, but simply sat quietly, exuding a charming and captivating aura.

Consort Wan hadn't expected to meet her sister, Princess Chu, again in such a short time. Their first meeting, which had been so brief, had left the sisters somewhat distant, but now, on their second meeting, that subtle, invisible distance seemed to have vanished.

"What's going on? Why did you call me to stay here again after only a short while?" Consort Wan asked softly, her voice as melodious as the sound of spring water.

Princess Chu's beautiful eyes gazed at the Clear Heart Spring, her fair feet soaking in the water. Her thoughts returned from her son Xiao Fengnan's matter to the present, and she forced a smile, saying:

"I haven't figured out how to explain the reason to you yet, but Wan Hua, you know Xiao Chengren to some extent, right?"

Consort Wan hummed in agreement.

Xiao Chengren was a role model for the aristocratic families in the capital. Although his eldest daughter was adopted by the Minister's family, he had a concubine and a princess under his command, and was also the father-in-law of the emperor and a prince.

Even though Consort Wan didn't have as much contact with him later, she could still tell what kind of person he was from what others heard and from her own understanding.

"What's up with him?"

Princess Chu sighed, recalling what had recently happened to her.

"He recently curried favor with a very mysterious person. Although I don't want to admit it, he is indeed very powerful. Xiao Chengren is trying to win him over. This person is extremely lecherous. I think Xiao Chengren is up to something, and he wants to give you to him as a plaything."

Upon hearing this, Consort Wan's expression turned strange, and she slightly lifted her beautiful feet, which were soaking in the water.