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

She thought of what her capable son had confessed to her. Xiao Zhi could never have imagined that the mysterious person she spoke of was none other than Chu Mingkong, whom she had raised and nursed...

If her father, Xiao Chengren, really had this idea, Consort Wan wasn't particularly opposed to it. This way, she could leave the royal family and not have to return to the palace.

She no longer needed to wait outside the palace walls for her beloved son to come and meet her in secret.

But she couldn't reveal these thoughts to Xiao Zhi. Consort Wan could guess what methods Xiao Chengren would use, so she asked knowingly:

"Isn't he afraid of angering the Emperor? What does Xiao Chengren plan to do?"

The Princess of Chu glanced at the slender and graceful Consort beside her and said:

"What else can we do? Under the guise of the turmoil in Tianya City, we'll create chaos, kidnap you, and let some sect on the royal side cause trouble. They'll covet the Consort's beauty, steal her title, and then Xiao Chengren will secretly give you away."

If Consort Wan had known this information without her knowledge, she would have panicked. All wisdom is useless in the face of overwhelming force. However, Consort Wan knew who she would be given to, and she was not flustered at all.

She still showed a hint of nervousness and surprise, and said:

"This... is truly audacious. Does Xiao Chengren really think he can secure the capture of Xiling?"

"It's practically a sure thing, isn't it? Feng Nan broke through today, and after consolidating his cultivation, he'll probably be hard-pressed to defeat anyone," said Princess Chu.

"I'm surprised that you would bring me here, Zhi'er. Do you not want me to be kidnapped by Xiao Chengren?"

"Otherwise what? That feeling is disgusting, being treated like a plaything by a complete stranger. One experience as a princess is enough; there's no need for a second time!" The beautiful face of the Princess of Chu was solemn.

As a child, she was taught that "becoming a princess, imperial concubine, empress, or noblewoman" was the highest pursuit in a woman's life. Princess Chu actually believed this and worked hard in that direction to make herself more dazzling and outstanding.

This excellence is not just about looks. In the ranks of the most beautiful women, looks are just the stepping stone, a basic thing that everyone has. What's more difficult is the qualities that a beauty should have, such as cultivation talent, musical skills, calligraphy and painting, and all sorts of other things.

A woman with only a pretty face, no matter how beautiful, cannot become a top courtesan in a brothel, let alone a concubine.

But now, when the Queen Consort of Chu thinks about all those efforts, she finds them laughable. After all that effort, in the end, all others care about is whether her womb works and whether she can produce good offspring.

Xiao Zhicai said that having been a princess was enough; she didn't want to be treated as a plaything again, nor did she want to watch Wan Hua be sent by Xiao Chengren to be treated as a plaything.

"In short, Wan Hua, you should stay here and pretend to be sick for the time being. Don't go anywhere else. Once this is over, go back to the capital with Minister Wan. The palace may be a bit boring, but at least you won't have to think about how to please people every day."

"At least I still have Yunhan to rely on, and... I should also have Fengnan, but you'll have a much harder time. Don't let that brothel owner Xiao Chengren get his way."

Consort Wan smiled bitterly: "Actually, Zhi'er, can't you still rely on Mingkong? Although he is far away in the capital, you can still send a few letters to inquire about his well-being. After all, he was raised on your milk."

When Consort Wan mentioned Chu Mingkong, I thought Xiao Zhi would get angry again, but this time she was much calmer. Was it because of the spring water, or did something happen?

The Queen Consort of Chu shook her head slightly and said:

“We don’t get along, Wan Hua, you know that. There’s no need to mention him. I may have misunderstood him before, but it’s no use talking about it now. I don’t have the ability to rescue him from the capital. I’m not a good mother. My relationship with this child… is beyond repair.”

"Okay, then let's not talk about him."

While Consort Wan said this, she was actually thinking about where Chu Mingkong was hiding in Qingxin Mansion and where Xiao Yunhan's courtyard was. She wanted to take this opportunity to go and find Mingkong, which would be much more convenient than staying at the mansion.

As long as you keep an eye on Zhi'er, she'll have plenty of opportunities to get close to Mingkong during this time!

"By the way, Zhi'er, do you practice the Extreme Yang Technique? How do you cultivate it? Can you teach me?"

Princess Chu looked at Consort Wan with a puzzled expression. The topic had jumped a bit too quickly, and why this particular topic?

"I do practice cultivation. In my younger years, I always wanted the best of everything, so I found the Extreme Yang Technique to practice. However, I practiced a variety of techniques, mostly just to pass the time."

Consort Wan hoped that after she completed her cultivation, when she and her good son Mingkong cultivated together, she could make him feel more comfortable and alleviate his pain.

"Is this technique difficult? If it's not difficult, I'd like to try it out, just to pass the time. Anyway, I have nothing to do hiding here."

Chapter 220 Martial Arts Competition

The Xiao Family Mansion.

Xiao Chengren soon learned that Consort Wan had been invited to stay at Qingxin Mansion. At first, he didn't think much of it and was even happy to see it happen.

If the two sisters can get along well, it will save trouble when they are sent to Lord Zuo. If they quarrel after they go, Lord Zuo might hold his anger against the Xiao family, which would be a loss.

However, it would be inappropriate to go to Qingxin Mansion at this time. It would be better to wait until the "play" is over before moving Consort Wan there to connect with Princess Chu.

The Buddhist sect was an unexpected variable in the Tianya City martial arts competition. No one expected these bald men to make such a large-scale deployment, sending hundreds of young monks to participate in the battle.

The fact that they could field several hundred disciples of considerable age and strength at once seemed impressive. However, the Xiao family had discussed this with the elders of Tianya Tower, and these monks were not particularly strong. In terms of talent and cultivation level, they could not compare with the group of geniuses.

The problem lies with this bronze figure. This body-tempering technique is very powerful, and the elders of Tianya Tower have also discovered a point: after these little bald guys enter the martial arts secret realm, they can communicate with the bronze figure formation!

Although they are in different martial arts training realms, they can communicate with each other to form a multi-person bronze formation. They don't need to make a move; they can simply force each other off the stage.

This is the secret to the amazing results achieved by these bald men. It's not because their disciples are particularly strong, but because they found a way to cheat.

The Xiao family has come up with a solution to this problem.

The plan was to have Tianyalou arrange for these bald men to fight against their own people, effectively halving their numbers. Meanwhile, Xiao Fengnan would be given opponents of average to below-average strength, allowing these formidable rivals to compete against each other, thus depleting their strength and minimizing the time available to give them no chance to rest and recover, thereby maximizing Xiao Fengnan's chances of victory.

The most noteworthy thing is the matter concerning Minister Zuo. Xiao Chengren had Tianya Tower arrange relatively weak opponents for the jade token he received, and in the recent turmoil, he might even be given a bye.

Xiao Chengren ultimately tried to persuade him to give up, so he used his two daughters to seduce him.

By creating a fake upheaval and kidnapping Consort Wan, they could directly shift the blame to Buddhism, use the power of Tianya City to legitimately drive away the biggest variable in the plan—Buddhism—and also conveniently draw the royal family's hatred to Buddhism, thus reducing future accountability to the Xiao family.

It can be said to kill two birds with one stone.

It cannot be guaranteed that Xiao Fengnan will not encounter a troublesome opponent. There are a few contestants with impressive backgrounds, the protection of sect elders, and considerable personal strength that Xiao Chengren cannot touch. However, Xiao Fengnan should not have too much trouble dealing with the people here.

Because when these people stood in front of Xiao Fengnan, they must have been exhausted after a series of battles!

In the study, a servant entered and conveyed a message to Xiao Chengren:

"Clan Chief, I just sent someone to contact Consort Wan and send her back to her residence, but Consort Wan said she is not feeling well and needs to recuperate at Qingxin Mansion, so she will not be going back."

"Huh? Recuperation? She's perfectly healthy, what illness is she recuperating from?" Xiao Chengren asked in confusion, but then he understood.

This must be Xiao Zhi's idea. She guessed that her father wanted to use Wan Hua to curry favor with Minister Zuo, and that she held a grudge about exchanging her body for medicine, so she tried to trip him up!

It's also possible that Xiao Zhi developed a rift with him because of the matter of changing the medicine, and wanted to use the matter of "protecting Consort Wan" to establish connections with the royal family and stand up to him, her father.

After Xiao Chengren understood, he couldn't help but sneer:

"Zhi'er, your current status as the Princess Consort of Chu was all thanks to my cultivation, management of relationships, and efforts to elevate you step by step. Do you really think you can defy the family?!"

Do you really think you can hide your little schemes from me and protect Wanhua?

"Someone, prepare the carriage; I'm going to see Minister Wan in a moment."

It's true that Qingxin Mansion is hard to move, but it's impossible for Wan Hua to stay in Qingxin Mansion forever. He can talk to Minister Wan and say that they are going back to the capital ahead of schedule. Wan Hua will still have to come out of Qingxin Mansion.

They were abducted by the Buddhist sect as soon as they left Qingxin Mansion, and the result was the same.

After pondering for a moment, Xiao Xiaole said:

"No, there's another point that the clan leader needs to pay attention to!"

"Oh? What needs attention? Explain in detail!"

"Actually, Princess Chu can be said to have some confidence now. The eldest young lady has returned to Tianya City, and Young Master Fengnan has now broken through thanks to Princess Chu's 'hard work.' Her two children are her support. If the eldest young lady and young master listen to her instead of the clan leader, the problem will be very troublesome! At that time, Tianya City will become Princess Chu's!"

Xiao Chengren didn't have the arrogance or burden of a wise man; he could listen to anything that needed to be heard. He nodded and said:

“Your reminder is very timely; I did overlook this point. Yunhan is of a reserved nature and difficult to persuade. We may need to work on Fengnan's side to get my grandson away from Xiao Zhi.”

In the end, it was Xiao Fengnan who took over Tianya City. As long as he didn't listen to his mother, everything would be fine. Xiao Yunhan's personality was such that she would protect her mother from being targeted by the family, but if her younger brother had a conflict with her mother, she didn't really have much of a solution.

"But how can I win Feng Nan over to my side?" Xiao Chengren wondered.

Xiao Xiaole reminded him, "Xiao Chenglin can be used to sow discord between the Princess Consort of Chu and the young master."

...Xiao Chenglin?

Xiao Chengren stroked his beard.

He wanted to kill Xiao Chenglin as soon as possible, as she almost harmed Feng Nan and jeopardized the family's grand plan. He subconsciously regarded her as a dead person, but he never expected that she could become a pawn in his game.

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

The next day.

Before dawn, Chu Mingkong appeared near the martial arts arena, where many people had been waiting for a long time.

These people were all on high alert. After all, each contestant was surrounded by several elders, and the weapons in their hands silently warned those around them – “Don’t touch me.”

The people who are still able to gather here can be considered "survivors" of the "jade tablet looting" in recent days. They have impressive sect backgrounds and powerful backers.

However, they were all on guard against the possibility that there might still be someone with ulterior motives who would try to eliminate opponents outside the arena before the martial arts competition began.

Suddenly, a faint stench filled the crowd.

Someone held their breath and quickly drew their sword:

"Who is it! Trying to pull such a stunt, is that it? Thinking of poisoning people before the martial arts competition even started? Step forward!"

"Excuse me, I just farted." A bystander raised his hand in trembling apology. He was just an ordinary person who hadn't practiced fasting, so he was bound to encounter such embarrassing situations.

Everyone: "......"

Chu Mingkong took a seat at a nearby restaurant, where Zuo Qiuchi, Feng Ying, and the shrunken armored panda Gundan were also seated.

However, Zuo Qiuchi and Feng Ying had already eaten the pastries that Chu Mingkong had taken out, so they didn't want the pastries in the taverns and teahouses anymore. Therefore, Chu Mingkong would pay for them, order a few dishes as a symbol, and then he would take out the pastries for them to eat.

"There are far fewer people now. It seems like things have been quite chaotic these past few days." Chu Mingkong looked at the storage rings in his hand.

It was filled with jade tablets, which basically meant he could fight whomever he wanted and choose his opponents at will.

Zuo Qiuchi ate a few bites of pastry, then picked up some peanuts and tossed them towards Gundan. Gundan jumped up and caught them with his mouth. As he landed back on the chair, the fat on his buttocks jiggled with a "duang~duang~".

Zuo Qiuchi asked:

“Mingkong, didn’t you just go to Tianya Tower yesterday? Just use Yunhan’s connections to get the elders there to make arrangements for you. Carrying so many jade tokens is too much trouble.”

“That’s different. I didn’t reveal my identity when I went to Tianya Tower. Tianya Tower is currently more optimistic about the benefits that the Xiao family can bring to Xiling. They will definitely listen to the Xiao family’s arrangements more than mine. They won’t force Xiao Chengren’s wishes to arrange other opponents for Xiao Fengnan. I took the jade token to deal with unexpected situations. This way, at least I still have the initiative to choose.”

Zuo Qiuchi thought about it and agreed. She then lifted Chu Mingkong's helmet and tossed a steamed bun inside. She asked Feng Ying:

"Fengying, is there any progress on the matter of the Extreme Yin Core?"

"No, but it doesn't have much to do with the Xiao family. The Xiao family has indeed tried to win over some Xiling soldiers, but their plan is to ensure that no one will be left to obey their orders after they take over Xiling. I can't guarantee that this is all the information, as things may change, but this is what I've gathered in the past few days."

Zuo Qiuchi naturally knew that intelligence gathering was difficult, and in such a short time, she couldn't be expected to find out everything. She then asked:

"But didn't I hear Mingkong say before that the Xiao family had been secretly inquiring about Mingkong's route to the capital?"

"Indeed, but they seem to be worried that Mingkong might run away, so they are secretly protecting and monitoring his safe arrival in the capital, lest Xiao Fengnan end up as the hostage."