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

Chu Mingkong went in at dusk. The task was scheduled to refresh at midnight. Chu Mingkong was reluctant to waste the task quota, so he pressed Xiao Zhi down hard and started pounding on her. Ignoring her cries of pain, he raced against time to extract filial piety from her body, trying to fill the task quota before midnight.

They had originally planned to let her rest, but after midnight, Chu Mingkong saw that the mission had just refreshed, and he couldn't help but...

To put it another way, if Master's wife Shen Xuejun said she would prepare an antidote for every disciple of the Wenqing Pavilion, and then, disregarding Chu Mingkong's opinion, dragged him into her room and forcibly squeezed out the medicine, squeezing it out from him for a whole day and night with an indifferent and cold expression, Chu Mingkong himself would also get angry!

Therefore, Xiao Zhi's attitude did have an element of being deserved, but Chu Mingkong also acted like a beast and was in the wrong, which he acknowledged.

Xiao Zhi bit her lip, raising her hand as if to slap Chu Mingkong, but seeing his boyish appearance, she lowered her hand.

"...Despicable! You come to see me like this just so I won't blame you too much?"

Wan Hua spoke up at the opportune moment, feigning ignorance:

"Zhi'er, didn't I tell you to talk to him about the misunderstandings and conflicts you've had over the years? Is there something else?"

“No!” Xiao Zhi said.

Chapter 225 I Don't Need My Mother, I Need a Woman

Chu Mingkong didn't actually feel intense hatred towards his mother, who had large breasts and a round bottom; his feelings were more of aversion and dislike.

Because he knew that his mother, Empress Xiao Zhi, had a reason for her unreasonable dislike of him. If Chu Mingkong were Empress Xiao Zhi's biological son, and Xiao Fengnan were the one who was taken in and became the heir, Chu Mingkong would also be wary of him in the same way.

The conflict between him and Xiao Zhi is like a family conflict between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, or sisters-in-law. Each has their own position, and before they can truly understand each other's thoughts, this conflict of trust is irreconcilable.

However, conflicts are conflicts, if one side escalates them to the level of poisoning, assassination, and framing seen in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," then it will truly become a deadly feud!

Fortunately, Xiao Zhi had never used such methods on him before; she had only been rude. That's why Chu Mingkong still felt guilty after harassing her all night, and was now able to speak to her calmly.

Chu Mingkong had always maintained a sliver of unwavering trust in her—

A mature woman with such a beautiful butt shouldn't be too bad by nature, and she shouldn't do anything too nasty to him, right?

The truth still shines brightly today: this beautiful-buttocked mother did not do anything excessive to him.

It was indeed inappropriate for her to speak ill of the Lu family at the time, but her stance was on Xiao Fengnan and the Xiao family. One's position is determined by one's own interests. If Xiao Zhi could shift her stance slightly towards him now, turning her plump buttocks toward Chu Mingkong, Chu Mingkong would be very happy to see it.

"Why did you give me the King's Seal and the City Lord's Seal? You've done so much, and in the end you just give them to me like this?"

Xiao Zhi's mind was filled with a myriad of complex and chaotic thoughts.

She used to suspect that Chu Mingkong, this outsider, might have designs on seizing the family business, but now he has handed everything in Xiling over to her and even made her sign a blood oath to him.

Chu Mingkong stepped down from his armor and sat down beside her again, nestled against her soft, rounded buttocks. After a moment's thought, he replied:

"There are no so many whys. I never intended to take over Xiling. There are many people I want to be with, many sights I want to see, and many things I want to do. If I were to focus solely on Xiling, none of these things would be possible."

Moreover, the identity of the crown prince has brought me a lot of trouble. I was originally free and unrestrained, but suddenly I was to be sent to the capital as a hostage. If I were just an ordinary hostage, it wouldn't be so bad, but I was also blown up by the Extreme Yin Core and almost didn't make it. Until a few months ago, I was still clinging to life...

More importantly, there is a trust gap between you and my mother. You are beautiful, and I really want to get close to you. Moreover, you breastfed me. It is because of your status as the heir apparent that I cannot get close to you. Don't you think I'm annoying?

The main reason I've returned to Xiling to participate in this martial arts exercise is because I'm annoyed. I still hold the position of the Crown Prince of Xiling, and now someone wants to become the King of Xiling? Does that mean I have to acknowledge someone else as my adoptive father? Besides, I've suffered so much because of my position as Crown Prince, how can I willingly watch someone else become the King of Xiling?

"But if it were you, Mother, who took this position, I wouldn't feel any resentment. Firstly, the crisis of trust between us would have completely disappeared, and secondly, you are my elder, so there's nothing wrong with you becoming the Prince of Xiling; I can accept it psychologically."

"......sorry."

Xiao Zhi was a pampered and privileged person with an arrogant and somewhat conceited personality, and she also had a prejudice against outsiders. Yet now she actually bowed her head to her godson Chu Mingkong, whom she had been estranged from for so long, and said "I'm sorry." This was probably the first time in her life that she had uttered these three words.

She pulled Chu Mingkong into her ample embrace, her beautiful face pressed against his head. Chu Mingkong felt a little suffocated by her full, snowy flesh.

Xiao Zhi's eyes were red. After experiencing so much, she saw the people and things around her more clearly, completely letting go of her long-standing suspicions about Chu Mingkong and truly accepting him.

When she first heard that Chu Mingkong had been injured by the Yin Core, she gloated, thinking he'd been punished for trying to seize Feng Nan's family fortune. When she heard he was being harassed by the emperor in the capital, she even laughed as the messenger recounted the details...

These scenes flashed before her eyes, stirring up endless self-blame and guilt towards Chu Mingkong.

"...It is Mother who has wronged you all these years!"

Chu Mingkong also hugged her and said:

"It's alright. Over the years, I have also been angry and dissatisfied with your cold words, Mother, and I have said bad things about you in private. Let's just call it even and pretend that nothing happened before."

Xiao Zhi stuffed the two tokens back into Chu Mingkong's arms and said:

“These should have been yours. You have suffered a lot because of your status as the crown prince. Only you, Mingkong, can take them. You were so young when you ran away to the border to hide because of me. I am not worthy of these two talismans. Go and talk to the elders. They should have a way to erase my bloodline mark. You can take them back yourself by dripping your own blood.”

Chu Mingkong shook his head. He looked up at the stunningly beautiful woman in front of him. Her teary eyes and reddened rims made her look pitiful and unbearable. Beautiful women really are unreasonable.

"You can keep them. Besides, because of the injury left by the Yin Core, I can't stay in Xiling for too long, so there's no use for me to keep them."

I've also heard from Elder Ding and the others that you've managed Xiling quite well over the years. Mother Consort, you are fully capable of taking on the position of King of Xiling; you are the most suitable person!

Xiao Zhi stroked her son's face bitterly and said with self-deprecation:

"But I don't want to be this so-called Princess Consort of Chu anymore, nor do I want to have anything to do with my family. You can't stay in Xiling. Wherever you go, I'll go with you. It'll be a way of making up for the responsibilities I haven't been able to fulfill as a mother all these years..."

Chu Mingkong still had to return to the capital afterward, and having Xiao Zhi go with him to the capital was difficult due to many things that were hard to take care of. Moreover, Xiling really needed someone to stabilize it at the moment.

"That's not good. If you don't want to be the Princess Consort of Chu, why not change your identity? You can still be the Princess Consort of Chu, but you will no longer be a daughter of the Xiao family, nor a princess consort of Chu. This Princess Consort of Chu is my 'Chu'."

Xiling needs someone to keep it in check. Mother, you can help me become the King of Xiling. You no longer need to rely on the Xiao family or the Chu royal family. I can be your backer.

I'll be the King of Xiling for a while, and once Xiling stabilizes, I can quit if I don't want to be the King anymore.

And Mother, you don't need to feel guilty about me. I've grown up well enough now, and I'm past the age where I need a mother. What I need is... a woman.

--------

P.S.: It's a few minutes late, but I'll still consider it an update from yesterday.

Chapter 226 This is my son!

Giving Tianya City to the Princess Consort of Chu is probably the best option Chu Mingkong can find right now.

Giving it to the Xiao family? With that old bastard Xiao Chengren around, giving it to the Xiao family actually made Chu Mingkong very uncomfortable. The fact that Xiao Chengren's two daughters had similar life experiences was inextricably linked to that old pimp. But giving Xiling to the Princess Consort of Chu would have a different meaning now. The Princess Consort of Chu, who was unwilling to compromise, was forced to exchange herself for medicine, which meant she had already separated herself from her maternal family.

Chu Mingkong actually admired strong-willed women like the Princess Consort of Chu. The social norms of this era deeply constrained women; after reaching adulthood, a woman's life was limited to only two possible destinies.

In rare cases, relationships may develop between the husband's family and the wife's family, but primarily between the former two.

Without the first two options, a woman is practically without support. If her children grow up and start their own families, they might become her new support. However, most children belong to their husbands' families. Therefore, in this era, the tragedy for women is that they cannot escape their husbands' families and can only swallow their bitterness and know the coldness and warmth of their own lives.

When the Queen Consort of Chu discovered that her husband refused to pass the title of heir to her own flesh and blood, she resolutely returned to her parents' home. Upon discovering that both her parents' home and her own flesh and blood were in the same boat, even though she had sacrificed her most precious chastity and dignity for them, she could still abandon her parents' home without hesitation and would no longer foolishly listen to them, even though her parents' home was her last resort.

This kind of boldness is also one of the charms of the Queen Consort of Chu.

Although she still has her daughter to turn to, having been hurt in both of her major life circles, she is probably more inclined to choose the path of simply ending her life.

Chu Mingkong hoped that Tianya City could become her temporary home, a place where she could take full control and no longer have to rely on her husband's family or her own family for support.

Moreover, after being single for so long and meeting so many girls and beautiful women in the capital, Chu Mingkong found it hard to be as carefree as before. He desperately needed a "base," a trustworthy base, so that he could settle his lovers in the capital.

Otherwise, if any unrest were to occur in the capital in the future, it would be difficult for Chu Mingkong to find a safe place for the girls.

He will gradually "empty" the capital, and Consort Wan is the first one he brings out. Taking advantage of the Xiao family's wishful thinking, he will make Consort Wan "disappear" and never return to the Tianji royal family.

Having the title of "Left Minister" attached to Tianya City was one of Chu Mingkong's original ideas, but that would have meant he would be a hands-off manager and unable to properly manage Xiling. Now, handing it over to Princess Chu is the best possible choice.

Holding Chu Mingkong in her arms, the once calmed-down heart gradually stirred with unease after careful consideration. She said:

“Mingkong, but I’m worried about the Xiao family… only my maternal family might try to get in touch with me because I’ve taken over Tianya City. Aren’t you afraid of your maternal relatives taking up important positions in Xiling?”

The fact that she has these thoughts now means that she no longer considers herself a member of the Xiao family... Chu Mingkong came up with a solution for her:

"Then conceal your identities. Right now, you and Consort Wan are still missing. Let's just keep 'missing' like this. You can use the City Lord's Mansion to shut up the elders of Tianya Tower and prevent them from revealing your whereabouts and true identities. If they do, then we'll deal with them."

As for your new identity, I've been using the title "Lord Zuo" for now, so Mother Consort, you should keep a low profile and present yourself as "Madam Zuo."

If you don't want the Xiao family members active in Xiling, then eliminate them. Mother Consort, you should know which people the Xiao family has planted in Xiling; I'll have to trouble you to do that.

So, wouldn't this count as adding another "wife" to Master Zuo Qiuchi after "Master's wife"?

Regarding the fact that Xiling now has a de facto new king, there are still many things to deal with, but that's for Princess Chu to handle. Chu Mingkong can only follow up with intelligence and see which tough issues he needs to deal with. He can't interfere with the trivial matters, and he doesn't have the time to do so either.

However, there was still one thing he hadn't explained, which Chu Mingkong planned to tell him in a letter later.

Having explained the general direction of the important matters, Princess Chu's attention returned to her relationship with Chu Mingkong. After resolving their past grievances, all the comfortable barriers of the past turned into guilt at this moment. She was eager to make amends for these mistakes and did not want these past misunderstandings to affect her current reconciliation with Chu Mingkong.

The idea of ​​exchanging her body for medicine had been a thorn in her side for a while, a lump in her throat that would fill her with nameless anger whenever she thought about it. Now, although she still felt something was off, that intense aversion had disappeared, and she had come to regard it as "a small misunderstanding between herself and her son" or "her son's little prank on her."

What lingered in her heart that night was no longer the stinging pain of humiliation, but a subtle embarrassment and shyness. When this subtle feeling surfaced in her mind as a memory, it would still stir up a tingling tremor in her heart and a primal desire as a woman...

“Mother, I really never thought that I could reconcile with you one day. Before I secretly returned to Xiling, I never thought this was possible, nor did I ever think that I could be held by you like this again.”

"It's a bit late, I'm sorry..."

Previously, only Xiao Fengnan could accompany Princess Chu like this, but this companionship mostly involved Princess Chu having Xiao Fengnan walk beside her or sit next to her. After the position of heir apparent was given to her adopted son, Chu Mingkong, Princess Chu became even less likely to show her tenderness, nor would she display gentleness to Xiao Fengnan and Xiao Yunhan. Naturally, she wouldn't make gestures like hugging; she would only project a strong image. Perhaps this was to make her children mature earlier, no longer like "infants," especially her son Fengnan, so that he would clearly understand everything that had been taken from him.

Chu Mingkong himself never expected that the Princess Consort of Chu would abandon her strong personality to embrace someone else, and that person was none other than himself.

"There's no need to feel so guilty, Mother. I didn't come here to make you blame yourself or be sad. I was just expressing my feelings because I wanted to share your joy... Let's talk later. Now I want to take a shower and rest. I'm a little tired."

Chu Mingkong looked tired. After leaving the capital, the depletion of his extreme Yang energy had removed the suppression of his heart injury. The sword strike on the martial arts stage earlier had also taken a toll on him. So when he said he wanted to rest, it wasn't an excuse to end the conversation.

Consort Wan, who had been watching Chu Mingkong call Xiao Zhi "Mother" for so long, was already extremely jealous and immediately said:

"Zhi'er, so much has happened, you need time to sort out your thoughts. I'll accompany Mingkong to take a bath."

Princess Chu shielded the boy, then realized that Wan Hua seemed unusually close to Chu Mingkong:

"No need, I will take good care of myself."

Chapter 227 Bathing Together

In the past, only the Princess Consort of Chu could use the bathhouse in Qingxin Mansion. She even had someone inscribe a plaque with the words "Hibiscus Pool" and hang it outside the bathhouse, which means "lotus emerging from the water".

However, today there was more than just Princess Chu here. Chu Mingkong, who originally just wanted to "take a quick dip" and then go to sleep, was first taken back to Qingxin Mansion and then made to soak in the Lotus Pond.

"I'm too tired to take a bath. A quick rinse with water will do. I want to sleep," Chu Mingkong said, looking at his two beautiful mothers in front of him.

"It's alright, you'll sleep more comfortably if you're clean. If you're still injured or anything, you should at least clean the wounds. What if you don't pay attention and it affects the wounds?" This time, Consort Wan held him back, not wanting him to leave. She hadn't even waited for Chu Mingkong to call her affectionately yet. "If Mingkong wants to sleep, just sleep in my arms. I'll clean you up and carry you back to rest later, it's the same!"

Under the ardent and expectant gaze of Consort Wan, Chu Mingkong felt a chill in his heart. Consort Wan was probably worried that he would no longer want her as his "mother" after seeing that he had reconciled with Princess Chu, and she was eager to hear him call her that again to put her mind at ease. But Princess Chu was also present. What if they had a conflict?

Chu Mingkong, feeling helpless under her gaze and not wanting her to worry, whispered: