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

However, the fact that the Queen of Chu took his actions to heart and showed him favoritism, even going so far as to grant him the highest merit according to the military merit system, made him feel quite good.

"Isn't Mother my reward? I think this is the best reward. No merit, rank, or wealth can compare to Mother!"

"...You, be serious!" Princess Chu scolded playfully, turning her face away from him. "I'm talking about something serious!"

"I'm serious! If it really doesn't work, how about you wear this again, Mother? Just seeing you wear it once would be a huge reward!" Chu Mingkong took out a cat-ear headband, which was fluffy and smooth to the touch.

"How come you always have so many strange and wonderful things!" Princess Chu's face burned as she recalled the time she dressed up as a cat for him.

Chu Ming said in a hollow voice, "Because I have a... cat toy!"

Chapter 261 The Rogue Cultivator Causes Trouble

Thinking about dressing up as a cat, Princess Chu remembered the cat tail, which was what left the deepest impression on her and had greatly affected her at the time. For a woman of her status to dress up as a cat in front of complete strangers was already a great humiliation, but to make matters worse, the cat tail was worn in such a strange way.

Now, whenever Chu Mingkong mentions dressing up as a cat, even though he only takes out a cat ear headdress, she's worried that he might also take out a tail.

As soon as she thought about the tail, Princess Chu's body involuntarily reacted, and she began to recall the incident of the hole in the wall the night before. That feeling was both intoxicating and wonderful. Chu Mingkong was like a very thick snake, slowly crawling into the depths of her heart, stirring up a storm of emotions within her.

Chu Mingkong put the cat ears on Princess Chu's head and suddenly noticed that her expression was not very natural. He was worried that Princess Chu might not like this.

Although he had some romantic thoughts, she was already tired after a long day, and he just wanted her to rest. He only took out the cat ears because he thought they were cute and interesting for the Princess of Chu to wear.

However, Princess Chu's expression made Chu Mingkong worry that she might still be bothered by what happened that night. Little did he know that Princess Chu was only worried about why her son hadn't revealed his true colors yet, and whether he should refuse if he did.

When she's thinking about whether or not she should do something, rather than subconsciously rejecting it, she already has the answer deep down, but she's just unwilling to admit it.

"Mother, I didn't mean anything by it. If you don't like it, you can tell me directly. I'll take you back to your room to rest. Now that the reward has been decided, there's no need to think about anything else. Resting is the most important thing."

Chu Mingkong removed her ear and carefully helped her up by the arm. Her forearm, which was exposed from her sleeve, was fair and smooth, with skin as soft as a baby's.

"No... then rest first. Mingkong, you should rest too. You're the one who's more tired. You handled all the major enemies in the Abyss, and you were the coachman on the way back. You haven't slept much at all," said Princess Chu.

However, before resting, they still needed to have breakfast. Chu Mingkong took Princess Chu back to her boudoir. Consort Wan did not go out to walk around in the room, but sat by the window looking at the street scene below Tianya Tower. When she saw Chu Mingkong and Princess Chu return, Consort Wan looked surprised.

She thought Chu Mingkong had gone to rest after hearing what the Princess of Chu said, but she didn't expect him to come back again.

"Mingkong, why haven't you gone to rest yet? Zhi'er said you fought several battles in the Abyss and are exhausted!"

Consort Wan came over nervously, went to her son's side, took his hand in her hands, and looked at his face, as if checking for any injuries.

Chu Mingkong pulled the two beautiful mothers to sit down by the bed and comforted them with a smile:

"You're too nervous! It's nothing serious, there's no injury at all, don't worry. I bet Consort Wanhua hasn't had breakfast yet, let's eat something together."

Chu Mingkong quickly filled the table with breakfast snacks. The two beautiful women, unfazed by such sights, didn't wonder how Chu Mingkong always carried so much food in his storage ring.

The three sat down to eat together. Although Consort Wan and Princess Chu were hungry, they couldn't eat much. Chu Mingkong ate most of it by himself.

Chu Mingkong poured himself a cup of tea and asked:

“Mother Consort Wanhua, you were looking out the window just now. Did you want to go out for a walk? The people are just getting up now, and there are many people going to the market and early morning market. After these two hours, I will accompany you for a walk.”

Consort Wan didn't really crave going out. Having stayed in the deep palace for so long, she had long been used to it. When she first entered the palace, she did long to go out and stroll through the bustling city. But after becoming a consort, she had the choice to go out one day a month, and going out felt like nothing special. Gradually, she lost that hope.

The bustling crowds and vibrant atmosphere on the street were captivating, and Consort Wan could spend a whole day watching from her window. However, if she were to join in, she would lose all interest.

"No, I'm just taking a look. Don't worry about me. I'll take you back to your room to rest. I won't leave until you've rested."

Seeing that her sister, Consort Wan, was about to take her son to the next room to be alone, who knows how her son would be taken advantage of.

Princess Chu wasn't about to just watch; she grabbed Chu Mingkong's hand and, in her haste, came up with an excuse:

"No... Mingkong is exhausted after all. I can't rest easy without watching him rest. Besides, the bed here is more comfortable than the one next door. Mingkong, rest here. You're not allowed to go anywhere until I see you get enough sleep!"

Chu Mingkong preemptively interrupted, giving them no room to elaborate, and took the initiative to make his decision, saying:

"Actually, I was worried that Consort Xiao Zhi wasn't getting enough rest. She was still dealing with memorials just now. Let's keep an eye on each other."

"Since we have nothing else to do, I'll sleep with you all. I'll just treat it as a lazy nap," Consort Wan said.

So, Chu Mingkong put his two mothers to bed, one on each side, though he was definitely pretending to be asleep with his eyes closed. Although the Princess Consort of Chu had been nourished by the power of the Su Nu Jing during her cultivation, her cultivation level was not deep enough, and she still felt the burden. Her energetic spirit was quickly overwhelmed by sleepiness after she got into bed, and she fell asleep in no time.

The Chu Princess's voluptuous and fiery figure pressed against him without any restraint. Chu Mingkong's heart fluttered, and he resisted the urge to play with the peach, pretending to be asleep.

Consort Wan strongly suspected that Princess Chu might have secretly tried to get closer to her son during the entire night they spent in Jiyuan.

Although the two didn't show anything, the atmosphere between them couldn't hide it from her. But no matter how confused she was, all she wanted now was for her son to get some rest before they talked about it.

Consort Wan's body pressed against Chu Mingkong's, embracing him. In the atmosphere of his deep sleep, she gradually grew tired and soon fell asleep as well.

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

Downstairs, the elders received the City Lord's Pavilion's instructions regarding the rewards for the Extreme Abyss Border Fortress. After briefly refining the details, they arranged the matter in an orderly and efficient manner.

Elder Qian, who was in charge of the economy of Tianya City, reviewed the reward arrangements and nodded, saying:

"This temporary supply arrangement is both cunning and meticulous. Your Highness... even the City Lord noticed this potential danger."

After expressing his feelings, he quickly made the arrangements.

While transporting supplies across these borders takes time, and we can deliver military merit rewards to the Abyss Border as quickly as possible, we still can't deliver them immediately.

Before the supplies are delivered, a notice announcing the rewards must be made.

This kind of proclamation serves two purposes: firstly, to inform the people what happened at the border of Jiyuan and who made great contributions; and secondly, to encourage other soldiers to learn from it and to solidify the new king's prestige.

Elder Ding and several other elders reviewed the contents of the notice and, after confirming that there were no errors, arranged for people to post it on notice boards throughout Tianya City.

These are all minor matters, just the most inconspicuous kind in their daily work. Nobody paid them any attention, and they immediately moved on to other things after dealing with them.

But half a day later, someone suddenly came to report:

"Elder, many rogue cultivators are causing trouble."

"Trouble? What's going on? What happened?" Elder Ding was completely bewildered.

“The rogue cultivators said we withheld their pay, and I said they ran away beforehand, but no one listened to my reasoning.”

Chapter 262 Demonstration

Waterwheel Pavilion is the place in Tianya City where commissions are posted and where commissions from cultivators are accepted. It is named after the waterwheel landscape in the courtyard.

A group of independent cultivators have gathered here. Some of them are holding the notice that Tianya Tower just posted. They are indignant and have a heated discussion with their fellow cultivators. The core point of contention is none other than the matter of this reward.

The rewards and incentives that Tianya Tower provides for the border defense are incredibly generous, with supplies far exceeding the rewards for military merit. There aren't a particularly large number of soldiers at the Jiyuan Border Fortress; those selected there are all people with a certain level of cultivation. Those with lower cultivation levels would be useless, serving no purpose other than sweeping horse manure. It's similar to an elite corps.

The notice clearly listed the names of everyone who would receive the reward at the Abyss Border. This reward, distributed among everyone, was still very generous, even more than the great merit rewards of major sects!

Looking at what they themselves received, the psychological gap became apparent. As independent cultivators already lacked cultivation resources, they would fight for anything that was profitable.

"We were all on the frontier of the Abyss, assisting in defense. We all faced the same dangers. That place was practically right next to the Abyss, and it was incredibly eerie. One moment there were chantings, the next there were skeleton soldiers running out. Those soldiers even knew martial arts and combat skills! I still feel some yin energy entering my body. It's one thing that there was no compensation for healing, but the difference in treatment is just too great!"

"When I was on guard there, all the soldiers were sleeping. It was us rogue cultivators who did the most work. It's one thing for Tianya Tower to treat outsiders differently, I don't care about suffering a little loss, but this is too much. Could it be that you gave the share that should have belonged to us to those sleeping soldiers?"

As soon as such malicious speculation was raised, it was met with a response from a group of independent cultivators who shouted in protest, causing passersby to stop and watch in order to see what had happened.

However, those more skilled in rhetoric used a feigned retreat, exchanging a glance with the rogue cultivator beside them, and then spoke in unison:

"It shouldn't be that bad, fellow Daoist. Is it possible that Tianya Tower originally gave us the same reward as the soldiers at the Jiyuan border, but someone cut it off in the middle?"

"People outside, this won't do. We might suffer a loss once, but you've just changed your masters. If there are such treacherous officials among your officials, who dare to bully and deceive even us cultivators, will you still have a good life in the future?"

Some independent cultivators were trying to garner more support. Many sect disciples hadn't yet left Xiling, especially those who had returned from the border of the Abyss. They wanted to know what would happen next and were observing for the time being, so they could withdraw promptly if anything went wrong and return to their sects to report. The independent cultivators wanted to involve the sect disciples as well, to have them exert pressure together. Why not take advantage of such a benefit?

However, the major righteous sects have strict rules, especially those that affect the sect's reputation, which are severely punished. Although they also desired this reward, they hesitated and chose to step aside and observe.

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

Chu Mingkong was lying comfortably with two beautiful women when someone knocked on the door of the City Lord's Pavilion, which made him quite unhappy and disappointed.

Not wanting to wake the Princess Consort of Chu and Consort Wan, he reluctantly pulled himself out of their embrace, put his stiff armor back on, opened the pavilion door, and asked what was wrong.

The elder in charge of the Waterwheel Pavilion came to report the situation. He took "Left Minister" to Elder Ding to participate in the ceremony and told him about the situation on the way.

Chu Mingkong was speechless after hearing this; what kind of situation was this...?

When it came to rewarding them, he and Princess Chu were most worried about whether other soldiers would object. They even went to great lengths and used a little trick to come up with "military merits + supplies".

It turned out that these independent cultivators were the ones who had objections!

Upon arriving at Elder Ding's place, Chu Mingkong said:

"Shouldn't we just follow the rules for this kind of thing? The reward for the mission of defending the border of the extreme abyss is much higher than that for other missions. This is really greedy."

Elder Ding stamped his foot, his neck turning red with anger after his subordinates relayed the comments of those rogue cultivators.

"I also want to kill these damned bastards, but this matter is of great importance. If the rogue cultivators stop coming to handle some of the commissions from Xiling in the future, it will also be a problem for us."

What's there to be afraid of!

Now that Chu Mingkong has the backing of his master's wife Shen Xuejun's Wenqing Pavilion, wouldn't it be better to tell his master's wife to send more disciples over for training?

However, upon calming down, the existence of independent cultivators is also necessary. Take the recent border defense of the Abyss as an example. If a large number of disciples from the Asking Love Pavilion were to die near the Abyss because of this commission, it would damage their relationships. But if it were independent cultivators, there would be no problem. They act on contracts, and the risks and benefits coexist.

It's just about giving them easy shifts and more rest time. There's no reason for you to receive high pay without any risk.

Chu Mingkong thought for a moment and decided that he shouldn't dwell on it:

"If we act according to the contract, then we must settle accounts according to the contract. What difference does it make if we give more to our own soldiers? Tianya Tower's attitude now represents Xiling's attitude. There shouldn't be a place that specifically fawns over outsiders, right?"

Propagate the story that these rogue cultivators snatch any lucrative job they see and run away at the slightest sign of danger at the border of the Abyss. Then issue a notice to express gratitude to the sect disciples who have held out for so long, and give them extra rewards based on their military merits, thus improving relations with them.

However, it's important to note that this is a thank-you gift, not an additional fee for the commission. Once a precedent is set, even a dog will come along demanding extra fees, so it's crucial to distinguish between the two!

But we really need to go to the scene and slaughter a few of the jumping monkeys.

Accompanied by several elders, Chu Mingkong arrived at the Waterwheel Pavilion, which was now almost completely surrounded by people.

Some ordinary people who were originally just watching the show started to worry and discuss among themselves when they heard that their local officials might exploit and oppress them in the future.

Chu Mingkong, dressed so unusually, walked past, and passersby quickly made way for him. He went straight to the point and asked:

"Who was spreading rumors about embezzlement just now?"

One of the rogue cultivators stepped forward, thinking the other party was probably there to smooth things over, and softened his tone, offering both sides a way out:

"This isn't a rumor we're spreading; it's just a possibility. Tianyalou's differential treatment in this matter is indeed unfair!"

Chu Mingkong looked at the disciples of the sect. They carried a trace of the abyss's aura, indicating they had been brought back from the edge of the abyss. He cupped his hands and said: