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

Unfortunately, before they could come up with a solution, it was already time for their late-night chat. The two graceful and elegant ladies had changed their clothes.

However, since it was already bedtime, they did not wear gorgeous clothes or exquisite headdresses. Instead, they wore plain nightgowns on the outside and close-fitting bodices on the inside, with the neckline deliberately left open.

The mother, son, and two others sat down in silence. They all knew what had happened; such an incident had just occurred and was exposed to both sides.

Although both Consort Wan and Princess Chu had their moments of advantage over each other, they were also in the wrong. Consort Wan secretly contacted Chu Mingkong behind Princess Chu's back, even wearing the robes of the Princess of Xiling and making Chu Mingkong call her "Mother." Meanwhile, Princess Chu secretly read Consort Wan's note, which led to a rapid advancement in their relationship, and she later retaliated by changing her clothes.

If you really compare the time spent with Chu Mingkong, it's impossible to calculate precisely, but generally speaking, neither side has an advantage.

She could be so assertive when she discussed things with Chu Mingkong in private, but now that they met, she couldn't confront him like a shrew and start a fight... After all, her son was there, and she had to maintain her image as the perfect mother in his eyes!

Chu Mingkong still wanted to see if there was any way to salvage the situation, because the Princess Consort had just told him that he should pretend to drug her, and then she would pretend to be drugged and fall asleep, but in reality she would know what happened the whole time and write it down so she could take revenge tomorrow.

If Zhi'er were to remain sober while he were ravaging and manipulating Consort Wan's delicate body, and considering that Consort Wan would undoubtedly scream as loudly as possible to vent her anger, Zhi'er would be furious, her anger building up.

Chu Mingkong remembered that Jin Yu had once said this in anger, saying that if Yongzhen wouldn't give it to her, she would become Chu Mingkong's lover to spite her. He didn't expect that Jin Yu had never done that, but her mothers-in-law had started fighting amongst themselves first.

Chu Mingkong thought that he should first disperse the hatred between them, but before that, he should first get Consort Wan and Princess Chu away from each other, that is, stop them from sitting face to face like this.

He said:

"Why are you all silent? This is a rare time for us to be together, so we should talk. Why don't we lie down and chat? At this hour, I just want to lie down as soon as I lean against the bed."

This was the son's suggestion, and Consort Wan and Princess Chu naturally agreed without any objection.

Having lain like this before, they now had a tacit understanding. Chu Mingkong lay in the middle, and the two of them lay down on either side of their son, resting their heads on his broad shoulders.

When Consort Wan saw the Chu Princess's pair of firm, large breasts pressing heavily against Chu Mingkong, she also pressed her own impressively large, soft breasts against Chu Mingkong's side, her beautifully shaped pink legs hooking around Chu Mingkong's legs.

Seeing this, the Princess of Chu also stretched out her leg and wrapped it around Chu Mingkong's thigh.

The two of them each occupied half of Chu Mingkong's body, neither willing to give way, and even just lying there, they could smell the tension that was about to erupt.

Chu Mingkong realized that his plan to divert attention had failed, so he had to implement a subsequent plan to shift hatred.

Before that, he tried to ease the tension by saying:

"My mothers, stop fighting... If you quarrel because of me, I can only go back to be with my master."

Princess Chu and Consort Wan then stopped exchanging glances and lay hidden beside him.

"When many people listen to a story, they always try to find a familiar person in their mind to identify with the story, so that the story becomes more concrete in their minds. Do you know who I was thinking of when I heard the story I told in the teahouse?"

""I.""

The two beautiful mothers simultaneously rushed to get ahead.

The smell of gunpowder suddenly returned.

Princess Chu has something to say: back then, Mingkong didn't even know you, so why did you recognize him? Consort Wan also has something to say: back then, Mingkong and you were like oil and water, almost enemies, so why are you trying to get close to him?

Chu Mingkong dared not delay any longer and stopped keeping everyone in suspense:

"It's my Aunt Gu, an elder of the Gu family in Xiling, who is now married into the Cui family in the capital."

He silently apologized to Aunt Gu. Distant water can't quench a nearby fire, but correspondingly, the nearby fire can't burn distant water. Anyway, Aunt Gu is in the capital, and there's nothing the two beautiful concubines can do no matter how angry they are. It's better than continuing to dislike each other.

"Don't be fooled by how carefree I am on the frontier. I actually face many difficulties. Just think about it, the food here is definitely not as good as what you get in the royal palace. Sometimes I don't even have anyone to talk to when I want to talk to my elders."

Before Chu Mingkong could finish speaking, Princess Chu's momentum weakened, so she had no choice but to move closer to him and hug him, almost burying his head in her chest. Consort Wan looked at her with a hint of reproach in her eyes.

“At that time, Aunt Gu took good care of me, so when I learned that Aunt Gu had married far away to the capital, I was really sad. I was no longer the elder who took care of me. During that time, I often went fishing by the river. When I was fishing, it was easy to clear my mind and forget a lot of troubles. While fishing, an old man told me that story, and I imagined the woman in the story as Aunt Gu.”

Chu Mingkong quietly observed the two of them and, sure enough, the tension had subsided considerably; the hatred had been diverted.

Princess Chu and Consort Wan were naturally too preoccupied to pay attention to each other. Even though it was the eve of their parting, their son told them in front of them that one of his closest elders in his early years was another woman.

The story of the widow is not important in terms of how tragic her background was. What matters is that this woman represents something extraordinary. She was the first woman that boy was fond of and attached to during his innocent and ignorant period, and her status was extraordinary.

Mingkong, however, said that he had projected the image of "Aunt Gu" onto that character back then, which means...

A sense of crisis!

When Consort Wan was still in the capital, she learned about Chu Mingkong from a palace maid. The maid said that he was close to the Cui family. This clearly shows that he was close to this elder who had married far away.

Chu Mingkong dared not continue praising Aunt Gu back then; saying too much would only incite too much hatred. He made a few simple remarks and then changed the subject:

"Don't just talk to me, Empress Xiao Zhi, Empress Wan Hua, do you have anything you'd like to discuss?"

"It's about time for you to sleep, Zhi'er. Are you thirsty?" Consort Wan asked gently. "If you are thirsty, how about I have Mingkong pour you a cup of tea?"

The situation on the embroidered couch suddenly became tense.

Princess Chu's focus returned to the "main topic" of the night. Although she said she was willing to swallow this bitter pill, she couldn't really be so open-minded.

Wan Hua thought Xiao Zhi had gotten a huge advantage, so why didn't she ever suffer any injustice?

Since everyone knows the truth, Wan Hua shouldn't think he can take advantage so easily!

The Queen of Chu took out... a cat's tail from a storage bracelet placed to the side. Then, with a forced smile, she said:

"Wanhua, Mingkong likes to play this. Why don't you play with him? He really likes cat demon women with long tails!"

Chu Mingkong's eyebrows twitched, and a bead of cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

Consort Wan picked up the cat tail with suspicion and examined it closely. The craftsmanship was indeed impressive, lifelike. If one did not observe it closely, one might have thought it was really plucked from the cat demon.

It's this... the connection point that looks like a string of gourds, it looks rather strange, and inexplicably captivating.

Having spent a lot of time with Chu Mingkong, Consort Wan had guessed about 70-80% of how to use this thing, and cast a questioning look at Chu Mingkong.

Chu Mingkong said, embarrassed:

"This... is a toy for disguising a cat demon!"

"Mingkong, take out the one you took back and show it to your mother, Consort Wanhua. If she's not willing to do that, then don't talk about being close to her son. Let her go rest next door by herself!"

The Princess Consort of Chu was referring to the very first special edition, which Chu Mingkong had taken away. Unable to resist the Princess Consort's gaze, he had no choice but to take it out.

Consort Wan had already guessed how the tail was used, but when she saw the size that Chu Mingkong had just taken out, she wondered if she had misunderstood. It was just too frightening!

Actually, the tail that was just taken out was similar to Chu Mingkong's spearhead, but the "bottle stopper" shape, taken out separately, was much more visually frightening. Some things, even if the size remains the same, change their visual impact simply by changing their shape.

It's like taking the spearhead off an ordinary spear and attaching a piece of jade of similar size to it. Then, you wield this uniquely shaped spearhead to fight, and the opponent's inner pressure immediately increases!

Consort Wan was startled at first sight by this. When she saw her sister trying to suppress her with her aura, she took out a jade dildo from her storage bracelet and placed it on the bed.

"How come it seems like only you've ever played around with Mingkong?" she asked.

but,

Princess Chu also pulled out a jade dildo and slapped it onto the bed, just like Consort Wan's—both were custom-made by her son.

The way he looked at Consort Wan seemed to say, "What are you so smug about?"

"Looks like I spend more time with Mingkong, huh?" she said with a smile.

Consort Wan, however, did not want to bow down to her sister. Adhering to the principle of sisters harming each other, she picked up the tail, about the size of her son, took a deep breath to bolster her courage, and said to Chu Mingkong:

"Mingkong, do you have any more? You like it so much, don't neglect Zhi'er and make her fall asleep dressed as a cat demon... No, we still need to make Zhi'er drink tea later!"

Why did Chu Mingkong vaguely hear "My son is taking his medicine" in the phrase "Zhi'er, have some tea"?

Chu Mingkong dared not sit idly by any longer. He confiscated all the strange things on the bed. He was undoubtedly the one who started it all, and he felt extremely guilty.

He took the hands of two beautiful, mature women and said:

"Stop arguing, Consort Xiao Zhi and Consort Wan Hua. The dissatisfaction you have with each other is actually partly my fault. Why blame the other party but not me? This matter is a matter between the two parties, and I even bear more responsibility."

Seeing you sisters, who have finally reunited, harboring resentment towards each other, yet not blaming me at all, makes me feel guilty. Let's settle the score with me first, and then you can settle the score with each other, okay?

The conflict between Princess Chu and Consort Wan stemmed from two pressures. On one hand, they worried that Chu Mingkong would run off with the other, thus favoring the other and neglecting themselves. On the other hand, they were both wary and distrustful of each other, each feeling that the other might use underhanded tricks to bewitch Chu Mingkong.

All Chu Mingkong could do was try his best to treat both of them well, just like he had tried to be fair to them a few days ago.

However, this two-sided chain of suspicion is like a two-headed dragon (referring to a monster with two heads). If you don't exert yourself, you may end up at a disadvantage... If you only pay attention to one head, you may be hurt by the other head.

Consort Wan and Princess Chu were suspicious of each other, and also of whether their son could be devoted to them. They didn't believe that Chu Mingkong was truly greedy enough to want to keep both of them.

Especially Consort Wan, who had witnessed palace affairs and knew the fates of women who entered the palace throughout the history of the Tianji royal family, where favor and disfavor could sometimes be decided in the blink of an eye.

If you can't be the only one favored, it's the same as being out of favor; ultimately, it's because you're tired of it and bored with it.

All trust and cooperation in the world are built on common interests. Some people think that blood ties are very reliable, but Consort Wan and Princess Chu were both betrayed in a family that only cared about profit.

Wanting to trust in the eternity of love, the two believed even more in relying on themselves to ensure their son would always watch over them.

Chu Mingkong watched them argue for so long and realized that they couldn't achieve harmony through mutual understanding. But he couldn't blame them; having been hurt once, neither of them wanted to be the passive party anymore.

The only solution he can think of right now seems to be to try something extraordinary by going all out and making them truly believe that he's interested in both sides, otherwise problems are bound to arise sooner or later.

What appears to be merely playful bickering and a tit-for-tat exchange of grievances is actually due to his mediating role, which keeps the atmosphere at a critical juncture.

He'll be gone in a couple of days. The little grudges and frictions between the two of them in their daily lives will eventually pile up into a hidden danger that can't be ignored.

Chu Mingkong was afraid that if he acted recklessly, these two women would not accept it and would ruin their relationship. But now he had no choice but to act recklessly. If he messed it up, he would take Consort Wan back and find a place to settle her.

The silence in the room was building. Chu Mingkong broke the silence and said:

"It seems a bit hot tonight, so the mothers don't need to wear so many clothes."

His clothes had already been thrown to the foot of the bed while he was talking.

Princess Chu and Consort Wan were quite confused, but they still did as instructed, piling two light and soft plain-colored robes at the foot of the bed.

Consort Wan was suddenly picked up by Chu Mingkong and placed on the plump body of Princess Chu. The two beautiful women lay on the embroidered couch in an embracing posture.

They looked at Chu Mingkong with confusion and bewilderment. Chu Mingkong, abandoning his previous gentle and compliant demeanor, spoke with a firm tone:

"I don't want my last days to be spent arguing with my baby's mothers, nor do I want it to be Wan Hua's mother tonight and Xiao Zhi's mother tomorrow, taking turns like this. I want you all to be with me!"

Chapter 273 Dry Clothing

"...Mingkong, let me rest...let me have some water..."

Consort Wan spoke weakly, her cheeks flushed with a moist red. The alluring spring in her expression now evoked more weariness and exhaustion. Even as Chu Mingkong poured his profound inner energy into nourishing her meridians and supplied her with a continuous stream of essence to drink, the liquid spilled from her lips, splattering all over her face. Her dark hair clung to her jade-like features.

Her body didn't suffer much damage during the cultivation process, but her spirit was exhausted. It wasn't that Chu Mingkong didn't want to be gentle with her, but he was afraid they would quarrel along the way, so he spared no effort to show them his sincerity from the very beginning.

Although the arrival of spring overnight brings a beautiful and prosperous night with thousands of pear trees in full bloom, if the night is filled with a sudden storm, it can feel like cruelly destroying the flowers.

Now, no matter how strong-willed Consort Wan and Princess Chu were, all they had left was stubbornness.

Chu Mingkong held Consort Wan's soft, jade-like body and the dancer's strong, delicate body in his arms. Even his waist was exhausted. He helped Consort Wan lie down on the table, shook the teapot, and found it empty. He could not pour out more than a few drops of tea, only tea leaves were left swaying inside.