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

Shangguan Rong first determined the direction and said:

"To be on the safe side, don't trust anyone for now; that way, we won't make any mistakes!"

Gu Jungui felt that what she said made sense, and after calming down, he nodded and said:

"Alright, then I'll go and ask Feihuang and Keqing to bring these notes over for Rong'er to look after. I'll also ask them to gather in my room to explain this matter. What do you think?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking too!"

The women in the Cui household usually move around, but they don't always hang out together. They all have their own things to do, and it's rare for them to gather together. But this morning, they all gathered in Gu Jungui's room.

After Gu Jun Gui and Shangguan Rong finished describing the situation of the note from that morning, they were already worried about the situation in Xiling. Feng Ke Qing remained silent, but was too anxious to sit still.

Zhong Feihuang's expression was also not good. She was worried about the situation with Chu Mingkong in Xiling, but she still scolded him harshly:

"How exactly is Mingkong handling things? They sent us local specialties from Xiling, including several pieces of salted fish and cured meat. We all thought Xiling was alright, but how did the situation change so suddenly?"

Ke Qing was of a gentle nature. Seeing Zhong Feihuang's anxious anger, she instead comforted others, saying:

"Don't worry, this means the situation in Xiling is complicated. Perhaps another force has launched a counterattack, otherwise Xiling wouldn't have been sealed off for so long!"

“Sigh! I understand your anxiety, Feihuang. I’m anxious too, but there’s no use being anxious now. Let’s all think of a solution together… No wonder Mingkong sent this note back but hasn’t contacted us yet. So that’s why. He’s probably been following up on this matter.”

"But didn't the Xiao family members all slink back to the capital? And it seems that the head of the Xiao family also slinked back to his hometown not long after... Mingkong went back to Xiling to deal with the martial arts competition in Tianya City, right? Wasn't it all over? Mingkong should have won, so how come there's such a complicated situation!"

"It seems that there are undercurrents in Xiling now, and the competition between the overt and covert forces is fierce. The Xiao family has already withdrawn, so who else is left? The royal family? It seems that Consort Wan from the palace went missing in the turmoil in Xiling a few days ago. Could they have used this as an excuse to join the chaos?"

"When you went shopping these past few days, I heard some wandering people saying that some rogue cultivators were talking about the Extreme Abyss, killing people indiscriminately, not paying for commissions, and causing chaos. This... so many crises are hidden under its closed-off nature! Sister-in-law, do you have any news from your family? Why don't you write a letter back and ask them?"

"That kid Mingkong is incompetent. Why did he even bother going back to Xiling? Since he had the ability to leave the capital, he should have just gone to join his sister's sect. It's really... Now we're so worried about him, we don't even have a clue where he is. Which of these two letters is his?"

The women in the room chattered incessantly, their anxiety spreading among them. The more they talked, the more they felt that Xiling was about to undergo a terrifying upheaval, turning into a living hell, like a ghost town or the underworld. Keqing was so worried that she almost cried.

An incongruous male voice suddenly rang out from inside the room:

"How about we test the waters by asking some personal questions, like how big his penis is? But we'd need to find a girl who's actually seen it!"

The room fell silent instantly. All the women stared at Chu Mingkong, who was dressed in foreign attire, their minds blank and their expressions somewhat dazed.

Finally, Shangguan Rong broke the silence. She was certain that this was Chu Mingkong, because they had cultivated together before, and she could still manipulate a bit of Chu Mingkong's extreme Yin power. Her body had developed a subtle desire for him, and her depleted extreme Yin power longed to be replenished.

The panic caused by the paper sticker was mostly a prank he orchestrated to scare them.

Shangguan Rong, her pretty face cold, walked up to Chu Mingkong, her eyes red-rimmed, and scolded:

"Why would you make such a joke! Do you know how scared we are?"

Honestly, Chu Mingkong made that joke purely on the spur of the moment; he hadn't thought about it at all. He didn't expect that as they talked, they would start to think that Xiling was doomed...

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Chu Mingkong quickly showed up to take the scolding.

"I'm so sorry, I just wanted to make a joke to lighten the mood, but it turned out like this... Now I can give you a definite answer: the matter of Xiling has been handled properly, so there's no need to worry anymore. I've already quietly returned."

------

P.S.: Happy May Day everyone! But I guess you're all back at work or school by now...

I originally planned to write this at dawn a few days ago, which happened to coincide with the May Day holiday when it was a five-hour workday, but unfortunately, I just couldn't keep up with the pace.

The dilemma lies in the reunion plot, which is a crucial point for developing the relationship. However, there are too many characters, and omitting the reunions feels like something is missing. But writing them one by one would be too drawn out, and they would mostly be rushing through one after another.

I've come up with a comedic approach to the plot, and although I can't say "Happy May Day" now, the network delay is really too much.

I updated less in the last few days of last month, but I still managed to update 23 words over the course of the month. Fengying has reappeared, Xiling has successfully launched a new project, and I'm back in the capital causing trouble.

I'll try to maintain the pace this month; the extra chapter rules will still apply, but I'll adjust them a bit.

The frequency of updates has been reduced from 60 votes per update to 50 votes per update, and from 4000 coupons per update to 3500 coupons per update.

I guess I'm putting some pressure on myself to speed things up. Otherwise, I would have finished paying it off around the 20th of last month, and I would have been tempted to slack off and look for doujinshi to read. I would spend all day browsing resource sites...

For those of you already at work or school, remember to rest; you can still take a break if you want.

Chapter Twenty-One: Changing Skirts

The admonitions and words of comfort have been spoken.

As expected, Chu Mingkong started talking about the various things that happened after leaving the capital. However, the women of the Cui family preferred to know about the situation in Xiling, so Chu Mingkong briefly mentioned the things that happened on the road.

Upon learning that everything was stable and peaceful within Xiling, Gu Jungui breathed a sigh of relief and said:

"I told you the situation in Xiling wouldn't get that bad, but I really didn't expect that you, Mingkong, would reconcile with the Princess Consort of Chu... When I was little, I saw how cold she was to you, and I thought you would hold a grudge. Now that you've put the past behind you, I don't know how things are going, but it's good that Xiling can settle down!"

Zhong Feihuang knew about the Chu Prince's family from Gu Jungui. It was hard to say who was right and who was wrong in the rift between Chu Mingkong and the Chu Princess when they were young. Especially from a woman's perspective, Zhong Feihuang couldn't say anything bad about the Chu Princess. Their relationship had been strained for so many years. After Chu Mingkong took over Tianya City, he actually handed over the City Lord's Mansion to the Chu Princess and then reconciled with her.

This magnanimity is truly manly; he can take things in stride. Although Zhong Feihuang understands the feelings of the Princess of Chu, if she were in Chu Mingkong's shoes, even if she didn't target the Princess of Chu later, it would be difficult for her to be so generous as to give away the city she had worked so hard to acquire, or even the entire Xiling, to someone who treated her badly.

Zhong Feihuang remained as soft-hearted and sharp-tongued as ever, her fiery tongue pointing a finger at Chu Mingkong:

“Mingkong, you are still too kind-hearted. Although we had our own reasons for the past misunderstandings, and your experience in the capital was not caused by the Princess Consort of Chu, you still cared about her when she was alone in the capital. The easier it is for you to give Xiling to her, the faster she will forget about this relationship in the future.”

Even haggling while shopping requires a bit of push and pull; you can't just give it away like that.

Chu Mingkong thought about what Zhi'er had gone through since he returned to Xiling; it hadn't been easy for her either, at least psychologically. He felt the night he pounded medicine was the most painful for her. He tentatively went along with Zhong Feihuang's suggestion:

"It was indeed abrupt, but Xiling is not just an object; there are many common people living there. I am not suitable to manage these things. Over the years, Princess Chu has managed Xiling so well. She is the most suitable person. As long as she has not secretly harmed me, any small grudges or hatreds can be wiped away."

We can't let this old grievance cause the lives of the people of Xiling to deteriorate day by day, can we?

Ke Qing spoke softly on Chu Mingkong's behalf, saying to Zhong Feihuang:

“Mingkong has his own considerations, and everything has been handled now. Don’t give him any more advice or nitpick over trivial matters.”

If Shangguan Rong hadn't been there, preventing her from being too explicit, Zhong Feihuang would definitely have used her one-night stand with Chu Mingkong to embarrass Ke Qing, making her blush with shame. A hint of joy curved Zhong Feihuang's lips as she subtly said:

"Oh my~ Keqing has only known Mingkong for a short time, and she's already taking his side without saying a word. Anyone who didn't know better would think you've been 'reading his mind' for years!"

When Keqing heard Zhong Feihuang emphasize the word "tong," she felt guilty and didn't dare to refute it much. She could only offer a weak rebuttal: "Nonsense!"

Chu Mingkong stepped in to defuse the situation and asked:

"Has the Cui family encountered any trouble these days?"

Gu Jun Gui shook her head and smiled faintly. Ever since she saw Chu Mingkong appear, the beautiful woman's smile had never faded. She said:

"No, everything is fine. Whenever we encounter problems, Miss Rong'er always gives us advice. After getting to know her better, I finally understand why she was able to become the Grand Tutor at Tianji Academy! Looking at Miss Rong'er, I understand what it means for a woman to be just as capable as a man! Mingkong, you should learn more from Miss Rong'er and stop acting so recklessly!"

Chu Ming thought to himself that the wives of the Cui family were not bad either, much more outstanding than the sons of the main clan, but this topic was easy to get strange once it started, so he didn't continue.

"Aunt Gu, have you forgotten who introduced Rong'er to you? Was it you or Sister-in-law Huang? Why are you wondering why I'm close to Rong'er?"

As for the wives of the Cui family, their understanding of Shangguan Rong was mostly based on her past disrespect towards Chu Mingkong, which caused quite a stir in the capital. Since they hadn't had much contact with Shangguan Rong before, they naturally assumed she was someone like the daughter of the wine merchant Zhang family.

Gu Jungui felt a little ashamed when he thought about his past misunderstanding of Shangguan Rong, but he joked:

"It wasn't me who said it, it must have been Fei Huang who said it!"

Shangguan Rong now has a very good relationship with the Cui family, and Zhong Feihuang has even consulted her on many matters. He admitted that he had indeed misunderstood Shangguan Rong in the past, but he couldn't recall whether he had said those things. Now, he could only feign guilt and say:

"Sister-in-law, don't spread rumors. I definitely didn't say that... It was probably Mingkong who said it. Rong'er even came to our house to celebrate the old man's birthday. Why would I gossip about her?"

This playful atmosphere eased Chu Mingkong's mind considerably. He chatted with them for a long time, rambling on about this and that. Knowing it was about time, Chu Mingkong instructed them:

"Let's leave the small talk for later. Now that everyone's here, let me tell you something first. Don't let anyone outside the capital know about my return to the capital. Don't even let the maids know. If you need to contact me, use that note!"

Seeing everyone nod, Chu Mingkong continued:

"Then let's call it a day. If you all stay in this room for too long, the maids and servants will become suspicious. I'll find you all later and apologize for my silly joke... Now I'd like to ask Rong'er for advice on how to deal with the many troublesome matters in Xiling, so I won't chat any longer."

Although Gu Jungui and the others wanted to spend more time with Chu Mingkong, they understood the importance of the matter and, after hearing that he would come to see them privately later, they put aside their temporary reluctance and left the room first.

Chu Mingkong pulled Shangguan Rong into invisibility, silently praying that nothing would go wrong this time, and led her away from the Cui residence.

"Where is there anywhere to chat? My palace must be covered in dust by now, right? Are the eyes and ears of the academy clean?"

He considered having someone clean his palace, but that would be tantamount to telling everyone that Chu Mingkong had returned and that the palace needed cleaning for him to stay in. So he had no choice but to give up on the idea.

"Not many, mostly just asking the students there to keep an eye out for any strange people around the library," Shangguan Rong replied.

Chu Mingkong thought of his beautiful mare, which was exceptionally comfortable and pleasant to ride, and asked:

"Speaking of which, how is my horse doing now? Is it still at the academy?"

“I’ve taken it to the Cui residence, so that someone can look after it often.”

Hearing the whereabouts of the beautiful mare, Chu Mingkong was relieved.

"Rong'er is so thoughtful. Where can we chat now? An inn?"

"Let's go to my house... I, let me change into a dress first."

Chu Mingkong then realized that Shangguan Rong had been traveling in men's clothing again after he left the capital. If it weren't for her words, Chu Mingkong would have forgotten about it.

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Movement

In Shangguan Rong's boudoir at the Shangguan residence.

In the bright bronze mirror, a delicate jade-like body was reflected. The tightly bound men's clothing was open, revealing smooth, pink shoulders, like the egg white of a freshly steamed egg after peeling its shell.

Beneath the white robe was a bodice that accentuated the outlines of her ample breasts. As the robe gradually fell away, her trousers slid down from her slender waist and rounded hips, revealing her milky-white, smooth skin to Chu Mingkong.

Shangguan Rong felt the intense gaze on her back and became somewhat uneasy, fearing that this lecherous man might suddenly harass her from behind. She turned around to face him and said:

Give me the dress.

Chu Mingkong looked around wherever he could, but he hadn't thought about the skirt at first. He really just wanted to meet Guan Rong alone and then use her brain.

He put the white dress he was holding aside and said:

"Since you're not planning to go out, don't rush to wear it, otherwise you'll have to change it later."

Shangguan Rong remained silent, unsure of what to do next, and twisted her waist and thrust her hips.

Seeing her standing there in a daze, Chu Mingkong smiled and gently stroked her cheek with the back of his hand.

"What's wrong? Are you trying to pretend you don't know me?"

“…No.” Shangguan Rong looked away, embarrassed to meet his gaze.

Despite the separation, their relationship hadn't become distant or unfamiliar; otherwise, she wouldn't have stayed at the Cui residence waiting for him. Shangguan Rong knew that if this scoundrel returned to the capital, the Cui residence would most likely be the first place he would go, and she could meet him there sooner.