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

“The five elements are incompatible. I need to find someone with plenty of water to extinguish the fire. I remember that you, Yun Nongyu, have a high affinity for water spirit energy, right? It’s a pity that you probably don’t have the time to cultivate that ancient Yin-Yang Fusion Heart Method right now.”

Seeing that Yun Nongyu was only focused on drinking tea and not saying anything, Zuo Qiuchi also drank a cup of tea with her and then left a few spirit stones as payment.

"Forget it, I won't force you to do this. You've been practicing that fortune-telling technique for so many years that your eyes have been covered up. Come and help Chu Mingkong calculate his fortune and see if his death line is clear."

This isn't a curse wishing Chu Mingkong any misfortune, but rather because the Taoist nun in front of them cultivates such a strange technique. It doesn't tell you how long you can live, nor does it tell you about wealth and glory; it only tells you whether the death line is clear or not. If it is clear, it means that a great calamity is about to befall you.

Yun Nongyu shook her head frankly:

"It can't be calculated. Ji Yuan ruined his fate, but I can see that your death line is quite clear and heavy. Recently, someone who has a karmic connection with you may be someone close to you or a stranger who is in trouble."

Zuo Qiuchi raised an eyebrow. Was Chu Mingkong going to get into trouble? Not likely. He was enjoying his time as a hostage. Even if something happened to him, it wouldn't happen now.

It would be difficult for her to get into trouble, and there's no reason why this dead end should be hers.

Forget it, I don't want to think about this anymore. Yun Nongyu, this fortune teller, is a bit like "letting you say everything." The deadline is very close to you, but even if something happens to your neighbor, it will still be considered fulfilling the divination. Isn't this ridiculous?

"Then tell me the details of that female bodhisattva near the capital, whether the Buddhist practice of Joyful Meditation works, and how to break the bronze statue formation there?"

"I don't know. I have never heard of anyone in Buddhism who has attained the state of blissful meditation, and no elder in the sect has heard of such rumors. However, there are many rumors about it in the vicinity of the capital."

-----------

After Chu Mingkong left, Madam Zhen quickly instructed the old nanny to close the door and unlock the protective barrier in the courtyard.

This old nanny had been with Madam Zhen since she was a child, and she herself was a highly capable person, one of the few trustworthy individuals.

"Has he gone far?" Madam Zhen asked.

“Miss Yongzhen, the young prince has already gone far away. I followed him all the way back to the manor and did not notice that he noticed anything unusual,” the old nanny said, carefully recalling every detail of the time she had followed him.

After Chu Mingkong left, he kept muttering: I wonder if Madam Zhen will like my gift. What kind of trinkets do Princess Yongzhen and Madam Zhen like?

It didn't seem like they had noticed anything unusual at all.

“However, Miss Yongzhen, I must give you a word of advice. You are using the wrong form of address. Even when the Madam was at the height of her power, she only used the term ‘I’. Only on more important occasions, such as when she accompanied the late Emperor to meet foreign envoys or sect representatives, would she use ‘this palace’ to maintain the dignity of the royal family.”

The "Madam Zhen" under Yongzhen's soul bowed her head in self-reflection. She had rarely used her mother's body to meet guests before and had been careless. Fortunately, Chu Mingkong did not notice anything amiss.

“The old woman’s advice is right, Yongzhen has been negligent… but this is not a solution. My mother started practicing this technique when she was pregnant with me, and that’s why our souls have this strange connection. How can we break it?”

Yongzhen truly didn't know why her mother practiced this technique. The only thing she knew was that this technique brought many inconsistencies, and that revealing it would lead to death. Furthermore, her mother would sometimes suffer from loss of consciousness because of this technique, not knowing who she was. Yongzhen, on the other hand, did not have this problem, but she was unable to return to her own body, as if her soul had been thrown into her mother's body.

Therefore, she dared not let "Yongzhen," who was possessed by her mother's soul, meet with Chu Mingkong. She could only claim to be ill and not be allowed to meet him for a week. Even if Jinyu came, she could not see him.

Only the mother and daughter in the courtyard and an old servant knew about this.

Yongzhen walked to the mirror and looked at her reflection. She sometimes wondered what would happen if one day this technique prevented her from returning to her own body and she could only move around in her mother's body. Would she then be Madam Zhen or Yongzhen?

"Let's not think about that anymore. Let's take a look at what Chu Mingkong sent. The gift box is beautifully packaged. Which merchant in the capital has such excellent packaging skills?"

After admiring the gift box for a while, she opened it and took out several items from it.

Two of the bottles contained essential oils, which did not exist in the Celestial Empire. A similar substitute was incense. Yongzhen did not recognize what these were, but fortunately, there was a note wrapped around the edge of the bottle.

"The yellow bottle can be used to help with sleep and can also be used as a fragrance for the body. It's a rare item, unheard of before."

Yongzhen smelled the fragrance and was delighted, but when she saw another small garment wrapped in white silk, her expression turned strange.

A pair of underwear brimming with spiritual energy...? And why is it open-crotch, covered only by a thin black veil...?

The design was rather peculiar, but the allure was undeniable; it was a pair of underpants intended for intimate moments... How dare Chu Mingkong give such a thing to her mother?!

After returning home and waiting for a long time, Chu Mingkong still did not hear the news of the filial piety payment arriving.

"Wait a minute, could it be that we haven't opened the gift yet?" Chu Yinan scratched his head.

The Filial Piety System suddenly replied: "Opened it; quite impressed with the gift."

"What's going on? Why didn't I feel any surprise at all after receiving the gift? I've never encountered this situation before. When I went to see Madam Zhen today, I actually felt that her attitude was strange."

Could it be that her daughter's illness affected this great mother's mood?

On the Lantern Festival, which was in the middle of the month, Baili Mi was supposed to secretly come to receive Chu Mingkong's filial piety. He planned to take Baili Mi there to have the princess examine her illness.

But now that the filial gift has gone down the drain and they haven't received a single penny, Chu Mingkong can't sit still any longer. He feels he has to go and find out the truth tonight!

The filial piety account was already running a deficit, and now there's this young woman who only takes gifts and doesn't show any filial piety. This can't go on.

"Let's see what's wrong with Yongzhen first. Maybe if she's cured, Madam Zhen will be happy and start showing her filial piety to me. I need to keep an eye on that old nanny; she was following me just now."

Chu Mingkong donned a night-cloak, slipped into the darkness, and headed straight for the princess's courtyard.

Ignoring the restrictions with practiced ease, Chu Mingkong confirmed that Madam Zhen was fast asleep in her room before slipping into Yongzhen's boudoir.

"You are......?"

"Yongzhen" woke up, but she was in a very bad state. After sitting up, she was dazed for a while and even muttered to herself, "Am I Yongzhen?" Chu Mingkong thought to himself that she might be confused from sleeping.

There are really people who can sleep so soundly that they forget who they are.

"I am Chu Mingkong, the 'beloved' the emperor has assigned to you," Chu Mingkong said with a self-deprecating tone.

"My beloved...?"

"Yongzhen" looked like she hadn't woken up yet, her mind was still a bit foggy, but upon seeing such a handsome man, she couldn't help but feel a bit of affection for him.

[System reward has arrived, 20 points of filial piety!]

"?!" Chu Mingkong was startled.

Chapter Thirty-Six: Yongzhen is so enthusiastic...

What's going on here? Why did she suddenly send him filial piety? Could it be that the mother and daughter are truly connected, and the daughter is happy, so the sleeping mother, Madam Zhen, sensed it and sent him filial piety directly?

Besides this, Chu Mingkong couldn't think of any other explanation. He couldn't very well say it was a delay in the delivery of the gift. The gift I gave wasn't something that could be satisfied with just 20 acts of filial piety.

It's amazing how the world works! Even though they're in separate rooms, here the mother is trying to please her daughter, and the mother is showing filial piety.

Earlier, when he was peeping through the window, Chu Mingkong's attention was completely taken by Princess Jinyu, who was swaying with a golden phoenix, and he didn't get a good look at Yongzhen. Now that he was meeting her up close, he couldn't help but admire her beauty. Her features were similar to Madam Zhen's, especially her delicate nose and thin lips. Her eyes were also very similar, but Yongzhen's eyes were a bit softer than Madam Zhen's.

What's most noteworthy is her rather large breasts. When she was secretly observed, they were flat and bound, but now that she's sleeping, that seal has been broken, revealing her high and firm breasts. Unfortunately, she didn't fully inherit Madam Zhen's "phoenix-like" bosom, and hers is even smaller than Princess Jinyu's.

...However, that tattoo on his chest doesn't look like it was just drawn on randomly.

“Princess Yongzhen, I heard you are not feeling well. I wonder what is wrong? Could you tell me and I will go find medicine for you immediately?”

Yongzhen had no impression of Chu Mingkong at all, but his good looks bridged the gap between them. In addition, she had suffered from loneliness and resentment in the palace in the past, and she was attracted by the sincere concern in Chu Mingkong's words.

"I... I seem to get confused from time to time, and I can't figure out who I am. I feel like I am myself, but I also feel like I am not myself. I've had this problem for many years. You just said that you are my ideal person. I'm sorry, I... don't remember."

Chu Mingkong poured a cup of hot tea, blew on it to cool it down before placing it in Yongzhen's hands, and then wrapped her in a blanket. Without a bra strap, Yongzhen had nothing to wear, not even a bellyband or a bodice, and she would catch a cold if she wasn't wrapped in a blanket.

"It's a cool summer night, let's have some hot tea. Actually, I'm not the one you're looking for, I need to explain that." Chu Mingkong then explained his situation and clarified the "boyfriend" aspect of the relationship.

Although she was in a daze, if she woke up and found out that her "beloved" was deceiving her, she might not be able to show him filial piety to Madam Zhen, since they were of one mind. She should be honest.

"So it wasn't the one I was looking for..."

Yongzhen felt a strange sense of loss. She had never experienced the feeling of waking up to someone caring for her, bringing her tea and wrapping her in a blanket. That memory was already blurred. In her impression, she had always been pampered in every way, with servants attending to her for a long time and occupying a very high position, but she had never received this kind of simple warmth.

That cold memory rippled through her mind, and she unconsciously regained some of her imperial dignity, scrutinizing Chu Mingkong with a serious gaze:

"So what is your purpose in being so kind to me right now? Is it for wealth and status, or something else?"

What's going on with this change...? Can drowsy sleep have this kind of symptom?

Chu Mingkong vaguely sensed the aura of a harem master, the majesty of royalty, as if the person in front of him was not a princess with a nominal title, but an empress.

"What could I possibly ask for? I have three different thoughts in mind, so let me start with the least desirable one."

"Okay, go ahead."

The woman watched Chu Mingkong intently, as if listening to a courtier's report, but deep down she longed to hear him say that his words were sincere.

Chu Mingkong found her expression rather amusing, but his face remained serious and earnest.

"My first wish is that my thoughts will not be misunderstood. I have already explained my situation to Princess Yongzhen. If you want to know how I was misunderstood before, I will tell you the story later."

Then came the matter of filial piety. The current Empress highly values ​​filial piety and has reportedly punished a number of unfilial sons of high-ranking officials, ordering them to reflect on their mistakes behind closed doors. These members of the royal family can be considered my elders, and it was the Empress who sent me to befriend you, Princess. I must come with sincerity.

Finally, and most importantly, a beautiful lady is sought after by gentlemen, and Princess Yongzhen is beautiful both inside and out. I am also a common man who cannot escape the allure of beauty, but my feelings for you, Princess, will absolutely remain within the bounds of propriety. I only care about your joys and sorrows, and I do not covet your body!

The woman nodded thoughtfully. Although she heard that his concern was tinged with so many complex considerations, he had been honest and open with her, and she knew that he truly had no other choice in his situation.

Although he has many thoughts, he is indeed a kind and honest person.

The concern is not feigned.

"You are a good person!" The princess acknowledged his feelings.

[System reward has arrived, 50 points of filial piety!]

Chu Mingkong frowned, wanting to confirm whether Madam Zhen was pretending to be asleep and eavesdropping outside the house to keep track of her daughter's mood.

How come Yongzhen's mood improved so quickly and her filial piety came out immediately? Anyone who didn't know better would think that Yongzhen was the real Mrs. Zhen!

If that's the case, if I directly give Yongzhen a red gift, will Madam Zhen immediately send me a message of filial piety?

Let's stick to the previous plan and send small gifts first.

He searched the pill section of the online store and found a Cold Fragrance Pill, which he then purchased.

Lengxiang Pills are a kind of all-purpose medicine, similar to drinking a calming soup when you can't sleep. They can't cure difficult diseases, but they can help you sleep.

Then they took out the essential oils that they hadn't been able to give away before.

“Princess Yongzhen, someone recently presented me with a high-quality Cold Fragrance Pill that has a calming effect. You should try it.”

Chu Mingkong took a small piece of the pill and put it in his mouth. This gesture was meant to show that the pill was not poisonous, and if it was, they would all die together.

Yongzhen felt that he was being overly cautious, and even suspected that he was showing off his loyalty to curry favor. But when she thought that this was due to his living conditions, she approved of him even more, and unconsciously put away the title "This Empress" that she only used when she was serious.

"Feed me."

"it is good."

Chu Mingkong supported her chin with one hand and carefully placed the Cold Fragrance Pill into her mouth with the other. Afterward, he took out a bottle of essential oil, also for sleep, which he remembered was popular among most women.

"What is this? A small bottle of water? And it smells fragrant, is it made from flower juice?"

"Your Highness, this is something I put a lot of effort into creating. It's called essential oil. I selected the finest flower petals, added glacial snow water and the morning dew from the first day of each month, and then purified it using a secret extraction method. It was then neutralized with fragrances, and the final result is this bottle of floral essence! If you can't sleep, you can take a sniff."

That powerful?