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

She glared at Chu Mingkong, turned her back to the strong young man, and bent down to lift the round, smooth millstone.

"I'll let you off this time, but don't let it happen again..."

......

After it was over, Chu Mingkong carried the ecstatic and dejected Zhong Feihuang back to her room, helped her wipe her body, and let her lie down to rest.

Zhong Feihuang had a foundation in cultivation, so she recovered quickly. Seeing her brother-in-law watching over her bedside warmed her heart. She had overheard those noble ladies talking privately before, and what bothered them most was how men would say all sorts of sweet things, only to disappear afterward.

However, recalling what had just happened, Zhong Feihuang felt embarrassed and ashamed, so she turned around to face the wall.

Chu Mingkong didn't bring up matters of men and women for the time being, but instead talked about the You sisters and the idea Yongzhen had given him, though he shamefully claimed it was his own idea.

"Sister-in-law Huang, you heard what the third sister of the You sisters was planning to do with it. I'm thinking of using this to our advantage and get your share of the shop money back. Please listen to my idea..."

Chapter Sixty-Two: The Unnamed Sister-in-Law

After hearing Chu Mingkong's words, Zhong Feihuang really felt as if this was a conspiracy to collude with outsiders to seize her husband's family's property...

But she also understood that Chu Mingkong's confidence in casually spending hundreds of thousands of spirit stones on them must stem from his disdain for the Cui family's business, and he probably simply felt that their efforts were not worthwhile.

"If he pretends to be a buyer and buys back his own shop, that bastard Cui Lian will be furious if he finds out one day... But that's not necessarily true. He doesn't know how difficult it is to run a shop, so he won't feel the pain of losing it."

"I never expected that your reckless brain, Mingkong, could come up with such a method. Did Rong'er give you this idea, and you're here to pretend to be a strategist?"

Chu Mingkong, already feeling guilty for claiming the idea as his own after being told this by his sister-in-law Huang, now felt even more embarrassed and stubbornly replied:

"This was a sudden inspiration. If you don't believe me, go ask Miss Rong'er if she taught me. I just don't want to use my brain normally. Okay, seriously, which of the Heart's Blood Shop does Sister-in-law Huang want back? I'll go find Aunt Gu again at dawn and see what she thinks. We'll take them back together then."

As Zhong Feihuang gazed at Chu Mingkong's thoughtful consideration for them women, she felt that all her past efforts and sacrifices were insignificant. She could consider it a reward for Mingkong. Having already met Mingkong and now wanting the shop, she felt she had gained an immense advantage. In the future, when fate might decide the score, it might just erase Chu Mingkong from her life, which would be a real loss.

"Once the anger in my heart dissipates, I don't feel anything anymore. As for whether it's worth it or not, I really don't care. Mingkong, don't worry about us!"

"Is that really what you think, sister-in-law? Or are you just afraid of causing trouble?"

Chu Mingkong reached out to touch his sister-in-law Huang's heart, to see if she truly meant what she thought, but the woman slapped his pig's trotter away in annoyance.

"Go away, don't make trouble. It's really... It's not that I'm afraid of trouble. It's fine as it is. Go ask your sister-in-law. She's the one who gives everything in the Cui family. No one in the family cares about her. The old lady even complains that she's a jinx and has harmed the eldest branch of the Cui family. If it weren't for your connection, Old Master Cui probably wouldn't have given her the position of acting clan head."

Therefore, it's not unreasonable for my sister-in-law to take back any reward.

Since that's what Sister-in-law Huang thinks, Chu Mingkong, as an outsider, shouldn't insist any further.

The beautiful young woman sat up, her clothes off, and exposed herself to Chu Mingkong's eyes without any concern. She then took out a notebook and a pen and began to scribble and draw.

This booklet is Cui Lian's diary. Zhong Feihuang carefully compared it, flipping through it again and again, and finally found the entry "He stole a maid in the couple's room once," crossed it out with a pen, and considered the matter settled.

Although she and Chu Mingkong were outside just now, so it wasn't entirely accurate, it could still be considered that the score was settled. Otherwise, now that she had received the divorce papers and their marital relationship was over, how could she go back to their old bedroom and have another argument with Mingkong? Even if he didn't mind the trouble, Zhong Feihuang felt that the house was stagnant and the bed was dirty, with a whole room full of bad luck.

There are some "activity logs" here that Zhong Feihuang and Chu Mingkong could not do. For example, when Cui Lian was playing with the Rabbit God, he would let the Rabbit God attack him when he was not in good condition. At the end of the log, he added a sentence: "The Rabbit God's voice is sharp and tender before it is turned on, a first-class enjoyment."

Zhong Feihuang could only treat this as a bad debt, so he frowned and crossed it off.

Seeing his beautiful sister-in-law's meticulous comparison, Chu Mingkong found it amusing:

"You're willing to give up your own years of hard work, but you're unwilling to leave out a single account in this book. Sister-in-law Huang, you're so contradictory."

"What's the contradiction? I'll just consider all my years of hard work as rewarded with a troublesome brother-in-law like you, okay? Let's not discuss this anymore!"

"Alright, alright, I won't say anymore." Chu Mingkong pointed to a group activity in the booklet and said, "Sister-in-law Huang said she wanted to invite Keqing to join last time, but to be honest, today is worse than another day, otherwise we'll be in trouble."

"Oh dear... I was just saying that in anger last time. I might agree, but Ke Qing might not! Do you really think everyone is as shameless as Cui Lian?" Zhong Feihuang quickly put the booklet away to prevent Chu Mingkong from making a fuss about it again.

Upon seeing this, Chu Mingkong realized that he had spent too much time with his master, Zuo Qiuchi, and his perception of him might have become somewhat distorted.

Having grown accustomed to seeing Zuo Qiuchi and Feng Ying, as well as Yun Nongyu, sleeping in each other's arms, he subconsciously felt that all the fragrant and soft beauties like jade were... admiring each other. But in reality, Zhong Feihuang and Keqing slept in separate rooms, not together. This was mostly to avoid suspicion and leave each other some privacy. It wasn't the kind of open and intimate relationship that Chu Mingkong imagined.

...That doesn't make sense either. Didn't Jinyu run into Yongzhen's room and swing her snow-white breasts around like that? Well, Jinyu isn't a typical worldly girl, her little mouth was burning hot.

"Sister-in-law Huang, you just heard about what happened to the You sisters. What do you want to do about it?" Chu Mingkong took a comb and the young woman combed her long black hair.

"Dispose of them...it's up to them to choose. It's none of my business. They're from the East Mansion. Cui Lian is fickle. He used to flatter those maids with his sweet talk, but after a couple of flirtations, he'd look for new maids and completely neglect the old ones. As for You San Niang, if she wants to be with Cui Lian, let her choose. It's their choice."

However, You Erniang didn't seem to favor Cui Lian. She had a good plan: see if Ke Qing would be willing to keep her by her side as a companion. You Erniang wasn't one to argue; she figured she couldn't bully Ke Qing.

Chu Mingkong nodded. If Sister-in-law Huang had a plan, then he would follow it for the time being. Anyway, he didn't intend to fight for a single penny more in the shop. He would just let Cui Lian and his cronies slowly scheme against each other to take back the family property.

Perhaps Cui Lian, after entertaining himself, felt a great sense of accomplishment, believing he had mastered household magic and defeated a formidable enemy.

"Then I'll go ask Aunt Gu what she thinks right now. After that, I'll go see if Ke Qing is willing to play with you tonight. We'll also take some time to help Sister Huang settle that bad debt, otherwise she'll definitely get sick from depression later!" Chu Mingkong nodded seriously.

Zhong Feihuang lightly punched Chu Mingkong, and said shyly:

"Don't tell anyone that I wanted to do it this way... No, who wanted to be with Ke Qing? Mingkong, don't talk badly about me behind my back!"

Chu Mingkong nodded repeatedly and said:

"I understand, I understand, I understand. Just say that she is a woman who was betrayed by Cui Lian and doesn't want to reveal her name. She wants to have some fun with Ke Qing to get over her past and see if Ke Qing is willing!"

"What's the difference between that and directly naming me as 'my mother'?"

Chapter Sixty-Three: The Benefits of Cultivation

The West Mansion was peaceful and quiet. Apart from the commotion caused by the servants carrying back the unconscious Cui Lian, there was nothing else happening.

Chu Mingkong first went to Shangguan Rong's room to take a look. The room where she had lived had a faint scholarly atmosphere, but unfortunately there was the fragrance of ink and brush. The room was empty, so she must have been living in her own home.

He then walked to Aunt Gu's room. Women like Aunt Gu, who had only recently started cultivating, were no different from ordinary people in terms of temperament and courage. Unlike Yongzhen and Sister-in-law Huang, who had been cultivating since childhood, if there were more people in their rooms late at night, they would probably be scared half to death.

This time, Chu Mingkong stopped joking and honestly wrote a message for Aunt Gu on a piece of paper.

The elegant and beautiful woman, who was already resting in bed, suddenly sat up. She was attracted by the fluctuations of spiritual energy in the room. She sat there for a while before she remembered what the fluctuations of spiritual energy meant. Without even putting on her inner robe, she got out of bed and took out the paper to examine it. Then she saw the writing on it.

I'm outside the door, Aunt Gu, open the door.

Gu Jun Gui opened the door and, seeing the man in the night, immediately beamed and pulled him inside, asking:

“Mingkong, you could have just knocked on the door when you arrived. There’s no need to go through all this trouble with this note. I don’t use this kind of thing often, and it took me a while to figure out what it was for.”

"It's the middle of the night. Let alone knocking, even walking around would be quite noticeable. If I just knock randomly, wouldn't the servants hear me?"

Gu Jungui rubbed his forehead, having forgotten about this incident:

"I was so confused from lying down that I forgot everything."

Chu Mingkong glanced at Gu Jungui's embroidered couch, then fixed his gaze on her gentle face. However, his peripheral vision lingered on the beautiful woman's snow-white bodice. The bodice's color blended seamlessly with her snow-white skin in the dim light; were it not for the taut folds of her large breasts that stretched the bodice, he would have almost thought she wasn't wearing anything. Her shapely figure exuded a quiet, mature charm.

"Aunt Gu, did you just rest? Go back to bed. If you get too excited sitting up in the middle of the night, it will be hard to fall back asleep. I'll sit by your bed."

Gu Jungui wanted to say no, but Chu Mingkong was afraid she would get tired, so he insisted on helping her lie back down. He sat by the bed, planning to find an excuse to say he was tired later and then lie down in Aunt Gu's bed.

"Aunt Gu, how has your cultivation been these past few days? With Sister-in-law Huang leading the way, it should be going quite smoothly, right?"

"Fortunately, things are going quite smoothly so far. It's just that once I've finished cultivating, I'm actually finding it a bit strange."

Chu Mingkong blinked, took Aunt Gu's soft hand in his, and played with the snow-white jade bracelet on her wrist:

"What's wrong? You're not used to it?"

"I'm so energetic. I used to fall asleep soon after nightfall, and then I would close my eyes and open them again the next day. But now it's hard for me to fall asleep. I can only lie here aimlessly to kill time. If I meditate, I find it too boring. I've heard that those who cultivate themselves in seclusion can meditate for decades or even hundreds of years."

It's normal to feel this way. Before I started practicing, I wouldn't sleep because I was worried about not having energy the next day. After I started practicing, I don't lack energy, but I always feel like I'm doing stupid things all night.

Chu Mingkong, mindful of her master, still quite envied the feeling of a normal person sleeping soundly. Now, no matter how lazy she lay in bed, she could only achieve a state of being half asleep.

"That's right, you can only get used to it slowly. Aunt Gu, you don't need to think about sleeping until you lose consciousness anymore. You usually just lie down and meditate. After a while, it will feel similar to sleeping."

After saying that, Chu Mingkong deliberately yawned a long yawn and stretched.

Seeing this, Gu Jungui moved over and said with a smile:

"Still full of energy? You must be tired from running around all night. Come and lie down here with Aunt Gu!"

Chu Mingkong made a token gesture of hesitation, but once that was over, he immediately took off his shoes and outer robe and slipped into the beautiful woman's warm and fragrant bed.

He repeated Yongzhen's idea, but this time it was Shangguan Rong's idea:

“Aunt Gu, what are your thoughts? If you feel you can’t swallow this insult, I’ll have Rong’er and Sister-in-law Huang discuss the details and, according to the idea I just mentioned, get back your hard-earned shop.”

Gu Jungui gently shook his head and said softly:

"Why make such a fuss over such a small matter? If Cui Lian is determined to take the shop, let him be. Didn't you already plan to take us to Xiling? These property deeds are just worthless pieces of paper anyway. Let him squander them. But..."

"But what?" Chu Mingkong pressed.

"A few days ago, Feihuang and I took a liking to the farm. The environment was quiet and beautiful, and there was a tea field nearby. It was refreshing and pleasant. We had never discovered such a good farm before. After Cui Lian caused trouble, we still bought the farm. But at that time, there was another buyer. We needed money urgently, so we put it under the Cui family's name, hoping to buy it under our own name later."

"If you want to buy it, just buy it. What's the big deal? Is there some problem with it?"

Gu Jungui nodded helplessly:

"When we exchanged the spirit stones you gave us for silver notes and planned to buy them back into our own name, some servant who was eager to curry favor with Cui Lian told him about it. When Cui Lian came over, he refused to do it, saying that we wanted to buy the newly purchased farm, and that we definitely wanted to buy the exorbitantly priced farm at a low price so that we could resell it later."

I sent Ping'er to call the original farm owner over and explained the price of the farm, but Cui Lian still didn't believe it. Fei Huang and I suggested we raise the price to buy the farm, but now Cui Lian thinks there's some hidden treasure there. Sigh..."

Chu Mingkong suddenly understood why he had to renounce the world and cultivate. In worldly affairs, one always encounters "troublemakers and scoundrels." You try to resolve things properly with good intentions, but the other party's word "scoundrel" leaves you helpless, as if you are being forced to hit them.

If one doesn't detach oneself from worldly affairs, there will likely be more cases of domestic violence, and it's easy to become restless, which in turn affects one's spiritual practice.

It seems that we can't follow Yongzhen's method completely. Yongzhen's method is used to trick normal people, but when the target is Cui Lian, it gives Chu Mingkong the feeling of lowering himself to outwit an idiot. Fighting him would be considered to enhance Cui Lian's reputation.

The wicked must be dealt with by the wicked; Chu Mingkong felt he should handle things his way.

Chu Mingkong said:

"This Cui Lian is a real talent. Just thinking about him makes me feel sleepy and gives me a headache. Aunt Gu, I'm thinking of spending the night here tonight."

Gu Jun Gui saw that he had already lain down inside, so how could he let him sleep in one of those untidy guest rooms in the middle of the night?

"What kind of question is that? If you want to stay overnight, just stay overnight. Why are you being so formal with Aunt Gu?"

The beautiful woman put her arm around Chu Mingkong, letting him rest his head on her arm, and patted his back like she was soothing a child.

With that little bit of cultivation to rely on, Chu Mingkong's head wouldn't weigh down her arms so much even if it was heavy. This made Gu Jungui realize the benefits of cultivation.

But to be honest, it was more comfortable to hold him when he was little, when he was small and nestled in her arms like a kitten.

Chapter Sixty-Four: Making Money with Money!