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

After hearing the ending, Madam Zhen breathed a sigh of relief, but then doubts arose again:

"Since the gods in the story have offspring, then reproduction should not be prohibited. So, this Third Holy Mother was not punished for giving birth to a son. What emotions did she have that led to her punishment? In the end, the son in the story escaped from the world with the Third Holy Mother, and it seems that only the mother and son lived happily ever after...?"

Realizing what was happening too late, Madam Zhen inwardly spat, gently poked Chu Mingkong's forehead with her slender finger, and said irritably:

"What kind of stories are these? None of them are serious!"

"Does Madam Zhen believe that they shouldn't be together, and that her son should hand the Third Holy Mother back to the Heavenly Court for punishment?"

"That won't do. If we could really be together..." Madam Zhen looked at the distant mountains and the indistinct horizon, "That would be wonderful, wouldn't it?"

Chapter Ninety: The Doll Dating Method

Madam Zhen kept asking Chu Mingkong for details of the story, even though he had already said that he had heard it from elsewhere and had forgotten most of the details. But Madam Zhen still wanted to ask him, as if what he said was the authentic version.

This made Chu Mingkong feel ashamed, so he had no choice but to add a few spoonfuls of the stories he could think of at the moment, even including the Heavenly Mountain Child Granny. In the end, Chu Mingkong himself felt that the finished product was unbearable to look at, but Madam Zhen listened with great interest. In any case, they were all bizarre and wonderful stories to her, and being interesting was enough.

After chatting for most of the day, the topic somehow returned to the time when Shangguan Rong came to talk to her.

Madam Zhen recalled Shangguan Rong's attitude when she came to keep her company. It wasn't that the attitude was inappropriate, but Madam Zhen was simply sensitive to it. She asked:

"Mingkong, I feel like Miss Rong'er wants to ask me about things in the palace. Has something big happened in the palace, something from the past?"

The beautiful woman looked at Chu Mingkong, her dark eyes as calm and clear as a secluded mountain stream, her gaze gentle and tender, but at this moment filled with more doubt.

She didn't question Chu Mingkong because she suspected him; she simply sensed something and then asked him about it.

Chu Mingkong recalled that Madam Zhen was exceptionally perceptive of her surroundings. Previously, apart from his younger sister Qingning, who could detect his concealed movements, the only other person who could do this was Madam Zhen. When she was still "Yongzhen", she could always quickly sense his approach to the princess's courtyard.

Since they've been discovered, there's no point in hiding it anymore. Chu Mingkong calmly explained the situation to Madam Zhen:

"Madam Zhen, please don't blame Miss Rong'er. I asked her to inquire about the events in the palace during the late Emperor's reign. Miss Rong'er arrived before me, and I had to go pick up my sisters-in-law, so I asked her to ask you."

Sometimes, discovering that people around you are hiding things from you or observing you is a truly frightening thing, and it can easily erode trust.

Hearing Chu Mingkong's frank explanation, Madam Zhen's doubts were resolved, and she secretly admired his straightforwardness and honesty. She nodded and asked:

"But what happened? Why do you need to ask me about the late emperor's time... However, I really can't remember. Many things are vague. I only feel that there is something, a vague feeling, but I can't remember the details. It's like looking at flowers through the fog, always separated by a layer."

After speaking, the beautiful woman lowered her eyebrows, a hint of frustration at not being able to help him. Her hair, disheveled and swaying in the breeze, revealed a bewildered and forlorn beauty, evoking pity and heartache.

Chu Mingkong quickly tried to calm him down:

"It's nothing serious. It's alright if Madam Zhen can't remember. Don't worry about it. If you get too upset, what if I bring Yongzhen over and she sees how thin Madam Zhen has become and blames me?"

"Um......"

Chu Mingkong suddenly had an idea, extended his hand to Madam Zhen, and said:

"By the way, I found a new gadget to play with Yongzhen the other day. It's a rare item even in the cultivation world. How about I show it to Madam Zhen?"

"Come, Madam Zhen, your legs must be numb from sitting too long. Let me help you inside."

The beautiful woman's fair and delicate hand was slowly placed in Chu Mingkong's hand. Once grasped, she immediately felt a strong and powerful force pulling her up, and he carefully led her back into the house.

"...You really are a good, self-reliant child~"

Upon entering the room, Madam Zhen was wondering what new things Chu Mingkong would bring out, but he took out a "Yongzhen" who was sleeping with his eyes closed without saying a word!

The beautiful woman blinked repeatedly in surprise, her eyelashes trembling, her lips slightly parted, revealing a glimpse of her delicate, pink tongue:

"This is... Yongzhen? Mingkong, you've already rescued Yongzhen? But where have you been hiding her all this time?"

In this world, the only art of creating humans besides the harmonious relationship between men and women is the art of puppetry. According to the legends of the puppetry masters, the ancient art of puppetry could create puppets that were comparable to real people, but this is just a legend and is suspected of boasting about their profession. To this day, no finished product has ever been seen.

Because in the general public there is no concept of a doll that looks extremely like a human, and given that the doll Chu Mingkong brought out was so lifelike, Madam Zhen directly took it as Yongzhen herself.

"Mingkong, why hasn't Yongzhen woken up? There's not a sound at all..." The beautiful woman gently stroked her daughter's face, filled with worry.

Yongzhen, who was in the Princess's residence, inexplicably felt her cheek being touched. She guessed it was Chu Mingkong. However, compared to what had happened before, this was not considered outrageous between her and Chu Mingkong. So Yongzhen didn't question him with the note and turned a blind eye.

Chu Mingkong smiled and explained to Madam Zhen that it was a doll, adding phrases like "an early secret of the Xiling Prince's Mansion" and "a treasure left behind by a master" to help convince her. Madam Zhen then believed the origin of the item.

Having experienced the palace and its inhabitants, Lady Zhen had witnessed the pinnacle of worldly life. However, she also knew that the worldly riches of the palace were insignificant compared to the path of cultivation. Perhaps there really was some treasure that could directly mimic the appearance of Yongzhen.

And this is definitely a diluted treasure, otherwise there would be this kind of thing everywhere.

"I can even see Yong-jin's fine veins on this skin, it's so realistic!"

Chu Mingkong chuckled and grasped the doll's soft hand:

“Madam Zhen, to be honest, when I can’t see Yongzhen, I use this doll to remember her. Moreover, this doll has a connection to witchcraft and is already bound to Yongzhen. When I hold the doll’s hand, although Yongzhen can’t hear me, she can feel me touching her little hand, and she can even hug me.”

As he spoke, he tickled Yongzhen's jade-like feet, his fingertips gliding over the beautiful arch of her foot.

Before long, the complaint from the person in question arrived, along with a message from Yongzhen on a note, the handwriting of which contained murderous intent.

Don't tickle my feet!

"Madam Zhen, please take a look at Yongzhen's message. This note is quite thick because I still need to contact the elders of Tianya Tower. Please don't mind." Chu Mingkong precisely turned to Elder Ding's page and showed Madam Zhen the business records on it.

This isn't because there are many girls with connections that it's so thick!

Madam Zhen looked closely and saw that it was indeed her daughter's handwriting. However, compared to her usual composure, there was a hint of impatience and anger in these words, probably because she really felt an itch on the soles of her feet!

The beautiful woman pinched the cheek of her daughter's doll, her starry eyes shining with wonder, and exclaimed, "Truly amazing!"

Chu Mingkong took out the witchcraft doll: "The hair on this doll is Yongzhen's; it is the medium that connects this doll to Yongzhen."

Madam Zhen nodded thoughtfully: "I've heard of things like Gu poison before, and I thought witchcraft and Gu poison were terrifying. I didn't expect this puppet to be so scary as the legends say."

"We've been chatting for so long, I'm getting a little thirsty. I'll go outside and bring in the teapot. But the tea must be getting cold. I'll brew a new pot. Madam Zhen, please wait here for a moment."

Chu Mingkong left the witchcraft doll behind and went out of the courtyard to get a teapot to make tea.

Madam Zhen looked up at Chu Mingkong outside the window, her eyes fixed on the witchcraft doll.

Just now, she caught a glimpse of Mingkong and her daughter Yongzhen's past chat in their chat logs and discovered that the two of them were flirting by using this doll as a backup plan when they couldn't meet, in order to unite their spirit and flesh.

"It's just the feeling of a doll, it's all fake, it's not overstepping any boundaries..." It's unclear whether he was saying this to exonerate Yongzhen or to himself.

The mature and beautiful woman pursed her lips, reluctantly plucked a strand of her hair, and secretly tied it to the witchcraft doll...

"Is this all? Why do I feel nothing?" She touched the doll's hand, but she couldn't feel anything in her own hand. She felt a deep sense of disappointment and bitterness.

Chu Mingkong returned carrying a teapot. Madam Zhen was casually examining the doll, while the witchcraft doll lay to the side as if it hadn't been touched.

However, Chu Mingkong already had a guess in his heart that he had deliberately left the witchcraft doll here.

When taking out the doll, Chu Mingkong wanted to coax Madam Zhen by saying that he had another treasure in Xiling, and if Madam Zhen liked it, he would have someone send it over so that the doll could also resemble Madam Zhen. But in reality, he just wanted to buy a model of Madam Zhen's Daoist statue, and was simply making up an excuse in advance.

However, when he opened the store interface, he was surprised to find that there was an upgrade option in the doll model section of Yongzhen's column, while the doll of Aunt Gu that he had purchased before did not have this option.

It's possible that because Yongzhen cultivates a spiritual technique, and the puppet has similar functions, she receives special treatment.

With this novel discovery, Chu Mingkong thought that perhaps the puppet could be used to bind more people, so he tried to have Madam Zhen bind it as well.

Even if Madam Zhen doesn't take any action, Chu Mingkong will find some excuse later to tie Madam Zhen's hair up as well.

"I have another doll like this in the storeroom of the Prince of Xiling's mansion. How about I make one that resembles Lady Zhen to help her pass the time and relieve her boredom?"

Madam Zhen smiled faintly, concealing the bitterness in her heart: "If only Mingkong were willing to part with it..."

However, Madam Zhen was still happy with Chu Mingkong's generosity. But even with her doll, Mingkong would probably only touch Yongzhen's doll...

As a mother, Madam Zhen personally experienced how good Mingkong was to Yongzhen.

Chu Mingkong flipped through the ledger. In the short time he had been chatting with Madam Zhen, he had unknowingly accumulated four sets of ordinary filial piety points plus nearly ten thousand mutated filial piety points.

So moisturizing!

This time, instead of continuing to gamble, he spent 30,000 yuan of ordinary filial piety to upgrade Yongzhen's doll.

After a few prayers, Chu Mingkong put away the witchcraft doll as if nothing had happened. As he was about to put the doll away, he pinched its delicate toes.

Madam Zhen's toes trembled slightly, and a look of surprise immediately appeared on her face. A mixture of delight and astonishment crept onto her brow as she said:

"Wait a minute, let me touch her face again."

Fearing that what she had just experienced might have been an illusion, Madam Zhen gently stroked the doll's delicate face, feeling relieved, and a smile appeared on her lips.

Chu Mingkong watched her reaction closely, smiled inwardly, and before putting the doll away, he hugged it tightly in front of Madam Zhen.

The beautiful woman blushed and remained silent.

Chapter Ninety-One: You Come Out First

Chu Mingkong went back to his room first. When he was hugging the doll, he felt a very scary noise; the doll seemed to have a very faint pulse...

But it seems that this is the only way forward. They won't upgrade the doll any further, or it will really become a physical body for Emma.

She'll be able to control two bodies, creating artificial twin sisters? Maybe Madam Zhen can control the puppet too, since her soul and Yongzhen's seem to be bound together, and their relationship seems to be getting more and more complicated!

Yongzhen from the Princess's residence sent another message. The elegant handwriting carried a questioning tone; reading the letter felt like seeing her in person, as if she were right there, questioning him:

[Mingkong, what's wrong with you today? You're touching and hugging me all the time.]

Chu Mingkong smiled as he wrote, unsure if his lifeless handwriting would convey his thoughts to Yongzhen. He wrote in cursive script, in a wild, unrestrained style:

I've been thinking of you constantly.

Yongzhen remained silent for a long time, seemingly unsure whether to agree to either option, but refusing them all would likely result in some underhanded tactics from the guy.

Only one location is permitted!

【Emma, ​​have you sensed anything special from the connection between your soul and the doll?】

Chu Mingkong changed the subject too quickly. Yongzhen was stunned for a moment, then said:

[What does this mean? I haven't noticed anything particularly unusual yet.]

"That's alright then. I'll come to the capital to find you later when I've recovered. Yongzhen, just wait patiently. If anything unexpected happens on your end, remember to tell me immediately. I can't play for now, but my master can."

Chu Mingkong told him that he had many people, but he was still afraid that Yongzhen didn't want to involve him since he hadn't recovered. He worried that if something happened, she wouldn't tell him, which could lead to a tragedy.

Is this considered prematurely withdrawing the flag?

After being sternly warned by Yongzhen about the precautions to take when playing with the dolls, such as not to use too much force, Chu Mingkong turned to bothering the system mom.

[System, you're so kind! What's the use of upgrading this doll? There's no explanation here, just a button to spend filial piety points.]