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

Chu Mingkong breathed a sigh of relief. Although he knew that Jin Yu and the others were all safe and sound, a sense of impending doom filled him with even more worry.

"It would be better to ask Qingning as well, so that Jinyu doesn't just say she's fine."

[Qingning, how are you doing? Are you at the Princess's residence now?]

Yes, brother, I'm fine. It's just that Princess Jinyu heard about what happened at court and is very worried. I'll accompany her to the palace to visit the Empress later.

Okay, please be careful too. If you notice anything unusual, even if it's just a guess, please remember to let me know with a note. Don't think it's bothering me.

After the paper stickers were made, Chu Mingkong was the one who usually took the initiative to contact them; it was rare for the girls to come to him on their own initiative.

Mentally, they still regard it as a tool for writing letters. In this era, the mindset for writing letters is particularly solemn. Even if they think of trivial matters, they accumulate a lot of heartfelt words and write them all in one letter. Unlike Chu Mingkong, who can casually send a letter asking, "Have you eaten?"

Chu Mingkong was troubled because the girls couldn't use this note as a tool for communication anytime, anywhere, and they didn't want to tell him when disaster struck.

Wei Qingning's message has arrived:

"Yes, I'll keep a close eye on things. How is your brother recovering? Is Aunt Gu settling in well after leaving the capital?"

[Not bad, Aunt Gu is getting used to her stay at the sect. She's been fiddling with pill recipes every day, treating it like making soup. I'll bring you over to play another day.]

----------

Chu Mingkong seized the time to practice the Nirvana Domain, but he didn't use the power that his master's wife, Shen Xuejun, had passed on to him. It would be best to use it when necessary. For now, he would speed up his pace.

As the realm of annihilation opened and closed, Chu Mingkong arrived at Shangguan Rong's house.

Shangguan Rong was looking at the books in Xiaoxiang Qin Academy. She had already read most of the books on the bookshelf in the guest room. When she got tired of sitting, she would occasionally get up and walk around. Her focused expression suggested that she was pondering the contents of the books even when she was relaxing.

A flash before her eyes, as if a piece of her memory and consciousness had been severed, the scroll in her hand disappeared, and in its place was Chu Mingkong holding her hand.

"doing what?"

“I’ve recovered and plan to go to the capital. I should be able to get you in now. Rong’er, would you like to go back and visit your family? But just to be safe, I need to go and scout out the place first, and then I’ll bring you to the capital.”

"Why the sudden rush to the capital...?" Shangguan Rong's mind worked quickly as she pressed, "Has something happened in the capital?"

Chu Mingkong pulled her down to sit, nodded, and said:

“Something has happened. I’m afraid that you won’t be able to visit your family for a long time. Since we still have the chance, I’ll take you back to see them.”

Although Shangguan Rong had previously complained to him about how damn bastard her father was, blaming his daughter's excellence on her for taking away the family's good fortune and making all the male offspring worthless, whether she really hated him that much was up to Shangguan Rong to decide, not Chu Mingkong's.

Besides, even though she didn't get along with her father, Shangguan Mingzhe, she still had a good relationship with her mother, as well as the maid who had accompanied her as she grew up, and some family members.

The royal family is currently unaware of his Nirvana Domain and cannot prepare countermeasures in advance. Chu Mingkong can still ostentatiously take Guan Rong back to visit his family, but once the Nirvana Domain is discovered and countermeasures are found, it may be difficult to bring anyone in again.

Chu Mingkong thought for a moment and then added:

"However, if you say you want to stay in the capital, I will not allow it. I have already lured you out here, how can I let you go back? You can only go back for a few moments, just to settle this worldly ties. But if there is a chance in the future, I will still take you back to visit your family."

Shangguan Rong, who always loved to show off, stared at him for a while, then rested her head on Chu Mingkong's shoulder and shook her head:

"No, that would be too risky. If there's a chance in the future, Mingkong, you can take me back to see my mother... Now, tell me what new trouble has arisen in the capital?"

Chapter 102 You'll figure it out yourself

When it came to visiting relatives, Shangguan Rong was more rational and calm than Chu Mingkong himself.

She was indeed reluctant to leave. She hadn't felt anything special during the time she lived in the Cui family mansion and didn't go home for ten days or more at a time. Perhaps she felt that she was still in the capital and could go home to visit whenever she wanted, so she didn't take it seriously. But after leaving the capital and staying at Xiaoxiang Qin Academy for only a few days, she already felt the longing for her family and the attachment to her familiar surroundings.

Perhaps it was because of Chu Mingkong's attention to her, Shangguan Rong found that her dissatisfaction with her father had faded a lot. Although... her father's ideas were indeed very annoying, when her mind was elsewhere, the past became just trivial matters, and she felt much more at ease.

You don't realize how much you actually hate your home until you're far away from it.

Shangguan Rong didn't want Chu Mingkong to have any accidents while taking her home to visit his family. No matter how reassuring he was, it was only a possibility that nothing would happen. If his whereabouts were exposed because of her, then he might have to fight a fierce battle to make up for this wrong and willful decision. Rather than taking a gamble, it was better to give up the idea of ​​visiting his family from the beginning.

She steered the conversation toward matters in the capital, not wanting Chu Mingkong to worry too much about her visit to her relatives. After hearing Chu Mingkong recount some information he had learned from Jin Yu about matters in the court, Shangguan Rong was immediately puzzled.

My mind started to connect some insignificant details.

"The Empress poisoned the Emperor, causing him to fall seriously ill for several months... Now the court officials suspect that the Emperor may have used his illness as an excuse to leave the palace and obtain an opportunity."

The former is already true; the Empress herself admitted it. However, the ministers' suspicions are never unfounded; they must have sensed something. But this is strange. After the Emperor fell seriously ill, there would certainly be imperial physicians to diagnose him, or at the very least, palace maids to clean his bedchamber. Would they expect the Emperor, the most supreme ruler, to live in a dusty room? In such a long period, someone must have been able to confirm the Emperor's presence in his bedchamber; otherwise, the news would have spread long ago.

Chu Mingkong didn't quite understand, and after pondering for a while, he gave up trying to figure it out:

What does Rong'er mean?

"What I mean is that, regardless of their abilities, those ministers who can enter and leave the court are all shrewd old foxes who value their lives. In the past, not many ministers openly suspected that the emperor was away from home, which means that the ministers have always been secretly spying on the emperor, using palace maids, imperial physicians and the like to inquire. They only dared to act recklessly after confirming that the emperor was really sick in bed."

But now suspicions are growing about the emperor's whereabouts during his illness. This is firsthand information I heard from Jinyu; surely Jinyu wouldn't lie to you?"

Chu Mingkong grasped some key points and followed her words:

"You mean the ministers' voices are contradictory? The emperor's body has been in his palace the whole time, but at the same time he's left the palace? His soul has left his body?"

"Then I have no idea. There are all sorts of strange things in cultivation, and many things are beyond my understanding. But as far as I know, there are very few techniques that involve the soul, right? And the soul leaving the body only appears in stories."

It is said that some people saw ghosts in abandoned graves and speculated whether living people could also have their souls leave their bodies and become ghosts, and then they made up these stories.

Speaking of this, Chu Mingkong realized that there really were people around him who cultivated soul-related techniques. Yongzhen and Madam Zhen had cultivated the Soul Transfer Technique, and the Empress was basically confined to the palace. So, the only way Madam Zhen could have obtained this Soul Transfer Technique was from the palace.

This means that the royal family itself possessed such a cultivation technique, so it's not surprising that the emperor practiced it...

"Judging from the situation of Yongzhen and Madam Zhen before, it's possible that the emperor's soul also used this method to enter someone else's body and then became active outside the palace? Who is this emperor bound to?"

Once this line of thought was opened, a lot of information that I had never paid attention to before slowly emerged in my mind!

Chu Mingkong frowned and muttered to himself:

"Yongzhen used to wrap her chest to cover up the virginity mark, she definitely didn't want people to know that she and her mother practiced that kind of technique."

"During this trip to the capital, I heard that the royal family went to the princess's courtyard looking for something. Thinking it over, the only thing the royal family should be looking for, besides Yongzhen and Madam Zhen, is that martial arts manual. Could it be that someone discovered some clue that Madam Zhen secretly learned this manual years ago?"

But with cultivation techniques, you can just read a complete one once and memorize it, right? What's there to look for? The treasure that eliminates the drawbacks of the Soul Transfer Technique is probably this!

Although these are all just guesses, at least a line of thought and direction has been clarified.

The emperor could also use the Soul Transfer Technique to change his body and move around, but unfortunately, there was no clue as to who the person whose soul was bound to him was, and even the general direction of the speculation was unclear.

They could be some important figure, or they could be some nobody whose actions were controlled by the emperor, kept specifically to act as the emperor's double.

Chu Mingkong shared his guesses with Shangguan Rong. Unfortunately, Shangguan Rong didn't really know much about this kind of thing. There was a lot of room for imagination, but she preferred a definite answer rather than a "maybe".

"If there really are so many things going on here, it would be better to ask Yongzhen directly, if she's willing to tell us... This matter can't be left to guess. Perhaps Yongzhen even knows about the other person the emperor is tied to."

"Hmm." Chu Mingkong composed himself, having already decided to scout out the area near the capital right now. "Rong'er, if you're not coming with me, is there any letter or something you'd like me to take with you? That shouldn't be too dangerous, right?"

Shangguan Rong hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Mingkong, could you give my mother a copy of that note? That way, it will be much easier for me to contact her in the future, and if I have anything to say, she can pass it on to my other family members..."

"Sure, it's nothing, don't be so polite!"

After telling his girls about his whereabouts, Chu Mingkong thought of getting some help to look after her near the capital. Feng Ying was still in the process of comprehending, and the mountain was shrouded in powerful thunderous energy, with strange phenomena occurring frequently, as if she were undergoing a tribulation. It was not good to disturb her in this situation.

Chu Mingkong returned to Zuo Qiuchi, who had just flicked his head:

"Master, how about moving to a different place to sleep? If necessary, get up and stretch your muscles and go arm wrestle with someone. I'll take care of running away!"

Zuo Qiuchi sat up in bed, gathering fire spirit energy at her fingertips. Chu Mingkong thought she was going to slap him again, but she flicked the fire spirit energy at the kettle, and the water in the kettle boiled instantly.

She pointed to the boiling kettle, remaining silent, as if to say, "This is my answer!"

Chu Mingkong had already warmed up his mind with Shangguan Rong, and now felt in good condition, realizing:

"The water is boiling... Master, do you mean I should take it easy and that you'll always be there to support me?"

Zuo Qiuchi looked at his traitorous disciple and coldly replied with only two words:

"Boiling (waste) materials".

"..."

Chapter 103 You've come to the right person!

Whether it was a ploy to lull him into a false sense of security, or the emperor thought that since he had withdrawn all the women, it would be futile to put up any more defenses, the defenses around the capital were almost completely withdrawn, just as Jin Yu had predicted.

Previously, passing through the city gates of the capital required long queues, but now it is completely unobstructed, as if the steel gates had been opened by Wallace, allowing for smooth entry and exit.

However, there was one change: more people came from the Crescent Kingdom. They dressed differently and came from different factions, but they were mostly from the Crescent Kingdom.

The marriage alliance between the Tianji Empire and the Yueyun royal family is a matter of great concern to the forces there, as it will influence the future direction of the region. Whether to submit or form an alliance to fight against them is a question these observers from afar are tasked with understanding. They aim to determine whether the Tianji Empire's attitude towards the Yueyun royal family is truly sincere and whether it will provide strong support to the Yueyun royal family in dealing with other forces in the future.

After figuring out the guard situation near the capital, Chu Mingkong chose the city gate closest to the Princess's residence and entered. He even changed into the common herdsman's clothing of Xiling, dressed himself up a bit, and smeared dust all over his face, looking like a weary horseman.

Because Xiling is adjacent to the Crescent Kingdom, various cultures have blended and converged, resulting in a kind of "mixed flavor." People from the Crescent Kingdom can easily distinguish the clothing of Xiling from their own. However, in the eyes of the people of the capital, it is easy to identify Xiling's clothing when it is picked out separately, but if it is placed with a group of people from the Crescent Kingdom, it is not so easy to tell them apart.

Chu Mingkong entered the capital city in the usual way, without being stopped. The soldiers guarding the city gate didn't even glance at him, subconsciously assuming he was someone from the Crescent Moon Kingdom who had come to join the fun.

"The problem with such a big place is that it's a mixed bag and difficult to manage. You, grandson of the emperor, never expected that I'd be back."

There are probably not many people like him who would run wild in enemy territory. Everyone was surprised that he left, but he still came back. The royal family thought that he had withdrawn and had no worries about the rear. In fact, he planned to steal all of the emperor's wives and daughters without leaving a trace.

"There are indeed many guards near the Princess's residence, even the heavily armed Imperial Guards with shield formations have been brought out... If you didn't know better, you'd think they were imprisoning a major criminal who had caused chaos in the country."

Chu Mingkong found the shield formation absurd.

Nearby, several Crescent Moon people who had stopped to observe the Princess's residence with him came over to chat. Although Xiling was part of the Tianji Empire, they were much closer to Xiling and trusted the people of Xiling more.

The leader handed Chu Mingkong a large, exquisitely crafted gold chain of pure color, smiled, and, avoiding the attention of the Heavenly Pole soldiers, whispered:

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I didn't expect to find a friend from Xiling in the capital of the Tianji Empire. Here's a small token as a greeting gift. Please don't be shy."

Brother, this is nothing to you... Chu Mingkong glanced at the genuine gold chain and couldn't help but feel admiration for them.

However, this is a more realistic situation. What outsiders perceive as an endlessly chaotic place is actually a very wealthy and fertile land. Some people are incredibly extravagant, but the more realistic situation is that the wealth of the Crescent Kingdom belongs only to a few people and their lackeys who work for them.

"Is there something you want to ask me?"

"That's right, it's not good to get information in the teahouses here. There's too much nonsense, and even if you pay them, it's useless. They just brag about themselves. The people of Xiling are much more friendly."

Did you go to ask a storyteller for information? They might mistake you for someone who's just there to hear a tale... The lords of the capital are just lords, all they do is play, play, play. Guess what when the lords of the capital open their eyes in the morning? They're awake!

"Ask away, I'll answer anything you know." Chu Mingkong patted his chest and gave them a thumbs up, indicating that they had come to the right person.

"What is the background of this Princess Yongzhen? Is she an important member of the royal family? Emperor Tianji once tried to use a palace maid to impersonate a princess for a political marriage, and it was only after many years that the truth was found out."

...Wow, so the emperors of this world have already done such despicable things?

Chu Mingkong pondered for a moment, then said seriously: