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

Shaman found it hard to believe. How was this any different from voluntarily ceding territory? The Celestial Empire was actually willing to offer such terms?!

But she couldn't see any joking in the eyes of the Emperor of Heaven; it seemed he truly didn't see anything wrong with this transaction.

“If that’s true, my tribe and I are ready to oblige.” Shaman nodded in acceptance.

Once one person agrees, the pressure naturally falls on the other. However, Fan Le agreed readily. She was alone and had no power or influence to worry about; all she needed to do was make herself happy.

"I'm fine with that too~ We can send a few of these energetic Jin soldiers to them to try first~?"

"A little sincerity is certainly not a problem!"

The Heavenly Emperor sneered inwardly. As they entered the palace and passed through the ordinary night fog, he had already left an extremely Yin curse mark on them.

For now, we'll treat each other with courtesy. But once things are settled, it will no longer be a cooperative relationship, but a relationship of slave and enslaved!

He was also calculating the time in his mind; his imperial uncle from Jin should have arrived by now.

Chu Mingkong will inevitably put in a lot of effort in the New Moon Kingdom, which could ruin his important plans. Just like the former Empress Dowager Zhen, who clearly had nothing to do with him, yet insisted on coming out to kidnap people.

This time, we'll see which is stronger, the Prince of Jin or the Crown Prince of Xiling, both of whom honed their skills in the Abyss.

I let him sneak back to Xiling to catch his breath, but he still wasn't at ease. He had to come out and ruin my important plans!

----------

Chu Mingkong felt uneasy as he listened to the emperor's promise.

Let alone demanding such a high standard as "the emperor guarding the country's gates," we are neither defeated nor have we suffered any setbacks. To cede territory to foreigners in disguise is truly outrageous and excessive.

Of course, considering that the emperor had previously left extremely yin marks on these two people, it was possible that it was just a gimmick to deceive them, but for a great power to offer such conditions voluntarily was itself a great disgrace.

"In terms of mentality, they've already treated their own country as a sect, attracting talent and setting aside a sacred peak for them to use. The difference is that right now they're actually giving away land, and in the future, they'll mostly be letting the local people support these foreign tribes."

However, Feng Ying's understanding was somewhat different from Chu Mingkong's. Although he also had dissatisfaction with the emperor, Feng Ying felt that the Tianji Emperor's attitude was not like ceding territory to others, but rather like tacitly accepting the Crescent Moon Kingdom as part of his own territory.

The way the Tarantula tribe arranged things for them was as if they were relocating refugees from their own county to another county; their generous and indifferent attitude was tinged with contempt.

Chu Mingkong noticed the fluctuations in the Annihilation Domain and reminded Feng Ying:

"Calm down, don't have any murderous intent. Do you want me to give you a bit of my master's wife's power so you can suppress it?"

Fengying initially wanted to refuse, but not wanting the Annihilation Domain to break under her influence, she nodded in agreement.

After the lips met, the tongues intertwined, and the power transfer was brief and to the point, Feng Ying calmed his mind.

"Sect Master Shen is indeed very generous to you. This primordial spiritual energy is incredibly pure. To be able to integrate one's own state of mind and artistic conception into the primordial spiritual energy is truly remarkable."

"That's probably because my return gift was equally exquisite." Chu Mingkong nodded thoughtfully, quite certain of this answer based on calm consideration.

Feng Ying didn't delve into the deeper meaning of Chu Mingkong's words. She continued to observe the emperor out of the corner of her eye, a wave of unease washing over her once calm heart.

"I'm a bit annoyed and confused. This is the first time I've encountered a situation like this. The enemy I need to deal with is right in front of me, but I can't make a move. I can only watch. And he's completely unprepared, unaware that an assassin is nearby."

Chu Mingkong had experienced a similar feeling, and he expressed his understanding:

"So, Fengying, think calmly now and see if you're confident you can make a move."

As soon as he finished speaking, he quickly intensified his efforts to stabilize the Annihilation Domain, lest Feng Ying, while pondering the matter, actually develop murderous intent and directly destroy the Annihilation Domain.

Feng Ying stared silently into the palace, then shook his head after a moment.

"I had considered killing Emperor Tianji in the palace before, but when I came here before, the extreme yang energy was so strong that I felt that even if I stabbed him in the heart and shattered his vital point, the extreme yang energy here could save him. In addition, I didn't have any conflicts with the emperor at the time, so I gave up on the idea."

Looking back now, I still regret it. I really shouldn't have tested the emperor's abilities back then. Now that he controls extremely Yin power, I'm even less confident in making a move."

But Fengying didn't think the emperor was truly impossible to kill. As long as he dared to leave the capital, Fengying would take the initiative to assassinate him.

However, since the emperor awoke, he has almost only moved between his palace and the Golden Palace, and has not even visited the Imperial Garden.

Chu Mingkong added, "Would it be possible to call my master over? Or I could hire someone to contact those people on the Assassin Ranking or the Red Skull Ranking. We're not short of money."

With Shen Xuejun's support, Feng Ying's decision-making became increasingly calm and steady:

"Think about the map your master's wife gave you. If this palace really has the defensive capabilities of a top-tier sect's core area, as your master's wife said, then we absolutely cannot make a move here. We can disregard anywhere else in the entire Tianji Empire, but this palace is not to be underestimated."

This palace is like the emperor's tortoise shell. If you act rashly, he can easily turn on you from inside, scratching you with his claws, but you're powerless to do anything about it.

Chu Mingkong always managed to pull out some strange things from Feng Ying's mind. For example, he had secretly learned her colorless shadow mark through dual cultivation, which surprised her quite a bit. Although he couldn't take action in the palace now, he could still infiltrate the palace to gather intelligence in such a strange state, and speak loudly outside the emperor's room without any scruples. This was quite beyond Feng Ying's understanding.

The fact that you can't take action is strange; it would be great if the Annihilation Domain could be improved.

Chu Mingkong, unaware of Feng Ying's deep thoughts, gave her a thumbs up:

"That turtle shell metaphor is excellent!"

This praise didn't satisfy Fengying. She was now pondering whether such a magical field truly lacked a way to kill. This was the most suitable technique for an assassin she had ever seen, but it was also the most restrictive technique for assassins.

Unfortunately, no matter how she thought about it, the only unreliable plan she could come up with was "to keep the emperor conscious, and then toy with Empress Pei in front of him to see if she could anger him to the point of sudden death."

Not long after the two people on the Red Skull List left, several more people arrived at the Emperor's Palace, much like a brothel that entertains guests all night long. These people had distinctive clothing and appearances, and Feng Ying reminded them, "They are members of the Yueji Royal Family."

Chu Mingkong controlled the Nirvana Domain to make way, allowing the men of the Yueyu royal family to enter the emperor's bedroom to discuss matters.

The information we heard this time is no less important than the Emperor's secret plans in the Crescent Kingdom that we just mentioned!

The emperor planned to take advantage of the fact that the two people on the Red Skull List had not yet left, and use them as guards to secretly send Yongzhen to the Yueji royal family ahead of time. As for the marriage of the princess in public, there would be a grand ceremony, and an empty carriage or a maid could be found to take her place.

The emperor came up with this idea from the fact that Chu Mingkong had secretly moved the women of the Cui family away right under his nose.

Seeing how easily Chu Mingkong could overhear the other party's plans while following him, Feng Ying began to deeply doubt himself after years of experience.

"Mingkong, what are your plans now?" Fengying was no longer in the mood to speak.

"If the emperor moves forward, then we must move forward as well."

Chapter 124 Wait for my reply (4.8/18)

The next day at noon, the sun shone brightly.

Normally, any secret operation should be carried out at night, but Chu Mingkong did not expect that the emperor would start sending people to take action during the day.

The meals at the Princess's residence were all sent from the Imperial Kitchen in the palace. Several palace maids carried food boxes and entered the Princess's residence accompanied by imperial guards. Compared to the previous procession of only one palace maid and two guards, today's procession was much more "grand".

The leading palace maid wore a veil and walked with her eyes downcast; the half of her face that was revealed was already stunning. The guards, dressed in armor and armed with weapons, were also quite unusual.

The orderly footsteps of the guards stopped in front of the princess's room. The head maid bowed politely and knocked on the door, greeting her:

"Your Highness, we are here to deliver lunch."

"Come in." Yongzhen's cool voice came from inside the door, without much enthusiasm, simply because she didn't want to make things difficult for the palace maids.

She has been fasting, so these meals are basically untouched; they are sent away unopened and replaced with fresh ones every day.

However, noticing that this time the palace maids had two more attendants, and the lead maid was wearing a veil, Yongzhen stared at her, a thoughtful look in her clear eyes. She said:

"The palace maid in the middle, what is your name?"

The palace maid placed her hands in front of her and bowed, saying, "My name is Fan Le."

Yongzhen looked her over and asked, "Why are you wearing a veil in front of me?"

It wasn't that Yongzhen looked down on people; it was just that wearing a veil was a way to conceal one's identity or maintain one's noble status. Unless ordered by the master, a palace maid was not qualified to wear a veil in her daily activities, especially in front of the royal family.

"Because I was afraid of frightening Her Highness the Princess."

"Is this the Emperor's order? Take it down for me."

"Yes~"

The palace maid's tone suddenly changed, and even the way she looked at Yongzhen now held a hint of mockery. She was already anticipating a look of panic and indignation from this pampered princess.

Although the purpose of this trip was not to deal with this princess, being able to see the panicked expressions of people of extraordinary birth could satisfy her perverse pleasure.

If Princess Yongzhen could realize that her perceived nobility ultimately makes her nothing more than a tool of the emperor, that would be even better.

She enjoys seeing members of the royal family fall from grace; she did so when she saw the Yueqi royal family, and she does so now when she sees this Princess Tianji.

The palace maid slowly removed her veil, revealing a delicate face identical to Yongzhen's, but her eyes held anticipation, waiting for the princess's astonishment.

This palace maid was Fan Le. Taking advantage of her special skill of disguise, she accepted the emperor's request to replace Princess Yongzhen, allowing Yongzhen to go to the Yueqi royal family ahead of time under the escort of Shaman. Fan Le, on the other hand, stayed behind to pretend and see if she could run into the hero who saved the beauty, the Prince of Xiling, and then trick him.

Unfortunately, Yongzhen remained calm and expressionless, as if she had anticipated Fanle's appearance.

In the silent eye contact, Fan Le waited in vain, his expression revealing too many emotions.

"Your Highness seems to be very good at maintaining composure. Do you know what will happen next?"

“I know,” Yongzhen replied calmly, and then briefly explained the emperor’s plan, which was also Fanle’s mission.

At this moment, Fan Le realized something was wrong. This princess knew a lot, but what was going on? Did the emperor tell this princess? That shouldn't be the case. The emperor clearly still suspected Chu Mingkong's relationship with her, and even wanted to use her identity to lure Chu Mingkong out.

Let's go back and ask the emperor what's going on!

Just as Fan Le was about to use magic to escape, he found himself engulfed by a gray area, and then he knew nothing more. His consciousness seemed to have blacked out for a moment, but it also seemed that nothing had happened.

When she came to her senses, she noticed that there was a man standing next to Yongzhen across from her.

Chu Mingkong picked up his chopsticks, took a bite of food from the imperial kitchen, and immediately spat it out, cursing under his breath:

"Go to hell, this tastes like something from a well-established brand of the Hehuan Sect."

He casually accepted the tea Yongzhen poured for him to rinse his mouth, completely unaware that the atmosphere in the room was gradually becoming tense—at least Fanle's mood had reached a critical point. She found herself trapped in the other party's domain, and she didn't know what the consequences would be, but the current situation could only be resolved through battle!

"Is this a disguise technique? You do look somewhat like Yongzhen. Last night when you went to see the Emperor, you didn't resemble Yongzhen at all." Chu Mingkong said, not forgetting to turn back and flatter Yongzhen: "But Yongzhen is still prettier."

Fan Le's heart sank, not only because of the information the other party had casually revealed, but also because she could no longer control the two palace maids she had brought. These two maids had both fallen under her illusion spell and could have been used as scapegoats, but now they were completely unresponsive, standing there like wooden figures.

She gave a less-than-easy smile: "It seems that you are the Prince of Xiling that the Emperor mentioned. Your methods are indeed extraordinary!"

"Don't talk nonsense. I only have a channel, not a heaven." Chu Mingkong fanned his nose to clear away the smell in front of him, and then reached out to her: "Hand over your disguise skills. You don't need to spout your nonsense anymore. This level of skill is useless. Besides, I'm not interested in an old cunning bitch like you. I've eaten less food than you've slept with more men."

When Fan Le realized that her secret methods had been exposed, she knew she really had to resort to some real tactics. She took out a whip made of bone rings and was about to make her move when Chu Mingkong suddenly shouted, "Stop!"

Under Fan Le's questioning gaze, Chu Mingkong pulled out a thick booklet. She didn't know what kind of trick this was, so she could only take the opportunity to think of a solution.

Chu Mingkong opened the booklet, glanced at it, and muttered:

"Madam Zhen has sent me a message."

"What did you say?" Yongzhen looked at Chu Mingkong with a suspicious look, and the latter wisely handed the note to Yongzhen.

[Mingkong, last night I saw Miss Fengying and Sword Immortal Zuo go out to look for you. You must be busy with Yongzhen's matter. I am very grateful, but you must prioritize your safety and not act rashly, lest you put yourself in danger.]

"Yongzhen, how should we reply?"