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

She seems to really want to take him in. If it really comes to that, his master's wife might ask him to stay in a child's state forever. But that shouldn't be a big problem, right? With Yunhan's relationship to her, his master's wife can't keep it from Yunhan and secretly keep him locked up, can she?

Empress Pei sat in the corner of the dragon bed, her magnificent palace dress revealing a pair of snow-white feet, which swayed gently, a sight to behold. Empress Pei didn't particularly like the emperor's bed; having just experienced a harrowing ordeal, she simply wanted a reasonably comfortable place to rest for a while.

Listening to Chu Mingkong's various arrangements, Empress Pei felt that things were going terribly wrong. There were too many variables involved. If the emperor had really taken her out of the palace to check on Jin Yu's condition, things wouldn't have gone so smoothly, and she would have had to deal with the emperor's many unexpected contingency plans.

However, that's not entirely true. The emperor currently trusts the palace the most. If it weren't for the unusual situation with Jinyu, he probably wouldn't have gone out himself. He would have just gone out for a quick look, and it would have been understandable for him to leave her alone in the palace.

They never expected that despite the tight security, Chu Mingkong would sneak in during that brief moment of relaxation.

"Is it this extreme Yin power that can bring people so many strange and wonderful trump cards? Ever since the emperor inexplicably awoke and was able to use extreme Yin power, I have been unable to see through him. I don't know what those jars carried by the palace guards are, they are very creepy. You are the same, you don't know what kind of treasure these puppets that are indistinguishable from real people, you have never heard of them before."

"There are many things you've never heard of before. I'll show you more in the future."

"Bring Jinyu to see more often."

"It's hard to believe that an empress who is so cunning as to plot for so long to drug the emperor is actually quite fond of her daughter."

Chu Mingkong glanced at her teasingly. Empress Pei had no interest in refuting his assessment, knowing that he was just deliberately trying to stir up trouble, and that responding to it would mean losing to him.

However, if it was about Jin Yu, Empress Pei was still willing to talk about it. She hadn't seen Jin Yu much lately, and the only person she could talk to was probably Chu Mingkong. After a long silence, Empress Pei sighed and said:

"I wouldn't say I miss her that much. Compared to the women in those stories who are 'weak as women, strong as mothers,' my kindness towards Jinyu isn't exactly selfless. I just didn't want to live in that gloom all the time, and I wanted to find someone worthy to be kind to her, so I could feel more at ease. Besides, after learning that Jinyu isn't my biological daughter, I'm not even sure if I truly consider myself her mother..."

"Know? Under normal circumstances, you wouldn't know?"

"That's natural. The royal family has a magical artifact that can induce hallucinations. I don't know what bad luck the owner of that artifact picked up, but its effects are greatly amplified when it's around pregnant women."

At that time, I was blindfolded by those eunuchs and led into the delivery room with some pregnant concubine. Normally, under the influence of that magical treasure, I would have truly regarded Jinyu as my own daughter.

"How did you find out the truth?"

"That ominous object was probably sabotaged by Madam Zhen during the reign of the late emperor. However, it is unclear whether Madam Zhen was responsible, and it is difficult to find out. It may have been left by an empress before that."

I only remember that I was enduring the pain of giving birth to my baby, and then suddenly it all disappeared, and all the pain and hallucinations were gone... I pretended to be confused and watched as the palace maids and eunuchs brought a little person who had just come out of the amniotic fluid to me and said that this was my little princess. Do you know how absurd and chilling I felt?

I was pregnant for ten months, and I always felt like I was really carrying a baby inside me. It turned out to be all an illusion. But everyone still greets me every day, and the imperial physician comes regularly to check my pulse and prescribe medicine to help maintain the pregnancy..."

Everything around her was fake—the smiles were fake, the nobility was fake, the daughter was fake… At that moment, Empress Pei wondered what lay behind each face. Could it be a demon from the underworld?

Not long after, the eunuchs, palace maids, and Jinyu's birth mother disappeared from the palace.

Empress Pei overcame her initial panic and accepted Jin Yu, because Jin Yu was the only innocent one. In a sense, she was also the one who caused Jin Yu to lose her birth mother. The Empress was about to need a baby, and there happened to be a concubine with good qualities who was ready to give birth. The unknown concubine was chosen by the Emperor.

The pain of childbirth? Could it be a magical artifact capable of empathy...? Chu Mingkong offered no comfort, instead coldly remarking:

"Then you'd better come with me and serve Jinyu for a few more years. Jinyu treats you like her mother with all her heart. If you doubt whether you are her mother, then when I torment Jinyu in the future, you'll be there to wipe your sweat. If I go too far, you'll have to take care of Jinyu."

Empress Pei had inquired about Jin Yu's relationship with Chu Mingkong from her. Except for the explicit parts, Jin Yu had told her almost everything. Empress Pei knew that Chu Mingkong cared for Jin Yu quite a bit.

Jin Yu initially complained that Chu Mingkong would spank her for no reason, but later she complained that Chu Mingkong hadn't spanked her for a while...

Empress Pei returned to her exactly what Chu Mingkong had said to her earlier:

"Do you realize that your words are meant to provoke and provoke? Those scheming and manipulative men often use such words to stir up a woman's competitive spirit."

Chu Mingkong smiled. He made these harsh words because he was afraid that Empress Pei might suddenly have a change of heart and use some method she had secretly prepared to perish together with the emperor.

Although Empress Pei had finally achieved her long-cherished wish, he was at a huge loss, as the world had lost a wonderful peach!

Therefore, I would provoke her from time to time to prevent her from doing something really stupid.

Moreover, this was not Chu Mingkong's overthinking. He mainly felt that Empress Pei might actually do such a thing. When it comes to revenge, it is always most satisfying to do it yourself. Only as a last resort should you let someone else do it for you.

Now that Jin Yu's worries are gone, it's very possible that Empress Pei might really have those kinds of thoughts, which is not the result Chu Mingkong wants.

Empress Pei, seeing Chu Mingkong rummaging around by himself for so long, asked in confusion:

What are you looking for there?

"I'm looking for the emperor's secret treasury. Since I have nothing better to do now and the emperor hasn't returned, I'm going to search through it and see if I can find the emperor's plan to use the Yin Core to blow it up."

Empress Pei rolled her eyes at him and said irritably:

"Useless effort. Who do you think would bother to keep such a secret? As if afraid that someone might accidentally discover it and find out what despicable things they've done?"

Peach, what you said is like saying 'No respectable person writes a diary,' but it does make sense.

The significance of this secret plan lies in its outcome: the Crown Prince of Xiling was killed, the King of Xiling had no successor, and Xiling returned to the control of the Tianji royal family. The Tianji royal family gained another member with the potential to be enfeoffed as a king—that's the real meaning. Recording the events would only lead to their discovery and wouldn't generate any further value; destroying them immediately would be the only sensible course of action.

Chu Mingkong knew the situation perfectly well, but he still wanted to search the room thoroughly. He had finally entered an NPC's room, so he had to do his best to loot it. Even if he could find the emperor's writing materials, he could still laugh at his ugly handwriting and consider it a gain.

However, as Chu Mingkong rummaged through the items, he actually found some things for him!

—A storage ring hidden in a book

Chu Mingkong excitedly poured out the contents, then fell silent for a moment.

There were no treasures inside, only a jade dildo and a bunch of paintings of ladies. The ladies depicted in the paintings were none other than Empress Pei herself, and in the corner was the emperor's seal.

Although the painting technique... to be honest, Chu Mingkong couldn't appreciate this kind of ink-drawn portrait of a lady. It was almost like a rough pixelated figure. He could only recognize Empress Pei from the empress's robe.

From these paintings of court ladies, one can sense that Emperor Tianji was lustful towards his empress, but had no real feelings for her. He was simply greedy for the beauty that was so close yet unattainable for so many years; otherwise, he wouldn't have painted so many of them.

However, given Empress Pei's beauty alone, it's not surprising that the emperor had such thoughts. In fact, if the emperor were to lose control and inadvertently ruin the Golden Crow Phoenix's body, Chu Mingkong wouldn't find it strange either, because Empress Pei truly deserves the honor of being a "national calamity".

But what is this jade dildo used for?

When Empress Pei saw the contraption Chu Mingkong had produced, she looked at the jade dildo with a strange expression and began to guess what it was. Chu Mingkong noticed Empress Pei's sudden silence and assumed she knew something.

"Why would the emperor collect this thing? He wouldn't sell it too, would he?"

Empress Pei refused to speak, but faced with Chu Mingkong's relentless pursuit, she had no choice but to reveal the truth:

"This was probably used to deceive me back then... Being pregnant always takes time. The emperor blindfolded me, and then had the palace maids..."

She spoke vaguely, but Chu Mingkong had already guessed the gist of it.

This is just like me pounding medicine for my baby.

However, this emperor is indeed excessively cautious. He's so afraid of losing control that he has a palace maid do it for him, and then he keeps the item afterward. Could it be that he's keeping it in his imagination that it's his own...?

It's truly astonishing that the seemingly all-powerful emperor, who commands everything in the palace, could be so helpless and pathetic.

Judging from Empress Pei's expression, she clearly only just learned about this now. A mocking sneer curled at the corner of her lips, as if she wished she could ridicule her husband to his face.

Chu Ming found it amusing and took out a jade dildo he had drawn from the blind box. He walked up to the elegant and graceful Peach Queen and asked:

Which one do you like?

Empress Pei saw Chu Mingkong suddenly pull out a thing made of fine spirit jade, which was at least twice as large as the one he had shoved out of the emperor's storage ring! Empress Pei was about to scold him for hiding such a dirty thing that looked like a wild donkey or a stallion when she suddenly recognized the face.

It seems... last time I even pointed at her mouth and tasted it.

This very thing had driven her to the brink of ecstasy; she had been pounding the medicine so deeply that her heart was practically bulging out of her mouth. Empress Pei was particularly impressed by this.

The voluptuous and beautiful empress was immediately filled with shame and anger. She was furious that he had used this to flirt with her. However, even when she was angry, this stunning beauty still possessed a captivating charm.

"These are all filthy things, I don't like any of them. Quickly take them back and treat them like treasures, don't let them taint my eyes!"

Faced with Empress Pei's resentful glare, Chu Mingkong advanced instead of retreating, bringing his nose close to her swan-like neck to sniff. Empress Pei intended to back away, but her delicate body stiffened and she remained frozen in place, seemingly dodging yet also exposing her neck. With her eyes tightly closed, Chu Mingkong thoroughly smelled her.

The rich, cloying fragrance flowed into Chu Mingkong's nostrils, as sweet as orchids and as sweet as musk, inexplicably stimulating a man, and Chu Mingkong immediately became as hard as iron (referring to a firm and unyielding heart).

Empress Pei noticed a deadly dagger protruding from Chu Mingkong's trousers, and quickly looked away. However, she couldn't help but recall the scene and the pleasure she felt, as well as Chu Mingkong's strong and broad young body. Her heart inexplicably felt a little itchy, and she didn't even realize that her breathing had become rapid.

For a moment, a sense of emptiness overwhelmed the beautiful empress, whose face was as red as a peach blossom, and a heart-wrenching desire to have that void filled surged through her body.

Just then, the sound of dense and orderly footsteps suddenly rang out outside the palace—the emperor and his personal guards had returned!

Chu Mingkong waved his hand, restoring the messy room to normal. After scanning the room and confirming that everything was back to normal, he forcibly pulled Empress Pei's beautiful body into his arms, then shrank his Annihilation Domain to a small area around him and Empress Pei.

The emperor strode back to his palace, slammed the door shut, his face dark with anger, though he could be considered calm.

For those affected by the power of extreme Yin, not losing control is equivalent to being at peace.

He sat alone on the edge of the bed, lost in thought for a long time, before suddenly summoning his newly appointed attendant eunuch:

"Go and summon Consort Zhao Ziying to serve you in bed. Give her a set of empress's robes!"

At this moment, Chu Mingkong and Empress Pei's expressions turned strange, as if they had accidentally swallowed a fly while watching someone else eat.

-----

P.S.: Good morning! This chapter has 5000 words!!

Chapter 132 Files

The emperor was filled with waves of malevolent emotions, emotions that, if they could materialize, would surely be utterly chaotic and corrupt.

Many things that were about to be accomplished can become unrecognizable in just one day, like a grand stage where a pillar suddenly breaks, leaving behind a mess of ruins and chaos.

The Golden Crow Phoenix Body is essential, and so is Jin Yu. Without Jin Yu, the physique inheritance plan will hardly make any progress in the short term, and even if it does, it will be difficult to achieve results. Even if the heavens are kind enough to send a woman with good talent to the mortal world, we still have to consider how long it will take her to cultivate the Phoenix Blood Scripture.

But his daughter Jinyu was secondary; the more important thing was Empress Pei, the Golden Crow Phoenix Body. With the backup empress still missing, her disappearance was of extraordinary significance. Moreover, her disappearance meant that he would no longer have any chance of obtaining the peerless beauty who had been coveting him for so long!

It feels like spending over ten years painstakingly brewing wine, or diligently cultivating and tending to fruit and vegetable trees, only to have the most delicious fruit stolen away without anyone noticing.

The emperor was still able to control his emotions at the moment, ultimately because he discovered through the dragon vein that things had not yet reached the worst point—the empress was still in the palace.

Although it's unknown how she managed to conceal her presence within the palace—whether she accidentally obtained some magical artifact or discovered some previously left-behind secret chamber to hide in—that doesn't matter. As long as she remains within the palace, the dragon vein's absorption of her will continue.

To Empress Pei, the entire palace was like a giant pot. No matter where she hid as the best ingredient, as long as she was still in the pot, everything would change.

During this period, as long as he seals off the palace and strictly prohibits going out, not giving Empress Pei the opportunity to leave the palace quietly, everything will be fine. He only needs to accelerate the absorption of the divine essence of the Golden Crow Phoenix Body by the dragon vein, and he can even make Empress Pei, who seems to have a chance to escape, die in this palace.

"What I cannot have, no one else can have either!!"

As the emperor pondered this, he suddenly flew into a rage. He said he didn't care, but the beauty he had cherished and longed for for so many years, whom he had tried so hard to restrain himself from, had inexplicably slipped from his life. It was truly difficult for him to be as magnanimous and forgiving as he claimed.

You can fool others, but you can't fool yourself.

Furthermore, if Empress Pei were to die in a short period of time, he would still face the problem of the Golden Crow Phoenix Body being missing.

He's only bothered by one or two things right now, but they feel like a knot in his heart that's hard to untie, and his mind is a jumbled mess of a chaotic mess of things.

Chu Mingkong held Empress Pei, whom the emperor had been searching for, in his arms and stood by the window watching the emperor go crazy. His meticulously styled hair became disheveled in an instant, and his demeanor was dejected and pathetic. Where was the majesty of an emperor?

However, as a fellow patient who had also been affected by the power of extreme yin, Chu Mingkong felt that the emperor was still too calm. Having lost the Golden Crow Phoenix Body, how could he maintain such a good mood, just making strange noises alone in the room? He probably had some kind of confidence.

Following this line of thought, the answer likely lies in the question of how the palace acquired Empress Pei.

"The imperial palace... the dragon vein continues to drain your resources. How long can you hold out?"

Chu Mingkong skipped directly to the question about the "deadline." He wasn't really sure how deep the influence of the palace was on Empress Pei. He had some unrealistic fantasies in his mind, thinking that since he had erased the cause of the extreme yin curse and the Nirvana Domain could still hide her by his side without being discovered by the dragon vein, it might actually have cut off most of the dragon vein's influence on her.