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

"How many layers of this file do you think are genuine? Was it deliberately taken out to be read, or is it truly the emperor's work?"

Empress Pei pondered briefly. She felt that the answer was actually quite clear. Even the details of which Xiling border guards needed to transport the Extreme Yin Core were meticulously recorded. The file was excessively detailed. Some of the names in it were indeed ones that Chu Mingkong had heard of, but they had not had much interaction with each other. During the later investigation, they died for common and unremarkable reasons.

Even if the emperor did forge the list, it's still unusual for him to have access to the list of dead soldiers.

She said, "It's probably true, but bringing it out now makes it seem like they suspect you're nearby and want to provoke you out. The emperor has always burned these kinds of files after the matter is over, and he wouldn't bother to review them again, let alone let a little eunuch read them out. That doesn't make sense!"

Chu Mingkong nodded: "That's what I think too."

Seeing his calm reaction, Empress Pei breathed a sigh of relief. She thought he would lose his temper, but she didn't expect him to be able to hold back. She had heard that he had been investigating the real culprit behind the trip to the capital from time to time.

The incident of being attacked on his way to the capital could have been traced back to the royal family and the emperor, even by using a process of exclusion, after he returned to Xiling and established a good relationship with the Princess of Chu. However, the fact that the emperor brought it up so abruptly in this way can be considered a final conclusion.

Chu Mingkong said:

"Actually, I still have a little bit of anger left, but taking you away is my priority right now. My business can wait. Anyway, the emperor can't escape."

Empress Pei nodded, pondering her words, but found she had nothing to say.

In a sense, he really is remarkable. He harbored hatred for so long, nearly losing his life in the process, yet now he can face it calmly. In all the news and rumors, he's never been associated with rationality or composure. If he truly possessed any composure, he wouldn't have resorted to killing anyone he disliked in the first place. Now that the truth about his plot to assassinate someone in Beijing has come to light, Chu Mingkong is able to prioritize other matters over revenge.

It's hard to imagine that this is a decision he would make.

"If you find this unpleasant, why don't you go back to the next palace to avoid it? At least you'll have some peace and quiet," Empress Pei advised.

“That works too.” Chu Mingkong nodded.

So sometimes these things really happen suddenly, and they just come out of nowhere and hit him in the face. Back then, he had searched through all sorts of channels and information to investigate the truth, afraid of slandering someone or taking revenge on the wrong person. Now, it's just laid out like this, worthless, and they even read it to him in a very considerate way.

Just as Chu Mingkong and Empress Pei stepped outside, Chu Mingkong overheard the Emperor muttering to himself, a mixture of感慨 and unfamiliarity in his voice:

"What kind of extremely Yin core is used to create such a spectacle? If such a powerful object is under my control, even the strongest cultivator would die."

You arranged this secret operation yourself, so why are you now wondering what tools you used?

Chu Mingkong stood there, staring intently at the emperor's expression. The emperor's expression clearly showed that he was puzzled and unfamiliar with some details in the dossier, but he must have his own reasons for doing so, he just didn't understand the detailed process.

Could it be... that this was the decision made by the person who possessed the emperor's body when the emperor's soul was transferred?

Chapter 134 Just Swatting Mosquitoes (7.7/18)

The emperor had no desire to sleep in bed any longer and was still dealing with the files in the study next door. After listening to them once, he burned them on the spot, so that no one would know about the matter.

Even if there were any, there would be no way to verify them. The subordinates involved in the matter have all been purged, so there will be no evidence, and no one will step forward in righteous indignation to uphold justice.

If so, then it's baseless slander, and the perpetrator should be executed.

Chu Mingkong led Empress Pei back to their bedroom and sat down by the window. The gloomy sky outside was only similar to that seen during a downpour. But now it did seem to be seeking shelter from the rain, as the ghostly figures outside were like a hundred ghosts roaming at night, searching for hidden food.

These dragons, in the eyes of the Imperial Guards, seemed to have become invisible, inaudible, and inaudible, silently hidden on the seemingly ordinary roads of the Imperial Palace.

Chu Mingkong was hiding from these things, like someone cowering under the eaves to avoid getting their clothes wet, but there was a difference: Chu Mingkong was now hiding in the bedroom of the married queen's husband.

Within this small, desolate area, there were no other chairs. Empress Pei was worried that moving chairs from elsewhere would alert the emperor to the strange changes in the furniture, so she could only walk to the window and stand by it.

The round, plump buttocks left a soft, fleshy indentation on the window frame, looking succulent and tempting.

"What are you thinking about?"

Chu Mingkong took out the note and flipped through it. He wanted to see if the girls had sent any messages. His master and the others didn't like to use notes to chat, but they should have informed him about Jin Yu's situation. At the very least, after Jin Yu was rescued by Zuo Qiuchi, they should have managed to get some information.

The palace's barrier is really affecting the signal...

Chu Mingkong sighed:

"They're thinking about escaping. The palace can't stay sealed off forever. The emperor still has to hold court, and the officials and ministers will eventually have to come in. Maybe they can go out with them then, unless the emperor plans to build another court outside and keep the palace sealed off forever."

Empress Pei's words were somewhat disjointed; after a moment of silence, the topic shifted. She turned her face away, glancing out the window out of the corner of her eye.

"I thought you'd use anger as an excuse to act recklessly, but you're quite calm."

"What excuse?"

"What happened at Xiling just now."

After leaving the study, Chu Mingkong stopped thinking about what happened there. Some things only made him feel worse the more he thought about them, and he couldn't figure them out. He decided to leave this confusion for now and ask the girls to help him think of something when he got out.

Now, hearing Empress Pei bring up the matter again, her question seemed rather strange. Chu Mingkong raised an eyebrow, looking at Empress Pei's jade-like legs, and, following her words, pressed on:

"Using the Xiling incident as an excuse to get angry and then act recklessly?"

Empress Pei remained calm, but in her heart she wanted to chop off his dog's head.

The "nonsense" mentioned here naturally refers to the fact that the emperor's "Ahhh!" roar had just ruined his mood. Now, taking advantage of the emperor bringing up the topic of Xiling, Chu Mingkong could use his loss of temper as an excuse to continue the foreplay and act recklessly towards her.

But she couldn't say it outright; if she did, Chu Mingkong might misinterpret it.

It made it seem as if she was expecting it.

Unable to get an answer from Empress Pei, Chu Mingkong stopped pressing her for an answer. He shifted to a lazy, dog-like sitting posture, sprawling out in the armchair like a rag doll, and said with righteous indignation:

"When I act recklessly, I'm not really reckless; I'm always serious. Every time, it's driven by lust, it's an act of my true nature, not a fit of temper or loss of reason where I take my anger out on a woman. Besides, every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt has its debtor."

However, there is an exception to this statement, namely the time with the baby pheasant. That time, she really got a little angry, but the factors that mattered were more complicated. There was anger, lust, and also filial piety brought about by the filial piety points.

The statement he made before, "with the emperor as the center and his female relatives as the radius...", was partly made in anger. In reality, when facing Jinyu and the others, he did not treat them as "the relatives of his enemy" at all, but only with simple, honest, and genuine lust.

His "frankness" left Empress Pei speechless, unsure whether to praise or criticize him.

Chu Mingkong watched as Empress Pei stood for a while, her plump, beautiful legs shifting their weight several times, indicating she was tired. It was as if the tempering of a cultivator's body didn't affect her at all.

"I'll expand the Nirvana Domain so you can rest on that dragon bed. It's only been a short while since you started practicing, and the palace maids have already changed all the bedding? The service is truly excellent."

Empress Pei glanced at the dragon bed, which was covered with a golden brocade quilt embroidered with dragon patterns. It was probably hard to find a better quilt in the Tianji Empire.

However, recalling the moment when the emperor and that concubine's sweat had just mingled here, she couldn't help but feel disgusted and repulsed.

She withdrew her disdainful gaze from the dragon bed: "I'm not going."

Chu Mingkong didn't have the same psychological burden as Empress Pei. He felt that it didn't matter since there was a new one. Besides, when he came to cultivate with Empress Pei last time, it was on that dragon bed.

He wasn't quite sure whether Empress Pei disliked their previous cultivation session or the Emperor's recent release of pent-up desire.

"There's no way to take you back to your palace to rest now. You can see those dragon vein phantoms, right? They keep sneaking out of the window like sly snakes. This is the only place where you can hide safely."

"I didn't ask you to take me to rest, don't flatter yourself."

Chu Mingkong held Empress Pei's hand. Her legs were already numb, and with a gentle tug from Chu Mingkong, she fell into his arms. The armchair was made of wood, and if Chu Mingkong hadn't been lying on it as a cushion, the fall would have been quite severe.

"what you do!"

Empress Pei's face darkened slightly, but just as she finished questioning him, a crisp, elastic "slap" rang out from the Realm of Annihilation. Her soft, round, plump buttocks rippled with waves. The beautiful empress's face was filled with both shame and anger, her fists clenched tightly, wishing she could slap his face.

"Mother-in-law~ Mother~ There was a mosquito just now, I've already swatted it dead~"

"Shut up! Who gave you permission to address me like that? I don't recognize you as my son-in-law, let go of me!"

"Alright, take a break."

Chu Mingkong wrapped his arm around her, leaving Empress Pei nowhere to escape. She tried to struggle, but to no avail. She had no choice but to give up, slowly calming down and using the scoundrel as a cushion.

After the silence settled down, the quiet atmosphere of the area inevitably drew Empress Pei's attention to the powerful heartbeat beneath her. A strange and subtle feeling quietly arose from the bottom of her heart, and the burning sensation on her buttocks seemed to become much clearer, making her delicate face even more rosy.

The man beneath her had a broad, hot chest, and the contact sent a surge of heat through her. The forbidden word "Mother" she had just uttered was now reverberating deep within Empress Pei's soul...

----------

Jin Yu was taken away by Zuo Qiuchi early on, and they left the capital city. They stopped at a pavilion and did not immediately return to Xiaoxiang Qin Academy.

Zuo Qiuchi was also considering whether to take Jin Yu and run ahead, but he was afraid that if Chu Mingkong needed support at the last minute, it would be troublesome if he couldn't help him in time.

Jin Yu thought they were taking her here to meet Chu Mingkong, but after waiting for a long time without seeing anyone, she couldn't help but ask:

"Senior Zuo, isn't Mingkong around here?"

"He's not here. I'm just here to see if I can wait for him. He probably went into the palace to steal from your mother. I haven't heard from him yet."

Zuo Qiuchi gazed at the horizon where the Heavenly Palace was located. The sky was dark, with dark clouds and evil thunder intertwined, and an ugly dragon poked its head down from the sky.

Such a spectacle is rarely seen even in major holy lands, and its appearance in a secular dynasty is a great honor.

After today, the news will likely spread rapidly among cultivators, and all eyes will be on this secular dynasty. However, how it will be treated remains to be seen.

Generally speaking, when such power appears in the Heavenly Empire, it is more likely that cultivation sects will gather and divide it up.

Jin Yu's eyesight wasn't as sharp as Zuo Qiuchi's, but she could still see the scenery on the horizon clearly, and her worry for Chu Mingkong was even greater.

"Will he...is he in danger? Should I go back and check? My identity makes it easier for me to enter the palace."

"It would be troublesome for you to enter the palace again with your current identity. The royal family probably thinks you are the imperial princess who committed suicide." Zuo Qiuchi learned Chu Mingkong's thoughts in advance from the note.

His plans within the palace were to proceed step by step, but his scheme to exchange puppets for people outside the palace was still known.

Jin Yu must not appear in the capital again.

After waiting quietly for a while, Jin Yu saw no other movement. She tried writing a note to ask Chu Mingkong if he would reply, but the messages she wrote disappeared without a trace, and she waited for a long time without any response.

Although Zuo Qiuchi knew nothing about making such small things, he understood the general principles behind them:

"Don't stare at that thing. If it encounters a strong barrier, even that paper sticker won't be very effective. You don't need to worry too much about him. Even if he's trapped, the Annihilation Domain can buy you a lot of time. I'll take you to Xiaoxiang Qin Academy first."

At least at Xiaoxiang Qin Academy, there was someone to talk to Jinyu. Zuo Qiuchi was easygoing and didn't have much of an air about him, but he wasn't really close to Jinyu and couldn't find any topics to distract her, let alone comfort her.

After waiting in the pavilion for a while, Zuo Qiuchi figured that Chu Mingkong was probably unable to leave the capital now, so he set off to take her back to Xiaoxiang Qin Academy.

Yongzhen was intercepted by the emperor before leaving the capital, which delayed her. Although she is now far from the capital, she can still vaguely feel the turbulent atmosphere there.

Yongzhen lifted the curtain and looked back, but unfortunately she couldn't see anything. The mountains blocked her view, and she could only see many cultivators coming to check the situation from the sky. They all moved towards the direction of Tianji Capital.

“Unable to communicate with the doll…” Yongzhen murmured softly. Her doll was still with Chu Mingkong, while Jinyu’s doll had already “committed suicide” under her control. The feeling of taking that strange potion was not good, but fortunately, she was able to sever the connection with the doll immediately.

Yongzhen looked at the exotic-looking woman in the carriage and said:

"You should go and check on Chu Mingkong's safety."

Chapter 135 I Want to Ruin Your Body (8.1/18)

Fengying sat opposite Yongzhen, her legs crossed, one hand supporting her knee and her chin, while the other hand rhythmically tossed a dagger to pass the time. The dagger's blade gleamed, reflecting Yongzhen's worried expression.

"What I need to do is escort you to the Moonlit Royal Family. If I run away, your strength will be insufficient to handle some unexpected situations," Feng Ying said seriously, pausing what he was doing.