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

With the matter of how to address each other settled, Jin Yu wavered back and forth between her lover and her mother. Just a moment ago she was embracing her voluptuous and beautiful mother, and in the blink of an eye she was throwing herself into the arms of the man beside her. She asked curiously:

"Mingkong, what's going on with Consort Wan? Why are you calling her 'Mother Consort' too?"

Although Pei Mi wasn't looking at Chu Mingkong, her fair and delicate ears perked up as she listened to the gossip.

"Actually, it's nothing. Back then, I had no one to rely on in the capital. I happened to run into the Fifth Prince's affair. I felt sorry for Consort Wan's plight, so I cooked her a bowl of noodles. She also had few close friends to confide in in the palace. And that's how it happened."

Later, it was discovered that she was actually the elder sister of the Princess of Chu, but had been adopted by Minister Wan's family. Using the previous incident at Tianya City as an excuse, they kept her in Xiling.

Jin Yu let out a soft "Oh," realizing there was such a situation. She could somewhat understand Consort Wan's feelings towards her mother. After being betrayed by the Fifth Prince, she finally found a godson who cared about her, but then Pei Mi appeared.

It does have a rather strange taste...

Jin Yu didn't think of anything else, but Pei Mi had some doubts about whether Chu Mingkong might have a deeper relationship with Consort Wan...

This guess came out of nowhere; it was just a feeling, and Pei Mi couldn't explain why she had such a guess.

But I'm probably just overthinking it.

Jin Yu was unaware of her mother's wild thoughts. She held Chu Mingkong's hand and pulled it into her clothes, completely disregarding Pei Mi's presence beside her.

"Chu Lang, while there are urgent matters concerning you and your mother in the palace, I still have some uneasy feelings about it, and you need to reassure me."

Normally, when they were alone, Chu Mingkong would have readily served Jin Yu. But now that there was another pair of eyes watching, Chu Mingkong hesitated for a moment before proceeding to do as Jin Yu requested.

Pei Mi gritted her teeth in anger, regretting that she hadn't asked for an extra room when arranging the rooms. Why was she so foolish as to share a room with Jin Yu?

"Jinyu, I'm still here. I was saying I had something on my mind, but before Chu Mingkong came, why were you being so gentle with me?"

"I'm weak, but it's all because Chu Lang made me weak, Mother, you didn't help me at all~" Jin Yu said smugly, acting like a spoiled child.

However, her mother was now causing her trouble, and Jin Yu felt she had to retaliate to see if her mother had honestly confessed everything.

"Chu Lang, demonstrate to me how you and my mother cultivated your skills after you left the palace. In detail!"

Upon hearing this, Pei Mi was furious. She stood up in embarrassment, her cheeks flushed crimson, and scolded him:

"Nonsense! I'm going out for some fresh air!"

As a result, Jin Yu grabbed Pei Mi and hugged her tightly, wrapping her arms around the beautiful woman's slender waist. Her plump, full breasts swayed slightly as she struggled, but unfortunately, she still couldn't break free from Jin Yu's playful and shameless embrace.

"It's not like I'm really coming; it's just a demonstration. I need to check your statements to see if you're telling the truth or just giving me a perfunctory answer. You're not hiding anything, are you feeling guilty?"

Chu Mingkong was extremely curious about the contents of the mother and daughter's private conversation, and took the opportunity to ask them:

"Jinyu, what did you and Mother talk about in the room just now?"

"Don't ask!"

Pei Mi's beautiful eyes widened. In the brief moment that her attention was drawn to Chu Mingkong, Jin Yu pulled her to sit on the edge of the bed.

Chu Mingkong was also pulled to the bedside, and Jin Yu suddenly put on a stern face, giving orders to both sides:

"Mother, you don't need to speak, and you're not allowed to give Chu Lang any hints..."

Alright, Chu Lang, tell me, how did you cultivate back then?

Chu Mingkong felt strange and glanced at Pei Mi with a puzzled look, wondering if she had really told him everything.

The moment he turned his eyes away, Jin Yu grabbed his whisk and said in a coquettish but fierce tone, "What are you looking at my mother for? Confess now!"

Chu Ming sighed, picked up Jin Yu and put her on the soft couch. He recalled the scene and tried to recreate the actions from before, and he could almost feel how Pei Mi had been tormented by Jin Yu as if she were in prison.

"The splits... and then I remember thinking there wasn't enough space, so I pushed your father a bit."

Jin Yu was so stunned that she could fit an egg in her small mouth. Pei Mi had indeed just finished explaining the process, but he hadn't mentioned the circumstances at the time.

Hearing some new information from Chu Mingkong, he was so shocked he couldn't close his mouth:

"Father is right there?!"

Pei Mi was too ashamed to stay any longer, so she stormed out and hid in the courtyard, her face so red that even the darkness of the night couldn't hide it.

Chapter 181 Skilled in Riding and Archery (7/38)

There was ultimately no practical demonstration with Jinyu; they just gave a general overview and demonstrated the postures to explain the situation.

Judging from her reaction, Chu Mingkong guessed that what he confessed was roughly the same as what Pei Mi said, except that Pei Mi had omitted the information about the Nirvana Domain and who was nearby when she told Jin Yu.

At this moment, Pei Mi was getting some fresh air in the courtyard to cool down her feverish face.

Chu Mingkong had finished explaining, and rubbed Jin Yu's cheek, asking her how she truly felt:

"Jinyu, what are you really thinking when you act so recklessly? Please don't be all smiles on the outside while hiding your sadness inside, and then secretly shed tears. Tell me about it!"

Jin Yu hooked her arm around Chu Mingkong's neck, pressed her cheek against his, and after a moment of silence, slowly said:

"I'm not so sad, because I had considered having you cultivate with my mother and then rescue her from the palace. What I want is for you all to stay by my side and be sincere when you're with me. It would be sad to think about letting my mother stay in the palace forever because of that little bit of resentment, and who knows how many more curses my father might cast on her in the future."

But after you came out, you kept what happened from me, which made me a little uncomfortable... I can't quite explain the feeling."

Chu Mingkong held the soft, fragrant girl in his arms, sensing the faint sense of loss in her words and tone.

Just as he had imagined, Jin Yu was definitely a little uncomfortable watching Pei Mi laughing and joking around with her mother.

However, this depression and loss did not stem from the occurrence of those forbidden relationships, but from the concealment.

The two people are the closest and most cherished to me, yet they've kept secrets from me, developing unspoken, intimate relationships that exclude me. That's the real problem.

In the courtyard, Pei Mi, enhanced by her cultivation, had keen hearing, and since Chu Mingkong had no means to block out sound, she could clearly hear the conversation inside the house.

Hearing what Jin Yu had just said, Pei Mi gripped her palace dress tightly, her heart aching with sorrow.

She took the initiative to hide the truth because she didn't want to hurt Jin Yu. She felt that Jin Yu was just talking nonsense and that she would be heartbroken if she really knew that Chu Mingkong and she had a physical relationship.

Before the emperor woke up, Jin Yu had repeatedly begged her to change the decree that Chu Mingkong should get close to Yongzhen, so that Chu Mingkong should get close to her, Jin Yu. Therefore, Pei Mi knew very well how much Jin Yu cared about and liked Chu Mingkong.

Knowing this clearly, Pei Mi insisted that Chu Mingkong keep the matter a secret and absolutely not tell Jin Yu, for fear of hurting Jin Yu. But the result was the opposite.

Little did he know that his seemingly protective act of concealing the truth was the very issue that was causing Jin Yu distress.

Chu Mingkong kissed Jin Yu's slightly cool earlobe, taking the initiative to take responsibility, and said:

"It was my suggestion to hide this matter. I felt guilty and couldn't face your heartbroken state, Jinyu. I also forced your mother to do it. So how can we make Jinyu less sad?"

"Are you afraid to face me, or are you afraid of losing me?"

"Of course, you know I'm greedy, I want everything. You're so beautiful, how could I bear to lose you? Besides, I like you even more when you're happy and lively. How could I want you to be sad and upset by my side?"

"I'm easy to coax, but you're not allowed to keep secrets from my mother anymore. And if it happens again, I have to be there, otherwise I really won't be able to coax you!"

If there's a next time...

Chu Mingkong wasn't quite sure how to respond to "there will be a next time," so he frowned, looking confused, and said cautiously:

"Of course I don't want you to be sad again, but I'm confused by your 'next time'. Jinyu, did you say it wrong or express it incorrectly?"

"There will never be a next time!" Pei Mi pushed open the door and entered, his face solemn, raising his hand as if to swear an oath to the heavens.

Jin Yu tried to stop her mother, but Chu Mingkong's body was too strong for her to break free from; she was still being held by Chu Mingkong.

"Chu Lang, don't let your mother make empty promises!"

Generally speaking, such a thing could be stopped with a simple immobilization spell, but Chu Mingkong hadn't learned it, and Empress Pei had already finished half a sentence before pushing open the door.

Fearing he couldn't stop her in time, Chu Mingkong immediately used his Annihilation Domain to freeze Pei Mi in place.

Jin Yu breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that her mother hadn't finished saying her oath. She looked around and disappeared into a silent, gray world.

"Chu Lang, is this the same domain you used to tinker with my mother next to my scoundrel father?"

"Uh... it's this." Chu Mingkong's feelings were complicated.

Jin Yu climbed out of Chu Mingkong's embrace, walked to her mother, and curiously circled around her, touching her left and right, pinching her face, and patting her mother's chest, which was even more impressive than her own. The beautiful woman did not show the slightest hint of reproach.

"I'll cover Mother's mouth first, then you can release this barrier, Chu Lang."

As she spoke, Jinyu firmly covered the beautiful woman's mouth, afraid that she might stammer out her vows later, and even pressed her mother's fragrant tongue with a slender finger.

Chu Mingkong was helpless. In fact, he could have let Pei Mi move around without dispelling the Annihilation Domain. Didn't she realize that she could also move freely in the domain?

But let's just leave it untied.

As the annihilation domain dissipated, Pei Mi's consciousness was still in the process of making the oath when she suddenly realized that Jin Yu had covered her mouth at some point.

She was intelligent and, having personally experienced the desolate realm of good opportunities, immediately understood what it meant.

"Mother, you mustn't swear an oath or speak, understand?"

Pei Mi had no choice but to nod and listen to her daughter.

After calming the beautiful woman down, Jin Yu pulled her to sit down on the bedside, hugged her mother, and then hugged Chu Mingkong, giving off an air of "I want them all" before finally sitting down.

"What bothers me is that you've kept it from me. It's not like we've had sex. Besides, Mother, you've already experienced some great setback, a profound awakening, a complete loss of heart, and you didn't shave your head and become a nun. I've heard that nuns aren't as pure and austere as we imagine. As for making such a solemn vow..."

I've already tried it with Chu Lang once, and I'm really looking forward to the second time! I get so itchy and restless when I can't wait. Mother, if you make that kind of poisonous oath and suffer terribly afterward, wouldn't that be like me casting a curse on you like Father's?

Chu Mingkong, who usually had a lot of witty remarks, was now rendered speechless by Jin Yu. He felt like he had something to complain about everywhere, but if he opened his mouth, it would seem like he was arguing with Jin Yu.

Let's just stay silent...

Even Chu Mingkong was speechless, let alone Pei Mi, who looked at Jin Yu with a strange expression, unsure whether to call her frank or something else.

Pei Mi didn't understand. She hadn't taught Jin Yu any of these things, so why was Jin Yu like this? She felt that Yong Zhen was more like the personality she had raised.

Jin Yu said, "Mother, if you don't want to do this, there won't be a next time. There's no need to make a solemn oath. If you have any ideas in the future, just say so. Don't push yourself into a corner. Otherwise, I'll feel guilty!"

"Whatever..."

Pei Mi gave up. Although all Jin Yu wanted was for there to be no more secrets between mother and daughter, she made up her mind that there would be no next time.

Jin Yu nodded in satisfaction, then asked:

"Mingkong, are you going out again in a few days?"

"Yes, go to the Crescent Kingdom to deal with Yongzhen's matter. Her true form is still in danger, and I need to take the time to reorganize things in the next few days."

Jin Yu knew this matter couldn't be delayed, and couldn't say "it's not urgent if it's later," so she didn't interfere much, but simply asked:

"So, you must have had time to rest during these days of reorganization, right?"

"Yes, there are important things to do, but not as many as you might imagine."

"Then when you have free time, you should spend more time with me and my mother! I want to go to the Xiling Tea House you mentioned before and take a walk along the river where the old fisherman is."