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

Honestly, when she stopped to speak just now, Chu Mingkong thought she was about to faint again, just like when she fainted before.

First, he stamped his feet and leaned against the door, and then he fainted.

After watching her leave, Chu Mingkong felt even more ashamed.

He accidentally got medicine on her face, but when she woke up, she thanked him. Sigh!

He took out the letter left by Shangguan Rong, opened the envelope, and was immediately attracted by the beautiful handwriting.

Chu Mingkong still can't write calligraphy well; it feels awkward no matter how he uses it. Fortunately, his status doesn't require him to write letters himself. If needed, he can just ask a maid to write for him. All he needs to do is recognize and read the characters.

Looking at her delicate and skillful handwriting, one could sense her pride and unwillingness to lose to others just by reading her characters, and Chu Mingkong was filled with envy.

If he had this skill, he would have many more opportunities to demonstrate his abilities in front of others.

The letter was concise and to the point, briefly stating that he could act as he pleased, and listing some taboos that he could not do.

In any case, the fact that a person is about to die only makes others more tolerant of Chu Mingkong, thinking, "Let him do whatever he wants for a while longer, he doesn't have many days left anyway." But if he really violates the taboo, no one will tolerate it anymore.

That's like playing a winning hand terribly.

"One may frequent places of pleasure, but one must not offend the women of the royal family... Does Jin Yu or Yong Zhen count?"

"They can charge and kill ordinary officials, but they cannot display their troops in a single department or palace... This must be referring to the Nightblade Division and the emperor's palace."

There's a nuance to this. If it were like when Yashin Tsukasa himself went to the gate of his palace to be a target, there wouldn't be a problem. But if it were Yashin Tsukasa who went to the gate of Yashin Tsukasa, brandished his weapon, and started killing, then there would be a much bigger problem.

After reading the letter, I realized that the taboos mentioned were indeed matters of principle that would not be easily violated under normal circumstances.

"It's the middle of the month now. I wonder if Baili Mi will come tonight. I've been busy all day and can finally rest. I should strike while the iron is hot and cough up some blood outside."

Strike while the iron is hot. He just displayed his prowess on Qing'an Street. Given his current social influence, if we don't quickly spread some rumors that he's "about to die," the rumors will probably turn into him regaining his supernatural powers and going on a killing spree when he wakes up tomorrow.

And we also have to be wary of that traveling merchant.

Adjusting his expression in front of the mirror, Chu Mingkong tried his best to make himself look sinister and violent before putting on a fur coat and going out.

A stroll through the city revealed just how terrifying gossip can be!

It was that same familiar traveling merchant, spreading rumors everywhere and begging for drinks, with Chu Mingkong following behind him.

In no time, the traveling merchant changed several restaurants and spread rumors about him everywhere!

"Did you know that Prince Chu has already recovered his power? He will soon repay all the humiliation he suffered in the past. Today he has already retaliated against that ungrateful Miss Zhang. Next time, he will probably make Miss Shangguan suffer humiliation and shame!"

rumor!

Would I attack Shangguan Rong? Absolutely not...

Chu Mingkong suddenly found himself unable to refute.

"Ya-Jin-Tsukasa has caused the young prince no shortage of trouble. I heard it's because they have a long-standing grudge. The young master will definitely pay a visit another day and give Ya-Jin-Tsukasa a good beating!"

That's unlikely. Shangguan Rong just reminded him of this; he couldn't possibly be that reckless.

"The young prince said he had no intention of seizing power, but the world did not believe him, nor did the imperial family. He was harmed and lost all his martial arts skills in the past. After going to the capital, he has lived in humiliation for a single day. In the future, he will kill... that so-and-so, slaughter the prince, steal beauties, and seize the princess!"

You've avoided mentioning killing the emperor and seizing the empress openly, so aren't you afraid, princess?

Chu Mingkong could accept this, because the rumors were so outrageous that few people would believe them.

That's a very clever rumor!

"Let's go to that stall and ask if Master has appeared recently. I haven't seen him for days, and I miss him terribly."

He walked to a crowded place, coughed up blood on the ground, ruining the smoothness of the road, and swaggered away.

--------

Outer city, bustling market.

On the Lantern Festival, the bustling city center outside the city was eerily quiet.

Because today someone was beheaded, and someone was abandoned in the market.

The bloody brains lay there all alone.

Chu Mingkong looked at the departing squad of Nightblade Guards, then at the head lying on the ground.

The sinister expression on his face became increasingly natural, and a hint of dark purple crept into his black pupils once again.

Because his mood suddenly turned sour.

The person who was killed was the stall owner named "Xiao Hu".

The young man who told Chu Mingkong about Zuo Qiuchi's whereabouts last time.

Chu Mingkong came here this time also to find him.

"Hello, sir, could you tell me what this young man did wrong?"

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PS: Only one update.

Chapter 50 Best Friends Meet

After some questioning, Chu Mingkong roughly understood the reason for the incident. This young boss, Mr. Hu, had run to the entrance of the Nightblade Division with a knife and forced his way in, seemingly intending to kill his former instructor.

Chu Mingkong asked in confusion, "If that's the reason, then it's incredibly unwise. How could he do something like this... courting death?"

Don't think that just because Chu Mingkong can easily drive away the Nightblade Guards, that the place is nothing special; he only has the advantage of his status.

If they were to play all their cards and fight, the deputy commander, that eunuch Gao, would be his greatest enemy, and the commander would probably be much stronger than Gao Nanben. Both of them had been working in the Tianji Empire for over three hundred years.

He had just come of age.

But he wasn't too afraid. If Chu Mingkong were to spit a mouthful of phlegm and blood onto Gao Nanben's face, Gao Nanben would be severely injured by the extreme yin energy on the spot.

The old man looked around cautiously and whispered, "It's no wonder that little Hu is like this. He has a good heart. Years ago, his mother secretly entrusted someone to give her more than one hundred taels of her medical money to the martial arts school of the Nightblade Division as tuition, hoping that he could find a job in the future."

Xiao Hu paid the money and went to be an apprentice. Apparently, he only stayed for two days before being kicked out for not meeting the requirements. He didn't learn anything and wasn't given a penny back. It seemed like a scam. Actually, he wasn't the first; I've seen several others get beaten up and run away in disgrace.

Xiao Hu wanted his money back, so the martial arts school beat him up. While he was recovering from his injuries, his mother, who lived in another city, fell ill. He rushed back to take her to see a doctor, but he couldn't afford it. She later passed away.

"Such an absurd thing?" Chu Mingkong frowned, feeling very uncomfortable.

In places where cultivators take on disciples, from large sects to small martial arts schools, it's normal not to take on disciples easily. They have to check the aptitude first. If the aptitude is good, the disciple is usually assigned to do odd jobs in the outer sect. There's no way they would take money and then kick someone out.

"Yes, it happened just a couple of days ago. Xiao Hu said he'd mastered some kind of swordsmanship and wanted to avenge his mother. So he exchanged his meager savings from his stall for rice and gave it to us. We couldn't persuade him otherwise, sigh..."

Upon hearing this, Chu Mingkong felt dejected.

It seems he was involved in this whole affair. If he hadn't gone to the trouble of teaching that young man swordsmanship, he wouldn't have had the hope of revenge, and none of this would have happened.

Suddenly, Chu Mingkong noticed a presence descending silently. A stunningly beautiful female Taoist priest, her eyes blindfolded, appeared not far away, seemingly oblivious to Chu Mingkong's scrutiny.

He murmured in confusion, "The deadline is still there. If it's not this insignificant passerby, then whose is it? Yours?"

The eyes beneath the blindfold seemed to be looking directly at Chu Mingkong.

Chu Mingkong looked puzzled and was about to go over and ask something when the Taoist priest had already disappeared.

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Nightblade Martial Arts School.

Several men dressed as instructors were drinking, in high spirits, their bowls clinking together.

"I never expected that kid to be so reckless. He pulled out a sword technique book from somewhere, practiced a few moves, and then came running here. Of all the ones we've chased away, this guy surnamed Hu has the guts."

"What a pity, that bastard gave away most of the money before he came, otherwise we could have had a few more dishes to go with our drinks today."

"What do you think Lord Gao needs so much silver for? I see that he lives a very simple life."

"Fool, of course you should cultivate on your own. Do you think cultivation doesn't cost money? A hundred taels of silver can only buy a few spirit stones, and I've heard it's also a way to amass wealth for the emperor."

"Get lost, don't talk nonsense after drinking a little alcohol, don't try to get yourself killed and splatter blood all over me."

Suddenly, a voice rang out during the meal: "This wine was bought with Mr. Hu's money. Who was his instructor back then?"

Chu Mingkong took an empty bowl and poured himself a glass of wine.

He took only one sip and spat it out, cursing, "What bad luck!"

He recognized the taste of the wine.

Zhang's wine.

The wine sold to others is not diluted with water.

The instructors suddenly fell silent and looked at each other in bewilderment.

They recognized the Crown Prince of Xiling. When they saw Chu Mingkong pull out a knife, one of them mustered his courage and said, "Your Highness, this is the territory of the Nightblade Division, not your royal residence. You are not allowed to use your knife!"

But Chu Mingkong seemed not to hear his warning and flicked the blade.

"Buzz!"

A cold glint flashed.

"Forget it, this isn't a proper martial arts school anyway. It's all used for making money, and there's not a single honest person here."

As soon as he finished speaking, the humming of the longsword ceased.

Chu Mingkong remained seated, while several silver blade flashes appeared amidst the crowd.

One instructor, bewildered, only felt a chilling aura of killing intent. He wanted to draw his blade to defend himself, at least to stall for time until his comrades arrived, but suddenly the world spun around him.

He found himself lying on the ground, and the instructors he had been drinking with were also lying on the ground—no, their heads had fallen off.

Then my... his consciousness couldn't sustain him to continue thinking, and his life force had vanished.

"Consider the money confiscated from Boss Hu as money to buy your coffins," Chu Mingkong said to a servant in the corner. "Go, quickly notify someone to collect their bodies, and it would be best to notify Gao Nanben as well."

The servant cowered and said, "Deputy Commander Gao... he's out of the city, not in the capital..."

"He's out of the city? That's a pity. I'll have him come to my palace gate another day and beg me for an apology."

----------

Shangguan Rong returned to the mansion and sat quietly in her boudoir.

There seemed to be a lingering taste in my mouth, a bit fishy, ​​but the coolness helped to suppress the discomfort caused by the exercise.