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

"Didn't your mother tell me to get close to her? Now that such a big thing has happened, how can I just sit idly by? Mingkong even came all the way here early this morning to accompany my mother and me to enjoy the Lantern Festival. It's only right and proper for him to come and visit us!"

Yongzhen spoke with reason and evidence, then glanced at Jinyu as if to ask, "Why did you come here? You don't need to repeat the polite words you said outside the door."

Jin Yu covered her mouth and chuckled softly, "Since you like such a man so much, I naturally have to admire him too~ I'm just worried that if something happens to the Prince, Yong Zhen, you'll blame me for not keeping an eye on him~"

"We're not like the Second Miss Shangguan or the Zhang family's wine seller—heartless and ungrateful, showing no concern whatsoever for the young master."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Shangguan Rong rushed in, staring in astonishment at the people in the room.

The room fell silent immediately, and Jin Yu looked at her Chu Lang with suspicion.

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PS: There will be another update this afternoon.

Chapter 52 The protagonist is a simp again

If Jin Yu shouldn't be here, then Shangguan Rong should be even less so.

Jin Yu at least has the explanation that she was saved by Chu Mingkong, but Shangguan Rong... that is, she had a real argument and friction with Chu Mingkong.

This is absolutely true. Shangguan Rong served as the teacher of Jin Yu and other princesses and princes several years ago. The impression she left on Jin Yu was that she was rigid and strict, but her academic level was indeed impeccable.

Shangguan Rong was the first person the Emperor selected to be with Chu Mingkong, because it was a strange event that had never happened before in the capital. In addition, she had been Jin Yu's teacher, and Jin Yu had heard gossip about Chu Mingkong and Shangguan Rong's daily "interesting stories" all the time.

Looking back now, Jin Yu can only say that Chu Mingkong was truly tolerant. At the time, they all thought that Chu Mingkong really liked Shangguan Rong, which is why he had such a high level of tolerance.

But now that Shangguan Rong has come to care about Chu Mingkong, does that mean...?

Was their argument staged?

"Teacher Shangguan, what brings you to the Prince's residence?"

Shangguan Rong had long since stepped down as Grand Tutor, but Jin Yu still called her "Teacher" at this moment, even though her tone was gentle, it still sounded somewhat sarcastic.

Shangguan Rong hadn't expected Jin Yu and Yong Zhen to be there. Forgetting she was holding a brocade pouch, she replied calmly:

"I heard that the Crown Prince had done a good job protecting Princess Jinyu, but then did something reckless. I figured Princess Jinyu wouldn't leave the palace today, so I came to ask him for advice."

If the Crown Prince had saved the Princess that day, and he himself had been caught in the blame and helpless situation, it would have tarnished Princess Jinyu's reputation.

The princess called me "teacher," and I couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

Jin Yu pursed her lips. She had really given Shangguan Rong an excuse. If she hadn't called her "teacher" just now, Shangguan Rong wouldn't have this excuse to explain herself now.

But... what is that brocade pouch she's holding?

"Thank you so much, Sister Rong'er~" Jin Yu changed back to her normal form of address. She moved closer and, taking advantage of Shangguan Rong's inattention, took the brocade pouch from her palm. "What is this? Why is Sister Rong'er still holding it... Huh? A get-out-of-jail-free card?"

Adultery!

There's definitely something going on between them!

No sooner had news spread that Chu Mingkong had committed a crime than Shangguan Rong immediately gave him her get-out-of-jail-free card!

Yongzhen took Chu Mingkong's arm, her slender fingers pressing against his waist: "Mingkong, I heard from Jinyu that you and Miss Shangguan were not on good terms. When did your relationship become so good?"

Facing the gazes of the three beautiful young women, Chu Mingkong felt a sense of urgency that made him sweat profusely.

Just now, Jin Yu and Yong Zhen were secretly fighting, so why did they suddenly turn their anger towards me as soon as Shangguan Rong arrived?

"Miss Shangguan, please tell the truth. Stop making fun of me."

This afternoon, you came to me saying you were having some trouble with your cultivation technique and asked if I had a solution. I gave it to you, but I never expected you to offer a get-out-of-jail-free card as a reward. It's not worth it!

Shangguan Rong followed his words and said:

“How could it not be worth it? I almost went mad from my cultivation. You saved my life, so I should repay you. I can’t do anything else but give you the imperial pardon that the emperor bestowed upon me as a talisman.”

Chu Mingkong was hesitant to accept this.

In his previous world, anyone with a little knowledge of history knew that the "immunity token" was an unlucky thing; whoever possessed it would die.

Especially for those with power and influence, taking such a token could easily arouse the emperor's suspicion. The emperor would worry that if you took the pardon, you might become unscrupulous and use his favor as a shield for reckless behavior.

Once you're feared by the emperor, everything you do is wrong. Even stepping into a room with your left foot first could be interpreted as a crime like "treason."

However, there's no problem with Shangguan Rong taking it. This girl is indeed of good character and has even served as a teacher to princes and princesses. The key point is that she is a woman!

She had no background to commit any major offenses to begin with, and the emperor generously granted her a pardon, which she had no use for, while the emperor himself gained a good reputation.

"That was just a small favor. I just happened to know how to solve it. It's not worthy of such a valuable item. Miss Shangguan probably has some questions about cultivation techniques or something else she'd like to ask me. Please have a seat while I talk to them."

He first pulled Yongzhen to a corner of the courtyard, leaving Jinyu and Shangguan Rong inside the house.

Yongzhen didn't doubt that Shangguan Rong and Chu Mingkong had any private relationship; most likely, he had simply helped Shangguan Rong with her cultivation techniques.

Why did Chu Mingkong go to Zhang Yiyi's house and get the cold shoulder? It was because Shangguan Rong kicked him out of the house. If she really wanted to protect Chu Mingkong, even if she kept creating the illusion of a cold war and conflict with others, she should have kept him in her own household. That way, she wouldn't have had to go to Zhang Yiyi's house and run into trouble.

However, Yongzhen's idea was somewhat result-oriented. At the time, no one knew that the emperor would marry another girl to Chu Mingkong, assuming that the affair with the Shangguan family was over after just one time. Moreover, it was dangerous for Chu Mingkong to stay with the Shangguan family indefinitely; he could easily be seen as having won over the Shangguan family!

Therefore, Shangguan Rong's timing in kicking him out was quite reasonable. Even the news of their "bedroom quarrel" as a form of rift would be beneficial to him. At least others would know that he had only failed in his pursuit of a girl, rather than failing in his efforts to win over allies.

"What's going on with Jinyu?" Yongzhen asked, her beautiful, captivating eyes fixed on the man.

"She might actually have some feelings for me." Chu Mingkong hesitated, telling the truth but not entirely: "She didn't take me seriously before, but after I saved her today, she became much more enthusiastic when I woke up... I'll figure out how to handle it. You're not feeling well, go back and rest first."

Yongzhen stared at him for a while and felt that he was probably telling the truth. If he was feeling guilty, he would probably say something like "I don't know" or "Jinyu and I have nothing to do with each other."

"The belt is loose; hold up my dress," she suddenly said.

Before Chu Mingkong could react, Yongzhen took his hands and placed them on her slender waist, her palms resting on the spot where her waist met her shapely buttocks.

She loosened the belt around her waist, her dress slipped down, revealing her fragrant shoulders. With a flick of her wrist, she also untied her breast wrap, revealing her snow-white breasts. Yongzhen's arms were slightly brought together, and the Soul-Locking Jade fell into the deep valley.

"Mingkong, I can't find the pendant you gave me. Can you find it with your mouth?"

Yongzhen looked at him with flushed cheeks and a hint of shyness in her eyes.

Bold, yet nervous.

Chu Mingkong felt a little dizzy; his mind was filled with thoughts.

How is Yongzhen so skilled!

This is clearly asking me to prprpr out, isn't it?

Sure enough, he was a simp to every girl he went to. He thought things would be better with Yongzhen, but after only knowing her for a short time, she already wanted him to fawn over her.

"You...you have to keep an eye on me, don't let that girl Jinyu seduce me, I'll give you something else another day!"

Chu Mingkong had no time to respond; he had already plunged into the mountains to search for the red jade pendant buried deep within.

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PS: For the foreseeable future, I will mostly update once a week, with occasional double updates. I need to save up drafts for the Lunar New Year, otherwise I'm afraid I won't have time to write and will stop updating when I'm traveling around.

Chapter 53 Shangguan Rong is the Crown Princess?!

Since Yongzhen usually covered herself with a bra, Chu Mingkong planted hickeys all over Yongzhen's collarbone area.

After finally managing to coax the princess back home, Chu Mingkong led Jin Yu out, while Miss Shangguan Rong remained inside, quietly drinking tea.

The Yongzhen and Jinyu sisters are quite strange.

Yongzhen was quiet and reserved, but she had a whole repertoire of flirting techniques. Jinyu, on the other hand, was full of flirtatious talk, but after a long while, she didn't know what to do and just stood there waiting for Chu Mingkong.

Is this some kind of mysterious complementarity?

As soon as Jin Yu stepped out of the door and out of her teacher's sight, she looked around to make sure Yong Zhen was indeed gone, then immediately pulled Chu Mingkong to a corner of the courtyard and hugged him.

The princess wanted to complain to him about the few strawberries he'd planted, which had made her too ashamed to wear her strapless palace dress in front of her mother, but she immediately changed her mind:

"What did Yongzhen just say to you? Why did you pull her out first? I'm not jealous!"

No need to emphasize it, she's clearly stealing her sister's man, okay?

Chu Mingkong chuckled: "Yongzhen and I are related by your mother, or rather, Princess Jinyu personally came to inform me. Shouldn't I call her out first to reassure her?"

That seems to make sense. I was careless. Just now, judging from Yongzhen's attitude towards Chulang, he was clearly genuinely interested. I can't understand why Chulang, who is such an interesting person, has caused such a rift between the Shangguan and Zhang families.

No, there's something wrong with Sister Rong'er!

"After I get back tonight, I'll go and talk to Mother and ask you to come over. Father and Mother originally asked you to get to know these girls so you could make friends. How could Yongzhen actually take it as a marriage proposal?" Jin Yu complained softly.

All she wants now is to cut out the tongues of all those who spoke ill of Chu Lang back then, because they made her mistakenly believe them and gave Yongzhen a huge advantage.

If it weren't for those rumors, we would have brought him from Xiling ten years ago to marry into the family and become his son-in-law!

"Speaking of which, why did your mother let me get to know Yongzhen? If she wanted to continue to tormenting me, Yongzhen was not a good choice. She is mild-mannered and does not like to make enemies."

"I don't know, but it wasn't entirely my mother's decision. She rarely makes decisions for my father, as that would bring her shame. Even now that my father is bedridden, she only chooses one from the ministers' opinions and doesn't make her own."

In the secular dynasties of this world, there has been a history of women ruling as emperors. Although from Chu Mingkong's perspective, this female emperor did a lot of good things, her harsh methods also left behind many innocent deaths.

However, since she was one of the ancestors of the Tianji Empire, people would not openly denigrate her, but they still disapproved of a woman becoming emperor.

"Jinyu means, this is the Emperor's opinion?"

"Yes, Father Emperor had previously considered which family's girl would be good for you to get to know, and even made a shortlist. Sister Rong'er and the Zhang family's wine maid were on the list. Mother Emperor also chose a gentle girl from the list, namely Yongzhen, but neither of them discussed it with me."

Oh, so the Empress's intention was probably to take advantage of the Emperor's serious illness and find a good girl to appease him first, and then deal with the rest after the Emperor regained consciousness.

"Actually, I was quite surprised that Sister Rong'er was chosen. Although no decision has been made yet, I heard Father and Mother discuss the matter of the Crown Princess. They were quite satisfied with Sister Rong'er. Many civil officials praised her as having the qualities of a female prime minister, and she was even granted a pardon. I think she will soon be chosen as the Crown Princess... Of course, Sister Rong'er is unaware of this."

Chu Mingkong remembered that the current crown prince seemed to be Jin Yu's older brother.

That means Shangguan Rong is Jinyu's future sister-in-law...

ultra!

What have I done to the Crown Princess!

Therefore, Chu Mingkong really disliked the aristocratic networks in the capital, which were densely packed with interests built up through marriage alliances and other means.

Like Madam Zhen and Empress Pei, they were only a few years older than the wives of the Cui family. Empress Pei was considered Madam Zhen's daughter.

Chu Mingkong decided to stop worrying about these things and just keep Shangguan Rong's matter to himself.

"Chu Lang, I heard from Grandma that you even used poetry to coax them when you were out shopping with them this morning. As for me, I also received some from my mother. I'll put in a good word for you when I get back."