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

In the silence, Chu Mingkong swallowed hard, trying to moisten his dry throat, but he still couldn't speak. He didn't even dare to look up at Yongzhen.

What's going on? How did Yongzhen know all this? Could it be that Madam Zhen and Yongzhen switched bodies again, and he swapped all those memories with her?!

Faced with her husband's silence, Yongzhen asked a less difficult question:

"You confused your memories of trying to please me with those of trying to please Rong'er before, but I remember both. How could you get them wrong? Is it because Rong'er and I felt similar? I think I was probably better at it, right?"

Chu Mingkong couldn't answer any of these questions. He remained frozen in Yongzhen's arms, not daring to look up, and could only play dead like an ostrich.

The eldest princess is really aggressive...

Chu Mingkong felt that this might be Yongzhen's way of comforting him, trying to distract him from blaming himself too much for the doll poisoning incident. However, he really couldn't resist this way of distracting him!

Xiao Mingkong, who was eager to explore Yongzhen's "Water Curtain Cave," hesitated to go forward despite his enthusiasm.

At this moment, an unexpected stranger suddenly barged into the "ward". Chu Mingkong reacted quickly, using the Dust-Free Talisman to conceal Yongzhen's figure, but still held her in his arms.

The young woman who barged into the room had the charm of a mature woman. Her clothes were light and gorgeous, and it was not very clear in the darkness of the room, but if Chu Mingkong was not mistaken, her bodice was semi-transparent, and what should not be seen was faintly visible.

Chu Mingkong's face darkened: "Who are you? Who sent you?"

The young woman smiled seductively, locked the door, and walked towards Chu Mingkong. Her serpentine waist swayed with alluring rhythm and curves, a seductive demeanor undoubtedly trained through special instruction. Anyone with enough experience could easily tell that this was a deliberate display of charm, but in the face of such a sexy figure, much of that deliberate effort was insignificant.

She said softly, "I am Anxila, the wife of the Second Prince. I am here on behalf of my husband to convey his apologies to Lord Cao."

Chu Mingkong raised his chin and moved it toward the unconscious puppet princess: "You think an apology is enough? You poisoned Princess Yongzhen, and an apology is all you've got?"

Ansila said softly and pitifully, "This is truly a misunderstanding! The Second Prince greatly admires Lord Cao and wishes to reconcile with you!"

Seeing Chu Mingkong's cold smile, Anxila untied her waist rope, revealing a patch of wheat-colored skin, the curves of which were enough to make any man's blood boil.

She looked at the man with seductive eyes:

"This matter was orchestrated by the Second Prince, who was misled by a fool. It was all Ma Meng's plan. In fact, it was your Tianji people who gave him this idea. Have you heard of that grain merchant from Jin surnamed Liu? Let me reconcile with you, sir, and tell you the inside story. I suppose my body is no less beautiful than that of the princess in bed?"

Chu Mingkong thought to himself, "Thank you so much for helping me out of Yongzhen's predicament. However, this woman has already been quite frank right away. I have no intention of learning more from her. In order to win her over, the information she provides later might be falsified."

Knowing who the target is is enough; Soul Search won't lie.

Ma Meng, a Shanxi merchant surnamed Liu...

"I still think Princess Yongzhen is much better; even her 'corpse' is more beautiful than yours. Get lost! I know how the eldest prince fell for her tricks. I don't trust the women here, you vicious bitches!"

Chu Mingkong remotely controlled Anxi La's clothes, rolled them back onto her body, and threw her out of the room.

Chapter 225 The Horse Hunters of Xiling

The intruder was swiftly and cleanly thrown out, and the room fell silent.

Chu Mingkong felt that his gaze was relatively clear, and he didn't linger too long on that woman. Moreover, the inner qualities that Chu Mingkong was looking for were not seen in Anxira just now.

Her buttocks were a bit saggy. In the brief moment she turned around, Chu Mingkong noticed that Anxi La's buttocks skin was a bit loose, which didn't seem like a good person. He guessed that she was probably someone trained by some organization to be by the Second Prince's side.

"Were you just pretending to be a gentleman? Am I getting in the way? If I weren't here, you'd probably have enjoyed another night of pleasure?" Yongzhen's voice came through, revealing little emotion.

Chu Mingkong retrieved the Dustless Talisman, and Yongzhen's figure reappeared. Her bright eyes were fixed on Chu Mingkong, and a faint smile played on her lips, making her flawless face even more beautiful and radiant, approachable and charming.

It's likely that they were satisfied with his final answer. Although the statement that "Emperor Yongzhen's 'corpse' is better than Ansila's" was a bit strange, Yongzhen had been with him for a long time and was used to his rambling style, so she just needed to understand the gist of it.

"No way, I'm a cautious person. I won't touch someone who seems hostile. What if I get poisoned?" Chu Mingkong said solemnly and righteously, his hand slowly reaching Yongzhen's waist and then tentatively moving downwards.

"What's wrong with her making a deal with you? Just think of it as a trip to a brothel; isn't it all a transaction?"

"I think courtesans are much cleaner than these men who use their bodies for a living. Courtesans may have no choice or do it out of necessity, but these seemingly alluring women are thinking of using their bodies as weapons to harm others... So, how about tonight?"

“You just said my ‘corpse’ is good too, right? Then let’s play with the doll!” Yongzhen pointed to the doll princess on the bed.

Chu Mingkong followed Yongzhen's fingertip, sighed deeply, and said with a twitch at the corner of his mouth, "No way, it feels so strange."

Before, I could genuinely treat her as a doll with equanimity, but today, seeing the doll Emma spit out black blood and then "collapse" on the bed, I really felt, to some extent, that she was a...

That would truly be a case of a yin corpse causing trouble!

Chu Mingkong had no choice but to pretend to be dead and hug Yongzhen, insisting on clinging to her as he caressed her skin.

Yongzhen's beautiful legs are different from those of Jinyu and Madam Zhen. It seems that she secretly practices martial arts, and her long, straight legs are more rounded, stronger, and have a more symmetrical texture.

As she spent more and more time with Chu Mingkong, the two close-fitting undergarments she wore were changed to a rather daring style. The thin, gossamer-like material was interwoven with lace patterns, subtly adding a touch of sexiness to the princess's proud temperament.

After several silences and eye contact, Chu Mingkong decided to stop the stalemate. If Anxila's "unexpected assistance" wore off and Yongzhen started talking about Madam Zhen, Rong'er, and Jinyu again, Chu Mingkong wouldn't be able to handle it.

In their embrace, Chu Mingkong squeezed into the Princess's secluded valley, taking the place where the Nine-Aperture Pearl Chain had once stood.

"Why here...?" Yongzhen asked, burying her face in Chu Mingkong's ear.

"When I was helping you take out the beaded necklace at the temple, I was already wishing I could stuff the whole thing inside."

Yongzhen silently left a series of neat, small teeth marks on Chu Mingkong's shoulder, then whispered, urging, "Move faster..."

This "day" ends.

The next day.

Chu Mingkong found the One-Eyed Sword Saint and explained his intention to leave.

The one-eyed swordsman's face was weathered, like the landscape eroded by calcium carbonate after being battered by wind and rain. He said in a deep voice, "Does Lord Cao intend to leave?"

Chu Mingkong nodded and calmly said, "I will take Princess Yongzhen to the Kunlun Daoist sect to seek elixirs and see if we can buy her a chance at survival. I will return to settle accounts. What about the forces on your side, Your Highness?"

The one-eyed swordsman paused for a long time before saying, "Last night, after we finished collecting the body of the eldest prince, some of his original supporters have already switched sides. Some have found two princes, and some have found some seemingly promising members of the royal family. But there are also some who have not made a move and are still observing."

Sure, they ran away with their buckets that very night; that's so typical of the Crescent Moon Kingdom.

That Ma Meng really opened Chu Mingkong's eyes. At first, he was against the alliance of marriage alliance, then he jumped directly to the eldest prince's camp, and then to the second prince's camp. Even a fence-sitter like him was more decisive.

Chu Mingkong shrugged: "It's alright, feel free to pledge allegiance. I'm fair to both people and things. I only care about who harmed Princess Yongzhen and who she was. Just don't get in my way in the future."

The one-eyed swordsman looked at the bone-armored man in front of him and felt that the restlessness on his body had disappeared overnight. This might mean that he had figured out his target and confirmed who the murderer was. After settling the long-suffering Princess Yongzhen, he would return to seek revenge.

"Your Excellency Cao, are you sure you want the enemy to make a move? Could you please let me know? I'll try not to seek refuge with anyone before you've finished your revenge."

With your thick eyebrows and big eyes, are you also a runaway?

However, his decision is understandable. A fighter of the Sword Saint's caliber would be highly sought after anywhere. Once he pledges allegiance, he will be used as a sword. If he pledges allegiance to the wrong person, he may be forced to become an enemy of "Cao".

"The second prince, Ma Meng, and a foreign merchant from Tianji, surnamed Liu."

"Would Lord Cao mind if I went and chopped Ma Meng off? Consider it my last act of helping the eldest prince."

"Please go ahead."

A carriage left the territory of the Yueqi royal family. "Cao Mou," the temporary backbone erected in the First Prince's camp, disappeared without causing much of a stir, because the First Prince's side had already grown distant from him.

They tried to track the carriage, but soon discovered that it had vanished as if it had evaporated, leaving no trace of its wheels.

The one-eyed swordsman, disguised as a refugee, left the territory of Yueqi and wandered the land under the new moon, searching for Ma Meng's whereabouts. He was determined to hang him up and make him shoot his basket to pieces in front of all the women of Yueqi. Unfortunately, he searched for a long time without success.

The two Moon Princes hid back in the Moon Palace, but did not show themselves, fearing an attack.

During these days, news of Princess Yongzhen's poisoning, death, and whereabouts being unknown reached the Tianji Empire. The emperor was furious and wanted to launch an attack on the Crescent Moon Kingdom.

Yes, the target was not the Moonlit royal family who were being married off, but the entire New Moon Kingdom; this seems to have been the original objective.

The death of the eldest prince was not long ago, but it felt like a long time had passed, so long that people had forgotten about it and no one had mentioned it again.

His death was like a piece of firewood, merely a means to ignite a subsequent fire; it didn't matter how he burned.

The Tianji Empire's well-prepared army launched a large-scale offensive within days of the incident, easily conquering several territories and planting the Tianji Emperor's flag.

Chaos was destined to be the eternal melody of the Crescent Kingdom. Not long after the Tianji Empire's army set out, an extreme cold swept across the land.

Frost covers the grass and trees, sand and stones crack from the ice, and wind and snow engulf the vast world.

The Tianji army had barely reported its victory when it was severely damaged by the snowstorm. Tribes living in the snow-covered mountains came down and, under the cover of the snowstorm, plundered the army's supplies.

When some people set foot on this land again, they saw villages that had been trampled by the army, and women, children, and the elderly who tried to huddle together for warmth in dilapidated wooden houses, only to be frozen into ice sculptures by the extreme cold storm.

Amidst this ever-changing landscape, someone bursts into laughter amidst warm wine and the embrace of a beautiful woman!

In a sheltered manor, which was originally the territory of a small tribe, Liu Zhonglie has now bought it and invited a group of friends to gather here for drinking and merrymaking.

"Cheers! Hahahaha!" Liu Zhonglie, full of heroic spirit, drank the fine wine in the golden goblet in one gulp, with a beautiful woman by his side.

He was usually much more low-key, with the refined demeanor of a scholarly family in the Tianji Empire, and rarely acted so boldly. However, after some pleasant surprises, he simply couldn't help but be happy.

Not long ago, he worked closely with Ma Meng to purchase grain and fodder from here, intending to sell them at a high price when the Tianji Empire were to start a war.

Because Liu Zhonglie had previously amassed a large fortune by secretly selling imperial grain, which was originally from the national treasury, it was essentially a risk-free business. Selling it meant making money, and he offered very low prices. This resulted in a surplus of grain in the Crescent Moon Kingdom, and grain was cheap year-round.

When the tribesmen in the kingdoms heard that someone was coming to buy a large quantity of grain at a good price—a situation they couldn't usually sell—they were overjoyed. They sold their grain boldly, thinking that hoarding it would be a waste, so they might as well exchange it for some money first, since merchants would be selling grain at a lower price later anyway.

As a result, they were suddenly met with extremely cold winds and snow.

Under the snowstorm, crops were destroyed, prey disappeared, and food was consumed without any income. Originally, the people of each territory could have survived this crisis, but some time ago, Liu Zhonglie's huge amount of gold and grain hoarded suddenly emptied the granaries of the tribesmen.

He made a fortune!

If you want to buy grain, you have to pay a high price and exchange it with various treasures. If you don't want to exchange it, that's fine too. Some tribesmen can abstain from grain and have no need for it. So they just watch their old, young, family members and tribesmen die.

Relying on this "favorable timing," Liu Zhonglie even easily gained the allegiance of some tribes and was able to easily take over their territories. Slaves could be regarded as manpower, which was another source of income.

Ma Meng was full of admiration for Liu Zhonglie. He respectfully toasted him and said, "Mr. Liu is indeed blessed by the heavens! I am truly in awe of you! Please don't forget to help me in the future. I also contributed a lot to the matter of plotting against Princess Yongzhen."

"Of course! Everyone has their own destiny. I was so worried when I heard that the Heavenly Emperor's army was blocked by the wind and snow and could not fight. The food supplies were almost going to rot in my hands. I never expected that the wind and snow would be my savior!"

No one can win forever, not even the mighty Emperor Tianji, but I can keep making money!

Amid the commotion, someone voiced their agreement, though the voice sounded somewhat unfamiliar.

“That’s right, there will always be someone who can keep making money, and I can find a way to hunt down his mother—wait! Strange, Liu Zhonglie, why can’t I find your mother’s whereabouts? Does she not exist?”

The joyful atmosphere froze instantly, as if frozen like the living people outside, frozen to death in ice sculptures. Everyone looked in the direction from which the sound came.

A young man dressed in the python robe of the Xiling royal family appeared out of nowhere and sat down abruptly. He greeted us warmly.

"Good evening, everyone. Except for Liu Zhonglie and Ma Meng, I am Chu Mingkong, the horse hunter from Xiling. I'm here to settle accounts with you!"

Chapter 226 The Bakugan Chapter

Liu Zhonglie looked grave at the arrival of this uninvited guest, and his tongue gently knocked out one of his molars.