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

You have to equate just two lines of poetry with Yongzhen, otherwise you feel like you're inferior to her, right?

So, it turns out that going shopping with Yongzhen was only a morning thing? It feels like several days have passed, and it's not even evening yet.

Chu Mingkong still wanted to use the excuse of being unable to think clearly, but the three girls had just gathered in his room, which made him seem a bit like he had been caught red-handed, so he really needed to appease them.

Let me think about what love poems I used to write for my wife, my homeroom teacher, and my neighbor's widow...

"This line is for you, Jinyu: 'Beautiful as the peach blossoms of spring, pure as the chrysanthemums of autumn.' Hmm, chrysanthemums..."

Princess Jinyu silently recited the poem of praise he had given her. It was beautiful, but why did she feel that Chu Lang was hinting at something else?

It must just be my imagination, Chrysanthemum, it's nothing, right? Why did he emphasize that?

"Alright, I accept that. But what about my mother?"

"No, I've never met Her Majesty the Empress, so how would I know what she looks like? If I hadn't met her, I wouldn't even know to recall that great work."

Chu Mingkong was careful not to say anything insincere, lest he offend Jin Yu.

"My mother is only slightly prettier than me."

Jin Yu gestured a distance between her index finger and thumb, and it was indeed just a tiny bit. Chu Mingkong grasped her hand, making her stop this sensitive gesture.

Fortunately, there are no Koreans in this world, otherwise Jin Yu would be criticized for having suggestive and satirical tendencies.

"Let me think about it. I find it hard to imagine what kind of face could be more beautiful than Jin Yu."

He looked at Jin Yu's pretty face, pretending to ponder, while Jin Yu looked back at him, finding Chu Mingkong's appearance more and more pleasing to her.

She noticed some details about Chu Mingkong's eyes. When he appeared gentle, his eyes would widen, resembling a woman's phoenix eyes—beautiful and harmless. However, when he was in his own palace, his eyelids would droop listlessly, making him look much more sinister.

He exuded a sinister aura and was extremely aggressive, making Jin Yu's heart pound.

Without realizing it, she took his hand and led him toward her heart.

"I was just imagining what it would mean to be even more beautiful than Jin Yu. Jin Yu, why are you holding my hand?" Chu Mingkong laughed, applying a bit more pressure with his fingers.

Jin Yu let out a soft moan, her face flushed, and said, "I was afraid Chu Lang's hands would be cold, so I'm warming them for you~ Have you thought it through?"

If we're talking about what poem to use to flatter the Empress, the first choice would naturally be that line...

"A single glance back and a smile can captivate a hundred beauties, making all the ladies of the six palaces pale in comparison."

Jin Yu was a little stunned, and then she became jealous: "Why do I feel like you're praising my mother more than you are praising me? That was much more impressive than what I said!"

"But I imagined it by looking at Jinyu."

"That's true~"

Jin Yu cheered up again, feeling that this sentence was a compliment to her.

"Young Master Chu, did you hear these two lines on the street? Are there that many talented scholars in your hometown of Xiling?"

"There are plenty... It's a pity I can't go back to my hometown, and I can't take you back to my home."

He could never return to either of his hometowns. He still had most of Xiling left, but he could never go back to the place he knew best.

"Don't be sad, I'll massage you here too. If you can't go back, Chu Lang, just stay and marry into my family. I'll keep you in my mansion!"

Chu Mingkong suddenly smiled, picked her up and spun her around. Jin Yu hugged his neck tightly, and her melodious laughter attracted the curious gazes of birds. If one ignored the woman's exposed bosom, or more specifically, the two plump mounds of flesh hanging outside her dress, it would be quite a romantic scene.

"Alright, you should go back now, otherwise your mother will become suspicious and it won't be easy for her to come looking for me again," Chu Mingkong advised.

Jin Yu understood this principle, and no matter how reluctant she was, she had to accept the helplessness of this situation.

It's not good for him to keep coming to see me now.

"I'll be moving to Yongzhen's place in a few days, and you'll stay with me tonight!" She had made up her mind.

I'll go back to the palace to rest today and say a few good words to Chu Lang to my mother. Tomorrow I'll confront Yong Zhen during the day and hope that my good friend won't be ungrateful and will obediently give her the man.

"Okay, okay~" If he didn't agree, Chu Mingkong was afraid she wouldn't leave today.

After tidying up Jin Yu's clothes and seeing her to the door, the Wang Mansion immediately fell silent.

However, there was another beautiful woman who quietly drank tea in his room for a long time.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Chu Mingkong apologized.

Shangguan Rong picked up her cup and took another sip of tea, but there was no tea left in her cup.

There were no maids in the mansion to do chores; Chu Mingkong had to do everything himself, from pouring tea to changing water.

“Princess Jinyu was laughing very happily; I had never seen her laugh like that before in the palace.”

Was Jinyu laughing that loud just now? Is my manor too small, or are you, Shangguan Rong, too sharp-eared? Did you hear everything she said?

"Ahem... Because I remembered two lines of poetry from my hometown, I recited them aloud for Jinyu to appreciate, and unexpectedly she suddenly laughed."

Upon hearing Chu Mingkong recite poetry, Shangguan Rong recalled the time she overheard him reciting love poems with her sister-in-law at the Cui residence.

Although it might just be a joke, it's still not quite appropriate.

Putting all that aside, the poem itself is indeed quite good, it's just a pity that there's only one line and we don't know the whole poem.

"What poem?" she asked curiously, surprised that it had amused Princess Jinyu.

Chu Mingkong thought of the Crown Princess that Jin Yu had mentioned, and immediately recited: "'Our eyes met but we could not embrace, for she is already another man's wife' and 'I return the pearl with tears streaming down my face, regretting that we did not meet before I was married'."

Shangguan Rong suddenly fell silent, a strange expression appearing on her beautiful face: "You scoundrel...you did this?"

The girl who calls someone a lecher will end up having five children with him.

Chu Mingkong gave the same old answer: "I heard it on the streets of my hometown."

You can't just make assumptions about this. He really couldn't have done it. The only things he knows how to do in this world are cultivation and fighting.

Thinking of Chu Mingkong's own behavior, Shangguan Rong couldn't help but say, "The poem itself is indeed of high quality, but... in your hometown of Xiling, is there a custom of admiring other men's wives? How come all I hear from you are poems about admiring other men's wives?"

Chapter Fifty-Four: The True Scripture of the Harmony of Heaven and Earth Yin and Yang

Shangguan Rong realized she had spoken out of turn. Chu Mingkong was, after all, the heir of Xiling, and her words were tantamount to slandering his hometown.

"What I mean is that Xiling seems to have many unique literary figures, whose masterpieces are no less impressive than those of prosperous places like the capital. If I have the chance, I would like to visit the teahouses on the street corners there and hear if there are really so many excellent lines."

When I visited Xiling last time, I didn't notice so many literati and scholars.

Because last time you basically stayed in the Prince's Mansion, and we originally planned to go to Xiling the next day to see the local customs and culture, and stay for ten days or half a month, but I ran into you changing clothes and saw you naked. You were so angry that you ran away early the next morning.

Chu Mingkong privately thought that this was not his fault. He was used to being unruly at home. Even in Xiao Yunhan's room, he would just push the door open and enter. Seeing things he shouldn't have seen was a gain, and getting beaten up was not a loss.

But now, for women from aristocratic families like Shangguan Rong, there are few opportunities to travel after they reach adulthood.

If they didn't pursue the path of detachment from worldly life and cultivation, they would be preparing for marriage at this age. Once married, worldly rules would further prohibit them from traveling far away on their own.

Thinking about it, I realized that I had really ruined an important travel experience for her.

"If you really go, I'll have to have someone memorize some bold and unrestrained poems beforehand, so you can recite a few lines when you pass by, lest you have any prejudice against our place."

Although Chu Mingkong had never done anything worthwhile in his life, he couldn't let Xiling, the place where he was born and raised, be labeled as a "land of women who love married men." So he wrote a few military-themed masterpieces to refresh Shangguan Rong's image.

Shangguan Rong muttered to herself, "Bold and unrestrained poetry... forcibly taking another family's respectable young woman?"

So how did you come to this conclusion?!

This topic can't be discussed any further; it's only getting worse.

"Let's get down to business. This is the second time Miss Shangguan has visited today. Giving her the pardon is probably just a favor; she likely has something more important to discuss. Let's get straight to the point!"

Chu Mingkong tried to show his serious attitude by taking a sip of tea, but the teapot was empty.

He poured tea, but it was all for naught.

Slightly embarrassed under Shangguan Rong's gaze, he quickly went to get a new pot of hot tea.

Shangguan Rong found his little actions amusing; he had never shown any of these traits towards her before.

But how should I reply to him? I really only came here to give him a get-out-of-jail-free card, but I didn't expect him to be more relaxed than anyone else when I arrived, and there were even two girls arguing in the room.

"Yes, there is something. My cultivation technique... I may need to trouble you again, Your Highness, because the aftereffects are still there. I can't reach the minor perfection level of the technique for a while and get rid of its drawbacks."

However, I suspect that once it reaches a certain level of proficiency, it will be able to withstand your blood, so there's no need for the young master to worry about the refining process.

Chu Mingkong discovered that even though he really wanted to have a serious chat with Shangguan Rong, the topics always ended up going strangely.

As for the antidote for this poisonous blood, where would he get it? Blood is truly useless; even if refined, it won't cure the poison.

If she wants to get it done again, then she'll have to do it again...

I can't say it!

Seeing Chu Mingkong's inner turmoil, Shangguan Rong couldn't help but feel saddened.

She squeezed the brocade pouch containing the gold medal under the table. What other price could she offer?

If the side effects of the cultivation technique could be overcome with willpower, she would grit her teeth and not ask for help. But this technique involved the two strongest powers in the world, and her willpower could not withstand it.

She wasn't even given a chance to resist.

"Your Highness, is there anything I can do for you?"

Chu Mingkong knew she might have misunderstood.

Let's see if there's anything from the Filial Piety Mall that can help her. I'll agree to it for now, and I'll have to tease her a bit so she doesn't keep coming over.

"Miss Shangguan, your cultivation technique has gone awry, which I suspect is related to someone in the capital secretly possessing extremely yin items. The attack on Jinyu today is also related to this. The Wang family may be involved, but I no longer have the energy to investigate further."

Furthermore, someone praised you as having "exquisite beauty," and I have long admired you. Next time I visit, I hope to see you in woman's attire and makeup.

When he mentioned today's events in the first half of his sentence, I thought he was talking seriously, but the second half turned out to be a flirtatious remark.

“…You lecherous scoundrel,” she muttered under her breath, giving Chu Mingkong a sidelong glance.

"I will have someone investigate the Wang family's affairs... Shangguan Rong is serious about the matter of the cultivation technique and antidote, and hopes that the young master will give it serious consideration."

"I'm serious, I really want to see how beautiful Miss Shangguan looks in a dress!" Chu Mingkong said, looking at her.

Shangguan Rong fled in panic.

The Prince's mansion has finally become quiet.

Chu Ming closed the door and lay down on the bed to rest, feeling utterly exhausted.

But I'm in a good mood, maybe because of Yongzhen and Jinyu?