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

Just as Chu Mingkong finished complaining, an information panel that had never appeared before appeared in his field of vision.

[Bound object: Zuo Qiuchi.]

Status: Good

Location: Forbidden Land of the Bronze Man (Secret Cave Realm)

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P.S.: This is another transitional chapter. To avoid affecting the reading experience, there will be more later... Damn it, I can't save any more drafts.

Chapter Sixty-One: Unable to Meet Jinyu

Empress Pei returned to the palace without anyone noticing, as if she had simply been strolling in the Imperial Garden for a while.

Having been tormented by Chu Mingkong for a while, I felt even more mentally and physically exhausted than listening to the ministers and officials chatter all day in the imperial court.

She dismissed the palace maids and returned to her bedchamber alone to rest.

Her soft, voluptuous body leaned back on the chaise lounge, her figure rising and falling breathtakingly, her slender waist slumping down before rising again at her snowy buttocks.

At first glance, it resembles an exquisite jade gourd, with a narrow waist connecting its full upper and lower parts.

Although she was slapped a few times by Chu Mingkong, that scoundrel, the whole bottle of Golden Crow Heart Essence went down her throat, and the warm liquid filled her mind.

This tiny bottle, no bigger than a child's palm, is equivalent to seven or eight years of her dedicated training and improvement.

Just as Empress Pei was about to refine the Golden Crow Heart Essence within her body, the eunuch announced that Jin Yu had arrived.

"Mother, where have you gone? I've searched everywhere for you, but I can't find you anywhere."

"I've been sitting quietly in the library for a long time, thinking about things. I'm a bit tired lately... Why are you in such a hurry to see me?"

There were only the mother and daughter in the room. Jin Yu naturally wouldn't pretend to be aloof in front of Empress Pei. She sat down next to the mature and beautiful woman, leaning against her as well, except that she was lying on top of Empress Pei's body.

"I've been bored lately and want to properly cultivate the Phoenix Blood Scripture~ Mother, could you pass on some experience to me, or like those stories say, just pass on some internal energy directly to me?"

Jin Yu didn't want to work hard anymore; she just wanted to quickly perfect her cultivation technique and then go find Chu Mingkong to have some more fun.

Empress Pei looked at Jin Yu with a mixture of disbelief and amusement, as if she were seeing the sun rising in the west.

"Why did this idea suddenly come to me? Didn't I used to find cultivation troublesome?"

The Phoenix Blood Scripture has different meanings for everyone; at least for someone who wants to become an empress, it's the beginning of a scam.

They were tricked into putting in a lot of effort to cultivate, and unknowingly became nourishment for the "dragon".

Ha, how ridiculous!

However, for others, its significance lies in being a superior martial arts technique, with no harm whatsoever.

Jin Yu had already prepared an explanation for her mother's doubts:

"A few days ago, Jinyu was attacked on Qing'an Street. If it weren't for Prince Chu's rescue, Mother, you would only be able to meet me at my grave!"

“You’ve been urging the eunuchs to thoroughly investigate the Wang family behind your backs, using all sorts of grand principles to put pressure on them, and you’ve even been crying to me about how pitiful you are. This kind of cultivation technique isn’t something that can be passed on casually. You need to calm down and practice it properly.”

It's fine to find someone to guide you in cultivating your skills, but the key is that Jin Yu needs to start cultivating first.

Her current situation is that she wants to achieve quick success, so she thinks about getting someone to guide her and then immediately mastering the technique. This is unrealistic. She still needs to calm down and take it one step at a time.

Jin Yu understood this principle, but she was impatient. When she realized that she couldn't find a quick way to master the cultivation method from her mother, she had no choice but to give up and start thinking about other things.

"Mother, Prince Chu is my savior, and I think he's not a bad person."

Those ministers are always saying he has treasonous intentions; they're all full of evil schemes, trying to frame him!

"so what?"

"Could we bring Prince Chu to the palace and find him a place to stay and recover? Otherwise, what will people outside think of me if they find out that I've neglected my savior?"

Empress Pei's expression changed slightly.

Bringing Chu Mingkong to the palace and having him recognize Baili Mi as her—that would be terrible!

She refused calmly: "No, the attitude towards the King of Chu and even the Crown Prince of Chu is decided by your father, the Emperor. Your mother cannot make that decision."

Thinking about Jin Yu's recent attitude, it seemed that she had developed some goodwill towards Chu Mingkong because of the life-saving grace. After being saved that day, she went to the Prince's Mansion to see him several times.

Chu Mingkong's mental state is so unstable right now; it would be bad if it worsened and hurt Jin Yu.

Empress Pei then instructed, "Jinyu, you are not allowed to go out these days. Stay in the palace and thoroughly understand the Phoenix Blood Scripture before you go out."

Jin Yu cried out anxiously, "Mother!"

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After confirming the direction, Chu Mingkong kept Zuo Qiuchi's status bar constantly in his field of vision, monitoring her situation like a surveillance camera.

This thing really put his mind at ease. Maybe he could try binding it with Doctor Baili someday. He should really take advantage of this big spender of filial piety.

Now, Chu Mingkong has chosen Jin Yu as his dual cultivation partner.

Although Jin Yu's extreme yang cultivation technique was not yet complete, he had the "Hehuan True Scripture," so dual cultivation would not damage her primordial yin.

Even if dual cultivation prevents him from passing through that barrier, it won't necessarily put her in a bad situation.

But the thought that he had to rely on women to this extent to get things done made him feel inexplicably uneasy, frustrated, and ashamed.

With these thoughts lingering in his mind, Chu Mingkong's pace toward the princess's residence unconsciously changed, and in the blink of an eye, he returned to his own palace.

At the entrance of the Prince's mansion, he encountered one of Jin Yu's maids.

"Young Prince, we've been waiting for you to return!"

"What's the matter? Did Princess Jinyu come secretly?"

Chu Mingkong didn't think so, because he didn't see the princess's carriage nearby, and only this maid had come.

The maid shook her head and whispered:

"Princess Jinyu sent me to deliver a message, saying that Her Majesty the Empress has confined her to the palace and is not allowing her to come out to play with the young prince. She wants Princess Jinyu to stay in the palace and diligently cultivate her martial arts."

Therefore, Princess Jinyu told the young prince not to worry about her and to come looking for him again after some time.

"..." Chu Mingkong nodded, took out the small items such as incense oil that he had drawn earlier, and put them in the maid's hands: "I know, these are small gifts for Princess Jinyu. You can go back now."

Well, Jin Yu's path is blocked!

The emperor fell ill, and the empress started targeting him; just what I feared most came to pass.

Chu Mingkong recalled the palace dramas he had watched in his previous life.

Indeed, no matter the world, the identity of an empress is always tinged with malice and treachery.

A dog emperor paired with a dog empress!

In her bedchamber, Empress Pei suddenly felt a chill, as if she were being cursed by someone.

"What can we do now..." Chu Ming sighed inwardly.

He had previously thought that if the injury couldn't be healed, he would launch a solo attack on the palace to test the skills of the imperial city's experts, which would be a great experience.

Today, having learned that the Heavenly Extreme Royal Family possesses a barrier that balances the five elements and yin and yang, Chu Mingkong realized that his past thoughts were truly just wishful thinking.

If you can't even break through a thin membrane, how can you stand in front of the emperor and empress?

So now... among the people Chu Mingkong knows, besides Jin Yu and the Empress in the palace, it seems that only Lady Baili and Shangguan Rong possess the Extreme Yang Technique.

He suddenly felt very annoyed; why had he let Lady Baili go?

If he had known earlier that he would need to engage in dual cultivation even when leaving the capital, he would not have let Lady Baili go.

Although she was told to come back next time to collect her reward, no specific time was agreed upon. Who knows if she will come back the month after next?

Chu Ming could not wait any longer.

Left with no other choice, he had to walk toward the Shangguan family's residence.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: More to come later.

Chapter Sixty-Two: The Bride Shangguan Rong?

Upon arriving at the Shangguan residence, Chu Mingkong was immediately taken aback by the several large "囍" characters displayed at the entrance.

Has Shangguan Mingzhe taken another concubine? Or has one of the young masters of the Shangguan family gotten married?

In the Tianji Empire, weddings and other celebratory events are usually preceded by a warm-up period, but this is limited to wealthy families. Ordinary people can't afford to spend several days preparing for the celebrations, so they usually just have a one-day event.

Judging from the government's actions, this is probably just a warm-up, but the day of the wedding is not far off, at the earliest tomorrow, at the latest two or three days.

"What's the occasion at the Shangguan residence? Whose is it?" Chu Mingkong casually blended into the nearby stalls to gather information.

"You didn't know? It's Miss Shangguan the Second! She's going to be the Crown Princess!"

what?

Chu Mingkong had heard the news from Jin Yu, but... it was a bit sudden.

This isn't an engagement celebration, but a formal wedding, specifically the Crown Princess's wedding. Normally, it wouldn't be done so casually.

Just a few days ago, Shangguan Rong was still taking the detoxification medicine on his bed, and now they're all preparing for their wedding night?

"When did this happen? I've never heard of it before!" Chu Mingkong suspected it was a rumor.

But the man looked at him with disdain and contempt: “Brother, you are quite ignorant. I heard about it a month or two ago, but the Emperor was unwell, so after a few rumors were spread, we stopped talking about it.”

Bullshit!

If it had really happened a month or two ago, would the emperor have ordered him to lick Shangguan Rong's boots?

Why would someone like Chu Mingkong, who is suspected of being a traitor, fawn over his future daughter-in-law until the whole capital is abuzz with rumors of their "breakup"?

Chu Mingkong quickly realized that these people might really be spreading rumors and trying to make it seem true.

This was a marriage arranged on the spur of the moment, but it was too embarrassing to talk about it, so they paid a few people to "educate" others near the Shangguan Mansion. As the rumor spread, it was naturally taken as truth.

Moreover, the excuse that "His Majesty is unwell and does not wish to make it public" is indeed very useful.